We quickly get outside, but the guards are right behind us.

“Hey! Stop!!!” – Guards

“Don’t look back, just run!” – Lily

We continue to run, completely ignoring the guards.

We’re much faster than they are, so we get away relatively easily.

We continue to run for a little while until we reach a back alley with no people in sight.

Finally, we can settle down…

“Why the hell did you do that?!!!!” – Lily

Lily yells at Shin.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve gotten yourself into?” – Lily

“I-” – Shin

“Not to mention dragging us into this mess as well!” – Lily

“You could have just stayed in your seat if you wanted to…” – Shin

“Are you serious?! You obviously have no idea what kind of mess you’ve gotten yourself into, I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing!” – Lily

“Just like I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing!” – Shin

“…” – Lily

Lily takes a deep breath.

She’s visibly frustrated but is trying to hold it back.

Although, she’s not doing a great job at it; it’s painted all over her face…

“Look. Almost any hunter out there could single handedly temporarily stop the colosseum fights, just like you did. But… There is a reason why no one does. The colosseum has some powerful people backing it. They even have connections with the royal guards…” – Lily

The royal guards?!

“…” – Shin

“You see now?! You see how much trouble you’re in now?! You see why no one messes with the colosseum, even in the most brutal of moments?!” -Lily

“Yeah, I guess. Well, I’ll figure something out. It’ll all work out in the end.” – Shin

“…”

Lily is stunned.

“How can you be so calm about this?!” – Lily

“What’s done is done. There’s no point in worrying about something you can’t control anyways.” – Shin

Lily looks over at me.

“I can’t believe this guy…” – Lily

She points at Shin.

“What kind of sheltered life must you have lived up till now for that to be your reaction? You know your parents aren’t going to save you, right?” – Lily

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine. You guys had masks on so you’re fine too.” – Shin

“I-” – Lily

“Lily, I’m not a kid. I’m a hunter, I can look out for myself. Besides, I still have my guilds protection, right? I’ll be fine.” – Shin

“I give up… You do you man. But you’re right about one thing. Me and Alex had masks on, so we should be fine at least… I hope. I’ll have to destroy those masks though… That sucks, I liked them.” – Lily

“Oh, right. I was thinking earlier, why do you have so many masks with you, Lily?” – Alex

“That’s none of your business, so don’t worry about it.” – Lily

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

None of my business?

I guess, but like…

Why keep it secret?

There is some important reason for it…

I’m even more curious now!

Well, I’ll respect her wishes and try to keep my nose out of it.

“Ugh, this is gonna be annoying…” – Lily

“What is?” – Alex

“I have to get back into the arena, I was there for a reason.” – Lily

“Oh?” – Alex

“It’s the same reason you were there, right? The hunter is probably another contestant in the E-rank exam, so I figured I’d gather what intel I could before it started.” – Lily

“…” – Alex and Shin

“You guys didn’t know that there would be a hunter fighting…? Why were you even there then?” – Lily

“Oh, we were there just for fun.” – Alex

“Fun???” – Lily

“Yeah, we thought it would be more like a sport. I didn’t think it would be that brutal…” – Alex

“So you were honest back then… I thought you were just pretending because you didn’t want to give away your true intentions, just like me. Anyways, I need to get back. If someone competing in a hunter exam is willing show off like this, they must be really confident in their abilities. Learning anything I can about them might be crucial in taking them down.” – Lily

Yeah, she’s right.

Apparently it’s very rare for hunters to compete in colosseum fights, and now there is one right before the E-rank exam starts?

They’re either a participant or it’s a crazy coincidence.

“Whatever their reason may be, I’m not gonna pass up a golden opportunity like this.” – Lily

True, knowing what the other contestants are capable of is a huge advantage.

But…

Shin can’t go back there, so unfortunately, we can’t tag along.

I’m not going to leave him alone when there might be people looking for him.

“Do you guys want to join?” – Lily

“Huh?!” – Alex

“Did you already forget what I did over there, or what?” – Shin

“No… I have most certainly NOT forgotten! But…” – Lily

She lets out a deep sigh.

