In the darkness, I can hear voices in my ears.
　My body is shaken and something cold is tapped on my cheek.

　I've been relaxing in the very comfortable darkness, but the external contact is unbearable and wakes me up.
　I shake off the swamp-like sleepiness and open my eyelids.

　Sunlight shines in from the heavens.
　I lie on the ground in the middle of the rude training ground.
　I brush the blanket off to the side and get up.

　It's a refreshing awakening.
　A sense of liberation, beyond exhilaration, spreads through my brain.
　There's no mud or weight to my thoughts.
　It's a clear sensation that goes on forever.
　Clear thoughts become aware of the current situation.

　The murderous drowsiness had fizzled out, and the uncomfortable chills and sweating had stopped.
　His limbs, which had been hard to move as if they had been driven into a wooden stake, were as light as a feather.
　The fact that the body moves according to the signals from the brain is even more impressive.

　I can't say I'm in the best of shape, but it's a far cry from the physical condition I was in the day before yesterday.
　HP and MP have fully recovered, and her condition has also recovered.
　There are no bracelets, and there are no thought restrictions.

　I'm glad to hear that I've made a complete recovery in my heart.

　I check my surroundings to let everyone know that I've made a full recovery.
　There's a Reaper right next to me.

'Good morning, brother. It's almost lunchtime, though.
Good morning, Reaper.

　Apparently, it was the Reaper who woke me up.

'Is it a game already?'
Yeah, it's almost like a final between your brother and Rowen.

　The sun is already rising directly overhead. It's like noon. As I recall, the game starts soon in the afternoon. We must act early.

　I'm going to get up quickly.
　And we'll take stock of the non-reaper situation.

　.............

　It was strange.

　There are five people here - Rustyala, Dia, Maria, Snow, and Sera-san. But all of them are keeping each other in check with their eyes, all of them silent with a strange air.

''There's something strange in the air overnight. ...... Reaper, what's going on ......?
'Hmmm. I don't know, I was sleeping too, so I don't know: ......

　The Reapers are shivering just as much as I am.
　Among them, only Rustyala manages to speak up and urge me to leave.

''Yi, no, Dia and Maria are a bit cryptic ....... But it's not important, so don't worry about it. First of all, Kanami, you should go finish up the 'dance competition' .......
What?　Is that right?

　I'm surprised at the unexpected discord between the two men.
　However, the two men who are named answer me with smiles.

''No, that's not true. I'm perfectly normal. As usual.''
'Yeah, I'm normal too. I don't give a d*mn about those half guardians. Don't worry about it.

　It wasn't normal at all.
　They wouldn't even look at each other.
　There was no doubt that there was some kind of dispute.

　Maybe it was because I had confirmed yesterday that there was no feud between Maria and Rustyala, but I was a bit caught off guard.
　Rustyala half-smiles and urges me and Reaper.

'Stay ahead of me for now. The players had better stay early. We'll be right behind you.
'Yes, no, I can't go in this state ....... Absolutely impossible. I'm afraid of what will happen after the 'Dance Competition' is over. ......

　I've never been in a fragile state of mind, leaving these conditions untreated.
　Your body begins to shake from the trauma.
　A cold sweat oozes down my back, even though sleep should have helped me feel better. An unpleasant chill hits her whole body, and her limbs become hard to move as if she had been hit with a wooden stake.

　Seeing this, Maria and Dia panicked.

''--Yeah!　I'm really okay with it. I had a bit of a fight with Dear, or rather ....... When I say fight, I really mean like a child's fight ......!
'Ma, Maria is right!　We were just being a little stubborn with each other. Hey, Maria!
Yes, Miss Dear!

　Maria and Dia made a smile and held hands.
　It was a bit of a stretch, but I knew it wasn't so acrimonious that it was likely to turn into a killing contest.

　...... No, but even before, I failed to be so careless.

　There's a good chance that the two of them will be in the line of fire when they get back from the game. Probably a high probability. It shouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this is almost always the case.

　I'm seriously wondering if I should change my plans for the upcoming finals.
　Then Rastiara's slap hits me in the head.

