A week had passed since then.
After beating Arveld, I collapsed inside the crumbling arena.
For three days and three nights, I was unconscious.
On the fourth day, I woke up and focused on recovering my body while surrounded by them.
Incidentally, Arveld was out for two days and two nights. He lost.
I ended up hitting him with Banish Knuckle, but that was actually for the best.
His body was already messed up the moment he endured Phantasmagoria Lore.
Seriously, what is going on with that guy?
Day five. Arveld and his group told me they were leaving Hydrangea.
I thought that was pretty early.
Even though the Great Orioles was over, the embers were still smoldering and the heat hadn't cooled.
Some of the First Class had already departed, but most of them were still in Hydrangea.
Before they set off, I greeted him and we talked.
Arveld spoke in his usual mysterious appearance and armor.
Though the mantle draped over his right shoulder was white, not red.
"That makes it one win and one loss each."
"Yes."
"The next one decides the true winner."
"That's right. I won't lose."
"Me too, Wof."
We shook hands firmly and promised to have a rematch someday.
After waking up, I heard the follow-up story.
The arena wasn't completely destroyed.
Even so, the damage was severe, and the colosseum would be out of commission for a while.
The repairs and everything else would be covered by the Grand Guild, so that was a relief.
Apparently, the great Grandmaster who approved it all nearly had a heart attack when he saw the bill, though.
In any case, late-night battles on the final day weren't something new this time around.
They were called the "Underground Exhibition Matches."
They didn't happen every time, but apparently roughly once every two events.
That's pretty frequent.
But "underground" — come on. What an exciting word.
It feels like something shady, yet I can't help but be drawn to it.
So, unlike the daytime ones...
The "Underground Exhibition Matches" were battles where first-class delvers could go all out.
Most of them were held to settle grudges with a rival. Revenge and the like, too.
What surprised me was that there were spectators.
Even though it was underground, it wasn't a fight to the death, so there was a reason to stop things if needed.
The difference from the public matches was that spectators were very limited, and they all signed non-disclosure contracts.
Those contracts were enforced as legendary, Legacy, or Relic in nature.
If the conditions are severe enough, breaking it can result in death.
I don't know how binding this particular non-disclosure agreement really is.
Breaking it probably means some terrible punishment.
Well, that's why I was able to fight without worrying.
That's what I thought, anyway.
"Oh, that thing? It's totally unenforceable."
"It... it isn't?"
The witch set her usual cup of herbal tea on the table, saying it as casually as anything.
This was the witch's house. The same cluttered living room. The same black and red sofas.
It finally felt like I was back to normal.
Just to be safe, I peered into the black cup she'd set down.
Colorless. It reflected my face as clearly as a mirror.
Then the face in the cup slowly curled the corners of its mouth into a creepy grin.
Not a grin—a leer. The kind that makes your skin crawl.
For the record, I wasn't smiling.
Yep. Back to the daily grind. Absolutely not drinking that.
"Mm-hm. But as a trade-off, it lets you instantly know who leaked the information."
"That's all it does?"
The witch settled onto the red sofa across from me.
She crossed her legs, relaxed, and bunched up her three tails like a cushion.
I took another look at the witch.
Silver hair that cascaded past her waist. A pair of jade-green eyes, languid and brimming with allure.
She had three tails, and her figure was sultry and breathtaking. The kind of beauty that could topple a kingdom.
She'd once been invited by a king to become his queen, and the First Prince had taken a liking to her at first sight.
She favored a jet-black patterned robe over a jet-black patterned dress.
In fact, each of her three tails had a different color and texture.
The first tail was silvery white from root to tip, full and bushy.
The second tail was flaxen at the base and white at the tip, soft and plush.
The third tail was silver at the base and flaxen at the tip, light and wispy.
Come to think of it, the witch had several black dresses, and most of them had purple linings.
Also, I didn't miss the way her chest shifted when she sat down. I was sitting right in front of her, so there was no missing it.
"Mm-hmm. That alone is more than enough, you know. As a Second or First Tier delver, the most basic of basics is keeping secrets."
"Keeping secrets..."
"Oh yes, at the high ranks, almost all jobs are exclusive commissions. Exclusive commissions come with all sorts of complicated circumstances and secrets. Well, almost all of them do. In the legal sense, of course."
I gave a small, wry laugh.
Just how far does "legal" really go? And then it clicks.
"Oh, if you blab, it gets out. Which means you lose trust."
"Exactly, exactly. Anyone who does that is sure to have their license revoked or be dealt with."
"Dealt with?"
The witch smiled ever so slightly.
That made sense. If you're loose-lipped, your secrets could get outed any day.
And getting rid of someone before that happens is the answer you land on pretty fast.
