Shin Shin...

Powdered snow falls from the sky. Powdered snow disappearing to be sucked into the ground of jitter stripping. Looks a little too warm for a snow view.

Or maybe I'm exposed to the heat that fills this place.

"We will now begin qualifying for the Brave Men's Sorting Exam!

Likes gathered from nearby towns. Despite his first attempt, the enthusiasm of those gathered here is no less than that of the militant tournament.

I guess the fact that I pushed out free admission only this time to attract people honored my credit.

Such events are quite popular as entertainment in this world, where there is no television. The martial arts tournaments have been busy every year, and if the brave sorting exams are going to happen, more people may make a good impression on the brave.

Because Cecil's masterful ideological guidance has turned the overall impression of the empire today into one of sympathy for the brave, but still not what we can call a good impression.

'Let's explain the rules for qualifying. Qualifying is done in pairs of four and only the winner can take the sorting exam. It basically doesn't matter what you do except kill the other person. But be careful, whether you intentionally or accidentally kill your opponent, you will be disqualified.'

The rules are no different from militant competitions except that they are multiple fights. It's basically anything but killing. You can destroy the venue. If it's something you can do.

'Now we will begin the first round of qualifying!

The host woman - in fact, it could be Mr. Maresia - matched her MC and was watched by the East Dragon, the West Tiger, and the athlete entered.

I looked that far and then stood in the audience.

Unlike other seats, the place I'm in is one I can't get through without special permission. There were Luxeria, Haruki and the emperors, who were never uncomfortable, but I wasn't here. Under the ghoul, I headed.

Ask him to go outside once and put him through to the athlete's desk. For once, I am in a position of being responsible for the construction of the Coliseum, so I am free to go in and out of the area.

She told me to go to the office in advance to see how I was doing, so I found Ghoul as soon as I went inside. Around, those remembered in their arms, including knights and adventurers, were intimidating each other, and Ghoul stood hissolent to be buried in it.

"Ghoul, how you doing?

"Ugh, yeah. Wow, I don't think it's bad."

"Right. Well, don't feel that way. At your age, you have no enemies. I assure you."

This past month. He called it Enhanced Accommodation and even shredded it while he slept to train Ghoul. Honestly, so much so that I've never trained so hard.

The period could have been short. But the contents were very dense and intense.

Basic training starting in the early morning. Fighting demons in parallel with securing breakfast ingredients. After breakfast, a mock fight with Haku. From noon onwards, no monster hunting except magic. Continue with that until the magic runs out, and then a chase with me on the mountain. When that was over, he came to the limit of a mock fight with me.

I don't have time to rest. He tricked and trained his body with improved natural healing power of the potion.

Ghoul did that rigorous training and worked hard with no weak sounds. So I can tell you. I need someone at the same age of 9 who can beat Ghoul right now.

"Yeah, but..."

Ghoul flushed his eyes around him with his lowered eyes. There's the figure of the inflexible men, who have already pulled out their prey and crawled their tongues on the blade muscles, such as the terrible ones. The Desolate stands out enough to say where the title has gone, the Brave One. Everyone had a body much bigger than Ghoul, and his body was gassy, and Ghoul seemed to be under barometric pressure.

First game. Everyone gets nervous. Especially since Ghoul, who has been loaded with concentrated workouts for a short time, I guess his body and moves, even if they come with him, his mind hasn't yet caught up with it.

"Trust him, give yourself. That's all you've done."

I slapped Pong on the shoulder and encouraged Ghoul to be naïve in front of the game. Ghoul looked up, looked at my face, and nodded so loudly, but there came a disturber interrupting.

"Dude, this isn't like a kid coming. Kid, go home and ask your mom to be a good boy."

I didn't know who said it, but there was a grin thrown around me and Ghoul making fun of Niyanya.

Looks like my back length decided not to talk to me.

"Unfortunately, my mom stays far away. I just came to support my apprentice today."

"Apprentice? Puh, hah! You heard me, guys.

"If you're a disciple, do it elsewhere. You're too weak to kill me by mistake!

Ghoul had endured the mockery by biting his lower lip.

If you're just gonna make fun of me, remember my face, it's fine because I'm just gonna crush it later, but I can't have you making fun of a desperately hard-working ghoul.

"Don't lick me, okay?

Mowah leaks magic from his body.

"Hah...... Huh? Ugh!"

A red hand grabbed me and the neck of the man who made fun of Ghoul. The man grabs the materialized magic with both hands and puts in the force, but the magic arm doesn't even move with Pickle.

"Gah, ha, let go...... heh!

"What's up, old man? Your face is bright red. Why don't you just go home to your mom and get some comfort?

