The news that Rei had accepted the mock battle reached the nobles by the following day.
Some among them had suspected that Rei might refuse—whispering that the rumors circulating about him were merely his own exaggerated boasts. But with his acceptance, those rumors naturally faded. The next question became who could assemble a worthy opposing side, and how many fighters each noble could recruit.
A poor noble might bring only a handful. In some cases, those confident in their own abilities declared they would step into the ring themselves. Others chose to hire adventurers who had failed to save enough money to survive the winter.
The latter approach, in particular, turned into a competition among the nobles—not just over how many fighters they could gather, but whether they could recruit renowned skilled combatants.
Among the adventurers, too, once word spread that they might fight Rei, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker, many were eager to test his strength themselves. Surprisingly, a large number jumped at the opportunity.
Meanwhile, Gaiska was meeting with a certain individual at his mansion, with Deotres at his side.
Though while Gaiska sat in a chair, the man was given no such courtesy and left standing.
"So, you're saying money is no object?"
"That's right. I'll pay a reward extravagant enough to satisfy even the likes of you assassins. So gather as many skilled hands as possible. However, I don't need fodder that's only good for their numbers. I want a handful of truly competent ones."
At Gaiska's arrogant words, the man plastered on a sycophantic smile.
"Sure thing. Of course, boss. We've got a long track record of operatin' in the shadows of Anesis, ya see. Long as we get paid what's owed, we can round up as many skilled men as ya need. But... exactly how capable a person are ya lookin' for?"
"I already told you. Money is no object, so get the most skilled ones possible."
"Well, ya see... the thing is, the ones who are truly skilled... even for a noble such as yourself, the amount needed to hire 'em would be mighty difficult to pay..."
An assassin—no, not even an assassin, but a man whose only talent was brokering such deals—had just looked down on him over money.
Interpreting the man's words that way, Gaiska glared at him almost reflexively.
"You dare insult me?!"
As Gaiska shouted in irritation, the man frantically shook his head in denial.
"Never. There's no way I'd do somethin' like that to a noble. But... well, don't take this the wrong way. Assassins are highly skilled professionals. Naturally, that means the more skilled they are, the higher the fee. If we're talkin' about the absolute best you could hire right now..."
He let the words hang, looking at Gaiska as though savoring the suspense.
Though his tone was fawning, the man was nevertheless faithful to his trade. He stated the price of the most expensive assassin currently available.
"Eight Light Gold Coins. ...Can ya come up with that?"
"Ridiculous!"
Gaiska shouted without even pausing to think.
But it was understandable. Eight Light Gold Coins was an amount that Gaiska could by no means freely spend.
...No, it was not just Gaiska—even his father, who currently served as the head of Marquis Seisole's House, could not easily produce such a sum.
Is he trying to swindle me?
Gaiska shot him a glare charged with that thought, but the man before him received it without the slightest sign of concern.
An act that made his earlier sycophantic demeanor seem like an utter lie.
So this is the man's true nature. This is a bit too much for the Young Master to handle.
Deotres watched the two in silence—though strictly speaking, only Gaiska was doing the glaring.
This broker had come to negotiate, and while his appearance and attitude seemed deferential, he clearly had no intention of yielding where it actually mattered. Negotiating with such an opponent was indeed too heavy a burden for Gaiska alone.
From Deotres's perspective, it would also be extremely troublesome if Gaiska were to throw a tantrum here and lash out the way he took his frustrations out on the servants.
"Young Master."
"...I know."
Gaiska had momentarily lost his temper at the mention of Light Gold Coins, but he still retained enough composure to pull himself back at Deotres's words.
"Coming up with Light Gold Coins is utterly impossible given my position."
"Is that so. Well, eight Light Gold Coins is the price for hiring the absolute best assassin we can currently arrange, so it can't be helped."
"By the way..."
The mention of the most skilled assassin piqued Deotres's interest, and he spoke up. Though it wasn't as if his intention was entirely unrelated to calming Gaiska down.
"This top-tier assassin you'd hire for eight Light Gold Coins—just how skilled are they, specifically? Could you tell us, for reference?"
"...Hmm, let's see. I can't tell you exactly who they've killed, but... royalty of small nations, Alias Holder adventurers, High-Rank Adventurers... Knight Order commanders whose names had spread to neighboring countries. That sort of thing."
True to his word, the man did not mention any specific names. But if what he said was true, there was no doubt this was an exceptionally formidable individual.
Killing royalty, even of a small nation, was not something easily accomplished, and if they had killed an Alias Holder adventurer, that was even more so.
"With a track record like that, the price of eight Light Gold Coins isn't incomprehensible. ...Anyway, Young Master. If hiring that assassin is financially impossible—"
"Wait."
Deotres had been about to suggest they hire a different assassin, but Gaiska cut him off.
Gaiska's gaze was piercing—so intense that, if a glare could exert physical pressure, it might have bored a hole straight through the broker's face.
Initially, Gaiska had thought that simply being able to retaliate against Rei for the slight against him would be enough. He felt irritation toward Rei's very existence, but naturally, he had been gathering information about the man.
Even if only half of that information was true, the power Rei possessed—not political or financial power, but sheer physical martial prowess—was not something Gaiska could easily handle. Given that, he had judged that the best he could manage was something akin to petty harassment.
