Chiba, Solo X Japan—I mean Endless Crimson Rain, wouldn’t shut up about how I had to go see the arena at least once, so one day during my free time, I wandered over.
Apparently he was getting up there in rank, and in fact, it was a first for someone who had debuted barely six months ago; he bragged about how he’d zoomed onto the scene like a comet.
I don’t really remember much about it because lately when he starts on that topic I open up a smartphone game in my head.
But Lupe was saying he was popular, so maybe he really is. And I caught a whiff of cash.
So I finally moved my beautiful ass to see for myself.
Still, I was a bit nervous because I hadn’t left the nightlife district since I started working at the brothel.
There were more people than I imagined at the arena at the edge of town. I thought the only leisure activities in this middle-of-nowhere other world were booze and women, but there were so many people that it felt like Shibuya. There were tents selling food, and it looked like everyone was having fun. What the heck? I should have come sooner!
I thought it would be just watching a couple of people duke it out in a boxing match or something, but you can bet money on the results, like in horse racing.
So that’s why it’s dirt cheap to get in—only two rubers. This place is for gambling. Seriously, though, this is so great. I’ve never been somewhere like this before!
I thought I would bet on Chiba, but the payout was so low, I changed my mind. His opponent’s was higher, so I bet on him, but then Chiba won like it was nothing.
The fuck? I thought, but when I met up with Chiba, he actually got mad at me.
“Do you seriously think I would lose to an old dude like that? Or like, why not just bet on me in the first place?”
As long as you’re with a guy, you can go out for tea and no one will tell you you’re “shameful.” After savoring my tea in the first proper cafe I’d been to in a while, I told him, “Would you lose on purpose next time? Then I’d really clean up. I’ll give you a cut, so how about it?”
“Huh? Are you stupid?”
“Say that again?”
“N-No, not that you’re stupid...just, if I did that, my rank would go down, so you wouldn’t be able to make money anymore.”
“Is that how it works?”
“Yeah. But really, you can just bet on me and you’ll be fine. You can bet every ruber you’re worth. I’m not planning on losing.”
“Did you really get that strong? You’re invincible?”
“Well, I can’t win against the guys at the top of my rank yet, but I spent all yesterday and the day before hunting monsters for experience points, and my level went up about 15. Frankly, I’m level 78 now. For the time being I’m fighting at C Rank, but if I actually tried, I’d be B.”
Each rank has their own skill patterns and magic levels, so Chiba was studying up on them as he fought. Once you hit C Rank, some fighters start to have unique skills, and he said he wanted to study those, too.
“I’ll always be higher-level, so I want to get as much knowledge—or you know, experience—as I can so I don’t have to panic when I get to the next rank. You can only learn this kind of stuff in real fights, so I’m just going at a slower speed.”
He had talked before about how important skills are.
Even though he’s a cheater.
“I don’t really get it, but it sounds like you’re taking it easy because you got stronger than all the guys you’re fighting?”
“Yeah, yeah. Like, I could all of the sudden hit level 200 and become the top fighter in the arena. But instead I’m strategically controlling my level. Each time I fight, I have to be way stronger than the other guy, but the price for the fame of jumping to the top all at once would be inconvenience.”
If you become one of the four A-ranked fighters and protect your rank fifty times, you advance to S Rank, as well as receive a title and become a noble. But then you become an important figure and can’t move around so freely.
Before that happened, he wanted to find rare gear, get the record for farthest solo trip into the woods, and visit another town, so he was pretty busy.
He had a lot of things he wanted to do, so he was in no hurry to reach the finish line.
“Pretty soon I’ll advance to B Rank, but I want to get my level up to 100 first. I think the current top is 150. He doesn’t want to go S Rank, so he’s only participated in a single fight since the year started.”
Apparently, the top A-Ranker is a dual-wielding old guy.
He debuted in his forties and still hasn’t lost to anyone, or something.
“Well, someday I’ll beat that dude and be the top-ranker, but if he’s not even coming out to fight, then there’s no reason for me to rush. First I want to experience things that only commoners can.”
I didn’t really get it, but Chiba smiled with a face I never saw on him back in the classroom.
I’m going for top three sales rank at the shop, but all I get for that is a monthly salary of 1,000 rubers and a room that’s a little more spacious so I can service high-class customers.
Man, if I were a guy, I’d probably have fun in this other world, too.
“But now you understand what I meant when I said I was famous at the arena, right?”
Chiba, aka Crimson, really was strong. He’d let his opponent do as they liked, take their attack with ease, and win with a single blow. Plus, he was a good bit younger than the other guys his rank.
Apparently 16x wasn’t just for show. I don’t know the rules, but the reason Chiba’s payout was so low was probably because so many people were betting on him. Everyone seemed to take it for granted that he would win.
And at the cafeteria near the arena, there were lots of people glancing at him—not because his weird Carp-cap hairstyle was unusual, but probably because he was famous.
Chiba leaned back in his chair and grinned arrogantly.
I took out my mental phone game.
“Uh, umm. Mr. Endless Crimson Rain?”
A cute voice said his name, but we weren’t really sure who she was talking to, so we both ignored it, but when it happened again, I turned around—“Chiba, doesn’t she mean you?”—and a girl dressed all in white was standing there.
A white hat (?) over perfectly straight, long, black hair. Wide eyes. White skin. A one-in-a-million knock-out, the type that any boy would go for, was nervously playing with her fingers.
“M-My name is Kiyori. I’m a Sister of the church. I always go to see your fights, Mr. Endless Crimson Rain. I have a lot of respect for your amazing strength. So, um, if it suits you...please let me be your partner!”
Chiba stared at the Sister girl, stunned, and then looked at me. Pff, I have no idea.
“Huh? Huh? You mean me?”
“You’re the only one with a name like Solo X Japan.”
He must have found something amusing, because he laughed with his dopey face and dismissed the idea, “I’m not like X Japan,” but then did a double take and said, “Wait, maybe I am! Wow, I totally missed it. So there was someone just lining up cool-sounding words before me...”
He leaned back and smacked his forehead.
You mean you didn’t copy them because you were a fan?! Did you forget your brain in the other world?
“Chiba. More importantly, you’re kinda leaving this girl hanging...”
Sister Kiyori, was it? She seemed confused to be ignored as he got all excited and depressed by turns.
I thought a girl this cute approaching him would make him so happy he’d get a nose bleed, but...
“Sorry, I already have a partner.”
...contrary to my expectations, he rejected her like that.
I figured he’d be a loner in this world, too, so it surprised me that he already had a sidekick.
He forced his fingers through his rock-hard bangs, shrugged his shoulders at the surprised Sister, and jerked his thumb at me.
“A life partner, that is.”
I was seriously pissed, so I told him, “You pay,” made him treat me to tea, and got the hell out of there.
You shithead. Don’t get cocky. You’re just Chiba.
No matter how reversed our positions get, no matter how many times you buy me, I’ll never go out with an otaku like you, and there’s no way in hell I’d ever be your maid.
Never!
“W-Wait a sec!”
But Chiba, who must have been convinced a Monday night soap opera starring him was premiering, ran after me with a determined look on his face (realism). Can it get more obnoxious?