The semi-finals of the tournament to determine the challenger for the Reioh contest.
　My opponent is a refreshing young man named Kapito, a dog-beast man.

Are you nervous?
Oh, yes. It's my first time at ...... and...
Hmm?
I never thought I'd see the day when I'd have to face my dream of becoming a second champion: ...... I wish I could have told myself that a few months ago.

　I'm honored.

Well, can I tell you one thing about that adoring me?
Yes, what is it?
Stop calling it that double crown.
What? You don't like ......?
No. We're about to win the Triple Crown. We're going to have eight crowns next season and it's complicated, right?
'...... Ah, haha!　All right, Mr. Second. But I'm going to stop him!
I wish!

　He's fired up. I'll get my engine running.

Both of you, move into position!

　The referees tell them to keep their distance from each other.

　In the case of the Spirit King match, the prescribed positions are even slightly further apart than in the other title matches. It's so that when both sides summon demons and spirits forward, it's at the proper distance.


''--Begin!

　The command was given.
　Capito-kun invoked the 《Magic Summon》 without a pause. It's quite a reflex.

''Oh!''

　The arena buzzed.


　He summoned an "Earth Dragon". It was a gigantic, earth-attributed dragon about seven to eight meters long.

　I see. If he was able to "tame" this thing, it was no wonder he was able to gain experience at a brisk pace.


"Possession.

　With the Earth Dragon in front of me, I summoned Angolmore and activated Spiritual Possession almost simultaneously. It is an effective way to eliminate the "gaps" that summoners often have, by cutting down as much waste as possible, even if it is only a few tenths of a second.

''d*mn it ......!

　Kapito-kun seemed to have read it. After seeing my 《Spirit Possession》, he retreated to hide behind the Earth Dragon.

　The weakness of the Summoner is the Summoner itself. It must have been a wary move, "If it's targeted, it's over.


　Well, everyone would think so.

　In addition, in my case, I'm raising various skills, such as 【Swordsmanship】, 【Arbowmanship】, 【Shielding】 and 【Magic Arts】. In other words, the amount of accumulated experience is not half bad. In other words, you can see how high his net status is. From there, he further increased his total status by 4.5 times with the Spirit Possession, so he is more than strong enough without using any of the various skills. He is now a human weapon in the flesh.

　So the audience would all think that by taking advantage of that 4.5 times uncommon STR and AGI, quickly approaching Kapito-kun and giving him a shot, it would be settled in an instant.


　That wouldn't be fun.

　Greatly active and moderately provocative. Then the plan was to gather all the lucky ones for the summer title fight. This is not limited to the Eishou battle.

　Therefore, we have to play again today. No, I want to play.


　...... Earth Dragon. Its strength is said to be about as strong as the Green Dragon to Red Dragon in the Metio Dungeon. It's about twice as strong as the white dragon.

　Time limit, 1 hour. Weapons, none. The only skill, "Spirit Summoning". Can you go: ......?


No, let's go.
"(What?　(Doesn't that mean I'm not going to get out?)
(You'd have a moment if you went off the rails. That would be boring.)
(Do I have a bone in my body?
I'll hope for the best.
(...... By the way, what are you doing unarmed against a ground dragon?
(No, I'm just trying to blow the audience away.)
"(Okay. I, no, no way. ...... Hey, wait, hey!　My second!　(Or at least use a sword!)
(Boring.)
(Hey, hey!　No!　I don't know if you like that phrase!　(Hey!)


　I struck the Earth Dragon with my bare hands while possessing Angolmore.


''Yeah!'' -- and. You can hear the astonishment from all over the auditorium. Thank goodness, it seems to have been a lot of fun.

　My punch is a critical hit. The damage is only a hair's breadth away from 《Infantry Sword Art》. Hmm, if this is a critical hit, well, it's not impossible to go.

　Was the Earth Dragon in pain, "Guoan! He groaned and twisted his body to fight back. He turned his face away in a diagonal downward direction. It's a preliminary motion for a tail attack.

''Ho.''

　I get down on the spot and avoid the tail. With a buzzing sound like the air is being ripped open, a huge tail with a bump on it the size of a light car passes overhead. Oh scary.

　Now, it's our turn. While in 《Spirit Possession》, my AGI increases to a shitload, which allows me to stand around like an instantaneous movement, so I have enough room to duck the opponent's attacks. And your STR is increased as well. In other words, if you want to gain damage, now is the time to do it.

''Ola-la-la-la!''

