Kahokayo and I decided to head out to the streets of Yubiyubi this morning. Even when that duel was days away, my body couldn’t help but tense, and a piercing sensation lingered in my chest. On yet an uneventful day of preparation, everyone in the city went about as we made our way towards the large arena in the distance.

A colosseum-like structure jutted out from the horizon, taller than the biggest buildings in Yubiyubi. Unlike what I’d seen in Great Zhou, Koronese architecture didn’t prefer stacking multitudes of floors on top of one another. Green flags stretched across from one building’s roof to another, balconies riddled with laundry and watchers from above. Compared to the three other nations this place was the first time I encountered a vague semblance of European architecture.

“I understand you investigating the place of the duel…” Kahokayo first spoke after leaving the residence, “Why did you wish for me to come along?”

I stared ahead at the arena, minding the crowd walking beside us. “Well, you speak fluent Koronese, and can surely grant me permission to enter with your noble status.”

“‘Noble status’? The House of Biyu is hardly worth mentioning in the kingdom’s politics. Do you realize that you do not need my permission to go in?” Kahokayo went ahead and turned around.

“Huh?”

“The city gives tours inside Baubau Arena. We can head in and pay for a private one.”

“Hm.” Upon hearing that, I couldn’t help but scratch my head. “I guess that would work. Though for an isolated country, I didn’t know they had tour guides.”

On a map, Koroné appeared smaller than Waqwaq. Maybe its tourism sector existed for internal travel and the slight minority.

The closer we got to our destination I came to pick up a scent of salt water in the passing breeze. I couldn’t count the number of people who passed us by, all unaware of the plight we’d gotten ourselves into. Just the commute made me think as if I wasted time, and the wait until training with D’Émori felt like an eternity. Alas, I had half of the entire day to spend until then.

After finally arriving at one of the many numbered entrances of Baubau Arena, the four-story arena stood like a giant held together by pillars of stone. I found its color peculiar—a hue of grayish blue distinguishable from the others, tanned by the sun.

I put one hand in my pocket and the other shading my face. “There’s not much of a crowd around here. You think we can just sneak in after all?”

“I believe the venue has not been hosting any events as of late.” Kahokayo tilted her head, before eyeing something further into the arena’s façade. “Why should we enter without permission? A tourist stand is seated at entrance five.”

Passing under a giant arch, I set down my arm and saw a small table by the wall. There a demihuman slouched in a lone chair, his head bobbing up and down. Did this job really make a living in this country? Kahokayo approached him first.

“Excuse me.”

“...”

A snore returned as a reply.

“Excuse me? Sir?”

“Ah!” The demihuman’s round ears perked up as he shot up awake. Yawning, he looked around before his gaze found us. “Oh, sorry, the arena’s closed today. Please—”

I pulled out the Koronese dictionary from my pocket to speak, but Kahokayo thrust her arm out to stop me.

“May I ask why?”

“Um…” The demihuman scratched his head. “Baubau Arena has been reserved by Dantë Biyu for an event in the next four days, so the complex is being prepared for the occasion.”

She nodded, and dug into her coat to bring out a detailed pendant. It was an emblem resembling a wolf surrounded by marigold flowers. “I see. Although we still plead we have a tour, well, since I will also be overseeing it as well.”

“Hm. Hold on…” He squinted to get a closer look at the object dangling from her fingers. “The Biyu family crest—why haven’t you consulted with the other clans yet?”

Kahokayo merely responded with a hush sound, a finger to her lips. “Please allow us in. What is your name?”

He pondered for a moment, tapping the floor with his leg. “I’m Nééyu. Look, I can take you two in, Lady Biyu, though I cannot guarantee that this man can enter.”

The two glanced at me once before returning to the conversation. I folded my arms. Kahokayo reässured him. “He is a foreign friend who wishes to see the stadium and will be accompanying me.”

“...Well, if he’s under your name, I guess he can tag along. Hold on a minute while I get ready.”

While Nééyu turned around, I tapped Kahokayo’s shoulder. My grasp on the local language wasn’t as great, but I assumed that we’d got in due to her pendant.

“Really? What happened to ‘the House of Biyu is hardly worth mentioning’?” I whispered in her ear. At least I felt glad that I’d brought her along to handle the language barrier. She gently wrapped the family crest and returned it to her coat pocket.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“I apologize, Mister Kaizenji. I anticipated that my brother would secure the venue, however I did not expect him to restrict normal people from entering.”

Right…I was the one that brought her here on a whim.

I scratched my chin. How much money did it take to use this entire building several days before the actual dual? If he planned on dueling me in the start, then he could’ve taken us out to the woods to fight. Just being in this grandiose arena made me wonder what he’d been thinking.

Nééyu whirled back around. “Ready to go? By the way, as for the payment—”

“I’ll pay.” I stepped forward, speaking with my limited Koronese. But as soon as I reached into my pocket Kahokayo stopped me.

“You do realize how overpriced payments are in tourism?” She said in the Wawaqi language and placed her hand over her chest, “I shall handle this transaction.”

I pushed past her and stood in front of Nééyu. “No, no, I got us into this mess so I’ll shoulder this. How much is it sir?”

“Why, it’s forty pawlings per person.”

“...”

“...”

