Chapter 92

On the sixth night of Thanksgiving, after finishing today's work, I headed towards the Chancellor's office.

It seems that the match-ups for the martial arts tournament, which will begin tomorrow and involve explorers of A-rank and above, have finally been announced.

Since they are already open to the public, I imagine that in the taverns, people are probably placing bets on who will win, making it quite lively.

"Chancellor, it's Orun."

After arriving at the office, I knocked on the door and announced my presence.

I heard a voice from inside saying, "Come in," so I opened the door and entered the room.

Inside, the Chancellor, Selma, Will, and Jerome, the head of the Public Relations Department, were already gathered.

"Excuse me. --Was I the last one? Sorry for keeping you waiting."

"No, it's fine. I'm the one who should apologize for giving you so many tasks."

When I apologized for being late, the Chancellor apologized in return.

"Since I won't be able to help much from tomorrow, it's only natural to assist when I have some free time."

"Chancellor, let's start the discussion. We need to decide on our future strategy."

Jerome suggested starting the discussion.

Indeed, we need to decide on the information dissemination policy for the martial arts tournament involving *Yaten no Gin Usagi* and implement it within half a day.

From now on, the Public Relations Department, led by Jerome, will undoubtedly be the busiest.

"Right. Selma, please give the tournament brackets to the three of them."

"Understood. --This is the tournament bracket for the Advanced Explorers' Division, which starts tomorrow."

Selma, following the Chancellor's instructions, handed us the paper with the match-ups.

(If it's a tournament, there won't be any preliminary rounds like in the martial arts tournament that anyone can participate in from the first day. I wonder what kind of match-ups there are.)

While thinking about this, I checked the tournament bracket I received.

"...I feel like it's been deliberately arranged. It's too perfect to be random."

Will, after checking the content, expressed his thoughts.

The first thing I noticed when I looked at the tournament bracket was the small number of participants.

There are sixteen participants in the main tournament.

I think the late notice is one of the reasons, so it can't be helped.

And the deliberate match-ups that Will mentioned.

While it's not impossible for this combination to be a coincidence due to the small number of participants, the organizer is Duke Foggus.

"The match-ups are said to have been randomly created. There are two participants from S-rank parties and one from an A-rank party. Members of the same party are placed in different brackets."

Selma explained what is officially said.

"For now, it means that Wilks and Orun will meet in the final."

"Orun aside, I have to face the ace of the Hero Party before I can fight Orun, so it might be difficult to reach the final."

Indeed, I was placed in a different bracket from Oliver.

I thought Duke Foggus might have arranged for us to face each other in the first round, but it seems he wants us to meet in the final, which will be the most exciting match.

If I lose before then, it would be for the best.

"...Hey, Orun, to be honest, what are the chances of me beating this guy?"

Will asked me.

The other three also seemed interested, as they all focused on me.

"I think Will is a skilled warrior. I've never seen anyone use dual blades as well as he does, and that's for sure. --However, it will be difficult for Will to beat Oliver. I think he would lose nine times out of ten if they fought."

The room's atmosphere became heavy after my statement.

I knew this would happen, but there's no point in offering comfort here.

"...Ha, as expected, there's such a big gap. Still, it's not impossible to win, right? If so, it's possible to win in the actual match. Orun, let's meet in the final! And don't lose to *Sword Maiden* either, okay?"

Will tried to act cheerful, which I immediately noticed. But I didn't think it was something I should comment on.

"--Yeah, I understand."

As Will said, if things go smoothly, I will face *Sword Maiden* -- Fuuka in the semi-finals.

The most likely opponents are: in the first round, the ace of the up-and-coming A-rank party *Emerald Gale* -- Loretta; in the second round, Derrick from the Hero Party; in the semi-finals, Fuuka; and in the final, most likely Oliver, with Halt from *Copper Dusk* as the second most likely.

"Although I think you already know the rules of the martial arts tournament, let's go over them just in case."

Selma then began explaining the tournament.

First, the schedule. Participants will not fight twice on the same day.

The first round is on the seventh day of Thanksgiving, the second round on the eighth day, and so on, with one match per day even if you win all your matches.

The venue will be the arena in Tsutail, a typical circular arena about twenty meters in diameter.

The victory conditions are simple.

If the opponent admits defeat or the referee determines that the match is over.

"Is there anything you want to ask?"

"Can we leave the promotion to us?"

"There's no problem. I will continue to oversee the overall operation."

"Understood. I'll discuss the details within the department. --Thank you, Chancellor."

"Ah, the promotion of the clan, please take care of it."

Jerome left the room immediately.

He really seems to be short on time.

"Will, Orun, I'll reiterate, do your best in the martial arts tournament. I hope you both can meet in the final."

After receiving encouragement from the Chancellor, we also left the room.

