An Alias Holder adventurer visiting as a guest of Duke Kerebel's House was to hold a mock battle against the adventurers and nobles' subordinates of Anesis.
Word of the event spread from the adventurers who had received the request to the general populace, and many residents were showing interest in the mock battle.
Naturally, there were those who wanted to turn the affair into a grand event... and the desires of such people—primarily the Merchants—reached Liberte, the Duke Kerebel.
"That is the situation. We have received requests to hold the mock battle on a large scale."
What do you think? Liberte's gaze turned toward Rei.
Normally, this kind of discussion would take place during a meal, but today Rei had been called to Liberte's office and was being informed of the matter there.
"No, as long as I'm receiving a reward for the mock battle, I have no complaints if Duke Kerebel says to do it... but is there even a venue for something like that?"
If there were an arena or something similar, there would be no problem holding the mock battle.
However, nothing like an arena existed in Anesis.
Then perhaps the place where Rei had recently been training with Filma and the rest of Duke Kerebel's Knight Order?
Rei thought so at first, but then reconsidered. While the space was large enough for training, it was too small to accommodate the residents of Anesis, the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Mireana.
While Rei was still thinking about what to do, Liberte spoke up and said there was no problem.
"If you don't mind becoming a spectacle, Rei, we shall prepare a stage for the mock battle outside Anesis. Of course, given that we don't have that much time, it will only involve leveling the ground and setting up simple audience seating."
"Is that alright? Doing something like that outside Anesis?"
"Of course. For emergencies, we will have soldiers on security duty during the mock battle. Besides, this is not Gilm out in the frontier. Monsters do appear, but not that frequently, and Bandits and the like wouldn't deliberately approach."
Persuaded by those words, Rei nodded in agreement.
If this were Gilm, it wouldn't be strange for a large number of monsters to attack, let alone bandits.
Moreover, it was currently winter and snow was already falling.
At this time of year, monsters that had been active from spring through autumn grew sluggish, but monsters that only appeared in winter were actually more active than ever.
Most of those types of monsters tended to be powerful, and since the ordinary soldiers stationed in Anesis were unaccustomed to them, Rei had thought it would be difficult to deal with an attack—but apparently, that had been an unfounded fear.
(Though if I bring Set to the mock battle, I doubt we'd be attacked by monsters anyway.)
Not all, but many monsters would judge for themselves that they couldn't win against Set, and upon recognizing his presence, they would try to avoid contact of their own accord.
"Understood. I'm fine with that. ...Besides, if it's turning into a festival, there will naturally be all sorts of food stalls, right?"
Honestly, Rei wanted to take the opportunity to buy various dishes from any stalls selling delicious food and store them in his Misty Ring.
"Then it is settled."
"Yes. I'll take my leave, then."
"Ah..."
Rei was about to leave the room, but Liberte tried to say something to him.
Noticing this, Rei spoke with a puzzled look.
"What is it?"
"...No. Well, that is... Are you getting along well with Elena?"
Asked by Liberte, who was hiding his complicated inner thoughts, Rei pondered for a moment.
If asked whether they were getting along, he could answer that they were.
However, the reality was that Elena had been busy dealing with the backlog of paperwork that had accumulated while she was in Gilm, so they hadn't had much time together recently.
Thinking this, but deciding that if asked whether his relationship with Elena was good or bad, it was definitely good, he gave a nod in response.
"Let's see. Elena has been busy with various things these past few days, so we haven't been able to spend much time together... but I don't think we're on bad terms."
"I see."
Nodding at Rei's words while seeming slightly disappointed that the response wasn't what he had hoped for, Liberte replied thus.
Of course, even if Rei had said something like they were actually getting along quite well and had welcomed the morning in the same bed today, Liberte would have been at a loss for how to react.
Unable to comprehend Liberte's subtle parental feelings, Rei left the office after exchanging only those words and returned to his room.
Miranda, the maid assigned as Rei's attendant, was waiting outside the office, so there was no need to worry about getting lost in the sprawling Duke Kerebel Mansion.
Miranda, guiding Rei, was somewhat curious about what he and Liberte had discussed, but regretting that she couldn't ask such a thing as a maid, she continued her guidance.
"Come to think of it."
"Yes, what is it?"
As they walked down the hallway, Miranda responded to Rei's sudden words.
"I think I mentioned before that I'd be doing a mock battle..."
"I'd heard various rumors about that, but has it been officially decided?"
Even as she said that, Miranda had known for a while that the mock battle itself would take place.
After all, she had heard some time ago that Liberte had requested the mock battle be held.
Given that, she had concluded that unless something extraordinary happened—such as a horde of monsters attacking or a severe blizzard—the mock battle would not be cancelled.
"Yeah. It seems the word has spread more than I expected, and a lot of people want to turn it into a festival. As a result, we'll set up a simple stage outside Anesis and hold the mock battle there. Honestly, I don't understand why they want to make such a festival out of it at this time of year when it's almost over."
When the New Year came, there would be a festival for that as well.
If so, there was no need to go out of their way to have one here; they could just wait a little longer.
Thinking that on one hand, Rei also understood that festivals were something you could never experience too many times, and the more there were, the happier people became.
(Though if you ask me whether that many people will gather to watch a mock battle in the snow... no, I suppose they will.)
