Gaiska accepted Deotres's proposal, albeit reluctantly.
He hated Rei enough to want him dead, but the fact that he couldn't gather disposable adventurer pawns to serve as combat power was a fatal flaw in his plan.
No—if it were simply a matter of gathering bodies, he could probably have rounded up low-rank adventurers, street thugs, and members of the underworld.
But even if they were to wage a war of attrition against Rei, it would be meaningless if the fighters were too weak.
Unless they were opponents with at least enough strength to hold their own, they would serve no purpose this time.
In the end, he convinced himself that the first step was simply to confirm exactly how much power Rei possessed—but even that was hardly an entertaining prospect for Gaiska.
Nevertheless, he forced himself to accept the plan by deciding to include a few assassins among those gathered.
Having settled on a course of action, he now needed to move to make it a reality.
Rei's current status was strictly that of a guest of Duke Kerebel.
To drag such a person out for a mock battle, it naturally couldn't be done at Gaiska's sole discretion.
First, he needed to speak with Duke Kerebel... but Liberte, as Duke Kerebel, was in the busy year-end period and couldn't be easily met.
The term "December" didn't exist in Elgin, but no matter the world, the end of the year was bound to be a hectic time.
Therefore, the first thing Gaiska needed to do was lay the groundwork.
That said, while Gaiska bore the bloodline of Marquis Seisole's House, he was ultimately neither the eldest son nor the second son serving as a backup heir.
Thus, he couldn't approach the heads or next-in-line heads of influential families; the best he could do was reach out to those in positions similar to his own.
"Crimson? We get to see that Crimson fight?"
"Yeah. When I went to greet Elena, I happened to run into him. We talked a little."
That was neither a lie nor, naturally, the whole truth.
The fact that Gaiska had come face to face with Rei when he went to greet Elena was undeniable.
What he left out was that Rei and Gaiska had ended up on extremely hostile terms.
Several people in the room cast suspicious glances at Gaiska.
Knowing Gaiska's personality, it was only natural to conclude that Rei—an adventurer rumored to show no mercy even to nobles—and Gaiska, who believed bloodline determined everything, would be the worst possible match.
...Though there were also those who lacked even that level of discernment and simply accepted Gaiska's explanation at face value. But given that this gathering consisted of people in the same position as Gaiska—those who would never inherit their houses—many had been raised in a noble environment since birth and were thus shallow in thought.
That was precisely why some among them accepted Gaiska's words so readily.
"Alright, I understand you know Crimson Rei, but what are you going to do about it? If he's here as a guest of Lady Elena, you can't just casually summon him here, can you?"
"True. However... the man I saw, Rei, didn't look strong at all. No, going by appearance alone, he even looked weak."
At Gaiska's words, those who heard them wore expressions of disbelief.
Naturally. Rei, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker, was renowned for his fearsome combat power.
It was impossible for them to readily accept that such a person was weak, even if only based on appearances.
"Ah... isn't that the thing where someone's looks don't match their actual ability...?"
"Exactly. I think so too. So, doesn't that make you want to see just how strong he is?"
"See how strong he is... how? Don't tell me we're supposed to fight Crimson ourselves? No way, I'm not doing that."
One of the women among those gathered declared with genuine distaste.
And it wasn't just her; most of the people here didn't particularly train their bodies.
They moved around just enough to avoid being out of shape, but against an adventurer with a decent amount of experience, they would almost certainly lose.
No matter how many such people gathered, there was no way they could stand against an alias-holding adventurer.
"Obviously. I'm not thinking of any such thing. Besides, at the end of the day, he's an adventurer. There's no need for us, who carry noble blood, to bother dealing with him ourselves. The purpose this time is simply to see how strong Rei is—to confirm whether he's actually strong, unlike his appearance suggests."
"In other words, we just send our subordinates."
At the woman's declaration that she had no intention of fighting, Gaiska nodded in agreement.
"But I came here to prepare for the New Year's party. I brought guards, but only a small number."
The one who said that was the Third Son of a Baron Family.
His position was similar to Gaiska's, but in terms of rank, there was a vast difference between a baron family and a marquis family.
Being spoken to as an equal by such a person was naturally displeasing to Gaiska.
But right now, he needed even such people, so he had no choice but to endure it.
If asked whether he felt more irritation toward the man before him or toward Rei, it was absolutely the latter.
Given that, Gaiska opened his mouth with a smile.
...Though in his heart, he was sneering at the man's incompetence.
"In that case, just hire adventurers. It's winter, and most adventurers are resting without work. If you bring the offer to those sorts, there should definitely be some who'd gladly participate."
"Really? I wouldn't take a request like that."
"That's because we're nobles. Common folk like adventurers can't think that far ahead. Above all, they should want to test whether their own strength works against Rei... against an alias-holding adventurer. No, even if it doesn't go that far, if they think they can have a mock battle with an alias-holding adventurer, they'd participate of their own accord."
Gaiska said this boastfully, but in reality, it wasn't something he had come up with—it was Deotres's idea.
However, since it was Gaiska who adopted his subordinate's opinion, perhaps it wasn't wrong for him to state it with full confidence.
"Adventurers, huh. Right, that's an option."
