"Oh, my dear!"

　A flash of Ray's death-size -- still the handle, not the blade -- blows several soldiers together.
　The soldiers must have had the power to serve the nobles, but... in the end, from Ray's point of view, it doesn't seem much different from those who have fought before.

(In that sense, the second knights who fought were the strongest so far.)

　In fact, it took a few minutes to settle the fight against the knights, the strongest I've ever fought.
　At first, I thought Ray was going to play mock games in descending order of ability, but in reality he wasn't.
　No one has come out of the way of those knights.

(There are some people who are stronger than knights)

　Some of the adventurers who might have been hired this time were worthy of being called skilled, and their strength was undoubtedly superior to that of the knights who served the Earl of Leremylla.
　However, in the end, Ray's strength is nothing special, and that's not what he's got to outweighing the amount of quality.
　Also, unlike the knights, he did not seem to be with his usual partymates, and he could never say that he was good at coordination.
　If those adventurers fight knights, they can win one-on-one, but in group battles they win by a landslide.
　That's how strong it was.

"This is great! This is literally a kick! But where in that little body of Ray is he capable of bringing the five men together and blowing them away at one blow?"

　The host man's incitement cheers the audience.
　However, the cheers were mixed with the lamentations of those who lost the bet, not necessarily everyone was cheering for Ray.
　At first, Ray thought that it was a mock battle, and that he needed to make a lot of things for his opponents to show off, but now that he has fought many similar battles with his opponents, his feelings have diminished considerably.
　In front of Ray with the spear of Death Size and twilight in his hand, the next mock battle opponent appeared... with the voice of the host man, Ray stepped forward to the men running towards him.





　Some of the aristocrats were reacting to Ray's act of defeating his opponents one after another... trampling on them.
　Some people are convinced that the rumors they hear were true, others are displeased with the defeat of soldiers and knights serving them, others applaud Ray's sheer strength, and others wonder why such a small figure as Ray has so much power.
　It would be Liberte, Duke of Kelebel, and his daughter Elena who saw Ray's overwhelming strength with satisfaction.
　Arcadia, wife of Liberte and mother of Elena, is not here.
　It's because I'm having tea parties with the wives and daughters of the nobility who are coming to attend the New Year's party.
　Of course, some people have thrown out tea parties and come here because they can see the strength of Ray, who is nicknamed crimson.

"That's a lie... what's the matter now? No, not only now, but also in the past... are adventurers so strong."
"Oh, not all adventurers are strong, isn't he? There have been quite a few adventurers in the mock war that have been knocked down so far, haven't there? Just because they're adventurers, their strength varies."
"d*mn it. We need to get them to train harder from tomorrow."
"I think so, too. What do you think? The next joint drill, if you like, will be more encouraging to the soldiers and the knights."
"The crimson Ray, I hope... that the Duke of Kelebel has a friendly relationship with such a powerful man."Isn't it a little too much power about General Hime? If things go on like this, the royal faction could be very cautious."
"I understand the concern, but I don't think there are many of the royalists who are notorious, including Rank S adventurers?"
"Now that you mention it, do you know that Count Maltren of the royal faction succeeded in serving a notorious adventurer?"
"What? Is that true?"
"Yes, I got caught in our information network. ... I guess the royalists are also impatient because the aristocrats are strengthening their relationship with the neutralists."

　As each spoke to those close to him, only Geiska glared at Ray with a hateful stare.
　This development is perfectly fine, even the best result for Gaiska, since the mock battle was held to see how strong Ray was originally.
　The reason why I still feel uncomfortable is probably because I don't like Ray.
　I understand, but still find it hard to enjoy the sight of the hated Ray being praised by other nobles.

(d*mn it, was it a black wolf? It must really be here to judge Ray's ability!)

　Geiska has already paid a certain amount of money that would certainly be a problem if it were known to the parents.
　Of course, I didn't pay the full amount, but for the current Geiska, I've worked harder than I can.
　The Marquis Seysore's estate in Anesis... and the estate where Geyska now lives, too, have borrowed money as collateral from a man of intermediary.
　Rewards are prepared by using a variety of other things as collateral and selling them.
　If Ray's assassination was successful, he would have to pay the rest of the money... Geiska was half optimistic about it.
　It was because he thought that if he sold Ray's magic items, he would be able to recover the amount he paid for the black wolf in a timely manner.

(If you think about it like that, should you think that the reason why you try to show Ray's magic items is to make a big profit for me? Hmm, well, do you want him to be active for me?)

　Geiska's frustrated gaze subsides a little.
　Geiska was watching the Battle of Ray, but when he saw people being knocked down one after another, he couldn't stop thinking it was worthless.

