Yeah, so, my PC was dead and I was out for a wedding. Sorry for the delays.

It was the morning of the twenty-first day since Toru had descended into this world, and he was very troubled. The reason would be his surroundings, they were filled with gifts, flowers, and letters. Toru"s room was quite s.p.a.cious, but it was nowhere large enough to receive presents from all the people who were rooting for him and supported him.

"Moonlight River", the inn Toru was staying at was very supportive of his endeavors, so they went through the trouble of making sure that each display of appreciation and love from the folks living in and around the Royal Capital would reach Toru. He wasn"t against being praised. it"s human nature to feel pleasure after being recognized and acknowledged, however, he couldn"t really smile at the fact that he is standing out again.

Ever since his match against Julius, Toru"s popularity had exploded. Known previously as a considerably strong commoner, being upgraded to a strong individual after defeating Sylvia, and now gaining the t.i.tle of [Strongest Commoner], his achievements were discussed and his praises were sung in every area of the Royal Capital.

There was animosity, sure, but after the revelation of his relationship with the beautiful, charming, and revered princess Sylvia, none dared to approach him about it. However, contrary to Toru"s expectations, there was much more love and support than there was hate and resentment.

People were genuinely happy and delighted that a commoner had reached the peak that no commoner had. They had hope, they had put their trust in Toru. They couldn"t care less about his relationship with the princess, they believed that if he could demonstrate his abilities so brilliantly on a stage where they couldn"t even dream of standing, then he was worthy of being a subject to the honor that is gaining the favor of a princess.

"Sincerity…"

His eyes were droopy and his body was limp, his match for today was already decided, so he wasn"t in a hurry to reach the stadium. He just sat on his bed, covered with fan-letters and bouquets, going through all of them and receiving their words of appreciation and grat.i.tude. The time was almost 11 A.M, and he hadn"t even eaten his breakfast. Freya was elegantly standing in a corner with her hands resting on her abdomen, she resembled a maid awaiting her master"s orders, a small smile on her face.

"I am used to love letters and stuff, but a person writing "I will buy the Toru necklace from a stall outside the dome and treasure it forever" is new for me…"

Toru was honestly surprised that they had already started making merchandise based on him. He was embarra.s.sed and uncomfortable. "Not standing out" was a wish from the bottom of his heart, but now, doing so would be impossible. There was a part of him that regretted the choices he made, but he knew that making such choices would keep the woman that he liked safe and happy.

"Sigh~ I know I said that I would go through all of them without relying on my abilities, but it would take hours before I would be able to do so. After today"s victory, many more will start appearing starting tomorrow…"

Today would mark the beginning of the fifth round of the Athena Festival battle-tournament. The weak were eliminated, the elite remained. Sixteen partic.i.p.ants now stood on the stage where nothing but bloodshed awaited their arrival, fiercely training and preparing to gain an edge against their opponent. At this point… Family, status, lineage, past, personality, nothing mattered. Each one was acknowledged to be a strong warrior who had faced various hardships and had made their way to this level.

"...Freya, help me with these. Let"s get it done and go down for breakfast."

The super-beauty wearing a dark blue dress raised her head and said in a sweet voice.

"Certainly."

They both disappeared, forming a miniature hurricane where they initially stood. About thirty seconds later, their forms emerged and the hurricane subsided. The letters had been arranged and the bouquets were kept attractively.

"People are surely nice, Master."

Freya places herself on the bed and utters while reading a letter that had the floral pattern drawn on it.

"Yeah, kids referring to me as "Super-cool big brother" feels kinda nice."

Toru said with a smile.

"Fufu, Master sometimes acts like a child. It"s very attractive."

Freya says so and giggles in a cute manner.

"I am a child, Freya."

Toru says in a slightly aggravated voice.

"I wonder."

"Now, let"s go. My match is the fourth one. I don"t wanna make that man wait."

"Surely."

They both leave Toru"s room to eat breakfast and then escape by using s.p.a.ce magic.

"The crowd was denser…"

Toru subconsciously mutters while riding on Freya"s back.

"I wasn"t able to view yesterday"s crowd, but I can imagine how hard it would"ve been."

"Sigh~"

He sighed again and then proceeded to reach the dome and send Freya to the stands. He was in the partic.i.p.ant"s room. Two out of eight matches had already concluded, their winners were announced and had already advanced to the quarter-finals. Toru"s opponent during this round was a man whom Toru considered to be his friend. He was a man who had shared a gla.s.s with Toru, and deep down, Toru didn"t want to crush him… But circ.u.mstances dictated otherwise.

