Kumara, a silver-rank adventurer of the Adventurers Guild, thought.

How did things end up like this?

The series of events related to the Taros Labyrinth ended with the death of the Schwartz branch manager, but the Kumara party couldn’t return to the Schwartz branch.

While the Schwartz branch manager was undoubtedly trash, as the saying went, when the upper stream was dirty, the lower stream became muddy, too.

The employees and adventurers involved with the branch manager thought they suffered because the Kumara party made a big fuss, and they whispered about them being traitors.

Of course, their power had greatly diminished after being hit by a large-scale audit and organizational restructuring, and those who weren’t involved with the branch manager or disliked him praised the Kumara party as heroes, so there was little chance of direct harm.

However, even if there was little actual threat, it was uncomfortable to be in a situation where several people harbored grudges against them.

Since they had already caused a commotion by changing sides once, the Kumara party decided to just settle down at the Weiss branch.

With their solid basic skills, they were soon recognized at their new workplace, and the Kumara party also liked the much freer atmosphere of the Weiss branch compared to the Schwartz branch.

The problem was that sometimes that freedom was excessive.

— Branch Manager Peter has disappeared again. He said he was going to Thracus to catch those who cheated him! Why Thracus? According to him, there’s a high probability they’ll appear around there next, but I don’t know the details. If we leave him alone, he might go off on some strange adventure again, so you guys go to Thracus and bring him back. Why do you have to go? Weren’t you the ones who delivered those clients’ letters? If you got involved once, you should see it through. Here, I’ll count this as a request too, so move quickly.

The deputy branch manager of the Weiss branch.

At the words of the man who was essentially the branch manager when it came to administrative work, Kumara felt wronged.

“All we did was try to escort poor travelers who were about to get caught up in the guild’s conspiracy, get caught up in the mess those travelers made, and clean up the chaos that ensued because the perpetrators ran away!”

But what could he do? When told to do something, one just had to do it.

While Kumara could charge headlong at villains who routinely made vile threats for their own gain, he lacked the courage to defy a hysterical superior armed with dark circles and bloodshot eyes. Originally, it was a rule not to mess with office workers going crazy from stress.

Unlike the rather unpleasant start, the journey itself was quite smooth.

The northern part of the Empire was perceived as a “dangerous place” among imperial citizens due to its shared border with the Magic State, but in terms of public safety, it was rather better because of the powerful army stationed there.

Needless to say, there were no bandits, and unless one went into some strange mountain backwoods like the Garden, one hardly ever encountered magic beasts.

“Oh, are you also heading to Thracus? Since this is fate, let’s go together.”

“Oh my, thank you, Sir Lorentz of the Halder Company. We’ll also assist with the escort in our small way.”

After joining the Halder Company, which happened to be heading to Thracus, the journey became even more comfortable.

Learning that the Tin Knight’s party was in Thracus was a bonus.

“Branch Manager Peter. Surely he’s not going to harm the witch’s party, is he?”

“Well, while he’s often evaluated as eccentric, he’s not an evil person, so he’ll probably just give them a lecture or something.”

“The people from this company seem very friendly with the witch’s party. I hope we don’t end up in an uncomfortable situation stuck between the two sides.”

Kumara and his companions’ worries were half right.

They didn’t end up stuck between Peter and the Halder Company, but as if to replace that, another uncomfortable situation arose.

— Huh? You came to find me? Ah, sorry, but I can’t go back now. I have some things left to do here. I’ll return after the martial arts tournament ends, so wait until then. Hmm. No. It seems like a waste to just have you kill time, so you guys participate in the tournament, too. Looking at you, it seems you could rise to gold rank with just a few more steps. This tournament will be a good experience. I’ll register for you.

There was no right of refusal.

A senior in the industry like the heavens above. Not just a workplace superior, but the boss. When a legendary adventurer famous across the continent told one to do something, what choice did one have?

“Damn it, we just have to do it if we have to. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll get you the championship medal!”

“No, no matter how I think about it, winning seems impossible.”

“Even if we could handle other teams, the one with Sir Knight is just…”

“Are you guys going to keep being downers like this!?”

“Team Kumara! That’s enough chatting! The match is about to begin!”

At the same time, in the audience seats.

