Inside the quiet stadium.
　On the stage, Ray looks around with his death-size hand, and two people, who happened to be out of range of Ray's fire arrows, are staring blankly at the other participants who are falling on the stage.
　unbelievable That would be the honest feeling of the two participants still standing on the stage.
　Fortunately, Ray's magical powers were much less than the usual Flame Arrow.
　Thanks to this, no one is dead, although the people who are falling down on the stage.

"...I think that's the end of this preliminary round. What's wrong with you? You still have a hard time?"

　Ray's voice echoed in silence.
　When the referee hears the voice, he finally returns to himself and declares it loudly.

"C-block preliminary round is over! There will be three contestants, Ray, Aust, and Dolph!"

　the echoing umpire's voice
　That must have brought the others to their senses. It was small at first, and gradually loud cheers began to come out.

"'Wow!'

　As cheers ring, the convention's management committee goes up on the stage and carries the fallen participants off the stage.
　When you get off the stage, the horrific burn marks disappear easily.
　However, there are still few people who can get up and walk on the spot.
　You can heal a wound, but you can't heal a wound. It was evident.

'What's this? What's this? This is crimson. This is crimson. This is crimson. This is crimson! This is what I've been doing for many years. I rarely see such a flashy attack in the preliminary round!? To be honest, I have to admit that I'm strong enough. The other two qualifiers can only be said to have been lucky in many ways, and now that they've finished the qualifiers, they've proved that their crimson skills have proved that they didn't lose out to other names! Or I don't know why there was a rumor that they were a giant or something like that!"

　He must have been so excited to see Ray's magic. Ray can't help but tilt his head at the sound of the scene.
　It is true that the magic I used was all flashy. But I didn't understand why anyone could have used the same magic as I used now.
　You must have seen Ray's question. One of the two players chosen to play in the finals... a man with a Harbard in his hand calls out to Ray.

"You look strange,"

　There is no hostility or rivalry in the way he approached Ray.
　Do you have anything in mind about the name crimson, or do you just not show it?
　At any rate, the man with the Harbard continues with a smile around his mouth.

"To use magic, it is necessary to chant. But if you do such a thing in such a crowd, you'll be beaten up by someone close to you. If you think about that, it's fair to say that you don't use magic as much as possible in the preliminary rounds, or that even if you use it, you don't have as much power as possible. But you used a flashy spell, didn't you?"
"I see,"

　Rey nods, knowing that it may be difficult to deal with the situation, although she told him to hold a dagger as a countermeasure when approached.

"Well, at any rate," For my part, I'm glad that you've made it to the finals. You see, the fellow over there said something, didn't he?

　Following the eyes of a man with a halberd, Ray notices a man staring at him.
　a strong and empowered gaze But I don't see any malice.

『……』

　After a few seconds of silent glances at each other, the other participants who had fallen on the stage were carried away and the referee approached the three.

"This is the end of the preliminary round. Regarding the final game, I think I will contact my accommodation again after all the preliminary rounds are over, but when I register my participation, I think I have clearly stated my accommodation address."
"Huh? Oh, I'm all right."

　The man holding the halberd answers the referee's words, and Ray and the man looking at them nod silently.
　Ray also nods back, saying that he is a member of Dasker's party, although he will appear through Prime Minister after the deadline for the competition.
　When the referee finds out that the three have no particular problems, he opens his mouth to confirm.

"Just in case, if there is a change of lodging along the way, please let the staff of the stadium and the management committee of the competition know." This concludes the qualifying block C. The D-block preliminary round will start soon, so if you have anything to do with it, try to do it outside of here."

　You must be very busy. Tell the Reyes briefly, and the referee goes away.
　After seeing him off the back, Ray was about to leave the stage.

"Next time... I won't lose."

　I could hear the voice of a man staring at me until recently... or staring at me.
　For a man who has trained to compete in this competition, it must have been humiliating to decide to play in the finals with Ray's compassion -- or luck.

(You're young, aren't you?

　The man with the halberd muttered in his heart.
　Whatever the circumstances, I have nothing particular to complain about as long as the results are out.
　But I wonder if the man who won the preliminary round as well as himself and crimson is different.

"Well, then I'm looking forward to winning the final game."

　Ray tells it all and walks off the stage.
　There was a clear picture of winners and losers in the main game, even though all of them, together with the two men who saw it off, had decided to play.





"Look, it's your share,"

　Elk was given a bagful of gold and silver with a smile.
　Ray gave Elk the money and bet on himself.

"... it's more than I expected."

　As Ray mutters at the contents of the bag, Elk nods that he deserves to breathe, and Dasker next to him opens his mouth.

"You probably knew there was Ray among the participants, but no one thought it was crimson. Look around you, and there's a good deal of resentment towards you."

　When you look around at those words, it's true that there's a lot of resentment in the way you look at Ray.
　The place where the Reys are now located is the auditorium for honorable guests.
　There is no doubt that, as long as they are there, it is those invited by the Empire of Bestia who naturally have a resentful glance at Ray.
　Even if you look at me like that, strangely, I realize that it is not the kind of eyes that I can describe as sticky, unlike the ones that I have been looking at in the Westian Empire.

