Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm

*1*

“Well then, I’ll be seeing you, Katherine.”

Blushing, Katherine Foxxi watched as the girl with glasses and lavender braids—Nadine Amaryllis—walked away. Nadine was so calm and quiet now—nothing like the bloodthirsty monster she’d encountered in the arena.

All those years since adventuring school, and she still carried the same gracefulness of a wallflower.

“Rrrrrgh! Who IS she?! Nobody told me she could do that stuff!” Katherine growled under her breath.

She had peed herself in front of a giant crowd.

After the match, the medical tent had offered her a bath towel; she took it and bolted straight to the women’s restroom, where she had hastily washed her bikini bottoms in the sink and put them back on dripping wet. Fortunately it wasn’t too noticeable.

On her way to the restroom, she’d passed a handful of male adventurers in the hall... but none of them even looked at her. Worse still, she’d been flirting indiscriminately prior to the match in the hopes of reeling in some husband material, so a lot of those men were people she knew.

She’d put so much care and effort into her clothes and hair... flirted and fawned... and for what? I make ONE mistake and now they all want to act like I don’t exist?

Thinking back, whenever she’d gotten wasted in the bars, men would hit on her, but they wouldn’t look out for her. And after all the compliments she’d given Ryan, where was he now? Certainly not here to help her.

But right as her self-esteem hit rock bottom and she felt the tears welling up, there came a knock at the door.

“Are you alright in there?”

Katherine opened the stall door a crack. Standing there was none other than Nadine Amaryllis, her sparring opponent. But apparently she wasn’t here to point and laugh; no, she was holding a change of clothes.

Wordlessly, Nadine put the spare clothes in her arms. Then she cast Heal on the tiny scratch on Katherine’s cheek.

“Our party leader has a message for you, Miss Katherine Foxxi. She says your Fireball fusion spell was phenomenal, and you’re clearly talented and creative. Also, would you like to grab a drink sometime? ...Er, that last part isn’t part of the message. I’ve just always wanted to talk to you, that’s all.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Back in adventuring school, I remember you would always stay behind after class to practice your spells. I think perhaps you and I have different ideas of cleverness, per se, but... I’d like to talk to you regardless.” After a pause, she finished, “Well then, see you around, Katherine.”

And with that, she quietly walked away. Instead of mocking Katherine for being all bark and no bite, she... complimented her technique.

Blushing furiously, she grumbled to herself, her fox ears drooping pitifully. And if someone with particularly good hearing was in the vicinity, they might have heard the following:

“Hmph... Her Heal spell didn’t even work! What a joke!”

Followed by:

“Rrgh... Don’t be so nice to me... You’re going to win me over, damn it...”

Followed by:

“...Maybe I should be more like them... Stop caring about men and marriage and just... focus on myself for a change.”

*2*

On the bench, they could feel the crowd’s building excitement as the second round of the championship match drew ever nearer.

“I’m baaaack!” Nadine called. “The second round hasn’t started yet, I take it?”

“Nope, not yet. How’s Katherine holding up?” asked Tanya. Apparently she’d made a mess of herself right at the end of the doubles match, and as it happened, it was Tanya’s idea to go and deliver a change of clothes to her.

“I think she’ll be fine, but I didn’t want to stand there and have an entire conversation with her in the bathroom, so I cut it short.”

“Tell me, how did she like those custom-made clothes from the Great Sorceress herself?”

“Well, she took them without complaint, so I suppose she must’ve liked them well enough.”

“Heh heh heh! Of course she did! Because I have great taste!”

Indeed, it was Laplace who took Tanya’s spare blouse and transformed it into a frilly robe. Frankly, her magic was a total mystery, even to a fellow caster like Tanya. She didn’t understand how Laplace managed to add all those little details, like lace and needlework, but apparently it was something akin to a hobby for her. What are you, a grandma?

“Oh, say, Laplace—er, Stone Cold Stunner?”

“My beauty is at your service! What do you need?”

“Well, the second round is starting soon, and I was wondering...”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you want to forfeit?” Tanya asked, frowning.

But Laplace simply laughed. “Well, I have to, don’t I? Otherwise you won’t get your big chance to pummel Ryan into the pavement!”

“I mean, that’s true, but... the crowd’s going to get mad at you, you know...”

After all, the Sparring Tournament was Ode’s most famous spectacle.

“Ce n’est pas grave. I don’t mind if they boo me. It’s nothing compared to 300 years of solitude!”

In the background, they could hear the fanfare heralding the start of round two.

“C’mon, you don’t have to punish yourself like this!”

Laplace laughed. “It’s fine. I’m used to everyone making me the bad guy.”

“Laplace...”

“I’m the Wicked Dragonwhore, remember?”

And with that, she walked—er, floated—off towards the arena.

“I forfeiiiit!”

Sure enough, Laplace’s singsong voice was met with the indignant screams of those who had been eagerly looking forward to a final clash between ultimate adventurer Goliath the Master Mercenary and Stone Cold Stunner, the mysterious Mage. Examples:

“This is bullshit!”

“Don’t be a coward!”

“I demand a refund!”

...among other comments best not repeated here. The poor referee looked utterly perplexed, too.

“Good grief... some things never change,” Laplace muttered to herself.

Amid heavy booing (and Goliath complaining about how badly he’d wanted to spar with her), she turned and walked back to the bench. Mon dieu, these people are so bloodthirsty.

