-- Previous Chapter

    *.*.*.*.*

    Nigel Wise Maxine is the man who turned Caloria into Hell.

    He has the Small Shimaron trademark hair style and beard style, a thin face and white cheeks without muscle and, if I had to describe them, thin eyes with single-fold eyelids.  Because of that, his overall impression was sharp-witted and lethal more so than strong and fearless.  The nickname I decided for him was Cropped Ponytail, but I have no intention of using such a cute name for him.

    "Hey, Cropped Pony!  You got some nerve showing your face here!"

    Ah, I used it.

    "Oh, that voice.  Look who it is."

    As usual, he was wearing even the dark red mantle of the Small Shimaron military and his face - with even more injuries - distorted a bit.  He probably laughed.  He starts talking in his intentionally slow and subdued manner meant to intimidate.

    "The guest of Norman Gilbit of Caloria who, along with the gallant prisoners, volunteered for an honorable task in service of His Majesty Saralegi, king of Small Shimaron and then went missing after an unknown power went wild - Captain Crusoe or something... wasn''t it?"

    "I''d rather you shorten that introduction."

    And in any case, there are details that are conveniently wrong.

    It was a while ago, but it also seemed like just yesterday. This man carried out an experiment in the name of his king and, as we were headed to Big Shimaron on the western side of the continent (which received no damage), we were gathered together in a stadium along with a bunch of unlucky prisoners where he tried to release the horribly evil weapon, ''The End of the Land.''  With the wrong key that I have no idea where he obtained.

    Conrad''s arm.

    Maxine narrows his single-fold eyes and looked over my companions.

    "The demons are multiplying.  I''ve met your aide there, but this is the first time I''ve had the pleasure to meet this beautiful one.  Well I say, you''ve all gathered together.  Is this some sort of carefree sightseeing trip in Shimaron?"

    "What!?  You''re one to talk!  After doing all that to Caloria, to half the continent, you''re on a family trip with your daughters!?  Ah, you young ladies are not at fault here."

    "Daughters?"  The man who seems like he would even smell cold stands next to the twins in a heartwarming scene.  "Mine?  Certainly not.  Although I did name them."

    "You named them!?"

    I wonder if naming rights lie with someone other than the parents in this world.  But anyway, what''s up with naming beautiful twin girls Jason and Freddy?  Even though they''re so pretty and cute, if you get them together they''re Splatter Sisters who you never know when they''re going to start murdering someone.

    "Oh man, I-I''m so lucky that the man who named me didn''t call me ''The Ring'' Shibuya."

    "I might have ended up Zaku Murata.  That would have been bad." (1)

    "... Zaku, huh?  That''s a fitting name for a warrior," Wolfram says with a bit of appreciation.  Even so, do not name a girl that.

    "These people," said either Friday the 13th or Elm Street as they grabbed the cold man''s arm.  I want to be a good big brother and tell them that they must not be friendly with a man like this.  However, these girls might be like demons where you can''t tell how old they are just by looking at them.  They might be much older than I am.  I have never met a god in person before so it''s better to be safe than sorry.

    *.*.*.*.*

    ‘Use your knowledge, speed and skill to win!  The World’s Best Fighter Tournament,’ audaciously abbreviated to ‘The World’s Best’ was a contest true to its name.

    In other words, you can’t get by with just being smart and you can’t win if you have muscles for brains.  Even if you’re wise and strong and smart, you can’t be a slow tortoise like in my mom’s favorite saying.

    “As the schedule is now, the contestants will be thinned out during the ‘knowledge’ section first and then they will move on to the ‘speed’ event.  We need a vehicle and animal for this.  The starting point is Nilzon and all the territories participating will race to Big Shimaron’s royal capital of Lambert.” (1)

    “Wait!  Wait, that knowledge test, will I be okay with having enough technical skill to buy juice from a vending machine?”

    “Shibuya, we’re not chimpanzees.”

    “I’ve heard they are written questions, but… it’s the first time for me as well.”

    “Gah!  A written test!  I’m going to get disqualified!  I’m only good with scantrons so there’s no way I’ll be able to get a good score on a written test in a foreign language!”

    To make matters worse, Flynn had written Wolfram, Josak and me into the three spots on the team member list.  We were so overconfident we overlooked the fact that we had to actually make it to the finals.

    After all, the finals are a fighting contest based on ‘skill.’  We will have to fight with Big Shimaron’s strongest soldiers.  It’s rude to say this, but I don’t think that Mr. Robinson is very skilled in combat.  You, captain, don’t seem to be much better in this respect, but you have an unfathomable amount of magical power.

    There was a really cheap jab in there, but she did her best to explain her reasoning.  It says that hired mercenaries are allowed, but there has to be at least one person from the represented area in the three man team.  It is also said that the opponents in the finals will be the victors of the previous tournament, Big Shimaron.  It’s like an eternal seed for their perpetual authority.

    “What does that mean?  So I’m not entered as a mysterious demon or Captain Crusoe, but as the Calorian Norman Gilbit?”

    “… Yes.”

    “Wow.”  So my failure is Norman Gilbit’s failure and my victory is Norman Gilbit’s victory?  Now that a dead man’s honor is on my shoulders, my responsibility has doubled.  “But don’t the leaders in Big Shimaron know that your husband died a long time ago?”

    “They have their doubts, but I believe they do not know for sure.  They came to me first.  The people in Shimaron thought that since Norman was a pure and noble man he would never hand over the evil Wincott poison even if it was for the benefit of the young people of Caloria.”

    Flynn gave a self-deprecating laugh and turned her gaze toward a nearby store.