--Eastern Kingdom. A frontier fort.

　This is one of the forts scattered throughout the kingdom.
　It is a multifunctional fort that prevents unauthorized entry into the territory, functions as a customs house, and responds to incidents that occur in the territory.

　It is staffed by about 200 people at all times. In the event of an emergency, the fort can garrison as many as five thousand soldiers, and stands firmly in the middle of the forest as a strategic point.

　Night.
　In the dim light of the fortress, where the tall trees do not even allow you to see the stars, and even deeper underground.

　In the dungeon, where fugitives, infiltrators, secret agents, and criminals are held, a woman is now locked up.

　Her legs are crossed on a hard stone bed, and she looks relaxed and comfortable.
　Her arms are held in place by wooden boards, despite the iron balls strapped to her feet.

　He was passing the time by looking up at a small vent that was only useful for ventilation.

　That's when it happened.

　The sound of multiple footsteps and breathing.
　In my eyes, I see the light of a bonfire on the stairs and the silhouettes of soldiers.

　They were slowly descending, and their purpose was very ruthless.

　The person being held today is a woman.
　They don't know the specific crime for which she is being held.
　They say that she has had her hands on many people.

　But the woman's hands are bound and her legs are crippled. But a woman with her hands bound and her legs crippled, and a beautiful woman with a beautiful face, it was only natural that the soldiers, who had a shortage of women, would be aroused to lust.

"Hey.

　The voice came through the bars.

　Without any particular emotion in her voice, she slowly turned her head towards the men.
　One of the men whistled as he saw her figure against the bonfire.
　The soldiers around her shouted at her, as if they didn't want her to be exposed, and a friendly atmosphere was formed.

　However, she did not react.

　One of the soldiers, who was not amused by this, said.

One of the soldiers, who was not amused, said, "Hey, hey, I came here to play with you, but you can't keep a blank expression on your face.
"......
"Well, I'm going to change your face now and make you gasp in delight, so be it.

　With a sly grin, they unlock the door.
　Five soldiers walked in.
　She glanced at their swords at their waists, and then back at themselves again.

　She wondered if they looked intimidated by the weapon or not.

　Either way, the men just turned up the heat and took a step towards her.

　Instantly.

"I see?

　An elegant tone of voice, like the rolling of a bell.
　At the same time, the dull sound of something shattering rang out.

"What?

　At the same time they realized that the wooden restraints had been crushed.

It's just right for a sparring partner.

　The next day.



　--The next day. The next day, more than a dozen soldiers in the fort were reported dead, and a serial killer who had just been captured was found to have escaped from prison.















　--Inside the castle. Futa's private quarters.

　That day, instead of the familiar maids rolling around in the room, there was a girl sitting on the sofa with her arms folded.

　In front of my eyes, I saw Futa wielding a wooden sword.

　The girl's eyes widened as she saw the stab fired with tremendous speed, and at the same time he opened his mouth.

"Ah ......, you can't beat me in a hundred years. I'm the strongest. I'm the best. I'm the best. That's all you're good for.

　The eyes that had been watching turned into half-lidded.

"...... is that the best you can do?
I'm sorry about that.
"You know, .......

　The girl sighs in exasperation as she sips the cupcake in her hand.

I think it would be better to prepare a script for my speech.
But it was rejected because my bar reading was too harsh.
"But I did.

　The girl nodded to Futa, who lowered his wooden sword.

　It's been a while since the two of us started training together like this.
　Despite the fact that their relationship had changed a lot since the beginning, the acting lessons were not going well at all.

　She even hired a "teacher" to help her, but the results were as you can see.

"I knew I had no talent.
Because you're unemployed?
"Yes.

　Affirmation while chewing a cupcake.

You don't know what to say.
I can't deny it, but I can't deny it, either.
And by "can't say no," I don't mean you, I mean Lilac.
"Oh.

　One tongue lashing.
　For a girl who believes that "profession" is absolute, her sister's idea is more worthless than the garbage we throw away today.

　However...

