“Thanks! I got some really good ones! Have some copies!”
“Sure, whatever... Wait, these are really good. You a pro?”
“She is one whose calling is to spread spectacle across the world. (G is a content creator.)”
“Really? That sure is somethin’.”
Right as G finished taking Max’s photos, Chelsea finally joined them.
“Sorry for the wait, you two! Wait, three?”
“A companion brought to my side by the whim of fate, known to all as G.”
“I’m G—Julie’s friend, G! I think we’re going to get along great!”
“Those are the exact same lines you used with me,” Max said.
“Oh? G, huh? As far as Julie’s friends go, you’re pretty...normal.”
“Are you even listenin’ to yourself...?” Max felt that was a weird thing for Juliet’s best friend to say—but at the same time, another question popped into her head.
Is she really that normal? The horns, tail, and the crown felt like features that made her stand out even more than Juliet. Well, maybe it’s normal by Dendro standards. There’s people here who wear animal costumes all the time.
As Max rationalized Chelsea’s statement, Chelsea and G shook hands, introducing themselves.
With everyone gathered, they showed each other the food they’d brought. Thankfully, Juliet was the only one who’d gotten the rainbow drink.
“It’s so interesting! Tastes good too! This would get so many views!” G was already acting like a part of the group, enjoying the mountain of food Chelsea had brought while giving her thoughts on Juliet’s rainbow drink.
“Views, huh...? If you’re a content creator, what kind of content do you make, anyway? Food reviews?” Max asked.
“I do a variety of things. Singing streams, game commentary, events I set up with my Dendro clan, et cetera...”
“That so?”
“But recently, basically everyone in my clan has just been mining a mountain. It’s not much of a show.”
“Sounds like it’d make good background noise for people to listen to while they work or something...”
“That’s not what I’m going for. I make content because I want people to look at me. That’s why I came to Gideon. There’s this whole festival going on, and I met Julie here,” G said before taking a sip of her drink, looking really happy. Hearing her words made Juliet look slightly bashful.
But there was one here who was just watching the exchange in silence—Chelsea noticed something and couldn’t help but ask.
“Hey, G, I have a li’l question...”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Why are you usin’ an umbrella?” G had been carrying an umbrella ever since she’d met up with Juliet today. Even after she sat down and began eating, she was still resting the open umbrella against her shoulder, hiding the top half of her body from sunlight. However, the sun wasn’t even that bright today, which made this a little unusual.
“Oh! My face is weak against ultraviolet rays, so I use it whenever it’s daytime. UV is the enemy.”
“You worry that much about an avatar’s skin? Is it like a restriction or somethin’?” There were jobs that had certain restrictions based on the in-game clock—those in the vampire grouping, for example, which suffered major stat reductions during the day. Embryos could have similar restrictions too. Chelsea assumed that there was something like that making G use an umbrella.
“That’s basically what it is. You got it right!” G nodded, not denying the assumption whatsoever. “I get that it takes a lot of space, so I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s fiiine. It’s a big table.”
“Yeah. Chelsea bought so much food, but it all fits on it no problem.”
“Quell thy fears. (Don’t worry about it.)”
“Heh heh heh. Okay. Thanks.”
The four then continued to have a fun lunchtime.
“Thanks for the lunch. It was really tasty! Seriously delicious. Especially KoD’s popcorn...”
Having finished eating, G basked in the postlunch warmth, clearly ecstatic. As promised, Juliet had given her some of the famous popcorn, and she seemed to be very satisfied with it.
“I know, right? It’s crazy good!” said Chelsea.
“Though I hear that the bear’s actually holdin’ back when he makes it,” said Max. “He said that if he actually cooked for real, it’d shock your taste buds so much it’d kill ya. It sounds like a joke, but...yeah.”
“And thus thou shalt be delivered unto the pearly gates... (So tasty it literally takes you to heaven...)”
The three of them agreed with G. Shu’s cooking skills were simply that absurd.
“That sounds interesting! I’d love to try that! It might be difficult for me, though...” G muttered.
“That bear’s... Well, that guy’s elusive even now that his identity’s out in the open. At least he has a clan and a base now, so it’s a little easier to get a hold of him.”
“And he said he’s been busy with security and farming materials and whatever.”
Chelsea and Max expressed their agreement with G’s sentiment.
“Hm...?” However, Juliet felt as if G’s words held some different meaning. She couldn’t find a way to express how, but she found something off about them.
“Anyway, we’ve eaten, so let’s go sparring! I gotta test my katana too!” said Max, cutting off Juliet’s thoughts before she could put them into words.
“Sparring?” G asked.
“Yeah. That’s what the three of us planned to do after lunch. Wanna join us? It’ll be a chance to fight against three ranking duelists!”
Chelsea’s words made G tilt her head.
“Ranking duelists? You’re gonna meet some?”
“Meet some? You’re lookin’ at ’em,” said Max.
“Ah hah hah,” Chelsea chuckled. “So Julie didn’t tell ya, huh? The three of us are in Altar’s duel rankings. Julie’s in fourth place, I’m in eighth, and Maxie’s in twenty-fourth.”
“...I’ll be near the top eventually,” Max added, seemingly bothered by her comparatively low rank. She’d once tried to beat Juliet and skip ahead, but she lost. Ever since then she’d been going up the ranks one by one.
“So duelists aren’t just naked wrestlers, their victims, and card gamers...” said G.
“The hell do you mean?!” Max shouted.
“Ohhh. You’re from Legendaria, huh? Their top-rankers are known to be pretty...colorful,” said Chelsea.
“Sounds to me like they give us a bad name!”
“Hey, it’s just like how Tenchi’s duelists are known to be battle junkies. It’s a national thing.”
“Ngh... But my old country’s battle addiction peaks with Jubei at fourth. The top three duelists are way more balanced as people... Definitely not as fighters, though.”
It seemed that the disposition of duelists varied greatly depending on where they were from.
“Thus, we now must make haste to our ephemeral conflict. Whither shalt thou go? (So yeah, we’re gonna go spar now. What about you, G?)”
“I have something to do when it gets dark, so it depends on the location. Where are you going?”
“The arena in the Eighth District. A friend lets us use it.”
“The Eighth Arena?” G put her hand to her mouth as if in thought and shifted her gaze. “...Okay. That place works for me. I’ll come with you! I can watch,” she eventually said with a nod.
“Thou art most graciously welcome indeed. (Sure, go ahead.)” said Juliet with a smile on her face.
“Hm? Wait, G, didn’t ya come here for the final Tournament?” Max asked. “The public matches must’ve started by now. Shouldn’t you go watch ’em instead?” She felt that if any outsiders came to Gideon at this point in time, they would likely be here for that, so it struck Max as odd that G didn’t seem to care about it whatsoever.
“I’m here for a different reason. Well, I came to meet my brother too, so...two reasons, actually.”
“Thou art bound to another by the ties of blood? (Oh? You have a brother?)”
“Yeah. He’s with Altar, so...yeah. But he’s now watching the final Tournament, so here I am.”
Is that why she said she had something to do when it gets dark? Juliet thought. The final match of The Tournaments would start sometime late evening or after sundown. If G’s brother was in the audience, he wouldn’t be free until after that.
“I see,” said Chelsea. “But if you’re in Gideon, you can’t leave without seein’ some duels. At least watch us spar. If anything, things could get more intense than those Tournaments.”
“Okay! I’ll do just that, then! I’ll enjoy myself, then!” said G, filled with unfiltered glee.
Her expression was very natural, clearly showing that she really was excited about what would happen next.
Thus, the four of them made their way to the Eighth Arena.