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“Um, where do you think we should move next, Sir Gwen?”

“It seems the seawater left on the outskirts is now gone. All that’s left are remnants that have long since decayed.”

“In that case, let’s move in a little further. If we go too deep, the Rangers will intervene.”

With that, Damian said as he gathered up the scattered game on the ground and moved further into the forest. Sir Gwen, standing next to him, grabbed one of the severed heads of the seawater and hung it on the cart to drag it along.

Dragging it like that would significantly reduce its value as a byproduct later on, but that wasn’t a problem for them. They already had plenty of substitutes piled up in the cart, so losing one among so many wouldn’t matter.

“Sigh…”

Robin, the apprentice knight assigned to pull the cart, looked at the mountain of monsters piling up in the cart and sighed.

He had volunteered for this role because he had experience from last year’s tournament, but things were going very differently from what he had imagined.

“Why is that guy suddenly so enthusiastic this year, when he usually takes things easy…”

It wasn’t that hard to understand. Given Damian was late this time, and he normally never made such mistakes, those around him had already speculated about what was driving him to act differently.

“Is this love…?”

“Excuse me?”

“Whoa! You startled me! Lesser House! Could you at least make some noise while you walk around?!”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Damian suddenly appeared right in front of him, carrying a wolf that he had just caught over his shoulder. An arrow was sticking right through its forehead. Apparently, he had managed to catch another one while Robin was lost in thought.

As Damian set the wolf down and returned to the cart, Robin pulled out the arrow lodged in the wolf he had left behind, tidied up, and then stabbed his dagger into the wolf’s neck once more.

Blood dripped from the cart, filling his view. As he continued this grim task, Robin felt like he might mentally crack under the strain. Trying to calm his uneasy heart, he looked around at the scenery, only to be met with the bloody massacre of seawater corpses.

Typically, this kind of role would be suited for someone with a strong stomach, and while Robin wasn’t weak in that regard, the continuous movement was stacking physical fatigue and mental exhaustion on top of each other, making him tire faster than usual. Meanwhile, everyone around him continued the hunt without showing signs of fatigue.

Even with a little more relaxation, victory seemed all but assured. Why were they rushing so much? If they kept going like this, there would be nothing left for the others to hunt.

Though Damian was late arriving in the forest, it didn’t take long for him to join the others. But since he had arrived late, it hung over his mind that throughout the tournament, they hadn’t taken a single break. They were moving forward without hesitation.

For seasoned superhumans like Damian and Gwen, it was no difficult task, but Robin was still just an apprentice knight. There was a reason he was labeled as such.

Though he was outstanding among the apprentice knights worthy of joining the Black Dragon Knights, trying to keep pace with the two was a challenge. Normally, Damian would check on his subordinates and give them breaks, but today seemed to be an exception.

However, for now, Robin still had the composure not to voice any complaints.

He thought perhaps this was punishment for wanting to enjoy the scenery quietly like last year, so he stretched his shoulders, tidied up the mountain of seawater corpses, and dragged the cart again.

After a while, he felt something’s presence not far away.

A raw, primal killing intent scratched at his skin. As soon as he sensed it, Robin hurriedly called out to Damian.

“Lesser House! Over there…!!”

Before he could finish his words, an arrow shot through the forest, disappearing into the darkness.

There was no hint of a dying struggle.

An explosive sound echoed through the woods, and then, the previous killing intent faded away. Robin stepped down from the cart to recover the body, but seeing that Damian hadn’t put away his bow yet, he pulled out an arrow from his saddlebag and handed it to him.

“Thank you, Sir Robin.”

Feeling the weight of the task, Robin again sighed heavily and hung the dagger he had strapped to his waist back onto the saddle.

Carrying all these seawater corpses had made the dagger a nuisance, with no purpose in sight.

It seemed multiple groups had simultaneously come to this place, as the sounds of cries were weaving a complex melody in his ears. This meant a lot of seawater monsters were targeting this cart, but there was no hint of concern on the faces of Damian and Gwen. They were quietly grinning, while Robin grimaced at the sight of the cart that had no more space left.

“How am I supposed to make room for this…”

Having already stuffed the cart beyond its limits, he seriously doubted there was enough space for all these guests.

*

“Do you think my brother is alright?”

