It was a busy day in Ebrilyon. Every street was filled with noise as lots of people walked outside, all moving in the same direction. They chatted and laughed with their groups, relaxed and with festive smiles on their faces. After all, it was a big day. A day worth celebrating.

  The day of Ebrilyon’s yearly tournament.

  As always, the winner would win the princess’s hand. That premise alone was enough to leave anyone from the country excited. But those that knew what to expect from the previous editions were even more excited. No matter how things turned out, everyone would be talking and laughing about it for weeks. It was the one unmissable event of the year.

  An event like this is always going to attract people from the outside. People from other countries did whatever they could to get seats, and for the first time, even some guests from another world showed up…

  “We’re here…” The colorful decorations outside caught Carol’s eye as soon as she stepped out of the fast-travel station. She and Hecate met Sarasa and Ririna, who were just outside, enjoying the happy mood.

  “Welcome, welcome! You got here just in time! We should still be able to get some nice seats if we hurry!”

  Sarasa was very enthusiastic, rushing them as soon as she spotted them. “We could use some time to breathe…” But Hecate remained calm. No need to get dragged into her pace. “What’s with all these decorations? I expected something more fitting for a tournament. This is far too much.”

  “Well… it’s a big deal for us.” Ririna shrugged. “It’s one of the few times that the whole city comes together to have fun, so of course we go a little over the top!”

  “It’s fun and funny. What else can you ask for?” Sarasa grinned. “But seriously, we can’t waste all day standing around here, or we’ll lose our seats.”

  “Yeah yeah… We came all the way here just to watch our Iroha fight, so I’ll be pissed if I can’t see her properly. Lead the way.”

  Carol wrapped up the conversation brashly. Their group joined the many around them, and they walked down the street that would take them to the coliseum. Iroha was one of the fighters, so she had to leave earlier and was already there. Why didn’t she wish her luck yesterday? Carol wondered. Missed a good opportunity to show her girlfriend some support. Sigh…

  “We need some seats where we can properly cheer for her. Iroha sprung this on us so fast that I didn’t have time to say anything before she left.” Hecate was in the same boat as Carol.

  “We will! We have to! She’s going to need all our support!” Ririna nodded.

  “Is she?” Iroha’s strong. Carol couldn’t really understand. Why was Ririna worried? “I remember hearing that Iroha defeated Galene at some point. Are the people here better than her? Just what kind of monsters do you have here?”

  “Hmm… She can probably handle the other contestants…” Head tilted to the side, Ririna mouthed off while in thought. “What I was talking about was more about how-”

  “Stop, Ririna!” Sarasa covered her mouth. “No spoilers, remember?” Then turned to the other two. “You’ll just have to see for yourselves how it turns out. I promise you’re going to like it, though.”

  “How suspicious…” Carol hit her with an unamused stare.

  It wasn’t even just the two of them. From the conversations they overheard, everyone was acting as if they knew how the tournament was going to end. And yet, that somehow made them more excited? Very weird…

  “Don’t look at me like that! For what it’s worth, I actually think Iroha can win! I’m rooting for her, but… it would be funny if she lost.” Sarasa chuckled. How could that ever be funny?

  “Traitor.”

  “Nyoo way!”

  “Not bad… Makes me feel like I’m an idol or something…”

  The coliseum had two changing rooms for fighters. One for men and one for women. The rooms were large since they were meant to fit dozens of people at the same time. However, because the prize made this tournament more geared towards men, I got to keep this giant room all to myself!

  “Not like I have anything I need to change.” But hey, I appreciate the VIP treatment…

  *knock knock!*

  “I’m coming in.” The door was pushed open, and a blonde girl wearing a white formal dress walked in. Not quite a wedding dress, but close enough for someone to make the connection. Must be the theme for today. “Good morning, Iroha.”

  “Be- Bea?!” Scared the shit out of me… Good thing I wasn’t naked… “What are you doing here…? Don’t tell me you’re fighting too!” Is that the secret they kept teasing me about?

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “No… Of course not…” She shook her head in disbelief, then walked over with a smile. “I just came to check up on my favorite contestant… My future fiancée. How are you doing? Ready to fight for my hand?”

