Chapter 46: Cooperation in the Arena

The next morning, the reservoir town was filled with a strange kind of excitement from early on.

Perhaps because it was the final day of the arena qualifiers, burly men could be seen everywhere.

I had already seen Chris’s swordsmanship once.

It was straightforward and free of bad habits.

In a one-on-one match, I figured it wouldn’t be particularly difficult for him to make it through the qualifiers.

(The problem is how he handles a chaotic melee…)

Because he was so faithful to form, his ability to respond to unexpected situations was still an unknown.

As I was thinking that, Rowena tugged insistently at the hem of my clothes.

“Edo, go.”

Her eyes sparkled, clearly wanting to watch.

With a resigned nod, I agreed, and she happily took my hand.

The qualifiers were held in a free-for-all format, with over a dozen participants entering the arena at once—the last one standing would advance.

At the sound of the gong, shouts and the clash of metal swirled through clouds of dust.

Chris looked slightly overwhelmed in the chaos.

His sword was sharp, but he struggled against attacks coming from multiple directions at once.

The moment one man slashed at him with a sword, another aimed a kick at his legs.

Because Chris focused on blocking the blade, he reacted a split second too late to the kick.

He managed to twist away just in time, but his stance faltered slightly.

Seizing that opening, another man watching from a distance hurled a short spear at him.

“Watch out!”

A cry rang out from the audience.

Chris twisted his body and barely avoided the incoming weapon.

But he was surrounded, gradually being driven into a corner.

Then—

Another man, who had also been under heavy attack, let out a roar.

“Uooooo!”

He swung a massive battle axe, spinning it like a windmill.

Faced with its overwhelming power and reach, the surrounding fighters instinctively backed away.

Chris didn’t miss that brief opening.

He broke through the encirclement and dashed behind the large man.

“I’ll cover your back!”

“Got it!”

A brief exchange of words.

An impromptu alliance was formed.

The large man—the axe wielder—swept away enemies in front of him with brute strength.

The heavy whooshing of the axe cutting through the air and the dull impacts of shields and armor being smashed echoed through the arena.

One by one, opponents were blown away by his powerful strikes.

Chris focused entirely on guarding the man’s back.

Enemies who slipped past the axe’s wide swings and tried to dart in close were cut down by Chris’s precise swordsmanship.

His blade wasn’t flashy, but each strike cleanly hit vital points with refined accuracy.

Covering each other’s blind spots perfectly, the two became an unshakable fortress at the center of the chaotic battle.

Eventually, only the two of them remained standing in the arena.

The gong signaling the end of the match rang out, and thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the stands.

When Chris came out of the arena, he was drenched in sweat but wore a satisfied expression.

Beside him stood the axe wielder.

“Well done, kid!”

“You too! You saved me!”

The two praised each other and clasped hands firmly.

At lunchtime, the four of us gathered around a table in a tavern.

“I’m Gideon. As you can see, I use a battle axe. Nice to meet you.”

The man introduced himself with a hearty laugh—an honest and straightforward sort.

“This is my master, Ed, and the young lady.”

The moment Chris said that, I deliberately cleared my throat.

“…! N-not my master yet! Just… my benefactor!”

Seeing Chris hurriedly correct himself, Gideon burst into laughter.

Then, Gideon noticed the guild badges hanging from my and Rowena’s necks.

“Oh, you’re adventurers too? I’m registered as well.”

He showed his D-rank guild badge.

“I just do it for some pocket money. I don’t care about rank. It works as ID, and if I take escort jobs, I can travel to other towns for free.”

When I told him I was B-rank, Gideon nodded in understanding.

However, Chris still didn’t seem to fully grasp what being B-rank meant.

While we ate, I gave Chris my thoughts on his performance.

“You were unsettled against multiple opponents. But forming a team with Gideon at the end—that was the right call.”

“Yes…”

“By the way, is there a guild branch in this town?”

“No, there’s no branch here. Just a small outpost. It’s grown big enough to become a town, so there are a lot of people, though,”

Gideon answered.

I turned my gaze back to Chris.

“Where are you staying? Are you even eating properly?”

“I… am eating…”

His vague answer made both Gideon and me exchange looks.

When pressed, Chris slumped and admitted that he was almost out of money.

“You idiot. A fighter’s job isn’t just fighting—you’ve got to rest and eat properly too,”

Gideon scolded him.

Rowena gently patted Chris’s shoulder with her small hand.

“…do your best.”

At her soft encouragement, Chris couldn’t even lift his head.

As we parted ways and walked back to the inn, I spoke to him.

“Pack your things and come to our inn.”

Back at the inn, after paying for an extra person and waiting in the room, Chris arrived looking extremely apologetic.

“I’ll let you stay until the main tournament ends. And…”

I let out a tired sigh.

“There’s still time before the main matches. Honestly, your performance today was hard to watch. I’ll help you a little.”

At those words, Chris’s face lit up.

“Master! Thank you so much!”