Chapter 108

Was that it?

No, no, no—look again at the audience seated in the oval-shaped front viewing area.

The men wore formal tailcoats and leather hats, gripping tobacco leaves in their hands; the women had ornate hats, heavy makeup, shawls draped over their shoulders, and delicate feather fans half-raised.

Just from their attire and behavior, it was clear that these people—all of them—were nobles from various nations. There were no commoners present.

Well, of course… For such an event where tickets were nearly impossible to obtain and the screening process was so strict, it wasn’t surprising that the venue was packed exclusively with nobles.

Originally, the frontmost row of noble seats had already been elevated to a level where only high-ranking nobles or royalty had the right to sit.

It was worth noting that the nobles in attendance weren’t solely humans. According to race, the oval seating area had been divided into multiple zones. For instance, the Demon Clan with black wings, vampires bearing sharp fangs, the long-eared Elf Tribe, and even some large-framed beastkin had all been assigned to specific seating zones, each spaced far apart from the others.

The purpose of this arrangement was, on one hand, to maintain orderly management, and on the other hand...

To prevent conflicts or disputes from breaking out on the spot.

This arena match, which brought together all factions, had indeed come very suddenly. The relationships between the races couldn’t exactly be called harmonious.

The most prominent example was the human race and the Demon Clan—the war between them had only just entered a temporary truce and was still in a state of high tension.

As such, the human and demon seating zones were placed at opposite extremes—one at the far east, and the other at the far west.

The host, having just finished announcing the opening speech, beckoned the staff to enhance the magic concentration of his amplification crystal.

Even though the volume had already been boosted to twice the usual level, it still wasn’t enough.

After all, if one were to view the arena from above, they would see that even the streets around the outer perimeter—cut off by the Kingdom’s Knight Order—were now packed densely with masses of commoners!

This kind of turnout...

The host felt like his career had already reached its peak!

The grand event had arrived as scheduled.

In this feverish atmosphere, Miss Shaya was urgently looking left and right!

"Hurry, hurry, hurry—Xiarette, something's wrong!"

"Shaya, what is it? Did you forget something when we left? I just said we should double-check."

"No! If I’d forgotten something, I wouldn’t be this panicked!"

"Then is it something serious?!" Xiarette immediately grew alert and guarded.

"Way more than serious! I just circled the entire venue, and today… there doesn’t seem to be any free donuts offered!"

"......"

"Not just donuts! Even the other snacks are all miss—ah!"

Honestly, someone should knock on your cute little head.

Xiarette withdrew her chopping hand, stood up with visible annoyance, and forced Sheffy back into her seat, stopping her from continuing her food-scanning behavior as she responded.

"Because today we have to ensure the safety of both nations’ leaders. The free donuts were provided by vendors, and for an occasion like this, they aren’t allowed to be present."

"Ugh… this policy has no humanity at all. The ones handing out free donuts—without a doubt—are good people! Can’t we give good people just a little more trust? Sigh, what a pity. Looks like I’ll have to find a chance later and spend money to buy something from outside. Still, free food just tastes better..."

"Shaya, I have one good news and one bad news for you. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Huh?"

It had appeared!

The choice between good news and bad news—one of life’s most difficult decisions!

Seeing Xiarette’s mysteriously smiling expression, Sheffy thought it safer to take the cautious route.

"Then... I’ll hear the bad news first?"

"Alright. The bad news is—you can forget about going out to buy donuts. Not only are they banned inside the venue today, but even the commercial district of the Royal Capital is under control and temporarily shut down. No business is allowed."

"Ugh-gah...!! Agony!! Outrageous! How can national policy mess with the livelihood of the people! This foolish king! I’m going to pluck out his beard!"

"Calm down!"

Xiarette felt that if she hadn’t reacted quickly and grabbed her by the waist, the extremely furious Sheffy might have actually plucked the king’s beard right there in front of everyone!

