A stir ran through them.
No—it was more than that. The spectators erupted into commotion.
For those belonging to the Duke Kerebel's Knight Order, their commander, Filma Tejil, was the symbol of absolute strength. In truth, he was undoubtedly more skilled at commanding an army than fighting as an individual. Even so, no one had ever seen him lose in single combat. It was only natural, then, that they held him in such awe.
Granted, considering he had been roughly on par with Elena before she inherited the Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone, he stood no chance against her now. They had sparred one-on-one several times, and he had experienced defeat.
But a man like Filma did not easily let others see him lose. He had certainly never done a mock battle in public before—until today.
Because of that, the knights watching from the sidelines could do nothing but stare in blank astonishment.
They fully understood Rei was strong from his bouts with the first two opponents. Even so, they had believed Filma could beat him.
Watching the knights buzz with shock, Rei turned his gaze toward Filma, who was approaching him.
(Though that was hardly his full strength. He definitely has several trump cards hidden away.)
Rei held this conviction precisely because he, too, had not used his own.
Ultimately, this had only been a mock battle. Neither side had gone all out. No—if "all out" meant giving their all in the context of training, then they had—so it wasn't as if they'd been slacking.
"So then... I'd like you to tell me where we fought before."
Rei pulled the Death Scythe away from Filma and asked.
At Rei's words, Filma recalled—now that he mentioned it... During the mock battle, he had concentrated so wholly on the fight itself that he had completely forgotten about encountering Rei during the Azoth Firm incident.
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to speak with Duke Kerebel first about that matter... Would that be acceptable?"
Since the Azoth Firm incident had been carried out under direct orders from his superior—Duke Kerebel—Filma could not discuss it on his own judgment. Moreover, he had done it to confirm what kind of person Rei was after he made contact with Elena. That was something Duke Kerebel would likely prefer not to be discussed in front of subordinates.
Naturally, many among the knights were fans of Elena, so there was a chance more of them would be understanding than not. Still.
Observing Filma's demeanor, Rei pondered briefly, then nodded.
It wasn't that he didn't want to hear more right here and now, but thinking about it, it wasn't information he desperately needed. It was just a question of mild curiosity—nothing more. Also, the mock battle with Filma had been sufficiently stimulating, which was likely another reason Rei let it go.
(I'd like to ask for another mock battle if possible... but considering his position as Knight Order Captain, getting him to agree won't be easy. In that case, it'd be better to do him a favor here.)
In Gilm, Rei had plenty of sparring partners who could fight at his level—Elena and Vihera, for instance. But in Duke Kerebel's Territory, he had come with only Elena and Ara. Given Elena's standing within the Noble's Faction, he couldn't carelessly ask just anyone to spar with him.
Elena herself would not concern herself with what others thought. If anything, she would welcome a mock battle with Rei—that was the honest truth. But the surrounding circumstances wouldn't permit it. As a result, Rei had sought a sparring partner other than Elena.
"Understood. Tell me later, then."
"Indeed. So... what will you do? We intend to continue our mock battles. Will you join us, Rei?"
Initially, he had called him Lord Rei, but at some point, Filma had shifted to calling him simply Rei. Why that had happened, Rei couldn't understand, but it was better than being addressed stiffly.
(If I think about it normally, is it because he lost to me?)
It was a mock battle where both sides had hidden numerous trump cards, but Filma had acknowledged his defeat and torn down one wall between them. That was likely the gist of it. Even so, Rei couldn't help thinking: normally, wouldn't someone treat him more politely precisely because they'd lost?
"Nah, I'll pass. I got a decent workout today. Besides... you understand, right?"
Rei left the sentence unfinished, but Filma seemed to grasp his meaning. He averted his gaze slightly, as if to cover it up.
To put it another way, Filma was a top-tier feast. Being told to eat a ready-made meal right after partaking of that wasn't something anyone would jump at.
(Well, ready-made meals have gotten pretty good lately, though.)
The frozen foods Rei had eaten back in Japan—particularly the frozen fried rice varieties—were sometimes better than his mother's fried rice, and depending on the brand, better than what mediocre restaurants served. The okonomiyaki and takoyaki were also packed with toppings, definitely tastier than the cabbage-only okonomiyaki or octopus-less takoyaki sold at night market stalls.
(Ah, takoyaki. Georgima can make Seafood Okonomiyaki, so for takoyaki... wait, how do you make takoyaki? Is it the same batter as okonomiyaki? Actually, to make takoyaki, I'd need a dedicated iron plate... and in Anesis, how would I even get octopus for it?)
Rei's mind was rapidly filling with nothing but takoyaki, but deciding the hurdle was too high, he quickly abandoned the idea. If he told Georgima, he had a feeling the cook could figure it out to some extent, but while Rei wanted takoyaki, his desire for Ramen was stronger. If it didn't take much effort, it would be one thing, but explaining takoyaki and actually having it made would definitely be labor-intensive.
