Reuniting With Wataru

We arrived at the capital.

Eh? What about the attack, you ask?

There's no way those who couldn't make it through the preliminaries could win against Niku and Sebas. If there were any strong contenders who found the preliminaries too troublesome and chose not to participate, they'd end up like Wataru and be seeded directly into the main event.

"You should have gone out too, Kehma."

"Nope, too much of a hassle. Besides, Niku and Sebas were more than willing, so I figured it'd be better to leave it to them."

And so, we arrived at the Demonlands capital safely.

At the gate, we reported the arrival of the main event contestants and handed over the medals. … Ah, these medals are proof of participation in the main event. Those who wanted to make a comeback were targeting these medals. Now that we've handed them over at the gate, we probably won't be attacked anymore. Maybe, hopefully. It would be nice…

After passing through the capital's gate, we checked into one of the most renowned hotels in the Demonlands and we soon encountered a certain individual—

"Kehma-san!"

"Hm…? Ah, Wataru?"

"It's been a while! I heard from Haku-sa,a that you were really coming to the Demonlands."

—That's right. Hero Wataru.

I had heard that Hero Wataru would be participating in this tournament, but I didn't expect to meet him here… Well, it should have been obvious in hindsight. The hotel for the main event contestants was pretty much predetermined.

"Village Chief Kehma, could you introduce us to that person?"

"Hmm? Oh. This is Wataru. He's the Hero Wataru. Wataru, this is Aidi. She's the one I'm staying with for my homestay. Please be polite."

I introduced Wataru to Aidi, who casually called me the village chief.

Aidi politely picked up the side of her skirt and greeted him with a courtesy.

"Nice to meet you, Hero Wataru. It's an honor to meet you."

"… This is quite a sudden greeting, isn't it?"

Wataru returned her greeting with a smile of his own.

… Yeah, they're definitely sending out a hostile vibe. Come on, Wataru, don't put your hand on your sword here. And Aidi, don't tease and play with Wataru. At least do it outside.

"Wataru, is this your first time sightseeing in the Demonlands? This is a typical greeting in the Demonlands."

"… I understand that in my head, but my body can't help but react."

In a country he'd fought in a war, Wataru reluctantly removed his hand from his sword. Should I just laugh off how dangerous this guy is?

"Anyway, it was surprising. To be honest, I only knew the Demonlands as an enemy nation, so I didn't expect you guys to study abroad there."

"Ah, Rokuko and Aidi are best friends. You can think of me as just a tagalong."

"I see…?"

Wataru's face held a curious expression. Well, it was hard to explain just how these daughters of the Empire and the Demonlands are best friends, given that they are from enemy nations.

From Wataru's perspective, it must be difficult to see any common ground.

"There's a lot we don't know about the intentions of different countries."

"Indeed. It's strange to be at war while also studying abroad… Are they friends or enemies?"

Wataru folds his arms and nods in agreement.

At that moment, Aidi tilted her head and interjects.

"Oh, wouldn't it mean that they're so friendly that they go to war?"

"… Normally, don't people avoid war if they're friendly?"

"Why? Don't people usually fight each other if they're close?"

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

Yeah, Wataru was clearly not able to keep up with the logic.

Based on my investigation during my study abroad in the Demonlands, the explanation goes like this:

• Close Friends

• Curious about each other's strength

• Fight (Fun!)

• Become even closer friends

• Want to know each other's true strength

• Fight to the death (Super fun!)

That was the gist of it at least.

In the Demonlands, it's considered acceptable to have yandere-like behavior where if someone actually died, they could proudly say [I'm the only one who knows their true strength…!] or something.

… Though it was apparently still considered a crime if there was no prior consent or permission. Usually, these battles would take place in an arena, so there's generally consent and permission.

"Intercultural exchange can be terrifying. Our common sense doesn't always apply."

"Is this what they call cultural differences? That's not just on the level of a 'the closer we are, the more we fight' kind of relationship."

"For us imperial people, their temperament seems very fitting for the term [Barbarian], but the tricky part is that some of their magic tools are more advanced than ours, so we can't just label them as barbarians."

"I guess I should be grateful that the empire's temperament is closer to Japan's…?"

By the way, it's considered good manners for couples not to engage in life-or-death duels until their children are grown and independent. There are also various manners for parent-child duels… A country with manners in such places, how very Demonlands-esque.

"Anyway, Kehma, I heard you're participating in the main event?"

"Yeah. There's something I want, and it's the prize for the runner-up."

"… That's amazing, considering you're competing in the main event for it."

"Hahaha. I put in a little—no, a lot of effort."

Well, it was an easy win thanks to the [Divine Blanket]!

"… Wataru. Since we're both from the empire, we'll probably only fight in the finals. I'll purposely lose then, so be prepared."

"What? You'd just let me win? How about if I become the runner-up, I'll give you the prize."

"Hahaha. Idiot! If I win, I'll have to participate in the upper tournament! Of course I'll give that to you!"

Because we were talking about winning and being the runner-up, various gazes gathered on us. Challenging eyes, eyes looking at us like country bumpkins, eyes filled with contempt, the works. Among them, there were also respectful gazes, either because they knew Wataru or simply because we were participating in the main event.

"Oops. Let's not provoke the other participants too much."

"That's right—I won't lose, Kehma!"

"Yeah. I'm aiming for the runner-up, so please win."

"Please compete for it!"

"Rokuko. The village chief is bad enough, but Hero Wataru is also something else. He doesn't doubt the chief will make it to the finals."

"Wataru's mysterious trust in Kehma is indeed a mystery. Right, Ichika?"

"Yah, well… he's really goin' for it this time, so it's only natural to expect it."

Anyway, I decided to end the chat with Wataru there and go to my room to sleep. Traveling by carriage could be quite exhausting. Even more so when there are attacks.

"… Kehma, you didn't even step out of the carriage during the attack, did you?"

"Niku saved us with her efforts. Thanks, Niku."

"… Yes. Of course, Master."

When I stroked her head, Niku wagged her tail happily. Her face was as expressionless as ever, but her proud snort was audible.

As a reward, today's dinner will be hamburgers!