Haha!　Dumbass husband.

　The one who laughed at her as she fell down was 【Flame Spearman】 Amie-san. He looks like a human-shaped flame, but the part that hits his face has a different color of fire, so you can recognize his expression.
　After laughing for a moment, the expression disappeared from him.

　Would you like me to harden them?

Stop it, Amy.

Okay.

Flame joke. It's cold.

You're there. You know, it's super hot. You know, with a live flame next to it.

I'm cold and shivering.

Would you like a gentle hug?

I'm going to splash you with water.

It's cold.

　For now, Aym-san seems to be fine.

　The one who bumped into her stopped in front of me, but when he noticed that our eyes were on Eim, he turned around and seemed to realize the situation when he saw her slowly get up.

　I'm dressed in a calm and serene manner as she stands up and makes a gesture to dust herself off.
　Unlike when she was a magical body (avatar) wearing a gorgeous dress, she has the atmosphere of a beautiful neighborhood lady.

　Even so, if you look at her properly, you'll recognize her as a 【Flame Manipulator】. Or, you could have guessed it from the Amie-san next to her.

''Ah, ah, I.M. player!　Oh, I don't suppose it was me who bumped into you earlier?　Excuse me for this!

　A visitor bowing and apologizing. A man, by the way.

Can you just move on from the fact that I've fallen?

'Yes, be careful. No matter how much your husband says, 'Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...! And just because the image of you falling down while screaming is so f*cking lame that it's burned into your brain and won't leave you, you'd feel sorry for me if I touched you that many times, buh-uh.

'Forget it!　I've already forgotten it!

Thank you so much. Amy, you're being spanked later.

'What?　Why?!

Because you laughed at your master.

　They seem to be good friends.

'I'm glad to hear that you're having fun, but what do you want to do for my friend Leme?　We've got plans from now on.

　Wraith-kun said, and the three of them returned their gazes to us.

''I don't intend to stay for long. [Black Mage] I had something I wanted to talk to Reme about, but it's not something that has to be now. I'll just give it to you for today and take my leave.

　It was a piece of paper with an email address on it. I'm sure he prepared it before coming here.

　It's not a good idea to refuse, so I took it.
　.........no, really, it's because I could somehow read the errand.

"Well, it's just Reme-san?　It's finally time to get popular.

　I guess he's talking about the last time [Balance of Justice] Astraea-san and [Dragon King] Volak-san.

''Oh, you were wonderful as well, [Lake Brave] Wraith. Besides, it's not that kind of business, so don't make the mistake of thinking that.

That's right, boy. That's right, my master withers--

　As Amie was about to say that, a killing spirit was released from Aime.

'Amie,'

..... I'll shut up.

Wise and wise though it's a bit late to give credit where credit is due. Double spanking.

　Amie's firepower was down, and she seemed to be one size smaller.........

　A strange squire. Amie-san often teases Aym-san, but she never disparages her. Even though she may joke around too much, the viewer can see that she has a deep respect for him.

　Eim-san gives a single cough, as if to switch the tense air.

''Well then, I'll take my leave for today. [Black Mage] Reme, I'll see you later.

Oh, yes. I'll, you know, keep you posted.

Another one of those hotshot little guys. Next time you do it, you won't get burned.

　Miss Amie raises one hand to Fran and smiles.

'I'm going home, pedophile.'

No, no, no, no. I'm only interested in your husband.

Triple spanking.

Why?

　They left in good company to the end.

'Why?　What do you guys want?

　Wraith-kun calls out to the man.

'You must be Mauri-san, right?'

　When I said that, the man looked a little surprised and then nodded happily.
　He is the leader of a party consisting of only [Black Mage].
　That party had registered as the Mauri Party for the tournament.

''I actually came here to ask you about Reme-dono's story, but after hearing the interview you just gave me, I was so impressed...!

　I am able to close the distance between us.

''Oh I said something quite selfish, so I'm glad if it didn't bother you.

'On the contrary, you blew away all the mumbo-jumbo we've been having!　In fact, right before I lost to [Queen of Vampires], I was asked, 'How were you going to grab the strongest position?'

...I see.

　Carmilla could see the problems their party was having, too.

'It was an aha moment. The idea was to see how far we could go with the new path we had found," she said. But Carmilla's party was going to win. But Carmilla's party was going to win, so we gathered a group of people to beat it, and then we improved ourselves.

　There are so many participants that it's hard to get everyone to share the same level of enthusiasm and purpose.
　It's not a bad thing to participate in a commemorative event.

　But the higher up you go, the more parties with the idea that 'we are the ones who will be the strongest'. And when that happens, how do you win? Do we have the power to win, no matter who we are?
　If we don't have an answer to that question, it's going to be tougher and tougher.

