Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta

Episode 118: The Scheming Shadow and the Black Armor

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There are hardly any people walking in the town at night. Even though it’s within the town, the public safety is not good at all. Instead of monsters attacking, it’s humans attacking each other.

“Whew, I might have had a bit too much to drink. Well, it’s fine. It’s to liven up before the match!”

Perhaps on his way back from the tavern, a masked man is staggering along the night road. His body, like hardened steel, warns us of his threat even through his clothes.

However, that’s assuming he had normal judgment. With his head intoxicated by alcohol, he can’t make sound judgments.

“Let’s go.”

I quietly command my subordinates, and we all attack the masked man from behind at once.

“Ugyaa?!”

Poor guy, he had his consciousness taken away in an instant.

“Alright, you will participate in the main tournament in this man’s place.”

“Yes!”

I order the subordinate who resembles the man the most in physique to wear the mask that the man had been wearing.

“Keep him asleep until the ceremony is over.”

“Understood.”

Killing him would be troublesome to dispose of the body. If someone were to witness the disposal, it would be troublesome, and if left unattended, it would start to smell. Therefore, I decided to keep him asleep only during the ceremony. Since we took away his consciousness before anyone could see us, there is no worry of our identity being revealed.

“Alright, let’s target the other players as well.”

“Yes!”

We are a special forces unit that came to assassinate the Dragon Emperor. However, despite participating in the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony to assassinate him, we ended up fighting each other due to our lack of luck, except for three people, and failed to qualify. It is an unprecedented failure.

But we won’t give up. We, who failed to qualify, decided to ambush the players participating in the tournament and obtain the right to participate. Fortunately, many of the participants in this tournament were hiding their faces.

“Captain, the attackers who ambushed the players were counterattacked.”

“I hope they didn’t make any mistakes that would reveal their identities.”

“They managed to escape with the support of their comrades.”

“Then it’s fine.”

“Also, one of the players hiding their faces couldn’t be found no matter where we looked.”

“Oh?”

I show interest in my subordinate’s report.

“They must be a highly skilled individual, or…”

Considering a certain possibility, I command my subordinate.

“That player is likely the Dragon Emperor. As soon as you confirm their appearance, mobilize all personnel to track them. Do not lay a hand on them. Focus on finding out where they are hiding.”

“Yes!”

My subordinates who received my orders immediately begin their actions.

“Well then, let’s proceed with the defeat of the Dragon Emperor.”

“Congratulations to everyone for advancing in the qualifiers!”

“Congratulations!”

Everyone raises their cups filled with drinks and cheers.

“We safely advanced in the qualifiers.”

“Well, of course!”

“Don’t get too cocky, or you’ll lose easily!”

“Hey hey, I’m an S-rank now, I’m not scared! I’m aiming for the championship!”

“This idiot is getting too full of himself.”

Minako sighs at Gyro’s cheerful demeanor. But perhaps because they were able to advance in the qualifiers, Minako also seems to be in a good mood.

“We did it! We advanced in the qualifiers! I’ll do my best, Master… I mean, Father!”

Lune-san is also excited because she was able to advance in the qualifiers.

“But really, I never thought we would be able to advance in such a large-scale tournament.”

“Yeah, thanks to Rex’s special training.”

Norbu-san raises his cup as if to swallow his surprise and excitement for advancing in the qualifiers, and Meguri-san also reaches for the food with a cheerful expression, agreeing with him.

“No, this is everyone’s ability.”

“I won’t be so conceited. If we were still the same as before, we wouldn’t even be able to come here in the first place.”

I think that’s not true. Everyone’s talent is genuine, and I’m just someone who accelerated everyone’s growth.

“Ah, but I really want to fight with my big brother soon! Who could be disguising as my big brother?”

“Hehe, that’s a secret.”

Yes, I was participating in this tournament in disguise. Originally, I didn’t intend to stand out in this life.

It’s inevitable that I became an S-rank adventurer even though I haven’t done anything significant, but if I were to win this tournament, I would attract the attention of the nobles. That would be a repeat of my past life.

That’s why I didn’t plan on participating in the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony, but Liliera-san made a suggestion to me.

“You should disguise yourself.”

If I disguise myself and change my name to participate, my true identity as an S-rank adventurer Rex won’t be exposed to the audience or the nobles. It’s certainly a good idea.

The guild master who requested my participation initially showed reluctance, but after the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony is over and we leave this country, he agreed that it would be acceptable to announce that “an S-rank adventurer had participated.” He was satisfied because he thought that if the identity of the mysterious participant was an S-rank adventurer, it might not be me but another S-rank adventurer. It was a compromise with the organizers who wanted to add some shine to the tournament.

“But why keep it a secret from us? We’re comrades, so you could have told us.”

Norbu-san tilts his head, wondering why his identity is kept a secret from them.

“Well, you see. Big brother is intentionally keeping secret who he disguised himself as so that we can seriously challenge him! Right, big brother?”

“I see. Indeed, if we, who know Rex’s true abilities, couldn’t defeat him, it wouldn’t be strange for us to give up.”