Behind her, the referee announced Goliath’s automatic victory, and the jeering grew even louder... but she didn’t mind. This way the tournament would progress to round three, the leader match. And there, Tanya would carry out her revenge.

“Laplace!”

“Hi, Tanya.”

The other woman’s expression was grim. Evidently the crowd’s reaction was just as bad as she’d anticipated—no, perhaps worse—and now she was worried for Laplace’s emotional well-being.

“Come now. Why the long face?”

“Well...!”

As she fell silent, Laplace reached out and cupped her cheeks in both hands. Her palms felt cool against Tanya’s skin. Then she pulled Tanya close—

“Whoa!” she squeaked quietly as her face flushed red. She’s in my bubble again!

“This is no time to be frowning! The thrilling climax to your tale of revenge is nearly upon us!” the kindhearted Sorceress exclaimed with a smile. “Let’s see that evil sneer!”

“What evil sneer?!”

“You know the one! You do it all the time!”

“No I don’t!”

Beside them, Nadine giggled. And in the distance, they heard the fanfare heralding the start of the final round.

*3*

Meanwhile, on the opponent’s bench:

“I’M QUITTING!!!” Ryan screamed at the top of his lungs.

“You’re just going to have to suck it up and get out there, Leader.”

“NOOOO!!! Nobody told me I was gonna have to fight!!!”

“Those are the rules.”

“Damn you, Goliath! Some ‘Master Mercenary’ you turned out to be! You’re just a vagrant, a bum! I want my money back!” Ryan shouted as Goliath returned to the bench.

But Goliath simply kept walking without so much as acknowledging the glare on Ryan’s face.

“HEY! I paid a fortune for this, remember?!”

At this, Goliath exhaled. Then he turned and tossed something to Ryan’s feet—a leather satchel with silver coins inside. This was the payment Ryan had originally given Goliath.

“Wh... You bastard!”

“I’m done here, pallll. I came here excited to crush some weaklings, but right when I finally get a singles match, the lady foooorfeits? I’m so pent up, I’m gonna diiiie,” he explained in a singsong voice. But in the next moment, all cheer and jest evaporated from his tone. “Then again... I did get an unexpected boon, I suppose. I ought to thank you... now I have something worthwhile to report to Lord Maxwell.”

“Huh? What unexpected boon? I’m totally screwed because of you!”

But the mysterious adventurer simply ignored him and walked off. “See ya.”

“Rrgh... Goddamn it...!” Ryan growled through gritted teeth. The plan was to let a mercenary do all the work so they could take home the trophy without him having to risk his own skin. This all worked out perfectly fine last year! What makes this year so different, damn it?!

“Man... Our team’s nothing without Tanya,” one of the senior party members lamented.

“Th-That’s not true! We don’t need her!”

“But without her, the work’s starting to pile up, and now we’re in the red for this month...”

“Urk...!”

“It’s not just the accounting, either. We’re behind on our Guild paperwork, too. Tanya always used to do it months in advance.”

“It’d end up riddled with corrections, of course, but still... looking back, she really did a lot for us.”

The other party members all nodded in agreement.

“How come we had to fire her, anyway...?” someone whispered.

“And now we have to fight her?” whined someone else.

Damn it, why are you all taking HER side?! I’m a nice guy! I was just trying to make sure she wouldn’t end up an old maid! Besides, you all totally agreed we should do it... and now look at her! She’s totally gonna kick my ass!

Ryan thought back to the murderous aura he’d sensed that night at the Little Vixen... and shuddered.

“...Alright. There’s only one thing to do,” Ryan muttered. He straightened up to his full height, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief before he announced: “I’M GONNA FORFEIT, TOO!!!”

“Don’t be stupid, Leader!”

“Yeah! You heard the crowd out there! If you forfeit, they’ll never hire us for another gig as long as we live!”

“Just go out there and let Tanya whoop your ass so we can get second place, okay?!”

“Shut up! I’m not fighting!” Ryan shouted. But before he could leave the arena—

“Aww, what’s the matter, Ryan?”

“Huh?! Oh! Katherine!”

Indeed, there stood Katherine, wearing her new change of clothes and blocking his exit. While this new style was decidedly more modest, the frills and elaborate needlework on the sleeves suited her personality nicely. Relieved, Ryan hurried over to her.

“I... I was so worried about you!”

“Says the guy who didn’t even bother to check up on me.”

“Huh?”

“You know how to say all the right things, but when I need you the most, you’re never there. You’re an asshole.”

“Wh... Excuse me? You can’t talk to me like that! Thanks to your epic screw up, I’m totally fucked!”

“I beg your pardon? You’ve been skipping out for far too long. It’s time for you to pay your dues, you coward! And besides...” She smiled faintly. “Just listen to that crowd!”

“Huh?”

He shifted his focus to the sound in the distance. At some point the audience had stopped booing at Laplace, and now...

“You can do it, Lilium!”

“Go get him, Tanya!”

“Kick his ass!”

“Is Stone Cold Stunner feeling okay?!”

“You’re a badass, Nadine!”

...nearly the entire arena was cheering in support of Tanya and her friends—mostly female voices, but with some male voices mixed in as well.

“You don’t need me to tell you what’ll happen if you forfeit now, right? So suck it up and get out there, Ryan.”

“Eeek!”

The other party members glared daggers at him as they slowly boxed him in.

“Aah... wh... AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!”

Ryan’s scream echoed across the stadium. And with the fanfare heralding the start of the third and final round, the crowd’s cheers grew to a deafening roar...