Chapter 7: The Martial Arts Tournament

Chapter 7:
The Martial Arts Tournament

 

I OFTEN SAW Kalta’s security force, the Red Cat Brigade, training in a field near town.

“Man, they’re sure working hard out there,” I said to Mina. We were on our way home from shopping.

My observation seemed to remind her of something. “Oh, right! That’s tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow?”

“The big tournament where the Red Cat Brigade will show off the results of their training!”

“Hunh. I had no idea.”

A public competition was a great way for the townspeople to get acquainted with the warriors protecting them day in and day out. Plus, we rarely had big events here in the boondocks. The tournament would be a good way to entertain folks. “I bet we could sell potions there.”

“Mr. Reiji, your eyes are sparkling!”

“We could set up a Kirio Drugs stall and everything.” I should make sure I bring lots of stock, so if anyone from the brigade gets hurt, they’ll be fine.

“What a lovely idea! Townspeople who don’t visit us often will see all kinds of drugstore products.”

The stall couldn’t display everything Kirio Drugs carried, so I decided I better make a priority list of products to bring. I paused. I could hear battle cries in the distance.

“Hiyaah!”

“Yaaah!”

The mercenaries swung training swords and staves, squaring off in sparring bouts.

“What’s the matter?” Mina asked.

“All guys dream of being strong, Mina.”

“Is that so? Frankly, I prefer a kind Mr. Reiji to a strong one.” I glanced at Mina, who turned bright red, realizing what she’d just told me. She panicked and waved her hands, flustered. “I-I didn’t mean that rudely!”

“I know, I know.”

To be honest, I rarely thought to myself that I wanted to get ripped anymore—not like I used to in junior high.

Among the mercenaries, a single fighter with blazing red hair stood out—Annabelle. She had the eyes of a warrior and the stance to match. Now and then, she let out a battle cry full of energy. It was my first time seeing her like this. Frankly, she looked pretty awesome. That’s Annabelle at her finest, doing what she does best.

“Grr… Let’s hurry home, Mr. Reiji!” Mina pulled my arm, rushing me back to the drugstore.

 

***

 

Just when it was time to close that night, Doz—the Red Cat Brigade’s vice captain—swung by. He dragged himself into the drugstore, crouching beside the counter. “Medicine God!”

“What’s the matter?”

Doz looked up as if he was on the verge of tears. “Tomorrow’s the big martial arts tournament.”

Oh—the one Mina told me about. “I heard! I’m looking forward to it.”

“Hey, thanks—augh! That’s not what I’m here for! Please, make something that’ll increase my strength for a bit!”

“You’re asking the impossible again.”

Despite my exasperation, Doz continued. “The boss cooked for the brigade yesterday.”

“And?”

“I was the only one able to eat it all. It kicked my ass.”

Oof. Rough. Annabelle wasn’t the type to cook; Doz must’ve wanted to acknowledge her hard work by at least cleaning his plate. I understood why he’d go that far. He had feelings for Annabelle, after all. “You’re a cool bastard, Doz.”

“Heh heh. You’re gonna make me blush!”

“Oh…wait. Come to think of it, I’ve never made any antidiarrheal meds, have I?”

“I already finished firing everything out both ends.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Problem is, that weakened me a little.”

The proof, Doz explained, was that his sword and spear fighting today wasn’t great. His body had expunged the fat and nutrients that should’ve gone into his muscles. No wonder he feels weaker.

“How am I gonna face my men at this rate?”

“You won’t be able to show off to Annabelle either,” I pointed out.

“E-exactly.”

“Hold on a sec.”

Leaving Doz waiting, I grabbed a power potion off the shelf. That seemed like the best prescription from what Doz had said. Noela and Mina had drunk power potions when they tried to bulk up. At the time, the potions certainly strengthened their muscles—and, for some reason, gave them fake tans. The beverage’s effects were really only temporary, though. Power potions were designed to optimize training and build muscle; thirty minutes and they were done.

But Doz is asking for…

“A buff.” In other words, a product to temporarily increase his combat abilities.