If I do anything, the second demon hand will eagle the man's head. The man's face gets worse as he sees it, and his face distorts into fear.

... Enough is enough.

When I let go of the guy, I took my gaze off the guy with the buttocks and coughed up and put my hand on the hips sword.

Rotate your body crooked and flash your sword as you turn around. The sword line made the sound of a quinn and was stopped in front of Ghoul.

"Fuck, Brother Ray...?

Ghoul had grabbed my sword in front of a sword pattern he had pulled out of his guts. I look at it, and when I loosen my facial muscles,

"I'm fine. You're stronger than an old man who misses his mom."

I said, I put my sword on it, and at the end of the day I slapped Ghoul on the back, and left the modem behind.

At least this will change your eyes on Ghoul. The blow I fired at Ghoul wasn't all I could do, but it wasn't even a handful.

If there was someone in there who had eyes to see, he would have found that Ghoul's strength was not to be degraded.

But on the other hand, high walls are blocked for Ghoul to win this battle.

"Blow it up."

For example, with a faceless girl who shoots the magic of launching her opponent into the sky with a pinpoint in no time?

"Fly away!

With a young man who wields both axes bigger than his height and has a terrible temptation to slap his opponent against the walls of the Coliseum?

"Sweet sweet. It's this way."

With an active girl pinpointing an arrow at the wrist of her opponent while attacking with a flicker and even deciding to make three aerial rotations?

"Please don't interrupt my love!

With a blonde Lori girl who apparently misfits the spirit of the tournament.

"Graaaa!"

With the Black Dragon, who was no longer even a person, whose appearance had been decided at some point?

"Kukukukuku, it's also fresh and funny to occasionally take the stage on your own"

You know, the habit of saying you can't fight, the suspicious informant you're in.

"No, seriously, what are you doing, those guys..."

There are slightly two people out there just to scratch the spot into a habit where none of them are willing to be brave, but there are many walls and high walls that stand in the way of fulfilling Ghoul's goals.

At least, because these guys aren't all in line for strength.

But that goes for Ghoul, too. He's a little stronger now than I was when I was 9. I've taught you what I can teach you this past month.

Take advantage of it or kill it, depending on Ghoul.

I was walking around the outer perimeter of the Coliseum trying to get back to the audience to see the results. Then, from right in front of me, I see two girls running over me waving at this one.

"Brother Ray!

"Brother Ray!

Only a limited number of people call me that nickname. It's Sora and Norlu, who, like Ghoul, were about to be caught and sold by bandits.

It's been roughly a year. I don't think so either, and I smile.

"Long time no see, glad you both look good"

"Yeah! I'm fine!

"Me, too, Kenki!

The two people replying fine were a little bigger than they used to be. The apparent growth is greater in Norlu, but it also seems that Sola has not yet lost her height in Norlu.

"You're here to support Ghoul?

"Yeah! Can you win? Ghoul."

"You can win! Ghoul's strong, huh?

Believe in Norlu's Ghoul victory for unquestionable words. That's right, I lift my gaze out of the faces of the two of you as I loosen my cheeks.

"Are you Lord Hinata?

"Yeah, that's what I call it now"

Men and women standing behind Norlu and Sola. From the brilliant outfit he wore, he decided he was a nobleman.

"I've always wanted to see you. Thank you for helping Sola and Norlu."

"No, I was caught the same way."

When the woman held Sola and Norlu, she bowed her head together. I thought it might be subtle to say I helped, but I scratched my polypoly head and took it out on purpose.

Perhaps these two are Sola, Norlu, father and mother. I heard it was an aristocratic family...

"Do you think Lord Hinata is making adventurers his business?"

"Right."

"If you don't mind, won't you be hired at our place? These two miss you, too, and most importantly, rumors say you're actually the one who beat that Dickold Belstead? It's very unbearable to let that strength rot as just an adventurer. Make sure you become the leader of our army?

The two fathers solicited me in such a way as to despise the adventurer. I was a little angry with the story, but I couldn't be angry with Sola and the other fathers, and politely put in a no.

I could have broken up as it was, but it's been a long time since I've seen Sora and Norlu, so we decided to support Ghoul together.

Sitting in a suitably vacant seat, the honor of being a brave man and the matches between the adventurers for that pay and the average person ensues. Some thought it was strong as a chillaphora, but inferior to the main battle of the militant tournament.

After all, the presence or absence of education seems significant.

"Now let's start the 16th qualifying round"

Preliminary Game 16.

It's finally a game of ghouls. The opponent is one adventurous old man I fastened earlier and one man who doesn't even have decent gear. And is that an Imperial soldier? There was one man dressed in guttural armor.