“That’s why Rex is participating while hiding his identity from us, so that Gyro and the others won’t be intimidated.”

“…Yes, that’s right. If we keep winning the matches, we will definitely be able to fight.”

…I didn’t really think about it that seriously… Well, let’s just go with that.

“Woohoo! I’ll definitely fight against big brother! Who could he be disguised as?”

Minako

On the day of the match, the venue was bustling with many players. But the excitement in the spectator seats was even greater.

“Wow, there are so many people.”

“Of course. Dragon Princess herself is participating in this tournament.”

The nearby players are also surprised by the large number of people. In fact, there are even standing spectators because there are so many people.

“That’s right, but it’s also because the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony was added to determine the Dragon Emperor role. That’s a big factor.”

“Yeah, it’s the first tournament where men can participate. The prize money is also an enormous amount.”

The Dragon Princess Ceremony, held every year, is the highlight of the festival, as the winner receives a prize money. But since it was a tournament where only women could participate, when the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony was added and men were allowed to participate, it caused a big commotion among the men in town. Actually, Gyro and the others said that there were many ordinary men participating in the qualifiers. However, as ordinary people who have never fought against monsters, they couldn’t compete in a tournament where true skilled fighters gathered.

Just the fact that the tournament was divided into two, allowing men to participate, was already amazing, but there was another reason why the townspeople were excited.

“Hey, do you think it’s true that the Dragon Emperor is participating in the tournament?”

“Ah, the Golden Dragon incident.”

One month ago, the town of Tatsutron was attacked by a large horde of monsters.

“It’s strange that the ones who actually fought managed to survive.”

“I can’t believe that the Golden Dragon appeared in such a dangerous battle. And it even fought to protect us.”

“There was a person riding on the back of that Golden Dragon.”

Actually, this story is quite famous. On the day the people of this town saw the Golden Dragon for the first time, it was confirmed that there was a person riding on its back. Fortunately, the face couldn’t be seen because it was almost sunset at that time.

“There’s only one person who can ride on the back of the Golden Dragon.”

“Yeah, only the Dragon Emperor.”

The townspeople think that the Dragon Emperor came riding on the Golden Dragon to protect the town. From our perspective, who knows the truth, it’s a sigh-inducing story.

And before we knew it, there were rumors circulating that the Dragon Emperor was participating in this Dragon Emperor’s ceremony. I wonder who started such rumors.

“Now, we will begin the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony and the Dragon Princess Ceremony!”

The voice of the emcee echoes in the venue.

“In this tournament, we will hold the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony and the Dragon Princess Ceremony in the same venue at the same time. However, the matches themselves will be separate for men and women.”

Well, of course. It’s the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony and the Dragon Princess Ceremony, so the matches should be properly separated by gender. Otherwise, there’s a chance that both the Dragon Emperor and the Dragon Princess could end up being either both men or both women.

“Now, let’s begin the first match of the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony: Tiran vs. Salvar!”

The player called Tiran is a fully armored swordsman in black plate armor, while the player called Salvar is a lightly armored spear user.

Tiran is covered in black full plate mail with a black cloak, and his face is hidden by a full-face helmet, so it’s hard to see his body shape or even determine his age or gender. Well, since he’s participating in the Dragon Emperor’s ceremony, I assume he’s a man.

“Oh, he’s fully armored and heavily defended.”,”That armor is quite extravagant. Is he a noble?”

“He’s just showing off. There’s no way someone wearing such a conspicuous armor wouldn’t become famous.”

The surrounding spectators are trying to guess Tiran’s identity based on his armor, but they seem skeptical of his abilities. If the people in this town don’t know him, does that mean he’s not from this country?

“This match seems disadvantageous for that Tiran player.”

And Liliera murmurs while looking at Tiran.

“If the arena is small, wouldn’t a player with a sturdy armor have an advantage?”

Indeed, Lune’s opinion has a point.

“In a fight with the same reach, the one with stronger defense has the advantage. But the opponent, Salvar, is a spear user. He can attack from a greater distance than Tiran. He probably chose light armor considering the advantages of his weapon. His strategy is to always keep a certain distance from his opponent and attack from outside their range. It’s simple, which makes it difficult to deal with unless you surpass him in skill. Furthermore, the full-face helmet has poor visibility. Without a doubt, Salvar will attack from the blind spot of the helmet.”

I see, Salvar prioritizes mobility to prevent the opponent from attacking. But it takes a lot of courage to do that in actual combat. If he’s lightly armored, a single wrong hit could be fatal.

As a mage, I can’t really relate to the choice of close combat equipment, so the opinion of a seasoned A-rank adventurer is helpful.

“The match begins!”

With the referee’s announcement, Salvar jumps to the side. Just as Liliera predicted, it seems like a strategy to attack Tiran from outside his field of vision.

“Yes! Full plate armor like that is just unnecessary weight in a match like this!”

Salvar taunts while circling behind Tiran.

“Take this!”