But then, the topic of an assassin who had even killed an Alias Holder adventurer had come up.
It would have been impossible not to take that seriously.
If there truly existed someone with such skill, they might actually be able to kill Rei.
If that happened, he could have the assassin seize Rei's Magic Items—especially his Item Box.
The Item Box... the Misty Ring was configured so that no one but Rei could use it, and Rei himself had publicly declared as much. But there were those who suspected it might be a lie—that anyone could use it freely.
Or perhaps, even if truly only Rei could use it, it might become usable by others in the future. And above all...
If Rei disappears, Elena will be mine. Once that happens, I can eventually become the head of Duke Kerebel's House. I... I am the one truly worthy of that position.
Once the thought took hold, his mind was consumed by the future most advantageous to himself.
In reality, it was not even wishful thinking—he was selling the pelt before catching the tanuki. But unfortunately, Gaiska was incapable of looking away from a future that suited him.
He genuinely believed that whatever happened, if it was within his own power, he could manage.
"This assassin for eight Light Gold Coins... do they truly possess that level of skill?"
"...Sure thing. There's no mistake about that, but..."
Perhaps because the broker never expected Gaiska to seriously consider hiring an assassin of that caliber, a look of surprise briefly flickered across his face.
That he had elicited even that much surprise from a man who could only be described as a seasoned operator revealed just how much impact Gaiska's words had carried.
But even to hire an assassin of the highest caliber, the issue of eight Light Gold Coins remained.
Even Gaiska's father—the current head of Marquis Seisole's House—could not easily produce that kind of money on short notice. And if the question was whether Gaiska, a second son who was neither the heir nor even a viable spare, could come up with it... anyone would flatly declare it impossible.
"Young Master, how exactly do you plan to come up with eight Light Gold Coins?"
"This is the gamble of a lifetime for me. And the odds of winning are extremely high."
Gaiska placed excessive faith in the claim that the assassin had killed an Alias Holder adventurer. If they had done it once, they could do it again.
However... while many Alias Holder adventurers were strong, a clear disparity existed even among them.
Gaiska was not particularly knowledgeable about adventurers, so his understanding did not extend that far.
Deotres, of course, knew this full well. But since it served his own purposes better not to stop Gaiska, he kept his mouth shut.
The broker, too, saw that if he could get Gaiska to hire the eight-Light-Gold-Coin assassin, the commission he would receive would be a substantial windfall.
As a result, neither Deotres nor the broker made any move to stop him.
"But... ya see, are ya sure about this? It's no problem for us to call in Black Wolf, but if ya can't actually come up with the money..."
We won't be able to offer any guarantees, the broker cautioned.
"The one called Black Wolf is who you'd request for this job. Their skill is unquestionable, but they're extremely strict when it comes to payment. If ya try to haggle the price, they'll bare their fangs at the employer themself."
Whether because something similar had actually happened before, the fear in the broker's voice was palpable.
This broker, who had never shown genuine terror from the bottom of his heart while conversing with Gaiska—someone who bore the blood of a Marquis's house—however much he may have hidden it on the surface, now let fear show on his face. That alone revealed just how much he dreaded the assassin known as Black Wolf.
And the fear the broker felt naturally transmitted itself to Gaiska.
Gulp. Gaiska instinctively swallowed.
He had blurted out that he would pay eight Light Gold Coins half-reflexively, but of course he had no actual plan for producing that amount.
Nevertheless, the desire to kill Rei and claim his Magic Items, to make Elena his own, and to inherit Duke Kerebel's House gave Gaiska what he believed was sufficient conviction to stake everything on this once-in-a-lifetime gamble.
...In reality, it was not conviction but mere wishful thinking. Deotres, who understood this, said nothing for his own convenience. The broker, for his part, judged that since Gaiska was a member of a Marquis's house, once he said he would produce the Light Gold Coins, he could never bring himself to admit later that he could not.
"I don't care. Black Wolf, was it? Call them in. However, given the exorbitant fee, the amount I can provide upfront is... let's see. Two Light Gold Coins. The remaining six as a success fee upon completion. How about that?"
"I understand where you're comin' from, but that'll be a bit difficult. I can try to talk to 'em about the payment, but... up until now, it's always been full payment upfront."
"...Even for me, I can't simply produce eight Light Gold Coins that easily. It takes time to prepare, and time to gather. Given that, I simply cannot pay everything in a single upfront lump sum."
"If ya were to call for 'em after you've prepared the reward—"
"That won't be in time!"
Gaiska shouted in frustration.
To prepare a reward of eight Light Gold Coins under the current circumstances, he would need to tread dangerous paths.
It would require drastic measures—selling the mansion he currently lived in, or the mines owned by Marquis Seisole's House.
He had considered using those assets as collateral for a loan... but even with them as security, Gaiska estimated that he could never borrow enough to cover eight Light Gold Coins.
The broker, enduring Gaiska's glare, ran the calculations in his head.
He could refuse outright here if he wanted to.
But if he did, he would unquestionably earn the resentment of the man before him—and more importantly, he would forfeit his own profit.
In that case, perhaps some concessions were in order.
Having reached that judgment, the man eventually compromised, albeit with evident reluctance.