(No, can the Black Wolf really understand Ray's ability when he sees this battle?)

　Geiska understood from the sight of Ray fighting that he was clearly not doing his best.
　On the contrary, I even think that I'm blatantly cutting corners.
　That being the case, even if the black wolf were to aim at Ray, wouldn't the assassination fail as a result of recognizing that Ray's ability was this great?
　I can't help but feel that way.

"What's wrong with Geiska? I don't think you're concentrating much."

　A man sitting a little further away asks, perhaps wondering what Geiska was doing.
　The words came from a low-ranking baronet, but Geiska replies, concealing the ridicule in her mind.

"Oh, just a minute. The crimson I know must have been stronger. I was just wondering about it because there wasn't such a big fight."
"Oh... that's too weak. If you really want Ray to show his ability, he deserves it. Oh, look. He's got a good ice blade if you talk about it."

　At the words, Geiska turns her eyes to the stage again.
　Standing there is a man.
　Are you in your late twenties to early thirties?
　Wearing a leather armour made of monster leather for easy movement, this rare long sword is a light blue blade.
　But Geiska knows that the long sword with the light blue blade is a magical sword.
　It's a magical sword with the ability to manipulate ice, as the nickname suggests.
　The nickname "ice blade" naturally comes from a magical sword in its hand.

"This is going to be a bit funny,"

　The Geiska told me so, but I'm not looking forward to the fight in the literal sense.
　Ray had obviously been fighting with a controlled hand, but if he was to deal with a notorious man, he wouldn't have the luxury of blatantly controlling himself.

(The Black Wolf will not pretend to miss this battle, will he? ...that he is a good hand, and that he is such a fool.)

　As Geiska watched the ice blade and Ray discuss something on the stage ahead of her eyes, she concentrated her attention not to miss Ray's sincerity.





"I didn't think we could fight that crimson in a place like this. Well, it's a mock battle. If we fight seriously, it could damage Annesis, not to mention this stage. In that sense, it was a mock battle.""Well, I didn't expect to fight the ice-bladed Egusoris either."

　Ray knew of Esolis as a matter of course.
　When I heard that many adventurers were employed in this mock war, I thought it was natural that some of the adventurers might be nicknamed.
　Since Ray is also a notorious opponent, it is only natural that he chooses a notorious opponent in order to have a close match with Ray in which a mock battle can be established.
　However, hiring a notorious person who has just entered an extended vacation in winter will naturally require a lot of compensation.
　At the very least, he's paid incomparably to the adventurers Ray has fought in mock battles.

(In that sense, the hiring of this ice blade... was done very well.)

　According to information collected by Ray, Ice Blade had a rather insane personality.
　That's the kind of personality that if you're interested in a request, you can accept it even if it's cheap, and on the contrary, if you don't like it, you won't accept it no matter how much the fee is high.
　In the face of such opponents, Ray gets the same death-size and twilight spear as ever.

"The up-and-coming... takes a long time after Ray got a nickname, and I don't think I can say that, but I'm happy to be able to fight against a new name."
"I don't feel bad about being able to fight against a notorious man,"
"Really? I'll do my best not to let you down for now."

　Saying so, Egusolis wields his magical sword lightly.
　Following the path of the sword, the ice spear... or shorter ice column? It sticks into the stage.

(Is that the ability of a sorcerer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

　It's strange to simply admit that you could die.
　However, Ray did not think he would lose in a mock battle with Egusolis, and therefore decided that he could use his magical sword freely.
　That's how they understood that their conversation was over. The host man opens his mouth to inflame the audience's expectations.

"Now, this mock battle will be a battle between notorious people. It will be a different battle from the previous one. Don't miss the battle between notorious people. ... Now, mock battle begins!"

　As soon as the host man's words ring, Ray and Egusolis move forward at once and for all.
　Ray was the first to launch an attack when the distance between them had shrunk.
　Unlike Esolis, who has a magical sword, Ray has long-handled weapons, a scythe and a spear.
　That being the case, it was only natural for Ray to take the lead here.
　The first shot was a death blow.
　Egusoris tried to close the gap with Ray, avoiding a life-threatening blow by lowering his posture... but in the next moment he leaped quickly to the side-by-side.
　The twilight spear Ray held in his left hand penetrates where Exoris was momentarily in front of him.
　It was a blow that could even be seen as an afterimage, but for Egusolis it was probably a well-prepared attack.
　But... once Egusoris distanced himself from Ray, he frowns faintly with a magical sword in his hand.

"It's troublesome. You already have long-range weapons, but you use them at the same time."
"It's a compliment to me to be able to say so, because I've rarely seen anyone other than myself, and it's almost like my own."

　That said Ray, who smiled proudly.