Upon arriving, the four entered the Eighth Arena through the entrance once used by the spectators. They opened the glass door and went in as if it were nothing, which made G wonder.
“No keys? What’s up with the security here? Why are they so careless?” she asked. In response, Max showed her the gold plate given to her by Ray.
“I borrowed a magic key,” she said. “Entering without it activates the barrier, and breakin’ through it sounds the alarm, so the security here is just fine.”
Though this Eighth Arena was currently being rented by a clan, the clan’s main members each had a key, and the leader—Ray—had multiple spares. One of those spares had been given to Max.
“I see. And just one is enough to let in everyone with you?”
“Yeah. You can also use it to change the stage’s settings.”
They continued walking as the two talked. Juliet and Chelsea were taking the lead, since they’d already used the arena yesterday. Passing what used to be a corridor meant for duelists, they arrived at the stage.
Just like last time, the members of Death Period were not present, so there was no one to greet them.
“I’ll set things up, then. You mind if I use the aquatic fight setting again?” Chelsea asked as she began to manipulate the arena’s controls.
“I don’t mind,” said Juliet. “What about you, Maxie?”
“It doesn’t matter to me either way. I’m just here to test my katana,” said Max as she took out Sekiun—the blade she’d won at the auction.
“Aquatic fight? You can fill this whole place with water?”
“Yeah. There’s a setting for it. I’m gonna fill it up like this today, though.”
Chelsea set the stage by taking out Poseidon and using its water summoning powers. It was a blatant brute-force approach—but it reduced the water bill, so nobody else was going to say anything about it.
“Oh? So it doesn’t spill and just keeps filling up!” said G.
“Legendaria doesn’t have aquatic arena fights?” Juliet asked.
“No. I don’t remember ever seeing one, anyway. They just fight like normal. On the stage.”
“Legendaria’s tribes can gain serious advantages based on their environment. If they don’t fight in the most generic setting, it’d just be unfair.”
Chelsea’s explanation made sense to everyone present.
“By the way, Julie, you’re talking different now. Why?” G asked.
“Um...”
“Julie’s a pretty shy girl, so she talks different whenever there’s lots of people around.”
“I see. That’s kinda cute.”
“Is it?” Max asked.
“Nnngh...” Juliet’s cheeks flushed a bashful red.
“Speaking of, the way you talk is different too, G. Like how you often say the same thing twice...”
“Oh. This is intentional. It’s on purpose.”
“Intentional?”
“I say the same thing in multiple ways so that my words are understood correctly and the nuance isn’t lost.”
“So it’s a ‘so important you say it twice’ kinda deal?”
“More or less. That’s about right,” G said as she nodded with a smile. “I want my words to get across properly. If you say something wrong, you can attract flames and drama.”
“That sounds like a peek into the dark side of being a content creator...”
“Actually, wouldn’t talkin’ more increase the risk of sayin’ the wrong thing?” Max asked.
“That is one way to see it. This is another. So yeah!”
“I’m dooone!” said Chelsea, putting an end to their exchange.
The stage within the barrier was completely underwater by now, and there were a number of Chelsea’s boats floating about, acting as platforms to stand on.
“All right! I’ll show ya how much stronger I’ve gotten! Ipetam! Let’s go!”
“Grrraaah!”
Following Max’s call, her Embryo emerged from her left hand. It was Ipetam—a bearlike Sentinel with swords growing out of its back.
“Ah ha haaa! Well, someone’s motivated. But I’m not letting ya catch up with me that easily!” said Chelsea, looking more than ready to face Max.
“You two go first, then,” said Juliet. “G and I will spectate.”
Chelsea and Max walked into the barrier, while Juliet and G went to the audience seating. It was a good bit higher than the stage, but Juliet was able to fly up, while G managed to clear the height with a jump. They then took a seat and watched Chelsea and Max’s aquatic battle.
“I can’t say I’ve seen many fights on the water, so this is pretty interesting,” said G. “I am familiar with underwater fights, though.”
“Really? Oh, but I guess even Altar doesn’t have many places that use boats. You have to go to Keyora for that.” Granvaloa was perhaps the only country where fights above the water were commonplace.
“You Altaran duelists are something else, though,” said G. “They’re fighting for real, and it’s enjoyable to watch.”
Her excited face as she watched the duel on the stage was proof that these words came from the heart. Chelsea and Max were both non-SJ max-level Masters, and the clash of their combat expertise was a sight to behold.
“Is it different in Legendaria?” Juliet asked.
“A lot of duels there are about forcing your own rules onto the other person. Skydrag’in actually turns it into an entirely different game. Well, not like I’m in a position to talk.”
“What’s your combat style, anyway? You probably have some high stats, don’t you?”
“What makes you say that?”
“That jump you did. Also, your movements are very smooth, so I figured you fight a lot.”
Juliet’s combat sense was very high even by duelist standards, so she’d noticed many things while observing G since they met yesterday.
“Yeah. I’m actually very, very strong, if I do say so myself.” Showing no humility, G answered as if this were an absolute truth. “My Embryo is in the Castle family, though, so it’s not well suited for duels. I also fight using monsters that are above my capacity.”
“I see...” Duel rules forbid the use of tamed monsters that didn’t fit within the minion capacity and had to use party slots. And excluding exceptions like Lang’s Halley, Castles were a rare sight in duels.
With that, Juliet understood that G was indeed powerful, but just not suited for arena fights.
“Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to talk about your abilities...”
“It’s fine! It’s completely fine! I revealed most of my powers in my videos. Though, this tells me that you haven’t watched them yet.”
“Ngh. Sorry...”
“Ah ha ha. You only found out about me yesterday. I get it, I get it,” G chuckled as she patted Juliet’s head.
That gesture made Juliet feel like, although their avatars were about the same age, G was probably older than her.
“By the way, about you borrowing this place...”
“Huh? Yeah...”
“Are the three of you on good terms with the owner... Ray Starling?” Though she found the change of subject somewhat strange, Juliet nodded in response.
“Yeah, we’re...friends. Yeah, friends.”
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
G put her hand over her mouth and shifted her gaze, just like she had at the park. It must’ve been a habit of hers whenever she was lost in thought.
“I wonder if I’ll get to meet him today.”
“...Huh?”
“Oh. Uh... I’m intruding in his place like this, and I’m just wondering if it’s okay to do that without even introducing myself.”
Juliet felt something slightly off about this, but ultimately brushed it off.
“Ray... He’s probably watching The Tournaments right now. I think he’ll come back here once that’s done...”
“I see. In that case...”
Whatever she said after that was too quiet for Juliet to hear. However, G’s eyes were shining with a light different than any before.
“Oh.” Then, as if noticing something, G looked up at the sky and, for some reason, began waving.
However, Juliet didn’t see anything there.
“Umm, what are you doing?”
“Mmm, nothing much. Just wishing upon a star.”
“Huh?” It was still daytime and stars were nowhere in sight, so Juliet found that very odd.
“Things are gonna get so fun soon. I’m so excited.”
“I see...” Juliet was happy that her friend was having a good time.
But at the same time, she felt that there was something strange about all this.
G’s behavior just now strongly reminded her of King of Asuras, Jubei Kaga—the powerful foe they’d faced in the recent event.