After the awards ceremony at the stadium ended, Ray was walking to the inn.
　Originally, he could have gone home with the likes of Dusker, Elk, and Min, but after the competition he came home because he was so busy talking with the nobles of the Vestian Empire and the nobles of other countries that he was invited to join, and he was about to fall asleep from the fatigue of the game.

(would it have been better to wait for Mr. Dusker's business to finish, and come back with him in a carriage?)

　Ray mutters, with a vague head, as he sees a crowd of people gathering around the stadium.
　There's no problem as long as we're just gathering. I guess they're just discussing how they feel after the competition.
　But...

"Did you find crimson?"
"No, I don't think there's any information yet that you've come out of the stadium."
"Are you still in the arena?" -- just in case, you're watching every door, aren't you?"
"Of course. If you let it go here, you'll be in trouble."

　It was because I was able to predict that it would be troublesome to hear such a story, though it was not a man's word.
　He had already fought against noise higher than himself, and used the skill of the hegemonic armour, which he had never used before, with all his might and force. I was so tired at the back of my body that I wanted to go back to the inn and sleep in bed as soon as possible.
　Since it is one of the best inns in the Westian Empire, the beds in the Eternal Kutei are soft and welcoming.
　Even for futons, they are made from various valuable materials, including the plumage of the rank B monster harpy queen, for use by aristocrats.
　That's why some people say it's too luxurious to sleep, but fortunately Ray was able to sleep without feeling it at all.
　Now I just want to sleep on the futon and get rid of my fatigue.
　Lovely lover... that was nothing but an obstacle for Ray, who was looking for a futon as if he were looking for Elena.
　He could have dealt with it with all his might, especially if he was aiming at himself.
　But what I'm looking at right now is that I'm aiming for Ray...

"It's a viscount's command, do you really think that crimson will serve us?"
"It's impossible, isn't it?" but we must obey the viscount's orders."

　They were, as you say, aiming for Ray, but in a different way.

(Elena... oh, come to think of it, I should let you know about the competition in pairs.)

　I've spoken to Elena several times at night, but this time... I didn't really want to talk about losing to noise in the final.
　It's true that he couldn't beat the noise, but Ray is still a man. It's only natural that you don't want to tell someone you like what's disgraceful about yourself.
　However, since it's an important story in the end, we have no choice but to talk about it.

"Not yet?"
"Oh, he hasn't come out of the stadium yet."
"... d*mn, maybe you're out of somewhere else now?"
"Well, that's all right,"
"What!? Are you serious?"
"Serious, serious. It doesn't mean you don't know where crimson is staying, does it? Then the worst hotel I'm staying... Was it a long‐lasting empty house? Why don't we head there? Even so, I envy you. I'd like to stay here at least once."
"Stupid, why do you think we're waiting outside the stadium like this? If you offer to see crimson at the inn, he will be rejected without any questions or answers. No, if you're not good at it, there's a possibility that you'll get a Larkus frontier. That's probably why he's trying to bring him before the viscount without questioning."

　Listening to these conversations, Ray puts on the hood of his Dragon Robes and leaves as little as possible to find him waiting.
　I've never felt so reassured by a dragon lobe that has the effect of concealing.
　Feeling half tired and heavy in his head, Ray walks away from the people he describes as a viscount messenger.
　The reason is that there are many spectators around the stadium, and if you leave the stadium, you will hardly find them.

(Anyway... I don't mind a few hours, let me sleep.)

　We move through the city crowded with spectators, thinking in our minds as if we were already sleeping about 30%.

"Hey, did you hear the sound of the explosion at the awards ceremony? Something seems to have happened in the direction of the castle."
"I heard it. A thief or something tried to sneak into the castle, and the knight and wizard who found it repelled it. That's great! And the knights were prepared by His Highness Kabazeed."
"What? What's that?" I mean, did your Highness Kabazid know from the very beginning that there would be robbers?"

　When Ray hears the words, he stops walking.
　My consciousness was about to be affected by drowsiness, but there was something I was concerned about.
　Lean on a nearby building and wait for the person you're meeting, looking at the conversation you've just had at a distance.
　It's already autumn, but today it's as hot as midsummer. Because of the heat... and above all, it's the final of a competition, so I guess it's time for business. At a nearby bar, tables are set out outside the bar even though it's still early in the evening, and many people are drinking there.
　From a section of such a beer garden-like shop, I can hear the voices that I was talking about earlier.

"You didn't know if there would be thieves coming, but simply every year many of the greats of the castle would go to the stadium today, right? That's why Prince Kabazid was worried that the castle might become less fortified."
"...but it's a castle, isn't it? It's a castle of the Vestian Empire. How could ordinary thieves do something about it?"
"But the thief is here, isn't he?"
"Oh, there was a thief who attacked everything for the treasure in the castle."

