We were able to get to the mansion in about an hour and a half by running a tanicase.

Jin and the others seem nervous about meeting Grandpa, but my prediction is that it's time for more nervous people.

As usual, there were a lot of people in front of the mansion, but when I brought the carriage closer, it paved the way for me comfortably, so the poor quality people such as resentment (...) don't seem to be there today.

"Open the door!"

When I give my orders in front of the gate, two golems grow up by the gate and open the gate to guide the carriage.

Proceeding straight in front of the front door, there was a familiar plain carriage that was not from the house at the carriage yard. Apparently, my predictions have come true.

"I'm home."

When I stood in front of the front door, the door opened to match.

"Welcome home, Master Tenma"

There was Aura who welcomed her with a beautiful bow...... sister.

When her sister (Aina) raised her head, she saw her sister (Aura) rushing here.

"Welcome home, Master Tenma!

"I'm home. And Aina. I brought four guests today, so please prepare your meals and accommodations."

"I'm in awe. Aura, show the customer to the reception room. And Lady Tenma, a customer is waiting with Lady Merlin."

In Eina's response, Aura's presence diminishes. Recently, I've been doing something like a maid director of this mansion with one hassle, so I have a habit of sticking with Aina and asking her to do things.

"Okay. Is the place Grandpa's room?

Aina nodded at my question.

It's the two of us who come to the house at this time of year and come up with a pah with someone like waiting in Grandpa's room. In the meantime, I don't think my parents are just silent around me (especially my wife), so it would be my son... when I go to my grandpa's room thinking etc...

"Hey!"

A muscular man was there. Besides, he's my son, as expected.

"I knew it was my son"

Sir of the Army (Master Lyle) with his neck over my words. Grandpa seemed to have guessed everything just by my words, laughing and teaching Master Lyle.

The three of us just laughed a little, and I remembered that Master Lyle had something to discuss.

"Does Master Lyle know Shadow Crimson?

Lady Lyle and Grandpa's eyes sharpened in my words, and they stared at me.

"Tenma... what happened?

"To purposefully put that name out in front of me doesn't mean I'm half interested. Did you get any information?

While I was a little surprised by the reaction between the two of them, I told them that Leena had witnessed someone like that.

"I don't know... I know what's going on, but I can't move the knights just because I heard him say it again. I'm sorry, but I need you to call that Lena."

When I heard the words, I went to the reception room to get Leena, and there was a member of the Dawn Sword, who was quite relaxed. There are also slurrins around, snacking (but only two wolves and a dragon).

"Leena, I'm sorry, but can you come?

"Is that me? Okay."

She seemed a little suspicious that she was the only one called, but Leena followed me without asking anything.

"I brought you"

Seemed uncomfortable with the words I used, but I ignored Leena, who was wondering, and put her through the room.

"I heard you needed something... Dear Lyle! Excuse me!

Leena, distracted by her grandfather and delayed in noticing Master Lyle, immediately knelt and bowed her head when she noticed or no.

"This isn't an official place, take it easy. Than that. I heard from Tenma that you saw Shadow Crimson's remnant-like... for sure?

"Yes! There was a little distance, but I saw someone similar to the trait I was hearing about, and when I saw him there with me, he went into a narrow alley in an unnatural way... I just can't say for sure that he's a member of Shadow Crimson..."

Leena remains nervous after she finishes talking and still bows her head on her knees.

Master Lyle still looks difficult with his arms around him, even after he's finished listening to Lena. Looks like he's thinking something.

"Dear Lyle, was there a problem as well?

After hearing my words, Master Lyle finally opened his mouth.

"No, it's not. I want you to keep this to yourself, but the truth is that there have been several reports in the last month that I have seen those shivers in towns and villages close to the king's capital. I guess we should do a proper search once."

Yes, as Master Lyle spoke with a serious face, I saw a luxurious carriage stop in front of the gate of the house through the window.

The carriage is coming through the gate and towards the front door of the mansion without being stopped by the golem of the gatekeeper.

"Apparently, Mr. Lyle has a visitor."

I could imagine what kind of person came, and I told Master Lyle that.

"Huh? Customer to me?... No way!

Master Lyle rushes to the front door. When we went after Master Lyle, who was left in the room, Aina was just waiting at the front door to open the door.

Shortly before Aina opens the door, Master Lyle is fast-tracked, familiar and upright immovable, and looks pretty awkward.

When we arrived next to Master Lyle, the carriage stopped in front of the open doorway and a woman came down.

"I knew you were here, Lyle."

With a smile, but listening to a voice containing sharp pressure, not only Master Lyle, but all the humans who were on the spot sweated cold.

