"See you tomorrow! I'm waiting for the party. You better not escape!" Erwin waved his hand while walking out of the hotel.
"I know." Clovis nodded.
While looking at Erwin's back, Kanaria couldn't help but ask, "Clovis… What do you think about tomorrow's match? Is it really going to be as he said?"
Clovis glanced at her.
"You need to win with at least a three-point gap. Jay will defeat Rafael in the first match and you can fight the Bloody Rose in a rather better position."
Clovis squinted his eyes. "You sound like the Blood Rose will defeat their opponent. Their opponent has a Tier 4 explorer as well, you know."
"You don't have to worry about that. The gap between the two groups is not small. The Bloody Rose will definitely win even without my help," said Erwin with a serious expression.
Clovis remained silent for a while before saying, "Well, if we use the information you provide, we might be able to win against the Eight Swords pretty easily. But you haven't calculated one thing…"
"Just beat them like that. This way, my group will look better. I can last for two matches in the individual match, while they can only fight one match." Erwin snorted.
Clovis shook his head helplessly. "I'm talking about this city. If we beat them that hard, you should know that they will end up getting hate from the citizens. In addition, we might end up getting hit by the rioting citizens."
"You're thinking too much. They can still get third place anyway." Erwin shrugged.
Clovis sighed. It was impossible to convince him. While they could ignore such a thing, they might end up getting the wrath of the citizens.
Then again, if he made it to be like a close match, Clovis would be exhausted before fighting the Bloody Rose.
"Well, I'm thankful for your help, but I have to consider the plan myself." Clovis waved his hand.
"If that's the case, then I will not remain here any longer. I hope you don't disappoint me, Clovis." Erwin harrumphed.
After recalling what Erwin said, Clovis glanced at Kanaria and said, "Yeah. With that information, getting a three-point gap should be possible. If what he says about the Bloody Rose is correct, that means we have no choice but to do it that way… or we might not be able to even put up a good fight against the Bloody Rose."
Aileen was staring at the night sky with a grim expression.
Lana came to her side while asking, "Are you still thinking about his words?"
Just like Clovis, Aileen had met Erwin.
It was right after Erwin had just come out of the recovery pod.
In the end, both of them came out together, leaving Erwin's teammates inside the medical room.
"What are you doing here, Aileen? Don't tell me. Are you worried about me? No. You don't seem like someone who can worry about others." Erwin chuckled.
Aileen didn't have any change of expression as she said, "To think that you would lose to them…"
"So you're going to mock me for losing? I know that I can't even fight for the third position… even though I have told you I would beat you in the final."
"No. I have no intention of mocking you. Even I won't escape unscathed against your web." Aileen shook her head. "It's just a surprise that you are already that strong. Still, I need to win against them for our city."
"I don't really care about that. Suits yourself. I'm not going to help you with the information though."
"I don't need it. I will still win against him without that."
"I wouldn't really say that if I were you." Erwin smirked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Aileen frowned.
"I won't help you, but I don't mind warning you about one thing. Clovis hasn't shown his full strength yet."
"!!!" Aileen raised her eyebrows as though she couldn't believe that a Tier 2 human who had shown unprecedented strength actually had something up in his sleeve.
'Shocking, right? That was my thought during the battle.' Erwin muttered inwardly while recalling the fight. 'I didn't know why but his face always showed me that there was one more card that he could use to easily defeat me.
'However, he looked like he didn't really want to rely on that, either because there was a side effect or it was an unreliable skill.'
But all that doubt was answered right after the match, specifically when Clovis said, "I learned that trick from my mother."
At that time, Erwin simply couldn't believe what Clovis said. Everything instantly clicked in his mind. Why would Jay and Kanaria become that strong? Why would Ragna manage to overcome his weakness?
'His mother, huh? Wires are such unique weapons that only a glimmer of people use them, let alone at a high level. The fact that his name is removed means he has a very high level mother. In that case, there's only one person who matches the description, Aisha Hacfield.
'I can't contain my laugh. To think that I would end up fighting my idol's son… To think that the person before me is a Hacfield… That explains everything, especially that ridiculous strength.
'This match is really my complete defeat.'
Erwin knew that the trump card Clovis was hiding must be a very special one. That was why he didn't want to rely on it, especially in front of the crowd.
Erwin said, "Don't worry. Libation Fiesta will defeat the Eight Swords. I just want to see which one of you will emerge on top… Don't disappoint me, Aileen. If you still can't defeat an exhausted group, it means you're trash."
Aileen frowned, looking at Erwin's return to the medical room. She couldn't help but clench her hands into fists before walking away. It seemed that she didn't have enough preparation for tomorrow's matches.
The next day, as usual, Shion raised the people's excitement. "We have finally reached the Shining Star Competition's Final Day! There will be a total of four matches! After such an exciting battle yesterday, I'm sure everyone can't wait for the competition to begin…"