Where shall we go next?

Karina-chan here! A messenger of the Goddess on a mission to recover Divine Artifacts (and certain articles of clothing)!

Just the other day, I successfully recovered a Divine Artifact in the dwarven nation of Tessin. So, where shall we go next?

The Goddess had warned me that Divine Artifacts that aren't being used and could be recovered peacefully and easily don't have much value to her, so I intend to target ones that are actually being put to use.

"After Tessin, should I head to the beastkin nation of Terarialbee… or maybe go to the Gidlarga Empire?"

If we're talking nearby foreign nations, there's the beastkin nation of Terarialbee. It's positioned in a way that if you connected Tessin and the adventurer town of Karkassa, you'd get an equilateral triangle. I'd also like to see bunny-eared Siesta.

The Gidlarga Empire seems like the place that would have Divine Artifacts being used for properly nefarious purposes. They seem to be scheming against other nations in various ways, so there's potential there.

Or there's the option of simply going sightseeing to Dea-kun's homeland.

Now then, what should I do? Maybe I should just roll dice to decide.

Just then, Mashiro-san happened to be there, so I decided to consult her.

"Oh. Then go to Terarialbee. I told you about the Coliseum, right?"

"Oh yeah, there was talk about that. The Coliseum, huh."

"I wanna earn the commission fee for the Elder Sisters, so enter and win it for me, would ya? I'll bet everything I've got on you. Even the Elder Sisters can't see through your real strength at a glance, so you'd definitely be a winning long shot, y'know?"

What's with that statement? You sound like a boyfriend who makes money gambling.

… That kind of thrills me a little!

"If you win and we make bank, I'll treat you to a meal too, Karina. C'mon, whaddya say?"

"Ngh… You're always like this, making me do dangerous things! What are you going to do if I lose!?"

"There's no way you'd lose. Also, what's with that tone?"

"Wow, I'm so trusted."

Sorry, I was just doing a little roleplay of an abusive boyfriend and his girlfriend. Or something. Just imagining it.

"You do incomprehensible stuff sometimes, y'know that?"

"How should I put it… I just go with the flow?"

"Don't go thinkin' I can keep up with your flow 100% of the time, got it?"

Well, fair enough. If she could completely keep up with someone who's Japanese on the inside like me, that would mean Mashiro-san is a reincarnator or something too.

Then something suddenly occurred to me.

"… By the way, does the Coliseum have a system where the winner can do whatever they want with the loser?"

"Hm? There are tournaments with rules like that, yeah. But y'know, being what they are, kids can't watch 'em."

"… Oho!"

"Oi wait, you're not thinking of entering, are ya? One of those kinds?"

Mashiro-san looked at me with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

I mean, come on. If I humiliate my defeated opponents while stripping off their socks, the Goddess would be overjoyed.

Even setting aside Divine Artifacts, I get SP from the Goddess when I offer her socks, you know.

"… You're not planning to lose on purpose and get pinned down, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean? There's no way I'd do something like that."

If it were Mashiro-san, maybe, but I have absolutely zero intention of letting some random guy do whatever he wants with this body.

"Those kinds of tournaments pay pretty good prize money, but basically if you lose, you lose your head. Don't go losing on purpose, got it?"

"Huh, are Coliseum gladiators employed by someone?"

"Gladiator slaves are common, but… losing your head means getting it chopped off. As in, dying."

Ahh, that kind of "head."

So the reason kids can't watch isn't just the erotic stuff, but the gore too. Makes sense.

And so, my next destination was decided: the beastkin nation of Terarialbee.