Mr. Claude, who was dyed red up to his ears.

"Don't look at me!

　He covered his chest with his hands and shouted.

I'm sorry, ......!

　I came to my senses and quickly turned my back on her.
　At the same time, she ran into the bathroom and roughly closed the curtains.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who's a bit of a jerk.

　I had mistakenly thought she was a man from her appearance and tone of voice.

　As I calmed my beating heart, I heard her trembling voice coming from behind the curtain.

"You, you, you ......!　Why in the world are you in my room ......?　You're not a ...... night crawler, are you?　So that's how you got Leah to fall for you?

No, no, no!　It's not possible!

　That misunderstanding is really bad.
　I hurriedly and immediately denied it.

Then why were you in my room?　Depending on the reason, I'll turn you in to the Holy Knight!

I'm going to go pretend, so I thought I'd say a few words to Mr. Claude!　But no matter how many times I knocked, there was no answer, and when I turned the handle, the door was unlocked.

"So you went into a woman's room without permission?

　...... It's so rude to say to a woman, "I thought you were a man.
　I know that much.

That's the thing. ...... I'm sorry.

　I'm not sure what to say, but I'm going to say it.

"......

"......

　Claude fell silent and an awkward silence fell between us.
　The sound of dripping water from the bathroom sounded awfully loud.

　A few moments later, she slowly opened her mouth.

"Take responsibility for .......

"Responsibility? ......?

"Oh, I saw a woman naked. ....... There's only one way to take responsibility as a man, .......

Oh, you don't mean ......?

Yeah, you're a man, you've got to take responsibility. ......

　Claude said, and threw something from behind the curtain.
　It made contact with the floor and made a dry clanking sound.

"This is ......?

"It's a self-defense dagger. --Now commit seppuku quickly.

Seppuku. ......?

　I'm really sorry about seeing her naked.
　But isn't seppuku a bit excessive?

But isn't seppuku a bit excessive?　Isn't that right?　Now, pay for it with your life!　You'll pay for this with your life, and I'll let bygones be bygones!

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No questions asked!　Now, get off your stomach!　I'm going to catch a cold!

　I'm not sure what to do.

(...... It was my fault for mistaking Mr. Claude for a man.

　( It was my fault for mistaking Mr. Claude for a man.) I was entirely at fault for humiliating her.

　But I can't die in this place.

"......, excuse me!

　I said, and ran out of the room.

"What?　Hey, wait!

　After that, I went back to my room across the hall and put a chair and a chest of drawers in front of the door to form a barricade.

　Tomorrow is a very important duel for me and Leah.
　I can't go into it without sleeping or staying up all night.

Okay. ....... I'm sure that with all this hardening, Mr. Claude will not be able to ...... get in silently.

　If you try to force the door open, there will always be a loud bang that will wake you up immediately.
　In other words, it's almost impossible to attack someone in their sleep.

(This will ...... help you sleep a little more peacefully.

　So I lay down on the bed, concentrating on the door.

　The next morning.

Good morning, Allen. ...... Are you okay?　You've got a bear.

　The next morning, Leah came all the way to wake me up, looked into my face and said.

"Oh. Good morning, Leah. ...... I had a little trouble sleeping last night.

　In the end, I couldn't sleep at all because I was worried about Claude's night attack.

But it's nothing to worry about, I was up all night. Don't worry.



　My record for consecutive all-nighters is thirty-five days.
　The record was set during my last lap in the Prison of Time, when I was swinging incessantly to slay the world.
　So actually, one day of all-nighters is nothing to worry about.

Is that so?　That's fine, but ...... take it easy, okay?

"Oh, thanks.

　As we were talking in the hallway, the door directly across from us slowly opened to reveal Claude.

"...... Good morning, Miss Leah.

Good morning, Claude. ...... Huh?　You couldn't sleep either?

　I saw that she had dark circles under her eyes.

Yes. I got a little carried away and couldn't fall asleep.

　...... Maybe she was so angry she couldn't sleep.

It's time for breakfast, Miss Leah. This way, please. --You too. Follow me, you perverted worm.

　Mr. Claude then glared at me and started walking.

(Hey, pervy dweeb. ......)

　It seems that yesterday's incident has downgraded me from a "dobbler" to a "perverted dobbler".

After that, we went to a diner.

　After that, we went to the dining hall and had a nice meal, and then we took a carriage to the grand arena.

Oh, this is great .......

　During the airplane ride, Leah had told me about one of the tourist attractions in Vesteria - the Grand Arena.
　It was a huge amphitheater made of stone.
　It was a huge stone amphitheater, somewhat degraded by the elements, but still a structure of history and strength.

We don't have much time before the duel starts. Follow me quickly.

　I followed Claude, who was walking quickly, and we arrived at the players' waiting room.
　Inside the room were swords, hatchets, spears, hammers, and a variety of weapons.

Weapons are not allowed in this arena, according to the rules. Therefore, you will have to fight with one of these weapons prepared by the arena.

"Understood.

　It seems that the arena has taken care not to let the quality of the weapons determine the outcome.

