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The day of the tournament preliminaries arrived.

If there had been a letter of recommendation, it would have been straight to the finals.

The letter of recommendation could not be issued unless it was from a religious denomination.

Therefore, I had no choice but to take the preliminaries.

The format of the preliminary round was simpler than expected.

“If you want to spar, just come up and defeat the three people.”

Three people.

All you had to do was defeat three people in order.

I immediately climbed onto the podium.

OK-.

Was it because I was young?

Many people wanted to spar with me.

However, because it was first-come-first-served,

The three who came up earlier.

First of all, the first person seemed to be the same age as me.

“It doesn’t look like anything special.”

The other person’s words that seem to belittle me.

“You too.”

I also respond briefly,

I stood at the end of the podium.

and-.

He snapped his fingers with a more relaxed expression.

“The original law of the strong giving up players. You come in.”

To my mocking words-.

The other person could not hold back his anger and rushed at me, swearing at me.

“This bastard!!!”

I twisted my body slightly and hit the charging guy on the back with the spear.

Thanks to this, the guy who couldn’t control his speed fell to the bottom of the podium.

The result, of course, is the opponent’s elimination.

This is how I achieved my first victory.

The next person to appear was a middle-aged man.

He was a one-eyed swordsman who seemed to have some level of skill.

“Why don’t you just go down instead of getting hurt for no reason?”

“It’s no reason to worry.”

The one-eyed man frowned once,

I soon managed my facial expression.

“Then there is nothing we can do.”

A one-eyed man who gains momentum.

I rushed towards the one-eyed man.

The one-eyed man was not embarrassed and raised his sword at me.

Take advantage of that time.

I put my hands in my pockets.

He then sprinkled the sand he had put in his pocket toward the one-eyed man’s remaining eye.

A one-eyed man who gets visibly embarrassed when sand gets into his eyes.

I hit the solar plexus with the opposite end of the spear.

At the same time, the one-eyed man kneels and collapses.

“Such a coward… !”

The one-eyed man barely managed to squeeze out words from me.

What a coward-.

“Because there was no rule not to sprinkle sand. It’s your fault for letting your guard down.”

It was just an action to achieve an easy victory.

The person who suffered was stupid.

however-.

Was my behavior very wrong in the eyes of others?

Complaints arose from the mouths of fellow preliminaries who were watching.

“Me, me, me, you trash!”

“A guy who wants to be the hero’s colleague would use such a cowardly move?”

“Hey, come down right away! Because I will deal with you!”

like this.

Everyone wanted a fight with me.

but-.

Since one person has already been appointed-.

Competing was just a story.

I stood in front of the man.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Alex Kodmora.”

“Alex Kodmora?”

A strange name.

but-.

There was a reason it was strange.

I immediately approached the guy who introduced himself as Alex and punched him in the solar plexus.

There was no need to use a window.

At the same time, Alex Kodmora falls towards me.

I nodded, pushed Alex aside and came down from the podium.

There were many people who started a fight with me as I came down from the podium.

However, no one took action.

Maybe that’s natural.

Any argument outside the podium would result in elimination without mercy.

“See you in the finals. You fool who uses dirty tricks.”

“Tsk, from the looks of it, even if I make it to the finals, I’ll be eliminated right away.”

For now, I put their criticism aside and hurried back to the inn.

.

.

.

As soon as I arrived at the inn.

I read the note secretly handed to me by Alex Codmorra.

I pretended to hit the solar plexus.

He didn’t fit.

I just pretended to fall down.

In the meantime, he handed me a note.

“… As expected, it was like that.”

As expected, the note was sent from the rebels.

Alex Kodmora.

That was one of the rebels’ codes.

“Anyway… Be careful… .”

It was written in the note that people with considerable skills had disappeared.

I roughly expected it.

“That was the reason for that surveillance.”

The reason why I was under surveillance.

Those who appear to have skills will be dealt with in advance.

Well, that’s probably what it meant.

Because I was already expecting it,

It was worth it to deliberately make a cowardly move in the preliminaries.

“Anyway, all I had to do was get to the finals safely.”

We have already passed the preliminaries and advanced to the finals.

There will be no need to worry about surveillance anymore.

There was only one thing I had to do.

“I need to stamp my eyes properly.”

All I wanted to do was give the audience an idea of what kind of person a man named Eren was.

***

A few days after Aaron took part in the preliminaries.

The bracket has come out.

The bracket for the tournament.

Eren saw that and thought.

‘… According to the match-up, I will face the hero’s teacher last.’

However, it was a very obvious manipulation.

The author, who was said to be the hero’s teacher, had all his opponents be paladins.

On the other hand, the others were evenly mixed.

‘Were you planning on conserving your strength?’

The matchup for the warrior’s teacher seemed to have been planned and played.

As if to reserve strength for an unexpected situation.

but-.

It was of no concern to Eren.

No matter how strong the warrior’s teacher is.

Because Eren had confidence.

And so the day of Aaron’s first final match arrived.

The opponent seemed to have seen Aaron in the preliminaries.

“… That cowardly tactic won’t work on me.”

He talked about the atrocities that took place in the preliminaries.

Eren nodded.

surely-.

The opponent’s level seemed quite high.

Expert level level.