Thinking back in terms of Waqwaq’s currency, it cost around eighteen-thousand mon per head. And so I handed the money—a bulk of the savings Qawasumi and I earned in Great Zhou—over in reluctance before we headed deeper inside Baubau Arena.

Large chandeliers hung in the tall ceiling, the entrance leading into hundreds of smaller junctions in two directions. Our footsteps echoed across the curving hallways, looping and bending to form the stadium’s circular structure. The floors reflected brightly as if it’d been mopped a thousand times, and I could smell a stuffy scent of chemicals. Empty vendor booths lined the interiors facing away from the actual arena.

I took note of the general pattern of the floors. Four-stories, different spectator stands sectioned off by class, special lounges for VIPs and nobles, private rooms with overhanging balconies, I thought it seemed more like a hotel than a stadium.

“What usually takes place here?” My eyes darted around, marveling at the tall ceiling.

“Fighting, of course. Baubau Arena is the original site where Koroné the Fealty ascended to divinity,” Nééyu the tour guide quoted in Koronese, followed by a Kahokayo’s translation in Wawaqi. “After they expanded the Veil, our ancestors built a place of recreation to honor Koroné’s protection over this land.”

“Veil…”

“He means the beings you saw at the border,” Kahokayo clarified. An image of those terrifying specters with circular horns jolted inside my brain. So those creatures, Koroné the Fealty, just decided to expand their territory, safeguarding the demihumans inside it?

In any case, I shouldn’t focus too much on the small stuff. I wanted to see the actual field I would be in and where the crowds would sit. If at least I knew the layout…I might be able to make a plan with Yodomi and Kahokayo. But right when the three of us began to head to the arena center, someone called out to us. His footsteps made my legs stiffen. My head whirled around to a single clap.

Coming around one of the corridors, a demihuman in white waved his hand.

“Look who couldn’t wait to get here—four days early, no less.” Dantë Biyu, the Fifth Officer of Brevity, approached us with a chilling politeness. “Someone’s really desperate to get started.”

“I’m afraid I’m just eager to see the venue you reserved for us.” I decided to ride along his sarcasm.

“Hah. Even though people are prohibited to enter before the day of the event?” He closed the distance and looked at me bottom to top. “You aren’t even in a position to fight. How could you possibly win?”

“...” I stood my ground. He was messing with me for no reason. Which was why I didn’t understand…

Kahokayo stepped forward. “Brother, I wish for you to reconsider this deal you made. If you know all about Mister Kaizenji Kawari, then you would have captured him and Yodomi, and had them shipped to La Plage.”

“She’s right,” I agreed with her, “Why are you doing this? For your entertainment? Keeping a hostage for fun? What’s the meaning of—”

“Nééyu, was it? I hired you to make sure no one enters Baubau Arena,” Dantë cut us off with another topic, “Yet you failed your job. You’re dismissed.”

The tour guide, taken aback by the officer’s sudden dismissal, attempted to raise his voice with no avail. Kahokayo and I watched as the employee walked away with his head drooping, eyes looking at the ground. I couldn’t call him back, knowing that Dantë sent him away on purpose. Only the three of us remained.

“You ask why am I doing this? I’ll give you my honest answer—Koroné hasn’t hosted an event in this extravagant arena for five years. The Okayu Court has been bickering about what to do with the situation with D’Orient and the Straniero refugees, yet they’ve forgotten about celebrating their own ceremonies. So I firmly believe this will be a great relief for the Koronézuki from all that political concern. Of course, before I turn you and your brother in to Aquitaine.”

I couldn’t believe it. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I am. To your request I’ll answer you with honesty and follow my words of promise.” He fixed his peaked cap and gave a devious grin. “I do hope you place your trust in me, when my sister is one hiding secrets from you.”

Kahokayo tried to interrupt him, “Brother—”

“Why does she wear a red coat? Why does she care about the Straniero refugees sheltered in this kingdom? Why did she and Yodomi never bother to tell you about my affiliation with the Royal Marshal?” Dantë continued running his mouth, “My dear sister, shouldn’t you be the one doing the explaining?”

“...”

“Enough. We’re leaving.” I was fed up with him and attempted to turn around. “Miss Biyu.”

Even when I detested the accusations made by Dantë, those rhetorics made me question my stance with her. I knew nothing about how the Biyu siblings and Yodomi got acquainted, and if they were really supporting us or the Royal Marshal.

“I don’t think the Royal Marshal is necessarily evil.”

I clenched my teeth, remembering that statement. That night Yodomi and I had talked in Il Campo Profughi, Yodomi revealed how Dantë and Kahokayo were the only members of the Biyu family. That they pursued their ambitions, regardless of their circumstance. If the brother chose the path of joining the ranks of the Royal Marshal, what did the sister choose?

Knowing what I’d just concluded, I took a step forward and began walking towards the arena exit. For today, there was nothing to do with the officer. We’d already accomplished what we wanted here in Baubau Arena. Kahokayo followed shortly after a hesitant glance at her brother.

“Don’t get lost on the way out! This place can be quite the maze.” Dantë’s voice echoed from behind to mock our low-spirited demeanor.

“Mister Kaizenji Kawari, I believe I owe you an—”

“Let’s save the talk sometime later. We’ll part ways when we arrive outside.” I continued walking forward, keeping my gaze forward. “I’m going to consult Arbitrator D’Émori tonight.”

Surprisingly in the moment, I felt more eager to fight.