'We've been stubborn, I'm sure. We even resented the industry for leaving us out in the cold. We worked hard in the direction of proving that we could win on our own. So we missed the basics that even a child could understand.

　The [Black Mage] is only a support [position (job)].

''........But that resulted in showing the potential of the [Black Mage], didn't it?

There it is!

　Mauri's face is close.

　From what I saw in the video, he seemed calm, but he seems to be a hot person. Or the tension is building now. Or maybe it's both.

'Our air of defeat was very heavy. We don't get through to the best of the best. We were so caught up in the consequences of that. I could only take [the vampire queen]'s line as a point of error, too. Well, actually, I came here with the intention of asking Reme-dono to talk to you about that.

　He thought to ask me, who was also a former fourth-ranked person, my opinion on what to do, in a manner of speaking.

''That's why I was so thrilled to hear Reme-dono's interview just now...!　Don't despise the path you've taken, but keep looking forward on it!　So that mindset led to the breakthrough after leaving the Fenix Party!

I'm not sure. I don't know. In my case, I've been very fortunate to have good people around me.

Didn't they come to you because they saw what you had been up to?

I'm not sure...

　My reunion with Mira-san started with the fact that I once helped her in the first place.
　Aerial-san was also interested in me during my time at the Fenix Party.
　Nicola has been a fan of mine for some time now.
　She said that Fenix offered to put together a party with me.

　I see. 'Yeah, maybe.

'I hope so.'

'I'm sure it is...!　And we'll work even harder to become one too!

You will be. That was some pretty good black magic, preliminaries.

　It was far beyond the power of an ordinary [Black Mage]. It was a realm that could only be reached by training for a very long time.

　Considering the situation of the 【Black Mage】, one can understand how difficult it is to awaken to this 【Position(Job)】 and still be able to continue to strive without rotting.
　It's very painful mentally to still aim high while being denied the value of your existence by those around you.

　That's why people like Mauri Party are so precious.

　Upon hearing my words, Mauri-san bursts into tears.

''Thank you, Reme-dono. I'd like to have a chance to talk to you again if that's okay with you. And I would like to introduce those who are not here to you.

Yes, by all means.

　We shook hands firmly.
　Then Mauri-san turned around several times and went back to his friends.

I'm sorry I kept you waiting.

　I tell everyone, and Wraith-kun looks at me as if he wants to say something.

'Well?'　Leme.

Hmm?

There's nothing wrong with being an adventurer.

　.........Come to think of it, Wraith-kun was planning to make me a party member, not just this time.

''Yes, the five of us will work hard to get the victory. Yeah, it'll be fun.''

'Yes, but that's not what I mean. Mr. Mauri?　That guy, you know, [Black Mage] Leme impressed me. The interviewer said it too. 【Black Mage】 Reme is the star of hope for 【Black Mage】. With us, I think you can be Reme-san as Reme-san and become the hero that Reme-san wants to be, right?

　I am who I am.
　As the demon Remegaton, I don't want to hide my identity.
　As a human lemme, I'll be the brave one I've always wanted to be.

　That proposal was very, very tempting.

''Thank you, Wraith-kun. But--

'Aww, okay, don't tell me. I know I'm failing again. But you know what, Leme? I'm persistent.

　Lace-kun looks up at me with a nasty grin.

''I've inherited 'fortitude' from my father, you know.

　The [Indomitable Brave] Altriet.
　Formerly the world's number one ranked 【Brave man】. My admiration. The only brave person to reach first place without a spirit.
　The legendary being who awaits the challenger at the end of this tournament along with his master.

　And Wraith-kun's father.

　The current Wraith-kun has returned to respecting his father in a straightforward manner.
　Through the raid battle, he has become even stronger. Especially his heart.

　Indeed, it won't be easy to make him give up now.
　It's an extravagant affair, I chuckle.

''........''

　I suddenly realized.
　Fran-san was tugging on Lace-kun's sleeve.

'What the hell, Fran,'

...nothing.

You don't have to sulk. I'm relying on you, too.

I'm not sulking.

So you're hungry?

Yeah. I'm just hungry, that's all.

Hmmm?

　This is how I see them, though, they're two kids who are close friends.
　No, they're both kids. Just as kids, they are also strong adventurers.

''Yeah, I guess I'm getting hungry too.

Actually, I do too.

　As I said it, Jos-kun also raised his voice.
　Then a loud gurgling sound came from Melania's stomach.

　When I looked up at her, her face was red and teary-eyed.

''No, this isn't... well... it's not...''

It's normal to be hungry. Let's eat a lot of food to celebrate our victory. We need to get some sustenance so we can win again.

Yeah. Let's go.

　Wraith Party, the first stage of the main competition of the All Heavenly Festival competition - we are through.
　Four parties disappear here and we move on.