You're worrying too much. ...... Kanami, stop worrying and get going. If something goes wrong, you have me, Snow and Sera. You trust me, don't you, Kanami?

　I was frightened, and Rustyala was taken aback by my fright.
　Then, with a serious look in her eyes, she explains that the situation is different from before and tells me to leave it to her.

　I nodded my head, losing that reliance.

'Wow, okay ....... I'll do that .......
Go ahead. I'll quiet Maria and Dia, and then we'll go to the bleachers. The two players will be over there early.

　Rustyala says and urges us out of the training area and begins to scold Maria and Dia.
　I am relieved to see this scene and invite the Reapers to join us.

'Come on, Reaper, let's go,'
'Yes, I'm going. But the ice makes it a bit difficult to walk on. I can't feel my hands or anything at all anymore ....... The final is in a little while, so why don't you take it off?
You can't do that. Just follow me quietly.
Shit.

　The Reaper follows behind me with his mouth agape, his charred right arm and frozen left arm dangling.
　The leg seems to have repaired itself in a day. It looks like he's almost fully recovered. It's troublesome to be rebuffed, but I'm also fully recovered.

　I think the Reaper calmly understands that he can't beat me either, having obtained the skill 'sensitivity'. I walk quietly and follow him.

　With the Reaper's arms wrapped in a cloth, we leave the Epic Seeker's headquarters and head to Vualhura.

　We followed the road, crossed the river and boarded the fleet.
　Along the way, I heard the gossip of the people on the road.

　Everyone was talking about the 'Dancing Tournament'. It's no wonder, since the place we're heading to is the site of the finals. I buried my face in my scarf so that my face wouldn't be exposed and picked up the gossip.
　The reapers walking next to me were also listening in on the gossip.

　A pair of young adventurers are talking.

I'm not going to be able to get a hold of them. ...... The "Battlefield Tournament" this year was a lot of fun and exciting, especially in the south area. Especially in the south area.
Yeah, that Rowen guy had a hell of a fight. Most of the winning teams got beaten by that one guy, you know?　And it's nearly intact.
The mightiest man in the world, Glen Walker, was defeated, as was the saint of swords, Fenrir Arrais. Now, I hear that guy Rowen is the United Kingdom's 'Greatest' and 'Swordsman'.

　The two of them were talking about Rowen, who was competing in the final.
　After all, it seems that the one who stood out the most in this 'Dancing Tournament' was Rowen. Unlike us, he had fought a series of fights against famous people and won a series of victories, which was significant.

　Hearing that, the Reaper was next to me, huffing and puffing and sniffing.
　He's so good at it, even though it's not him.
　But I might have the same expression on my face.

''--But I heard Rowen declared herself a monster in the match. She said she's a Guardian of the Labyrinth.
Yeah. I was watching the south area, so I heard it with my own ears. I said it loud and clear myself. But it was from a distance, so I couldn't tell what part of that thing was a monster to me. ......
"Hmmm, I guess you call yourself .......
'No, I think it's for real, because the tournament administrators were surrounding it with impatient looks. Even the rumors are more likely to say that it's true that Rowen is a monster.
'If it's for real, that's awesome: ....... You don't think a monster is going to win?
'No, that's why I'm incredibly excited about the 'hero' of the north. As I recall, his name is Kanami, right?

　The reaper next to me pokes me in the side.
　It's cold and I wish it would stop.

'You're the natural hero. As I recall, your full name is Aikawa Kanami. I haven't seen any matches in the north area, but I remember it because it's an unusual name.
So most of the crowd is expecting the new "hero" Kanami to defeat the most powerful monster in the world. To be fair, I'm sure the tournament will want that for once.
'Well, you will. If you're really a monster, ......, I don't want you to win.
My support will be biased: ....... When people call Rowen a monster, I can't cheer for her honestly. The Confederacy is a labyrinth-centric country. Many of them have had their friends and family killed by monsters. It takes a bit of courage ...... to support a monster in that situation.

　The more I listen to him, the more the buoyant Reaper becomes more mature.
　He's not happy that Rowen is being treated unfairly because of her position as a monster.

