Chapter 130

After returning Caerick to Helshper and arriving in Felskeilo with Mai-Mai via the cathedral, Cayna headed to the remote village to check on the projector. “Sheesh, everyone’s been glued to that thing and causin’ a fuss for the past few days now.” Hands on her hips, Marelle looked at the crowd gathered in front of the projector and gave a wry smile. Perhaps it was because her daughter, Lytt, was among them, but she seemed a bit exasperated. While Cayna was away, Roxine ordered the villagers to keep a reasonable distance after noticing some who would get close enough to the screen to lick it. After talking it over with each other, the Double Rs put up a rope about two meters from the screen. Those who crossed it would be banned from drinking alcohol for ten days in both the tavern and their own homes. Those who reported violators could enjoy a drink on the house. Marelle wasn’t the only one keeping an eye out, either. Friends and other village ladies had joined her as well. Cayna heard all this upon her return, when Roxine politely asked her to electrify the rope. “If I do that, I just know someone is going to get fried instantly!” Kuu pointed and laughed as Cayna smacked Roxine with a paper fan. “What if one of the kids breaks the rules? Like Luka or Lytt?” “Then they’ll be assigned to clean the bathhouse. If they report an anonymous tip, they’ll receive our high-quality fruit juice.” “‘Anonymous tip’…” The fruit juice Cayna made with her skills was very sweet yet sugar-free. It was popular with not only children but the village women as well. “I’m guessing Mimily hasn’t been much of a problem.” “Miss Mimily is apparently enjoying the tavern’s lively atmosphere and hasn’t paid much attention to the projector.” “If anything, she has shown keen interest in the view from your tower, Lady Cayna,” Roxilius added. “I see. Maybe I should give Mimily the chance to swim in the sky.” “…I would suggest otherwise.” “Really?” Roxilius narrowed his eyes, and he waved a hand in front of him. Cayna simply thought, I’ll ask her next time and dropped the issue. When she returned home, they held a meeting to discuss everything that had happened while she was away. Granted, three days wasn’t very long, and the village’s relaxed atmosphere suggested all was well. “Did Opus come back?” “No, not even once. Neither has Lady Siren.” The Double Rs shook their heads in unison. As usual, Cayna had no idea what Opus was thinking, so it was impossible to predict his motives. Did he find a third party member? Did he actually have one all along, and if so, was he still training them? Was he hiding away in his own tower? “There is another matter, Lady Cayna,” Roxilius began. “Hmm? What’s that?” “A worrisome situation arose while you were away.” “Oh yeah? How much could’ve happened in three days? I can’t imagine it was an attack, since you two are always on top of things.” “No, the issue concerns merchants and travelers.” “Something to do with the projector, right?” “Yes.” Cayna figured as much. According to Elineh, most merchants were a troublesome lot who believed that anything could be bought for the right price. “One was particularly unruly. Said they’d offer a fair price and demanded we sell it.” “So you requested an insane amount?” “No, the projector is not for sale. I stood my ground.” Cayna was positive Roxilius didn’t resolve this conflict through words alone. Since he had more battle skills than Roxine, it was his responsibility to deal with visitors and unreasonable demands while Cayna was away. Many underestimated Roxilius at first glance, due to his gentle, youthful looks, but his Dread skill must have made quick work of that nagging merchant. The man likely ran home with his tail between his legs. “Is that all?” Cayna asked. This time, it was Roxine who answered as she brought more tea. “There was also a Peeping Tom.” “A Peeping Tom? At the bathhouse? Didn’t I put up a barrier on the women’s side?” Just to be safe, a solid barrier that doubled as a two-way mirror was erected around the women’s bath. It allowed a person to see out but not in. This was also why the bathhouse doubled as an evacuation center in the (unlikely) event of a stampede or similar emergency. The culprit was slithering midair over the women’s open-air bath (on top of the barrier) when Roxilius spotted him and knocked him down. Once caught, the man, a self-proclaimed minstrel, said it was his second time in the village. “Where is he now?” “We have already handed him over to the Helshper guards at the border.” “Uh-oh. They must’ve been pretty angry.” “They were.” The Helshper border guards considered the remote village their ideal vacation getaway and had little tolerance for anyone or anything that threatened this. When Roxilius handed the culprit over, the guards told him the punishment for peeping was one month of unpaid hard labor at the border fortress. It turned out the lurker’s true target was Mimily alone. He’d seen her eating at the tavern and became smitten, then sought his chance. “He tried to shoot his shot that quickly? Is his brain rotten?” “One would assume so. I wish I had crushed the man before