This couldn’t be delayed. Xiarette hurried to share the "good news" she had brought along.

"Don’t rush...! There’s still the good news! Aren’t you going to hear it?"

"Of course I’ll hear it. The bad news already crushed the sky, the good news won’t be able to save it."

"No donuts means the sky’s already collapsed, huh... Your sky’s really low—about as short as you are."

"Xiarette, your aggressiveness is a bit much today. Is it because we’re about to watch people attack each other, so you’re warming up in advance?"

"Couldn’t help it, sorry."

Xiarette would never admit she was just jealous of the donuts again—hence the fully loaded aggression.

She forced Sheffy back into her seat once more.

Xiarette lifted the small pouch she’d brought with her, grinned adorably—and devastatingly.

"The bad news is that no donuts are sold today. The good news is—I already bought some yesterday, mmf...!"

"Xiarette, you’re my goddess! You’re simply divine! I shall worship you as the Goddess of Generosity!"

"That kind of goddess doesn’t exist, okay?! Hehe... pat pat. So, does this count as your older sister being prepared in advance?"

"It counts, it counts! Both I and my stomach will sing your praises!"

Shaya leaned her upper body over Xiarette’s lap, raising her arms to grab the donut bag. Xiarette lifted the bag high with ease and took the opportunity to gently pat Shaya’s silky long hair on top of her head.

Mmh... remembering to prepare the donuts last night was so worth it!

The two of them were still seated in the front row of the VIP section.

Technically speaking, Xiarette held the title of Hero. Although "Hero" wasn’t a high noble rank or an official post, a Hero was entitled to treatment equal to royalty. This was a perfectly natural privilege, universally accepted by the citizens.

And as the Hero’s subordinate knight, Shaya naturally earned herself a precious front-row seat too~

Tamed by the allure of delicious food, Shaya grinned from ear to ear while hugging the large bag.

But then, a childish voice suddenly rang out from her other side.

It made Shaya furrow her brow and sigh in frustration.

"Mmh... how nice... She—Shaya-sama gets to eat donuts, the Hero gets to pat Shaya-sama’s head… I want to eat donuts, I want to pat Shaya-sama’s head too, and I want Shaya-sama to pat mine… But alas, I can’t do any of it."

"Hah, you little runt, your chest may be small, but your ambitions sure aren’t?"

Sylatrella, who had been the substitute champion of the last tournament, had her own seat.

Sheffy sat in the middle, with the Little Holy Sword and Xiarette seated on either side.

The Little Holy Sword pressed a finger lightly to her lips, her eyes filled with yearning. Whether she was craving the donut or the sight of Sheffy’s forehead in front of her, it was hard to tell.

Seeing Sylatrella about to pounce on her, Sheffy quickly pulled a donut from the bag and stuffed it into her mouth.

This was Sheffy’s signature sealing technique!

"Mmph?"

"Serves you right. Sit properly! Carrying on like that in public—what kind of behavior is that, seriously."

"Mmph-mmph!" (Y-Yes! Thank you, Sheffy-sama, for your strict guidance!)

Shameless Sheffy conveniently ignored the fact that the one causing the most fuss... was actually herself.

Sylatrella patted her flat chest and did her best to swallow the donut, her glittering sapphire-blue eyes radiating a peaceful, contented joy.

The host, as always, remained thoroughly professional—running back and forth across the arena, handling everything on the ground by himself.

Shaya weighed the bag of donuts in her arms, her expression blooming into a soothing smile as she savored the joy of abundance.

Just then, the sound of quick footsteps echoed—da-da-da—and a familiar, pleasant voice tinged with urgency approached from a distance.

"Miss Shaya! Lady Xiarette...! Whew... so you’re here, this place is way too big!"

"Livra, have you ever considered the possibility that the venue isn’t actually that big… it’s just that your legs are short, so you run slow?"

"Eh?! My legs aren’t short! Miss Shaya, your legs are the short ones!"

