The sun exists in the sky, making a strong case for itself.
　It was snowing until just yesterday, but it seemed like a vision.
　But the temperature is never warm, and the snow rarely melts in the sun.
　On the contrary, the snow reflects sunlight and dazzles those walking on the ground.
　the kind of weather that normally only children like to go out
　In such weather... there was a large crowd near the lord's residence in Gilm.
　Stalls are everywhere, selling hot dishes to keep out the cold.
　It was the residence of a lord who rarely approached a private citizen, but today the story is different.
　Because today is a festival.
　a winter‐specific festival that seems to sweep away some desolate atmosphere
　Of course, since the festival was held very close to the lord's residence, security was perfect.
　Knights and guards roam the neighborhood, looking to see if anyone is trying to break into the lord's house, if anyone is going to cause any disturbance, if anyone is drunk and rampant in the atmosphere of the festival, or if anyone is drunk and rampant.
　Those who have a bad heart are quiet, and those who do not have a bad heart enjoy the festival purely.

"Gamerion skewers. Special offer today! If you order five bottles, one bottle is free!"
"How about udon noodles or stewed udon noodles with gamerion meat?"
"It's a simmered gamerion." The best Gamerion meat to eat is a particularly laborious one for today. If you don't eat it today, you'll regret it!"
"It's a soup full of Gamerion's meat, and I'm sure you'll warm yourself up in this cold weather!"
"Don't you want a sandwich or a sandwich made of Gamerion meat?" Sandwich only at this time of year, with Gamerion meat between freshly baked bread!"

　There are many stalls selling Gamerion dishes like that.
　The dungeon has delayed the spread of Gamerion's meat, so many people must want to make a living here today, where many people gather.
　Of course, there are many stalls selling not only Gamerion dishes but also other dishes.
　In the midst of this, the reason why there are so few shops selling anything other than food, even though it's a festival, is probably because the festival was hastily decided a few days ago.
　There were also times when selling things in the snow -- more hot food stalls -- didn't sell that much.
　Still, some people spread rugs on the snow while setting fire, selling accessories, clothes, and accessories are among the first to get information about the festival.
　In the meantime, straight down the street of stalls and stalls was a square where knights from the Larkus frontier trained, and that was where the festival's biggest event was held.

"The reason for this duel is that Mr. Keep, the next head of the Earl of Eriel's family, turned to Baron Cisne's maid. The Earl's family, belonging to the royal faction, had great power, and Baron Cisne seemed to have no choice but to obey the demands of his superiors in all respects. But...however! Mr. Muet, the head of the Baron Cisne family, resolutely refused it!"

　At the entrance to the square where the duel takes place, a man tells the story.
　Those who had attended the festival heard it, many of whom did not know why such a duel was to take place, and most of them listened with interestingly.

"Of course, Mr. Keep is not interested in being defied by his inferior Mr. Muet. make a duel there Of course, the duel in this case is not performed by the person himself, but by the person who takes his place. At this point, Mr. Keep would have been confident of his victory. That's right. The Earl of Eriel is quite financially wealthy. We can employ high-ranking adventurers and mercenaries with money."

　Those listening to the man's words express their dissatisfaction with the people nearby and with the keep.

"But! ... but! I never thought of the keeper at this time. Mr. Muet and the men who were close to the maid were amazing adventurers! The man who had been commissioned to train the heirs of the Baron Cisne family and had not shown up for the first time in a long time to see the results. Such an adventurer could not remain silent about the danger of a person related to him. The man is Ray, a Rank B adventurer. He's a man nicknamed crimson!"

　The moment Ray's name comes out, the audience's excitement reaches its climax.
　The storyteller, who saw it, gave a smirk of laughter.

"Now, Mr. Keep, who has made enemies of such a man. Have you got an adventurer ready to fight Ray? Well, I bet. The big hole is Ray's defeat, the victory of the representatives on the keep side. The magnification is five hundred!"

　The magnification that comes out of the man's mouth makes him think he's not worth betting.
　But... still some of the people who have been listening believe in the possibility of a turnaround.
　Others are betting on how long Ray can hold out.
　The name and background of the Earl of Erielle's family, who were still fighting Ray, were yet to be identified, but the bet was still made, indicating the extent of Ray's recognition in Guilm.

"Well, Johanna," Will you not take part in the bet?"
"Well, when it comes to betting, it's time for Ray to win, isn't it? Then it's up to him to feel like that." That's how you can bring out your opponent's strength to a certain extent in the first few seconds."

　Lent, who luckily managed to lure Johanna during the escort break, talks to her on a Gamerion skewer, but Johanna's words in return were somewhat off-putting.
　It's not that they didn't enjoy the festival, but rather that they regretted not being able to see Seto.
　Johanna, who was also a bodyguard for the Baron Cisne family as a member of the former expedition, was now taking a break for Seto.
　Nevertheless, when he went to the Wheat-tei at dusk, Sett had already gone out to duel with Ray, and on his way home he was invited by Lento to come to the festival.

"Well, I know what the game is going to be... the biggest problem is around tonight when the duel is over." for now that I've made a fool of myself to bet half my fortune, the only last resort is to have no one to receive it."
"Come on, don't be afraid."
"Because, for days on end, there's been a tinker sent to Baron Cisne's house? I wish he'd send a stronger opponent anyway." I wonder if they think they can manage us.

