You lost. ......

　Agito muttered quietly and sat down on the ground without effort .
　The crowd still cheered.

...... I didn't expect to lose to you.

I'm sorry, that was a bit mean-spirited.

Haha, you're really good at hiding your nails.

The more cards you have, the more useful they are.

　Agito grinned when I said that.

"You're a dick. You still have some power.

I don't know.

　I gave a vague answer.
　Agito's references to me would reveal nothing.
　Then there's not much to say here.

"The gift of hard work, or ....... It doesn't make any sense at all.

　I didn't feel the slightest bit of regret on Agito's face after his defeat.
　Rather, it was a feeling of freshness.



　When I returned to the waiting room, Raru was waiting for me with a towel.

"Yes, good job.

Thank you.

　I took a towel and wiped the sweat off.
　While I was doing that, Kyu was flying around above me.

Hey, guy!

Thanks, Kyu.

When he finished wiping the sweat off his face, Kyu landed on my head.

Now, it's time for the guild to face off against each other.

Fear. Well, he'll come out on top.

It's the first time Revell and Fear are fighting, for heaven's sake.

I've never even fought Kurt, though.

If we do well, we'll be playing in the finals. I'll be rooting for Revell then.

He hasn't had your support in years. Why don't you give him a little slack?

That depends on how much.

You're gonna get paid?

　You guys still don't get along.



　◇



　And in the blink of an eye, Fear was going to fight me as the top eight was decided.
　But to avoid a string of fights in a short period of time, there was a short break.
　Although the number of matches remaining is small, it is expected to be more intense than ever before.
　Therefore, it is important to take these breaks in order to improve our players' performance.

　Right now, I was in the waiting room with my next opponents, Fear, Raru, and Kyu, taking a break.
　The one who suggested going to Fia's waiting room was Raru.
Maybe it's because he has the talent of a [merchant], he's very good at creating this kind of good atmosphere.
　But except for Kurt.


'I didn't think we'd be able to win this far: ......

　Feer said, looking deeply moved.

'Really, Fear is so insecure. But doesn't this make you feel a little more confident?

'Yeah, I guess so. I feel a little more confident ......

You don't sound very confident.

　Lal gives a gentle, slightly dumbfounded look .

''Ugh ...... how can I gain confidence ...... Mr. Revell?''

　I felt like I'd been talked out of it in a ridiculous way .
　I tried my best to hide my surprise, thinking that Feer would be sorry if I showed it, and I tried my best to hide it .

...... I don't have any confidence in myself either.

Well, that's not true.

　Lal laughed.

'You're probably the most confident person I've ever met, Kurt.

That's true.

But Mr. Revell didn't go into the tournament unafraid, did he?

"Hmm, so I'm confident then. I'm just trying to do my best to achieve my goal of winning. I'm just trying to find out what I can do from what I'm already good at and make better choices.

...... It's difficult.

'You don't have to think too hard about it, do you?　Because from my point of view, Fear seems to be unafraid and confident when he's fighting. You can't be too concerned about it!

...... Right!

　Fea stopped caring too much about what Ral was saying and smiled .
　Surely Fea becomes a different person when she has a weapon, a gun.
　I think this is both Fea's strength and her weakness.



　◇



Now the end of the tournament is near at last!　Finally, the final four!　And what a pairing, this is the same guild showdown!　It's no exaggeration to say that this guild has been the most entertaining to us at this tournament!　So let's get both of you on stage at the same time!　From the Guild 'Tempest', [Effort] player Revell and [Mage] player Fear are here!



　Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!


　I hear the signal for the play-by-play and emerge.
　In front of me, Fear is bowing to the crowd and bowing to the crowd.

Go, Fear, go!
I'm gonna take down that bastard Revell!

　The crowd wasn't cheering for me, they were cheering for Feer.
　Being a pretty girl is a win-win situation after all.
　Somehow, I was shocked.

　Then we were standing face to face in the middle of the arena.

Hi, nice to meet you!

　Fear bows to me as well as to the crowd.

"Nice to meet you.

　Fear huffed and took a deep breath, calming himself down.
　Then the signal to "start the match" echoed through the arena.

　Fear immediately took out her gun and became calm as if she were a changed person.
　The way she stared at me was so cold, I didn't even think it was Fear's eyes.


　But you have a definite weakness.


　The first to strike first is Feer.
　She shoots two bullets at me.
　And I'll keep my distance.
　This is what I learned from watching the Feer fight.
　This is how it started, for the most part.
　And that's how the other opponents knew it would happen.

　But even if you did, it's hard to deal with.
　Simple and strong is why Fear has led us to this point so many times.

　This is where most adventurers get on the defensive.
　They block bullets with their shields or move to the side to get around.
　It's the best chance they have of closing the distance and wasting it.

　I can calmly use the Sight Enhancement skill that was needed to obtain the Imitation.
　Using this skill improves my dynamic vision and allows me to track bullets with my eyes a bit more.
　He saw it in his first two shots and dodged the bullets by shifting his body.
　And here's how many rounds Feer fired at me.

　I run.

　I dodge the bullets as I run.
　But you're gonna have to take a few bullets.
　That's what I'm prepared to do.
　The HP bar diminishes by half, but I'm getting to Fea.
　Swinging my sword.

　Fear is still in no hurry, and tries to keep his distance with a calm expression on his face.
　I know it will move.
　I know that if I swing my sword here and now, it won't do any damage to Fea.

　So I took another step forward and aimed at the gun in my hands instead of at Fea's body.

　With a clank, the gun rolled on the ground.

'Oh, oh ......'

　Fear's expression instantly turned pale.