You can't say that the unemployed don't have any talent if you only consider their ability with the ...... sword.
Yeah.
If you don't want me to say this to you, work hard.


I know. I know.

　The exchange of words is light.
　The exchange of words is light, not without emotion, but not without heat.
　The natural and easy conversation is a kind of relaxation.

　I have read through many books.
　In my own way, I'm making an effort, memorizing the points she prepared, and studying hard.
　It hasn't come to fruition, but still, Futa doesn't hate this time.

"I'm trying, but not very hard.
"Hard work is just trash in the face of results. Your hard work doesn't change your value. A vegetable that takes a farmer twice as long to grow won't sell for twice as much.
Yeah. Effort is only valuable when it pays off, right?
Right effort, to put it another way. The most important thing is to have the right roadmap to your goal. The most important thing is to have the right roadmap to the goal, and the ability to figure out what that goal requires.
That's what Pasta is doing for me this time.
I've never produced an 'unemployed' product before, so I've got a lot of figuring out to do... ......

　I've never produced an 'unemployed' product before, so I have a lot of questions, but... " Having said all that, the girl suddenly turned ashen.

What's wrong?
"...... nothing.
What? Tell me.
It's weird how honest you are.
I feel worse than I thought I would.

　Fouta laughed at this.
　To the blatantly disgusted girl - Pasta, he says.

I'm not trying to be uncooperative with you. We're going in the same direction.
So?
There's nothing to be gained by dragging you down, so I'll just go along with it. Of course, I'm not saying that I'm going to give up thinking.
Right.

　When did Futa's view of himself change?
　At least from the time they first met until the Wind fiasco, he didn't hide his bad feelings no matter what Pasta did.

　If we count backwards, we know that Futa's mood changed after that commotion. Then, the answer is obvious. It's Ruri's case anyway.

　We're in trouble.
　It's good to go about business on an even keel.
　But I'm not going to be a friend to you. 　

We don't have long before the Colosseum opens at ....... We may need to consider a different approach.
A different approach?
I'm saying I feel like I'm stuck with my current practice.

　I'm saying that I feel like I'm stuck with my current practice.
　Pasta closed his eyes and said that for now he should concentrate on his work.

You're stuck. ....... Hey, Pasta.
What?
I know, but can I really be a villain?
It's not about what you can do, it's about what you do. If you could climb to the top and become a very popular champion without taking any chances, this would be the best.
Oh, yeah?

　Villain (heel).

　That's the path that Pasta has been pointing out to Futa for a while now.
　I don't really get it at the moment, and I don't know why Pasta says it with such conviction.

　However, Pasta's words on the day of Corona's execution rightly caused cheers, and the book she brings with her has a lot of empathy for how "evil" attracts people's hearts.

　The only question for Futa is whether or not she can become such a charismatic figure of evil.

　His goal is clear, but he is not sure.

　I don't want to be a bad person, and I don't want to do bad things when I read books.
　I don't think I'm good enough, and Pasta's statement that I have no talent seems to be an undeniable fact.

　But still.

"What?　"Can't you listen to your manager?"

　She picked up the book and looked up at Futa.

　Her eyes were as irreverent and dismissive as ever, but...

All right.
"......

　She tells Pasta, who rolls her eyes, a little surprised.

"No. "I never listen to management.

　It reminds me of the past.
　"I was expelled from the Colosseum because of the manager's words.
　Even though I knew that the Colosseum was the priority business for the manager and that Futa was in the way.
　Emotion is not something that can be satisfied.

　But it is not.

　I know that the "manager" in front of me is nothing compared to the "manager" of the Colosseum.
　Above all.

"You're the manager."

　I've already known the woman who did everything she could to get one child to stand alone that day.



　Once you get to know Pasta Beatrix, it doesn't matter if she's a manager or not.

　I'm sure you're not the only one who's had to deal with this.



I believe you when you say so.



　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who's a fan of your work.






　--There are 10 days left until the opening of the Colosseum.

　The season is the cherry blossom season. A turbulent year was about to begin.