“I guess there is no point in hiding it anymore… You’ve already seen it after all.” – Lily

Seen what?

Oh…

Right!

“I can use SDM. My specialty allows me to absorb moisture with my right hand and put it back with my left.” – Lily

So that’s what she did back then…

“But how is that going to help us sneak back in?” – Alex

“Ahh, I see…” – Shin

“Seems like Shin gets it.” – Lily

…

“I’ll use my ability on us, absorbing some of the moisture in our skin. It’ll make us look old and wrinkly, allowing us to sneak back in.” – Lily

I see!

What a useful ability!

“But before that, we should also change clothes. They know we’re hunters, so they know having some sort of ability that lets us change our appearances isn’t impossible. If they see someone entering the colosseum that sort of look like us, and are wearing the exact same clothing, they’ll put the piece together instantly. So first of all, we need to get some new outfits. Just wait here and I’ll go buy something. You can pay me back later.” – Lily

Yeah, she’s right.

When it comes to hunters, you can never let your guard down.

Anything can be a specialty.

Being able to change your appearance isn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Even Luna can do it to some degree.

Lily rushes off to buy us some new clothes.

--- Not long after, she returns.

Shin was a little worried that she ditched us, but luckily she came back.

“Damn, this is fancy.” – Shin

“Yeah, it’s not what I expected.” – Alex

“We need to look as different as possible.” – Lily

She bought a black suit for me, a white one for Shin, and a light blue one for herself.

We quickly put them on.

“I’ve never worn a suit before… It fits perfectly!” – Alex

“It suits you.” – Shin

“Pfft.” – Lily

His terrible pun even managed to bring a chuckle out of the oh-so serious Lily…

“Alright, now I just need to make us look old. Look.” – Lily

She touches her face with her right hand, and most of the moisture is almost instantly drained away.

Her skin looks exactly like how I’d imagine it’d look like at 80 years old.

“When we’re done, I’ll do this.” – Lily

She touches her face again, but this time with her left hand.

Her skin quickly turns back to normal.

“See?” – Lily

She makes herself look old again.

“Alex, you first.” – Lily

“Alright.” – Alex

I walk up to her, and she touches my face with her right hand.

Just like with her, my skin now looks like it belongs to an old person.

Right away, she does the same to Shin.

“Oh, and I almost forgot. While I was buying those suits, I figured that new clothing wouldn’t be enough. Sooooo, I also bought these!” – Lily

She bought two wigs with gray hair, and a…

Is that a…

She puts on one of the wigs herself.

It’s a wig with long gray hair, and it completes her look as an old woman perfectly.

She hands me the other wig; this one has much shorter hair.

I put it on, and my costume is complete.

“This last one is for you, Shin.” – Lily

“What even is that??” – Shin

“It’s a bald cap.” – Lily

“… Why didn’t you just buy me a regular wig too?” – Shin

She just laughs instead of answering.

I guess this is her way to get revenge on him for getting into this trouble in the first place…

Shin puts the bald cap on and…

“I look ridiculous.” – Shin

“Naaaah, you’re fine. Don’t worry. Let’s just go before it’s too late.” – Lily

“Ugh…” – Shin

Shin doesn’t look pleased.

But…

Heh.

Not gonna lie, it’s kinda funny.

“Oh, and Shin…” – Lily

“Hmm?” – Shin

“I have something I want to talk to you about after the exam.” – Lily

“After the exam?” – Shin

“Yeah…” – Lily

Huh?

I wonder what it could be about…

--- A few minutes later

We arrived at the colosseum, and we even managed to get back in, just like we planned.

The disguises worked!

In fact, it all worked out better than we had planned.

We thought we would have to sneak in, but we didn’t.

Apparently, some people in the audience got scared after Shin interrupted, and they left.

Maybe they thought he was going to attack them?

Who knows…

But whatever their reason was, it meant that there were seats ready for us, meaning we got in the legit way.

The second round just ended, so we got here just in time.