Eleanor Demiselle. She conceals her uneasy feeling and makes her way to an arena typically used by commoners.
“Why here of all places?”
While not as particular as Julian, she had walked the noble path for long enough to find unclean places and foul smells unbearable. Nevertheless, the reason she came here was because of Julian’s insistence on ‘managing the Bishop’.
She could easily predict that Aiden, who had clashed with Julian, would make a move. Honestly, she had no intention of getting involved in their pride battle, but the Dawn Society had not yet fully revealed itself. Moreover, Julian and Aiden were highly ranked in the society’s combat force.
‘We cannot afford any loss of strength.’
For the survival of the Dawn Society and to manage the Bishop, their conflict had to be prevented. Fortunately, through an eavesdropping spell, she learned that Aiden was plotting something with Bishop Korund. She discovered through various channels that they were meeting at the arena.
Luckily, there was a VIP room for nobles with discreet hobbies, and Eleanor waited there to listen to their conversation and uncover their plans.
“Ha ha, it’s been a while, Aiden. Judging by your face, it looks like you’ve had some trouble.”
The owner of the voice was Bishop Korund, a man who once studied the same school of thought as Aiden. Because of that, she anticipated Aiden would approach him first and placed an eavesdropping spell on him.
‘If only it had worked on Julian too… It would have been easier to manage the Bishop and mediate in situations like this.’
In any case, she was here today to thwart Aiden’s plot.
“Well, I never expected you to come here in person, Aiden.”
Korund’s voice came through the magic tool. Despite being together, he used a communication spell in case someone overheard, which worked in Eleanor’s favor. The eavesdropping spell only activated when that spell was used.
However, she tilted her head in puzzlement. While she knew of Korund’s vulgar nature, Aiden’s actions were unexpected.
‘Why would a nobleman, obsessed with pureblood, come to a place like this?’
As she speculated, the atmosphere of the arena surged with an almost explosive energy.
Waaaaaah!!!
In the arena at the center of the hall, people were entangled, wielding weapons at each other. When a weapon cut through the air, boos resounded; when it struck a target, enthusiastic cheers erupted. The explosive emotions reverberated all around. For some, it was the perfect place for entertainment.
“I hate it.”
She didn’t mean to mock such lowly tastes, but Eleanor found it difficult to adapt to this bustling place. At least she wore a mask to avoid being recognized; otherwise, encountering someone she knew would have made her discomfort skyrocket.
“Well, I understand because I have a taste for this place, but Aiden, didn’t you once call the arena a despicable place?”
Korund’s sneaky, subtly irritating words came through the magic tool. Even before he became a bishop, Eleanor had hardly spoken with him, but this time, she couldn’t help but agree with his words.
Waaaaaaaah!!
[Well done, Garin! You’re showing why I bet on you!]
[Get lost and die, you idiot!]
Amidst the deafening cheers shaking the arena, Eleanor’s expression twisted into a frown.
“So that’s why you chose this place for the meeting.”
Aiden’s calm voice pierced her ears.
“No one would think I’d come to a place like this.”
“Hmm, I suppose that makes sense.”
“Now, let’s get to the main point.”
This was the crucial moment. Eleanor focused on their conversation.
“Wait a moment, Aiden, let me guess what you’re about to say.”
Korund’s voice was mocking, almost sneering.
“You know just as well as I do that the pureblood ideology among wizards has gone too far. However, since your foundation is built on them, you had no choice but to intervene in this situation.”
Korund, who had not yet encountered Julian, seemed to be enjoying the current situation. The mere fact that the arrogant Aiden had come to him for help pleased him.
“Julian, that half-blood, must be eliminated.”
As expected.
“I don’t like him either. He’s been favored by Sir Tenellon and doesn’t know his place. As a bishop and a wizard, it’s impossible to like him.”
Pureblood wizards despise ‘branch family’ members, those with commoner blood mixed in. Eleanor, being a wizard herself, was well aware of this sentiment.