　Listening to such conversations, Ray nods inwardly.
　It's because there's someone who's obviously praising and lifting the covert.
　Furthermore, the person's tone of speech was so good that not only those who were listening at the same table, but even those who were drinking at the surrounding table, began to mingle with the conversation.

"Huh? But what I've heard is that it was Prince Vichela who ran away from the castle? Whatever it may be, someone who saw him go away on horseback."

　Meanwhile, the man sitting at the table near the man says so.
　The story must have been familiar to the men at the table around him. Many have nodded in agreement with it.
　However, the man who has been speaking loudly earlier shakes his head loudly at the remark.

"No way. Prince Vihela has left the country, hasn't he? He can't be in the imperial capital at this time of year."
"... certainly I've heard of that before..."
"But, Your Highness Vichela, isn't it possible that you are back in the imperial capital because it's a competition?"

　His penchant for the Battle of Vihela is well known throughout the empire. With that in mind, I'm sure I could come back at a time when there's a competition.
　But the man shakes his head in denial.

"No way! Prince Vihela is certainly fond of fighting. I understand that, but why don't you participate in the competition instead of coming to see it?""That's true... but since he ran away, isn't it difficult to show his face to the Emperor?"
"Don't you think it's a bit impossible for a battle-loving Prince Vichela not to participate in a competition to avoid meeting the Emperor? And if he was a Prince Vichela, of course he would have known that the constant noise of Rank S would participate in the competition. Do you think that if it were the real Prince Vihela who appeared in the castle, you would miss such a great opportunity?"

　The remark is taken with strange conviction by people around me.
　In fact, it would never have been possible to miss the opportunity to fight against a Rank S adventurer if it were a Vihela that the listener knew.
　It might have been different to know that Mercurio, the third prince of the same birth as Vihela, was under house arrest, but such important information could not be given to the general public.
　And...

"I suppose it was a robber pretending to be Prince Vihela who appeared in the castle." and, taking the opportunity to sneak into the castle, he was driven away by the knights whom Prince Kabazid had arranged."

　It was only natural in a sense that it should be concluded so.

(Something... strangely you're lifting the cabbages.) Even if it's a Vihela, it looks like she really wants to treat it as a fake. I suppose you want to hide that Vihela, who ran away, robbed you of your third prince, who had been under house arrest, but... strangely biased information...

　As usual, Ray may have noticed the discomfort. Or, if he had walked more and more around the imperial capital, he might have found many others telling him what he was telling the crowd. Then you might have thought of the word manipulation of information.
　But now that Ray had lost the battle against the mighty enemy of noise, and had lost all his enthusiasm for a competition, he had already lost 30 percent of his head... or, no, almost 40 percent of his sleep because he had kept his weight on the wall and listened to the wall.
　Ray, whose eyes begin to close as if he were drowsy, and eventually decides that he'll fall asleep in the streets if he stays here, decides that he can't gather more information -- more precisely because of his desire to sleep in bed -- leaves.
　In a state of half-sleeping or half-sleeping, one can't walk under one's feet, like a drunkard, but still walks through the streets of the imperial capital where there are many people after the competition.

(If he finds me sleeping in the street... if he finds me... if he finds me... if he finds me... if he finds me... if he finds me...)

　In this loop of thoughts in my head, I wonder if my body is looking for a deep sleep, and I continue to move around the city wondering why I am able to think objectively...and eventually I see a long-lasting empty house.
　But looking at the entrance, Ray feels a subtle discomfort in his mind, which had already fallen asleep for about half.
　Because there were as many people around the Yuyuan Kutei as there were in the stadium. ... no, there are more people than there were in the stadium.
　Some of the people who are gathering here are, of course, aristocrats and merchants who want to serve, but many of them want to see Ray up close.

"It's troublesome."

　Ray sees the crowd and decides that if he shows up like this, he'll be in trouble.
　Fortunately, this must have been one of the finest inns in the Westian Empire, the Eternal Kutei.
　There are people employed for security, and because of that, no one is forced into the inn.
　It's only natural to have security, but it's a relief to have such good customers as aristocrats and merchants of big businesses.
　However, it is only the general public who can stop it. If you are a nobleman, you can enter the inn. ... well, even if you say you want to see Ray, you won't see him in person unless you have much time to spare, since you're supposed to talk to Dusker first.
　At any rate, Ray strides unsteadily among those surrounding the inn, and eventually enters the inn.
　Once you enter the inn, you go through the formalities at the counter and head to your room.
　As he went up the stairs, some of his acquaintances -- whom he met at several celebrations in the dining room -- he waved lightly to them and went straight to the room... as he entered the room, locked them, took off his dragon robes and all his other clothes, and fell straight into bed, and at that moment his consciousness sank into the depths of darkness.