Celebrating the Preliminaries at a Lamb Restaurant

The fourth group's preliminary ended, and the fifth began.

This group looked ordinary, by all accounts.

Reasonably strong-looking contestants fighting in reasonably normal fashion to advance.

No flashy magic or acrobatic spectacles.

Just a straightforward arena bout.

With the slaves' matches done, Master could relax.

All three making it through the preliminaries was a stroke of luck.

He'd cheered so hard his throat was about to give out.

He was a merchant who made his living counting numbers and turning profits, not a warrior who fought with weapons in hand.

He didn't have a real grasp of how skilled his slaves were.

And he certainly had no idea how far that skill would carry them at the Ocelot Colosseum.

Having come all this way, he'd entered them on something of a whim. Might as well make a memory of it.

As it turned out, the gold coins awarded for clearing the preliminaries had a special design. They held value both as currency and as commemorative pieces.

He'd wanted at least one, but with three in hand, he could sell two.

The fifth group's preliminary proceeded without incident.

The audience, still coming down from the electrifying matches they'd just witnessed, cheered at a comparatively moderate level.

Master's thoughts drifted back to Elza's bout.

His image of clerics had been completely upended.

"Scary."

He drained the last of the drink in his cup.

What a thing to witness, he thought.

That scene of her sneaking up behind someone and smashing him in the head with a full-power mace swing… Master had recoiled a little.

Not that it was against the rules. The tournament didn't have rules that soft.

The crowd's reaction proved it. They'd been ecstatic.

This was bragging on his part, but Elza was a knockout.

The habit suited her beautifully.

Maybe he should buy her a priest robe.

Beautiful women performing well apparently went over extremely well at events like this.

Her fight against the bard had probably been the most exciting match of the entire preliminary round.

The bard's attacks were flashy and spectacular, and Elza's head-on demolition of them had earned thunderous applause.

Some spectators had even leapt to their feet to clap.

Master had joined in with gusto.

He'd bought Elza because he needed a cleric to pair with Azu, but she'd turned out to be far more combat-ready than expected.

He'd sensed during this trip that she could handle herself in a fight, but not to this extent.

He knew almost nothing about her past beyond the orphanage business.

She'd probably funded the orphanage's operations by hunting monsters.

She was only slightly older than Alexia, so… what kind of life had she led?

Not that Master cared much.

Elza belonged to him now, and stronger was always better than weaker. Pure profit.

Fortunately, they'd built a solid relationship so far.

He did think, however, that he could afford to treat her a little better.

The arena's protections meant no real harm was done, but he imagined himself in place of that warrior who'd taken a full-force mace blow to the head from Elza.

"Oh, there you are!"

The instant Elza's voice came from directly behind him, Master's heart lurched and a full-body shiver ran through him.

Azu was watching him with a puzzled look.

"Azu, nice find."

"Ehehe, I just happened to spot Master."

"You've got sharp eyes. Hm? Master, is something wrong?"

Whether she was doing it on purpose or genuinely oblivious was anyone's guess.

Elza addressed Master in her usual tone.

Several deep breaths later, Master steadied himself.

Nothing to be afraid of. No matter how strong they were, they were still slaves.

The fifth group's preliminary wrapped up to moderate excitement.

There were no seats for the slaves anyway, and apparently today's events ended after the fifth group.

The remaining rounds would be held tomorrow.

The referee announced as much, closing out the day.

The other spectators, clearly familiar with the routine, wasted no time packing up to leave.

Master stood and headed for the exit.

The slaves followed.

Alexia's injuries had already healed.

Even with the arena's protections, he was glad she hadn't been seriously hurt.

"Let's head out. You can eat whatever you want tonight."

"Oh my. A celebration for making it through the preliminaries?"

"All that effort and the only reward is one fancy meal… well, I suppose it'll do."

"Yay! Then I want lamb. I've been craving it ever since I saw a flock on the way to the hunting grounds."

"You really do love your lamb, Azu."

Master ruffled Azu's hair.

Of the three, Azu had probably faced the toughest odds in the preliminaries.

As a light warrior, the matchups had been brutal for her.

She'd only won because the foreign warrior had drawn the Spartian warrior's attention away from her. Luck had been a factor, no question.

In fact, there was even a chance she'd been deliberately left alive.

The foreign warrior had been formidable enough for even Master's untrained eye to see.

Leaving Azu alive, someone they could handle easily, instead of the foreign warrior was the smarter play.

But Master considered it and decided he didn't care.

Azu was happy, and he hadn't lost anything.

Master took his slaves to a restaurant that specialized in lamb and they ate to their hearts' content.

Lamb shabu-shabu was the most popular dish, and Azu and Alexia competed to eat the most while Elza and Master watched from the sidelines.

Master didn't miss Elza quietly hoarding a selection of popular menu items for herself.

When he confiscated her favorites, Elza protested, so he ordered more dishes to placate her.

The bill was steep, but he filed it under necessary expenses.