Chapter 128 · The Colosseum (2)

There was someone coming to mind.

I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.

‘I really must miss that man terribly.’

To think of him just from looking at a complete stranger.

He must be fighting monsters on the continent across the sea right now.

「Honor to death!」

Dum-dum-dum-dum, the drums sounded four times, and with a terrifying slogan, the match began.

「Come at me, you mute bastard!」

The bushy fighter kept provoking him, panting, but the man in black only maintained his combat stance and did not move an inch. Black energy seemed to rise behind him—was that my imagination?

「Are you scared? Huh?」

The fighter, who had been mocking him continuously, charged first.

「Yaaaaaah!!」

The man in black simply watched his opponent come running, kicking up dirt. If I hadn’t heard beforehand that he was an outstanding swordsman, I would have thought he was frozen in fear.

He stood motionless until the spear was about to pierce his chest, then avoided it with the slightest movement. What tremendous courage and reflexes.

‘He really reminds me of someone.’

In the blink of an eye, he moved behind his opponent and swung his sword widely once, and in an instant the mace strapped to the bushy fighter’s back flew off. How deeply he had cut—despite the mace serving as armor, blood sprayed out.

「Kuh!」

The bushy fighter, staggering for a moment, raised his shield to block the sword flying at him without pause.

Clang!

The sound of sword striking shield rang out loudly.

Clang! Clang! The man in black kept pressing his opponent. Despite his lean build, he must have enormous strength. He seemed to swing the sword lightly, yet his opponent could not withstand it and kept being pushed back.

「Kuaaaah!!」

The bushy fighter somehow pulled himself together and swung his shield with a scream. The man ducked nimbly, avoided it, and seized the opening to break his opponent’s spear.

The fighter, startled, quickly threw down the spear and drew the sword at his waist. But before he could do anything, the man in black cut his waist and leg. It was so fast it was invisible, and only the blood spraying into the air told me he had been attacked.

「Aaaagh!!」

The bushy fighter screamed in pain and sank down, wrapping his body with his shield. The man in black picked up the mace rolling on the ground without any hesitation and swung it. Crash! With a loud noise, the shield flew from the fighter’s hand.

「Uwaaah… uwaaah!」

The fighter, having lost his only means of protection, swung his sword wildly and shuffled backward while sitting. It seemed he could not stand because his leg had been cut. Boooo—fierce boos came from the stands.

The man in black lightly and mercilessly struck the fighter’s sword away with a clang. All of this happened in less than three minutes.

“I-is it over?”

Cyrus, who had been covering his eyes with his palm, asked cautiously.

“Yeah. It seems roughly over.”

“I-it ended quickly.”

Emet had pretended to watch, but her eyes had been mostly closed.

I could not take my eyes off the man in black. Every movement of his somehow reminded me of Paeon. Even his lean body covered in firm muscle seemed more and more similar the longer I looked…

‘Ahaha! That’s impossible, no way. My imagination is truly rich.’

It’s not as if every outstanding swordsman in the world is Paeon. Am I some blind fool? How pretty a father does he have to be for me to become a blind fool?

The black-clad swordsman aimed his sword at the fallen fighter’s neck. In the Ars Confelo, that would have ended the match. But the horn signaling the end did not sound. Instead, mad slogans poured from the stands.

「Kill him!」

「Kill!」

Everyone stamped their feet and shouted like lunatics.

‘Why do they need to kill him? He’s already half dead!’

What pleasure is there in killing a man lying defeated by an overwhelming difference in skill?

The man in black seemed to think the same as me, because he removed his foot from the bushy fighter’s chest and quietly sheathed his sword.

Boooooo!!

Criticism poured down. Wondering why they were like that, I realized they had paid expensive admission and were angry the match ended so anticlimactically. They wanted at least to see the loser who had put on a pathetic match die.

「Kill him!」

「Give us our money’s worth!」

When the roar in the stands showed no sign of stopping, the agency owner hurried out.

「Everyone, please calm down!」

He waved his arms to soothe the crowd, but complaints poured out from everywhere.

「We paid double because the ‘Black Monster’ was appearing!」

「If you do this, we’ll never come again!」

「A-all right! This time, ten! I’ll have him face ten at once!」

The agency owner shouted arbitrarily without even asking the swordsman’s consent. The crowd quieted a little, apparently satisfied.

‘Would Paeon have been like that in his combat slave days?’

It made my stomach twist, as if he had become a spectacle for people.

‘Well, a gladiator’s job is to be a spectacle and get paid for it…’

I was certainly in no position to pity anyone.

“Ten against one is too much, isn’t it?!”

“Ugh, I really can’t watch. Why do I have only four limbs and not the ability to cover my eyes and ears at the same time?”

Emet and Cyrus looked ready to throw up at any moment.