　Beat up the Earth Dragon's legs with an octopus. You're going to cut off its HP while accumulating its down value.

''(It will run out soon)'

　In a good place, the time for "Spirit Possession" is coming up. That was fast, 310 seconds had already passed. The next use will be available in 250 seconds. Until then, I'm completely raw.

''Huh. ......''

　The possession is released. I felt as if my body suddenly became heavy.
　However, the Earth Dragon didn't care and attacked me.

''Aang!''

　I squealed dumbly. Breath comes. I made an evasive maneuver in a large circle around the Earth Dragon. Immediately after, the Earth Dragon spat out a beam like a pyroclastic flow from its mouth. If you know it's coming, it's not a difficult attack to avoid.

　If I was in possession here, I would have turned to attack, but unfortunately I couldn't use it for another 231 seconds. Hence, I'm going to focus on evasion.

　When I jump up, I'll give the cue to press. Better to run perpendicular to the direction of the Earth Dragon's movement and avoid it at all costs.

　When I take two steps back, that's my cue to charge. If you pull it back to the very edge and then jump back to either side, you can avoid it without fear of being chased.

　...... Well. In the meantime, 250 seconds have passed since the last time you used it.

'Possession.'

　Approximately 560 seconds per set. The time limit is 3600 seconds. That means he only has 6 and a half more times to repeat this. Would he be able to defeat the Earth Dragon with that?

　It's a sensible way to go ......, I think. That's a gamble.

　Oh my God, you're twitching.

It's a gamble. ......



　　* * *



　I was just stunned by the scene in front of me.

　Before the game. I was sure that Second-san was going to come after me while he was possessed by a spirit.
　It was just a matter of my partner's ability to prevent that from happening. That's what I thought.


　That's what ...... is all about.

　I'm not sure I'd want to be the one to hit an earth dragon with my bare hands.

　But a dragon?　Is it possible?　No, no, no, no. No way.

　I thought the guy was actually a jerk, but as time went on, I began to understand his intentions.

　But as time went on, I began to understand what Mr. Second's intentions were.
　That's what I mean by "captivate". It's part of his never-ending fascination with the world.

　We were in the middle of a fight and I was mesmerized.

　That was awesome! You're the best, man. ......



Orac!　You see that?　Just in time!

　With less than ten seconds left in the match, Mr. Second stunned the Earth Dragon.


　He had won, he had won. He had beaten the Earth Dragon for an hour, barehanded, with his bare hands.

　Five seconds left. If I ran away from him, both of us would have no HP loss, so we would be tied.


　Well, I wouldn't do that. How embarrassing.

I'm here.

　I gave him a smile and resigned.


"Enough!　Winner, second first test!

　--Moment. The entire arena erupted in unprecedented cheers.

　There was no way it could not be exciting. Beating him in the last 10 seconds was like a play.


　I think it was a gamble for Mr. Second. He was daring to take a chance on the edge of the line, to see if he could go or not. Otherwise, he would have been armed with a sword or something. In this stage of the Spiritual King's War, Second-san must be the only one who would make such a bet.

　''Licked?　Speak up, you fool. You deserve to be licked. There's a world of difference in their abilities. I'd rather be thankful that you couldn't kill me in the blink of an eye and make it a good match. Besides, it's Second-san. Even if he couldn't defeat the Earth Dragon, I think he would have fought with his bare hands until the end. Even if it was a draw or a loss.


　...... That's still the same. I say what I want to say and do what I want to do. He has the core to do it, and he has the strength to do it. Nothing has changed since I first saw Mr. Second. Nothing.

　That guy said "the adventurer's guild is bad" in the adventurer's guild against a rookie hunting adventurer. Openly and clearly. Moreover, he looked around at each and every person in the guild. I'm an F-ranked adventurer who just registered. He said, "A teacher has an obligation to take care of and watch out for students who aren't doing well. Yes, I said.

　When our eyes met, a shock went through my entire body. At the same time, I was deeply ashamed of myself for unintentionally looking away. I was ashamed, and I was ashamed.

　I'll never be that person again.

　I want to be just like her.

　I should be able to say what I want to say and do what I want to do, and I should be strong and strong to the core.


Good luck in the finals.
You don't have to tell me. I'm gonna blow everybody's mind. Oh, and I'm having a triple crown party tomorrow and you're coming too.
Yes!　I'll definitely go: ...... Absolutely!

　Nice loss.

　I'm not done yet. I'm not done yet.
　Even though I'd lost, I was filled with enthusiasm for the game.