“But, I also think this: Could it be that you intend to use Julian to eliminate other ‘pureblood’ factions?”
The conversation was taking an odd turn.
“That’s quite a leap in logic.”
“A leap? I’m just entertaining a natural suspicion.”
A small chuckle was heard. It was likely Korund’s, sounding slightly frivolous.
‘Korund probably knows that Aiden hasn’t allied with Julian.’
So, why bring this up?
‘To gain an advantageous position in future negotiations…?’
As Eleanor organized her thoughts, she noticed an unusual silence in the audience.
[A shocking turn of events! The new face in the arena has defeated the championship favorite, Kagum!]
Though the reason for the silence was announced, Eleanor paid no attention. She was here solely to manage the bishops. Moreover…
“Huh?”
Although she had no interest in the arena, she couldn’t help but notice a figure jumping up from the stands.
[Who is that guy?]
[Get lost already!]
[Don’t ruin the flow, get out of here, you bastard!]
As a figure, appearing to be a grown man, landed in the arena, all sorts of curses were hurled at him.
“How noisy.”
In an already chaotic atmosphere, a single person’s intrusion was just adding to the mayhem.
As she grumbled and tried to focus on the eavesdropping spell again, the man who had intruded removed the mask covering his face. The person revealed was someone who should not be here.
“… Why on earth are you here?”
In this crowded, filthy, and lowly place, stood the very person who had brought her here: Julian.
***
During my time living as this body, I had come to understand enough.
‘Julian’ was someone who liked duels, was strongly self-absorbed, and took pride in his work for the “Closed Eyes”.
“A madman.”
In an instant, my view changed, and I began to look around. Just moments ago, I had been in the stands looking ‘down’, but now I was in the arena looking ‘up’. In other words, my body had moved on its own, causing me to intrude into the arena.
“I must be out of my mind.”
Perhaps the reason for this was partly because I knew the one who defeated the championship contender, Kagum. In the story, Julian is unaware that the ‘Blind Swordsman’ is from the same school as the ‘Sword Saint’. However, as a player who knew that they were from the same school, my body had a violent reaction.
“Furthermore,”
The Blind Swordsman, Jahat, is a criminal. More precisely, a criminal who violated military law. Therefore, Julian, who took pride in being part of the imperial organization “Closed Eyes”, could not help but act.
[What is happening!? Someone has intruded from the stands… wait, that face, could it be!?]
The voice of a bewildered man, possibly a commentator or host, echoed through the magical tool. As the audience’s attention turned to my face, the previously silent stands began to buzz with murmurs.
[“It’s Julian.”]
[“The Smiling Executioner?”]
[“Why is he here…”]
Ignoring the murmurs, I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword at my waist.
Creak
Although I ended up in this situation unexpectedly, the ‘Blind Swordsman’ was a fitting opponent for the reason I came to the arena. True to his title, he cannot see with his eyes. Thus, he moves and fights using only his five senses and an additional sense called ‘aura’.
“…I never expected to meet you in a place like this.”
<Remarkable Instinct>
⇒ <Insight> senses the opponent’s aura.
An unseen aura surged around Jahat. Unlike the refined nature of the ‘Sword Saint’, Jahat’s aura was like a continuous storm, constantly swirling and shifting.
Players of “Let’s Kill the Demon Lord” called the ‘Blind Swordsman’s’ aura this:
‘Aura Sonar.’
It was essentially an ‘aura detector’, spreading aura around to detect opponents in place of his blind eyes.
<Understanding of One-Stroke Mastery has improved.>
It was a completely different technique from the ‘Sword Saint’s’ style I had learned. Even just observing with my eyes, I could grasp a new method of using ‘aura’.
“Sir Julian… why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
Bairon, who had followed my sudden action, ran down to the very front of the arena.
‘What should I say…?’
I had no intention of troubling Bairon or Trale. However, neither I nor Julian’s instincts wanted to back down from this situation.
‘This is not some petty self-justification.’