I turned around, glancing at the Red Cat Brigade’s vice captain. Yeah, he looks leaner than usual. Is that from losing muscle mass? The tournament starts tomorrow… He’s got no time to build more muscle.

“But it’s not that you want to build muscle specifically,” I mumbled. “You basically want to raise your physical attack power.”

Thanks to my little outing exploring the cave with Stanley, more adventurers were shopping at the drugstore lately. I bet a product that increases your attack power would come in handy for that crowd.

“All right,” I told Doz. “I’ll have something ready for the tournament.”

“You’re amazing!” Breaking down into tears, Doz grabbed my hand and shook it fiercely, his nose running.

Gross! Handle your snot before you shake hands!

“Thank you so much! I’m gonna kick some ass!”

“Good luck,” I said, seeing him off. Guess I should hurry up and get to work. “Mina, can you watch the store?”

“Of course!”

Swapping places with Mina, I headed to the lab. As I gathered the supplies I’d need, I heard her talking to someone else in the drugstore.

“Eek! What’re you doing here?”

“Sayin’ hello, what else?” Judging by the voice, it was Annabelle. “I was just gonna tell the pharmacist about tomorrow.”

“Is that so?” I could hear the edge in Mina’s tone. For some reason, she and Annabelle really didn’t get along. “I’ll let Mr. Reiji know, then. Feel free to leave your message with me.”

“I’ll tell him myself. Call him for me.”

“Mr. Reiji’s terribly busy right now.” Mina was doing her best not to bring me out there.

Fine, Annabelle. I stopped working for a moment and poked my head into the drugstore. “Hey.”

“Ah, Pharmacist!” Annabelle exclaimed.

Mina frowned.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Well, um, it’s about tomorrow. The Red Cat Brigade’s holdin’ a martial arts tournament in town, so come watch!”

“I was planning on it!”

Annabelle looked away, twirling her red ponytail. “You’re always takin’ good care of us and everythin’, so…uh…I’ll bring you lunch. Make sure to eat it,” she mumbled.

She’s being so quiet.

Meanwhile, Mina puffed out her chest proudly. “I’ll also be making you lunch, Mr. Reiji.”

When did this become a cooking competition?

“Mr. Reiji will be quite busy handling Kirio Drugs’ stall,” Mina told Annabelle, grinning. “He may not have time to watch any matches.”

But… “Ejil and Vivi are working tomorrow,” I told Mina. “I’m going to have you and Vivi watch the store while Ejil and Noela help me manage the tournament stall.”

“What?! But I wanted to be there!”

“When it comes to running the drugstore, I trust you most. Pretty please?”

“Fine…” Although she disapproved, Mina nodded.

Meanwhile, Annabelle smiled ear to ear. “Thanks for watchin’ the shop, Mina!”

“Grr…”

Yup. They’re at each other’s throats over everything.

“I-I’ll see you tomorrow, Pharmacist.” Saying goodbye quietly, Annabelle left the drugstore.

“I don’t recommend eating her cooking, Mr. Reiji,” Mina warned me. “You’ll get sick.”

“Thanks for your concern, but don’t worry. I’ll handle it.” Mina was clearly displeased as I headed for the lab.

I got back to work and, after a while, finished the new product.

 

Strength Up: Increases limb strength temporarily, amplifying combat power.

 

Perfect. This should solve Doz’s problem. But wait… If he’s the only one using this stuff, isn’t that just cheating?

If Doz was going to utilize my new treatment, all the competitors had to have some. It was only fair.

 

***

 

Ejil showed up half an hour before work. Despite being a fearsome demon king, the kid always made sure to get to the drugstore twenty or thirty minutes early, no matter what. I explained today’s plan, and the two of us picked out products to sell at the tournament stall.

“Sorry to make you help when your shift hasn’t started yet.”

“No problem at all. You, me, and Noela…a great group to work at the tournament, if I do say so myself!”

Yeah, right. You know you only care that Noela’s coming along. I kept working with a smirk.

Noela took her time eating breakfast. When that disobedient fluffball finally arrived at the store, Ejil and I were holding the lunches Mina made us; we’d already finished preparations for the stall.

