Riding the wave of enthusiasm stirred up by the 「Endless Duel」, the Arena held all manner of main events. Countless fighters showed off their talents to the assembled spectators. Ironically, the matches held after the Endless Duel were of a higher standard than the duel itself.

Perhaps that was only natural.

The Endless Duel had long since become a gateway through which unknown fighters earned their fame. Skilled fighters already had reputations to match their abilities, and famous fighters had plenty to lose. They had no reason to enter the dangerous, unpredictable 「Endless Duel」. At least the Racial Duels drew some powerful contestants, since there were dwarves who entered with specific aims and orcs who simply loved fighting, whether it cost them their lives or not.

In any case, the petty 「Arena」 did not look kindly on Sword Demon Liam, the fighter who had rejected the first option they offered as his victory prize. To the Arena, making Sword Demon Liam a star was a win-win proposition. They would benefit from having the Endless Duel's champion serve as their headline star and draw more spectators to the main events, while Sword Demon Liam would benefit from using this opportunity to establish himself rather than becoming a flash in the pan.

By rejecting an offer that could have made everyone happy, Sword Demon Liam had proven himself, in the Arena's eyes, an ignorant fool who knew nothing of the world. They considered him an idiot still in the grip of youthful hotheadedness. If he kept fighting, he could live as a celebrity in the steel city, earn plenty of money, and have honors showered upon him. Why on earth would he refuse? Fighters no longer even had to stake their lives as they had in the old days. Everyone had too much to lose, so they fought in moderation and respected certain boundaries. Fighters with platinum medals or above were especially famous for playing it safe.

For fighters with platinum medals or above, all of whom were at least 「sword runners」, their bodies were their assets. A serious injury meant a long period of rest, and any lasting effects could force them to consider retirement. Thus, avoiding dangerous techniques when competing was an unwritten rule. Some spectators cursed them for putting on what looked like rigged matches in the higher leagues, but those leagues always drew large crowds nonetheless. Where else could the residents of the steel city witness the rare sight of 「sword runners」 dueling one another?

“Isn't the Sword Demon fighting?”

“Bah, tsk. I came to see this year's Endless Duel champion.”

“The Arena's lost its touch when it comes to booking fighters. It's on its last legs.”

“But I hear 「Great Mountain」 is fighting this time.”

“Great Mountain? That lazy lump is coming out? Who's his opponent, then?”

“Well, there's talk that he'll be facing 「Black Gold Star」...”

“Oh, then it might be worth watching even without the Sword Demon...”

“The Arena's on fire!”

The Arena's spectators had always been people looking for immediate thrills and excitement. Between the shills planted by the staff, the deliberately leaked rumors, and the feverish atmosphere, public opinion soon swung around. It did not take long for the Endless Duel's champion to be forgotten. The 「Arena」 staff watched with well-practiced smiles. Yes, this was hardly anything new. The spectators were all pigs and dogs to begin with. Manipulating public opinion was child's play for the 「Arena」 planners...

“Sword Demon Liam. He might have left like that now, but a youngster like him is bound to blow through his fortune in no time and come crawling back to the Arena. When he does, let's show him how frightening we can be. All you junior planners, submit twenty ideas each on how to screw him over. I'll review every last one...”

As always, the Arena planners busied themselves with petty, idiotic schemes. While these foolish antics unfolded behind closed doors, one of the spectators gathered in the circular stadium spoke.

“Huh? I've never seen that place closed before.”

“There? Was there something there?”

“Yeah. The Hall of Fame. It was a sort of exhibition hall full of old weapons.”

“Now that you mention it, I think I've heard of it...”

“I never noticed it before, but now that it's closed, it stands out. Even when nobody paid the Hall of Fame any attention, there was always an old man there, carefully polishing the things inside and keeping watch. He came in every day for over ten years. I wonder if something happened to him...”

The Hall of Fame stood on one side of the circular stadium.

Usually ignored by everyone, it looked especially dark and lonely today. Its diligent caretaker, who was always at his post, had taken a vacation for the first time in a long while.

A very, very long while.

* * *

The great event I had intended to use as nourishment for my growth toward becoming a 「sword runner」—the 「Endless Duel」—had finally drawn to a close. I had gained a great deal from those three successive duels. In many ways, I was a different person from the one who had arrived in the steel city. Yes, this trip to Perma had definitely helped. As ever, the path Master set before me was always the right one. The only problem was that it put me through absolute hell every time.

“I'm looking forward to this, young lord.”

“Ah, yes.”

“The swords you borrowed were all pieces I was personally fond of. 「Fang」, in particular, is a blade with a poignant history. Are you familiar with the six free cities of today, young lord? They are governed by strict order now, but that wasn't always the case. Many people shed their blood in the process of reclaiming true freedom. Among those stories, 「Fang」 holds profound historical significance, containing the origins of the ‘Brotherhood’...”

... But of all the things I had gotten myself into, this one ranked pretty high on the ‘fucked’ scale. I glanced at Tom, the caretaker, who was talking about things I had no interest in with a kindly expression. The friendly-looking old man continued speaking, utterly delighted.