And while maintaining his running momentum, he thrusts his spear into Tiran’s back. The spear pierces through the gaps in Tiran’s armor. The speed is truly lightning-fast.

“Wow!”

“Kyaa!”

The spectators who are not familiar with battles scream and cover their faces at the early and gruesome outcome. Everyone was convinced of Tiran’s defeat, or so they thought.

“…What? Are you kidding?”

Surprisingly, just before Salvar’s spear, which was attacking from behind, could pierce Tiran’s armor, it suddenly stopped.

“The attack stopped?”

“Why did it stop? If he had just continued, he would have won.”

“That’s not it.”

In response to the audience’s questioning voices, Liliera denies with a whisper.

That was the truth. Salvar’s spear, which was launched, was completely stopped by the two fingers that Tiran extended. It was completely immobilized.

“Unbelievable. He stopped the spear with his fingers…”

“How did he do that?”

Seeing that scene, Meguri and Lune exchange puzzled looks.

“He can’t move?”

Then, when Tiran moves his hand, Salvar is pulled and loses his balance. The movement completely ignores Salvar’s weight, as if he doesn’t exist. How can he exert such force? And then, Tiran throws Salvar and his spear straight up into the air, and Salvar soars high in the sky.

“Wow!”

“”What?!””

Salvar’s screams as he is thrown and the surprised voices of the spectators who witnessed the scene overlap. And Salvar, who was thrown into the air, gradually becomes smaller and smaller.

“Hey, hey… How high is he going to go?”

“Wait, is that player okay?”

A nearby spectator voices their confusion as Salvar continues to rise. Yeah, I can understand that feeling very well. We are always surprised by what Rex does…

“Wait, could it be that player…”

“Wow!”

While lost in thought, it seems like Salvar, who was flying in the sky, has finally started to descend.

“He’s coming down.”

“I thought he was going to keep flying up into the clouds.”

As Salvar’s figure gradually approaches, the people who thought he would disappear are relieved. Honestly, it’s a relief that clearly deviates from the norm, but it’s understandable after witnessing such a scene.

“By the way, how is he going to land?”

Suddenly, a spectator voices their question.

“Huh? Well, normally from his feet… Oh.”

And at that moment, another spectator realizes the intention behind the question and speaks up.

“Hey, isn’t that dangerous?”

Yeah, if he lands like that, it could be a serious problem with the falling speed. Specifically, it would be like dropping an egg on the ground, with bright red blood…

“Is this really dangerous?”

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, we panic about what to do. Salvar can’t fly in the air with magic like us, and if that player, Tiran, is who we think he is, or rather, if he’s exactly as we predicted, he might not realize the danger of Salvar not being able to land.

“I-if it comes to it, we’ll have to intervene and save him, even if it means interrupting the stage…”

We didn’t want to stand out before our own match, but there’s no other choice.

“I’ll catch you!”

At that moment, Liliera shouts with a loud voice that echoes throughout the venue. Of course, the person she’s shouting to is not us or the spectators.

“Huh?”

Tiran, who was addressed by Liliera, moves. Tiran moves under Salvar, spreads his arms, and prepares to catch him.

“Thank goodness, this way… Oh, but even if they’re caught, both of them won’t get away unscathed, right?”

If they’re caught like that, even if they’re both caught, it’s not going to end well, right? At the very least, the one falling…

“…!”

But just as I thought that, suddenly Salvar’s falling speed visibly slows down.

“What? It suddenly slowed down!”

The spectators exclaim in surprise at Salvar’s sudden decrease in falling speed.

“Could it be… magic?”

When Salvar’s falling speed slows down, I feel the arena filling with magical energy. He probably used some kind of magic to reduce his falling speed.

“But I’ve never heard of such magic.”

It’s probably his original magic. And the fact that he can use such magic means that, as expected, Tiran’s true identity is…

And when Tiran catches Salvar and gently lays him on the ground, it seems like Salvar has fainted, as there is no sign of movement.

“…”

Tiran immediately kneels down and places his hand on Salvar’s neck, checking something. I think he’s checking if he’s seriously injured or not.

And it seems like he’s okay, as Tiran moves his shoulder and makes a gesture to the referee, indicating that he’s alive.

“Um, um… Due to Salvar’s unconsciousness, the winner is Tiran!”

“…”

Despite the referee’s declaration of the winner, the venue remained silent. And when the figures of Salvar and Tiran, carried by the staff from the stage, disappeared into the back of the venue, the tension finally seemed to dissipate, and sighs began to escape from the spectators. And…

“…W-what was that just now?”

The surprised voices of the spectators, who finally realized the reality, echoed through the venue.

“That was Rex’s disguise.”

“Yes, there’s no doubt about it.”

Even in disguise, it’s easy to tell. Actually, now that I think about it, even if Rex disguises himself, it’s obvious who he is.

He’s always involved in outrageous battles. It’s only natural that his fighting style doesn’t change even if he’s in disguise.

Well, I didn’t expect him to participate in such a conspicuous armor. He always says he doesn’t want to stand out.

“…There’s no way he made that armor himself, right?”