“Oh my, they’re fighting better than I expected.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says his eye for talent is never wrong!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ evaluates that while he’s not sure about the mage’s skills, just looking at the warrior and ranger’s skills, they’re in the upper ranks of the tournament!]

“Yes, they’re excellent. Thanks to them, the dividends should be quite substantial.”

Unaware that the two non-humans, who could be considered the root cause of this whole situation in some sense, were busily making pocket money using them, Kumara and his companions desperately fought their way through the tournament.

In fact, it might be better if they never found out.

***

Team Kumara secured victory with the standard combination of ranger, warrior, and mage.

The Lion Duke’s bloodline team secured victory with the baseless combination of melee DPS, melee DPS, and melee DPS.

After the rampaging Tin Knight showcased the miracle of beating the opponent’s head, knees, ribs, head, and head, well, various parts, while still keeping them alive and securing victory.

The match decorating the final of the team competition’s round of 16 was one that attracted audience attention for various reasons.

“Yes, everyone, thank you for waiting! The winners of the last tournament! The other champions who rival Kalidahs of the individual matches have returned! In the blue corner! The Haga party!”

As the referee introduced them and a warrior wearing armor that somehow reminded one of insects and a mage in robes appeared on stage, explosive cheers erupted from the audience… or not.

There were cheers, but the momentum was only slightly more than for other participants.

Among them, there were even those who were just now pretending to recognize them, saying, “Ah, is that team the champions?”

Haga, the mage, found this extremely unpleasant.

Damn it. Everywhere it’s Kalidahs this, Kalidahs that! It’s so tiresome. We’re champions too, so why are we treated like this?

If one asked the citizens of Thracus, “Who is the champion?” more than 90% of people would say Kalidahs.

Only after correcting the question to “I mean the team competition side, not the individual” would people mention Haga’s name, or fail to answer even that.

Originally, the Thracus martial arts tournament was fundamentally about individual matches, and the team competition was hastily added when mages couldn’t participate in the preliminaries due to restrictions on familiar participation.

This led to people’s basic perception being that “individual matches are the main event”, and while team matches had their own charm, the impact of each individual participant was inevitably less.

“Facing them in the red corner! The Empire’s Crown Mage, the Witch of the South’s one and only top protégé! Algind Goodwitch and her companions!”

“Wooooooah!”

Enthusiastic cheers rang out.

To say it didn’t lose out even compared to the Haga team’s cheers would be choosing words carefully for the sake of the champions’ honor; in reality, the cheers for Algind were overwhelming.

Naturally, Haga and his companions’ faces twisted.

This ridiculous situation where in a match between champions and challengers, the cheers for the challengers were much louder. Even though this was the Haga party’s first match of the tournament.

However, the audience had their reasons too.

This side is pretty and cool.

On one side, there’s a pretty magic girl with impressive titles attached and her escort knights. On the other side, three dark-skinned men. There’s simply no comparison.

No, if the men were handsome, or conversely, if they gave off an incredibly dignified feeling, that would be popular in its own way, but they’re a bit plain.

For Haga, it was enough to make him go crazy and jump.

No, even Kalidahs completely covers themselves in armor so no one knew what they looked like, so why was that guy popular while they were treated like this?

The lament about the unfairness of the world soon transformed into hatred for the opponents before them.

Haga gritted his teeth and said to his companions, “Let’s thoroughly crush that woman.”

“She’s the student of a high-ranking imperial person, can we handle the aftermath?”

“Damn it, if we were going to worry about such things, we shouldn’t have entered this tournament in the first place. If they act petty about this, we can just flee to another nation. Besides, don’t we need to do this much to greatly increase our name value?”

“…You have a point.”

“If you understand, take the medicine.”

After confirming that the two burly middle-aged warriors each took out and swallowed a small pill, Haga prepared his magic.

As soon as the signal to start the match rang out, the two warriors solidified their defense by putting large shields in front.

They looked as if they had no intention of attacking first at all.

Behind the temporary barrier created by his companions, Haga’s magic activated.

Swish.

Acrid smoke slowly spread out, as if burning damp branches.

Despite being outdoors, the gray smoke, instead of rising to the sky, began to fill the arena as if it had a will of its own.

Watching this, the commentator spoke passionately, “Yes, it’s started! The Haga team’s unique poison mist tactics! Those who inhale the magically generated gas fall into a state where their whole body is paralyzed and they can’t move! The only ways to deal with it are to eat a specific antidote in advance or to suppress breathing! Team Algind Goodwitch! How will they respond!?”

