"The seafood hot pot is ready!"
Half an hour later, Wave carried an enormous pot to the table.
"Mr. Bols still has another three or four dishes coming. They should be ready soon."
This was the Jaegers' first meal together as a team.
During dinner, Esdeath announced their first assignment.
Slap!
A flyer landed on the table.
Everyone passed it around in order, and each person who read it developed the same strange expression.
Eventually, it reached Noah.
He picked it up and saw the words "Imperial Capital Martial Arts Tournament" printed across the front.
The organizer was Esdeath herself and the winner would receive a generous cash prize.
'What is this supposed to be?'
Was she planning to use the tournament to lure out assassins hiding within the capital?
Was this some kind of strategy against Night Raid?
Noticing his confusion, Esdeath spoke up.
"There's more on the back."
Noah blinked and turned the flyer over.
His eye immediately twitched.
Printed on the back were Esdeath's five requirements for a romantic partner, and every one of them was unreasonable!
First, he must value his future potential above his present ability and train with the goal of becoming someone worthy of the rank of general.
Second, he must possess enough courage to hunt Danger Beasts beside her with his bare hands.
Third, like Esdeath, he must have grown up on the frontier rather than in the Imperial Capital.
Fourth, because she intended to dominate the relationship, he had to be younger than her.
Fifth, he should preferably possess a pure and innocent smile.
'Would the goddess who created humanity accept a private commission?'
Without building someone to order, finding a person who met all these conditions would be nearly impossible.
More unbelievable still was the fact that Esdeath apparently wanted to experience a passionate romance in the first place.
This was clearly an abuse of official resources.
The Jaegers' first assignment was helping their captain find a boyfriend.
At least Noah assumed he would be able to avoid doing much. His presence should not make any difference to a task like this.
"I'll leave tomorrow's judging to you, Noah."
"..."
Noah looked at the others, then at Esdeath, before staring down at the table and blinking.
"Why me?"
Would it not make more sense to give that responsibility to one of the new recruits so everyone could become better acquainted?
Esdeath answered as though it were obvious.
"I heard that when a woman searches for a husband, one of her closest friends is supposed to help evaluate the candidates. That friend meets the men on her behalf and may even give them tests. Is that not how it works?"
"And?"
What did any of that have to do with him?
No matter how he thought about it, the connection did not exist.
Esdeath frowned at his confusion.
"What are you talking about? You're the person I'm closest to in the entire Empire. We've known each other since childhood."
Noah said nothing.
Apparently, they were close.
That was news to him.
The way they spoke to each other did not resemble a conversation between a superior officer and her subordinate, leaving the other Jaegers visibly nervous.
"Excuse me," Run said, raising his hand. "Were Mr. Noah and General Esdeath acquainted before this?"
Esdeath's lips curved into a smile.
"You could call it an unfortunate connection. I had only recently arrived in the Imperial Capital when I met him. In fact, I owe at least part of my current strength to Noah. I was already far stronger than ordinary soldiers, so normal training plans were far too gentle for me. He designed most of the training methods I used back then."
"So you've known each other for that many years?" Run asked with a polite smile. "That practically makes you childhood friends! In that case, Mr. Noah really is the most suitable choice."
"I agree," Bols said.
"Agreed," Wave added.
"I agree!" Seryu declared enthusiastically.
Noah looked at them as they began voting without permission.
Who had said this decision would be made by a vote?
These people all had rather strange personalities, and Noah had never been good at dealing with people like that.
Now he had been surrounded by several of them at once.
The entire assignment seemed like a waste of time.
Still, if Esdeath actually found a partner, Noah might be the happiest person in the Empire.
She would finally focus on her romance instead of watching him and finding new ways to make his life difficult.
The problem was whether such a person truly existed.
He had to be younger than Esdeath, innocent, ambitious, extraordinarily talented, exceptionally brave, and born somewhere on the frontier.
Without deliberately creating someone who matched those conditions, what were the odds of such a person being born naturally?
Would it even reach half a percent?
Even if that person existed, there was no guarantee he lived near the Imperial Capital or would choose to enter a public martial arts tournament hosted by Esdeath.
Unless fate itself arranged for him to appear.
Noah paused.
Why was that impossible?
Esdeath was one of the most influential people of this age.
If she had suddenly decided to hold this tournament, perhaps it was because events were already moving toward the outcome fate had prepared.
Someone might actually appear.
Esdeath's supposed destined partner.
With that thought, Noah fell silent and gave a small nod.
"Oh? You're willing to do it?"
Noah did not answer. He remained lost in thought.
Esdeath chose not to disturb him and began assigning the others their own tasks.
...
After several days of promotion, the Imperial Capital Martial Arts Tournament became one of the most eagerly anticipated events among the city's residents.
The moment the location was announced, countless vendors rushed to set up stalls around the grounds.
The rules were simple.
Anyone who survived the preliminary stage would enter the one-on-one matches.
Each loser would be eliminated immediately, while the winners continued facing one another until only one contestant remained.
That final fighter would receive the tournament's generous prize.
Whether someone wanted money or fame, it was an excellent opportunity.
Noah stood near the edge of the arena, watching one poorly trained competitor after another step forward and engage in clumsy fights.
Perhaps some of them had trained for ten years, twenty years, or even longer.
Against ordinary people, they might have possessed overwhelming strength.
But this level of ability would never satisfy Esdeath.
If someone truly hoped to reach the rank of general, effort alone would not be enough without the necessary talent.
Hard work usually determined a person's minimum potential, not their maximum.
"There isn't anyone impressive here. How boring."
Esdeath sat at the highest point overlooking the arena.
To her, the fights below could barely even be called entertainment.
Run stood beside her and said regretfully, "There hasn't been a single Teigu user either."
"The next match..."
Noah was about to announce the next pair of contestants, but when he saw the names on the bracket, he paused in surprise.
"The next match is Tatsumi against Syura."
He stared at the list, finding the situation increasingly absurd.
Tatsumi had joined Night Raid, yet he still dared to enter a public martial arts tournament.
He clearly had no idea that the true purpose of the event was to find Esdeath a potential lover.
Had he known, even ten times his usual courage probably would not have been enough to bring him here.
Since Tatsumi had not publicly shown his face after joining Night Raid, he had not been placed on any wanted list.
Perhaps he had simply come to win the prize money.
That was understandable enough.
But Syura had entered as well.
What was that man thinking?
The two contestants stepped into the arena.
The crowd's cheers were louder than during any of the previous matches, since this was the final contest of the round.
Tatsumi against Syura!!
"Begin."