As soon as he entered, Ghoul looked out over the audience before seeing the other person. A little nervous, but a little nervous would be nice if we could proceed with the fight carefully.

Looking beside her, Sora held her hands to pray and stared worryingly at Ghoul. Norlu, on the other hand, was loud and supportive of Ghoul.

'The game is on!

The sound of Dawn and the bronze clatter started the game.

It was the adventurer's old man who was in the same modest room as Ghoul who made the move almost simultaneously with the start of the game. I suppose you're willing to retaliate with shame just now because you set your goal for Ghoul first.

The next move was the Imperial Soldier. His aim is just a man with no busy gear either. I guess you're going to reduce the number.

So the running Imperial soldier avoided a shitty sword with no mould or shit and punched the man in the neck with a sword pattern without mistake. That's all, the man who travels into his dreams lets go of his sword and falls into the spot.

He's just a soldier, and he's just strong. This isn't gonna be a one-handed ride with this guy.

With that prediction in mind, seeing how Ghoul was doing, he was in the middle of an exact impasse right now. However, Ghoul, who is losing in stature, is in a more unfavourable position.

And Ghoul's mouth moved small.

"Fire Sword"

At that moment, Ghoul's sword was engulfed in fire.

"Oops!"

For a moment, the man flushed his body back to escape the fire. At that moment, Ghoul's body slid through diving under the man's sword.

Ghoul, who flushed the man's sword with the sword of his right hand and entered into the midst of the intermission, enchanted himself in the small hand of his left hand.

"Hurrah!"

Ghoul struck a man in the hand to hit him up from the bottom. The dull noise rang and Ghoul pursued the man, distorting his face in agony.

Ghoul kicked his left leg up high and at the same time jumped up and rotated his body, kicking the man's hand as he shook it down.

"Thé!"

The man, who was hit hard on the wrist twice, loosened his hand holding the sword pattern. Ghoul's eyes in the air glowed as if he had found it when he attacked.

The moment he landed, Ghoul's body, which jumped up again, rose to near the face of the barometric man. Ghoul reached straight for the sword to stick out of his hips.

"Guh!"

A sword pierced deep into his shoulder. The sword carved a scar on the man's body as Ghoul fell. From shoulder to belly, the mutilated man fell, raising his voice to the pain.

"I won...?

"Not yet. There's one more left."

"Yeah...... but awesome, Ghoul! I beat someone that big and strong!

Sola was jumping pimp and excited about Ghoul's victory. Next to it Norlu is with him, jumping.

"Treatment team, hurry up."

A sassy soldier who has been intruding into the game carries the injured out, being careful not to get in the way of the game. In the meantime, Ghoul did not move, nor did the Imperial soldiers attempt to start the battle. He just opened his eyes a little and seemed surprised by Ghoul's victory.

Ghoul, as soon as the injured person is brought out, falls back and punishes the sword to the sheath.

Blade extraction. The Imperial Soldier looked at it and dropped his hips and sword in the same way when he smiled a little.

The air flowing into the venue changed. The audience watching quietly as they breathe, as inspired by the two serious expressions.

"Thank you."

Sora, drunk by the air next door, rattled her throat. Those eyes look somewhere to be expected.

But...

"Then we'll lose."

"What...?

To my whining, Sola saw this one with a loose face in between. I looked at Chirali and her face, and then I moved my eyes toward them again.

"First of all, I have a different physique. Speed is faster over there, too. The arm of the sword is also up there. There's no way you can win a head-on battle."

Right in front of you.

But I know Ghoul can't beat what he normally does. You should know better than to hate that in a mock fight between me and Haku. If you don't understand, you'll have fist bones later.

And the other soldier is alert to it, too, so he can't punch in. If you don't deserve vigilance, go right in and screw over and you're done.

Well, what's he going to do?

"So Ghoul loses...?

"Come on, I don't know. But it's about time."

We should have had enough time to work out a plan for each other.

On top of that, it was the Imperial Soldiers who made the move first. From the way you kick the ground hard and approach it all at once, it doesn't seem like you could read it in Ghoul's hands. Defeat before something is done. Such impatience came from him in a hurry.

Meanwhile, Ghoul also flew out a moment late to the Imperial Soldier. The two approach the critical and pull out their swords simultaneously at the moment of overlap.

Heavy clash noises and sparks scattered, two clashed from the front. But it is visibly imperial soldiers who dominate. Ghoul's sword is pushed back immediately after the clash.

But there was a magical glow in Ghoul's hand, a second clash sound in the next moment.

