“Victory to Kiara Azoth!” the referee announced to the cheers of the coliseum.
I gave my hand to Jezibel, which she took to get off the ground.
“By the Abyss, this is some horrendous luck.” She grumbled.
“My very first match just so happens to be against the likely champion of the tournament.”
I chuckled and gestured for her to follow after me out of the coliseum grounds, so that the next match could begin.
“Mind telling me when, when and why you joined the tournament? The Tyrian team really could have used your help.”
Jezibel sighed.
“Vacation turned out to be a lot more boring than I expected. I got an invite to participate in the team while I was delving local dungeons with Yasha, but I didn’t bother because I thought it was a pain.” She said.
“Dungeoneering alone wasn’t too much fun, so I kept going just until Yasha made it to rank C, when the tournament’s opening ceremony began.”
Jezibel then stopped walking and looked me in the eye.
“10,000 platinum denarii, Kiara! 10,000 platinum denarii!” she gushed, shaking me by the shoulder.
“Oh my money, there was absolutely no way I was missing out on that! I took Yasha and all my beasts to the toughest dungeons in Tyr and stayed there until we were all rank B, then flew as fast as I could to Romellus to enlist in the individuals’ tournament. I only arrived the day before yesterday, talking down goon after goon, and only making it into the top 64 in the nick of time. Of course, all that effort went to waste on the first round against you.”
Jezibel glared at me then heaved a heavy sigh.
“Hahaha, oops?” I chuckled, scratching my cheek.
“But don’t you have enough money already? People can live off the 5,000 platinum shekels that we were awarded last year for their entire lives.”
“Enough money? Enough money? All the money in the world’s markets and people’s pockets is still not even close to enough money!”
While Jezibel was busy lecturing me on the virtues of wealth and showing me that she was a Tyrian through and through, a tiny jade-green snake slithered out of her collar and near her face.
“Hss, enemy?” Yasha hissed curiously my way.
“No, Yasha; friend.” She gently chided.
“Friend? Hss. Buth we fighth. Yasha confuthed.”
I resisted the urge to gush over Yasha’s serpentine lisp while Jezibel tried to explain things to her.
“I didn’t know Yasha could talk.” I said, taking the rank B creature in.
It was still a mythic rarity creature, but I couldn’t actually tell what its species or class meant. Having a class indicated Yasha was sapient, however, which makes the soul bond between the two a lot more intriguing.
“Of course, she can; Yasha’s just young. Not everyone is capable of rapid growth like you. I still don’t get how you could look and act like a teenager despite being mere months older than Yasha.”
Huh.
“Mom said it was because learning a language makes the system teach you the theory of what the words mean. I wonder why that didn’t happen with Yasha.”
Maybe the [Sapient Monster] title I was born with or the special conditions of my reincarnation had something to do with it?
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
While the two of us stewed over that mystery, we eventually made it to where Nico and Durreg were. Of course, the two didn’t bother congratulating me or consoling Jezibel, but straight to fawning over Yasha.
…I may or may not have done the same.
***
Lieutenant Amense
I knocked on the door ahead of me then took a step back.
“Enter.” The voice from beyond the door said.
I held my breath to keep my anxieties in check as I turned the doorknob and stepped inside. Sitting at her desk and buried in documents and reports was Major Amset, who laid her cheek against one hand as she looked over a document with another. Tired and on what looked like her fifth cup of coffee, the Major didn’t look like she was in a tolerant mood, so I gave her a crisp salute and got straight to it.
“Major Amset, I’ve come to report what our people on the field have found.”
The Major frowned before sighing and gesturing for me to continue.
“We found evidence of abnormal troop movements. Our agents looked into the matter, and while the average foot soldier doesn’t know anything, the officers in charge of them looked tenser than usual.”
The frown on the Major’s face turned into a scowl as she bit down on a curse that she almost voiced. I readjusted my collar for some more breathing room before continuing my report.
“Agent Menes infiltrated a legionnaire barracks and looked into the barracks commander’s memories as he slept for information. He reported that the commander received orders for a quiet mobilization in preparation for a large conflict with highly strict information control.”
The Major closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Thank you for the report, Lieutenant. We’ve discovered enough. Order the agents to cease operations and to stand by for further orders. Dismissed.”
I nodded and turned around towards the door.
“If I may, Major Amset, is this the start of a new war? What is going to happen to us?” I asked, the anxieties in my chest finally voicing themselves despite my efforts to suppress them.
“Whether or not a war erupts isn’t something I can predict, Lieutenant.” She said.
“We can only report to command and leave it to them to find a solution. Regarding us, however, I can promise you that no one on this mission will come to harm. None of the nations – not even the Republic – has historically targeted diplomatic envoys. I don’t see why that would change now. Besides,” she said, putting down the document in her hand, her tired eyes glowing with mana, “I am not counting only on the Republic’s mercy for our security.”
***
The next day’s morning came, and the team matches of the day concluded rather swiftly. The Hoplites put up a surprisingly good fight against the Legionnaires, only losing narrowly when a surprise, focus-fire attack on Nisos took him out of the fight. We, on the other hand, handily beat the Germanic Titans without much fanfare.
Instead of running our match with the Legionnaires after that, the commentator announced that it will be postponed to tomorrow in the interest of preserving both teams’ energy and in keeping the two tournaments’ finales closer to each other.
The individuals’ tournament took over early, and the remainder of the first rounds matches were wrapped up in the leftover time from the teams’ tournament with time to spare. My match, and the satisfaction of my soul oath, were both close at hand.
“Kiara, are you alright?” Jezibel asked.
The two of us were having lunch at a nearby restaurant as we watched the tournament through a projection.
“If something’s wrong, you can talk to me, you know? Whatever it is, I still owe you a lot for saving my family and my hometown, and I’ll have you know there’s nothing I hate more than debt!”
I looked at Jezibel for a moment, and she seemed genuinely worried about me beneath the joking and banter. Just like Durreg and Nico were.
“Thanks for caring, Jezibel. But don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I am just taking out the trash.”
Instead of being mollified, Jezibel’s worries increased.
“I don’t know who you’re in a fight with, but I am more than happy to help you out. So, are a lot of people around you, you know? Did you tell Nicotris, Nisos, or your cousin about it?”
“Look, Jezibel, I am really grateful to you, but I promise I can deal with this on my own. This isn’t a serious problem, and I’ll be done with it in no time.”
“If it wasn’t serious, then you wouldn’t look like you wanted to murder someone! Even if you don’t want me to interfere, shouldn’t you at least let me know what’s going on?” Jezibel asked, her tone getting angrier.
“Don’t make a mountain from an earth molehill! For the last time, I don’t need-”
“-our help?” a voice behind me interjected.
I looked behind to see Nico and Durreg walk in.
“You’re repeating my mistake, Kiara. Your life isn’t your business alone; it matters to everyone who cares about you. Weren’t you the one who said that when you were chiding me for not communicating with you properly?” Nico said as she and Durreg grabbed empty seats nearby to sit at the table.
“You know, cousin, I am not interested in prying into your personal affairs. What you want to keep secret is fine by me. But if someone’s picking a fight with you, that’s a completely different story.”
The three of them looked to me expectantly, waiting for me to spill the tea.
I sighed.
“Fine, you win. I can’t object when you put it like that. This all started a long while back…”