Blabbering loudly, how noisy.

Haga complained about the commentator who was explaining all of their hard-earned tactics in detail.

He couldn’t help it since it was essentially telling the opponent to move quickly instead of staying still.

He understood that “unknown smoke vigorously rises and moves, then participants who inhale it fall down one by one and it’s over” wasn’t very helpful in terms of creating excitement, but it still felt like biased judging.

Sure enough, the opposing team’s knights quickly came forward and charged.

They looked as if they were trying to quickly cut down Haga, the source of the mist.

Clang!

But they couldn’t achieve their goal.

The two warriors with large shields were thoroughly devoted to defense, protecting Haga.

Spread poison mist, then an absolute defense followed that would stall the opponents until they collapsed.

This was team Haga’s surefire strategy, and also the reason why they weren’t very popular.

While it was a very powerful and effective tactic, it left an impression of being relatively plain and dragging things out.

Among them, there were even those who pointed fingers, saying it was a cowardly tactic unfit for a martial arts tournament, or that they couldn’t win without poisoning.

Of course, Haga didn’t listen to any of this.

If it looks so easy, why don’t you do it yourself?

Preparing poison that worked even on those who could strengthen their bodies with mana, preparing antidotes so allies weren’t affected while changing the type of poison each time so opponents couldn’t prepare antidotes, manipulating the mist at will so it wasn’t blown away by wind-based magic—none of this was easy.

To begin with, the poison mist magic Haga used was something he had modified for over a decade from what some necromancer originally used.

The original magic couldn’t be used without many corpses nearby, had no ability to give directionality, and its effect was halved unless it was used in an enclosed space—forcibly improving these shortcomings required ridiculous amounts of mana that could only be talked about theoretically. The fact that he had turned it into a practical magic, even on a small scale, was enough to showcase Haga’s talent.

“Aah! They can’t break through! They can’t break through! Team Algind! They can’t penetrate team Haga’s iron-like defense!”

The skills of the knights who entered with Algind were undoubtedly excellent, but the warriors of Haga’s team were also skilled enough to win a famous martial arts tournament.

Moreover, the knights of team Algind had the penalty of having to fight while suppressing their breathing as much as possible, while conversely, the Haga team’s warriors had the merit of only needing to endure without worrying about attacking.

Even as the attack and defense repeated, the mist gradually spread, and the knights’ movements became slower and slower.

While Haga sensed victory, at the same time, one question arose in his mind.

Why isn’t she moving?

Unlike the knights doing their best to break through the defense, Algind showed no sign of movement, standing with her hands behind her back in the rear.

Come to think of it, I heard that in the previous match too, only the knights fought while she just stood still. Could it be that she has no ability to fight?

While it seemed unlikely given her title as the Crown Mage’s top protégé, when he thought it might be part of the “creating a plausible career” typical of high-ranking people, it seemed to make sense.

With half doubt and half expectation, Haga turned his gaze towards Algind.

The sight of Algind staring intently somewhere in the audience seats, without even glancing this way, filled his vision.

This bitch?

Heat rose to Haga’s head.

While it was impossible to confirm who in the audience she was looking at, the very fact that she was distracted like this during a match was extremely unpleasant for Haga.

Haga drew up more mana.

Unlike the creation of poison mist, which he had raised to a reasonably efficient level, the magic to manipulate the created mist was still lacking in many ways and moved excruciatingly slowly, but he forcibly accelerated it.

He felt his head throbbing and mana gushing out, but in return, the mist instantly approached right in front of Algind.

It was the moment Haga was certain of victory.

“…Hmm, it seems I can’t be like them, even though we have twice the number. Truly regrettable.”

Haga didn’t understand Algind’s muttering.

There was no time to understand.

The moment Arlind turned her gaze and stretched out her hand forward, a sudden gust of wind struck Haga and his companions like an iron mace.

Whoosh!

The poison mist was swept away in an instant.

The shields and armor the warriors were wearing were crushed in a single breath.

Haga rolled on the ground entangled with his companions, not only pushed out of the arena but finally stopping only after crashing into the wall below the audience seats.

It was the moment when the Wizard, master of attribute magic, shattered the previous champions.

***

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