225 Episode 225 "I thought about the purpose of the" martial arts tournament "and the cancellation of the" contract "".txt

For now, we took Tanaka-Koga into the shadows of the warehouse district to hear about the martial arts tournament.

It's because we wanted to hear about the Martial Arts Tournament.

But before that...

Don't ever attack my people again.

I looked at Tanaka-Koga and said, "You've attacked my people twice.

"You attacked my friends twice," he said. The first time was when you were working for the Noblemen's Guild. This is the second time. I have no intention of fighting you.

...... gunu.

Tanaka-Coga sits on the ground and stares at us.

This guy's friends are gone.

Aine, who came after us, used her cheat skill, Memory Wipe, to wipe out all memories of us.

Now Aine is keeping an eye out for more enemies.

'You know what, Tanaka. In the first place, a brave man attacking an opponent who doesn't want to fight with three times as many people as ...... is impossible. That's not what a self-proclaimed brave man would do.

"...... Nagi," "...... Nagi-san" and "...... Arujidono.

Rita, Letitia and Cutlass are mumbling worriedly behind me.

I'm starting to get angry for good reason too.

If you normally come to pick up Rita and Leticia, you're suddenly in a battle.

And I heard that Tanaka-Coga said something like 'practice for a martial arts tournament'.

Rita and Leticia explained that neither of them are interested in the 'martial arts tournament'.

Even if you ...... erase your memory, Tanaka-Coga is going to do ...... the same thing.

I mumbled softly so that Tanaka wouldn't hear me.

Then I looked at Tanaka.

'I don't mind playing the brave without your knowledge. I'm just saying, don't attack someone who doesn't want to fight.

...... Oh, oh.

Tanaka-Coga, bound behind his back, nodded disappointedly.

'But I won't be messing with your people again. You may "contract" ......

Okay. And I need to ask you about The Martial Arts Tournament. And why you're so obsessed with it. You're a brave man with the approval of the nobles, right? Why would you need to accomplish anything now?

'Oh, oh, ...... that story.'

Tanaka-Koga looked frightened, his shoulders shaking.

"The reason we're having a 'martial arts tournament' is because there are too many brave souls out there ...... and we have to differentiate ourselves.

「「「「 Too many brave people? 」」」」

Me, Rita, Letitia, and Cutlass' lines were hammered.

Could it be that there are too many brave people .......

'Is it because of the flood of brave people in the world that we're having a brave deflation?'

What's that?

''If there's one or two brave men, it's worth it, but if there are ten or twenty brave men, the value per brave man will go down. That's how it is.

Yeah, yeah. Something like that.

Tanaka-Coga nodded.

'There are more and more people calling themselves 'brave' just because they have powerful skills. That's why it became necessary to newly rank the brave men and women. It means that the brave men at the top will be recognized as official 'brave men'.

'It's like ranking the Adventurer's Guild.

'Right. Brave men are stronger than the people who manage the guild and the higher ranked adventurers. So the only way to rank them is to have them officially decided by kings and nobles. That's what the 'martial arts tournament' is for.

After finishing the story in one breath, Tanaka-Coga looked at me and slumped his shoulders again.

It's like he's already seriously scared of us.

But ...... I understand the situation.

So far, the nobles have treated the Cheat skill holders as 'brave'. It's because of that that most of the "visitors" come forward as brave.

But because of that, there are too many brave people and the title of 'brave' has become meaningless.

That's why they decided to recognize the 'officially recognized brave' by the royal family and nobles.

''I have a question for you.''

Suddenly, Leticia looked at me.

I heard earlier, but in Irgapha, there's a 'Tekutama Yuusha' who drank the 'Anti-Monarch Potion', right? If all you have to do is decide who is officially brave, don't you have to create something like that?

...... the reason for creating 'Cannonball Brave'?

I held my forehead.

I can kind of understand why ....... I hate myself for knowing.

"Isn't it because you'd need a non-brave (・・・・・・) 'fake self-styled brave' to decide who's 'brave'?

「「「「...... a」」」」

Rita, Letitia and Cutlass. And Tanaka-Koga, too, has his eyes wide open as if he has noticed something.

I continue.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to decide on the brave men and women based on their abilities if they all have 'cheat skills'. That's why we need 'runaway, no good, self-proclaimed heroes' to compare. By doing so, I think it's a way of highlighting the 'officially recognized and admirable brave': ......