Alphonse, watching the tournament from the balcony, suddenly remarked. Approaching him to figure out why, I soon understood.

Figures were emerging from the trees, one by one.

The Rangers, assigned to oversee the tournament, were carrying individuals who seemed injured by the seawater. Though Rangers were deployed throughout the woods to prevent accidents from occurring during the tournament, the scale of the event made it impossible to completely prevent such mishaps.

The bright side was that, as of yet, there had been no fatalities.

While monster subjugation could be dangerous, hunting tournaments typically didn’t lead to significant casualties given their scale. While the Runfroud Mountain Range was considered forbidden territory due to the countless monsters that resided deep within, the entrance of the forest was safe enough not to require worry over monster attacks unless winter arrived.

Still, there seemed to be more injuries than I had expected. Perhaps it was due to the relatively young age of the participants. After all, some of those competing were more interested in meeting royalty than hunting, which might explain the numerous injuries.

Despite Alphonse’s intelligence, witnessing injuries firsthand seemed to disturb him. The boy who had been unfazed by the fierce sparring with the Knights was now worried about his brother.

Experiencing something directly felt vastly different from hearing about it. It was a moment when the previously distant idea became a stark reality. Up until now, his trust in his brother had prevented such feelings from emerging, but he realized, conversely, that his brother could also get hurt like the others.

Once worries set in, they were difficult to extinguish. I, too, had stayed up at night over similar reasons.

Though there was no longer a need for such worries, I couldn’t share that revelation with Alphonse.

“Damian should be fine.”

It was Louis who first spoke out to comfort Alphonse.

Her expression remained unchanged, but the warmth in her gaze reminded me of sunlight. Though she was brief in speech, suggesting her words were short, I chose to add to Louis’s words by sharing a story of the time Damian had sparred with Gwen.

“Louis is right. You know best what kind of person Damian is, Alphonse. There’s no way he could lose to seawater monsters, especially since Gwen has them beat too.”

Moreover, the two were together right now.

Unless a dragon fell from the sky, there was no one who could oppose those two.

With those words, Alphonse seemed to calm a bit, managing a slight smile in my direction. He didn’t seem completely free of worry, but at least his expression brightened compared to before.

“….Right? I mean, it wouldn’t be a match for him against seawater monsters?! He must have hunted more of them than anyone else!!”

With a glimmer in his eyes, Alphonse turned his gaze back to the forest, and I couldn’t help but give him a bittersweet smile. It seemed he was eager for his brother to win, especially since it was his first time witnessing his brother in competition. But knowing his cautious nature, it was also likely he wouldn’t aim for victory despite his capability.

Having seen numerous times how he avoided situations where he could stand out due to his desire not to draw attention, I had no particular expectations for his victory this time. He always seemed satisfied maintaining the family’s honor without striving for more.

When I asked him later, he mentioned how rising in fame only invited troublesome matters, which struck me as a funny excuse for someone bearing the name Kraus.

Anyway, he had kept his distance from me for that reason, so it would be unlikely for him to aim for victory now.

Even if he were to try, it would probably be after he stepped into the role of the head of the family to preserve their reputation that he might pursue such goals.

However, there was something I hadn’t anticipated. That was, of course, Louis’s statement.

“Of course. I met with Damian yesterday, and he seemed much more motivated than usual. You can look forward to this time.”

As she glanced between me and Alphonse, her eyes sparkled, almost as if they mirrored Alphonse’s excitement.

What surprised me wasn’t just how long she spoke; it was how she affirmed Alphonse’s anxious thoughts. Of course, there was a possibility it was mere lip service, but I knew her well enough that she wouldn’t say such things lightly. With her nature, even in front of Alphonse, she would honestly express that he didn’t intend to aim for victory.

For Louis to say such a thing meant Damian was indeed serious about this tournament… was it because of Noel and Orcus?

So much had changed that it was hard to pinpoint why he was suddenly so motivated.

Claiming victory in this tournament was basically saying he would openly show his true abilities. That wasn’t a bad idea. With threats removed from this world, rising in fame wouldn’t hurt.

Yet, why did his newfound ambition tug painfully at a corner of my heart?

I didn’t understand what had changed him, but one of the factors that had kept him distant from me seemed to have vanished so easily, and it left me feeling quite unsettled.

For some reason, Louis’s gaze had not left me for a while now.

 

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