The cocoon opens.
　When I came out, Marc was there.

　He had an indescribable look on his face. Is he smiling, or is he? He is calm. He also seemed to be exuding regret.

''You were ... strong, Reme-dono.

Well I guess so.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was trying to keep my eyes open.

　Regardless of how good Reme-dono is [Black Mage], he can't inherently beat Marc, no matter how good he is.
　If you fight a hundred times, Marc will win a hundred times.

　However, that's just a matter of overall strength. The answer that is derived when you forcefully quantify and compare their combat abilities.
　This was a tag team tournament, and there were several measures he had prepared for this fight.

　There was probably something more that I didn't even know about. I won't know that until I ask Marc later or check the footage.

'Why are you sorry?'

And to lose to that...

　You think that your product's value is shaky, and that's what you think.

'I don't see a problem with that,'

...Is that so?

''Of course there will be some opinions that will cause concern, but it's not a big deal. There's the fact that Aerial-dono was recruiting him, and other 【Brave Men】 were defeated before you. Considering the establishment of a fair competition that Lord Fellow-dono is aiming for, he won't be treating [Black Mage] as coldly as the adventurer industry has been so far. In other words--

''This time, I'm sure you'll fall on the side of re-evaluating Leme-dono, so it's hard to have an opinion that would put the loser down...?''

''If this had been a project that had nothing to do with Mister Fellow, it would have been a close call. As you feared, there would have been an unconcerned opinion that 'You're not cut out to be an adventurer to lose to [Black Mage]'.

　What is more important than the facts themselves is the way they are presented and cut out.
　It's probably a relief that the person in charge of deciding on that is Fellow-dono this time.

''........Hey, what are you laughing at when you lost?''

　It's rare for Marc to laugh, albeit in an overflowing way.
　It's not that he's a man who doesn't smile at all, but he doesn't lose his expression.

'No, I'm sorry. The fight with Lord Leme I don't know how to describe it. Ah, yes. I enjoyed it. To think that that match will not be tainted by the reputation of the outside world is a pleasure.

Don't tell me you're a fan of his, too.

　I blurted out that, and I'm probably laughing, too. This one is giggling, I'm sure.

"How was Nicola?

"I've never understood that guy. No, I didn't. I didn't try to understand him. Failure is a terrible thing, isn't it?　Particularly in a popular business, the slightest mistake can turn those who have supported you in the past against you. In an industry like that, it was no wonder that I continued to stick to a style that once failed.

　Marc listened in silence.

'But this time I realized. Clearly, that's why I admired that one, and why I can't let go of my childish admiration for Lord Leme forever.

...What's that?

I'm an idiot, in short.

Idiot.

　Marc rolled his eyes.
　That's kind of funny, and I laugh. This time it's natural.

'A normal person would think a lot of things. Once you fail, you can't fail again. Once you succeed, you don't want to let it go. Once their life is secure, they want to maintain or improve. This is normal, or even a little wise. But not the stupid. What that kind of person has is a fever. If there's a place you want to go or a view you want to see, you can't give it up. Your mind will always appeal to it, and you can't hold it back with reason.

...and it's all very real.

That's right. We all start out stupid. Stupid makes you an adventurer. You start out stupid when you choose a hard job where you are always on the winning side or the losing side. Because they are stupid, they want to be number one, and because they are stupid, they think they will be accepted by everyone. But get real and know that all but a few of us can only survive by being smart. Those who can't do that will disappear and no one will remember them anymore.

　I didn't like that, so I set out to be an adventurer who could sell.
　I couldn't just trash my sister.

'I've been watching since I left, but Nicola wouldn't just be an idiot. She's not just tracing her past mistakes.

'Yes, it was full of ingenuity. And yet, I stuck to the style I admired. It was well thought out for a fool. Not only that....

　That was probably fighting for my stupid brother, too.

'Can't sell it?　Not in the way Nicola wants.