Even that 'runaway bad self-styled hero' is a made-up one.

It's a bad idea. It's really bad.

"...... You're awesome.

Tanaka-Koga looks at me with admiration.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get it right.

It's a good idea to have a fake self-styled hero ...... to determine the ...... 'hero'. It's like one of the pieces of the puzzle just clicked into place.

Now that you know, you might wanna quit being a hero.

I said.

'You know what goes on behind the scenes at The Martial Arts Tournament, right? But it doesn't matter if you're certified brave in such a race, does it?

'Duh, but ...... to ...... 'Official Brave'

''What will come after you're appointed as an 'official brave' is probably a future where you'll be told to listen to orders if you want to remain an 'official brave'. That's how the nobles of this world have always come to be.

Tanaka-Coga's eyes widened as I said it. I think I have an idea.

But Tanaka let out a long sigh.

"...... Sorry. Third place in a martial arts competition is part of the 'deal'.

'Contract'?

Yeah. I lose in the semifinals to Count Gervis of the North Town of Hermilt. It's a very good idea to have a good time with them. I can't back out now.

"Give me my armor and my sword back.

What?

So if the condition of the Contract is that I get my armor and my sword, wouldn't it make you less bound by the Contract if you gave it back?

'No, you can't do that. The organizers of the tournament gave us this equipment to make us look good to the audience. The organizer of the tournament gave us this equipment for the sake of appearance to the spectators, and they said that if we fought against Count Gervis with this poor equipment, the value of the event would be compromised. It would be a problem for them if we returned the equipment.

I see. ......

The tournament organizers gave Tanaka-Coga a flashy sword and armor so that he would look good when he fought the Count.

In return, Tanaka-Coga 'contracted' to lose in the semifinals.

Returning the sword and armor would embarrass the organizers of the tournament: ......, huh?

'It was the organizer's convenience that gave us the sword and armor. Why did you have to 'sign a contract'?

'So! If I didn't equip that sword and armor, the semifinals would be a sobering experience! That's why I'm going to 'sign up' and make the finals happen...

What's going to happen to Tanaka if things get hot?

...... No, it's the Count who's going to win.

Will the sword and armor be yours?

...... No, after I'm defeated, you're supposed to say, 'The Count is the one who deserves this equipment,' and offer it up.

'With those terms, there's no reason to 'sign up', is there? It's too little merit by any stretch of the imagination: ......?

I said.

I turned around and saw Rita, Letitia, and Cutlass nodding.

They all seemed to understand how unnatural this 'contract' was.

Tanaka-Coga's 'contract' was 'Instead of freeing up awesome equipment to the martial arts tournament, I'll lose to the Count in the semi-finals.

But if it's for the organizer's convenience that they gave you the armor and sword, there's no need to make a 'contract'. All you have to do is give them a normal "Please use this to fight" and that's it.

And on top of that, if he loses before the semi-finals, he'll be ruined for breach of contract. It's not worth it by any stretch of the imagination.

Could it be that Tanaka-Coga ...... is being cheated?

...... You know what, Tanaka-Koga.

What the f*ck?

'I think you're making a 'deal' that you don't need. Why don't you give me my sword and armor back right now and run away ......?

My words caused Tanaka-Coga to ponder for a while.

Then, a good few minutes later──.

...... I think you might be right.

Tanaka-Coga nodded.

''That's great, man. That's what I'm talking about - he's from the same - as me. I promise to do just that. It's not just a matter of time before we get to the end of the year.

Add two more conditions.

I said, holding up two fingers.

Tanaka-Coga tried to attack Rita and Leticia as a group. I think the two of them would have won even if they fought - but it's too dangerous to just let them go, like before.

''First of all, 'You're not going to tell anyone about us.'

Okay, okay. I'll do that.

One more thing. "Quit being a brave man and have nothing to do with the royal family or the nobility...

...because...

Tanaka-Koga's face paled.

This guy was being used by the nobles because of his too strong desire to be brave. All along.

If the 'contract' set up by the 'God of Contracts' was to limit people's desires, then Tanaka-Koga should stop here.

''............ All right. I'm going to quit being a brave man ...... and stop getting involved with the nobles, too.

After a while, Thanaka-Koga said so and took out the 'Medallion of Contract'.

After that, Tanaka-Koga and I made a 'contract'.

Originally, Tanaka was going to take the weapon and armor and throw it out. However, that would mean that he would continue to be used by the nobles and would continue to run amok.