「Tsk, tsk. You always did let that tongue of yours run wild, lying without a hint of shame. Now you'll pay the price for what that mouth got you into. You should have watched yourself, shouldn't you?」

I was irritated enough already, and Liam's words only grated on me further.

「Young descendant, don't you know how terrifying antique collectors can be? He's smiling happily now, but what will happen when he learns that you stuffed every one of those precious pieces into your mouth?」

“...”

「I guarantee he won't let you off lightly. Collectors tend to go mad when something concerns the objects they love. Tsk, tsk. A young lad like you, getting thrashed by an old man. Or perhaps he'll challenge you to a duel and demand you vomit up the blades he treasures like his own children. Then your life will be over. How could a novice swordsman hope to survive a fight with a sword expert...?」

“Pleash shut up...”

I spoke through tightly clenched teeth, looking at Liam as he continued needling me. But he was still having too much fun to stop. Every time Tom spoke of how much he loved swords, I felt as though I had already been stabbed once. As I forced a smile, Seolyun spoke up.

“But didn't you eat those?”

The air briefly froze.

Tom tilted his head as if to ask what she meant. I stared wide-eyed at Seolyun's innocent face and hurriedly shook my head. Unfortunately, she had none of the social awareness needed to understand body language.

“Eat? What do you mean, eat?”

“Ah, well, she hasn't been here long since arriving from the eastern continent, so she's still struggling with the language. How could anyone possibly eat a blade? I believe she used ‘eat’ to mean that I had deeply chewed over and understood the profound history contained in those blades and the fighters who wielded them so bravely—”

“Aha! So that's why she said ‘eat.’ Ho ho, how poetic! I've heard that people from the eastern continent love nature and enjoy free, poetic expressions. How impressive.”

“Ha ha ha.”

“In that case, I suppose I've eaten every sword in the Hall of Fame! Ha ha, I rather like that expression. That would make the time I spend studying them mealtimes. How amusing, and so wonderfully old-fashioned—”

Fortunately, I managed to smooth over Seolyun's blunder. With Tom continuing his endless stream of unfunny jokes, we eventually reached the outskirts of the steel city. Along the way, I silently prayed again and again that his leave would be canceled and the caretaker would have to return at once. Weren't there plenty of morons among the 「Arena」 staff? I hoped one of them would botch some paperwork and prevent the Hall of Fame's caretaker from going on vacation. But nothing of the sort happened. Far from canceling his leave, the 「Arena」 had even given him extra travel money to celebrate his first vacation in ages.

'I'm fucked.'

I couldn't keep hoping for a lucky break.

As always, I would have to get my mouth ready to clean up the mess. Fortunately, that was one of my specialties: dressing things up as something ‘acceptable’ and salvaging the situation. I racked my brains for excuses.

But...

“I've been looking for you forever.”

My headaches did not end there.

“Yes, it's you. The man carrying steel inside his body... And the great one is beside you, too. I was worried I'd come to the wrong place again.”

“...?”

“Why do you keep wandering around? I almost got scolded by the older girls.”

On the outskirts of Perma, the steel city, a girl approached our party just before we departed for the estate. She was small, swathed in a cumbersome, oversized robe. Beneath its hood, the face I glimpsed was wrapped in thick cloth that thoroughly concealed her features. Only her eyes were visible, and those fleetingly revealed eyes were extraordinarily beautiful. A brief look was enough to leave me entranced.

“Who...?”

“Me?”

I barely managed to collect myself and ask, only to receive a curt reply. The girl pulled an old document and a bundle from inside her roomy robe and held them up for me.

“Didn't you hear? The older girls said they'd told you beforehand.”

“The older girls...?”

“Did you forget? You said you'd help decipher the code. Tsk, this is why I told them not to ask swordsmen. We'd be far better off commissioning the imperial court or the Mage Tower. What would swordsmen know? They're ignorant oafs who can't even remember a promise they made the other day.”

“... Ah, I think I know who you are.”

Her manner of speaking immediately jogged my memory.

“Were you sent by the witches? To decipher the treasure map?”

“You finally remembered? What a wonderful memory you have.”

Witches.

Magical beings capable of infuriating someone with three or four remarks.

“But if you knew, why did you keep moving around? Are you such a hot-blooded young man that you simply can't control yourself? I've been looking for you forever. And who's this old geezer and the black-haired girl? Did you hire them to attend to me? An experienced old man and a girl of the same sex as me? Then I'll choose the girl. Old people smell unpleasant for some reason. But I don't like black-haired eastern girls either. There's something ominous about them.”

“...”

In less than ten seconds after her arrival, the witch had succeeded in making everyone dislike her. Her knack for choosing only the most obnoxious things to say was practically magic...

* * *

Yes, to be honest, I had forgotten.

Hadn't there been a lot going on?

With all those headaches, I thought I could be forgiven for briefly forgetting a verbal promise to the witches. Anyway, recalling the promise I had made back then, it went like this.

