Published: March 21, 2026
The contest progressed smoothly, and my anxiety kept growing.
Our plan had started to go awry because of the suddenly appearing Demon Clan member.
According to the plan, the girls and I would escort princess amelia—who was a sure favorite to win—while Kazuki, Tsuda, and Nanase would accompany Sato, who might also take first place.
It might look like princess amelia, our main bet, was lightly guarded, but if things got serious we also had Akira and Yoru, so our fighting strength was fine.
The ones we had to watch out for were the henchmen of the guild master Gram.
According to the information Tsuda obtained, all of Gram’s henchmen apparently wore the Uruk emblem somewhere.
Trying not to be noticed by Akira, I was frantically scanning for the Uruk emblem—the circle with three claw marks—and that’s when a Demon Clan member named Lord Lattice Nail showed up.
The rumors that Gram was connected to the Demon Clan seemed true. Just when I was ready to bury my head in my hands over having another person to be wary of, Akira wasn't even on guard around that Demon.
He said as long as we didn’t lie or speak in discriminatory ways it would be fine, but I didn't trust a Demon.
Yoru had told me that when we were on the ship heading to the Beastmen territory, princess amelia had been kidnapped, and when Akira went after her to retrieve her, the Demon had driven Akira to the brink of death.
If Mr. Crow hadn’t arrived in time, Akira would have truly died.
Akira had almost been killed once, yet he was starting to open his heart to that Demon.
It was incredibly dangerous.
I tried to warn him a few times, but the Demon clung to Akira so closely I couldn't get a word in.
“Do you really think that Demon’s okay?”
“Most of the buyers for the organ trafficking ring Tsuda mentioned are Demons. Maybe that Demon came for that.”
I heard Ueno and Hosoyama talking worriedly. They agreed with me.
“You think so too, huh.”
I lowered my voice so Akira and the others couldn't hear. They both nodded.
“The timing’s suspicious, isn’t it?”
“Leave princess amelia to us, Asahina-kun. Stay close to that person.”
I nodded at Hosoyama’s suggestion. I was about to suggest the same thing myself.
If it were either of them it might be odd, but if I were by that Demon’s side talking with Akira, it wouldn’t look strange.
When I moved closer, the two who had been chatting cheerfully simultaneously looked up.
“Oh, Kyousuke, is it almost their turn?”
I nodded at Akira’s words. The two walked toward the stage with princess amelia.
I thought it would take a while for them to get around to them, but it was surprisingly quick.
Well, seeing several women go pale at the sight of princess amelia’s face explained why.
I’d like to see a face that could hold its own against that beauty.
Then I noticed the hooded Demon.
“Aren’t you going to go?”
The Demon flinched, then hurried toward the stage.
If princess amelia, Ueno, and Hosoyama were up next, that Demon arriving soon after would probably be called as well—and it seemed I was right.
I glanced at the stage alongside Akira, who gave a wry smile.
“…Akira, you forgot Ueno and the others’ names again, didn’t you?”
I hadn’t missed how he hadn’t properly called their names earlier.
Akira flinched and laughed.
“You can’t hide anything from Kyousuke.”
“Of course not. You might not remember, but we’ve known each other a long time.”
We’d been around Sato and Akira for nearly ten years.
Then Akira’s expression sharpened.
A chill ran down my spine.
“Then you can’t hide things from me either. I don’t care about other people, but I’ve come to read your poker face a bit. …Hey Kyousuke, what exactly are you scheming?”
That wasn’t the look one gives a friend.
There was something in Akira now that hadn’t been there back in Japan.
“What are you talking about?”
I feigned ignorance and tilted my head; Akira narrowed his gaze even more.
“At the very least, you should’ve kept the Kansai dialect girl and the trainer where I couldn’t see them. That woman has been restless since the contest started.”