　Okay, let's go to ......!



　　* * *



Second, better place. I need you to do me a favor.

　After the first game, I was walking down the aisle to go to the bleachers when suddenly I was approached from behind.

''Ah?　What a mine. What's up with this place?

　When I turned around, it was Mine there.

'Watch your language. But more importantly, I need to ask you to do something for me.
'Oh?　Uh, just say it anyway.

　It's a bit strange, but perhaps it's because we're in the outside world. His Majesty is still struggling as always.

We've received reports that a large number of demons have been occurring in the Royce dungeon. We've received reports of a large number of demons in the Lois dungeon, and the only person who can confirm and deal with them is the second person. Would you please go and check on it?
Lois. You're welcome.
...... eh.
What's going on?
Is the Reigning King's War in order?

　Oh, I see. I thought Mine didn't know that Anko existed?　I've already visited most of the major spots around the King's Capital with Anko, just in case this happens. You can move around as much as you want.

''Don't worry, I'll take care of it.
'I see. Well, it's nice to meet you then.

　Nodding with a chuckle, Mine left.

　Is that guy going to be okay on his own without an escort?

　Hmm ...... Well, okay, it's not about that, it's about the mass of demons in the Lois dungeon. "Stampede" event?　It's too abrupt for that, and the demons in the dungeon don't come out of the dungeon in the first place. ...... What's that?

　Okay, let's go. I don't want to sit here and think about it. I'll find out when I get there.






There's nothing here!

　I was angry.

　I asked Anko to transfer to the Lois dungeon, but the area around the entrance didn't look any different. I investigated the surrounding area and didn't see any significant changes. I took a quick lap around the dungeon just to be sure, but in the end, it was just a plain Lois dungeon until the very end.

　As a result, I only wasted a little over an hour of my time. I made it to the next game, but I didn't get to watch Mr. Slim vs. Big Horn in the semifinals.

'Mein mein ...... No, someone who put in a false alarm ......!

　There's no point in getting mad at Mine, so I grow bitter at someone who put in a false alarm.

　After transitioning to a secluded shadow at the back entrance of the arena, I go inside and walk down the aisle. There doesn't seem to be time to stop by the bleachers in time.


'Oops.'

　I saw Mr. Capito at the end of the aisle. I wondered if he'd come to support me in anticipation of me going straight to him.

What's up, my backup--

Second. You're the one who owes me your best friend. If you want it back, you'll lose the next game.

............ Yes?

　The important people?

What do you mean?
You're a hostage. You lose and I'll tell you.

　Mr. Capito said only that, and turned his back on me and left.

　You mean that you took someone I care about ...... hostage?


　............ Yeah, what's that for?

　We haven't heard from Yukari yet.
　And I don't think Sylvia and Eco are behind anyone anywhere.

　Was Capito the character who said that in the first place?

　Hmmm ......?


......, for what it's worth.

　He was telling me to lose the next game, but I'm not sure. It doesn't seem to matter, and it's a final as it is.

　I walked down the aisle and out onto the stage.
　My opponent was already there, waiting for me.

　A tall, slender man in a tailed suit with a silk hat. Yeah, I knew in one fell swoop. So that's Mr. Slim.

　Yeah, but a hell of a popular guy. I mean, I show up, the crowd comes up to me and they cheer. Good thing I had to sneak in there and practice signing autographs.


"The Second!　Good luck!

　Oh, Capito, you're also cheering me on from the contestant's bleachers.
　I waved back "thank you".


　.............

　...................

　Hmm!

　What did you mean earlier about the hostages?


What can I do for you?　Second Double Crown

　When I was confused, Slim spoke to me about something.

'No, I'm a little confused about something.
That's a big deal. Don't worry about me, please resolve it on your end.

　Slim takes his silk hat and bows. It's quite nice. Pigeons look like they're coming out of the hat.

Thank you for this. But I'll wait until after the game.
Shall I?

　I squint and put my silk hat back on.

　Hmm?　Now, something .......

"Both in position.

　Follow the referee's instructions and move on.


　...... ahh ...... haha, I see. Now I know what the discomfort is (...).

　That's why Capito-kun would advise you. It's true that the people of this world would find this thing quite troublesome.

You'll be very welcome.

　Slim bowed like a gentleman. That belly is not a gentleman in the slightest, but it's a peculiarity.


　...... You've done a lot of work for me, man. I'll show you what I'm talking about.

'Yeah, nice to meet you. Chameleon (・・・・・) messenger.