Fran, having won the match, walked down the hallway to get back to the special spectator seats.

In addition to using Brilliant Lightning Rush, her magic power and physical strength have been considerably exhausted. She had also suffered a lot of injuries. If possible, I would like her to rest at the inn, but it is also important to gather information about the match.

I’ll make sure she gets a good rest tomorrow, so let’s just watch the next match quietly.

As Fran walked in silence, I asked her what had been bothering me during her fight with Mordred.

『Hey, Fran, can I ask you a question?』

「What is it?」

『How did you detect the metal balls that Mordred was controlling in the lava? Its magic trace was well concealed and it was hard to grasp its presence, right?』

「Somehow, I could feel them coming」

『Feel them?』

「Nn」

She could feel them coming…? Does she mean she detected them with just her wild intuition? Or is there something else to it?

『You can feel them, huh? Can you tell me more about it?』

「Nn. There was a little bit of magical residue on the metal balls from the spell I used」

『Hohou?』

Speaking of the magic that Fran used on the metal balls, it must be her thunderbolt magic.

It looks like when Mordred blocked Fran’s thunderbolt magic, some of the magic power remained in the metal balls.

And since Fran’s sense was sharpened from the use of Brilliant Lightning Rush, she could feel the slightest hint of the thunderbolt attribute charged in the metal balls. The fact that the black heavenly tiger has a high affinity for the thunderbolt attribute is also probably not unrelated.

I wonder if I could do the same if I tried?

『But still, you managed to win without my help』

「Nn」

When she fought Colbert, the same B-Ranked adventurer, in last year’s tournament, I helped her by using physical attack nullification to push her way to victory.

But Fran won by herself this time. It made me realize how much Fran has grown.

However, Fran looks somewhat unhappy.

『…Are you frustrated?』

「Nn…」

『Well, our opponent is a veteran. It is inevitable that he’s better in some areas』

「I know, but it’s still frustrating. Besides, I got a little carried away. I’ll do better next time」

Although she was able to outsmart him in the end, until then she was totally at Mordred’s mercy.

He is not only a skilled fighter, but he also anticipated Fran’s battle junkies personality.

In a way, Mordred had planned everything based on that.

He probably had run many simulations beforehand and had prepared several plans for what he would do if Fran made certain moves.

Even though she won, it was apparently a disappointing match from Fran’s standpoint.

「He’s amazing」

『Yeah』

Fran had Brilliant Lighting Rush, Sword God Transformation, Dimensional Magic, and Sword King Technique. If she had used them, she could have won the match in the first few seconds.

But it was, after all, would be a brute force push. It might not work if the opponent was a veteran of the same level of power. Or at the very least, it would not be an easy win.

And I had an idea of such a person.

『Diaz is going to be more troublesome, you know?』

「Nn」

I don’t think we can devise any countermeasures for him. However, our fight with Mordred had surely been a great experience. We must make the most of this victory for future reference.

As we continued to walk, we suddenly heard some commotion ahead of us.

「We’re terribly sorry!」

「Tsk! If you’re going to apologize, then don’t act like a jerk in the first place」

It seems there was a dispute between an adventurer and someone else. At first glance, it might seem that the adventurer was in the wrong, but the guards who rushed to the scene was angry with the man who was on his knees.

They were probably solicitors from the Kingdom of Shallus. As I had learned from the guild, they were really stirring up trouble here.

The people from the Kingdom of Shallus showed no sign of being sorry, even though the guards warned them in an annoyed tone. After all, their apologies were all lies. I’m sure they will continue to solicit others.

『Fran, let’s just get past them before we get involved in this』

(Okay)

I wonder what the purpose of the people of the Kingdom of Shallus really is. It looks like the guards are in a lot of trouble because of these people. I wonder if they’ll be banned from here soon?

We then reached the special spectator area and found out that the next match hadn’t started yet. Well, it was because Mordred had turned the entire arena into lava.

However, the reparations were almost complete. Several mages who could use earth magic proceeded to clear the ground and set up the stage. Their work was quite good.

And so, the second match began, but…

『It’s over! Biscot the mercenary has won the battle with a single, spectacular blow!』

「It’s over…」

Biscot finished his opponent in a matter of seconds. We couldn’t see any of his moves or tactics this time too.

Then after the mediocre matches between unknown participants, the next match, the must-see match for us is finally about to begin.

Fran seemed to share the same feelings too. After putting away her food and snacks, she let her hands go of Urushi, straightened her back and stared quietly at the arena.

After all, the next match will be between Sibylla and Colbert.

『Here comes the B-Ranked adventurer, Colbert the Iron Claw! It’s said that he’s a former disciple of the Dimitris-style school, so what kind of battle will he show us!? He instantly defeated his opponent in the first round, but what about this round!?』

I’m glad the commentator didn’t say that he was excommunicated. Nevertheless, I definitely want to take a closer look at how Colbert will fight now that he has lost his Dimitris-style.

『On the other side, his opponent is the red-haired mercenary, Sibylla! Like Colbert, she also showed us a stunning performance in the first round! Let’s see how Colbert will handle her!』

By listening to the commentary and the reaction of the audience, it was obvious that Sibylla was being treated as a lower rank. I guess that’s how they treat unknown mercenaries.

However, it seems that the fighters themselves have different opinions. Sibylla let out an amused chuckle, while Colbert glared at Sibylla with a stern expression.

Someone of Colbert’s level should be able to tell what Sibylla is capable of. The magic power that was beginning to build up in Colbert’s body was proof of his utmost vigilance.

「Colbert is going all out from the start?」

『Yeah, it seems so』

「And Sibylla, is just like me」

I guess she means she’ll be taking a wait-and-see approach at first. Well, let’s see what will happen next.

『And now, let the match begins!』