"No, Mother. There's a reason for this..."

"What is it? Is that more important than royal work?

Lyle finally put me in front of Maria, who was in danger of increasing her sharpness.

"As a matter of fact, I heard stories from Tenma about crime prevention that I couldn't overlook, and I was about to take action!

"Well, yes, Tenma... no, better than that. Congratulations, Tenma."

That's what I'm saying. I'm gonna hug you, Dear Maria. After holding me tight, I noticed Leena behind me.

"You are certainly from the Viscount Trinito family.."

"Yes! My name is Leena. It's just that I'm away from the Trinito family, so I'm not named right now."

"Yes... so, what's your relationship to Tenma?

In her increased sharpness gaze, Leena clearly...

"I'm a friend!

That's what I said. Maria smiles at the words, and the pressure that was directed at Leena goes weak.

"Speaking of which, you were on the team, too. Good luck...... Lyle, I'm coming! And I'm excited to hear from His Majesty about using Tenma as a pretext. Aina, you don't have to come home today."

"I'm in awe"

That's what I'm saying, and I'm going to collect Master Lyle, Master Maria. Master Lyle understood that the excuses for using me were falling apart and followed Maria with great care, even though she blued her face.

"Well, shall we make it dinner?"

Aina, who closed the door, headed to the kitchen as if nothing had happened.

When I took Grandpa and Leena to the reception room, there were three people there who were quiet enough to kill their breath, and Jeanne and Aura were laughing bitterly beside them.

"What are you doing, all three of you?

"No, because... when I thought I heard" Master Lyle "or" Master Maria, "all of a sudden I felt awesome and pressured... then it's normal to watch things quietly"

Menace and Galat nodding at Jin's words. Because of this, Jeanne and Aura are laughing bitterly because they were able to do that, so they saw the reaction of the three of them and felt how uneven their senses were.

There have been no major happenings since then. It has been a noisy meal for a long time. At the beginning of the meal and elsewhere, the four people who were nervous about "Merlin the Sage" also had a light drink in them (as did Grandpa), and even more the Namitaro intrusion seemed to relieve them of the nervousness, all excited about my stories and the games.

Jin and Garratt seemed to have slept just early at night, but Menace and Leena had a girls-talk late at night with the women at home.

The next morning, I felt signs and went out to the garden, where there were Jin and Garat.

"Hey!"

"Morning practice?

As I greeted the two of them, I looked at them and made sure they were recovering a lot.

"If this looks like it, don't get back to fighting somehow by tomorrow."

Two people snorting at my words. There is no complete recovery, and the worst case scenario is likely to be avoided: if you do poorly, you may just be able to do it unilaterally, but still abstain or burden the women alone.

"Honestly, I don't even know if I can win the first round, but at least I'm going to be on stage."

"Oh, Jin is right. You won't get a prize for not showing up."

Garratt's prize money is like a participation prize given to a contestant. Though it's 10,000 G in monetary terms, considering the cost of lodging and living in Wangdu, I would like to have something to give you at all.

Plus, if you can win, you get a bonus.

The Dawn Sword, although it has Gin's personal battle third-place prize, also has injuries and weapon damage, so it didn't make that much money.

Besides, maybe at an auction to be held after the tournament, he wants to make as much room as he can because he may have digs.

"Well, in the worst case scenario, we're just talking about doing adventurer activities near Wang Du!

He will be in the main race as a party, and even the individual will have a pretty good rating for Dawn Sword, where Garratt is in the main race and Jin is in third place. With that in mind, it is almost certain that you will get a better job than the market.

"But don't push it too hard... just don't sleep well when you two die"

"" Don't say things that aren't even close!

When they shouted in solidarity, they were a little tired or breathing on their shoulders.

"Are you all right? Don't push it."

"Whose fault is it, not at all"

"Jin, it's no use saying it. Tenma will enjoy it."

As Garratt put it, I enjoyed the whole thing, and I started practicing in the morning instead of two people sitting nearby.

He finished his morning practice with streams such as first relaxing his body, running lightly through the garden, bareback, self-flow moulding, magic control exercises, and finally organizing gymnastics......

Along the way, it was joined by recovered gin and galat, as well as Menace and Leena, who woke up, making it a busy morning practice.

At the time of finishing my morning practice, Aina, who brought Jeanne and Aura, brought me a towel and a water bottle, so I took a short break before breakfast.

"Speaking of which, no one's going to see today's game?

Everyone shook their heads to the side of my simple question.

Apparently, no one's interested in a game that I don't know.

