“Gwahahahaha. Ah, sorry.”
The spot where Nileri had been struck turned red. As though even a blow that minor made his cheek throb, he pressed his palm against it and nodded to say he was fine.
I ignored it and stared impassively ahead while waiting for my turn.
I thought this would take quite a while, but it is moving quickly. Once the three bastards ahead of me are done, it will finally be my turn.
At that moment—
THUD.
This time, Nileri staggered forward. A massive man who had not even bothered to wait in line shoved past Nileri without so much as an apology.
“Get the hell out of my way, you bastards! Got a problem?!”
At his words, the noisy area before the registration desk immediately fell silent. As though they had planned it in advance, everyone lowered their heads and avoided his eyes, apparently terrified of him.
I have seen more than enough arrogant, immature bastards like him…
Without saying anything, I stared at the young women handling the mercenary registrations.
STEP. STEP.
The rude, massive man approached me and spoke.
“Hey. Who the hell are you? Why didn’t you lower your eyes? And why the fuck were you grinning?”
SNATCH.
He suddenly grabbed me by the collar and glared at me.
“He’s caught…”
“Tsk, tsk.”
“Is it that kid this time?”
Murmuring came from behind me.
Nileri stared at me helplessly and stammered.
“Your High— Um… No…”
The massive man tightened his grip on my collar.
Is he actually trying to lift me?
Heh.
How insolent.
He tightened his grip once more and continued.
“Were you laughing at me? How old are you?”
“Listen, pig.”
“What did you call me? A pig? What’s your ranking?”
“I came here to register, just like you.”
SWAT.
With my left hand, I lightly knocked both hands gripping my collar away.
“Register? Hahahaha! You’re one crazy bastard, aren’t you?”
Haaah.
I sighed and gave him a light shove, causing his massive body to stagger.
STEP. STEP.
I walked forward, approached the receptionist, and spoke.
“I was told that mercenary registrations are handled here. Is that correct?”
The receptionist glanced between me and the man behind me before answering in a barely audible voice.
“Um… Yes. You only need to complete this form…”
“Nileri, come here.”
“Yes!”
Just as Nileri was about to approach me, the bastard who had picked a fight grabbed him by the collar this time and lifted him into the air.
“Hey, I wasn’t finished talking, but your friend is ignoring me?”
THUD.
I turned and lightly struck his right calf with the instep of my right foot.
THUMP.
He swayed like a reed before dropping to both knees upon the wooden floor.
I turned back toward the receptionist and spoke to Nileri.
“Write down exactly what I tell you.”
“U-understood.”
“What must be written first?”
“Your name. It says an alias is also acceptable.”
“Hey, you son of a bitch!”
The massive man’s voice thundered behind me.
Haaah…
I released a deep sigh, turned my head, and looked down at him.
“What is your name?”
“Ha! Look at this crazy bastard. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know who I am?”
His mouth is as filthy as his dirty hair.
My patience is approaching its limit. Still, there are many people watching, so I should restrain myself…
I suppressed the anger boiling within my Dantian and turned back toward the receptionist.
“What is that man’s name?”
“Lu… Luxo. He is the Deputy Leader of the Solaris Organization…”
“Arrange a match between him and me. Nileri.”
“Yes?”
“Write Nameless as my name.”
“Nameless? Ah… Understood. Next is your affiliation or family…?”
“Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Next.”
“Age…”
“Eighteen.”
With a nervous expression, Nileri handed the completed form back to the receptionist.
“Was that everything?”
“Yes…”
I looked down at the seated receptionist and spoke.
“When can I fight that bastard making a scene behind me?”
“Um… A newly registered mercenary has no rank, so…”
“Hey…”
Luxo, who was arrogant enough to forget how high the sky stood, placed a hand upon my shoulder.
“Receptionist! Schedule my match with this bastard as soon as possible!!”
“P-please wait… I must report this to the Mayor…”
“Will it be a fight to the death?”
“A fight… What?”
“I am asking whether it matters if I kill him.”
THUD. THUD.
Still keeping his hand upon my shoulder, Luxo stopped directly in front of me.
“You want an Honor Match where killing is allowed? Ha! Has the match fee driven this bastard mad…? Fine… Fine! Let’s do it, you crazy bastard.”
The word honor had emerged from the mouth of a man who possessed none.
Does this place call a life-or-death duel an Honor Match?
Luxo looked toward the receptionist.
“Bring that Mayor bastard here!”
The receptionist hurried out from behind the registration desk and ran upstairs.
It was not long before—
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The Mayor hurried down two stairs at a time, gasping for breath. He looked at Luxo, then stared at me with startled eyes.
Luxo grinned and patted the Mayor’s shoulder with his broad palm.
“I’m planning to have an Honor Match against an unranked bastard. That’s fine, right?”
Mayor Sanders looked at Nileri standing beside me before turning toward Luxo.
“Um… An Honor Match against a mercenary without a rank…”
Luxo continued patting Sanders’s shoulder.
“Doesn’t that make it an even bigger match? Besides, it’ll be an Honor Match. The great Luxo’s first Honor Match.”
Sanders glanced at Nileri before speaking in a serious voice.
“Lord Luxo… Would that not be a loss for you when you think about it? You are ranked seventeenth, yet you would be entering an Honor Match against an unranked mercenary…”
“Mayor…”
“Yes?”
“I feel like smashing everything in here right now. Just set the date.”
“The betting odds and ticket sales… Um… You should also consider your image, Lord Luxo…”
Luxo stared down at the Mayor.
