Chapter 155: I’ll Be Competing Too, You Know

” I see… typical tactics used by scam groups.”

After listening to my story, Lyon nodded thoughtfully.

“Y-you guys really think you can get away with this?!”

A self-proclaimed fortune-teller barged in, her voice sharp and accusatory. She was probably bluffing about her divination skills… there was no way she could actually read fortunes.

“We’ve got some terrifying people backing us up around here!”

Spitting as she spoke, she tried to intimidate us. Then, unexpectedly, Lyon stepped forward toward her.

He leaned close and whispered something in her ear.

“———!?”

Her eyes widened in shock, her lips trembling as if her words had been sucked out of her.

With that, she became completely docile. Lyon, with our help, subdued both her and the unconscious man, and we escorted them to the knights’ outpost.

Lala carried the man effortlessly with one hand… her strength was still astonishing.

At first, the knights’ reaction at the outpost was strangely lukewarm. They seemed dismissive, treating it like just another common scam, and didn’t take it seriously.

But when Lyon revealed something, their entire demeanor shifted. Suddenly, they treated us with earnest attention, even bringing out their superiors to handle the matter properly.

The two we had captured were handed over to the knights’ headquarters for thorough questioning.

“Honestly… they were probably bribed by a criminal organization. Told to overlook illegal activities. Left unchecked, they wouldn’t have just ignored them—they’d likely have detained them briefly and then released them as if nothing happened,” Lyon explained, irritation clear in his tone as we left the outpost.

“Um… Lyon, who exactly are you? The woman’s reaction changed so suddenly…”

“Haha, just an adventurer,” he said casually.

He certainly didn’t look like ‘just an adventurer.’

“More importantly, how did you get back to the surface so quickly? Even the fastest route from there should take at least a week.”

I hesitated, unsure how to answer. We had already been spotted moving the garden, but we hadn’t been questioned, so I hadn’t shared any details.

“Wh-what about you, Lyon? How did you do it?”

Unlike us, who briefly used the Home Garden, they must have had no simple way out of the dungeon. Perhaps they had some method of escaping quickly.

“We used a teleportation crystal,” Lyon said.

“A teleportation crystal?”

“A magical stone imbued with teleportation magic,” he explained.

He produced a fist-sized crystal that radiated a gentle glow. Unlike regular magic stones, it was polished to perfection, sparkling like a jewel.

“Of course, it’s not a universal one—strictly limited for escape purposes only. Still, it’s incredibly rare and expensive, nearly impossible to obtain. We only got ours by pure luck. High-ranking adventurers challenging deep dungeon levels would kill to get one,” he continued.

Apparently, Lyon and his group had purchased theirs on credit. I couldn’t believe adventurers could borrow money like that… perhaps their A-rank status gave them more trustworthiness.

“Wow… something like that exists…”

“…Judging by your reaction, I guess it’s not a teleportation crystal you used,” Lyon remarked.

Ah, I’d slipped up. We should have claimed we used a teleportation crystal too.

“No, no, I’m not prying. It’s natural to keep some secrets. Honestly, I’m way more curious about that moving garden anyway…”

Even though we had used that very garden ourselves.

“Anyway, thanks to both of you, we’re saved.”

Actually, it was probably more accurate to say the man whose arm had been slashed was saved, rather than us.

“By the way, I heard Sena-san is still a C-rank? With that skill, you’d definitely qualify for A-rank. Why aren’t you taking the promotion exam?”

“I’m not! I don’t wanna study!”

Her response was almost refreshingly blunt.

“In fact, I have some tantalizing news for Sena-san,” Lala said.

“Tantalizing?”

“Yes. There’s a martial arts tournament in the royal capital, where warriors from across the country gather to compete.”

I’d heard of it. Even in Arcel, it was a famous event that would get people talking as the date approached.

“It’s held once every four years, with royal family members in attendance. Winning this tournament allows any adventurer, regardless of rank, to jump straight to A-rank without taking the exam.”

“Jump straight to A-rank!? Is that… safe?”

Even fledgling adventurers like me could suddenly become A-rank. It sounded problematic in many ways.

“No need to worry. To win this tournament, one must already possess A-rank-level skills. Many A-rank adventurers compete. Luck alone won’t win it,” Lala explained.

I see. So it’s far more difficult than taking the normal route to A-rank.

“But…”

Lala glanced at Sena.

“I think there’s a chance for you, Sena-san.”

“Me—?”

Looking puzzled, Sena listened as I simplified Lala’s words.

“If you win, you don’t have to take the written exam.”

“Really!? Yay!”

“Well, only if you actually win the tournament,” I added cautiously.

“I’ll win, I’ll win!”

“…Of course, winning won’t be easy,” Lala warned, radiating a subtle battle aura to keep Sena grounded.

“You see, I’ll be competing in the tournament as well,” she added with a sly smile.