  “Ahh… Getting carried away again… There was a change of plans, you know? Now I’m fighting to impress my current girlfriends. I’m still not interested in ruling a country.” She comes in here with a smug look on her face. Trying to tease me some more? Too bad for you, you’re not getting me anymore.

  “Geez…” She pulled back. “Always playing hard to get. As long as you win, I don’t mind.”

  Neither do I. As long as she finds some kind of way for us to get into a relationship that doesn’t involve me shouldering the responsibility of an entire country. She’s pretty… I’ve said it enough times to get annoying. She now only needs to live up to her promise of coming up with another solution.

  “Do you need anything?” Bea leaned against the table where I was sitting. “I’ll have to go to the VIP stands soon, so if you do, let me know now.” Her eyes wandered around, then settled on the door. “Then again… Someone should show up soon to help you out. You can ask her too.”

  “Someone…? Who are you-”

  *kick!*

  The door got kicked open.

  “Princess! What have you done!?” The girl known for her serenity barged into the room and rushed straight for Bea. So desperate… It’s like she’s at her wit’s end.

  “Good morning, Flanne. Did you have a good vacation?” So naughty… So coy… Then Bea wonders why people get mad at her…

  “Don’t try to brush me off like that! What’s the meaning of this, Princess?” She almost reached for Bea’s collar, but she can’t… Not with that dress… Reached for mine instead. “And you… Why are you in this tournament?! What were you thinking?” Take it on me, will you? Just my luck…

  “Isn’t that obvious, Flanne? She’s participating because she wants to marry me, right?” Bea winked.

  “Haahh… In a very general manner of speaking… Sure…”

  “There you have it. And I’d much rather marry her than any of the boorish brutes who join these tournaments in hopes of winning me over. Not like my father would ever let them.”

  “You can’t marry a girl!” Flanne smacked the table. “The goal of the tournament is to find a man who can protect this country and continue the lineage! Your whims are putting the future of this country at stake!” You think that’s going to work, Flanne? You must have forgotten how smart the girl we’re dealing with is.

  “Should have put that in the rules.” Bea smugly shrugged. Like it was none of her business.

  Flanne’s jaw dropped. Bea was right… There was nothing in the tournament’s rules that specified participants had to be men… People usually just assumed… Bea did most of the paperwork, but she could have stopped this. She could have noticed, and she could have asked for an amendment. But she was too busy enjoying her free time…

  “Anyway, it’s getting late now, and I have to return to my father’s side.” Bea walked past both of us. “Good luck, Iroha. And Flanne, take care of her for me, okay?”

  “Wait! Princess!” The door closed, and Flanne tragically fell to her knees. Poor girl…

  “You got it tough, huh?”

  “Shut up. You’re guilty too.”

  “Ehhh?!”

  Flanne stood up with her shoulders slumped, then let out a sigh. “How could you? After I told you how much I cared about this country, why would you agree to something that can lead to its downfall? You’re going to throw, right?”

  Finally, someone who actually wants me to do it. Too bad she’s too late. “No. I mean, this is your fault too! You sold me out, so now we’re even. You can’t blame everything on me!”

  “Sold you out? What do you mean?”

  “You told Bea about my relationship with the others. I don’t know how you found out, but why do you think I didn’t tell you the five of us were sleeping in the same room? It was supposed to be a secret! You told her and probably put the idea of inviting me to the tournament in her head. That’s on you!”

  “I- I was just following orders…” She was happy to blame me before, but that shut her up. “Bea asked me to tell her what I noticed when on the journey with you, but I didn’t tell her the specifics of your situation… It’s not like I know them either…”

  “And who did you tell it to? Bea put the pieces together and figured out that I was dating them… You told her enough.” It’s a bit embarrassing to say it like this, but there’s no point in hiding it from her anymore…

  “So it was true…” Flanne averted her eyes. A harem… Centered around a girl… What an outrageous thing… “I didn’t think it’d turn out like this… If I knew, I wouldn’t have said anything… I’m sorry.”

