Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter's Hero Dream - Chapter 250

Chapter 250 Supreme Martial Arts Festival ②
Part 1
　In the empty waiting room, a small fridge quietly opened and one of the bottles of water tumbled out without anyone touching it.

　And the Imouto Kitsune returned to her original form from the water bottle.

　The first thing the Imouto Kitsune did after returning to her original form was to take a deep breath and calm herself down.
　She searched for any presence by *pikupiku* twitching her two ears, which had popped out due to her nervousness. There was no sign of Kikkikan-san, after he had left the room. She breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed that.

　He was truly a terrifying human. It was hard to believe that he could hunt down my metamorphosed self which, for a fox incarnation, I am proud to call a perfect transformation, with such pinpoint accuracy.
　Turning into an inorganic object is the basics of the basics. This time, my tail should not have inadvertently come out.

　But in the end, I won. I was able to fool him. 『Kikkikan-san』 didn’t notice the Imouto Kitsune’s transformation. I wondered what would happen for a second when I let my voice out, but I had not been exposed yet.

　But the real deal begins here. I must proceed with caution. The opponent is someone my brother and my mother had a hard time dealing with. I am confident in the plan I have made, but I don’t know what trigger will make him find me out.

　Even this time, it was an irregularity for that man to come to the waiting room. I was able to hide myself by becoming a water bottle thanks to my quick thinking, but if you think about it, it was only natural for him to come because he was supposed to participate in the tournament as a fighter.

“…… Interesting.” (Imouto Kitsune)

　There are rules in the 【Lost Inn】. When you lose a battle of wits, you must not take revenge.

　However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t feel anything for being beaten.
　As a result of a clever trap he set up last time, I was even bound to not be able to attack him, and as a result, I was unjustifiably labeled as a glutton by my fellow brethren.
　Even as I recall it now, it was a humiliating story.

　I can’t take revenge. However, it is possible to challenge him in a new game.

　This time, it is the Imouto Kitsune’s turn to attack.
　Will that man, who is so dull that he never realized the true identity of the Aburaage smartphone, be able to see through my scheming?

　I won’t hold back when I am fooling people.
　I closed my eyes, raised my index finger, and unleashed my technique. This will keep Kikkikan-san lost in the bathroom for a while, and he will not be able to come out.

　While stuck in the bathroom, Kikkikan-san’s sense of direction is lost. And then, when I saw his panicked figure, I laughed at him.

　Satisfied with her work, the Imouto Kitsune smiled, then somersaulted and transformed into Cry Andrich.

§　§　§

　The sky was clear. The huge arena, which could hold tens of thousands of people, was filled with people and excitement.

　Finally, the “Supreme Martial Arts Festival (Buteisai)” was about to begin. The majority of the seats were filled, and one begins to feel like questioning where so many people could have been hidden in Cleat.

　All the members of 《First Step (Hajimari no Ashiato)》, including Tino, sat on the arena seat where it is reserved for the fighter’s relative.

　Like Tino and many others, the seats given to the fighter’s relatives are the inner seats closest to where the fighter will be fighting. This is because, in this Supreme Martial Arts Festival, which is open to all races and professions, the participants’ attacks who have absorbed large amounts of Mana Material tend to be large-scale, so their companions are expected to act as a breakwater in case of an emergency.
　When I looked at the next block and at the opposite seats a few hundred meters away, all I saw were strong people. Tino took a deep breath in order to calm herself down when her shoulders naturally tensed up.

“Oi, oi, it hasn’t even started yet, are you gonna be alright?” (Sven)

“That’s right, desu. We are Yowaningen invitee, so we have to behave accordingly, desu.” (Kruz)

　Sven Anger, the Leader of 《Iron Cross (Kurogane Juuji)》 and Kruz, a member from 《Starlight (Hoshi no Seirai)》, who was sitting nearby talked to me.
　However, putting aside Sven, Kruz seemed to be as nervous as Tino.

“I bet a lot of money, so if he loses he won’t get off so easily, desuuu!” (Kruz)

　In the end, Tino’s strategy to increase Master’s~ reputation failed, except for one person. It appears that Master’s~ credibility has hit rock bottom.
　No, or maybe I should say that, in a sense, they understand him.

　Hearing what Kruz said, Sven looked at Kruz with pity.

“Kruz, you are, how to say…… Like that, huh.” (Sven)

“!? That!? What do you mean by that, desu! If you have something to say, say it in my face, desu!” (Kruz)

“Master~ is God. Master will definitely win, so there is no problem.” (Tino)

“R-Right! Yowaningen will win, so there’s no problem, desu! We were even invited, so it’s only natural that we bet on him, desu!” (Kruz)

　Kruz quickly agreed with Tino. However, her transparent eyes clearly showed agitation.
　She probably has the same anxiety as Tino.

　In the first place, whether he wins or loses, Tino has no choice but to bet on her dear Master~. If she didn’t bet on him, wouldn’t her faith in him be questioned when people asked her later?