Chapter 127 · The Colosseum (1)

Leo was wearing a splendid ceremonial uniform with gold epaulettes and a red cloak. The prince’s aura poured out of him as he sat upright on the black horse. He seemed to have grown much taller than before they parted.

「The prince is truly handsome.」

「He’s young, but his features are striking. He’s clearly visible even from this far away!」

Exclamations of admiration poured out from the surroundings.

‘B-but Leo is still a baby!’

He may have grown taller, but having just turned thirteen, he was still a child compared to the large knights around him. Yet the pressure he radiated was not the least bit inferior. His cold face made it even more so.

I peeked out from behind Cyrus and Emet and stole glances at him.

‘If he came to talk about being friendly with other countries, he should smile a little. Why is his face so stiff?’

He looked somewhat arrogant, too. That was why the Santran nobles had found him ten times more irritating.

The good-natured Eldinan people evaluated him positively.

「He’s truly mature. His composed demeanor is excellent.」

「If only our princess weren’t a newborn, he would have been the number one bridegroom candidate.」

‘So Eldina’s princess is still a newborn. Phew…’

Huh? No, why did I just feel relieved? What does it matter to me whether Eldina’s princess is a baby or not!

Before I knew it, the procession had reached right in front of where I was. My heart pounded harder and harder as Leo drew closer.

Leo’s refined face had grown a little thinner than before they parted. I should have been happy to see him after so long, but I couldn’t understand why I was so tense that my stomach twisted.

People threw flowers along the path he passed.

「Prince!」

「Look this way, please!」

Despite the clamor around him, he looked only ahead and rode his horse upright. A performance of looking around and smiling at people didn’t suit him, but…

Leo passed by me without a glance, as if it were embarrassing that I had frozen stiff. Even though we were this close, the distance between him and me felt as vast as if a great continent lay between us.

As the tension drained away, emptiness rushed in. Somehow I felt a little hurt, too.

‘I must be crazy. Hurt? What do I have to be hurt about?’

I had been worried about running into him! It was absurd, but the echo in my heart would not stop.

‘…We really are in the same place, miraculously.’

If not today, when would I ever see him again? Even if I returned to Santra, unless there was exchange with Kalisa, we would never meet again. And considering the hostility between the two countries, the odds of that were about the same as being struck by lightning.

‘Isn’t it the same now? Unless I run over and grab the tail of the horse Leo is riding right this instant, the chance of meeting him is zero. Of course, if I did something that insane, it would be the end.’

I took a deep breath to calm my confused mind.

“Princess, why didn’t you tell me? The prince is insanely handsome.”

Emet muttered, looking at the empty spot where the procession had passed.

“I-I did tell you!”

Had Emet completely forgotten our conversation from just a few days ago?

“I almost fell for a little kid. He’s still a boy, but his charisma is just whoa.”

“You kept saying ‘how dare you’ to the Batian guild leader, but you’re the most daring of all. Stop evaluating foreign princes and let’s get to work.”

Cyrus dragged Emet, who was standing as if nailed to the ground.

We left the crowded plaza and headed to the outskirts of the royal castle. The agency Cyrus had found was located in a somewhat gloomy place. And next to it was a huge circular building whose purpose I didn’t know. It seemed there were as many people inside as in the plaza. The roaring cheers from within vibrated all the way outside.

When I looked at it curiously, Cyrus explained.

“It’s a colosseum.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a place where gladiators fight one-on-one. They charge admission, and if there’s a good fighter, they hire them as mercenaries right there, like an auction.”

Ugh, it’s brutal, but at least I can objectively evaluate their skills. Since I hadn’t gone through a place like this, only trashy mercenaries had come.

“I need to hire at least three today.”

“Three? That will cost a lot.”

“Still, I’m the island owner, so I have to take proper responsibility for the residents.”

Cyrus looked at me with slightly moved eyes.

“Come to think of it, the princess really… has the makings of a wise ruler.”

“What?”

What kind of sudden nonsense was that? He complained every day that I was wicked or whatever. By Cyrus’s logic, I’d be a tyrant of the ages.

“Normally, island owners don’t care whether the residents die to monsters or not.”

“Even though they collect taxes?”

“Everyone just turns a blind eye. They hire mercenaries only for show and leave them unchecked. The place Emet and I used to live didn’t even pretend that much.”

“That’s right. Every day was truly terrifying. When we were chased by debt collectors, we sent one person as bait…”

“Ah, that was really close. It was a monster that looked like a shark, right?”

Why were they saying such horrifying things so casually!

“That’s why the people of Eldina try to save money somehow and move to places ruled by more sane island owners.”

