“Where are you going?” Two buff guards stood in front of me.

“I need to speak with Lydia.” When I noticed the two looking at each other in confusion. “Um, the Catgirl of Doom.”

“A fan, eh? Well, lookers can’t come back here and harass the contestants!” He declared.

“I just need to talk to her for a second.” I tried to push through.

The man threw out his fist and punched me in the gut. I didn’t flinch or move. The guy’s eyes grew wide.

“Y-you going to cause trouble?” The other asked, grabbing his weapon at his side.

I opened my mouth, just about ready to cause this trouble, when I was grabbed and pulled away. Bernice stepped in front of me.

“Sorry, fellows! My friend here just had a bit too much to dring. He fell in love and now he’s being stupid. You know how it is.”

The men blinked, but then slowly gave accepting nods. “Well, see that he doesn’t cause any more trouble, or he’ll be kicked out.”

Bernice nodded back to them while pushing me against the chest and away from the area that Lydia went. I took several steps back, but it was mostly so I didn’t embarrass her. I remembered that Bernice could be a bit uptight when it came to her abilities.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “We’re the lords of this city.”

“And this is an underground fight! Did you not understand the word underground? This is all done under the nobility’s eye!”

“We’re the nobility!”

“Shhh!” She snapped, looking in both directions before shooting me a glare. “Do you want to cause an incident? Unlike the gladiatorship which has an official guild, these underground clubs technically break the laws of Aberis. If they suspected the palace was getting involved, they’d immediately scatter! If that happens, you’re going to get no one joining your cause, do you understand me?”

“So, that’s why you’re not taxing this place… Financially, we’d be in a better place if…”

“Bah. Bah! That’s let’s not talk about the financial situation right now. What’s important is being able to get along in the underworld. I was going to tell you before you went barreling off, but things are done a very certain way down here. First rule, you don’t start problems you can’t finish.”

“I’m pretty sure I could take care of those guys… and most of the others down here if I had to.” I declared, looking around at some of the matches going on in other corners of the club.

“Everything down here is about cred. If you just start cracking heads, you’re going to be banned, and your reputation will plummet.”

I shook my head. “This is ridiculous, I can just tell them who I man…”

“No!” she responded sternly. “You can’t just reveal yourself as a lord, and you can’t just demand people join your army. They won’t respond to a flyer? They follow who they respect, and they’ve only ever heard of you as that guy who lets slaves fight for him!”

“What about you then?” I asked. “Didn’t they respect the Demon-slaying Hero?”

“I got out.” She sighed. “I became a Knight already. Too many people here might recognize my face. If I were to attempt to compete, I’d be kicked out in an instant.”

“Compete? Who is competing? I just want to speak to that girl.”

“You’re the one who will have to compete!” She declared, tapping my chest. “If you want to get to her or these crowds of skilled fighters, you’re going to have to earn the street cred necessary in the ring.”