Due to her limited movement, Renee had a hard time dealing with attacks after attacks from the kunoichi. The blonde woman could only block a few times,pletely unable to dodge. And when attacking, Yua only needed to take a few steps back.
“Damn it!” Getting shed for the umpteenth time, Renee stuck her battle hammer into the wall behind her. There was a small explosion, and she was able to escape. However, arge chunk of the wall stuck to her back, slowing her movement.
Even so, she still managed to let out cold white steam from her palm. Yua was limping because her knees were frozen, and Renee was able to hit her with a hammer repeatedly.
Yua ended up jumping as far as she could, albeit with a sore and stiff right knee. Renee didn’t chase her opponent but instead hit the ground with her hammer.
“Watch out!” Raymund gave a warning.
It’s toote. Yua didn’t notice the ground behind her shot out a solid chunk of earth. As soon as her back was hit by that chunk, the kunoichi fell forward, not moving at all.
The referee examined the woman and began to count. “One!”
The spectators shouted at each count called by the referee. Renee frowned because Yua was still motionless at the count of four.<sub>.</sub>
“Hey.” Renee approached the kunoichi. “You couldn’t have fainted with just an attack like that, right? What is ….”
Before Renee could finish her words, Yua got up in the blink of an eye, followed by an explosion in front of Renee’s face.
The kunoichi did that without using her frozen right leg.
“What is this!?” The blonde-haired woman looked disdainfully at the shiny transparent slime all over her body. Something she hated so much.
The kunoichi made a sh, forcing Renee to back off. However, some slime that fell down made her slip and fall on her back.
Yua didn’t waste that opportunity. She held her opponent’s hands to the ground, then something came out of her own palms: a purple object that had the consistency of chewing gum. It wrapped both of Renee’s hands and stuck to the ground, making her unable to free herself.
“Hey, referee!” Renee protested to Igor. “She cheated by bringing things like this!”<sub></sub>
“What kind of things? I only saw her doing her moves or magic!” Igor replied, not getting any closer to the two women.
“What!?” Renee is getting more and more furious. “Didn’t you see…”
The blow from the tip of Yua’s sword hilt cut off Renee’s words. The kunoichi continued to beat her opponent’s forehead with the bottom of her sword. It made the audience boo hard.
“You cheater!!!” Renee cursed and spat in her opponent’s face.
Yua stopped her attack, shing a faint smile. “Sorry, but this really isn’t something personal. The match has started since we were at the banquet yesterday, the day after tomorrow. And now I’ve won it.”
The kunoichi mmed her sword hilt at Renee again. This time, the blonde-haired woman’s forehead was dripping with fresh blood.
Igor made a signal, and the bell sound filled the arena. “The match is over!”<sub></sub>
The curses from the audience grew louder. Especially when Igor raised Yua’s hand, those people threw various things into the arena.
“The winner is, Yua Nakagami!!!” The host made an announcement. “Ladies and gentlemen, please don’t throw anything in the arena, or we won’t move on to the next match!”
Igor rushed to escort Yua out of the arena. At the same time, several officials came to Renee, and some tried to calm the audience. While running towards the gate, Yua nced at the tournament trophy on disy, some distance away. The trophy was different from the usual. Instead of being shaped like a cup, it looked like a sizeable transparent te with intricate carvings.
“It would be a lot of fun to hold it,” Raymundmented.
“They may not like that short, anticlimactic battle, but I think things are getting better, Yua Nakagami,” Igor whispered after passing through the arena gate. “A viin will make this tournament even more interesting. They will despise you and want to cheer the hero more.”
“Yeah, I’ve always been told to be a good person in front of people.” Yua threw a crooked smile. “Being naughty a bit like this is something refreshing. Well, I wouldn’t take it seriously, anyway. I’m actually a decent person.”
“Really?” Igor chuckled.
“Ah, if I’m not mistaken, you mentioned this to me, Yua. When you were a race driver, you were always required to maintain your image?” Raymund’s question was only answered with a broader smile by the kunoichi.
***
A few minutes after the match, I got a call from Renee, and I chose to leave a message for her. “I’ll call you again after Elise’s match, Renee.”
However, the woman still tried to contact me. I was forced to cut off my line ofmunication with her.
“So, let’s say one of your servants wins this tournament.” Anja chirps next to me. “What are you going to do with the prize?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll use it to pay some of my debt to you.”
“Even though the money was earned by your servants?” Anja continued her question.
I turned my gaze to the brown-skinned woman. “Well…. This is the same as usual, right? My servants did their job, then….”
“I know you always get money after a mission ispleted.” She narrowed her eyes. “After this mission ispleted, you will also get money, in addition to the prize from that tournament, right?”
“It…”
“Have you ever given them wages from your ie?” Anja’s tone grew sharper, though she smiled. “Even someone like also gets a sry, though my job is only to offer and deliver goods.”
Shit, she had a point. This is basic if there are people working under you. A sufficient sry will make their morale rise.
Maybe Elise and Yua have a desire to use the money for something.
“But, that means I will need more time to pay my debt to you.” I sighed.
“It doesn’t matter to me.” Anja’s smile became more cheerful. “I also care about Elise and Yua. I want them to be happy.”
“I won’t touch their prize money if they win this tournament.” I looked at the pond again. Elise was walking down the hall, heading towards the arena.