He was not an easy person to deal with.

but-.

Eren smiled.

“Anyway, the preliminaries were the last time I used a cowardly trick.”

In fact, the reason why such a cowardly tactic was used before the preliminaries was to avoid being noticed.

Difference between preliminaries and finals.

It was the presence or absence of an audience.

And the audience -.

How to give the spotlight to those who make the game fun.

Eren raised his spear.

and-.

I raised my mana.

Mana began to form on the tip of the spear, and gradually decreased.

The other person’s expression gradually hardens.

yet-.

Mana becomes an Auror -.

Cheers erupted from the stands of the stadium.

“Huh? So, Sword Master!”

“Look, can’t you see the weapon the author is holding? You must be a Spear Master!”

“Whatever it is, it’s a master. Who on earth is the author?”

“There are as many as three people who overcame the wall in this game. That’s interesting. After all, it’s a tournament to select the warrior’s companions!”

It was clearly recognized by the audience.

“What did you say the author’s name was?”

“Aren! You said Aaron!”

“Umm… ? Eren? I’ve never heard of it before?”

“No, wait… ? I think I’ve heard rumors of a person named Eren in the kingdom at the end of the continent? For sure… I remember being called a flawless mercenary.”

Aaron-.

Over the past two years.

He took over the rebel mission.

To be precise, it was advance work for a great cause.

rose to fame

As a good mercenary.

Eren had one goal.

The honor and cause to become stronger than anyone else and become the main force of the rebellion.

It was about getting it.

That’s why Eren’s fame, even if small, spread throughout the empire.

However, most people did not know what he looked like.

Anyway, that was the moment when the audience recognized the existence of Eren.

Eren smiled.

Because it went according to plan…

‘Even if you try to clean things up later, it’s already too late.’

Now the church will not be able to use any tricks.

If I used it for no reason, there was a huge risk of repercussions.

Because the existence of Eren was imprinted on the audience.

If it disappears for a moment, it naturally becomes full of questions.

The effect is even greater if it is a tournament that selects the warrior’s companions.

Now, Eren can do whatever he wants.

Eren slowly walked in front of his tournament opponent.

“Now, wait a minute, why did you use such a cowardly trick even if you had that much power?”

It was a natural question from the other person.

“It’s better if you can win without using any effort.”

Eren put an iron plate on his face and lied.

however-.

The person on the other end smiled after hearing Eren’s words.

“Hehe, then I was the one who had to reveal my power.”

Eren was inwardly embarrassed.

It was simply a choice to attract attention.

The other person wasn’t that level of existence.

“… I will surrender. Still, it doesn’t feel too bad.”

So Eren-.

We accepted the first surrender that we did not even understand.

***

The basement of the cult.

There Archbishop Albert kicked.

The opponent is the Black Knight who was watching Eren.

The black knight who had been hit on the shin fell down and apologized.

“Sorry.”

Archbishop Albert sighed deeply.

“Obviously… Didn’t I tell you to monitor it properly? Was my name funny? Missing out on someone with that level of skill?”

The Black Knight hastily excused himself.

“I never dreamed that he hid his powers. Because I won the preliminaries in a cowardly way… ”

Archbishop Albert interrupted the Black Knight.

“It was an excuse. … There’s nothing I can do when it’s like this. I have no choice but to trust Director Uliver.”

Archbishop Albert sighed deeply.

plan.

In order for the plan to succeed, Uliver had to become the warrior’s companion.

“Tsk, this is why I’ve been suggesting all along not to do tournaments like this.”

The Pope’s enforcement.

The tournament proceeded with that force.

The reason was simple.

In order to publicize the health of the denomination,

In short, the purpose was to showcase the strength of the denomination.

“After all, the Pope is just as frustrated as the old men in their closets.”

If even Uliver loses.

It was Archbishop Albert who felt the need to modify the plan somewhat.

“I don’t think Director Wooliver will lose, but I can’t help it. I need to plan the next best solution in advance.”

*

Uliver could not hide his mixed feelings.

Aaron-.

A man who did not exude energy on the outside, but seemed strangely ominous.

That’s why I entrusted it with surveillance…

Master.

Isn’t this someone who has reached the same level as you?

“Wooliver, is it possible?”

This was Archbishop Albert’s question.

Uliver was worried. And gave an answer.

“… I do not know. However, considering his age, I think he lacks experience.”

I’m not sure though.

Experience was a great weapon.

Especially if it is a match between people who have reached the same level.

but-.

Despite Uliver’s answer, Archbishop Albert frowned.

“I don’t want such an ambiguous answer. Please answer again.”

“I will win.”

“… I believe it. There’s no way you’d lose to a kid like that.”

Archbishop Albert said that and left.

Uliver is left alone.

I thought about it carefully.

Instinctive repulsion.

I felt that way when I first saw a man named Eren.

I wasn’t aware that the state was hidden.

Just instinct.

‘Why did I judge him to be dangerous?’

Because of that instinct, he was selected as a dangerous person and placed under surveillance.

I thought about it for a while, but couldn’t come up with an answer.

so that-.

Uliver decided to think about only one thing.

“Okay, Aaron… . He’s just something I have to defeat. Nothing more or less.”

It was Uliver who decided to focus on the future sparring.