Richter L. Klingbloom was tired.

　In addition to his normal duties, the rush of the season and other negotiations.
　On top of that, there was no resting place for him when he was not allowed to leave the fighting tournament.

　He was so exhausted that after training, he was seen with dead eyes and crying out "Sasami".

　But still.
　But that didn't stop this man from neglecting his political duties and preparing for the upcoming tournament.

　Today, this man, who was pushing himself to the very limit of what he could do without collapsing, might have been suffering from something other than physical weakness due to his daily recklessness.

　A novel lifestyle that suppresses the consumption of physical energy by daring to become dazed in between work and work.
　He was determined to somehow get his work done before the tournament, but he hadn't forgotten about the tournament rules.

　2on2.
　That was the rule for this tournament, and he was one of the players who hadn't decided on a pair.

　He was one of those who had not yet decided on a pair.
　He had already decided to participate in the tournament, but had left it unattended because he could not devote enough attention to it.

　It's not that there were no candidates.
　First of all, there was Prim Lancaster, the barbarian who was encountered everywhere in the house. I'm sure she's good. But teaming up with her was also a bit risky.
　Richter is the Lord Treasurer. Every move he makes draws attention, so pairing him with her is-- well-- intolerable. It would be a shame to be seen as a set.

　Then there's Futa. Honestly, she's my first choice. I should have been.
　The last champion, the strongest man Richter's ever known.
　Anyone who's been through the last tournament knows that pairing up with him is probably the quickest way to win this tournament.

　But there's only one problem. But there's only one problem.

　Richter hadn't been able to get to know Futa nearly as well as he should have.
　I know it's the fault of the wily vixen and the beautiful princess. I understand that she is deliberately trying to separate Richter from Futa and make them enemies in this tournament.
　However, even with this understanding, the fact that she won't be fighting Futa even in the martial arts tournament is not very interesting. It's the only thing left to look forward to. That's what I thought. Or perhaps I should say that I was made to think that way.

...... Sami

　However, Richter was not without a plan.
　The reason for this was in his schedule for the day.

　Today he would visit Spectacula.
　He needed to visit Spectacular to check on the box office, the number of entries, and so on.
　I received a call from the city gates of King's Landing that there were already several times as many tourists as usual. Even though he knew that the martial arts tournament would be successful, he should have detailed data.

　And it was Richter's plan to take the trouble to observe the tournament himself. This would give him time to call it work and go to the Spectacle and think about the tournament.

　As soon as he stepped into the entrance hall, Richter naturally attracted a lot of attention.
　Many had already entered the tournament, but the hall seemed to function more as a place to find "tag team" partners.

　I suppose that's true. For those of us who are skilled players, we've only just heard of the 2on2 format. Unless you already have a partner, it is not always the case that you have a good warrior friend nearby.

　It was quite natural for such people to look for opponents in the arena plaza or entrance hall.

　The first thing they did was to take a quick guess at their skill level and think about who they should talk to.
　If they knew Richter, it would be hard to talk to him from the other side.
　He played so well in the last tournament. Many people would want to join him, but he's the Lord Treasurer.
　And this time, Richter came as a visitor. He doesn't make any pretense of looking for a pair, but instead spends all his time talking to the staff at the counter.

　He also casually asks for information about people of interest.

　By doing so, Richter's aim was to make people think that he was already working with someone.

　Now that his plan had been successful, Richter was only being watched from afar, but there was no one who could meet his eyes.

　At least, among the dozens of warriors on blind dates in the entrance hall, he couldn't find anyone he thought was "the one".

　Richter did not consider himself to have a good eye, but he was sensitive to his opponent's fighting spirit. Unless you are very careful to hide it, you can sense it immediately.

　So, yes, he must be as good as Huta... he thought, and that's when it happened.


"Oh no. A tag team match at ......? You're in trouble.



　The voice came from the receptionist at the counter.
　Richter, who was just having a meeting at another counter, glanced to the side.
　He was shorter than Prim. About the same height as Lilac - but a little taller.

　He had beautiful, almost blond brown hair. The girl with the flaxen hair tied up in a half-up.
　She is dressed in a short skirt, but a loose-fitting jacket that hides her figure, and long socks that give her a rustic look. There was a girl with a gentle atmosphere that did not exist in Richter's surroundings.

　Her droopy eyes lowered further, and she sagged so weakly that she looked as if she might melt - she must have been thinking the same thing as Richter and the other fighters.

　I looked around the entrance hall.

　He had known there were a lot of fighters in there since he had been at the entrance. Now that he had a use for them, he would seriously examine them.

　Richter only smiled as he understood the reason for his actions, but...

　But as soon as her eyes met Richter's, her golden eyes widened.

"Oh, my God!