　Johanna muttered discontentedly, but there was a situation in which they might find out their actions if they sent in someone who had connections with them.
　Of course, it is obvious who is pulling the strings behind the scenes, given that the baroness of Cisne, who has lived a peaceful life, is being attacked one after another as soon as the duel is decided.
　But you can't impeach it without evidence.
　Taking advantage of this, keepers and furtos repeatedly sent in tinkers who were caught but didn't connect with them.
　Of course, I don't think that I can kill the muets, and if I can, I'm lucky enough to know.
　The real purpose is to threaten, exhaust the mind and withdraw from the duel every day of attack.
　With no chance of winning Ray, this was the best way to keep or get a full toss.
　...but the Baronesses of Cisne, Muet, Assier and Basrero, know Ray's strength. And I believe from the bottom of my heart.
　They could also endure the fact that the date to the duel was not so long.

"You've made a fool of yourself, haven't you?" If we had fought fair and square, Ray would have done a good job."
"No, you couldn't have chosen the means when half your fortune was gone."

　That's the only way for Lento to hear about it from Ray.
　In fact, if you're in a keep position, you have to do something about Muet, as long as it's almost impossible to touch Ray.
　The best option, however, would be to apologize to the other person and let him know that there was no duel.
　However, it was impossible to apologize to Muett for his absence from the duel, because of his position as the next head of the Earl of Eriel's family, his pride, and, above all, in the form of a festival, the festival.

"That's a clown..."

　Watching up at the sky, where the sun is asserting itself, Lent mutters compassionately.
　But towards Lent and Johanna there was a scorching wind... and Lent, who was more precisely unaware of the approach of the Mile Dog, was also close to some kind of clown.





　Ray was having lunch in a waiting room while Lent was terrified by the blizzard that Johanna and Millerine were stirring up in the sun.
　As a participant in the duel, I couldn't walk around the festival carelessly, so I asked one of the knights prepared as bodyguards to buy me food from the stall at random.
　Despite being sent as a bodyguard, the knight wondered for a moment whether he needed a bodyguard against Ray, but he had no choice but to say no to his participation in the Spring War.
　Knights were also interested in the food at the stalls at the festival, so they repeatedly bought food at random and brought it to places where Ray, Seto, Muet, Basrero, and Assie were located as waiting rooms to buy it again."Well, Mr. Ray," Is it okay to have a full meal when the duel is about to begining?"

　Basrero anxiously visits Ray, who eats a soup full of gamerions and vegetables and nibbles on a skewer.
　For Basrero, it's on the verge of losing an assier who also adores his sister.
　I believe in Ray's strength, but I still think in case.

"Grull".

　I'm not worried about that kind of bassrero, but I'm going to give you a voice.
　. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"We're going to fight now, and we need to get ready, right? It's a problem to eat too much to get stuck, but there's no problem at all."

　Bite the Gamerion meat and enjoy its mouthful of taste and texture, Ray hands Basrero a skewer he hasn't tasted yet.

"You know, you need training to be strong, but you also need to eat properly. We don't know who the duel is yet, but we don't have to worry about losing. The battle itself is likely to end surprisingly easily."
"Really? No, I know Ray is strong, but I don't know what kind of person he prepared."
"Well, if there's a really strong opponent, I'll have to play my cards too... well, I wonder if I'll get that far."

　His eyes sparkle at the word Oku-no-te, although it was naturally Emperor Flame's Red Armour.

"Oh, is that a lethal move?"
"A deadly move...? What do you think? I don't think it's a lethal move."

　Ray's lethal skill is an attack that should be slaughtered with a single blow.
　There is a strong impression in the literal sense that one blow is fatal.
　Of course, if an attack is carried out using the Emperor's red armor, an ordinary opponent can defeat him with one blow.
　But basically, the Emperor's red armor wears magic that is compressed enough to visualize his own body...it can be said that it is a skill of support.
　Regardless of other people's perception, Ray's perception was that a fire whirlwind was a more deadly technique than Emperor Flame's red armor. 　
　The power of a piece of metal, especially in a fire whirlwind, will jump to the extreme.

(However, it is difficult to use it in places like this because it is poorly offensive.)

　It's a fire whirlwind that has enough effect to bring together and destroy the army and the position itself.
　If you use it in a place like this, if you don't do it well, the guillem itself could disappear.

"Yes, sir,"

　At Ray's words, Basrero looks down regretfully.
　No matter how mature you may be, your eyes will shine at the word "must‐kill" because you are still a child.
　Ray gently puts his hand on such a bassrero's head and opens his mouth.

"I won't be able to show you my lethal skill, but watching my fight is also a training."
"Yes!"

　Muet and Assier, who were watching the conversation, had some smiley expressions on their faces.
　If he lost the duel... the way he never thought he would trust Ray completely.
　In the meantime, there is a knock in the room.
　Muet replied, and it was the knight of the bodyguard who entered the room.

"Ray, it's time for a duel."

　Ray nods to the words and takes everyone out of the room when he puts all the last remaining gamelion skewers in his mouth.
　...to head for a duel.