The man with the spear that could only be called a trident collapsed to the ground... and the next moment, the Host's voice rang out across the grounds.
"That's it! With this, all mock battles are concluded! A perfect record of total victory! Rei, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker, has demonstrated overwhelming strength beyond compare!"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The Audience's voices echoed around the stage.
The spectators who had come to watch this mock battle were not all people with a particular interest in combat.
But even so, Rei alone had fought his way through overwhelming numbers, single-handedly.
That gave those watching a profound sense of emotion and shock.
...Of course, among those rejoicing were some who had bet on Rei winning all his matches, and for them, it was only natural to feel like letting out a war cry.
Miranda, who was serving as Rei's handler, was certainly one of them.
She had been given a Platinum Coin by Rei and bet it... but honestly, until Rei actually won like this, her heart had been pounding so fiercely she thought it might burst.
That was only natural. When she bet on Rei's total victory, the man running the bets had even given her a look that said, Are you serious?
Incidentally, the question of whether she was serious referred not only to betting on Rei's total victory, but also to whether she was serious about wagering a Platinum Coin... though Miranda had not noticed that at all.
"He won... he really... eh? Huh? Why..."
Miranda noticed that she had been shedding tears without realizing it and hurriedly wiped them away with a handkerchief.
Having watched him train with the Duke Kerebel's Knight Order, Miranda naturally knew that Rei was strong.
Still, considering Rei's small stature, it was easy to imagine just how exceptional it was to win every match against such a large number of opponents.
At the very least, as far as Miranda knew, there were not many people who could do the same.
Only Elena and Filma.
...Of course, the very fact that she knew two people who could pull off something similar was already strange in its own right.
In any case, once she confirmed that her tears had inexplicably stopped, she turned her thoughts to what she should do with the money she had won from the bet.
(I have to at least make sure no one steals it. If it were just my share, that'd be one thing, but there's Rei-san's share too.)
Prompted by Rei, Miranda had also bet on his total victory.
Miranda was of noble birth, but as the third daughter of a baron family based in Anesis, she did not have that much money she could freely spend.
Of course, that was only relative to other nobles. As could be seen from the fact that she worked at the Duke Kerebel Mansion and had been entrusted with serving as the handler for Rei, who was being welcomed as a guest, she was trusted by her superiors.
Naturally, she received a commensurate salary and had bet a considerable amount on this match as well.
As a result, the amount she would receive, including Rei's share, was quite substantial... and for a single maid—though she wasn't wearing her maid uniform today—to be carrying that kind of money, there was no guarantee that people with unsavory intentions wouldn't target her.
No, given that Anesis was the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Mireana, there were naturally plenty of villains among its population as well.
If such people saw Miranda, who could unquestionably be called a beauty, receiving multiple Gold Coins and Platinum Coins as her winnings, what they would do required no imagination to figure out.
In fact, several men who had been keeping a slight distance from Miranda had been exchanging meaningful glances and communicating silently with one another.
But Miranda was neither accustomed to violence nor trained in combat.
Naturally, she had not noticed at all that such gazes were being directed at her...
"Miranda?"
"Eh?"
Startled by the voice that suddenly called out to her, Miranda turned around.
She was surprised to have her name called out of nowhere, but since the person standing there was someone she knew, she quickly flashed a smile.
"Hello, Leodanis-san. So you came to watch too."
"Yeah. It was a good opportunity to objectively confirm Rei's strength with my own eyes."
"Oh? If you mean confirming his strength, he's already done mock battles with the Knight Order many times, so haven't you already seen it for yourself?"
Though she hadn't watched every single one of Rei's mock battles with the Knight Order, Miranda still knew that Rei had conducted mock battles with them on numerous occasions.
Given that, wouldn't Leodanis already fully understand Rei's strength?
It wouldn't be strange for Miranda to think that way.
Moreover, Leodanis had sparred with Rei a considerable number of times and should have experienced his strength firsthand as thoroughly as anyone could.
"The knights of the Duke Kerebel's Knight Order are all highly skilled. But... that's exactly why I wanted to see Rei's strength when fighting opponents other than them."
"I see... I don't really understand that kind of feeling men have."
So said Miranda, but the men in the vicinity who had been observing her situation... and planning to steal the money she had won from the bet, had stopped their movements upon hearing the two's conversation.
Since they lived in Anesis, the men naturally knew the name of the Duke Kerebel's Knight Order, and they also knew it was an elite group led by a man named Filma.
Both sides were fortunate in that none of the men were overly hot-headed.
If they caused an incident with a knight of the Duke Kerebel's Knight Order or an acquaintance of one, there would absolutely be a painful counterattack.
They were a group capable of thinking that far ahead.
If someone who couldn't consider such circumstances at all had been present, they probably... no, they definitely would have been blinded by greed and attacked Miranda.
Of course, from an onlooker's perspective, it was apparent that Miranda had bet on Rei's total victory and won, but it was impossible to tell exactly how much money she had won.
Given that Miranda was in ordinary clothing today, it was hard to imagine she would have bet such a large sum.
Depending on the case, there was even the possibility it was just a few Copper Coins...
No, rather, since she had bet on Rei's total victory, which while not the longest shot was still quite high in odds, it was unlikely she had wagered that much money.