"And and, Alveld absolutely won't tolerate that sort of thing, you know."
"I see..."
He certainly wouldn't tolerate it.
Alveld von Rudbert would definitely do away with anyone connected to that crowd.
But it was strange.
"So, so, young Wof. You can rest easy now, you know."
"Understood. Um, I have one question, though."
"My my, what might that be?"
"Alveld is the boss of the 'Kuun Hunt,' right? But the brutality is such that I just can't see Alveld being the boss, no matter how I look at it."
If Alveld were the boss, it would surely be run like a tightly disciplined military.
And it would have become the strongest clan on the surface.
"...I see. But it's impressive that he took that on."
I found it a little odd that Alveld would agree to take that on.
The witch gave a pained smile.
"Well well, even Alveld can't refuse a request from family, you know. After all, he's always had a policy of never turning down requests."
"So the 'Kuun Hunt' is the Rudbert family's clan?"
"Well, that's about the size of it. In practice, it's run by several noble sponsors, though."
A conglomerate-type clan, huh. Come to think of it, maybe that was more common than I'd expected.
"Oh, the big noble house that young Wof crushed was also a major sponsor, you know."
"I didn't crush anyone."
The one who crushed them was Leold.
Basically, it's like the big-league version of the Dragon Fang Guild.
As I thought — Kuun Hunt is the enemy. Nothing but the enemy.
"That's why he more or less neglected everything, you see. He kept taking his loyal 'Fourcut' and their subordinates to the dungeon instead."
"Fourcut?"
"Oh my, you don't know? Alverd's four loyal subordinates. Every last one of them is a Third or Second Tier delver, you know."
"Ah, I see..."
So it's like a Four Heavenly Kings setup, huh. I figured something like that might exist, and sure enough, there it was.
Kinda cool, honestly. I admire that sort of thing.
Oh, come to think of it, when I ran into Alverd in the hallway, there were some people there.
Those must have been the Fourcut.
"By the way, by the way — Leold is the leader of that Fourcut."
"Huh... that guy?"
On the outside, he really is an unimpressive, booze-smelling Squirrel-folk old man. But he's strong.
Honestly, he probably has First Tier-level strength.
And on top of that, he's the Third Prince, isn't he. Plus you can tell he's competent.
Even though he looks like a washed-up old man.
Well, enough chitchat. Let's get to the real topic.
"Witch. It's a bit late, but I beat Alverd."
I came today to report my victory.
The Witch smiled warmly.
"Mm-hmm. I was watching the whole time, you know."
"Thank you for indulging my selfishness."
I bowed my head. I really had been nothing but a burden.
Without the Witch, I could never have beaten Alverd.
It wasn't just the Witch, either. Mounieka. Chibe. Shiro. Everyone.
Victory on my own was never possible.
"Now, now, young Wof. Hold your head up. There's nothing special about a teacher wanting to do things for their student. And besides, it made me happy."
"Happy?"
"Mm-hmm. Even though you're my student, you've always gone out of your way not to rely on me, for whatever reason. Lately you've been leaning on me more, and that makes me very happy."
"...I-I see. So, well, there's something I'd like to give you, Witch. Something to show my gratitude."
"Huh? Huh? Something... you want to give me, you say?"
"Yes. Um, well, could you hold out your hand for me?"
"Let me see, like... this?"
The Witch hesitantly extended her right arm toward me.
I took the bracelet out of my pouch.
It was a silver band set with a green gemstone.
The bracelet I'd first spotted at the street stall because it reminded me of the Witch's hair and eyes.
I carefully placed the bracelet on the Witch's slender arm.
She tilted her head in surprise and pulled her arm back to get a good look at the bracelet.
—W-Well? How does it look?
The Witch stared at the bracelet without blinking.
She touched it with her fingertip. The silver band gleamed and the green gemstone sparkled.
I didn't have Appraisal, and I didn't know much about jewelry.
Still, I thought this was a really good piece. Yeah. Really good.
I was glad I'd bought it from that street vendor.
—Hey, hey. Young Wof. Is it really alright for Kon to accept this?
—Yes, of course. It's a token of my gratitude. And it suits you.
—Fufufu, thank you. Thank you, dear. Young Wof, Kon's really quite taken with this bracelet.
—I'm glad to hear that.
Thank goodness. What a relief.
Giving a present like this to a woman... It was my first time, even setting aside memories from my past life, so I'd been nervous.
The Witch gazed at the bracelet with tender eyes.
—Mm-hmm. A silver band like Kon's hair, and a green gemstone like Kon's eyes. I can really feel how much young Wof cares about Kon. I'll treasure it, I'll treasure it dearly.
The Witch gave me a blissful smile.