"Oh, right, Orun. It's a message from Sophia. She wants you to come to the Exploration Management Department's usual room after we're done here."

Sophia? I wondered if something had happened, but since Selma didn't seem particularly worried, it didn't seem like there was any trouble.

Then why did she call me?

Well, I'll find out when I get there.

"Understood. I'll go now."

"Orun, let's both do our best! If we meet in the final, let's give it our all."

Will said this while raising his fist to chest level.

"...Yeah. I promise to give it my all."

I responded while matching my fist to his.

◇

As instructed, I went to the usual room of the Exploration Management Department, where not only Sophia but also Log and Carol were waiting.

"Master, thank you for your hard work! I'm sorry for calling you here suddenly."

"No, it's fine. I've finished everything I needed to do today. So, why did you call me here?"

"Actually, there's something I want to give to Orun."

Sophia answered my question.

...Something to give?

"It's Sophia's birthday month this month, right? Here! This is a gift from the three of us!"

Carol said this while handing me something wrapped in a fairly heavy cloth.

"Congratulations, Orun!"

"Congratulations!""Happy birthday!"

Then the three of them celebrated my birthday month.

It was a surprise...

Since I became an explorer, I've hardly ever been congratulated on my birthday month, including by myself.

In this country, the culture of celebrating birthdays is not as common as in other countries.

I felt a surge of happiness, but I honestly didn't know how to react.

"...Thank you. I'm sorry, but I've hardly ever been congratulated on my birthday month. But I'm really happy. Can I open it?"

"Yes. I hope you like it..."

Log had a look of half-expectation and half-anxiety.

It's a gift given with my well-being in mind. I would be happy with anything.

With a sense of excitement, I opened the package, and three books came out.

"...Books?"

All the books were published in other countries.

"Yes. Orun always reads books, so I thought something like this would be good..."

Sophia answered cautiously, seemingly worried about my reaction.

I think I must have had a rather blank expression.

If no one had been there, I would have been overjoyed.

However, I didn't want to show such a reaction in front of my disciples.

The books I received were all new to me, and their content was exactly what would interest me.

This gift made me genuinely happy from the bottom of my heart.

"Seriously, I'm really happy. Thank you all."

"Master seemed happy, which is good! Actually, this gift was based on the advice of an older sister of a spirit."

A spirit's older sister? How does Carol know about spirits? And can they even communicate with them... --Wait, could it be?

"Is she about the same age as me, with long blue hair?"

"Yes. Do you know her? She said she told the spirit what Orun would like."

"...Yeah, I know her well. So, it was her advice. Ha, she's as good as ever."

It must be Luna.

I had shown her my excitement a few times when I got new books in front of her...

So, she didn't hate me. That's good.

I thought Luna hated me.

I ignored her wish for me to return to her party and joined another clan, and I was also involved in the arrest of Luna's father, even though not directly.

I don't know how much of the situation Luna knows, but she must know I was there.

I thought she had every right to hate me.

I don't know how Luna and these guys met, but the advice must have been given after the child abduction case was discovered.

The day I told Sophia about my birthday month and the day the case was discovered were the same.

Whether she hates me or not, I intend to act to ensure that Luna is not held responsible for the Flochhart Trading Company's involvement, and I am currently gathering information.

I don't think Luna was involved in the child abduction.

The trial will take place after Thanksgiving.

"Hey, Master, what's a spirit? The older sister said you know a lot about them."

Carol asked about spirits.

Spirits are rarely encountered in everyday life.

Most people live their entire lives without knowing about the existence of spirits, so I think it's fine not to know.

But if she's interested, I can give her a brief overview.

Since all of them have a certain understanding of magic, I think it's okay.

"Alright. I'll tell you about spirits now. It's a temporary lecture."

When I said it was a lecture, the three of them sat down as they would during a regular lecture and took out their pens and notebooks.

It's not that serious a topic...

They probably won't be able to fully understand it.

"Before I start the lecture, Carol--"

"Hmm? What?"

"Since Carol has recently started studying magic, here's a question. Tell me the procedure for casting a spell."

"Hehe! That's easy! The spell is cast by 'constructing the spell formula' in the brain and 'channeling magic power' to convert the surrounding magic power into a spell, right?"

Rain must have taught her the theory well.

"Correct. I've said before that magic is a general term for phenomena caused by humans using magic power, so you remember that, right? --Now, here's another question. If you cast a basic spell, what happens to the residual magic, the remnants of the spell, after the phenomenon determined by the spell formula ends?"

When you attack an enemy with a *Fireball*, the fire visually disappears.

But it can't just disappear completely.

I wonder if they can answer this question.

Thank you for reading to the end.

Is anyone curious about the tournament bracket?

I've included it in the activity report.

(Though I feel like I'm using it incorrectly... lol)

If you're curious, feel free to check it out.

I hope you enjoy the next chapter.