"Mostly, they say there are more players who are inferior to each other than individuals or teams."

In Jin's words, Menace added a supplement.

"The guy who generally does it as an adventurer, he moves individually or throws a party, right? So there are a lot of brothers, lovers, and couples around who work alone. Besides, the game dates are coming to midday, so people who go out to individuals or on teams tend to be estranged. As a result, less famous guys compete"

"Well, some of them are capable, only in a pair of tournaments"

It seems to be true that Leena was following, but lacks much excitement compared to individuals and teams.

"That's why I look at you... every year some people think like that, but most of the time, they get hit by a pair of genuine regulars."

The pair said that most of the people who compete in the tournament as they do every year will go on to the main race, and that there were no pairs of first-time contestants in the tournament either.

"So for today, you mean we're all adults... anyway, Jin and the others should stay today"

"I appreciate that, but I have to show my face to the inn."

When I heard the name of the inn because Jin said so, Grandpa reacted to the name.

"Oh, I'll talk to you there. My husband is from our hometown."

I'm surprised too, but they say it's the shop of someone who was staying in Kukri Village.

That's why Grandpa took Menace and Leena to the inn after dinner.

The only reason my companions are Menace and Leena is because they can't take Jin and Garratt, who haven't completely healed yet, and Grandpa can't go into the women's room that the two of them owe me, so I'm supposed to go with them.

"I can't get along and you two should take a pill and rest when you're done eating"

That's what I said, and I gave the two of them the pills.

When I gave Jeanne the refill just after that, Jeanne told me that she needed to talk to me a little bit and that she was going to the room.

"So, what happened?

When I walked into Jeanne's room, there was Aura and Aina, and they surrounded me like they wouldn't let me get away with it.

"Actually, it's about the usual medicine..."

Jeanne started talking while I gave her a vial of the medicine I gave her.

"This medicine...... what is it? Since I started taking this medicine, not only has my body been feeling better, but it feels like it's going up to magic... this isn't normal medicine, is it?

In response to Jeanne's words, she opened her mouth to see how I was going to mislead her.

"Dear Tenma, we know who the ingredients of this medicine (...) are. So answer me honestly. What is it, this medicine?

When I hear Aina's words, I realize it seems impossible to deceive her. So I decided to be honest with you.

"The identity of this medicine is a potion of my blood."

"Why did you use that on these two?

Hearing my answer won't change your complexion, Eina. Conversely, Jeanne and Aura look subtle.

"Simply because Jeanne needed medication with my blood. As Eina would know, the blood of a highly magical creature can sometimes be a drug... that's what Jeanne used my blood for."

By the way, it's deceptive, but it's true about the effects of blood. So to speak, you might want to think it feels close to drinking the blood of a spoon.

"So long, was that why... but did you also need it for Aura?

"No, Aura is Jeanne's besides"

"Terrible!"

Aura had just put in a reaction, but me and Aina totally ignored it.

"So why did this drug make Jeanne and Aura more magical?

"Maybe it was because of my strong magic. On rare occasions, when you consume the flesh of a powerful demon, your magic improves. Have you ever heard of it?

These things can also be found in legends and legends of previous life. It is the same as, for example, the story of being immortalized after bathing in dragon blood, or eating mermaid meat for a long time.

However, in this world where magic and magic actually exist with fantasy creatures called demons, eating demons and gaining power temporarily or semi-permanently is a well-established phenomenon. It's just a really rare story...

"I think it's to say that my blood suits both of us. It's just that drinking too much can be poisonous the other way around, so I was hoping it would be time to stop."

"Were you...... ok. Just never tell anyone this story. And Jeanne and Aura. If the story spreads, there will never be anyone who thinks otherwise."

Jeanne and Aura nodding silently at Aina's words. Even for me, I honestly nodded because I didn't want to get into that kind of trouble.

Name... Jeanne

Age.. 14

Race... People

Title... Virgin, former Viscount Lady, slave of Tenma

HP.. 3000

MP.. 12000

Muscle Strength.. C-

Defense.. c-

Fast... C +

Magic... A +

Mental strength.. C +

Growth power.. A +

Luck.. B

Skills... Light Magic 6, Vitality Enhancement 5, Magic Enhancement 5, Patience 5, Water Magic 4, Swordsmanship 4, Abnormal Resistance 4, Resilience Enhancement 4, Fire Magic 3, Soil Magic 3, Bar 3, Growth Enhancement 3

Protection... protection of the goddess of love, protection of the goddess of the earth, protection of the goddess of life

Name... Aura

Age.. 16

Race... People

Title... Maid Tenma's Slave

HP.. 5500

MP.. 6500

Muscle strength.. C +

Defense.. C +

Fast... C +

Magic... b

Mental Strength.. B

Growth power.. A

Luck.. B

Skills... Cooking 9, Patience 7, Skill 5, Fire Magic 4, Water Magic 4, Bow 4, Sword 4, Martial Arts 4, Abnormal Resistance 4, Light Magic 3, Soil Magic 2

There is also some growth in the status of the two. Even if magic is the result of my blood, it seems that my muscle strength and patience are definitely due to Eina's smudge.