“Good luck out there!” Mina waved.

We waved back and left the drugstore.

 

***

 

The town’s biggest plaza served as the tournament venue. In its center was a classroom-sized ring surrounded by fencing.

I brought ten of the drugstore’s bestselling products. We set up our tent in a corner and began arranging the merchandise as if we were in a marketplace.

Paula noticed us and trotted over. “Howdy, Rei Rei! What’s the deal?”

“This’ll be a big tournament, right? I figured I might as well capitalize on that free publicity.”

“Oho! Well, aren’t you the businessman?”

“Your tool shop isn’t doing anything like this?”

“Nah. Too much hassle.”

What a shame. If she’d set out some swords or mantles, I imagined they’d definitely sell. Paula is forever Paula.

“Noela, were I to defeat all the humans in this tournament, would you fall in love with me?” Ejil inquired.

“No.” Noela was brutal as always.

Ejil turned to me. “Lately, Doctor, I’ve come to enjoy Noela’s put-downs.”

“Then you’re already a lost cause, Ejil,” I retorted. Still, he’s ever the optimist. “Anyway, this tournament is for the Red Cat Brigade to show off how hard they trained. Outsiders can’t take part.”

“Oh. That’s unfortunate.” Ejil gazed at the crowd gathering as he prepared change for customers.

The best thing about Ejil was that he often paid attention to things I missed. He was always ready when something happened. I’d expect nothing less of the demon king. Honestly, though, he’d be a better aide or advisor.

As townsfolk gathered in the plaza, more stalls popped up.

“M-Master! Master! Candy apples! Candy apples!” Noela, extremely agitated, pulled at me with absurd strength.

“Whoa! Hold your horses.”

“Leave stall to Ejil! No problem!”

“My word, Noela!” the demon king exclaimed. “I didn’t realize you trusted me so much!”

“Trusted”? Nah. She just suggested you because she knows you’re good at your job.

Noela and I made our way to the candy apple stand.

“Oh!” exclaimed the vendor. “Well, if it ain’t the pharmacist and Li’l Wolf!”

The little wolf known as Noela raised two fingers. “Two!”

“You got it!”

But I didn’t ask for one. Oh, well. Those things were tasty, but they filled you up real quick.

I paid the vendor, and he passed our candy apples to Noela. She licked away the “candy” part with absurd speed. Once she finished chowing down on the fruit, she started eating the second candy apple.

“You’re having both of them?”

“Groo?” Noela tilted her head, then sniffed the air and pointed in another direction. “Master! Meat!”

“I get it, I get it.” I passed her a thousand-rin bill. “There’s your allowance. Go have fun.”

“Uh-huh!” Noela’s eyes sparkled. She disappeared into the waves of people.

Meanwhile, back at Kirio Drugs’ stall, Ejil seemed to be handling customers in his own unique way. “Bwa ha ha ha! Listen well, pitiful humans! These treatments—”

A passerby interrupted. “Oh, Kirio Drugs is here today? You guys are sellin’ stuff?”

“C-correct! Bask in the good doctor’s kindness!”

Why’s he acting all high and mighty? Fortunately, our customers knew Ejil could be like that; I didn’t think it would cause issues at the stall. I decided to go pass out strength up to the mercenaries while I had the chance.

“M-Medicine God!” Doz dragged himself over. “Y-you made the treatment I asked for?”

“Yup.” I smirked.

Doz smirked back. “I knew you’d come through!”

“You flatter me.”

I handed Doz a single bottle of strength up, and he downed it. He clenched his fist, and his arm and shoulder muscles bulged in a way they definitely hadn’t yesterday.

“Wh-whoa! This is somethin’ else!”

“Wow! Looks like it’s working.”

“Check me out, Medicine God! I’m today’s star!” Doz exclaimed. “Now I should be able to fight without embarrassin’ myself in front of the others. I can show off to the boss too!”