　Richter raised an eyebrow as she ran up to him.


　It's not that I was alarmed, but I looked at the fact that I noticed.

"What's ......?
"If you'd like to work with me on that ......, I'd love to.

　A soft upward glance.
　It's obvious that they're doing this on purpose, and the jealous glances around them are annoying. As for them, I guess I can't help it. You can't blame them, because no matter how strong Richter is, it's as if he's told you he doesn't care about you.

　But this invitation annoyed me.

　Richter snaps.

"Stop that creepy behavior.
"What ......?

　"You're a man," he continued, looking at me in surprise, as if this was the first time he had ever said this to me.

"You're a guy.
"......

　The girl - or boy - who rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha.

　She - no, he - laughed happily, though, and asked.

How long have you been aware of him?
"When you came up to me. You can tell by the skeleton.
I see, I'll study it. ...... Oh, but...

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm going to try.

It's not a hobby. It's not a cross-dressing thing or a hobby. I just find it convenient to be a girl when I'm traveling. It's just that I have the appearance to do so. And I was going to reveal it to my partner.
"I don't blame you. It's just that the way a man flirts with a man is vain if he knows the secret.
Wow, that's harsh!

　When he untied his hair, he certainly had the appearance of a boy with long hair. He was still very much a girl because of the way he was dressed, but that was about it.

　Fortunately, there was no sign of this conversation being overheard, but the staff seemed to be surprised.

So, what do you think? I'm pretty confident in my skills!
I'm pretty confident in my skills!
"Oh my god, ...... you're right, ...... I'm in trouble.

　I'm not sure if I have any more cards to play, but I'm looking up to the sky.

　In addition to that, there were a few other things that caught Richter's attention.
　First of all, there was very little fight in him. The fact that Richter hadn't noticed that he had entered the room was also a point of concern.
　It is not that he was disappearing in a hidden form or anything like that. It was simply that Richter had shut him out as unworthy of his attention.
　At that point, he could have been just a common soldier.

　But as soon as he found Richter, he immediately offered to negotiate.

Do you know who I am?
"No, not at all. Just that you're very, very tough.
...... I don't get it. It's as if you just figured it out.

　Yeah, that's it.
　He says it as if he knows what Richter is capable of.
　He's got his fighting spirit under control, if not completely contained. It's hard to say that the difference between him and the others is insignificant.

　I thought that he realized such suppressed energy, but he smiled as if he had thought of something. That smile is also annoying because it is very feminine.

I've got an idea!　Well, I guess I can sell it now!　--Me.

　The words that followed were unexpected, even for Richter.






"I can read the training of the viewer!






......!

　Richter's eyes widened.

　The golden eyes shining in front of him.

"What do you think, can I count on you?
"Well...

　For two-on-two, the information is very useful, but...

　This is, I mean.

Do you mimic ...... your opponent's moves?
"Imitation ......?

　You tilt your head. But then his response was sharp.

"Oh, you mean you know him?
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down.

　"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

　Richter thinks.
　Sure enough, it's someone from Futa.

　But then again, he thought, the tournament might be interesting.

I'm sorry!　I'm sorry! ...... I seem to have upset you!　I'll answer first!　I can't do that to you!



　The way he bowed and apologized was quite polite, reminding me of a new soldier.
　Richter is smiling, but this is a public place, and he really wishes he could stop.
　Of course, you're attracting too much attention, and more importantly, you're annoying.

"Oh, my God. So you know Futa. I'll go first. I'll be the first to answer. ...... well, ...... rather ...... often.

　It's just. It's just that many of Futa's acquaintances are in more or less dire straits. This is the reason why it's so important for you to have a good relationship with your friends.

You're right!　You're right!　I'll--

　He bows his head and says, "Please.

　He says.


"Please go out with me at ！！！！！！！！！！！！！！.


　I'm not sure if you heard the "me" part, guys.

　I look around with a pale face and see a blushing warrior and a jealous muscle man.

　No, I guess not.


"...... Oh, you. What's your name?
"Yes!　My name is Flux!　...... Oh, I used to call myself Lynn when I was a girl. ......
Flux is fine. ...... I'm Richter. I'm Richter. Anyway, I'm out of here.

You're Richter!　Thank you very much. ！！！！！　I look forward to working with you in the future. ！！！！！


　Hey, doesn't this sound like a fulfillment to you?


　He was sweating profusely, and the staff just waved at him smilingly.
　It was like watching a pig being sent to the slaughterhouse, he later said.




　Richter L. Klingbloom & Flux, "Team Friendship" -- Enter!



　Oh, the rumor that Richter started taking pretty girls is another story. It's another story that there were a couple of candidates for the "nice, sweet, good wife" that Richter was looking for, who had their hearts broken without his knowledge.