　The two men move away from each other.
　But in turn, the voices looking forward to the "Dance Tournament" continue to enter our ears.

The Kanami of the North will win, of course. We're the 'heroes' of Lauravia, you know?
They say he's a "hero" who easily accomplished the "dragon slayer". I'm sure he's no match for Rowen of the south.
"If it's 'Hero' and 'Monster', I'd probably root for 'Hero'. They're both young and cool: ......
'The swordsman from the south is great, but the hero from the north isn't losing matches either. I've been watching the North's matches and he's definitely stronger than the previous winners.

　Everyone who passed by was anxious to see how the final would go.
　It was easy to see how popular and exciting this "Dance Competition" was. A final with only two almost unknown players was apparently unheard of.

　However, in most of those conversations, Rowen was spoken of as the 'enemy'.
　And I'm a convenient 'hero' role.

'...... Your brother seems to have more support than you do.
I guess so.
After all, he's a monster and that's going to ruin everything?
''No, I don't think so. There's a lot of noise about monster monsters, but it sounds like there's still a decent amount of respect for the swordsmen who defeated the 'strongest' and 'sword saints'.
'Yes ....... That's right: .......

　I calmly analyze the information I hear.
　The Reaper listens to it sadly.

　At last, we step into the central ship of the "Vualhura", the largest of its kind.
　It's a peculiarly shaped ship. It has a gate that looks like the entrance to a castle, with dozens of tower-like structures attached to the perimeter. Unlike other ships, we can tell that this is not a converted warship, but a theater ship from the ground up.

　We enter the huge theater ship "Vualhura".
　Inside, it was built like a grand aristocrat's mansion. There is a large hall at the entrance that can hold thousands of people, and countless gorgeous chandeliers are hanging in the hall. It reminded me of a ball one day.

　I ignore the unpleasant feelings that arise and walk on.
　I call out to the attendant and head to the players' waiting room.

　Along the way, the voices gossiping about Rowen don't disappear.
　Aristocrats line the gorgeous corridor. They evaluate Rowen and me with self-serving arguments.

　Everyone recognized our power.
　It's very close to the 'glory' that Rowen was talking about.
　It's close, but it's not ......, and it never feels good.

　We then spent some time in the anteroom and walked down the corridor leading to the arena, which would be our last.
　Pulling back on the Reaper's hand, I throw in my last words before the fight.

　I've heard many different voices so far.
　But--

But Reaper. I don't know if Rowen's a monster. "Heroic" or "mightiest" or whatever. It doesn't matter to us.
...... Huh?
"This fight isn't for anyone else. It's about Rowen, the Reaper, and me. It's just the three of us.
...... Yeah, right.
Let's go tell him. Me and the Reaper, we'll give you answers.

　The Reaper nods as he sinks in and walks with me.
　Rowen waits - to the last field.

　We walked through the dark corridor and into the arena.
　A moment later, the sun's rays scorch us.
　At the same time, we are exposed to cheers like a downpour.

　This is a large arena.
　The field is three times the size of the previous arena, and a solid-looking barrier has been set up.
　The spectator's seats are also three times larger than before. And it is characteristic that not only normal seats but also tower-like spectator seats have been built. It is clear that they have been designed to allow as many people as possible to see the show as much as possible.

　All of the countless spectators were looking forward to our fight.
　And out of their gaze, in the arena, he was waiting.

　-- surrounded by armed guards, a young man looking up at the sky.

　As we entered, he turned to us.
　His red-copper hair swings, and his gentle eyes above the deep shadows catch us.
　His pupils sizzle, and then he loosens the edges of his mouth.

　He was waiting alone in 'The Top of Vualhura'


　--waiting for a long time (・・・・・・・・).


　When did this happen?
　Since the beginning of the tournament or when you met me? Or did it start when you met me?
　No, before that--

　A thousand years into the far past.
　Since he became the most powerful swordsman in the world.

　But I knew that none of it was the same.
　I'm sure Rowen was waiting for--

　I'm sure...