“Go knock them dead…but not literally.” I smiled contentedly, gazing into the distance. Hope things go well for him. Now, then…

I eventually handed out strength up to all the Red Cat Brigade members I recognized. The mercenaries would serve as my guinea pigs. They quickly agreed to try the new product after I explained that it’d temporarily increase their combat abilities, so I told them to drink the mixture before heading to their matches.

This was an elimination tournament; each mercenary had to fight their way to the finals. The first matches were booked randomly. Once those finished, the winning participants’ names would be written into the next slots.

Is Annabelle not participating?

At least, that’s what I wondered until I looked at the final match bracket. The winner of the entire tournament earned the right to challenge Annabelle.

They’re treating her like the defending champion, huh?

Finally, I found the redheaded warrior herself. “Hey, Annabelle.”

“H-hey, Pharmacist! You’re watchin’, huh?”

“Mm-hmm. Oh—here’s a new drugstore prototype. Try it, if you want.” I explained the strength up’s effects to Annabelle. She raised an eyebrow, examining the bottle suspiciously. “I gave everyone some,” I added. “So…”

“Hrm.” She stuffed the bottle into her pocket. “Thanks. I’ll try it.”

Soon, the tournament’s first round began, and the townsfolk surrounding the fenced ring cheered, giving the plaza a lively atmosphere.

“So, um, I made you lunch,” Annabelle told me. “Want it?”

“You said something about that yesterday! Yeah, absolutely.”

“G-good.”

I told her where Kirio Drugs’ stall was, and she ran off. I still had the lunch Mina packed too—but with Noela the black hole around, nothing would go uneaten.

“Yaaargh!”

I heard a loud, throaty battle cry from the ring. Ah, Doz is in the middle of his match. The Red Cat Brigade’s vice captain swung his log-like staff overhead, intimidating the hell out of his opponent. Dude’s like a pro wrestler.

Doz grinned at his enemy as if asking, “What now?” However, his opponent refused to back down. He let out his own battle cry, swinging two heavy-looking metal staves with both hands.

Doz’s eyes widened at the unexpected response. “Wh-what’s with your strength?! This ain’t fair!”

“I got me a prototype treatment from the Medicine God, ya see!” his opponent replied. “Sorry, Vice Cap, but I’m winnin’ the right to get my ass handed to me by the boss!”

So, he assumes he’ll get whooped?

“W-wait!” Doz protested. “That treatment was just for me!”

No, it wasn’t, Doz. You requested that I create a product to make you stronger, not to make sure you win. Semantics, maybe, but I felt I was well within my rights.

“D-doesn’t matter!” Doz yelped. “I can’t afford to lose! The boss’s gonna kick my ass!”

Yup. They all assume Annabelle will beat them.

“Graaaaaugh!”

The powerful battle between the two warriors started in earnest. Eventually, Doz emerged as the winner, although he was black and blue. After the match, I gave both men free potions. “Here you go, guys. From Kirio Drugs.”

“Whoa! A potion from Kirio Drugs is enough to heal your wounds instantly!”

“Uh-huh! They’re tasty too!”

“What a refreshin’ flavor!”

“I ain’t never drinkin’ a regular potion again!”

“I can’t believe they’re so cheap either!”

“What? They’re a thousand rin cheaper than normal, for today only?”

“We’d be idiots not to head to the stall and buy a bunch!”

Sheesh. This match was sponsored by Kirio Drugs.

The festivalgoers were amped up in every respect, and those who wanted to try Kirio Drugs’ potions followed Ejil’s loud cackling to the stall.

Later, Ejil found me and informed me of a problem. “We’re about to sell out of potions, Doctor.”

“I figured.” I was hoping to give the tournament attendees a sense of what products the drugstore sold, so I focused on bringing a variety of stuff. The trade-off was that I hadn’t brought much stock of any product in particular.

“Noela?”

A shadow wove through the crowd, approaching me. “Call Noela, Master?”

The werewolf girl had fried squid in one hand and a meat kebab in the other. She chewed loudly, some kind of sauce all over her mouth.

“I did indeed.” I see you’re having a good time. “We’re running out of potions. I need you to zip back to the drugstore and bring over two hundred more bottles, as quick as you can.”

