by Yuu Tanaka
“I should ask you the same thing. What you have done amounts to treason. I have grounds to wipe you from history.”
“You—”
“I merely ask for your leader’s life as compensation for your crimes. Even that isn’t enough, really. I’m letting you off easy.”
“I would never!”
“Is that your final answer? Do you wish to be our enemy?”
“I-I…”
“I’ll give you time to think. You can even use that time to run. I only hope it’s enough.”
“You rabbit bastard…”
“That’s rich, coming from a Tailless.”
“How dare you?!”
The second round of qualifiers took place two days after the first, and were held in a more sizable arena. The one thousand combatants had been whittled down to two hundred and forty. Soon, only fifty would be left.
There were two venues with the contestants split into two groups, and spectators were allowed in. The setup was still a five-man battle royale, unlike the one-on-one matches of the finals. This format was quite popular, especially since the weakest participants had already been eliminated. In the second round, the fights truly took on a life of their own.
Betting was also allowed now. To prevent match fixing, combatants were unfortunately not allowed to make wagers. Getting caught meant instant disqualification. Back on Earth, shady groups always managed to get around this rule, but that wasn’t the case in Ulmutt. Dias had his eyes and ears in every nook and cranny. More to the point, the bookies were the most powerful syndicate in town—they held all the firepower and were very good at subterfuge, being a part of none other than the Adventurers’ Guild itself. The guild made short work of any other betting associations in town. A few might still be lurking about, but it was impossible for them to plot anything of significant scale.
Let’s go.
“Hm.”
We had plenty of time before Fran’s match, but we had to be there early. She would have to wait thirty minutes for her fight.
“That looks good.”
Are you sure you should be eating ribs so close to the fight?
“I’ll be fine.”
Fran showed no signs of anxiety. In fact, she was more herself than ever. This time, she had the chance to look around the food stalls. She sampled a bit of everything as she made her way to the arena.
This place is huge.
The venue resembled a Roman colosseum, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. I could hear the excitement even from a distance. Spectators cheered and roared, their voices echoing from the great circular arena.
Fran went around the back and made her way to the waiting room. This venue employed a proper receptionist, and they made no attempts to stop her. When she entered, everyone in the room stared in surprise, condescension, and distress. Fran took her seat and paid them no mind. She was used to this by now.
There were five waiting rooms, and the combatants for each round were spread out among them. The idea was to prevent fights before the bouts began.
“What’s a kid doing here?!”
But idiots were still aplenty. If this one had stopped to think about it, there was no way that an ordinary child could even survive the first round. The man pulled up a chair and sat next to Fran with a mocking look on his face.
“So what’d you give them to let you in here? Huh?”
“…”
“What? Can’t say?” the man jeered.
He could have been lashing out from nervousness. Either way, Fran wasn’t happy about it. But what could we do? We weren’t allowed to fight in the waiting rooms.
“Shut up.”
As I considered our options, Fran unleashed her Intimidate skill. A wave of pressure washed over the room, catching everyone inside it.
“Urk!”
“Eeek!”
“Guh!”
One combatant turned pale and fell off his seat. One let out a high-pitched shriek. One drew his weapon and fell into a battle stance. For a moment, everyone in the room panicked.
That was too much, Fran.
“Hm?”
One look at their terror was enough to tell she’d gone overboard—and they only suffered the aftershocks. Fran’s main target was sitting on the floor shivering, looking like he was about to pass out.
“Hm.”
“Eeek…!”
A mere glance made the man scurry away. He backed off until he hit a wall. After that, his only recourse was to curl up into a ball. Fran might have overdone it, but he had brought this on himself. In any case, silence returned to the waiting room, and I could only mentally apologize to everyone who got caught in Fran’s menacing onslaught. Fran bowed her head at the innocent parties and the situation was defused, but everyone was on guard after that. Fran’s menacing aura had made them aware of their weaknesses. The silence was so heavy that the cheering of the spectators seemed distant.
And Fran was still innocently going through her lunch! She even took the time to access her Pocket Dimension to get some juice.
Finally, a woman entered the room and broke the silence.
“What’s this? Is that the Swordceress I see?” she said casually.
“Hm? Lydia?”
“It’s been a while. I didn’t expect to find you here.”
Lydia was an adventurer we met in Bulbola—a cool, expressionless girl. She belonged to a party called the Crimson Maidens, who acted as our salesgirls during the cooking contest. It felt like we’d only said our goodbyes yesterday. I wondered if the rest of her party was participating in the tournament, too.
“Where’s Judith and Maya?”
“They’re fighting, too. Maya’s at the other venue, but Judith should be in one of the waiting rooms here. I sure am glad to see you.”
“Why?”
“Means I won’t have to fight you.” Lydia sighed with relief. She had already seen what Fran was capable of. “I just want to get to the main event.”
“And not win?”
“Oh, no. I know my limits. Besides, how am I supposed to win with people like Colbert and Forlund around? I’m just here to build up my reputation—to remind people not to underestimate me just because I’m a girl.”