>

Vernyx raises his sword, surrounded by the thunderous applause of the audience, he smiles confidently and flaunts his overwhelming might. He then proceeds to lower his sword and walk off the field in a dignified manner. With Vernyx"s iconic exit, the third match concluded and it was time for Toru"s match to begin.

>

The announcement penetrated Toru"s ears, he quickly made my way toward the gate. Dressed in a light t-shirt, trousers, and sandals, he closely resembled a member of the lower-middle cla.s.s of human society, but Toru couldn"t care less as his actions spoke for him more than his choice of clothes.

He entered into the field, and the audience went crazy. He was now a hero of the commoners. Even if he were to lose now, none would reprimand him, he had already displayed his might and had earned unimaginable recognition and honor.

As he moved toward the center of the field, he could decipher the numerous words of praise and appreciation thanks to his enhanced hearing. His opponent was waiting for him, standing in the middle of the field with a wide smile on his face. Toru respected him, and he respected Toru.

Zoya was highly energetic and full of vigor.

>

The two opponents stand against each other. The match has begun, but no intention of fighting could be sensed from either of them. Finally, the one who made the move was Niclove.

"Toru-sama. Should I be saying "long time no see"?"

Niclove said with a smile. His equipment was polished, his face stern.

"Haha. No, you don"t need to. Tell me, how are the others?"

"They are fine. Alive, at least. All thanks to you. Please allow me to express my grat.i.tude to you once again. You saved all of our lives."

Niclove said so and proceeded to bow his head in front of Toru.

"It"s fine. I would like you to join me for a drink sometime."

Toru said so with a confident smile.

"That"d be an honor."

The crowd was silent. They couldn"t grasp why an adamant.i.te-rank adventurer and a high-cla.s.s n.o.ble would act so respectfully towards a commoner.

"Now, shall we begin?"

There was reluctance and hesitation on Niclove"s face. He didn"t want to fight the man who saved his life, but he was aware of Toru"s nature, so he couldn"t refuse. All he could do now was to go all-out against him. He knew that he had no chance of emerging victorious, but not doing everything in his power to win would be an insult to Toru, and he wasn"t particularly keen on incurring his wrath.

"Yes."

Their fighting spirit rose. There was no killing intent, only the thirst for combat. They both stood calmly on the field, only to disappear next instant.

>

Her eyes weren"t deceiving her, to Zoya, the fight between Toru and Niclove would surely seem like a couple of sparks, but to them, that was not the case.

It was a frustrating battle for Niclove, he was desperately attacking Toru with all this might. Throwing punches and kicks, occasionally reaching out to grab him, and even using the dagger he wielded to inflict some damage, but all his attempts were warded off or evaded.

Niclove"s punches failed to land on Toru"s body, his kicks were warded off by the back of Toru"s hands, and his dagger sc.r.a.ped nothing but air.

After about three minutes of this high-speed game of tag, Niclove came out of it with a tired body and a frustrated mind. He knew that Toru was much stronger than himself, but he didn"t expect their power difference to be this huge.

"Earth Magic- Hold."

The ground under Toru"s feet warped, forming what could be described as a mini hurricane. It latched on to Toru"s feet, but he didn"t react, allowing the ground take a hold of him.

"Ara, so I am trapped, huh? Delcrox-san, what do you plan to do after this?"

Toru was calm, or rather, he genuinely seemed to be having fun. On the contrary, Niclove"s appearance displayed his fatigue and desperation.

Niclove bent his knees and flew towards Toru at incredible speeds, Niclove was desperate, so he invested a lot of physical energy and effort into this attack. Toru realized that if this attack were to hit him, it could be dangerous. Even with his super-perception, Toru didn"t have enough time to cast a spell, so he used all his strength to shake off his feet.

As Niclove approached, Toru"s right foot broke through the hold, and as a reflex action against possible danger, his foot continued in its trajectory sank into the flying Niclove"s abdomen, resulting in him flying away and fainting.

>

Amidst all of the cheering and screaming, Toru took a glance at Nicllove"s unconscious figure and muttered.

"I can"t keep holding back. They are catching up to me in pure physical prowess. I have to take my fights seriously from now on."

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