"You coward! If you're a real man, stop using that skill!"
"Only relying on cheap tricks! What kind of hero does that?"
"Exactly! Fight fair and square if you have any guts!"
Watching their supposedly invincible Spear Hero falling into a helpless situation, the anxious spectators outside the arena began protesting loudly.
Their anxiety wasn't just because Motoyasu was one of their revered Three Heroes…
It was also because if he lost, they'd lose every coin they had bet on him.
Though these nobles and merchants weren't gambling their entire fortunes, who wouldn't want to win?
Lute grinned widely, revealing his sharp white teeth in the banquet hall's glittering lights.
When Motoyasu came around the next time, Lute actually didn't use Shield Bash again.
"You baaaastaaard—I'll kill you!!"
Motoyasu, enraged, thrust forward ferociously with his spear.
"[SHIELD COUNTER]!"
Lute deflected Motoyasu's spear with one shield, while the shield in his other hand swung straight for Motoyasu's crotch.
"[VISCERAL CRITICAL]!"
In truth, this "Visceral Critical" (more commonly known as "Ball-Buster Attack") wasn't even a real skill; Kiriko had once jokingly told Lute that Shield Counter paired really well with a vicious groin strike.
Struck squarely by this Visceral Critical, Motoyasu's face instantly turned pale, his legs buckling like spaghetti.
Even more ruthlessly, right after this Ball-Buster, Lute followed up with another Shield Bash.
Seeing Motoyasu getting destroyed, the spectators outside grew frantic.
But frantic as they were, there wasn't a damn thing they could do about it.
Other than cheering for Motoyasu and cursing Lute, their hands were tied.
This was a one-on-one duel. If someone intervened, it wouldn't be a duel anymore, would it?
But evidently, not everyone thought this way.
Kiriko noticed that ever since Motoyasu missed his initial strike, Myne—the woman who had been at his side—wore an expression like she'd swallowed rotten herring.
Her expression grew darker and darker.
Finally…
Standing hidden among the crowd, Myne silently muttered an incantation, raising her hand toward Lute in the arena.
Several nobles nearby clearly saw this but chose to look away.
Worthy of a princess—her status was so powerful that she could blatantly cheat in public, and nobody would dare to speak up.
Of course, Kiriko wouldn't just watch silently while someone messed with her subordinate.
With a casual lift of Kiriko's finger, a polished, glittering golden dagger appeared in mid-air directly above Myne's head.
Just as Myne finished her chant, and a faintly shimmering orb of wind magic began forming in her palm…
The golden dagger suddenly dropped, slicing clean through her arm!
The gathering wind magic instantly dispersed, and a slender white arm fell heavily to the floor, blood splattering horrifically.
Myne stared at her severed arm lying on the ground, her mind taking over ten seconds to process what had just happened.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH——!!"
Panic erupted throughout the crowd.
"Myne!"
"You still have the luxury to worry about others?"
Motoyasu took a heavy hit and collapsed to the ground. As he stumbled upright again, Lute was already standing directly in front of him.
"This will finish it."
Lute raised his shield and swung it down fiercely toward Motoyasu's head.
Boom!
The ground cracked open into a deep crater.
Motoyasu slowly opened his eyes.
Huh…? I'm… still alive?
Only then did he notice a tower shield embedded firmly in the ground, inches away from his face.
"There's no honor in fighting you. You're not worth dirtying my hands any further."
Saying that, Lute withdrew his shield and turned away.
The entire banquet hall fell into dead silence. Even the chaos caused by Myne was now utterly quiet.
Nobody had expected the duel to end like this.
Following the Spear Hero's humiliating defeat, the disappointed king hastily ended the banquet early. Court servants then guided each hero to their respective rooms to rest.
As for the monthly stipend and Wave subjugation rewards, they were postponed until the next day due to the "late hour."
Unlike when they had first been summoned, the Four Cardinal Heroes were no longer housed together, instead assigned separate rooms.
Kiriko and Naofumi were taken to a dusty storage room in the castle, clearly unused and uncleaned for ages.
"This will be the guest room for the esteemed Zero Hero-sama and Shield Hero-sama. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
The court servant guiding them said this dismissively, preparing to leave.
But Kiriko grabbed hold of him.
After Kiriko gave him some "physical persuasion," the court servant suddenly "saw the error of his ways," experienced "enlightenment," and deeply regretted his foolish behavior, vowing earnestly never to repeat it.
He then obediently led Kiriko and her group to rooms equal in status to those of the other three heroes.
...
The night passed uneventfully.
After breakfast the following morning, Kiriko's group was led into the audience chamber.
Itsuki Kawasumi and Ren Amaki, accompanied by their parties, had already arrived and were waiting inside.
Strangely, though, Motoyasu Kitamura was nowhere to be seen.
Even stranger was the addition of a very familiar red-haired woman standing behind Itsuki's group.
Myne stood there with a pale face, one arm wrapped thickly in bandages.
Apparently, even this world's healing magic couldn't immediately restore a completely severed arm.
Besides Myne, if one looked closely, they'd notice that the two girls who usually stuck to Motoyasu had also quietly joined Itsuki Kawasumi and Ren Amaki's teams.
What the hell is going on?
Kiriko was puzzled.
Although Lute had beaten Motoyasu quite thoroughly yesterday, he hadn't inflicted any life-threatening injuries.
With basic healing magic... at least coming to the audience hall to claim his rewards shouldn't have been an issue, right?
Kiriko hadn't forgotten that the Intelligence-ranked-E lancer still owed her money from the bet.
"Since all the Heroes have arrived, we will now begin distributing this month's aid and your compensation for repelling the Wave."
Seeing Kiriko and Naofumi present, the King spoke.
"Wait a moment—where's Motoyasu? He's not here yet."
Naofumi glanced around, confused.
Surprisingly, it wasn't the King who answered Naofumi, but Itsuki Kawasumi, who stepped forward to shield Myne.
Itsuki wore an expression as though he'd just performed a great public service.
"There's no need to wait for that fake Hero. He won't be coming anymore."