A man with a spear to call Trident falls to the ground... the next moment the host's voice rings around him.

"That's it! This is the end of all the mock games! All the games won! Ray, nicknamed crimson, showed his best performance!"
"'Wow, aah!'

　The audience's voices echo around the stage.
　The spectators who came to see this mock battle were not all particularly interested in it.
　Still, only one Ray beat the overwhelming majority by himself.
　It impresses and shocks the viewer.
　...however, some of them were betting that Ray would win, and it was only natural for them to want to scream.
　Miranda, who is in charge of Ray in particular, is probably one of them.
　I bet it upon Ray's giving me a white gold coin... to be honest, my heart was beating so violently that it almost burst until Ray won.
　That's natural. When I bet on Ray's complete victory, the man in charge of the bet even looked at me, "Are you were serious.
　"Is that serious?" meant, "Are you serious about betting on Ray's total victory?" "Are you serious about betting on white gold?" Miranda didn't realize that much."

"I won... Really... Huh? Why..."

　Miranda quickly wiped her handkerchief after discovering she was crying unconsciously.
　Seeing him train with the Duke of Kelebel Knights, Miranda naturally knew Ray was strong.
　Still, considering Ray's small size, it's easy to imagine how exceptional it would be to win against such a large number of people.
　At least not many Miranda knows she can do the same.
　Elena and Filma are the only two.
　...however, it is strange when you know who can do the same thing.
　Anyway, when I suddenly find out that the tears stopped, I wonder what to do with the amount of money I won in the next bet.

(I have to avoid being robbed by someone. It's not just mine, but Ray's.)

　Advised by Ray, Miranda was also betting on Ray's victory.
　Miranda was born into a noble family, but as the third daughter of an Annesis-based baronet, she doesn't have much money at her disposal.
　However, this is only compared to the nobility, and as you can see from the fact that he works at the Duke of Quevel and is in charge of Ray, who is welcomed as a guest, he is trusted by his superiors.
　Of course I got a decent salary, and I bet a certain amount on this bet.
　As a result, Ray's share of the money he receives is considerable... and if he has that amount of money for one maid -- though he's not wearing maid clothes today -- he's not sure he'll be targeted by strange people.
　No, since it's the second largest city in the kingdom of Mileana, there are naturally many vicious people.
　It's obvious what they'll do when they see Miranda's fair share of gold and white gold as a winning bet.
　In fact, some of the men, a little further away from Miranda, communicated silently, with meaningful glances on each other.
　But Miranda is neither used to rough things nor trained.
　Of course, I didn't realize that I was being looked at like that at at at all...

"Miranda?"
"What?"

　Miranda turned to a sudden voice.
　I was surprised to hear my name called out of the blue, but it was a person I knew who was there that made me smile right away.

"Hello, Leodannis. You came to see me, too."
"Oh, it was a good opportunity to see Ray's ability objectively."
"Oh? If you mean to check your ability, don't you already know that you've been fighting against the Knights so many times?"

　I don't watch all the mock battles between Ray and the Knights, but Miranda still knows Ray has been playing a number of mock battles with the Knights.
　If so, doesn't Leodanis fully understand Ray's ability?
　It wouldn't be strange if Miranda thought so.
　Moreover, Leodanis had played a lot of mock battles with Ray, and he should have felt his own ability.

"The knights of the Knights of the Duke of Kelebel are all very skillful, but... that's why I wanted to see Ray's strength in fighting against other opponents."
"Well... I don't really understand how men feel."

　Miranda said so, but people were watching him... and those who were trying to take away the winning sum had stopped at their conversation.
　As long as they lived in Annesis, they knew, of course, the name of the Knights of Quelebel, and that it was a elite group led by a man named Filma.
　Lucky for both sides would have been that none of the men had turned pale.
　If you cause a disturbance with the knights and acquaintances of the Duke of Kelebel, there will be an absolutely painful counterattack.
　It was such a gathering of people who could think.
　If there were people here who couldn't think of the circumstances at all, perhaps... they would certainly have been blinded by money and attacked Miranda.
　From the sidelines, however, I can see that Miranda won the bet on Ray's victory, but I don't know exactly how much money she won.
　Miranda today doesn't expect to bet so much money on her normal clothes.
　In some cases, there's even the possibility of a few copper coins...
　No, it wasn't a big hole, but I didn't think I'd bet that much money on Ray's all-out victory.
　...if Miranda had known that he had received a white gold coin from Ray, perhaps the men who had been watching him might have changed their minds.
　Fortunately, however, this is no longer the case, and the men decided that they would lose nothing if they continued to engage Miranda.
　Miranda, unimaginable that she was in danger, continues her conversation with Leodanis.
　Moreover, Leodanis didn't know that Miranda had been targeted by villains, so he had no idea that he had saved Miranda from danger.