Not everyone was out to take first place. Some, like Lydia and the greenhorn from yesterday, just wanted to make a name for themselves. The publicity and sheer number of spectators would make that easy. Lydia’s dreams of fame aside, she had mentioned some familiar names.
“Colbert and Forlund are here, too?” Those two would make tough opponents.
“Yeah, and don’t smile like that. It’s a little off-putting.”
Fran grinned with genuine joy. Her blood knight tendencies kicked in at the thought of fighting senior adventurers.
“By the way, congratulations on your promotion. Can’t believe you’re a C-Rank already. You’re blazing your way up.”
“Thanks.”
“If we happen to get matched in the main event, please go easy on me. I don’t wanna get hurt.”
“Hm.”
“Promise me, okay? I’ll be super mad if you don’t hold back.”
Lydia’s frankness might be considered a kind of strength. She and Fran talked until it was finally time for our bout.
“I’ll be going now,” Fran said.
“Good luck. Not that you need it.”
“Thanks.”
Fran left Lydia and walked down a narrow hallway for a short distance. Eventually she came to a doorway, where the blinding lights of the arena flooded through.
Are you ready, Fran?
“Hm.” Fran nodded, looking straight ahead.
If you lose here, the Beast King won’t pick up your scent.
His Majesty would most likely be watching the main event. We suspected him of endorsing slavery through his Blue Cat lackeys. And he was strong; too strong for us. If Fran did well in this tournament, chances were good that he would notice us.
It’s not too late to drop out.
“I w
on’t.”
A chance encounter with the Beast King had shattered Fran’s will. She’d spent the rest of the day cowering in fear for what might have been the first time since we met. No…that might’ve been the first time in her life that she was overwhelmed like that. The encounter was unfortunately unforgettable.
The Beast King might make you his target. You know that, right?
“Hm!”
Even so, Fran had no intention of backing down. Maybe she would’ve made a different choice before she heard about Kiara, but as a fellow Black Cat, there was no way she could tuck her tail and run.
Well, if we end up crossing blades with the Beast King, let’s give him all we’ve got. If we end up with a bounty on our heads, we’ll use our Dimension Magic to get away. We’ll get on a boat and flee to another continent if we have to. You just leave that part to me.
“Thanks.”
For now, we had the second round to worry about. If we lost here, we wouldn’t have to worry about the Beast King for a while.
That’s all I have to say. Go get ’em!
“Hm!”
Fran stepped out into an arena many times larger than the one we fought in for the first round. The stone ring at the center of the gigantic colosseum was surrounded by stands that held over a thousand spectators. The place looked sold out, and the chorus of cheers was so loud it reverberated in my blade.
As always, Fran remained cool and composed. Three other combatants were already in the ring. We recognized one of their faces.
“Fran! Is that you?”
“Judith?” Judith was one of Lydia’s friends and the leader of the Crimson Maidens.
“Just my luck. I’m done for!”
She dropped to her knees as soon as she saw us. I knew how she felt. Beating Fran would be very difficult for her. The other combatants looked equally worried. They all knew Fran’s reputation.
“The Swordceress… She really is a little girl.”
“Don’t let that fool you. She’s still C-Rank. Stronger than us.”
Ewan and Yosh looked warily at Fran. They were definitely in the know. With the sheer number of adventurers participating, avoiding the limelight would be more difficult.
“You know,” said Yuan. “I’m getting married at the end of the year.”
“Really? Congrats! You better give your lady a good show today.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice!”
You shouldn’t say those things before a fight, Yuan. Not that anything would give him a better chance of beating Fran.
At least no one was underestimating her yet—until the last combatant entered the ring with a sneer.
“Ha ha ha ha! What’s a kid doing at a fighting tournament?”
Fran squinted in anger. As if the mockery wasn’t bad enough, it had to come from a Blue Cat.
“So how’d you pass the first round? Did you pay ’em off? The judges have a thing for little kids?”
“I beat everyone else.”
“Hah! You think I’ll believe that a Black Cat can fight? Know your place, runt! Oh, I get it. You asked that old White Dog for a favor!” This guy was one of the members of Blue Pride. In fact, he was one of its supposed leaders. “You think I’m scared of you just because of that little stunt you pulled outside Aurel’s manor? You might have maxed out your Intimidate, but that’s all you have!”
Was he saying that he was much stronger in combat? Then again, his pride probably wouldn’t allow any sort of insult from a Black Cat.
“That disgusting monster interrupted us last time, but now you have nowhere to run. I’m going to smash your jaw, runt. I’ll knock you out and strip you for the whole town to see!” The Blue Cat spat at her, his face contorted and ugly. I felt like annihilating their entire mercenary band, but Fran was quiet. Wasn’t she going to say something?
As if reading my thoughts, Fran drew a breath. “Blue Pride…hmph. That’s cute.”
“What did you say?”
“You’re some no-name mercenary band that claims to be famous on a whole other continent. I did Aurel a favor by putting you in your place. Get away from me, Blue Cat. You smell like hot garbage.”
Was Fran pissed off? It’d been ages since her last diatribe.
“You little…!”
