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The day came for the battle royale that would determine the guild ranking.

“Woah, there’s so many people here!”

Hinagiku looked around, her voice filled with shock.

First, they returned to the Starting City Wyndham to enroll into the tournament, then headed to the battle arena which was located in a park in the southern district. There they saw a multitude of players that had already gathered.

“A-are we really fighting here?”

Lycoris was the one most worried by that. Their guild Lua Cheia quickly gathered everyone’s attention, making her feel overwhelmed so she quickly hid behind Crim. Though that was probably the worst place to hide if she wanted to avoid attention.

The live stream from a few days prior had also increased Crim’s popularity, so she had to do her best to bear with it while they searched for an empty space.

“I became a fan after your stream! Please call me a pig!”
“Huhh?! Ah…alright, umm… Pig?”
“Thank you!!”

A random player approached Crim, and then left happily, which Crim could only watch with a flabbergasted look. That had already happened countless times on their way there though.

“You’re really famous now, Crim-chan.”
“I really wish I could’ve avoided this kind of attention though…”

Frey teased her with a restrained chuckle, and Crim replied with a dejected voice, looking dreary. Though Crim was still optimistic, sure that the initial excitement would eventually simmer down and she would be able to relax in public again.

And then shortly after…

“Ah, hello Crim.”
“Ohh, is that you Elmir?”

Someone behind greeted her. Turning around, she saw a familiar figure in knight armor. Seeing it was someone she knew, Crim quickly lowered her guard.

“I watched your stream, it seems you’ve gotten really popular since then.”
“Hahah… Thou may laugh at my expense, if you so desire?”

Putting on the airs of her Crim Lua Cheia persona, she tried joking with him.

“Not at all, actually…umm, I think it kinda fits and is…cute?”
“Is…is that so? I must say, being praised in such a manner outside of a live stream is rather embarrassing…”

Seeing that it was turned into an earnest compliment made Crim feel slightly awkward. But Elmir’s face remained serious. The reason for which lay in his position in the tournament, or to be more precise…

“To be honest I wanted to tell you that soon you’d see just how much we’ve improved since our last duel but…”
“Ah, I believe thy guild Silver Wings was assigned another block, which…”

He was in the seventh block, the same one with the current frontrunner guild Nord Glacier

“Yeah… I guess I have terrible luck ahahah, or maybe it’s karma for what I did before?”
“Elmir…”

Seeing his shoulders slump with worry, Crim tried to comfort him. But as soon as Elmir noticed that, he put on a strong front and grinned, not wanting to make Crim stress out about him.

“Still, I have no intention of losing today. It’s a battle royale, so I’ll have plenty of chances to sneak up on them. We’ve been training like hell after you defeated us after all!”
“I see… Then see it through, will you? And then we shall meet again in battle, just as we promised.”

And so Crim also grinned. That made Elmir stare open mouthed for a second, but he quickly shook that off and smiled happily again.

“…Okay! See you tomorrow then!”

Emil said with a firm nod. Now he was filled with motivation and was no longer afraid of his fight, which also made Crim feel better.

Then again, she could not afford to worry about a different guild. Crim turned around to face the person who was the most nervous there, Lycoris, who was still hiding behind Crim and firmly holding onto her coat.

“Lycoris, are you okay?”
“I-I-I-I’m…okay…”

She doesn’t sound okay at all.

Lycoris had always been an introvert, and feeling so many people looking in her direction made her even more afraid.

Even now she was walking strangely, moving the arm and leg of the same side forward and back, rather than in opposite directions as one normally would. The effect this situation had on her was obvious.

But at least for today, she had nothing to worry about.

“It’s fine, everything will be alright.”
“Crim..?”
“Because we’re keeping the true power of your Magius Gun secret. You should focus on finding a spot where no one will find you first, and only shoot when you’re sure safe.”
“O-okay…”

She seemed to calm down a little, so Crim patted her head.

Crim had not wanted to let others know that Lycoris was a sniper before their fight, but with her specifically there was something more important to accomplish there. Namely, getting her used to battles where many people were watching.

If she could get comfortable with team fights, or even large guild vs guild battles, then that was enough.

“And Hinagiku, you’ll be doing a lot more fighting this time, is that alright?”
“Yes, I’m ready for that. I just have to go wild and let everyone know that I’m a threat, correct?”
“Mhm, you learn fast.”
“Eheheh…I can’t wait.”

Hinagiku did not seem too concerned. Having to defeat a powerful boss in front of a large audience, all to obtain her Katana Skill, had already given her enough confidence.

“Frey, is it alright if you’re the one giving all orders and making sure everyone is in formation?”
“Yeah, of course. Leave it to me.”

Frey also nodded, not too worried about it.

“And Freya, try to always stick with me or Hinagiku, and become the healer that’s keeping everyone alive.”
“Mhm, that way I’ll be ready for tomorrow too, right?”

Crim nodded at Freya, who already knew what her role would be.

“Listen up everyone, let’s do our best to place in a high rank! Or…that’s what I’d like to say…”

Since they were taking part, they might as well aim to win. Though the actual tournament would only begin the next day.

“Sadly…if we make it through to the fight tomorrow, I’m not confident that I’ll be able to fight together with all of you. So ideally I want the four of you to get used to working together without me.”
“You’re still worried about him then?”
“Yeah… I’ll probably be too busy trying to hold him back tomorrow.”

Crim’s voice became lower, almost a whisper as she stared somewhere…

“Oh, are those…”
“The current frontrunners to win…”
“I feel like anyone who loses to a pretty boy like that would lose all confidence in fighting again…”

Other players also began to react, opening the way for a group of five who all wore matching black military uniforms.

Leading them was the silver haired guy with horns, who walked with his head straight as if he owned the place. Next to him was a younger boy, a blonde magician who nonchalantly followed the first, paying no attention to what everyone else was saying.

On the other side was another young man carrying a greatbow on his shoulder, who had a slightly ominous figure, and who kept talking without reserve to the blonde and silver haired ones. The last two members walked on the left and side of the whole group, and did not draw as much attention.

They were Nord Glacier, the frontrunners to win the entire tournament, and who had an undefeated track record supporting that.

Crim was also staring intently at that group, when suddenly their leader turned to glance at Crim as well.

It’s the same as back then.

Crim had met him before, back when Hinagiku was obtaining her Katana Skill. Back then she had felt that same gaze, that of a blood hungry predator eyeing its prey.

“Pretty boy? What about him makes him pretty…”

That was a rather positive adjective, maybe one for a man with a refined appearance, or with gentle manners. Or maybe someone who simply was a really good person.

But Crim felt like the silver haired man was nothing like that, her hand trembling as she tried to hold back her fighting instinct.

Even overwhelmed by such pressure, Crim could not stifle a grin, almost like a kid who was filled with excitement for something fun.