All right!　Let's find the perfect weapon for Allen!

　I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you," she said, heading towards a compartment full of swords.

(...... You can't hear me from this far away.)

　Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I spoke to Mr. Claude in a low voice.

"Well, Mr. Claude, ....... It's about yesterday. ......

"What's ......, you perverted dweeb?

　A cold stare pierced me, as if I were looking at a winged insect.

I'm really sorry.

Don't think you're getting a free(・・・・) look at my naked body, do you?

　That's all she said, and then turned to the day after tomorrow with a pui.
　She didn't even accept my apology. ...... It seems that it's hopeless to repair the relationship.

(And ...... the way she just said it.)

　It seems that after this, they are going to launch some kind of attack.

(haha .......) Why am I the only one in this situation ......)

　As I let out a small sigh and slumped my shoulders.

"Hey, Allen!　How about this?

　I'm not sure what to make of it.

This is ...... a nice sword, for sure.

　It's a beautiful blade, and the length of the blade is just right.
　And the grip is not too bad.

"Thank you, Leah. Thank you, Leah. I'll use it then.

Yeah!　I'm rooting for you, so good luck!

　As I received the sword from her, a live announcement rang out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience!　The grand arena will now begin!　Today, all scheduled duels will be canceled in favor of a special match!

　At that moment, the audience erupted in cheers.
　I can't see the audience from here, but it looks like there's a huge crowd.

"First, the West Gate!　The worst of the crooks who poisoned our Master Leah!　Allen Lordle!

　As I made my way out of the waiting room and onto the stage, I was greeted by a terrible announcement from the announcer.

"Back off!　You piece of trash!

"You've got some nerve messing with Master Leah!　What?

You're all talk and no action!　Don't think you'll make it home in one piece!

　The shouts and taunts poured down like rain.



　If you look closely, you'll see that most of the audience was made up of the guards from the Vestellia Castle - in other words, only the "relatives" of His Majesty Gris.

(This feeling is kind of nostalgic. ......)

　When I was at the Grand Academy of Swordsmanship, I was always like this.

　Everyone hated me.
　Everyone wanted me to lose.
　Everyone laughed at my failures.
　Such painful days were my everyday life.

　But now it's different.

"Go!　Allen!

　I can hear Leah's voice in my ears.

　I'm not alone anymore.

And East gate!　I'll leave the heavy lifting to you!　The most powerful man in all of Vestellia, Garius Lumberduck!

　As soon as the announcement ended.

"Aaahhhh!

　A skinhead man over two meters tall ran up on the stage.

　A stubble covered his chin.
　A sword wound on his right cheek.
　A muscular body.
　In his right hand, he held a huge metal rod about one meter long.

(No matter how you look at it, he doesn't look his age. ......)

　And then.

"Hey, hey!　You're not even close to my age!

　Leah ran out onto the stage, shouted loudly, and glared at Her Majesty Gris, who was sitting in the special viewing area.
　Then she must have heard him.

"Heh, it's true that I'm turning 20 tomorrow, but ....... I'm still a teenager, Leah.

　Mr. Gallius said with a vicious smile on his face.

　It seems that they are the same age, though just barely.

"No, that's sophistry!　It's cheating!

"Sorry, Miss Leah. Your Majesty said it wouldn't be a problem, so I'll just let it happen!

　And with that, he slung a large metal rod over his shoulder.

Oh, no. ......

　I smiled softly at her to reassure her of her anxiety.

"Don't worry, Leah. I'm not going to let you down.

"Allen, ....... Okay, I believe you.

　She steps off the stage, and as we face each other, the play-by-play opens up.

I'm sure you're all ready to go.　Let's begin the first round!

　As soon as we started, Mr. Gallius closed the distance between us with surprisingly quick movements.

The first move is the winner!　The first move!

　And then he swung down with all his might on the huge metal bar that was already swinging.
　A great blow with speed and weight.

"Allen, avoid!

　(・・・・).

(...... I love every day I spend with Leah.)

　I love every day I spend with her at Senbei Academy.

　(......I love every day I spend with Leah.) I love the daily life I spend with her at Senbei Academy. (......I absolutely hate that it ends here.)

　I'm not sure what to make of it.

(No matter how strong the opponent is, I'm going to win!

　At that moment, a strange power came up from the depths of my body.

　And then.

"Hah!

　My side-cutting blow easily cut Mr. Garius's gold rod in two.

What?　Haa......!

　I'm not sure if you'll be able to find the right one for you.

　The arena went silent as no one could have predicted this development.

　After a few beats of silence, the referee declared the winner.

The winner, Garius Lumberduck!　The winner is Allen Rhoddle!

　At that moment, the whole hall began to buzz at once.

"I didn't see that blow coming, man!

"What do you mean?　What do you mean? You said His Majesty was all talk. ......?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. ....... He's really strong!

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

I'm sure you'll agree. I'm not sure what to do.

"I'm sorry ....... I'm a little stronger today.

　In the event that you're not sure what you're looking for, there are a few things you can do.