“Now that everyone has calmed down!” Prince shot me a look.

I looked down sheepishly. I was repenting, honestly. Lydia snorted, still asleep after Miki had knocked her out. Curiously, I had checked Lydia’s status and she had unlocked a new job, Dancer. The conditions were probably something like dance on stage at a level that makes someone want to give you money or something like that. I didn’t know how much it would help in the future, but at least it was something.

“It is clear that Deek’s party won the first event.” The Prince continued. “It’s time we move on to part two. This one will be a lot more familiar to all of you, as the theme of this one is strength! Slaves must be powerful and capable of defending their Master. Therefore, the slaves shall commence in one-on-one combat, with the team that wins two out of three bouts the winner of this event!”

The previously depressed Lord Tibult began to smirk. After the previous failure, it was clear he felt like he couldn’t lose in these matches. As for me, I felt a bit of worry. Carmine and Salicia were both powerful women. Either one would be an even match against my girls. Then there was the unknown challenger, Shao, who was a complete mystery. She had to be powerful, or Lord Tibult wouldn’t have wasted the money and time to acquire her.

“I want you to play it safe,” I explained to the girls softly. “We have already won one event. I don’t want you killing yourselves to win the second one. Terra, are you ready?”

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Terra nodded. “I will fight for Master!”

Since Lydia was unconscious, Terra was my second-best fighter. Her focus was defense, after all. After her, Celeste would be the next most useful, but given that she was a long-distance fighter, the constrained arena wasn’t her best environment. After what happened with the house cleaning, I decided to leave her to last. If luck was on my side, Terra would win the next match, and then I could wake Lydia up for the 2nd match.

We waited on the Slave Master working for Lord Tibult. After seeing who I picked, he put a wicked smirk on his face and then gestured for Carmine. This immediately caused a commotion across the crowds as people muttered in confusion. I didn’t understand what was going on. It was Miki who explained it.

“Carmine is a Paladin, Master. This is considered a defensive class. Since she can heal herself, and she has strong armor abilities, she is exceptionally durable. However, it is known that Terra, as an Earth Golem, is also defensive, and her regenerative abilities and strong armor techniques leave the audience confused about how this match will continue.

“Usually, he would have chosen Salicia, who can deal heavy damage with her dark magic to counter Terra’s high defenses. There is a saying. ‘When two people of the same class meet, skills no longer matter.’ It means that when two people have a similar layout of skills and abilities, it becomes a pure numbers game. At best, it will be a fight of attrition. Terra will struggle to win because Carmine is a higher level and thus has more stamina and trump cards, plain and simple. He’s playing a dirty trick on us!”

Just as I was processing what Miki was telling me with a frown, it was already too late to say anything. The prince stepped out with his arms wide.

“Carmine the paladin against Terra the Golem. Begin!”