"Rei? What's wrong?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing. Just realized I'm a little hungry."
Filma accepted this, but the maid watching the mock battle showed a faintly surprised expression. She knew better than anyone just how much food Rei had eaten for breakfast that morning. He had consumed five people's worth of breakfast all by himself, so just playing with Set a bit and doing a mock battle...
(Hm? Now that I think about it, it's not that strange, is it?)
He had run around the stables quite a bit playing with Set and Ielo, and the mock battle—while the first two bouts were one thing, the fight with Filma had been so intense that from the maid's perspective, she couldn't even tell what was happening. Or rather, as a maid serving the Duke Kerebel's House, she found it somewhat hard to believe that Filma had lost at all.
In reality, neither Rei nor Filma had used their trump cards, but if even some of the knights couldn't fully comprehend what had happened, there was no way an ordinary maid could. Even so, the fact that she didn't end up fearing Rei was because she understood his relationship with Elena.
"A little hungry, huh? Then you should head to the kitchen. The cook should be able to whip up something light for you."
"Ah... the kitchen, huh. They're probably not at the point where they could just..."
At Filma's suggestion that he find something to eat in the kitchen, Rei trailed off. Since he had explained Ramen, they were likely in the middle of desperately prototyping it by now. And what Rei had taught them wasn't a proper recipe, but a vague description of what kind of dish it was. Because of that, there were countless things to experiment with regarding the Soup, Noodles, and Toppings. There was no way Georgima, who possessed such an intense passion for cooking, would listen to a casual request to whip up a snack.
But since Filma knew nothing about Ramen, he tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Georgima might be busy with various things, but what about having one of the other cooks make something?"
He offered the suggestion for the time being. Filma fully understood that Georgima had a difficult personality. That was why he thought it might be better to have another cook handle it—but Rei's expression showed agreement at those words.
Georgima's impression had been so overwhelming that when Rei thought of cooks in the Duke Kerebel's House, only Georgima came to mind. In reality, there were others who could be called Georgima's disciples. Naturally, other cooks had been present when he explained Ramen... but that was just how strong Georgima's impression had been.
"Then I'll ask one of the other cooks to—"
"Lady Elena!?"
A knight cried out, as if unable to contain himself, cutting Rei off mid-sentence. Interrupting a guest was clearly discourteous. But Elena's appearance had delivered that much of a shock to the knights.
Rei was not particularly strict about etiquette, so without showing any sign of minding the interruption, he turned his gaze toward the training ground entrance.
Elena was indeed there, along with several maids, Ara, and the noble's daughter Rei had apparently encountered before heading to the stables.
"Hmm, I came to check on things, but... it seems the main event has already ended."
Elena deduced from the atmosphere lingering in the training ground, as well as Rei and Filma's demeanors, that the mock battle she had been looking forward to was already over. It was indeed over, but the knights and maids looked at Elena as if wondering how she had known.
"Oh, is that so? How unfortunate. I would have liked to see the power of the Rumored Crimson with my own eyes if possible."
Telese, who had accompanied Elena to the training ground, wore a disappointed expression. She naturally knew Rei was an Alias Holder adventurer, but to Telese's eyes, he didn't seem that strong at all. If she herself possessed a certain level of combat ability, she might have understood his strength from his movements alone. But while Telese was intelligent, her personal fighting ability was nothing remarkable. As a result, she couldn't grasp Rei's strength just by looking at him.
Though if failing to gauge someone's strength from appearance alone were the standard, then Elena, too, looked like nothing more than a duke's daughter. But Telese had known Elena for a very long time, and she had witnessed Elena's strength during training. That was precisely why she had honestly wanted to see Rei's strength with her own eyes.
Even so, the fact that she didn't ask him to hold another mock battle right then and there was a testament to Telese's good sense. Had it been another noble—say, one laboring under some delusion—there might even be those who would demand a demonstration before them. And that would end up displeasing Rei... or worse, displeasing Elena as well. To avoid that outcome, taking an attitude like Telese's was undoubtedly the best choice.
"Unfortunate, but the mock battle will have to wait. I had a fulfilling time sparring with Filma. Besides, I'm a bit hungry."
"Hmm, then how about tea with us?"
"...Lady Elena, I'm fairly certain you were drinking tea just a moment ago."
Ara pointed this out with a slightly exasperated tone, but Elena didn't seem to mind at all.
"Even so, what does it matter? We were only talking."
"That's true, I suppose."
"Oh, I don't mind at all. Just being able to speak with Rei feels like quite the gain. And since we've come outside in this cold, I'd love some warm tea."
With Telese saying so with a smile, Ara didn't object any further, and they decided to return to the mansion together with Rei to enjoy some tea.