Before long, the horn and drums sounded again, and ten fighters burst out at once. They surrounded the man in black and circled like beasts eyeing prey.

After probing each other for a while, they soon entered the real fight.

「Whoaaaa!」

The audience looked simply delighted. To find enjoyment in other people’s lives hanging in the balance was sickening, but I could not deny that the match was ‘fun.’ Perhaps because there were more people, it felt much more dynamic and exciting than before.

The man in black shone even more when fighting multiple opponents. His body was light, as if he were flying like a bird.

Clang! Clang! Clang! He parried several swords while striking opponents hard with his elbows and legs. The fighters who took hits to vital points sprawled on the ground and could not get up quickly. Around him, as he spun quickly and unfolded dazzling swordsmanship, the fighters fell like autumn leaves.

Without realizing it, I was cheering for him. In this distant island country, I found myself sincerely cheering for a complete stranger. How strange.

‘I need to fix this habit of needlessly empathizing.’

A few minutes later, the only person standing in the arena was the man in black. He drove his sword into the backs of the hands of those writhing and trying to rise.

「Kuaaaagh!」

The other fighters either fainted, foaming at the mouth, or threw down their weapons and signaled surrender.

Bwooooo!!

At last, the horn signaling the end of the match sounded.

He had defeated everyone but killed no one. It was a truly clean match. And yet there were people grumbling.

「Who does he think he is? Arrogant bastard!」

It wasn’t even an insult to me, yet irritation surged.

‘Getting mad is ugly, ugly!’

The man in black left the arena without paying attention to the audience’s cheers. It was as if honor or admiration meant nothing to him.

「How about that? He’s truly amazing, isn’t he?」

The attendant, who had been holding his breath throughout the match, spoke.

「…He is.」

I stared quietly at the door through which he had exited.

「With skills like that, why doesn’t he apply to be a royal knight? Well, thanks to that, our owner has been very happy lately.」

「You said he might be a vicious criminal. A criminal can’t become a royal knight.」

「For a criminal, he seems too noble. He doesn’t enjoy killing, either.」

「Hmm…」

What was the point of investigating a man I wasn’t even going to hire? I tried to focus on the next match.

But after seeing his match, the other matches looked like child’s play. There were even people who ran around for nearly half an hour without attacking each other. Since they didn’t use divine power or mana, it felt sluggish.

Anyway, I had come determined to hire proper mercenaries this time, so I picked three with decent skills and paid for them.

「An excellent choice. Haha, you have a good eye. I will send the mercenaries to your island in a few days.」

When I hired the expensive mercenaries second only to the ‘Black Monster’ without hesitation, the agency owner bowed so low his head touched the floor.

When we came outside, the sun was hanging low.

“Phew, finally getting out of here!”

“I really never want to come again.”

As we returned to the lodging with the Sohrab siblings utterly exhausted even though they had barely watched the matches, my steps felt very heavy.

As if I were leaving something behind…

◇ ◆ ◇

After Anastasia left.

The agency owner counted the gold coins and grinned so widely his mouth nearly split.

「To hire three A-rank mercenaries at once! Are they from some enormously wealthy family? They didn’t look like siblings, though.」

「Those people weren’t speaking Eldinan—they were speaking another country’s language.」

「Really? So they’re foreigners? Then maybe they’re nobles from another country.」

「The youngest girl seemed truly noble. Her bearing was different… And she watched the entire match to the end.」

「A child that young watched without crying?」

Just then, someone walked into the agency with heavy steps. The thick smell of blood made the owner frown for a moment, but then he recognized the man and sprang to his feet.

「Ah, you’re here!」

It was the man called the ‘Black Monster.’

「You worked hard again today. Sorry for suddenly making you do another match. I have to appease the audience somehow.」

The owner coaxed him in a honeyed voice.

「You should give up any thought of settling down and just keep appearing in matches. How about quitting mercenary work and becoming a full-time gladiator? I’ll take good care of you so you won’t feel slighted!」

The man in black gave no answer.

「Don’t you understand what I’m saying? Ah, right, you’re a foreigner too. But you should understand at least this much by now, shouldn’t you?」

「The people who just left.」

A low voice echoed from within the helmet.

「Uh, huh?!」

Hearing the man’s voice for the first time, the owner’s mouth fell open in surprise.

「Address.」

For a moment, the owner wondered what he meant, then understood and snapped his fingers.

「Aha, you want me to tell you their address? Why, do you want to be hired? That won’t do. I told you, quit being a mercenary now!」

Shing!

「!!」

The man suddenly drew his sword and held it to the owner’s neck. At the sudden turn of events, the owner and the attendant screamed in terror.

「Y-you, what are you doing!」

「S-swordsman! Please, use words! Words!」

From the hole in the man’s helmet, red eyes flashed sharply. He growled in a low voice.

「Address.」