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“Strong……”

Iris’ murmur is picked up by Doem from the next seat over.

On the arena, Jimina is right in the middle of turning to leave after KO-ing Annerose.

“‘Absolute confidence’…… Iris-sama’s intuition was spot-on indeed.”

So comments Doem to cover up the shock in his mind.

“No, even I did not expect him to be this-……. I find it hard to believe how a magic swordsman of his skill has remained nameless so far.”

“Me too. Jimina Sehnen…… I truly have never heard it before.”

“I’ve also never seen his sword before. It was so sharp, and above all else, so beautiful.”

“It’s from none of the existent schools.”

Doem has never before seen such a beautiful sword flow. Most likely it is the same for Iris. So it means that a practitioner of a never before seen school has come public for the first time.

“Indeed. Though we won’t know for sure without asking him directly. It was truly astonishing.”

Iris leans into the back of her seat. Then she sighs, as if to expel all of the tension in her body.

Everyone in the special seating is buzzing about the upset. Their interest has fully shifted from Annerose to Jimina, and the subject of his next match has become the hottest topic around.

“In the second round, it will be Iris-sama against Jimina, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes it would.”

Iris smiles.

“It seems that you are confident about it.”

“”I very much intend to win.”

“Hou……”

“His sword is fast, sharp, and more beautiful than any other. In terms of beauty of the sword, I cannot even hope to match him. However, victory is not based on beauty. If that is his full strength, then he is still far from me.”

“I feel the same.”

Doem nods, but continues thinking silently. If that was truly Jimina’s all, then naturally Iris still holds the advantage. Iris’ magic cannot be stopped with average techniques.

But what if that was not his all?

“In all likelihood, he is still hiding something. He has been faking his posture, his stances, and sword all this time, yet still managed to win to this point.”

“Despite knowing all that, your confidence still stands?”

“Though I do not know what it is that he is hiding, I will simply cut everything in my way. I quite dislike losing, you see.”

Iris smiles beautifully, then stands up. That smile is radiating with so much competitiveness that it seems almost belligerent, even.

“I see.”

“Well then, it’s time for my match, so pardon me.”

While seeing Iris off, Doem heaves a sigh.

Doem had beforehand investigated everyone and anyone who might pose as an obstacle to the plan. Naturally, Jimina’s name had not been on his list.

If he truly is to become an obstacle, then the faster he eliminates him, the better…… but haste makes waste. It shouldn’t be too late to make the judgment after seeing his match with Iris.

Jimina Sehnen. The practitioner of a beautiful and completed sword.

It absolutely does not make sense for someone so skilled to be nameless.

Surely there is some reason for it.

Some reason why he needed to hide his true strength.

A reason why he did not go public earlier.

Perhaps he is the sole disciple of a school buried in history, or maybe even someone from Outlaw City with a forged identity.

Outlaw City——a nest of greed and evil that does not belong to any country. Even the Church has yet to spread her influence to the Big Three, and their close aides, who reign over and contest for supremacy over Outlaw City.

If he’s truly someone who successfully left Outlaw City, then chances are that he’s from the Queen of Blood’s ‘family.’ Judging by his strength, he is at least echelon class. Perhaps there is a need to do a background check on him……

One more possibility is that he’s from Shadow Garden. But Jimina is a man. And furthermore, those people should have no need to make a scene at the Festival of the God of War. The probability of this one is low.

At any rate, Doem feels a depthless…something…from him.

It seems highly likely that he, too, is a member of the ‘hidden world,’ same as himself……

“Who on earth is he……?”

Doem’s murmur is drowned out in the furor of the arena.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

“Wait a second, Jimina!!”

After regaining her consciousness, Annerose immediately runs off after Jimina and calls him to a halt.

As Jimina turns around, Annerose stops right in front of him.

“It was my utter and complete loss. I truly could not do anything to you at all.”

Annerose looks up at Jimina and smiles.

“For the sake of becoming stronger, I left my country quite a while ago. And I really do think that I’ve gotten stronger than back then. But it seems that somewhere along the way, I had also grown conceited.”

Then she holds out her hand.

Jimina looks down at Annerose’s hand, then slowly holds out his own hand.

“It was a lesson that I needed. Thank you.”

“It was my first time without the weights. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“…… You honor me with your words.”

Annerose smiles, then the two shake hands.

“Jimina, who exactly are you? How did you get so strong?”

Jimina smiles forlornly, then turns his head. His eyes seem to be looking at a place very far off.

“Discarding everything…… I am merely a fool who sought nothing but strength……”

“Jimina……”

Annerose feels her chest grow tight while gazing at his lonely side profile. Surely he has had a sorrowful past that allowed him no other choice.

“If…… that’s only if you want, but how about coming to Begalta Empire and becoming an officer? I can guarantee a position worthy of your skills.”

But Jimina shakes his head.

“…… It’s a bit too…bright…for me.”

Then he turns around and begins walking off.

“Wait! I, I’m leaving tomorrow! So if you change your mind before then, you can come see me!”

Jimina no longer stops.

Annerose stares at his shrinking figure, then finally turns around.

In this world, there is always someone better. Having fought Jimina, and having seen his sword up close, has become an irreplaceable experience for her.

That was almost like a sword whetted and honed to the very limit, to the point where it has become art. In that sword, Annerose felt like she saw everything of the world contained inside.

He will surely claim the championship. And not far in the future, his name will surely thunder across the entire world.

He will surely climb to unimaginable heights.

The current her can do nothing but merely look up at him. However, she can still grow. The path that she must tred has already been illuminated by Jimina’s sword.

One day, surely, she will become strong, and meet him again.

She swears to continue fighting, until that day comes to be.