There was a treasure the witches valued very highly. It had never been in their possession, but they had recently obtained a map showing its location. Yet no matter what they tried, they had no way to decipher the map's code. The only way was to search the memories of the legendary adventurer who had drawn it. In other words, I was to eat a blade that the now-dead legendary adventurer had used and give them the answer.

As promised, the witch had brought the legendary adventurer's sword, called 「Soaring」. It looked unremarkable. Rather than a weapon for killing people, it looked like a tool explorers would use in a variety of situations—a multipurpose blade for cutting vines or skinning animals. The moment Liam saw it, he spoke.

「Young descendant.」

“Yes.”

「This is a sword you cannot eat yet.」

A sword I couldn't eat yet? Why?

When I asked, Master answered.

「Not only is it incompatible with the blades you have accumulated so far, but the soul within this sword is far too powerful. That witch wasn't lying.」

“What do you mean?”

「This blade contains a legend.」

A legend.

「It is far too early for you to eat it.」

This was the first time Liam had ever said such a thing.

I relayed Liam's words exactly to the ill-mannered witch.

“If that's what the great one says...”

This time, the witch was not rude.

After a moment's thought, she answered.

“Then I'll travel with you until you're able to take this sword into yourself.”

“Why should I agree to that?”

“You promised. Besides, I'd be the best asset your party could have in a fight.”

The best asset our party could have in a fight.

She wasn't wrong. Mages were valuable assets, and witches in particular were considered top-tier, adept in all manner of magical arcana. But useful as she might be, I simply did not want to travel with a witch. They were the sort of people who were useful in many ways, but whom you never wanted to take along...

'She's already making my blood boil after so little time. How much will she get on my nerves if we travel together?'

But what I wanted did not matter much.

“I don't care. You already promised. And I've come all this way! I'm going with you. Get moving, hurry!”

Yes.

I had already made the promise.

Exhausting though she was, I couldn't simply abandon the witch. In the end, having earned the dislike of every member of our party, myself included, she became our newest companion.

“Then what should we call you, witch?”

“Audrey. Call me Audrey.”

“Ah, then...”

“But don't you have any wine? And this carriage is so old. Are all three of you beggars? If so, tell me. It would be a waste to spend money on a swordsman, an old man who's about to die, and an eastern wench, but I'll gladly open my purse. I could line up carriages far better than this one.”

“...”

Our new companion...

Really was impossible to like...

* * *

Tom the caretaker.

Seolyun.

Audrey the witch.

Traveling to the estate with those three made my head spin. Seolyun had always been quiet, and whenever Tom started talking about blades, Audrey grumbled that it was boring. Rather than rebuking her for being rude, Tom fixated on the word ‘boring’ and grew dejected, wondering, ‘I suppose these stories are too old-fashioned for young people these days.’ Amid the silence, Audrey alone kept chattering like a child, asking whether there was any wine, when we would arrive, and complaining that she was hungry.

I had only just finished the 「Endless Duel」, yet instead of getting a moment's rest, I found tasks piling up around me. As soon as I returned to the estate, I would have to persuade Tom. I had to train until I became a 「sword runner」, then fulfill the witches' request as soon as I reached the necessary level. Besides, I had been told that I was included in the ‘maelstrom’ the Iron Prince intended to unleash. There was no time to rest. Yes, absolutely no time to rest...

Amid all that chaos, I first came up with several excuses I could give Tom. Excuses with at least some plausibility. I didn't know whether they would work, but I had to try.

“Oh, we're almost there.”

While I was busy racking my brains, we had reached the estate before I knew it.

And...

“Oh, y-you're back! Y-you should have let me know beforehand—! Ah, th-there's no way to contact anyone here. Hehe.”

Haylin hurried over the moment we arrived.

But she looked quite different from before. She had originally been a half-dead girl dressed like a beggar. Now, how should I put it... Haylin looked quite refined.

'What's going on?'

Could a child change so much in such a short time?

As I stood there dazed for a moment, Haylin spoke with a bright smile.

“C-come inside. The estate has changed a lot.”

“Changed?”

“Y-you sent us so much support! D-didn't you send funds through the Red Bank? And I received a-all the money you sent as your prize for winning the 「Endless Duel」, too.”

Ah.

I had done that.

Worried that Haylin might go hungry while managing this place alone, I had deposited money at the Red Bank and asked them to send some of it to the estate. But it shouldn't have been that much. Had she spent it all on food and clothes for herself?

'Well, she's still a child. It could happen...'

Wasn't she a good child who had stayed here to watch over the estate alone after Seolyun and I left? I could easily forgive that much childish irresponsibility. Besides, I had an enormous amount of money in the bank now. That was a sum I could afford to toss around with a hearty laugh.

“W-welcome, honored guests.”

“Oh.”

So I wasn't expecting much.

An estate that had changed a lot?

I assumed its layout would be a little tidier at most.

But...

“You called it a country estate, but it's quite splendid, young lord.”

“...”

“Young lord?”

“...?”

The scene before my eyes...

Had changed far too much.