Well, I suppose life is hard everywhere if you don’t have money and power.

My sense of responsibility burned even hotter. I didn’t want to be on the same level as those trashy island owners! If I’d known there was this much work, I might have thought I shouldn’t have become an island owner at all, but since I’ll be ruling a big country called Santra in the future, let’s consider this good practice.

「Oh my, welcome, customers.」

When we entered the building, a fat, ill-tempered-looking agency owner greeted us. After bowing and scraping, he looked us up and down, then plopped down with an indifferent face.

「The mercenaries we broker are all a bit pricey. They start at fifty thousand pesso, so don’t waste your time.」

He seemed to treat us as insignificant because we didn’t look particularly wealthy. I was just a child, and Cyrus and Emet had only recently become adults. They also had firm tastes of their own and didn’t care much about dressing up.

Emet, apparently offended, frowned and shouted.

「We have a ton of money, you know?!」

「Everyone says that when they come in. First, buy your admission tickets.」

The admission tickets were one hundred pesso per person. I tossed a ten-thousand-pesso gold coin in front of him and smiled softly.

「Keep the change.」

The owner started, picked up the gold coin, and looked us over again. Then he spoke in a honeyed voice completely different from before.

「Oh my, it seems we have distinguished guests. But the matches are a bit violent for a young lady like you to watch.」

「I don’t mind, so give us front-row seats.」

「Hey, you there! Escort these people!」

A young attendant who had been cleaning in the corner came running. As we followed the attendant toward the colosseum, the owner called after us obsequiously.

「Have a fruitful time!」

Emet grumbled with a contemptuous face.

“Ugh, what an unpleasant human!”

To flip his attitude like that was truly shameless.

“Kyah~ Still, thanks to the princess, that felt great. ‘Keep the change.’ So cool!”

“It’s ‘change,’ Emet.”

“Change? Chunj? Ugh, difficult.”

Just then, a tremendous cheer rose from the colosseum.

Whoaaaa!

“Eek, that startled me!”

It was so loud my eardrums nearly burst. I also heard the thump, thump of drums.

「You customers are truly lucky. The best swordsman in recent times is up next.」

The attendant said with a hint of excitement.

「He’s called the ‘Black Monster,’ and if you see him, you’ll surely want him.」

We sat in the front row with a good view of the arena.

“Princess, are you really sure about this? It’s going to be really brutal.”

Emet asked worriedly. She didn’t know I had watched the Ars Confelo every year, so it made sense.

‘Well, what could be so different?’

I thought it was no big deal, but this circular arena was very different in atmosphere from the training grounds where the Ars Confelo was held. The audience’s heat was ten times greater, and rough curses and cheers filled the air. The green grass was sticky with dark red blood everywhere. I felt drained before the match even began.

Bwooo!

With the sound of a horn, the iron gates with iron bars at both ends of the arena clanged open. The fighters, whose turns had come, entered from both sides. The cheers grew even louder.

One was a large man with a bushy beard and an inverted-triangle physique. He held a shield in one hand, had a sword at his waist and a mace on his back, and was swinging a long spear around.

His opponent, by contrast, carried only a single sword. He was tall and lean, but he wore a helmet and was completely wrapped in black clothes, making it hard to tell what he looked like. Doesn’t he feel the heat? Eldina has a tropical climate, so most people go around with skin exposed. No one was wrapped up like that.

「That swordsman is very unusual. He never shows his face and never speaks.」

The attendant explained in a hushed voice.

「They suspect he might be a terrible criminal.」

If he might be a criminal, don’t they even check his identity? Even in a country that accepts anyone as long as they pay, that’s going too far!

「He can only be hired for three days or less, and he never goes to an island he’s been to before.」

“Huh? Only three days?!”

If that’s the case, no matter how good he is, hiring him is out of the question. I need someone who will stay for a long time and protect our island.

「Today I’ll send your head flying along with your helmet! Then I’ll get to see your ugly face!」

At the bushy fighter’s shouted taunt, the crowd cheered excitedly.

Whoaaaa!

「Um, is it allowed to kill the opponent?」

When I asked in surprise, the attendant answered eerily.

「Of course. Several die every day.」

I’m not immune to seeing people die yet. Even though I’ve died and come back nine times, I’m not a psycho like those spectators stamping their feet in excitement over there!

“Ugh, I’m going to close my eyes. Princess, please watch for me.”

“Cyrus, you’re such a scaredy-cat.”

Even as she said that, Emet was also quite pale. Then I had no choice but to watch properly!

The black-clad swordsman stood still without much reaction to his opponent’s provocation. But somehow, that sight felt strangely familiar.

‘…What is this sense of déjà vu?’