“When I tell you to set it, set it! Don’t make me say it twice.”
“Th-then… I will escort you to the reception room.”
Luxo looked down at me and sneered.
“You have the entry fee, right? If you picked a fight with me without having the money, you’ll die the moment you step outside.”
So we must pay an entry fee to duel.
I had brought some of the valuables and Gold Coins I had collected after thoroughly searching the Kroso Empire, thinking that I might be able to purchase land.
“How much is the entry fee?”
“It will be registered as the Match of the Week, so…”
Luxo answered in Sanders’s place as he stomped up the stairs.
“Seven hundred thousand gold. You’ll be too scared to participate, so all that money will become mine anyway.”
Luxo grinned unpleasantly.
Seven hundred thousand gold…
Nileri looked nervous, but he silently nodded.
Does that mean the Gold Coins are prepared? What a relief.
SCRAPE.
STEP. STEP.
THUMP.
Luxo entered before Mayor Sanders and sat in the middle of the sofa. He insolently propped his legs upon the table.
I sat on the sofa beside him and stared directly at him.
I learned to control my emotions at the Demonic Path Academy, yet restraining my anger is difficult. I will not allow that insolent bastard to die gently.
SWISH.
Sanders handed one sheet of paper to each of us and spoke.
“Those who are familiar with…”
He glanced at Luxo, then looked toward me and continued.
“…the rules will already know this, but an Honor Match is a duel in which both participants must be prepared to die. Accordingly, every participant in an Honor Match must pay an entry fee of 700,000 gold. Upon victory, your 700,000 gold will be returned.”
Luxo looked at me with a provocative smirk.
“You do have the Gold Coins, right?”
I slowly looked toward Nileri.
Nileri pulled a pouch surrounded by blue energy from an inner pocket. When he turned the pouch upside down, it expanded.
RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE.
CLINK CLATTER.
Round Gold Coins poured onto the table.
Nileri had shown the Subspace Pouch in the meeting room where the Elders, King Hellorn, and I had gathered. Still, a pouch containing magic that created a Subspace… It feels novel each time I see it.
“Wow~ Isn’t that a Subspace Pouch sold at the temple in Arcia? Looks like you’ve got some money.”
Nileri placed the Subspace Pouch back inside his coat and answered.
“One of my clients gave it to me as a gift. I also have several more.”
Sanders counted the Gold Coins Nileri had poured out.
“You are short by 260,000 gold, Lord Nileri.”
Nileri searched his clothing, then pulled a brooch that appeared to be the insignia of the musical troupe from a pocket in his trousers and slid it across the table.
“If sold, it should easily be worth 500,000 gold.”
Luxo straightened his posture and stared at the brooch.
“What is that?”
“It is the insignia of the Leader of the Libera Musical Troupe. The troupe belongs to me, so there will be no shortage of buyers if it is placed at auction.”
“What? Libera? Hahahaha!!”
Luxo threw his body backward and laughed uproariously.
I ignored him and looked at Sanders.
“Is that sufficient for the entry fee? Then let us set the date.”
Luxo looked between Nileri and me.
“That infamous male-whore musical? Hahahahaha! If someone pays you, do you even let them touch your ass? Hahahahaha!”
Sanders glanced between Nileri, Luxo, and me before speaking.
“Then I will finish explaining… The match will be scheduled for eight days from now. Upon victory, you will receive fifty percent of the admission fees, five percent of the profits from food sold inside the Colosseum, and ten percent of the profits generated from that match at the gambling house.”
“The profits generated from that match?”
Sanders looked at me, then lowered his gaze to the paper as he answered.
“As you can see on the schedule, thirteen matches will take place that day. Among them will be the match between Lord Luxo and Your High—”
“Nameless.”
Sanders glanced at me and continued.
“The profits generated at the gambling house from matches other than the one between Lord Luxo and Lord Nameless will be excluded.”
Nileri nodded and asked Sanders a question.
“I understand. May the participants also place bets upon themselves?”
Luxo scoffed in disbelief.
“The male-whore bastard certainly has confidence! Hahahahaha!”
Sanders looked at Nileri and answered.
“Of course. A participant may bet upon their own victory. Furthermore, because this is an Honor Match…”
He looked toward me and continued.
“…the victor may also take the opponent’s ranking.”
Luxo rose from his seat.
“Hahahahaha! Not that it’ll ever happen!”
THUD. THUD.
He walked toward the door as he continued.
“I’m lucky the male-whore bastards who picked a fight with me belong to Libera. I’ll get the Libera Musical Troupe as well. Once you lose your troupe, I’ll let you work as musical actors for our Solagio Troupe. If you do what you’re good at—strip, dance, and sing—we’ll make a tidy profit.”
He turned his head, glanced at me, and grinned.
“See you in eight days, you male-whores. Ptuh.”
JOLT.
As I abruptly rose, Sanders cautiously spoke.
“Lord Nameless of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?”
SWISH.
I reflexively turned toward him in alarm.
Ah…
I had declared that as my alias and affiliation.
Hearing the words Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in this unfamiliar place startled me without my realizing it.
I looked at Sanders and asked bluntly.
“What is it?”
“If you fail to arrive at the Colosseum eight days from now, you will be disqualified…”
“You need not worry. Ah, does it matter if I come alone without Nileri?”
“Th-that should be fine. You are the one who entered the match, Lord Nameless.”
I needed both the funds and the status of a Ranker to establish the Branch. What good fortune.
I glanced at Nileri and spoke.
“Let us go.”