The Eminence In The Shadow

Annerose is sitting in the front row of the audience seats, waiting for a certain match.

With her light blue hair being brushed by the wind, her eyes of the same color are focused on the arena. The number of spectators has gone up a bit from yesterday, but more than half of the seats are still empty.

"Jou-chan, you also here to see that guy"s match?"

(T/N: "Jou" or "Ojou" is a relatively neutral way of addressing young ladies or girls. Then the suffix "-chan" or "-san" is a reflection of how familiar you purport to be to the lady/girl OR a reflection of the amount of respect. The former consideration is for someone you know, the latter consideration is for complete strangers.)

Hearing a voice calling out to her, Annerose turns around.

"As I recall, you are..."

"Quinton."

The Quinton who is like a rough-looking pro wrestler sits heavily into the seat next to Annerose"s.

"You also watched the match yesterday in Round 3, didn"t you?"

"I did, yes. From your tone, you also...?"

"I had no intention to, but just happened to see it. Jimina"s Round 3 match, what did you think?"

Quinton sprays his legs forward while asking Annerose.

"At the very least, I don"t believe that his opponent just happened to trip by himself to allow him a lucky win."

"Me neither. That guy definitely did something. I couldn"t tell what it was that he did, but thought maybe you caught it, Annerose-san of the "Seven Swords of Begalta.""

Quinton"s insolent gaze is met by Annerose"s sharp eyes.

But quickly, Annerose turns her face away and crosses her legs. The slit in her skirt reveals a glimpse of her white legs.

"I"ve already discarded that name. Now I am "only" Annerose."

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"Well sorry then. It"s a bit late, but congratulations on pa.s.sing the Trial of the G.o.ddess.""

"Thanks."

"So, could it be that even Jou-chan didn"t catch it? What that guy did?"

"Y-, yea, I couldn"t catch it either."

So answers Annerose with a slight pout.

"It was beyond my expectations that I would overlook it. It completely caught me off guard. However... I thought I saw Jiminkun"s left hand move."

"Hou, his left hand."

"But I couldn"t tell what it was that he did with his left hand. The only thing I can say is that whatever it was, it was incredibly fast."

"Hmph. Then that means my guess was off."

Quinton snorts as if he"s lost interest.

"Guess?"

"I thought he had used a forbidden artifact or something."

"I see... I suppose that possibility also cannot be crossed out."

"Either way, today"s match will make everything clear."

"Agreed. His opponent is that Undefeatable Myth Goldoh Kinmekki."

"I don"t know him personally, but apparently he"s famous? Something about him never having lost a fight before."

"For better or worse, he is famous indeed."

So says Annerose with a wry smile.

"Is he strong?"

"Let me see how to put it... So I"ve fought in a few different countries. I"ve been in actual battle, and have also partic.i.p.ated in several tournaments. In tournaments in the past, I"ve been matched with Goldoh Kinmekki three times."

"Hou... if he"s never lost before, that means that you lost to him all three times?"

Annerose shoots Quinton a light glare.

"As if. All three times, we didn"t fight. Whenever he meets a strong opponent, he runs away."

"Hah? What the h.e.l.l?"

"He makes sure to never fight against an opponent that he has a chance of losing to. He only partic.i.p.ates in fights with guaranteed victory, and the other ones? He just forfeits. His nickname is "Undefeatable Myth." After all, it"s true that he would never lose. Though it seems that he hates that nickname and is going around calling himself Sure-Win Golden Dragon."

""Sure win" and "Undefeatable." It"s true that both sound the same but have completely different connotations."

Quinton barks out a laugh.

"So in other words, we can"t expect anything from Undefeatable Myth-san?"

"Not quite, maybe."

Annerose smiles with only one corner of her mouth.

"Nn, what do you mean?"

"It"s true that Undefeatable Myth only fights opponents that he"s sure to win, and climbs tournaments that way. However, he"s actually even won the champions.h.i.+p in several small-scale tournaments."

"Hou... so he"s not really that weak."

Quinton"s eyes turn sharp.

"Indeed. His strength is in accurately gauging difference in strength. And he did not forfeit the match with Jimina. In other words..."

"I get it."

Quinton laughs with a mad glint in his eyes.

"Even Undefeatable Myth could not see through Jimina"s true strength."

"That, or that Jimina really is a coward relying on the power of an artifact or some other external aid."

"In addition, Undefeatable Myth has only ever fought opponents that he was sure to win against. Which means that he"s never displayed his true strength either."

"Now it"s gotten interesting."

"Indeed, it will be interesting for sure."

Quinton laughs like a beast, while Annerose licks her lip.

Then the two of them direct their full attention towards the arena.

Amidst a rain of cheers, Jimina Sehnen and Goldoh Kinmekki are both facing off against each other.

The only people in the audience who understand the true meaning of this match are, as of this moment, only two.

"Round 4, Match 6: Goldoh Kinemekki vs. Jimina Sehnen! Battle... start!!"

Then begins the match.