...If they had known that Miranda had received a Platinum Coin from Rei, the men who had been keeping an eye on her might have thought differently.
But fortunately, that was not the case now, and the men judged that getting involved with Miranda would only bring them losses, so they simply left.
Miranda, who had no idea she had been in grave danger, continued her conversation with Leodanis.
It should be noted that Leodanis also did not know that Miranda had been targeted by villains, so he had no awareness whatsoever that he had saved her from danger.
"So, what are you going to do now, Miranda? Um... if you're up for it, would you like to look around the stalls together?"
Leodanis asked, his cheeks slightly flushed, rubbing the area under his nose.
Miranda, as befitting someone educated as a maid of Duke Kerebel's House... and as a woman worthy of being called a beauty, could easily imagine what Leodanis's invitation meant.
She thought for a moment... then, with a smile, opened her mouth.
"Let me think. Since it's an invitation from you, Leodanis-san, I'll gladly accept. However... I need to deliver the winnings from the bet to Rei-san first. Is that alright?"
"That guy was doing something like that? Well, if he bet on his own total victory, you can't really call it cheating."
If Rei had bet on which round he would lose, Leodanis would not have been able to tolerate it as obvious cheating.
But in this case, since Rei had won every match, it was fair to think that Rei had confidence in his own strength and that was why he bet on his total victory.
(Truthfully, having an Alias Holder like Ice Blade show up as an opponent must have been unexpected for Rei too.)
Thinking that, Leodanis recalled the battle between Ice Blade and Rei.
As expected of an Alias Holder, he had been made to realize that Ice Blade was an existence on a far higher plane than himself.
If he fought Ice Blade, there was absolutely no doubt... he felt it would be impossible to win even once in a hundred fights.
Of course, knowing Leodanis's personality, he wouldn't simply give up just because he couldn't win.
Even if it was impossible now, someday he would definitely win.
Thinking such thoughts...
"My, to be invited by you and then have your thoughts wander elsewhere. Isn't that a bit rude?"
"Eh? Ah... yeah, um. Sorry. I was just remembering the fight between Ice Blade and Rei. So, what do you say? Will you go around the stalls with me?"
"...Very well. I was actually hoping to talk a little with you too, Leodanis-san."
In response to Leodanis's invitation, Miranda paused for a moment before nodding.
That momentary silence made Leodanis fear that perhaps Miranda would decline... but when she ultimately accepted, he felt relieved.
In truth, that silence was actually for Miranda's own calculated maneuvering, however slight, but Leodanis showed no sign of noticing.
"Um, then shall we go? Ah, first I need to cash in the amount Rei asked me to bet."
"You're right. ...Though it doesn't look like there are too many people."
After each mock battle match ended, Miranda had seen the audience near her lamenting their losses.
It was precisely because so few people had bet on Rei's total victory that the odds had been so high.
Given that, Miranda expected there wouldn't be many people cashing in their winning bets... and that was an undeniable fact.
This was proven when they arrived at the cashing location—the number of people there was small.
"My, but there are more people than I expected."
"Yeah. Well, if you knew anything about Rei's strength, it wouldn't be strange to bet on him, so it's not really that surprising, is it?"
In fact, for those who knew Rei's true strength, betting on his total victory in this mock battle was by no means an impossible choice.
The problem was that there weren't that many people who knew it.
(The fact that there are a lot of adventurer-looking guys is probably because they'd heard rumors about Rei's strength.)
Even non-adventurers had naturally heard various rumors about Rei.
But rumors like him burning down an entire army were delightful for those who enjoyed such tales, but when asked whether they truly believed them, they couldn't simply nod in agreement.
At the very least, there probably weren't many who had placed bets based on those rumors.
Compared to such people, the adventurers, being fellow adventurers, had gathered more information about Rei... and it was those people who had bet on Rei's total victory in this mock battle and won.
That said, with opponents like Ice Blade, an Alias Holder, and knights serving nobles, the possibility of Rei losing partway through could certainly not be denied.
Of course, not everyone here was an adventurer.
Among them were some who had bet on a whim thinking he would win everything, and merchants who had accurately remembered the content of the rumors.
With such people present too, there was nothing particularly conspicuous about Leodanis and Miranda coming to cash in their winnings.
"Hey, missy. No, you're really something. There were others who bet on Rei winning it all, but you're the only one gutsy enough to bet a Platinum Coin on it. ...I was sure we'd be the ones raking it in."
When she handed her betting tag to the man handling the exchange, he looked at Miranda and spoke in surprise.
Given that she had done something as bold as betting a Platinum Coin, he probably remembered her well.
That was why, while surprised to see Miranda... he also looked somewhat chagrined.
"Hehe, thank you very much. So, please take care of the exchange for me."
"Yeah, got it. Geez, the one who made the most today is definitely you."
"Is that so? That's wonderful to hear. ...Shall we go, Leodanis-san?"
"Yeah. ...It's a bit uncomfortable being here, to be honest."
That was probably partly because he himself was a knight, but Leodanis said as much.
Of course, the betting itself was not illegal by any means.
His feeling of discomfort was simply his own perception; in reality, the people around them were not particularly looking at Leodanis.
In any case, having finished cashing in, Miranda and Leodanis headed off to meet Rei in order to deliver the winnings from the bet.