No wonder he flew into a violent rage. For though Luji had promised solemnly, his actual fighting style was not just similar to before—it was identical!

  As he dodged the attack, Luji looked up at his opponent and said:"Why are you angry? I have not deceived you."

  "Ah——!!?"

  Veins bulged on the opponent’s forehead with fury."You bastard! Are you still spouting nonsense like this!? Look at your casual attitude right now! How can this be called taking it seriously!!?"

  Luji looked confused."Of course it is. I have never slacked off for a moment. Every match I’ve fought here since the beginning has been with my full, earnest effort. I swear, I have never acted disrespectfully toward any opponent."

  "Ah???"

  The opponent’s mind went completely blank on the spot.

  It took him a long while to regain his senses,

  and what followed was an unprecedented wave of anger.

  "You! This! Bas! tard! How dare you mock me——!!!""I’m going to kill you for sure——!!!"

  About half an hour later......

  Ding——!

  The bell signaling the end of the match rang.

  "Huh? It’s o-over already?"

  Miko, who had been dozing off, snapped her eyes open. She rubbed them dazedly and looked toward the arena, then let out a long sigh of relief.

  "......Finally, it’s over."

  There was not a single cheer in the arena. Almost every spectator wore a look of utter despair, as if they had been dealt a heavy blow.

  "That guy... won again......"

  Which meant they would have to endure the same torment in the upcoming matches......

  ......

  As time passed,

  the final match of the Round of 32 came to an end, and the complete list of the Round of 16 contestants was officially finalized.

  The spectators at the Grand Arena streamed out one after another.

  In the corridor connecting to the contestants’ waiting room, Luji Sloan was also preparing to return to his inn.

  However, the appearance of one person made him stop in his tracks.

  "......""......"

  The two stood facing each other in the corridor, neither saying a word.

  In the end, it was Lorelle who couldn’t stand the silence and spoke first.

  "That twisted habit of treating the Grand Arena like a training ground and your opponents like practice dummies...... Luji Sloan, you are a disciple of the South Sea ‘Sword Saint’, are you not?"

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  "......That I am, Lord Lorelle. Truly worthy of being a disciple of the ‘Sage’—you saw through me without difficulty."

  "Oh~......"

  Lorelle narrowed his eyes slightly.

  "Impressive. You even figured out my background. When did you realize it?"

  "On the first day of the exhibition matches."

  Luji replied truthfully—though in reality, he wasn’t the one who had figured it out......

  "Tch......"

  Lorelle clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

  "So I revealed myself back then? I should have kept a lower profile......"

  "......"

  "That said, you rigid bunch are just as annoying as ever. Today’s match was absolutely abysmal—total garbage!"

  Luji smiled faintly.

  "You flatter me, Lord Lorelle. We’re more alike than you think."

  "Heh~, bold words for someone like you——"

  "I learned from the best!"

  Crackle——!

  Invisible sparks seemed to crackle in the air as their auras clashed fiercely.

  Both stared at each other with "amiable" expressions, looking ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

  Yet in the end, neither made a move......

  Although the Sword Saint’s lineage and the Sage’s lineage had always disliked each other, their animosity never went beyond mutual disdain—there was no deep-seated hatred between them. What’s more, they were both part of the faction that guarded the world, leaving them with no real reason to come to blows.

  After their tense standoff, the two glared at each other and stormed off in opposite directions.

  But just as Luji Sloan was leaving the Grand Arena, he ran into someone else.

  The moment he saw that person, he didn’t hesitate for a second—he turned around and walked away.

  However, before he could take a single step, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

  "Luji, are you going the wrong way? Your senior brother is right here!"

  "Heh...... Hehe......"

  Luji forced himself to turn around, gritting his teeth.

  Standing in front of him was an extremely ordinary-looking human man—so unremarkable that he would disappear into a crowd in an instant.

  "......My apologies, Senior Brother Munro. Just now, I mistook someone who looks just like you for you, so I was going to chase after him."

  "I see~!"

  Munro patted Luji’s shoulder with a wide grin.

  "I was worried you were avoiding me when I saw you running so fast~."

  "Heh...... Hehe...... You’re joking, Senior Brother Munro. Why would I ever avoid you?"

  Luji forced an awkward smile, his voice stiff as he explained.

  "In that case, I’ll forgive you. But you’re a bit late coming out today. I almost thought you’d slipped away through another exit~!"

  Luji’s cheeks twitched involuntarily.

  "......You’re teasing me again, Senior Brother Munro. I was actually worried I wouldn’t be able to find you when I came out."

  Dammit! He had carefully guessed which exit this guy would be waiting at and deliberately avoided it. Yet somehow, he had still been outmaneuvered!

  "I just ran into Lorelle Klein and exchanged a few words with her."

  "Lorelle Klein? Oh, that little disciple of the Sage! Did she give you trouble?"

  "No, not at all!"

  Luji quickly denied it. He had no desire to let his senior brother stir up any trouble.

  "No? What a shame. If she had messed with you, I could have taught her a lesson for you~!"

  "......"

  "Speaking of which——"

  Munro looked up at the sky.

  "It’s getting late. Shall we find a place to eat~?"

  "S-Sure...... But...... Senior Brother Munro, can we go somewhere cheaper today? My wallet is a bit......"

  Luji looked at Munro with a troubled expression.

  "What are you talking about, Luji? Of course we can’t! This is a rare trip from the island—we shouldn’t shortchange ourselves!"

  "But my money......"

  "Sigh, money is just money~!"

  Munro said in a solemn, fatherly tone.

  "Once you win the championship in a couple of days, you’ll get a huge bonus! Then we won’t have to worry about money ever again!"

  "But......"

  "Sigh, no more buts! Oh, and I have great news for you! I borrowed a huge sum of money and bet it all on you to win! We’ll make a fortune and become rich men overnight!"

  "What——??!"

  Luji stared at him in stunned disbelief.

  "Senior Brother Munro...... Where did you borrow all that money from?"

  "Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. Let’s just say they’re a very reasonable bunch. I just mentioned I needed a loan, and they lent it to me happily!"

  "??? Wait a minute! That’s loan sharks, isn’t it! What have you done!"

  "Sigh~, don’t get hung up on the details. Once we make our money in a couple of days, paying off a little debt will be nothing!"

  "Alright, alright, stop wasting time! Let’s go!"

  Helpless, Luji had no choice but to follow Munro to an upscale restaurant that screamed "expensive" at first glance.

  As for the mountain of debt he was now stuck with......

  He had no choice but to leave it to fate.

  Ps：During the writing process, I realized it was kind of straying from the original title’s theme — so I changed the book’s title!! haha!!