To make further progress and to correct the misaligned flow, I felt the need to become stronger.
“Julian, it seems this is our first meeting since the Northern Front.”
As I was deep in thought, Jahat, who was standing in the center of the arena, kicked Kagum’s large body aside and spoke.
“As I said earlier, I didn’t expect you to have such a hobby.”
“Haha. Isn’t it my duty as a member of the imperial organization ‘Closed Eyes’ to tirelessly pursue criminals?”
“Heh.”
Jahat laughed wearily.
“It seems you’ve started to think more since I saw you on the Northern Front.”
Of course. After all, I’m a completely different person now.
***
“What on earth is he doing here?”
Eleanor clicked her tongue as she watched Julian intrude into the arena. Among those she could imagine being the least suited to the arena, Julian was one of them. Despite the ominous rumors circulating about him, he preferred refined hobbies and art.
‘Why would someone like him…’
Julian also had a distinctive tendency for cleanliness and disliked crowds. So why did he specifically come to the arena?
“What the… That’s Julian!”
Bishop Korund’s voice, tinged with panic, came through the magic tool.
“There’s no reason for him to be here… Wait, Aiden, you!”
His voice started to shift from confusion to anger. As Eleanor watched the situation unfold, she quickly realized why he was getting angry.
“So you plan to use Julian to deal with the other factions of the Dawn Society!”
“Calm down, Korund. I really had no such intention!”
The situation in the VIP room, as conveyed through the eavesdropping spell, was a complete mess. It seemed like there was some physical scuffle, and Korund’s crude swearing continuously assaulted Eleanor’s ears.
‘He must be quite shocked. Julian’s appearance here, by itself, is enough to understand Korund’s reaction.’
As mentioned, Julian didn’t fit into such a setting, and yet he showed up here. Naturally, Korund suspected there was another reason.
‘But that’s it.’
Julian had merely revealed himself; he couldn’t do anything to them in the arena. If he intended to send a warning, he would need to take more action than just showing up.
“He just showed up! If I really had plans to deal with other factions as you said, wouldn’t he have come to this VIP room instead of the arena?”
Aiden’s agitated voice rang out, seemingly having had a similar thought to hers.
“Oh… Right. Yes, I’ve just come to that view as well.”
“Okay, calm down.”
“Well, of course, they wouldn’t know what we’re discussing here from over there. Unless you cast a recording or eavesdropping spell… hmm?”
Crackle!
A weak current flowed through the magical earring used for the eavesdropping spell. Eleanor knew this phenomenon well. It was a signal that her ‘shadow’ magic had been detected by the other party.
In other words,
“I’ve been found out.”
Eleanor clicked her tongue inwardly. If her eavesdropping spell had been discovered, things could become troublesome…
“Damn it, Aiden, you son of a bitch!”
But contrary to her expectations, a stream of coarse curses burst from Korund’s mouth.
“There’s an eavesdropping spell on us! How did this happen?”
“What…?”
“Damn bastard! Just as I thought, you’ve been colluding with Julian!”
“How is this conversation even unfolding?”
As the subject of the conversation shifted back to Julian, the very person who had cast the eavesdropping spell, Eleanor was left bewildered.
“Could it be…?”
However, after a moment of reflection, she understood.
“Wait! The conversation isn’t over yet, Korund!”
“Shut up! I have nothing more to say to you!”
Sizzle.
The sound of embers dying out came through the magical device. Korund had canceled the eavesdropping spell. No more messages could be heard.
Removing the earring, Eleanor slowly lowered her gaze to look at the figure standing in the arena.
Julian Crypart Frason.
-I know you’ve put an eavesdropping spell on the bishops.
A gentle ripple began to form in her violet eyes.
“Could it be… you foresaw this and came here deliberately?”
With his eyes half-closed and a faint smile forming at the corners of his mouth, Eleanor felt as if a phantom voice was whispering in her ear.
“Otherwise, why would I appear here?”
Cliche Novel 
misurstanding plus misturstading
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