Before the Blue Cat could finish, a roar erupted from the crowd. There were giant screens set up at the corners of the arena—huge pieces of manatech that functioned as monitors to give the crowd a close-up view. They had caught every bit of that exchange. Which, of course, included the awful things the Blue Cat had said. The crowd was booing. When Fran snapped her comeback, they rallied behind her.
The Blue Cat was furious. “That’s it! You’re finished!”
“Hmph.” Fran ignored him and turned away, infuriating the man even further. I could hear the crowd egging them on. With everyone properly warmed up, the fight commenced.
“Begin!”
As soon as the judge made the announcement, the Blue Cat leapt into action. His anger blinded him. Fran was his only target.
“Diiiiiiiiie!”
He took a great leap upwards and brought his greatsword down on Fran’s head. The Blue Cat had pretty good form, for what it was worth, but he was out to kill her—which I thought was immature, considering Fran was only entertaining the crowd with her trash talk.
Surprisingly, the other three followed the Blue Cat’s lead and swarmed towards us. They had identified her as the strongest, and called a truce. Even Judith was set on using the others as meat shields. They weren’t about to back down just because Fran was obviously stronger than all of them combined. You had to admire their boldness.
Fran smiled and readied me, making the Blue Cat her first target.
“Raaaaargh!”
“Hmph.”
“Gaaah!”
I was still in my sheath, but she swung me with all her might. The blow connected with the man’s jaw and I felt it shatter from the impact. The Blue Cat’s body spun through the air. The crowd and the other combatants were shocked by the amount of force that erupted from her small body, but she wasn’t done yet. She used the momentum to launch a horizontal swing, knocking the Blue Cat towards the other combatants.
“Heavy Slash.”
“What?!”
“Urgh!”
“Hiyaaah!”
The swordsman Yuan and the lancer Yosh took the main brunt of the hit. Even Judith was caught up behind her meat shields. They yelled as all three of them were knocked right out of the ring. Heavy Slash wasn’t an advanced move, but with Fran’s stats and skill level, it was a force to be reckoned with. Within seconds, three combatants were out of the game. But Fran was only getting started with the Blue Cat.
“Aieeee! Hurgf…!”
She struck the man’s jaw a second time, forcing him into the ground. His body slammed into the stone floor, throwing pebbles across the arena.
“Huuurk… gaaarh…”
The Blue Cat’s face was trembling and misshapen. He coughed up blood. He was still conscious—not by his own strength, but because Fran was holding back.
“Aaarfgh… I hiff urf! Wheeze…!”
“I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”
The man was unintelligible, his breathing ragged. You could say he was literally tongue-tied. “I hiff urf…”
“You’re still not making sense.” Speaking with a broken jaw was very difficult.
“I hiff urf…!” The Blue Cat made an effort to kiss Fran’s feet to show that he really had “hiffen urf.” She only looked at him with a cold, piercing stare.
“Are Blue Cats so stupid they don’t know how to give up? I guess can’t blame you.”
Fran had planned this from the beginning.
“If you can’t give up because of your broken jaw,” she muttered. “I guess I’ll strip you and lay you out for all of town to see.”
She turned his own words against him, aiming the full weight of her murderous intent on the Blue Cat.
>
“Eeeerk! I’m horree! I’m horree! Heeease!”
He pleaded for mercy. She tossed a look at the referee as if to seek confirmation, and he hastily made his way into the ring to stop the match. Before he could make it, Fran took me in both her hands and pointed me at the Blue Cat.
“Time to end this.”
She swung me like a golf club.
“Gwaaaaaargh!”
She went for his jaw a third time, throwing him in an arc across the stadium. He flew for a good ten meters, maybe more, and landed outside the ring, his limbs twisted at an angle. The sight of it was enough to make anyone lose their appetite. Fran shouldered me again.
Even I thought that was a little much. I was worried about how the crowd would react to such a gruesome display of violence, but they roared with bloodthirsty appreciation.
“And we have a winner! The petite femme fatale sent the giant of giants flying in one fell swoop! Her cuteness might break your heart, but be careful that she doesn’t smash your face!”
Huh. I hadn’t noticed the commentator before. The voice carried through the venue out from manatech speakers.
“She wins the battle without once drawing her namesake! C-Rank Fran the Swordceress is your winner of the eleventh round of the west block qualifiers! She will proceed to the main event!”
The crowd erupted with applause. The tournament official came to guide Fran to another waiting room.
“Congratulations, Fran. You have made it to the finals.”
“Hm.”
The finals began the day after tomorrow. The roster would be announced tomorrow morning, and there was an opening ceremony around midday. Fortunately, combatants were not obligated to attend. I didn’t think Fran would be able to stand still if the nobles and officials started talking about her. She was never one for pomp and ceremony, and the entire procession would likely bore her to tears. With all the guests of honor participating, the Beast King was surely on the list. It would be best if we sat this one out.
In fact, even the official sounded as though he was steering us away from the procession. I suppose they didn’t want bloodthirsty combatants around with all the VIPs in attendance. What’s more, the roster would be delivered to each combatant’s living quarters, discouraging them from attending in person and reducing the chance that fights would break out.