225 Episode 225 "I thought about the purpose of the" martial arts tournament "and the cancellation of the" contract "".txt (1/2)

For now, we took Tanaka-Koga into the shadows of the warehouse district to hear about the martial arts tournament.

It's because we wanted to hear about the Martial Arts Tournament.

But before that...

Don't ever attack my people again.

I looked at Tanaka-Koga and said, ”You've attacked my people twice.

”You attacked my friends twice,” he said. The first time was when you were working for the Noblemen's Guild. This is the second time. I have no intention of fighting you.

...... gunu.

Tanaka-Coga sits on the ground and stares at us.

This guy's friends are gone.

Aine, who came after us, used her cheat skill, Memory Wipe, to wipe out all memories of us.

Now Aine is keeping an eye out for more enemies.

'You know what, Tanaka. In the first place, a brave man attacking an opponent who doesn't want to fight with three times as many people as ...... is impossible. That's not what a self-proclaimed brave man would do.

”...... Nagi,” ”...... Nagi-san” and ”...... Arujidono.

Rita, Letitia and Cutlass are mumbling worriedly behind me.

I'm starting to get angry for good reason too.

If you normally come to pick up Rita and Leticia, you're suddenly in a battle.

And I heard that Tanaka-Coga said something like 'practice for a martial arts tournament'.

Rita and Leticia explained that neither of them are interested in the 'martial arts tournament'.

Even if you ...... erase your memory, Tanaka-Coga is going to do ...... the same thing.

I mumbled softly so that Tanaka wouldn't hear me.

Then I looked at Tanaka.

'I don't mind playing the brave without your knowledge. I'm just saying, don't attack someone who doesn't want to fight.

...... Oh, oh.

Tanaka-Coga, bound behind his back, nodded disappointedly.

'But I won't be messing with your people again. You may ”contract” ......

Okay. And I need to ask you about The Martial Arts Tournament. And why you're so obsessed with it. You're a brave man with the approval of the nobles, right?　Why would you need to accomplish anything now?

'Oh, oh, ...... that story.'

Tanaka-Koga looked frightened, his shoulders shaking.

”The reason we're having a 'martial arts tournament' is because there are too many brave souls out there ...... and we have to differentiate ourselves.

「「「「 Too many brave people? 」」」」

Me, Rita, Letitia, and Cutlass' lines were hammered.

Could it be that there are too many brave people .......

'Is it because of the flood of brave people in the world that we're having a brave deflation?'

What's that?

''If there's one or two brave men, it's worth it, but if there are ten or twenty brave men, the value per brave man will go down. That's how it is.

Yeah, yeah. Something like that.

Tanaka-Coga nodded.

'There are more and more people calling themselves 'brave' just because they have powerful skills. That's why it became necessary to newly rank the brave men and women. It means that the brave men at the top will be recognized as official 'brave men'.

'It's like ranking the Adventurer's Guild.

'Right. Brave men are stronger than the people who manage the guild and the higher ranked adventurers. So the only way to rank them is to have them officially decided by kings and nobles. That's what the 'martial arts tournament' is for.

After finishing the story in one breath, Tanaka-Coga looked at me and slumped his shoulders again.

It's like he's already seriously scared of us.

But ...... I understand the situation.

So far, the nobles have treated the Cheat skill holders as 'brave'. It's because of that that most of the ”visitors” come forward as brave.

But because of that, there are too many brave people and the title of 'brave' has become meaningless.

That's why they decided to recognize the 'officially recognized brave' by the royal family and nobles.

''I have a question for you.''

Suddenly, Leticia looked at me.

I heard earlier, but in Irgapha, there's a 'Tekutama Yuusha' who drank the 'Anti-Monarch Potion', right?　If all you have to do is decide who is officially brave, don't you have to create something like that?

...... the reason for creating 'Cannonball Brave'?

I held my forehead.

I can kind of understand why ....... I hate myself for knowing.

”Isn't it because you'd need a non-brave (・・・・・・) 'fake self-styled brave' to decide who's 'brave'?

「「「「...... a」」」」

Rita, Letitia and Cutlass. And Tanaka-Koga, too, has his eyes wide open as if he has noticed something.

I continue.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to decide on the brave men and women based on their abilities if they all have 'cheat skills'. That's why we need 'runaway, no good, self-proclaimed heroes' to compare. By doing so, I think it's a way of highlighting the 'officially recognized and admirable brave': ......

Even that 'runaway bad self-styled hero' is a made-up one.

It's a bad idea. It's really bad.

”...... You're awesome.

Tanaka-Koga looks at me with admiration.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get it right.

It's a good idea to have a fake self-styled hero ...... to determine the ...... 'hero'. It's like one of the pieces of the puzzle just clicked into place.

Now that you know, you might wanna quit being a hero.

I said.

'You know what goes on behind the scenes at The Martial Arts Tournament, right?　But it doesn't matter if you're certified brave in such a race, does it?

'Duh, but ...... to ...... 'Official Brave'

''What will come after you're appointed as an 'official brave' is probably a future where you'll be told to listen to orders if you want to remain an 'official brave'. That's how the nobles of this world have always come to be.

Tanaka-Coga's eyes widened as I said it. I think I have an idea.

But Tanaka let out a long sigh.

”...... Sorry. Third place in a martial arts competition is part of the 'deal'.

'Contract'?

Yeah. I lose in the semifinals to Count Gervis of the North Town of Hermilt. It's a very good idea to have a good time with them. I can't back out now.

”Give me my armor and my sword back.

What?

So if the condition of the Contract is that I get my armor and my sword, wouldn't it make you less bound by the Contract if you gave it back?

'No, you can't do that. The organizers of the tournament gave us this equipment to make us look good to the audience. The organizer of the tournament gave us this equipment for the sake of appearance to the spectators, and they said that if we fought against Count Gervis with this poor equipment, the value of the event would be compromised. It would be a problem for them if we returned the equipment.

I see. ......

The tournament organizers gave Tanaka-Coga a flashy sword and armor so that he would look good when he fought the Count.

In return, Tanaka-Coga 'contracted' to lose in the semifinals.

Returning the sword and armor would embarrass the organizers of the tournament: ......, huh?

'It was the organizer's convenience that gave us the sword and armor. Why did you have to 'sign a contract'?

'So!　If I didn't equip that sword and armor, the semifinals would be a sobering experience!　That's why I'm going to 'sign up' and make the finals happen...

What's going to happen to Tanaka if things get hot?

...... No, it's the Count who's going to win.

Will the sword and armor be yours?

...... No, after I'm defeated, you're supposed to say, 'The Count is the one who deserves this equipment,' and offer it up.

'With those terms, there's no reason to 'sign up', is there?　It's too little merit by any stretch of the imagination: ......?

I said.

I turned around and saw Rita, Letitia, and Cutlass nodding.

They all seemed to understand how unnatural this 'contract' was.

Tanaka-Coga's 'contract' was 'Instead of freeing up awesome equipment to the martial arts tournament, I'll lose to the Count in the semi-finals.