---
What is happening?
I turned toward the sides. Everyone was standing there, shocked.
Did I go too far?
Their eyes said that I did.
But inside… I knew I had fought using only a very small fraction of my power.
"Did I meet the requirement?" I said, turning toward the woman. "I defeated a lord of the second rank, perhaps. That makes me qualified, doesn't it?"
The woman did not respond immediately, but she quickly composed herself.
"Yes," she said.
"They're cheating," a voice came from the side.
I turned.
There was a girl sitting in a distant corner, with two men beside her wearing strange clothing.
The two men were wearing skirts, despite being men, while the girl wore trousers.
The girl stood up.
"He shouldn't have run away from you," she said, then began walking toward me, adding as she approached,
"He should have taken the hit and counterattacked. That would have been the better choice for him."
"Ahhh," I murmured, clapping one hand against the other.