  “You better be. Now my girlfriends know about the tournament, and I have to win so they don’t break up with me!”

  Flanne got lost in thought with a complicated look on her face. “You got it tough, huh?”

  …

  Everything was ready for a great tournament to take place. The audience filled almost all the seats of the coliseum, and now, the fighters were called to the middle of the arena for the opening ceremony. I- I can’t believe I’m actually participating in this… There are way too many people watching… And down here it’s only guys! I’m so out of place here…

  We had a clear blue sky today, which made the air in the open arena too hot to be pleasant. The coliseum was made almost entirely out of stone, exposed to direct sunlight, so that was to be expected.

  Couldn’t have been much better in the stands, but the people there didn’t seem to mind at all. The announcer hadn’t even said anything yet, and there were already a lot of people cheering… They have too much energy… Happy for them though…

  And yes… They have an announcer here.

  A guy with an afro, wearing sunglasses. It’s a real tournament with no expenses spared. You can’t get much better than that. Nothing screams “tournament announcer” more than a guy like that. He was the one who called for the fighters to gather, with a voice befitting the best party animals. The kind of guy whose proudest achievement was probably being able to scream “wooooo!” for several minutes before running out of breath.

  “Ladies and gentlemen… Here we have it… Today’s contestants have finally showed up… What an amazing sight. I can already tell today’s going to be an unforgettable day…”

  He started off relatively quiet. A weighty tone meant to create tension. The announcer had a platform for himself on the bottom of the stands. Those of us on the floor were sorted into 6 lines, all facing that side of the arena, where Bea and other important people also were, on the top.

  There were around two dozen of us, and for some reason, I was told to stay at the front of one of the lines when the staff guided us to the arena. Not making it any less embarrassing for me…

  “Now… without further ado, it’s time to introduce our contestants! Wooooooooohoooooooo!”

  The announcer stomped the table while screaming into some kind of magical device. Something like a microphone that amplified his voice. This world always finds a way to have everything it needs for these kinds of ridiculous plotlines. Yet, the audience shouted. Much louder than before…

  “First up, the undefeated jousting champion that has never ridden a horse. That’s right. It’s the man himself! Unicycle knight Reeeeeeeeaaaaaan!” Another cheer from the crowd…

  Wait, unicycle!?

  Fuck… It’s true… There was a guy at the front of one of the lines in full body armor riding a unicycle. Isn’t that a vehicle? No one’s gonna say anything?

  “Yeaaahhh!” He raised his lance and let out a metallic cheer. The audience loved it.

  “Next up… Mack, the ultimate magician! The man who managed to combine all elements into unstable, self-destructive explosions! Wooooohoooooo!”

  I- is that good? Everyone’s cheering, and the man himself adjusted his hat with a cool wink for the audience.

  Why are you showing off? I’m pretty sure they’re making fun of you!

  “And now, Leo Valk. The second prince of the beastmen’s country.” Surprisingly normal introduction for the guy next to me. A white-haired guy with wolf ears. “Hmmm… Nothing funny about this one. Moving on!”

  “Hey! You bastard!” The announcer’s attitude made the poor guy scream at him. Completely ignored.

  “The next contestant… a girl.” Oh shit… It’s me. Silence. Everyone’s eyes were focused on me. “Iroha Shinohara, whose most outstanding trait is somehow not being the weirdest contestant present today!”

  Huh?! That’s it? I’m pretty sure you could come up with something better!

  Didn’t matter. The crowd cheered, and the announcer moved on. I didn’t have time to react. What have I agreed to?

  The announcer continued introducing fighter after fighter until all of them were done. Well… Most of them… A few toward the back didn’t have anything funny going for them, so they got glossed over. But still… Too many weirdoes here… And the other ones were insulted for not being weird enough.

  Bea wrapped up the opening ceremony with a little speech, ending on… “I thank all the contestants for gathering here for me today. I wish you all the best of luck in your upcoming fights.”

  The people in the stands all looked up at her, stunned by her beautiful appearance, and clapped out of respect. A moving moment on the surface, but…

  Seriously… Is this country okay?