"What the ...... is this ......?

　I was standing there.

　His hands were weak as he grasped the object.
　I blinked again and again, as if my eyes had dried up.

　I can't understand. A vast field.
　My breaths were ragged and harsh, and I could feel the air scraping against my throat.
　Legs and lungs that wouldn't listen to me as if I had just run through them at full speed.

　When I suddenly lost focus, it was over, and the noise around me filled my ears.

　The cheering and yelling of the black mountain of people across the wall and beyond, however, was never directed at him.

　Leafy Lean Glide understood.

　She just stood at the edge of the field, as if she were a bystander, an outcast. She did not hold her sword, but stood there in the middle of the field of vision, looking like an innocent young woman.

　The parasol, faded red like rusted iron, is splotched with fresh blood as if it were paint.

　Oh, and I understand how she gets around. The purpose of the umbrella is just to avoid bloodshed.

　Leafy stared at her, trying to hold back the corners of his mouth from dropping involuntarily.

　Her white dress dress was spotless.
　She understood in her own way.

　Oh, this woman.
　Even with a parasol in hand and a "handicap" to keep her clothes clean.


"...... wasn't even a 'sparring' session."


　I'm not sure what to say.

　I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not, but I'm sure you've heard of it.


"The game is over!　The ten remaining players are the first round qualifiers!


　I just happened to be . I just happened to be far away from her.

　And so I managed to qualify. There's no one I've beaten.

　None.


　I heard my heart break.
















　--that night. Pasta's house.

"Cheers!

　The maid raises her glass in high spirits.
　However, Futa is the only one who raises a toast.

　Futa is seated at the birthday table, which is quite large. On either side of her are Pasta and Corona, but since it seems strange that the head of the family and her sister are too close to Corona, a space has been left between her and Futa.

　Reefy was sitting right in front of Korona, next to the pasta, munching on her food in silence.

　Together with Pasta, who had started eating completely ignoring Corona's initiation, they were a rather dull pair.
　Futa made a toast, so there was nothing to feel down about.

What is it? What is it?　It's so dark!　The arena, Keseran Paseran, has just opened.
"Spectacular, huh?　It doesn't match at all. It seems oddly appropriate.
"Keseran!

　Maid smile as usual.
　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea.

　She said that she felt uncomfortable because she was not the head of the family and she had to exclude Leafy.

　I told Leafy that the house was a separate residence that my parents had entrusted to me.

　Futa's cheeks relaxed at the maid's flattery, and he glanced at the two people on the other side of the room.

　The pasta is just going about its business as usual.
　If you look at the fact that she doesn't seem to be pleased with the fact that her plan has come to fruition, she's probably just letting it slide, saying, "It's not like the merchant association made any profit.
　Besides, she had other things on her mind. She had other things to think about, things that would affect the spectacle of the future, and that was fine with her.

　The problem was next to her.
　The problem was with Leafy, who was chomping on her fork in an apparently depressed manner.

"Oh, well. Anyway, congratulations on getting through the first round.
......

　I knew the air was heavy, and I knew Corona was trying to lighten the mood.
　I thought it would be a good idea for me to say it myself.
　But Leafy didn't reply for a while.

　Futa let out a breath and continued.

"Why don't you make a show of it in the second round?
"No, I can't.

　I can't. At first he sounded like a mumble.
　But then...

"I can't!

　She slammed the table and stood up, fear in her eyes.

How can I fight a ...... thing like that? I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.
I'm sure you can find a way.　There's a lot of people out there,.......
I can't do it!

　The chair rolled over with a thud.

　This is a great way to get the most out of your time and money.


　But he still shook his head and shouted.

"You don't get it, do you?　But those are ...... the eyes of a guy who's killed a bunch of people and is ...... totally fine with it!　It's not like us!
So we can't win?
What?

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that.

Yes, that's right. ......!
Yeah?
Yeah, that's right!　He didn't show his true colors at all!　He didn't even have time to point his sword at me before he ended the match!　From now on, just being in the same group as him is already .......

　She clenched her fists and said to herself, "Yes, that's right.

You can't win with those guys, even if they're in the preferential quota!　I'll just let him win!　You can't help it, you're in the same tournament as that guy!

　I've come all this way to King's Landing.
　I'm sure that with my skills, I'll be able to achieve a good result, if not the championship, and if I'm lucky, I'll even win the tournament.

　And yet, this is too much. Yes, it's unfortunate. I'm unhappy.


　Corona didn't say anything about such weakness.
　Futa didn't say anything either.

　But... But that weakness... One harsh word hurt her heart like a thorn scraped up.



"Why don't you go home then?



　Leafy looked next to her as if she hadn't thought about it.
　It would be better to say that she reacted.
　She tipped her mug and said, without looking at me.

What's the point of being in a place where you can't win?　I couldn't win. I'm just a little girl waving a stick around in the countryside. Go home with your nose in the air like that, loser. Hey--


　She pointed to Leafy's dishes, showing only the corners of her distorted mouth.


