Volume 6 Chapter 34 Awareness Of Involvement
"It's true—I wasn't planning to give it my all. I don't care if I lose... but doesn't this feel a little sloppy?"
"Don't whine while munching on mushroom pasta."
Because of Masamitsu's slash, only Masamitsu, Horace, Ivan, and Sumeragi remained inside the venue. The rest of us got booted outside.
Thinking, This is gonna be a pain, I headed to the food court nearby. That's when I overheard someone say a powerful monster had appeared—and it was heading straight for the Blood Duel Cup grounds.
Naturally, the venue was packed with skilled participants.
But the monsters that showed up were so ridiculously strong, they posed a serious threat to humanity.
Some people recognized them from old legends, and the venue quickly fell into chaos.
...Yet, not everyone panicked. Some folks stayed calm—some even kept selling stuff at the gravity shop like nothing was happening.
Zachariah, buying mushroom pasta at one of those stalls, grumbled about Masamitsu's sudden move.
Rivela, standing next to him, gave him a half-hearted warning.
"Ms. Rivela, you're holding a vanilla shake... you're pretty calm, huh?"
"It looked good."
"...I see."
Cain sighed.
As the commander of the Diamante Kingdom's Knight Order, he was technically supposed to handle emergencies like this, especially those coming from inside the domestic dungeon.
But since he'd already been defeated, maybe it was time for him to take over managing the event from Abel. Not that he'd tried contacting anyone.
"Brother."
"Oh, Abel. How did it go?"
Cain's younger twin, Abel, walked up.
The two had identical faces and builds.
Abel had light purple hair and a messy look, while Cain kept his short and neat.
Cain's expression was bright and serious, while Abel looked like he'd just rolled out of bed.
It was easy to see: Cain was the model student type. Abel, not so much.
But even with that lazy air, Abel had joined the knights at the same time as his brother—and now served as vice-captain. His strength wasn't something to take lightly.
"You're the vice-captain, Abel? You really do look just like your brother."
"Yeah... not always a good thing. People talk to me nonstop."
"I can imagine."
"They always dump stuff on me, saying they're too busy."
"Even though you're twins, you handle people totally differently. Anyway—got any updates?"
Zachariah asked, still chewing his food.
"Yeah. The ones behind this are the Bismuth Federation. They wanted to disrupt the 'magnificent Blood Duel Cup.'"
"Wait, you already know who did it?"
"They were chatting away while using discount-level soundproofing magic tools. Pretty careless.
I mean, come on—it's the Blood Duel Cup. Wrecking it like this is unacceptable. The official reason doesn't matter. His Majesty gave us magic tools for broadcasting. We're supposed to use them in battle."
"...Now I get why Masamitsu kicked us out."
"What would you have done if we hadn't gone along with it?"
"I'd have handled everything myself."
"Well, Abel probably could've pulled it off."
"Heh... just from the atmosphere, you can kinda tell, right? 'A little strong,' maybe? Think you can take on three opponents at once?"
"There's no worse evaluation than 'a little strong' when you're talking about an SS-Rank Community Leader."
"So what do you think, Royal Sorcerer of the Azette Kingdom Court?"
"...'A little strong,' I guess."
"No difference at all, huh."
The mood wasn't tense at all.
"Well, if you're asking whether I can handle it, yeah—I can. It's just a matter of luring them in."
"Luring, huh... Makes sense. We were always going to fight them inside the dungeon. It's only natural to set up a trap using a magic tool."
"Even if I were in charge, I'd probably do the same. So... are we telling the others who got knocked out?"
Abel glanced around. Zachariah, Rivela, and Cain were there, but five others had also been eliminated from the Blood Duel Cup.
"Of course. No one really seems like they want to start trouble, but... if asked, they'll probably fight. Probably."
"That's pretty careless."
"I don't really wanna cause trouble either."
"You're the Knight Commander, aren't you? Shouldn't you act like it?"
"I'm not feeling it. There might still be some mushroom pasta left."
"This is a Blood Duel Cup emergency. You work for the Bloodline Nation's court—get serious."
"So, Ms. Rivela. Are you motivated?"
"Not at all."
"...What is with these people?"
Abel let out a deep sigh.
"Well, if they're going to join in, I'll go talk to the others."
"Good luck."
And with that, Abel jogged off to find the rest.
"...There are still a few inside the venue. I'll leave them to those four. But there are three more still outside. That makes eight people who got kicked out... how are we splitting them?"
"Hm..."
There were twelve participants in total.
Four were still on stage. That left eight outside.
But dividing them evenly was tricky.
"Mr. Zachariah."
"What is it, Cain?"
"If you and I sit this one out, that leaves six. We can split them into three pairs."
"...Not bad."
"Stop slacking off, you idiots."
For now, there's only one thing I can say:
Rivela alone isn't enough to handle all the tsukkomi around here.
Notes:
• Masamitsu - Known as the Holy Knight. Member of the 'Moonlight Nine'. His appearance is not described. He expresses concern about Horace being in the spotlight, indicating a friendly or cautious relationship.
• Sumeragi - One of the Five Divine Gods, known as the 'God of Iron-Slicing.' He introduces himself with a pleasant smile and seems to have a purpose in meeting Horace.
• Zachariah - Known as the Hundred-Heaven Blade. Court sorcerer of the Azette Kingdom. His appearance is not described. He congratulated Horace on his promotion, suggesting a respectful relationship.
• Rivela - Leader of 'Muspelheim' and wielder of the 'Great Flame Sword Surt.' She is 18 years old, energetic, and a participant in the Blood Duel Cup. She earned the nickname 'Unscalable' for creating a huge wall of flames during a monster rampage.
• Cain - A 14-year-old beautiful boy with short, light purple hair. Newly appointed Commander of the Diamante Kingdom Knight Order. Highly talented and efficient, tasked with managing the 'Forest of Souls' dungeon and participating in the Blood Duel Cup. Twin brother of Abel.
• Abel - Cain's twin brother. Works in the castle and serves as the dungeon management supervisor. His role allows Cain to focus on his duties without worry.
• Bismuth Federation - A federation of small nations united as a single community. Originally planned to host the Blood Duel Cup but was overshadowed by Diamante Kingdom. Known for its massive debt and desire to maintain appearances.
• Ran - A silver-haired, busty, and beautiful young girl with a dominating spirit. She is one of the 'Four Source Maidens' and is deeply affected by her mother's disappearance.
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