Kousuke and his party left the Guildmaster’s room not to go to Silvia’s group, but headed for the arena.
This was because Shurein showed interest in the battles that were taking place.
More accurately, Shurein’s original goal was to watch the battles at the arena.
Kousuke had no reason to object, and the three of them decided to enter the arena together.
In Seichun’s Arena Guild, there were always some kind of battles taking place.
Sometimes, as Kouhi had done in this arena, battles to determine ranks were held.
The battle the three witnessed when they entered the arena was precisely one of those ranking matches.
Moreover, it was a match to be promoted from B Class to A Class, so enthusiastic fans of arena battles had gathered, filling up a considerable number of seats.
“Hmm. So this is a Seichun arena battle. The audience’s enthusiasm is certainly incredible.”
Since it was a battle for promotion, betting was not allowed.
Despite this, the fact that so many people were present indicated the high popularity of arena battles.
“That’s true. Whether they came to see the battle itself, or to see the combatant they support, seems to differ from person to person.”
“Isn’t that the case with anything?”
“Indeed.”
Regardless of their purpose, most of the people present at this moment truly loved arena battles and came for that reason.
Of course, some were probably there to observe the combatants’ condition for future bets.
However, even those individuals could be considered fans of arena battles, distinct from those who simply came to bet and watch.
Kousuke’s gaze shifted from the audience watching the battle to the actual fight.
“Hmm. They said this was a battle for A-rank promotion… but does it seem to be on par with the strength of a B-rank adventurer?”
Shurein’s standard was based solely on the ranks in Crown’s Adventurer Division.
Furthermore, the fighting style was completely different for battles against monsters and battles against humans, so it was merely a reference.
“Is that so?”
Kousuke, on the other hand, tilted his head.
This was partly because Kousuke himself had steadily risen in rank without properly undergoing promotion exams.
Kousuke, whose rank had continuously increased due to Gazeran’s initiative (?), had never properly seen the strength of other adventurers.
Of course, he had some idea from accompanying them on escort missions a few times and from seeing Riku’s strength, but that was also biased information.
Incidentally, Shurein possessed more accurate information than Kousuke because when the succubus went out to interact, she made sure to grasp those details thoroughly.
As Kousuke tilted his head, Kouhi, who had been intently watching the battle, offered advice.
“Master. Roughly speaking, the line between B-rank and C-rank is determined by whether one can deal with the opponent before they use magic.”
“Hmm… Ah, I see.”
After being told by Kouhi, Kousuke re-examined the battle and noticed that the challenger was indeed trying to negate the opponent’s magic before it could be cast.
Of course, if the opponent were a master of magic, they wouldn’t be allowed to do even that, but since this was a promotion match, they were in a situation where they were canceling each other out.
If one of them specialized in magic, a different kind of battle would be seen.
As the three were discussing such things, the battle that was taking place concluded.
“Hmm. It wasn’t a flashy battle, but it was certainly worth watching, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Well, if it were an actual arena battle, it would have been even more incredible.”
“I suppose so.”
The arena battle Kousuke had seen here before was between Kouhi and Hartvin.
It was a mistake to compare it to a promotion match, but unfortunately, the other two didn’t realize that.
And then, someone mixed into their conversation.
Kousuke and his party were currently in a special area for rankers.
If such a place were not provided, rankers would be mobbed by the audience.
It was a place accessible only to a limited number of people, but naturally, other rankers could enter.
“You say that so easily. Battles for A-rank promotion are quite popular if they’re worth watching.”
At the voice, Kousuke and the other two calmly turned around, not showing any surprise.
The woman who spoke to Kousuke was Carmen, and the other two standing there were combatants.
Carmen was the woman who spoke, and the other two were Hartvin and Jiana.
All three had previously been involved with Kouhi.
“Well, for someone who regularly watches Corry’s battles, today’s fight might seem a bit unsatisfying.”
“You’re comparing the wrong things.”
Hartvin stated firmly in response to Carmen’s words.
Indeed, from a normal perspective, Kouhi’s battles were abnormal, and the audience could be sufficiently excited by the battle they were witnessing.
At least in the Seichun arena, that was the proper standard.
Even Kousuke and his party fully understood that Kouhi was exceptional.
Incidentally, there was also Mitsuki, who could fight on par with Kouhi, but they didn’t bother mentioning that.
Seeing the three approaching, Kouhi glanced at Shurein for a moment, then stepped forward.
“It’s been a while. Is there something you need?”
At her unchanging attitude, the three exchanged glances and gave a bitter smile.
Hartvin then responded on their behalf.
“Nothing. We just came to deepen old ties since some familiar faces have arrived after a long time.”
“And on top of that, we came to leak information about that detestable second-place individual.”
Carmen and Hartvin both gave bitter smiles at Jiana’s blunt words.
While interaction between combatants was not uncommon, openly declaring their intention to leak information like this was unusual.
Moreover, Jiana was not the kind of person who would normally do such a thing.
This was because Jiana had a bone to pick with Isac, who was ranked second.
Of course, Hartvin and Carmen also had their own grievances with Isac, to varying degrees.
That was precisely why, upon hearing that Kouhi had appeared at the arena, they came to talk.
“Information about Isac? Is there something?”
Facing Kouhi’s question, the three exchanged glances, but Hartvin spoke on their behalf.
“He’s definitely a magic item user. We haven’t found any concrete evidence yet, though.”
“At worst, he might be using multiple.”
Hartvin and Carmen’s words made Kouhi’s gaze show interest.
“Well, you can think of it as being similar to how I was before.”
Hartvin said, but Carmen and Jiana reacted with grimaces.
“Don’t even joke about it!”
“You shouldn’t compare him to that!”
As the two raised their voices together, Hartvin shook his head with a bitter smile.
“I’m happy you say that, but from the audience’s perspective, it’s similar. After all, what he does is flashy.”
When magic items are used, unlike in normal combat, magic can appear at impossible timings, making it certainly flashy for the viewers.
In that sense, the fact that Hartvin blocked all of Kouhi’s attacks with his body also had a similar kind of flashiness.
While it was a significant difference for the combatants, those aspects could be important for the spectators.
Additionally, Carmen and Jiana had a separate reason for disliking Isac’s battles, but Kouhi would learn about that a little later.
Ah, I did it again?
I intended to wrap up the arena talk quickly…
Well, that’s fine I guess.
