Oh, I''m Helu, nice to meet you.


    With her face close together, that strange woman, Helu, introduced herself with a smile.


    ''Face, close.''


    Urryu...!


    He grabbed both of Helu''s cheeks with his right hand to crush them, forcing her face away from him.


    It''s not something I would do to a woman I''ve never met before, but since Helu was approaching me without hesitation, I wouldn''t have to shy away from something like that either.


    If I let go of her hand, she was going to come closer again, so I put my hand in front of her face to stop her.


    And finally, Helu has calmed down and can talk to me without getting close to my face.


    ''What''s your name?''


    It''s Eric.


    I didn''t use a particular alias, but it''s probably okay.


    ''Nice to meet you, Eric. So, to follow up on my earlier question.


    Wait a minute. But first, I want to ask you something.


    ''Okay, I don''t use a lot of weapons or anything, I guess I like to use my hands. Sometimes I use them...


    I didn''t ask you that. No, I mean, why are you messing with me?


    The man who got involved with Helu earlier is still lying on the ground.


    When the attendants come, though, they will probably take care of it.


    That guy got tangled up with Helu because Helu looked weak.


    Then Helu knocked it down and suddenly got involved with me.


    Even though there are still dozens of fighters here.


    ''''Eh?　Because, Eric, aren''t you strong?


    Helu said, "Why do you ask such an obvious question? I replied, tilting my head as if to say.


    ''How do you know I''m strong?''


    I guess it''s a hunch. I''ve learned to appreciate that kind of thing after a lot of fighting.


    It''s true that I have the ability to detect an opponent''s strength on first sight.


    But that''s what you feel when you see your opponent hold up a sword or make a swing, and it''s not normal to see me sitting there as strong.


    ''''You''re danton among these guys, and I haven''t seen anyone stronger than us in a long time.''''


    Thank you.


    I just saw Helu fight and I felt that he was as strong as me.


    If we fight, I''m sure we''ll have a hard time, but I''ll win.


    However, if it really comes down to fighting, you can''t let your guard down.


    I thought I could win the fight against Elena before, but I lost because my dagger was coated with poison.


    I won''t let my guard down so that I don''t make such a blunder again.


    ''''What the hell, you''re getting pretty good at this, girl.


    We were sitting down to talk, and he suddenly spoke to us in a provocative manner.


    When I looked at him, I couldn''t see his face because he was wearing an iron mask, but as far as I could tell by his size and voice, the guy was looking down at us.


    ''It''s cute that you''re getting that worked up after defeating a small fry like that, but a rookie shouldn''t get too worked up about it.


    Is there such a thing as a newcomer in this arena?


    I''m not sure, but if they''ve been doing this for quite some time, then maybe there are regular fighters.


    And the man in front of me now is probably one of those regulars.


    ''I''m the best in this arena, you bastards!


    The guys around them nodded in unison as the man said this and looked around.


    I look at the guy whose face I can see in them, some of them look frustrated, others look terrified.


    Apparently, this guy really is the strongest of them all.


    He''s wearing full armor and is about the same size as the guy from earlier.


    The quality of the armor is different, and the weapon he carries is a two-handed axe.


    The quality of this guy''s armor is so good that even if you slashed head-on with your sword, this one''s sword would likely spill the blade.


    ''''So don''t get too carried away within my range of sight.......''''


    ''Hey, Eric, to continue with my earlier question, can you use anything but a sword?　Can you do the handstand?　We like fistfights, don''t we?


    No, hey, Mr. Helu?


    He''s probably talking to you, so I''m hoping you''ll ignore him and stop talking to me.


    ''Hey...!　You don''t get to be a jerk in front of me...!


    Hey, I''m talking to Eric. Shut up. Shut up.


    In the next moment, a man readied both hatchets and swung down from above.


    It was struck with such force that the stone ground was cracked, but Helu and I are safe because we are avoiding it from the spot.


    I mean, that guy just now, he was trying to cut down both me and Heeru.


    I didn''t do anything, in fact I''m the victim.


    Why is that man so mad all of a sudden?　Is she having her period?


    Men don''t get periods, and it''s your fault.


    I was surprised by the sudden undertones, but I was even more surprised that I didn''t know why I had lost my temper.


    ''What?　Home?　We were just talking to you, Eric.


    No, that''s why.


    I told you to stay away from me, but you just ignored me right in front of me.


    "You''re gonna get us all killed!　All of you together in the arena!　I''ll take two against one as a handicap!


    I can''t see his face because he''s wearing an iron mask, but he looks like he''s got blood on his head and is turning red.


    I mean, can you do a two-on-one or something?


    And even if you could, you''re indeed not going to win.


    You''re losing your cool.


    "Eh, two against one is no fun. Hey, Eric.


    Well yeah, I guess so. So--


    I was going to say that we should fight Helu........


    ''''Then let''s use rock-paper-scissors to decide which one of us will fight that guy.


    What?


    Rock-paper-scissors, rock-paper-scissors, poi!


    I played rock-paper-scissors with a conditional reflex without thinking, because he told me so suddenly.


    But the winner was me.


    Oh, thank goodness.


    Now I don''t have to fight him...." "Oh, I lost.


    "Oh, I lost. Then you win, Eric, you fight that guy.


    "...What?　Aren''t you usually the one who loses in these things?


    ''What?　Fighting is fun, so you''re the one who won, right?


    I don''t get it I don''t understand why I, who had nothing to do with it, have to fight that guy.


    "This guy is a f*cking joke...!　Okay, after I kill you, I''ll kill that woman too!


    Why are you trying to kill me, too?


    This is how I got caught up in something I didn''t quite understand and decided who I was going to fight.