"And what are you going to do now, Miranda? Why don't you go around looking at the stalls with me?"

　Leodannis asks Miranda, rubbing her nose slightly red.
　Miranda, as a maid to the Duke of Kelebel... and, being a woman worthy of description, it was easy to imagine what the invitation meant.
　I thought about it a little bit... and then I opened my mouth with a smile.

"Well, it's an invitation from Mr. Leodanis, and I'll accept it. It's just... after I give Mr. Ray the amount he won the bet. Would that be all right?"
"Did he do that? Well, if he won by a clean sweep, it's hardly a wild duck."

　If Ray had bet on it as to what battle he would lose, Leodanis would not have been able to tolerate it as an obvious squid.
　In this case, however, Ray has won all the games, so it's safe to assume that he's confident in his strength and that's why he bet on winning all the games.

(In fact, it would have been unexpected for Ray to see an adventurer with a nickname like an ice blade.)

　Leodanis recalls the battle between the ice blade and Ray.
　Being nicknamed, I realized that the ice blade was far higher than me.
　If I fought against an ice blade, I'm sure... that's why I can't fight a hundred times but win once.
　However, Leodanis' personality doesn't mean he gives up because he can't win.
　Even if it's impossible now, I'm sure I'll win one day.
　That's how I feel...

"Oh, isn't it rude of you to think of something else when you invited me?"
"What? Oh... oh, my God. I'm sorry. I was thinking of the battle between the ice blade and Ray. So, what do you think? Can you go around the store with me?"
"... All right. I've been wanting to talk to Mr. Leodanis for a moment."At Leodanis' invitation Miranda nods back after a moment of silence.
　The momentary silence was something that made him wonder if Miranda might turn him down, but... he was relieved that he had accepted the invitation.
　In fact, Leodanis doesn't seem to realize that the silence was for Miranda's maneuver, albeit in detail.

"Well, then, shall we go? Oh, we need to cash in what Ray asked us to do first."
"Well... there are not many people, though."

　Every mock game was over, I saw spectators near Miranda lamenting their defeat.
　The odds were high because few bet on Ray's total victory.
　That being the case, Miranda's prediction is that not many people will win the bet and cash... it's a definite fact.
　It was proved by the small number of people there when they arrived at the place where they could cash in.

"Oh, but there are more people than I thought."
"Well, wouldn't it be surprising to bet on Ray if he knew any of his abilities?"

　In fact, for those who knew exactly what Ray was capable of, there was no option for him to win this mock game.
　The question is that not so many people knew it.

(I suppose the reason why there are so many adventurers is because they have heard of Ray's ability.)

　Even non-adventurers would have heard a lot about Ray.
　However, people who enjoy it are happy to hear various rumors, such as the burning of the army, but if they really believe it, it is impossible to nod so honestly.
　At the very least, not many people would have pretended to bet on it.
　Compared to them, adventurers were more informed of Ray because they were the same adventurers…they won the mock battle.
　Nevertheless, since the likes of ice-bladed men and knights serving the nobility existed as targets of mock warfare, there was no denying the possibility that Ray might lose in the middle.
　Of course, not everything here is an adventurer.
　Some people bet on a complete victory, others remember exactly what the rumor says as merchants.
　There are some of them, so when Leodannis and Miranda come to cash in, they don't stand out.

"Oh, my dear lady. No, you're great. There were other guys who bet Ray that he'd win all the games, but you're the only one who'd bet white gold on it. ... I thought we'd make a lot of money."

　Passing the bet to the cashier, the man looks at Miranda and says in surprise.
　He must have remembered Miranda very well, for he pretended to bet on a white coin.
　So I was surprised to see Miranda... but she looked a little chagrined.

"Thank you very much, and I'd appreciate it if you could cash it in."
"Oh, all right. You're definitely the one who made the most money today."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that. ... Mr. Leodanis, shall we go?"
"Oh, ... it's a little uncomfortable here."

　Leodannis says so, perhaps because he is a knight.
　However, this bet itself is not illegal.
　I don't feel comfortable because Leodannis thinks so, and it's not like people around him are looking at him that much.
　At any rate, Miranda and Leodanis, who had been redeemed, would first go to see Ray to give him the amount they had won.