It's not the new style itself that's the problem, it's the way it fits with the current style. It's not the new style itself that's the problem, it's the way it fits in with our current style. It's just....

　I've probably grasped what Reme-dono and Nicola wanted to tell me.
　Considering that.........

''........Marc. I wasn't cool with it, was I?

'You've never been cool with your sister,'

Ggh.....

　I didn't expect to be stabbed so hard.

Tell me if that's what you think.

You're not a cool guy. Did you hear me?

　If Marc had told me to listen to my sister properly or calm down before this case........

　--I wouldn't have listened to her.

　After all, results are important.

　I thought that Reme-dono and his sister would never be able to defeat me and Marc.
　At least, that's why they overturned it.

　Then that result can't be taken lightly.
　There is a knock on the door of the waiting room.

''........Time for the loser's interview?

What do you want me to say?

　Marc follows my policy regarding the work of adventurers. Or rather, that's the case for the whole party. Even Nicola did the job itself perfectly.

'A thought. If you want to praise Lord Leme, do so.

Yes, sir.

　We're all going to the door together.
　I have to make good on my promise.
　The apology will have to wait until after the convention. First things first.

　The...

　I raise my hand to Verito as he returns to the waiting room.

'You did it,'

　She came up to me and just like that - she hugged me.

''Yes........!　Yeah...!　We won!　Reme-san and I...!

　I'm momentarily confused by the mixture of mushikin's hardness and feminine softness in the hug, but I soon find out that it's due to pure pleasure.

'Yes. Actually, I'm insanely happy too.

　I patted her on the back.
　We had been doing that for a while, and then suddenly she bounced away.

"Sorry, Reme-san. I'm sorry, Reme-san, you're so impolite all of a sudden!　I'm kind of moved to tears.

Yeah, I know.

I was soaked in the fighting and Leme's clothes were ruined.

You don't have to worry about that when you're happy.

Lemezzan...!

　Belito's eyes moisten.

''Haha... but the finals are coming up soon, so I'll have to go back to life and enter my replacement magic body (avatar) right away.

　The contestants in the final round had made multiple magical bodies (avatars) at the expense of the tournament management.
　So, they could go into the next final in perfect condition.

''Uh, yeah........''

　She heads to the 'cocoon'.

　Even the winner could come back to the cocoon with an 'abstain' function, but they would want the winner to leave the venue in a dashing manner in terms of the competition. They were supposed to walk out of the field.
　Then the anteroom was just a short walk away, so if it wasn't too much of a hassle, it would be on foot from there as well.

　On the small screen (TV) in the waiting room, Philippe and Marc are shown on the screen.
　It's an interview with the defeated. Perhaps because they are standing in front of the camera as adventurers, they are also in their avatar form.
　Marc speaks few words in praise of me, and Philippe praises Berit's attack structure.

'Leme is making unexpected progress in this tournament, what do you think of him as a Philippe player?

''I didn't mean to underestimate him, but he was a better adventurer (...) than I realized. To be honest, I used to think that I didn't deserve to be in his fourth-ranked party, but now I'm just ashamed of my perception.''

'I see. So you're saying that the Phoenix party was a mistake?

''I don't understand that. Being strong, being an excellent [black mage] and a warrior. Even if you have all those things, it's different when it comes to selling them. And the Fenix Party must have had their own circumstances. I can only say one thing.''

Yes, sir?

"Lord Leme showed the world a different kind of fighting style in this tournament than his former party.

　Afterwards, he talked about how Belito and his sister have something in common, earth magic, and that his sister can do that kind of thing, and that the 'prince' will eventually become the 'king', so he can't just stay protected by himself and Marc forever, which means that they may eventually fight side by side.

'Ta, tough guy..... You're promoting it all over the place.

　But it's amazing.
　Our thoughts were conveyed to him.

　Nicolas was watching it in the flesh.

　Now all that remained was the final.