“Sorry, Mrs. Bet.” Yua tried to put on a smile as friendly as possible. “We’re really just here to help…”


    “The battle will be held tonight, without using any weapons, as well as magically enhanced equipment.” Megan Bet turned around. “You can either participate, or you can leave. But remember, if you do anything that gets in our way, you’ll suffer the consequences.”


    Yua bit her lip, frustrated at not being given a chance to speak. “It’s unfair. They just want to take our equipment.”


    “It’s okay, Yua,” Raymund responded without showing any annoyance. “You and the others better get out of there. You can all carry out the mission independently.”


    “Who’s the opponent?” Elise suddenly spoke while looking at the members of the camp.


    Megan paused, looked at the female warrior again, then pointed at a man with a bald head. “Him.”


    Elise narrowed her eyes at the man with a slender but quite muscr build. He stared back at the female warrior, giving an arrogant smile.


    “Are you sure you can fight him, Elise?” Raymund asked after Megan continued on her way.


    “I’m sure…. It seems…. Maybe? I don’t know….” Elise cleared her throat. “I guess, I’m sure?”


    Instead of being irritated by it, Raymundughed. “I assume you are confident against him. Okay, you will challenge him tonight!”_.


    “But, sir…” Yua grimaced. “It’s not that I underestimated Elise’s abilities, but if she loses….”


    “You girls will run away.” Raymund cut off the kunoichi’s words. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of a strategy.”


    The female warrior tilted her head, still looking at her opponent, who didn’t seem to care about her anymore. “I don’t know…. I think his abilities are still below Oleg or Trish’s.”


    Yua raised an eyebrow. “Who are they again?”


    “My opponents in the tournament, before Olga…. Forget it. There’s no way I could guess a person’s strength just by looking at them.”


    Meanwhile, Kimi didn’t notice what had just happened and instead fell asleep standing up.


    ***


    That night, people gathered around a giant bonfire, surrounding a circle carved with twigs on the ground.


    Elise was sitting on a rock, had stripped off all her armor, and was now wearing only her red leotard. This time she was not too concerned because many other women had worse appearances than her.


    “Hey, you don’t look tense at all.” Yua massaged Elise’s shoulders. The female warrior does look focused and calm.


    “P-please, don’t talk like that.” And everything immediately changed. All of Elise’s joints and facial muscles stiffened. “T-if you talk like that, I’ll be even more nervous.”


    The kunoichi grimaced. “Sorry, but I’m sure you can…. Ah, I’d better be quiet.” She made a zipper mouth gesture.


    Kimi suddenly squatted in front of Elise, clenched one hand in the air. Since the petite elf’s face showed no change in expression, Elise just froze in confusion.


    A small chuckle escaped the kunoichi’s mouth. “Looks like Kimi wants to support you too, Elise.”


    “Ah.” Elise was still confused because the petite woman had not changed her pose. “Thanks.”


    Mona then chimed in with a cheerful bark, and Elise rubbed her head.


    Not long after, Lynn came with a grumpy face. “Sorry, Rupert and I have been trying to talk to Mrs. Bet, but she insists on keeping this stupid fight going.”


    “I think it’s okay.” Yua was still massaging the female warrior’s shoulders. “Look, Elise looks ready.”


    “P-please, don’t say that again.” The female warrior gulped.


    “Ah, sorry. I forgot.”


    Megan walked to the center of the arena and signaled the two fighters to enter. Elise took a breath, got up from the rock, and started walking at a steady pace.


    “You seem very confident, huh?” Raymundmented, and it made Elise flinch. “Ah, just like Yua said, it looks like I should keep my mouth shut too.”


    Like the tournament in the eighth mission, Elise and her opponent stopped in the middle of the arena.


    “My name is Greyson Knight.” The opponent bends down while cing his left palm on his chest while his right hand is on his back. “Who will I spend the night with?”


    Elise was taken back by a gentleman’s gesture from that man. This was a far cry from the arrogant smile she saw earlier.


    “Elise Fairchild.” The female warrior replied in her trademark stiff tone.


    “Fight fairly. You will win if your opponent bes unconscious or surrender.” Megan exined in a tone like someone who didn’t want to be there. “Now, back off.”


    “Greyson! Greyson! Greyson!”


    The cheers reminded Elise of the Kozlov family tournament, but on a smaller scale.


    When the two fighters were far enough apart, Megan raised her hand. “Fight!”


    Elise wasted no time. She ran at high speed. Instead of pointing the sword forward, sheunched a fist while elerating.


    Charging Punches.


    Greyson barely dodged the attack. He looked so horrified like he had just seen a demon.


    However, the female warrior wasn’t done yet. She moved in front of her opponent again, then did an uppercut while jumping.


    Rising Fist.


    However, the attack only grazed the enemy’s face, making him bleed.


    The audience looked up to see Elise high in the air. She thennded in front of Greyson, who fell to the ground with his mouth agape. The man’s legs felt like they were losing energy.


    “Please, I don’t want to do something like this.” Elise gulped, still speaking awkwardly. “You must be precious to your friends, right? I can’t hurt you. You still need to pursue your goals with your friends.”


    Elise extended her hand to the man, a gesture that sparked a round of apuse from the others. Greyson held the hand, and Elise helped him to his feet. He then raised the female warrior’s hand.


    Everyone seemed pleased with what had happened, except for Megan, who spat on the ground instead. She approached Elise with a forced smile, shook her hand, hugged her, then whispered. “Did you said you didn’t want to hurt Greyson? You’re that great, huh? You think our members are weak?”


    Elise couldn’t reply to those sarcastic remarks.


    Greyson patted the leader’s shoulder, whispering back. “Enough, Megan. I don’t really like this either, but our people think differently. You know what? Going against the majority is counterproductive.”


    Snorting in annoyance, Megan let go of her hug. Forcing another smile, she then lifted Elise’s hand up as well.


    That situation made Elise even more nervous.