At Gaiska's words, the Third Son of a Baron Family muttered in understanding.
There were several others who hadn't brought subordinates, and those people were smiling with delight.
"In any case, we need to speak with Duke Kerebel about wanting to hold a mock battle."
Once everyone's opinions had solidified around having a mock battle with Rei, Gaiska made the declaration.
Yes, the biggest reason he had brought this matter to the people before him was precisely that.
Even though he bore the bloodline of Marquis Seisole's House, he was ultimately neither the head of the family nor its next-in-line successor.
Given that, if he alone proposed holding a mock battle to assess Rei's abilities to Duke Kerebel, it would likely be rejected out of hand.
That was precisely why he needed to lay the groundwork with this many people.
Even a proposal that would be readily dismissed if it came from him alone might not be so easily rejected if a large group presented it to Duke Kerebel.
"How many of you here already have family members—house heads or those in charge—arriving in Anesis?"
At Gaiska's question, several men and women reported that their older brothers or parents had already arrived.
It was slightly fewer than Gaiska had expected, but there were still nearly ten days until the New Year, so considering that, it wasn't unusual.
In a few more days, the number of nobles arriving in Anesis would likely increase dramatically.
But right now, those few days mattered.
That time was more important than anything else at the moment.
It was better to confirm Rei's strength as early as possible. ...To be precise, it was Deotres who would be confirming that strength.
In any case, since the purpose was to confirm his abilities here and use the findings as material for retaliation, there was a need to hurry on various fronts.
"Understood. Then, those of you who have them available, tell Duke Kerebel that you want a mock battle held because you want to see Rei's strength. Most of them will probably accept."
Gaiska told them this, but he wasn't saying it without basis.
Within the Noble's Faction, the figure known as Crimson Rei attracted attention in every sense of the word—both for better and for worse.
There were surely many who had heard of his strength through hearsay but had never seen it with their own eyes.
Given that, Gaiska and Deotres predicted that they would not miss such a perfect opportunity to witness his fighting.
"Crimson Rei has a gryphon as a tamed monster, right? Will we be able to see it during the mock battle too?"
"Who knows. But from what I've heard through rumors, it's quite friendly, isn't it? If we could actually touch a gryphon like that, I'd be a little excited."
"Now that you mention it, gryphon materials trade for a pretty high price, don't they? Think they'd let us earn a little pocket money?"
"Hey, stop saying stupid things. He's the type who doesn't hold back even against nobles, right? I want no part in crossing someone like that carelessly. But I do want to see his strength, so I'm in favor of the mock battle."
Watching those present each say whatever they pleased, Gaiska opened his mouth.
"Alright, sorry to interrupt your conversation, but get moving right away. I'll go see Duke Kerebel and tell him that a large number of people want to see Rei in a mock battle. On your end, as I said earlier, if any of you have someone who can speak directly to Duke Kerebel, I'll leave it to you to relay the request through them."
If possible, Gaiska would have liked to stay and talk a bit longer.
Why should someone in his position have to personally go out and do this kind of groundwork?
He was undoubtedly dissatisfied about that, but at the same time, he felt something close to a sense of superiority, knowing that only he could accomplish this.
Thinking of them as people who would serve as his hands and feet, his irritation quickly faded.
After exchanging a few brief words with those present, Gaiska left the room.
He then exited the mansion where they had gathered and boarded a carriage.
"Good work, Young Master. How did it go?"
In response to Deotres's words as he waited inside the carriage, Gaiska snorted.
"I moved on my own. Of course it went well. But... in the end, those people just want to spectate and see the strength of that lowborn. Whether they'll seriously gather people, I can't say."
"We'll just have to make moves on our end there. In the first place, the reason we had your acquaintances lay the groundwork was so that we could get others to act and drag Rei into a mock battle."
Deotres's decision to describe the people they had just met as "acquaintances" rather than "friends" was a fine play.
If he had described them as friends, Gaiska would undoubtedly have been displeased with Deotres.
That was because many associates of those with low ranks, such as barons and viscounts, had also been gathered there.
To Gaiska, who believed bloodline was everything, such people were not friends.
At best, he recognized them as acquaintances.
If Deotres had called them friends, Gaiska would definitely have felt anger toward him.
"Hmph. Being able to make use of even those sorts is a requirement for a man. ...Anyway, it comes down to adventurers in the end, doesn't it?"
"Indeed. If they learn that it's not an assassination but a mock battle with Rei, there's no doubt that a great number of adventurers will come."
"I know. I'm the one who set them on him, after all. ...But is that really sufficient?"
Gaiska had been humiliated by Rei, but at the same time, he had felt Rei's unfathomable power—a power he could not comprehend—up close.
Naturally, that left him anxious about whether it was enough to just hire ordinary adventurers.
If possible, he wanted to put an end to Rei's life during this mock battle.
That he harbored such thoughts was only natural given Gaiska's personality.
He had gotten his acquaintances involved to first investigate exactly how much ability Rei possessed... but even so, the irritation he felt toward Rei would not disappear.
"Is it possible to slip assassins in among them?"
In the end, Gaiska asked Deotres just that.
Upon hearing the question, Deotres showed a momentary look of surprise... but in the next instant, he returned a nod with a full smile.