"This is..."

　You must have noticed how Ray looked. Min, who was reading because he thought it was troublesome to get involved in men's silly conversations, explains to Ray in a small way so that the others around him wouldn't hear.

"These are the people invited by the Vestian Empire, not the nobility of the Vestian Empire." In other words, unlike the people of the Vestian Empire, I have no grudge against my relatives being killed. -- well, I can't say that's absolutely
"I see,"

　Ray, who answered Min briefly, breathes a small sigh of relief.
　Even if you don't care, it's still not pleasant to be looked at with hatred.

"Well, most of them are jealous of Ray who earned money."

　Or Elk who follows Min's words, saying that the adventurer he brought or the one he supported lost.
　When asked such a background, Ray has no choice but to agree.

"It seems like the next round of preliminary rounds will start."

　Min mutters as he closes his book.
　Since the preliminary round for Block C was held earlier, the next round will naturally be for Block D.
　And there was a reason for Min to pay attention to the D-block qualifiers."Oh, Rodos is out. Now, how far can my son go?"

　Yes, as Elk said, Rodos was in the D-block qualifiers.
　The elk suddenly turns to Ray, who sits a short distance from Dusker.
　In addition, bags containing gold and silver coins that have already been won by betting are stored in a mistling and are nowhere to be found.

"And what do you think of it? I think I've been training with Luzzi for a while.
"Well, yes. It's kind of irritating to say this, but your talent was real because you were descended from me. It's true that my ability is growing day by day."

　He must have been glad that his son was praised. Elk has an uncontrollable smile around his mouth.
　Next to such an elk, his wife, Min, smiled equally happily.
　Foolish parent. Ray thinks like that, but he keeps on talking without expressing himself.
　Incidentally, Dusker, who was close to Elk and Minh, had the same idea, but the aristocrats listened to it less openly than Ray.

"And as for the preliminary round... I don't know. In any case, sorting is complete luck, so if you have a strong opponent, it might be a bit harsh. However, considering that there are only three players who can participate in the main battle, I think it's okay if there aren't more than three strong players together."

　While Ray explained it like that, the actual situation of the featured player was probably over. The preliminary round started on the stage with the referee's signal.

"Cheer up, Rodos."

　Ray turns to the stage listening to Min's muttering.
　There's more fighting going on there than Ray had.
　In the C-block qualifiers there was a remarkable presence, Ray, for better or worse.
　Wary of the Ray, the other participants were constantly forced to draw some attention to him in order to survive the battle.
　However, since there is no one that stands out in the D block this time, it must be a full-scale battle as Ray and others see it now.
　In fact, this scene is the preliminary contest held in the original competition, and block C was unusual.

"Oh, that's it! Oh, that's stupid. You're being targeted from behind!"

　As if you could hear Elk's cheers, the attack of a man with a spear stuck out from behind him jumps right next to the man who was fighting in front of him and blows him away as a shield.

"Good, good!"

　When Rodos saw the spear tip stuck into the body of the shield man, he cut the spear in the middle, sealed the weapon, and struck the man in the head with a sword handle.

"I suppose it's because of the importance of safety... eg."

　It was Dusker who muttered.
　Contrary to what he said, however, he had a grin around his mouth.
　Certainly, if you get off the stage, the wounds on your body caused by the legacy of ancient magical civilization will disappear.
　But some things don't go away. That's the fear engraved on my mind, or the damage to my weapons and armor.
　In other words, the man whose spear has now been amputated by Rodos will lose his wound -- only faint -- but his weapon will remain intact.
　While it was dangerous to leave the weapons available in battlefields, it could well be described as a very harsh response.

"Oh, it's amazing over there, too.

　Elk and Min, who tend to pay attention to Rodos' success, follow Dusker's words.
　The man with the bow, Elf, was at the end of his gaze.
　The archers themselves were also in Ray's qualifying block. But now Dusker's focus is on the elves, who are clearly superior in arms and even using magic compared to those who fought Ray.

"Spiritual magic?"

　It was Ray who muttered.
　I mutter to remind myself of Elf and Fielma who were together in the previous ranking exam.
　The elf was a woman who performed archery and spiritual magic, but the man's elf at the end of her eyes seemed to be a few steps better than the man's.
　Ray, however, was last year's ranking exam to work with Fierma. Considering it's been almost a year since then, I don't know how good a fiarma is now.

(In fact, he had an extraordinary sense of battle. If you think of the spirit magic of long-range attacks and the use of bows, you wouldn't be acting as solo as I am...)

　While thinking like that, the competition goes on and on, and only Rodos and Elf are on the stage, and the three men who seem to be thieves, and the preliminary round ends on the spot.

"Good job, Rodos!"

　Listening to Elk's delight, Ray wanted to praise Rodos for winning with only minor injuries.