You can always stop him as long as you have a "contract" with him. I thought that was a good idea.

Another thing - while I was trying to convince him, I had a skill that had been awakened in me. Now, I'm more interested in that, too.

''Contract cancellation level 1.

Skill in "teaching" how to "terminate" a "contract

This skill was awakened while I was teaching Tanaka-Koga how to terminate the contract.

I can kind of understand why it was awakened.

Until now, I was using 'Contract' with the premise that it was cancelled.

When I cancelled Rafilia's Misfortune Skill, I was actually planning to free her from slavery as soon as possible, and when Laetitia was invaded by the Skill Contamination Skill, I made a temporary contract with her to remove the Contamination Skill.

And this time, I pointed out the deficiencies in Tanaka-Coga's contract and taught her how to terminate it.

Apparently this skill was awakened as a result of all those things.

''But ...... this skill is ...... bad.

The Contract is related to the roots of that world.

A skill that teaches you how to unlock it - and if you make it a cheat skill...

Maybe we can compete with the people who are creating the blackness of this world.

But that will have to wait.

We're going to free Tanaka-Koga, move to another place, and then...

Nagi...! I've finally met you.

Rita, as if she couldn't hold back anymore, hugged me.

"Hee hee hee. I'm sure you'll be able to find it. It's been a long time.

What, Rita?

...... nudge.

Rita's beast ears are twitching.

'Master's loyal slave, Rita-Melpheus, is lacking in the 'stroking component'.

......?

I flicked my fingers over Rita's animal ears.

I hadn't felt that in a long time. It's soft and feels so good to the touch.

I feel like I can stay like this forever.

I'm not going to be able to go to ....... Happiness ......

...... I didn't see anything.

...... I didn't see anything, either.

...... Aine has a reference.

Letitia and Cutlass turn around and Aine is staring at us gunning for us. 'Okay.

'So, so Nagi-san. Since you've joined us, do you guys want to go back to Ilgafa?

'That's the thing: ...... Actually, the Lord of Ilgafa asked me to do something for you.

To be precise, it was a proposal that Iris and I discussed with the lord, and to be precise, it was a suggestion we made to him as an accompaniment to this luxurious tour.

In fact, we were asked by the lord to create a 'Commercial City Metekal Martial Arts Tournament Report'.

"Report?

Even over there, we've had some 'gunball heroes' who drank potions and stuff like that show up. They asked me to see what's going on, as far as I could tell.

However, I was told not to take it too far.

The part of the report that can't be shown on the surface will be used as Ilgafa's data, and the bland part will be sold as the 'Martial Arts Tournament Experience'. If it sells, we will also receive some profit.

''Rita and Leticia also had a hard time getting information. We can't let it go to waste.

I said, and Rita and Letitia smiled wryly.

''Sounds interesting. Let's investigate the whole situation and behind-the-scenes of this 'martial arts tournament' event,'

Information is a weapon. With our research and Nagi's wisdom, we can dismantle this suspicious event.

Both of them are determined to continue the investigation.

If everyone gets serious, the report will become a "secret document" that can't be released to the public. If the report is accidentally leaked to the whole town, it would be enough to blow up the martial arts tournament itself.

Of course, I intend to manage the information properly.

I'm going to look into it for both pleasure and profit. There will probably never be a second time in your life that you'll be here. I'm going to find out what's going on in this neighborhood, in this city.

「「「「 ryokai!!!! 」」」」

That's why the "Martial Arts Tournament Investigation Team" was formed...

But first, ...... Aine, please.

Yes, sir. Activate! 'Sister's Treasure Chest'!

As I signaled, Aine took out a sword and shield from the storage skill 'Sister's Treasure Chest'.

''I've been entrusted with the sword and shield from the saintly lady for Leticia. ''Yes.''

"For me?

Perhaps Letitia is the saint's favorite?

"...... Saint Delilira, a saint, is giving me

Letitia is surprised, sword and shield in hand.

Then she looks up with a snap.

'Then we must live up to our saint's expectations. Nagi-san, I need to ask you to do something for me.

...... yeah?

'I would like to examine the effects of this sword and shield. Will you accompany me?

All right, but we have to go back to the inn and rest. But we'll come back to the inn and rest.

Yes, sir.

Then we went back to the inn where Iris was waiting for us and slept for a while.

The next day, we decided to investigate the effects of the holy woman's items.