"I was joking—uh… don’t start looking at your legs and then at mine right now. That feels like an insult. Very rude of you."

"Wh—Why are you blaming me?! Clearly it was Miss Shaya who first—!"

"Alright, alright~ It’s unbecoming for a princess of the realm to be so petty. Bad for your image~"

"......"

A lesson in how blood pressure rises.

Livra had rushed over in a hurry, originally intending to find Miss Shaya again and confirm the matter of Princess Sheffy’s participation in the match.

But before she could even get the words out, she tilted her head and caught sight of a dazed-looking blue-haired little girl in a black-and-gold dress.

This little girl was sitting with Miss Shaya and the others—and seemed to be struggling to eat a donut?

Struggling…?

Without overthinking it, Livra—who always preferred getting straight to the point—asked directly.

"This little sister is...? Miss Shaya, may I ask if she’s a friend of yours and Lady Xiarette’s?"

"Oh, oh, yes. She’s my distant relative. Her name’s Syla."

"So that’s—hm?! Wait a second! Miss Shaya, aren’t you an orphan? How could you have a distant relative?!"

"Orphans can’t have distant relatives? Are you looking down on orphans? A distant relative without blood ties—what’s the issue? There’s no issue."

"A distant relative without blood ties… uh... am... am I not fully awake...? Or has my comprehension just taken a hit...? Uwah, I’m really so dumb!"

Xiarette watched it all unfold with a calm gaze.

In her heart, Xiarette silently apologized to Livra on Sheffy’s behalf.

Apologies, Princess Livra. It’s not that you’re unintelligent—Sheffy’s just exercising her mischievous side by tormenting the few precious wisps of your intellect.

The matter regarding Sylatrella had already been discussed between Xiarette and Sheffy back at home, and they had come up with a story.

So now, it fell to Xiarette to handle the explanation.

"It’s like this, Princess Livra. Syla is an orphan from the same town where Shaya was born. I took in Shaya, and Shaya took in her. Since they shared the same fate, Shaya calls her a distant relative—it’s just a joke."

"Phew... so that’s how it is. I thought for a moment my brain had started malfunctioning. Sigh… there really were so many displaced orphans during the war… Looks like little Syla is another poor soul. Uh… ‘Syla’... that name sounds kind of familiar... I didn’t attend the last tournament, but wasn’t the champion from that one also named Syla?! Hah… no, that must just be a coincidence."

The moment that thought floated into Livra’s head, she quickly dismissed it.

Pfft, yeah right—must just be someone with the same name.

This little sister Syla looked even younger than Miss Shaya—how could she possibly have the strength to win a championship? It’s not like Lady Xiarette goes around picking up orphaned children who all turn out to be peerless geniuses, right?

But what she saw…

Was Shaya shaking her head, and Lady Xiarette nodding.

Somehow, Livra understood.

Miss Shaya shaking her head—that meant she was denying Livra’s guess, that it wasn’t just someone with the same name.

Lady Xiarette nodding—meant Syla was Syla, truly the same Syla who was the previous tournament champion.

"For real…?

She’s that young…?"

"You’re calling me young?! How dare you…! If we’re being honest, I’m actually your ances—! Mmph!"

Once again, Sheffy sacrificed a donut to stuff Sylatrella’s mouth shut.

Eating two of my donuts in a row—guess you lucked out!

Livra was left speechless. So Miss Syla was that powerful?

This was just… bizarre. Why was it that every time Livra came to find Miss Shaya and the others, she always ended up feeling so defeated?

She gave a little shrug and a wry smile. Fortunately, Princess Livra’s self-adjustment skills were quite formidable~

Right now, more than anything else, she just hoped that Miss Shaya and the others wouldn’t leave today disappointed.

"Today’s match is worth looking forward to, you know? Miss Shaya, did you hear? Just yesterday, I heard that even some of the top adventurers from the Adventurer’s Guild have signed up to compete!"

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