People liked watching fights.
That was evident even in this world, where arenas existed, and when Rei was in Japan, fighting tournaments were held quite frequently.
Of course, where Rei lived, there were almost no such programs on TV.
Still, as the year-end approached, those kinds of programs would air even in Rei's area, and it wasn't uncommon for a professional wrestling organization to come and hold a show.
Given all that, there was no doubt that people liked watching fights.
If the fights were ones directly tied to life and death, those who didn't care for such things wouldn't watch, but what was being held this time was merely a mock battle.
Being able to casually and safely watch the fight of an Alias Holder adventurer meant many would likely come to observe.
"With this kind of festival, there's usually gambling involved... I wonder who will act as the bookmaker?"
"Gambling?"
"Yes. No matter how strong you are, Rei-san, the opponents will be numerous, right? The likelihood of well-known fighters among them is high, and numbers are power, after all. I think there's a good chance it will work as a betting event. Besides, many people may have heard rumors about you, Rei-san, but not many have actually seen your abilities with their own eyes."
"Ho."
A smile formed on Rei's face at hearing something so interesting.
It wasn't that Rei was struggling with money, but if there were people making money by gambling on his mock battle, that wasn't very amusing.
In that case, he would bet on himself, reduce the bookmaker's profits somewhat, and earn something himself.
Coming up with that idea, his gaze turned toward Miranda.
Perhaps sensing something in Rei's gaze as he walked beside her, Miranda reflexively stepped a few paces away from him.
"W-What is it? I just got a vaguely bad feeling..."
"No, I have a request for you, Miranda. If it's that kind of festival, you'll naturally be participating too, right? In that case, I'll leave you my money—bet it on me. Thirty percent of the winnings will be yours as a commission. You're also free to bet on me separately."
"...You really don't think you'll lose at all, do you."
She turned a gaze tinged with slight exasperation toward him—perhaps because she understood just how strong a being Rei was.
To Miranda's gaze, Rei nodded back as if it were only natural, without any particular awareness.
"I don't know whether Alias Holder adventurers will show up, but even against those kinds of people, I have no intention of losing. ...Well, if Elena, Filma, and the like barged in, that would be a different story, but surely that won't happen."
Elena and Filma were among the greatest combat assets of the faction known as Duke Kerebel's House.
Rei's prediction was that such individuals would not be sent out so easily into a mock battle.
(If it were a mock battle with no one watching, or only allies watching, it wouldn't be a problem... but if it's a mock battle before a crowd large enough to become a festival, losing would tarnish the name of Duke Kerebel's House. What's more, this mock battle is being held at the request of the nobles.)
If the commander of Duke Kerebel's Knight Order or Elena, called the symbol of the Noble's Faction, were to lose under such circumstances, the nobles would undoubtedly cause an uproar.
Since Liberte understood that as well, Rei found it hard to believe he would field Filma or Elena.
Miranda thought about Rei's explanation for a moment, then nodded in understanding.
"You're right. My lord wouldn't do such a thing in a crowded place, though he might when it's just people from our own side. In that case, things might turn out just as you say, Rei-san."
"Right? Then betting on me should yield a sufficient profit. ...Of course, if Duke Kerebel is acting as the bookmaker, I won't go that far."
As a reward for participating in the mock battle, Rei was to receive Wind Magic Stone.
Given that, if Duke Kerebel were the bookmaker, Rei had no intention of betting any further.
However, as if to reassure Rei, Miranda nodded and said it was fine.
"There's no problem there. Usually, the ones acting as bookmakers in these situations are people from that line of work."
"...That line of work, huh."
In this case, "that line of work" undoubtedly referred to members of the underworld.
Even so, Rei wasn't surprised at all.
Even when he was in Japan, he had learned from the news that when such gambling took place, the ones behind it were yakuza types.
"Then there's nothing to worry about. ...Of course, with those kinds of people involved, some portion of the proceeds will naturally be collected as taxes for Duke Kerebel."
"I believe so, but if you start thinking that far ahead, you won't be able to do anything, you know?"
"I won't deny that. ...Anyway, I'm planning to leave the money I want you to bet with you later, but how much would be good? A little over one Light Gold Coin?"
"Wha—!?"
Perhaps not expecting the words "Light Gold Coin" to come out of Rei's mouth so suddenly, a gasp of astonishment slipped from Miranda.
"Th-That might be a bit too large an amount... um, even if you bet, there's a possibility they won't accept it..."
"You think so?"
"Yes."
Miranda nodded immediately at Rei's words, without even pausing to think.
Seeing Miranda's reaction, Rei took out Platinum Coins instead of a Light Gold Coin, thinking that if she said so.
Miranda was still somewhat apprehensive, but five Platinum Coins or so wasn't that large a sum for Rei.
As a result, Miranda accepted the five Platinum Coins Rei held out.
"The odds might drop with these Platinum Coins... are you sure you don't mind?"
"I don't care about that. For me, the judgment is that as long as I make some profit, that's fine."
"...Understood. However, please hold onto this money for now, Rei-san. So that I don't end up losing it."
Rei couldn't help thinking she was a worrier, but he found her words agreeable and stored the Platinum Coins in his Misty Ring.