“Uh-huh. Leave to me.” Finishing her squid and kebab, she transformed into her wolf form and sped out of the plaza.

She probably won’t take longer than twenty minutes. I say it a lot, but she really is useful.

Meanwhile, Ejil was explaining the remaining potions’ significance to our customers. “I offered the good doctor half the world in exchange for potions like these, yet he refused me!”

Oh, right. That did happen.

“Do you humans understand what that means?! Do you understand the potions’ preciousness?!”

“We’re selling them because we want people to see how precious or whatever they are, idiot!” I snapped. “Enough with the speeches. More with the selling, please.”

“Oh, right. My apologies,” Ejil mumbled.

Meanwhile, the scheduled matches continued in the ring. Judging by his bracket, Doz only needed to win one more match to reach the tournament’s top spot. The guy was breezing through the competition with his giant log of a staff, so I was sure he’d have no trouble winning.

The wave of customers at Kirio Drugs’ stall thinned out around noon, and I decided to eat Mina’s packed lunches with Ejil.

“That foul woman seeks to steal your heart through your stomach,” Ejil muttered. “How conniving.”

“Seriously, who do you think I am?” I said.

“Still, you know what?” Ejil continued. “This is delicious. I’d love for that woman to handle meal planning at my castle.”

“I have a hunch that all kinds of weird dishes are served there, huh?”

“Correct,” Ejil said with a sad—almost despairing—smile.

“Ahem!” Annabelle cleared her throat in front of the stall. She held a basket in one hand.

“You brought me lunch, right?” I greeted her. “Let’s have some.”

“Right,” Annabelle murmured. “But, um, no need to force it down if you’re full already.”

“Nah, I’m not all that stuffed. I left some of the lunch I brought for Noela.”

“O-oh…okay,” Annabelle replied even more quietly.

Ejil was staring at the Red Cat Brigade’s captain since she arrived at the stall. Now he pointed at her. “T-temptress! Are you in love with the good doctor?!”

Stunned, Annabelle grimaced and narrowed her eyes at Ejil.

“Something’s fishy,” Ejil continued. “You went out of your way to cook the doctor a meal, and now you’re here bringing it to him.” My fist came down on Ejil’s head. “Yeooow!”

“Shut up, would you?” I snapped. “Sorry about this idiot, Annabelle. He tends to ramble about nonsense.”

“No…it’s all good.” Annabelle’s quiet voice was slightly panicked. She looked down, her face beet red. “This way.”

The redheaded captain led me toward a bench just outside the main plaza. Unfortunately, another couple had taken over the spot.

“Argh! This was the best place.” Annabelle sighed. She circled around to other spots, but—this being a one-horse town with few events—they were all occupied. Although she hadn’t yet fought an opponent, Annabelle looked like a defeated warrior. “There’s nowhere to sit and eat.”

A few Red Cat Brigade members who were already knocked out of the tournament came over to check on their captain.

“Is the boss all right?”

“No way.”

“Hell, no! I bet her heart’s racin’ a mile a minute!”

You guys are noisy as heck.

Taking a quick look around, I spotted an open spot beneath a tree, and Annabelle and I headed over there. I spread my handkerchief on the ground for her. “Come sit down.”

“Huh? But…”

“I’ll be fine. A few pats and my pants will be clean.”

“Th-thanks.” Annabelle sat on my handkerchief shyly. I plopped down next to her.

The peanut gallery chattered away.

“This is really something. Look at her expression!”

“She’s got it so bad.”

“Wicked bad.”

“The boss’s pining away!”

Annabelle didn’t hear any of the comments. Still, the fact that her men were so worried spoke volumes about their respect for her as captain.

For lunch, she made a bunch of sandwiches; I ate a few of them.

“I-I’m sorry,” Annabelle mumbled. “I know I’m not a good cook, like that woman you live with.”

She must be talking about Mina. “Hey, these sandwiches are seriously awesome.”

“R-really? Thank goodness.” Annabelle kept looking away. She scratched her cheek. “I actually tried to make way more, but I’m so bad at cooking that less than half came out all right.”