we handed him over.” No need to ask what part of this man Roxine would have crushed, of course. Roxilius did his best to ignore her and Cayna’s fiendish grins. After her meeting with the Double Rs, a group raised a ruckus as they raced down the road outside. “It’s starting! It’s starting! It’s on!” “Let’s hurry to the inn or we’ll miss it!” It was obvious from all the excitement that the tourney had finally begun. Other people could be heard rushing from their homes, and the village was suddenly whipped into a fervor. However, things were slightly different from what Cayna was told. “Different, you say?” Roxine asked. “Looking at the participants, I bet the knight captain Shining Saber will use his ‘scrying’ to figure out how long the tournament will last,” Cayna said. ““‘Scrying’?”” The Double Rs were confused at the unfamiliar word. “Shining Saber can discriminate between fighters with Search, right?” Isn’t that kind of a gimmick? Cayna thought as she voiced her predictions. The two nodded in understanding. However, even Shining Saber was undoubtedly concerned this time around, since the more powerful Opus and Siren, plus one other, would participate as well. The opening ceremony and tournament were scheduled to last for a total of three days. “I heard today is just the opening ceremony and a demonstration,” Cayna said. “A demonstration?” “Of what, might I ask?” “It’s an event where anyone can challenge the top three fighters from last year’s solo tournament.” “Ohhh.” Roxine’s and Roxilius’s sudden lack of interest was comical. Since Cayna had been in the capital until the previous day, Skargo brought the tourney schedule to the village as soon as possible. Not many would have the gall to make the High Priest their errand boy. “Kuu will join, too!” “You don’t have the Go Easy skill, so someone would definitely die.” “Oh, true.” “Also, I imagine the whole town would be chasing after you…” “Very true.” An encounter with a fairy was said to bring happiness, and within the capital, it wasn’t only children who believed this. “All righty,” Cayna said as she stood and prepared to tell the werecats her next course of action. “Starting today, I’ll take another look at the projector, then fly to the Battle Arena again.” “Understood.” “When might we expect your return?” The Double Rs bowed in unison, but only Roxilius asked when Cayna would return. “The Battle Arena tower is fully charged now, so there’s always the chance something might set it off. I’ll keep an eye on it until the tournament is over.” “Understood.” Whenever intruders arrived, Cayna’s tower would automatically stretch the steps and forest labyrinth below into infinity without the Guardian’s permission. She couldn’t say for certain whether or not the Battle Arena possessed the same function, so she decided to keep an eye on it just in case. Cayna tried asking the smoky Guardian, but it said unsettling things like, “I do not understand.” Her only option was to bet on the original Skill Master Kyotaro’s innate benevolence. Let us shift to the events of the Battle Arena during the opening ceremony. The king had just delivered a word of thanks from the highest seat in the stadium, and a knight participant shouted, “In the spirit of chivalry, may we duel with honor!” Opus and his team weren’t knights or anything like that, so such conscientiousness didn’t apply to them. He glanced around with the Multi-View skill and confirmed there were no strange tricks. Multi-View allowed the user to look in every direction like a compound-eyed insect, and since skills could be combined, he cast Search and Disclosure as well. Several minor issues appeared, but for the most part there was nothing malicious in nature. Excessive friendliness would have been an even bigger problem. Besides himself, the knight captain, and one other participant, Opus confirmed several other players within the spectator stands of the Battle Arena tower. He felt their gazes radiate with sharp resentment, and the corners of his mouth instinctively formed a smile. There were a total of five registered parties. There were initially six, but one ran off during the matchup raffle. Their terrified stares fell on Opus, so they were either players or adventurers who had recognized him. During the raffle, Opus was able to confirm two players. One was the level-427 knight captain Shining Saber. They had never met in person, but Opus knew a bit about him from Cayna. There was also Cohral, a tank member from the party known as the Armor of Victory. He was level 392. Opus hadn’t met him, either, but got a general overview from Cayna. The boastful Shining Saber had cast Search on everyone as soon as the tournament kicked off, and Opus remembered the sheer panic on the dragoid’s face when he caught sight of him. Cohral glanced over at him as well. In all honesty, almost every participant and spectator was fixated on Opus’s nameless party. They had the bare minimum of three members: the robed demon Opus, the indifferent elf maid Siren, and last, a small figure in full armor who stood at the forefront. The contestant wasn’t some dullahan-like monster. That much was clear.