It's human food.
"！！！！！！


　I'm not sure what to make of that.
　The clenched lips are quivering and trembling.
　The red-haired girl slowly looked up at her, looking at her as if she were a fool.

"Do you think pretending to be frustrated is going to keep your pride up?　You can't even bleed after you got your lip wrapped around it?　Yuck. Zako.

　I'm not sure what to make of that.

"That sword doesn't look very good on you.
b*tc*." ！！！！

　A man's arm, who had apparently been standing up for some time, stopped Leafy from grabbing him.

Let go of me!
......
Let go of me!　This is my ......!　He laughed at my father's memento!
What?　Laughed at a memento?　Haha. ...... haha. You're pathetic. You're just justifying yourself by saying that it's okay to be angry. Is it cool to be mad at me for being mad at my dad?　Let me get this straight. I'm telling you, you're a fool not worthy of your fine sword.
"......!

　Leafy shook off Futa's arm with a snap.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've.
"...... Oh, right.

　That's all she said, and she ran off.

　The sound of the dining room door slamming shut reverberated through the room.

　The room is quiet for a moment.

　You'll be able to see the maid's gentle face as usual.

I'm not sure what to do.
...... Oh, can you do that?
Can you do that?

　A peace sign. Futa smiled and nodded, and watched her walk away, the big ribbon tying her apron behind her back.

　And the two of you are left.

"...... aren't you going?

　With a genuine question, she resumed her meal as if it was nothing.
　Futa shrugged his shoulders and returned to his seat.



I'm not a saint or anything. I don't know why Leafy is hurting like that, but I'm not worried enough to go after him.
"Oh. That's heartless.

　I shook my head as she raised one eyebrow.
　Then, as if dredging up a memory from some time ago, Futa muttered wistfully.

Only really kind people. Only really kind people smile at people they don't know that well.
"Really?　I'm sure you'll leave me alone.
That's only if I'm very busy. If I'm not too busy. ...... You're an aristocrat who's been brought up in the lap of luxury.

　For a moment, her hand seemed to twitch.
　But she is unmoved. I'm not sure what to say.

...... You think you're hurting me?　I'm used to that.
Do you?
...... And I think you're mistaken.

　I'm not sure what to make of it.

I'm not trying to cheer you up. I'm not sure why I care so much for one small loser like him.
"Well, I don't know.
"What?

　The first thing you should do is to look at your eyes.
　It's not that I think she cursed so much for Leafy's sake.
　I'm not sure. I think.

　The first thing you need to do is to look at your eyes.

　Even if Futa couldn't articulate it that beautifully.

I just knew that she must have really hated the situation.
It makes the food taste bad.
I'm glad you think it's good.
I wish I was dead.

　Scooping up soup with cutlery and eating it .
　The soup has cooled down a bit, but it certainly tastes good, with a slight sweetness from the vegetables.
　The maid's homemade pumpkin paste is a rare treat in this country.

　As we continued to eat in silence for a while.
　As we were eating in silence, a girl's voice sounded.

She doesn't like to lose.

　Futa glanced at her.
　As she gently sipped her wine, she looked up at the ceiling of the dining room.

I hate people who justify their losses. I hate to see you lose. I hate losing. I hate ...... admitting defeat.

　That sounds more like a way of life than a way of liking or disliking.
　It sounded like a way of life, and Futa couldn't help but listen.

But what I hate the most is people who think it's okay to ...... lose.

　--It was a life where you couldn't lose.
　Losing was the end of life.
　Losing was not allowed in my life.

　I'm still like that.
　One loss and Beatrix M. Orba was "dead.

　And yet, she survives by licking the boots of her opponents.
　She'll do anything to survive. I've done everything.

　That's what winning is.

I'm a scoundrel who'll do anything to win. I hate the weak. I want to kill all the strong people. I want to kill all the strong people. So I feel like I'm rotting away just being around people who say things like that.
......
"That's why I pushed that self-proclaimed bouncer. That's all I'm saying.
I see.

　I don't want to lose. I don't want to die.
　I fight to live. I hate people who try to find reasons not to fight.

...... Okay.
What? You look like you know what you're talking about twice.
No. ...... I just think you're really clumsy.
What?

　I glanced at the entrance to the cafeteria.
　There's no sign of the closed door opening. No, but...

I thought that the one who was pushed like that would be stronger if he could get up.
Haha. It's sweet to have a second chance. ....... This goes for me too.




　I close my eyes and exhale.
　I stared blankly at the empty plate of food I had flattened.
　Feeling lonely, you pick up your mug.

　You don't like the reflection of your face in the water, so you make a conscious effort to avoid looking at it.

You're talking yourself into a corner. It's your fault for sending me ...... lemonade.
It's the grass juice Corona prepared.
What's grass juice? Call it tea.

　She glared at me and swallowed her tea.

　She glared at him and swallowed her tea. He watched her with his cheekbones and smiled at her profile.

I'll win.


　She snickered.


Otherwise, I wouldn't have any beef with you.