At the end of this story, there was nothing left to do, and I had free time.

Thinking about how to spend it, someone seems to be coming to the front of the gate, and the whole gatekeeper golem thing came this way.

The golem was accompanied by Aina, so I went back to my room and I was ready to polish even my weapon, and Aina came to get me.

Apparently, it was my guest who was in front of the gate earlier, so when I went to the reception room, it was an unrecognizable woman who was there.

"Which one is it?

When I couldn't get it together, I asked about it with the attendant at the tournament. He came because he was able to notify me quickly.

When I sat in the seat across the street, Jin and the others came into the room a little late. Menace and Leena were together. Apparently, Aina called me right before I went to the inn.

"So what's the news?

"Yes! Actually, it's sudden, but some of the rules have been changed!

"" "" "Huh?

We all spoke up to the female attendant who answered with a nervous face and was surprised by the sudden decision.

Surprised by that, a slightly frightened female attendant. But trying to talk in detail, I started talking nervously.

"Le, the changes to the rules are: 'Advance application for weapons and protective equipment to be used' and 'Lending of magic bags exclusively for competitions'. Because Kaios' behavior was malicious, he decided to grasp the weapons and protective equipment he would bring in beforehand..."

"All of a sudden... Sure, there was something monstrous about the rules of the tournament, but it wouldn't have changed during the tournament, would it?

A female attendant who makes herself smaller to Menace's point. It's certainly too steep, and I think even if we do it now, it'll just cause confusion.

"I'm not sure about the history of the decision because I'm on the bottom line. There were other stories out there like 'Restrictions on Weapons and Protective Equipment,' but this just seems to have been removed as impossible. Due to the delay in dealing with this trial, they say the use of weapons other than the application will be defeated against the rule to make the match as smooth as possible."

"But doesn't that make any sense for trump cards?

We snort at Jin's words.

"We just have to make sure that the competition officials don't leak it to the outside world."

"I don't care if they tell you to believe me...... what are the participants saying today?

In response to Garratt's question, the female attendant looked a little troubled.

"At first, there was a strong backlash. However, with a slightly more forceful examination, nearly half of the athletes had something that seemed to catch on to the policy."

"Specifically?

To Leena's question, the female attendant gave an example while retrieving and confirming the note.

"Eh, the most common were potions such as magic restoration, some of which were subdivided into vials or pill-type objects. The next most common was the drug that makes you more resistant. This was also brought in vials and pill types. Later, we've been able to identify items of a barrier type that are disposable."

I don't think all of those items are intended to be used during a match. However, it is also possible to use the pill type without the referee noticing, so I thought it might make sense to change the rules.

"In order to eliminate violations wherever possible, they will respond to athletes as far as possible with regard to other rules. We're sorry, but we need your help."

That's what I say and I bow my head. Female attendant. Maybe there is something I can do more than actually inspect and get suspicious items for use.

"Well, I understand why, and I want to be as cooperative as I can be. But just show fairness in a way that we all know."

Jin and the others agreed with my words. Seeing how it went, the female attendant seemed relieved.

"Thank you! With regard to fairness, we have also requested the cooperation of the Knights and others so far. But good. I can get the approval of Tenma!

Unlike when I came, a slightly floating female attendant. Asking him why about it, he looked unexpected.

"Heh? 'Cause it's not weird to say that Tenma is the most prominent player in the tournament right now. Because I was told from above that it should be easier for an athlete who originally agreed to come out if I heard that kind of athlete turned in favor!

With that said, the female attendant left with a light foothold as if to skip half.

"When did I become so influential?

Everyone on the spot is looking at me with their eyes as if they were looking at something strange, to the question that I casually spilled.

"... what is it?

Seeing how I reacted, Jin put his hand on my shoulder. And I go back to my room without saying anything, Jin. Seeing that, they each moved out.

"Tenma... I don't care what you think, it's unusual!

That's what Namitaro says and laughs when he was close at some point.

... I'm a little annoyed that you're trying to pose like a thumbs-up using chest bite.

After that, with a little mockery, we were to prepare for tomorrow's tournament.