The 1st sword trident with the speed of the knife pull and the 2nd sword trident with a magically enhanced sheath. Released in pieces, it brings the opponent's power of knife extraction infinitely closer to zero, creating a state of antagonism, just for a moment.

and that's when Ghoul took his hand off the sword.

Suddenly, the pressure on the sword disappeared, and the Imperial soldier's sword was swept through without any resistance.

But on the other hand, it is a sword that tracks the visible trajectory and never touches Ghoul's body.

Ghoul dives under a sword swept through, and as he enters the interior of the intermission, he taps as straight to the right as he can with his magically reinforced small hand into the face of an imperial soldier who deflects his torso behind him in an attempt to force him to escape while in a posture after he has pulled out his sword.

Don't be ridiculous here is Ghoul's power.

He's been in mock warfare with me and Huck all the way around the bend. His power isn't that of a 9-year-old.

Every out-of-balance adult has enough power in his little body to blow it away lightly.

Making a crisp, blunt noise, the Imperial soldier, distorted and beaten up on his cheek, repeated several bouts on the ground, at the end of which he rolled and stopped.

"What do you say!

The audience boils to respond to the brave screaming ghouls, and next to me, my parents are desperately holding Sora and Norlu back as they rub their faces.

It's as if a battle was attached.

"Asshole."

Scold Ghoul while he thinks I won't hear him.

Why don't you pick up your sword before you scream?

He's not weak enough to finish with a blow.

As I expected, the Imperial soldier got up slowly, shaking his head. After coming there, he finally realizes that Ghoul is not finished yet, and hurries to pick up his sword.

The face of the risen Imperial soldier is more serious than ever. I would never have been alarmed, but now the contact was Ghoul's win. The result seems to have set him on fire.

The Imperial Soldier never went as far as to invite Ghoul. But be steadfast, and then be slaughtered by the gools with a polite leg lift.

Ghoul had initially wrapped it only with his sword, but gradually he was unable to afford it, using a sheath reinforced by magic instead of a shield to cope with the unfamiliar duplicity.

But then, on the contrary, the movement of one arm at a time is neglected, creating waste.

And...

Hey, Kim!

A tall tone that tells the sound of a settlement.

A sword in Ghoul's right hand strikes the sky with a circle and pierces the ground.

"That's it."

Mr. Maresia's refleece top. That would be the case, too. Suffice it to say that there is no more, he has his sword tip stuck to his neck, and there is no blade shape in his hand.

A complete loss.

"Ghoul... I lost..."

I was watching Ghoul's back as Sora sadly returned to the modem.

"Encourage me later"

Yes, after I stroked Sola's head, I stood in the audience.

All the qualifying rounds that took place today ended and the day began to tilt.

The powdered snow that was falling in the morning disappeared without a trace, and some orange cloud flowing through the sky is lonely.

At that point, outside the city, a small shadow waving a sword. The shadow continues to descend from day to day without ever getting tired of it. I've been watching one man from a distance as Ghoul continues to descend his sword with all his heart, so much so that his shirt sticks to his betty skin with sweat in spite of winter.

Ghoul kept coming down his sword all alone after losing the game. Crying.

But I worked so hard to cut that off, I kept waving my arms. For hours.

I could not speak to such a ghoul. I don't want to disturb you. I kept a close eye on that little shadow in the mood like watching his heart, which should now be in disillusionment, be beaten back by its own power alone.

You're already a fine man.

That's what I want to call you. It's definitely in me. But that's not what I'm supposed to say. Ghoul doesn't want that word hanging from me.

So this is how you're facing yourself by yourself. As one man.

That looked so dazzling to me.

Maybe it's because I'm aware.

Avoiding facing your past.

What the hell was my relationship with Haruki and the others before I lost my memory?

What kind of person was I?

You say I don't know anything, but you say you have someone who can hear it, and you don't try to put it in your mouth.

The feeling of being scared...... is fading. Know it or not, I'm no different now. Maybe it's because I can think of that now.

But somewhere else, I'm afraid.

I was wondering if knowing that would keep me from them.

I was wondering if something would change in me.

Do you think so because the other me woke up when I saw your memory with Serna?

Another personality from that guy could wake up in me. That's how you ruin my heart again. And at the end of the day, there will be another initiative.

I'm afraid of it.

I have to get rid of myself like that already, and I don't like developments that don't seem to survive. I'm all I need. It doesn't make me feel good to turn myself off even if I know it's not.

But there's only one thing I need to ask Haruki.

Because I think it's my responsibility to know that.

Let's face it with our past.

We've decided to break up, so let's throw away the rest of the extra past with the breakup.

Anyway... I can't remember the days I spent with them anymore.

I've been thinking about that late-night, watching Ghoul who never stopped waving his sword.