At the arena auditorium, hundreds and hundreds of people fill the vast space. The seats made of wooden seating on large segments of chiseled stone are supposed to provide space for dozens of spectators between the stairs on each level. Cycelia managed to secure herself two seats right next to the stairs. She watches the remaining empty seats fill, with both anticipation and anxiety.
《Where is Straf? How is he even going to find me in this crowd? I've never been a part of an event this big as someone in the masses…》
Cycelia looks around, looking for Straf. Despite her head turning everywhere, she can't find him. She looks up the stairs, a sign stating 「Bets」 hangs at the very top of the stairs off the ceiling. She looks down at the central part of the arena below, sandy soil covers the ground. She begins to tap her fingers together out of nervousness.
《I guess that's where you place your bets… I hope he didn't run into trouble…》
A man appears at the stairs next to Cycelia, slinking past her.
「Ah! Sorry this seat is- Straf?」
「Yeah, here.」
Straf sits down next to Cycelia and hands her a corndog with a ketchup squiggle on it. This time she pauses for a second, but takes the corndog from Straf.
「Where were you, Straf? I was getting worried.」
「I was uh… Buying the corndogs.」
Straf says, taking a bite of his food.
「…That's it?」
「Uh-huh. What else?」
He swallows, then asks while looking down at the sandy arena. Cycelia gazes at her corndog and takes a small nibble.
「…Okay. When's your match, Straf?」
「Dunno. I kind of want to see what the competition is like, first.」
「Do you think there will be someone strong? Strong enough to match you?」
She asks, rocking back and forth a little in her wooden seat as she looks at Straf with a slight smile, much more relaxed now.
「Absolutely not. I think the first matches are going to be mind numbingly boring. I guess they'll be worth a watch for the comedic value-」
Straf looks at Cycelia who is still rocking back and forth as she listens to his opinion.
「Wait, are you actually excited for this?」
「Ah- I- Uh- Um…」
Straf asks with furrowed brows. Cycelia stammers, realizing she's fidgeting. She stops moving and looks away with a faint blush.
「…A little.」
She admits quietly, and takes a small bite into her corndog. Straf looks down at the arena with eyebrows raised, mouth at a slant, and very bored eyes. He sighs.
「Well, it can't be helped. I guess you're just a young adult at heart, after all.」
Straf says, and takes a bite.
「Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! Welcome to our city's quadrennial summer martial tournament! Today, we will have a bout of qualification matches!」
Mere moments later, a voice loud enough to hurt Straf's ears resounds through the arena, he looks around for its source.
「What the fuck? Is the guy speaking with a microphone from hidden speakers?」
Straf searches and finds it very easily, a sharp dressed man is standing on an elevated platform in the auditorium on the other side of the arena. A small blue magic circle spins slowly in front of his mouth as he speaks with pomp, and he moves his whole body in a true showman's fashion.
「The qualification matches today serve one purpose, and one purpose only! To weed out the weak, and to ensure the tournament, properly starting tomorrow, has only valuable fighters!」
He turns left and right as he speaks, as if he was personally talking to each member of the audience, waving his arms about. He points to one of the entrances to the arena down below with his palm.
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「Without any further delays, welcome our first contestants! Yorick Bugrum, a man you may have never heard of before, as it is his first time competing!」
A nervous looking man enters from the entrance's mouth and walks to the center of the arena, looking up with a tight-lipped grimace at the crowd staring at him. The announcer points towards the opposite entrance.
「And his opponent is… Cadrick the Merc! Some may have heard of him, some may fear him! Some may have even hired him! This man is certainly no amateur with a blade!」
The announcer points his palm to a rough-looking dark-haired man. He holds his sword on his shoulder, scowling with his scarred lip at the opponent standing in front of him. Cycelia's eyes light up and she takes a huge bite into her corndog.
「Huh. I guess that guy is screwed.」
Straf comments, Cycelia shakes her head and swallows her food in haste.
「No no no no! He's acting so that the mercenary underestimates him! Think about it, Straf! Would you really go all-out in the first round?」
「Yeah.」
Cycelia receives an answer vastly different than what she expected from Straf, making her stumble through her point.
「Uh. Well, um… You can afford to do that, you're that powerful. But acting weak when you are just a little strong is the right decision here!」
She testifies her groundless belief in the mundane nervous man's abilities.
「Will his experience give him a deadly edge, or is his opponent's nervous face an act of deceit!? You decide! The bets are now open, up the stairs above the seats! Betting will remain open until the battle begins shortly!」
The announcer points his palms at the fighters, then up above the audience. Cycelia gets up and looks at Straf.
「Straf, I'm going to bet! Hold the seat!」
She says and runs off up the stairs.
「...Okay. Man… Tournament arcs really do it for some people, huh?」
Straf replies to the long gone Cycelia. A crowd streams upward up the stairs, murmuring among themselves, perhaps betting with each other already. Straf squints and takes a closer look at Cycelia's favored fighter.
「This guy looks like a real chump. I'd be surprised if he wins this… Nah, I'll be surprised if he doesn't get his head lopped off. That Cadrick guy is likely to win, the cooler fighters always win. And they kill the poor bastards like this to show off how high stakes and brutal the competition is. I mean, come on. It's a tournament arc. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all.」
「Who are you talking to, man?」
The man sitting next to Straf asks. Straf takes a quick glance at him.
「The people watching this tripe.」
Straf answers, and bites his corndog.
「Who? Me?」
「I'm just being ahead of the times with my sports commentary, don't mind me.」
The man asks, and Straf answers, eating the rest of his corndog. The confused spectator shakes his head at Straf with a furrowed brow. Cycelia returns in a half-jog down the stairs, and sits down.
「Who'd you bet on?」
「I bet everything I had on Yorick!」
Cycelia exclaims proudly.
「Wow. Just all-in on the first round on a good feeling, huh?」
Straf asks as he glances at Cycelia with simple boredom on his face.
「I have a really good intuition! You'll see!」
She clenches her hands in an attempt to drive her point harder. Straf looks down at the fighters. They are staring each other down from about halfway across the arena, waiting for the battle to begin.
「You know what they say Lia, Good characters must have some flaws or weaknesses. I guess yours is financial responsibility.」
「Huh?」
「It's just something bitter people came up with to nag writers about, don't worry about it.」
「Wha-?」
「Ladies and gentlemen, first match of the day is about to begin! The bets will close momentarily, it's the last chance for the fighters to forfeit without risking injury or death! If either of you changed your mind and want to concede, leave the arena now!」
He points his palms at both of the entrance tunnels to the arena, and waits. Yorick the nervous fighter looks at the announcer, the dark tunnel, and his scowling opponent. He doesn't move, but his face is conveying worry.
Cadrick the Merc tilts his head a little, and his scarred face only intensifies the already present scowl, now with added disdain. The mercenary says something, and the nervous man looks at him with a tight-lipped grimace in return. The mercenary spits and scoffs.
「Ladies and gentlemen! Looks like despite the appearances, our contestants are ready to spill blood! Combatants, ready yourselves! Yorick Bugrum versus Cadrick the Merc! Ready…」
The announcer lifts his arms, the entire coliseum goes silent with anticipation. Cycelia is rocking in her seat again, clenching her fists as she stares at the arena. Her green eyes almost glow with excitement. Straf glances at her and rolls his eyes.