“You know, since you’re captain of a mercenary brigade, I always thought you’d be way scarier,” I told her.

“W-well, sorry for being unfriendly.”

“But you can be pretty cute sometimes, huh?”

Annabelle turned bright red once again.

“Is the Medicine God trying to kill her?!”

“Is that what they call flirting?”

“I’d be all right with leaving her with him.”

The peanut gallery was as chattery as ever.

On the other hand, Annabelle was now dead silent.

“Er…did I say something wrong?”

“Boss!” Having won the whole tournament, Doz was bellowing into the air. “I did iiit!” The strength up’s effects were still active, so he’d face Annabelle in his powered-up state.

“Big bro Doz totally ruined everything,” a peanut-gallery mercenary muttered.

“That’s why he ain’t never gettin’ a girlfriend.”

“I’m jealous. He gets a special sparrin’ match with the boss.”

Pat! Pat! Annabelle slapped both her cheeks. “Thanks a bunch, Pharmacist. I’ll go deal with that lug.”

“Good luck!”

“Who do you think you’re talkin’ to? I don’t need no luck.” Annabelle smiled ironically and headed for the ring.

Noela wobbled over and grabbed my legs, exhausted. “Tired, Master.” Having delivered the potions to Kirio Drugs’ stall, she was finally catching her breath.

“Nice work, buddy. Want to go watch Annabelle’s match?”

“Watch!” The crowd thickened, and since she was short, Noela couldn’t see much. I sat her on my shoulders. “Arrooo! Can watch, Master!”

“That’s the point.”

I understood that Noela had nothing to hold on to, but it was kind of a problem when she covered my eyes. I can’t see anything! Then she moved her hands, hugging my head and actually letting me watch the match.

In the ring, Annabelle and Doz stared each other down. In Annabelle’s hand was a wooden sword; in Doz’s, a huge log.

“Doz.”

“Boss!” Doz bellowed.

Wait. Annabelle, did you…

The opponents took combat stances, and the crowd cheered loudly.

“B-booooss!”

Doz swung the giant log toward Annabelle, and she nimbly dodged. The vice captain repeated the move three times in a row before Annabelle unleashed a dizzying slash attack with unbelievable speed.

“How many times did she strike just now?” I asked Noela. “Three?”

“Master wrong. Seven.”

For real? Annabelle’s tough as nails.

“Hey, Doz!” Annabelle taunted. “You got the pharmacist to make that weird treatment, and this is the best you’ve got?”

“H-how do you know about—”

“Men are idiots who think muscles make you strong!”

Er…is that wrong? Don’t muscles equal justice?

Doz’s log kept missing its target, and Annabelle let another devastating attack rip. “However much you juice yourself up, it don’t mean jack if you can’t hit your enemy!”

“Ergh! Thanks…for…the punishment.” Doz collapsed to the ground alongside his giant weapon.

“I knew it.” I let Noela climb off my shoulders. “Annabelle didn’t use the strength up.”

“Groo?”

“I gave her a bottle, but—”

In the middle of my explanation, the woman of the hour came over. “Sorry for all the trouble my vice captain caused you, Pharmacist.”

“It was nothing at all. I wanted to experiment a little anyway.” And thanks to Doz’s good word of mouth after his first match, Kirio Drugs’ stall did tons of business. “You didn’t use it, did you?”

“Ah, it’s not that I don’t trust your products or anythin’,” Annabelle assured me. “I figured I could beat Doz without it, though.”

That just proves her confidence in her abilities, I mused.

“But if somethin’ real bad ever attacks the town, I know your products will protect us all,” Annabelle added.

“You know, this was my first time seeing you fight,” I told her. “You were awesome out there.”

“Right?” Annabelle smirked. “That’s the point of this little tournament—for the townsfolk to see what the brigade can do, and that we ain’t just sittin’ around eating their food for nothin’. It’s our way of winnin’ their trust.”

Hearing her men calling her, Annabelle headed off.

“Red super cool,” Noela declared.

“Agreed.”

Of course, thanks to the martial arts tournament, Noela got hooked on swordplay. She swung her favorite stick around like a blade for the next few days.