In the Town of Yggdrasil, all residences and public institutions were located inside large trees. Commoners lived inside smaller trees, while those of higher rank or wealth lived inside bigger ones. The dwellings were connected by passageways on the middle parts of the trees, which made this town rather three-dimensional.
The Palatial Tree, where the fairy king resided, was directly connected to the Administration Tree, the cornerstone of the Elven Forest Republic’s administration. An enormous demon with copper skin stood on the tree’s terrace, observing the torrential rain falling on the Town of Yggdrasil. The tempest summoned by Floortje had extinguished the many fires burning all over the town and was gradually coming to an end.
“So...she escaped... Yokozuna Floortje...” uttered the red demon.
An oriental beauty appeared by his side without so much as a sound. Below her hips she had the trunk of a spider, with six legs extending from it. She was of the arachne: female warriors who served the spider goddess.
“So it appears, sir. However, this works in our favor: that hellfire troll unit is strong, but their abilities seem rather incompatible with this town.”
“Replace them...”
“Yes, sir. I will dispatch a messenger to our lands right away.”
The red demon, whose name was Arima, had his gaze fixed on the west town gate in the distance.
“We must chase the yokozuna... Who should I send...? Any recommendations...secretary Kukuri...?”
The arachne, Kukuri, turned over a piece of parchment on her clipboard.
“I would like to join the unit in pursuit of them, sir. An alraune and a minotaur have announced their candidacies. Naga and slime rikishi have expressed their desire to join as well—however...”
“We will have...team sumo...with Aryaka... Legless species...complicate the ruleset... We will go...as three...”
“Understood, sir. Then it will be the alraune, me, and—”
“I...will join you...”
“Yes, sir!”
Chancellor Mickaël came running into the council room, making a ruckus.
“Arima! Are you aware that your subordinates lack discipline?! They let the Aryakan Crown Prince and Crown Princess Candidate escape! How do you intend to make this up to me?!”
“Make it...up to you...?”
“If we had those two in our custody, they would be valuable assets that would allow us to make demands of the Kingdom of Aryaka! And yet your subordinates decided to play some children’s game called ‘sumo’ and lost, then let the two escape! This is your responsibility!”
Arima glared at the chancellor. So did Kukuri.
“I will go after them... What about...the Aryakan rikishi...who were in the reception hall...?”
“W-Well... They were surprisingly strong, and, uh, they fought their way out of the building. There were some reactionaries who, well, they got them out of town through a secret path... Those bastards.”
“Don’t underestimate...Aryakan rikishi... Their combat prowess...is exceptional...”
“So General Maurilio and his rikishi escaped...” uttered Kukuri, glancing over the town.
In the past, she had assumed human form to infiltrate the capital of Aryaka in order to learn about sumo. As fate would have it, she happened to join Clifton’s stable, which housed the spider goddess Arachne herself. There, she ardently trained in sumo, learning its ways. It was during one of those days that General Maurilio visited her stable to train with his rivals.
“He was a single-minded wrestler, as befits a soldier...” recalled Kukuri.
Though they were now enemies, knowing her acquaintance was safe gave her a faint sense of relief. She shook her head to drive the thought away.
The elven liberation forces entered the room, with the tied-up commander of the hellfire troll unit Aikio and the poisonous frogman Givun in tow.
“It was these two!!! I want you to punish them severely, Arima! If you intend to execute them, I’ll gladly have a scaffold built!”
Ignoring Chancellor Mickaël screaming bloody murder, Arima approached the two monsters.
“Commander-in-chief, we have failed in our duties!”
“We have no excuse, ribbit!”
“How was...the yokozuna...?”
“S-She was amazing, sir! She brought me down with a bell hammer backwards body drop!”
“She was frighteningly strong and frighteningly kind, ribbit!”
“I see... Good, good...” With a smile on his face, Arima untied the two monsters.
“You hellfire trolls...don’t go well...with this town...”
Arima looked over to Kukuri. The arachne nodded.
“Another unit from our lands will be coming to relieve you of your duties here. Once they arrive, the hellfire troll unit is to return home.”
“What?! Is that because we failed?”
“No. If you start any more fires, the elven folk will grow to resent us.”
“There will be...no punishment...”
“Oh... And here I was all prepared for it...” Aikio slumped his shoulders.
“I will...have use for you...later... For now...go...”
“Yes, sir!” replied Aikio and Givun, saluting their commander.
“You can’t spare them like that, Arima! This will set a bad example! If you don’t dispense proper reward and punishment, it will be difficult for me to work with you demons!”
Arima glanced at the chancellor in annoyance. Then, another soldier from the Elven Liberation Army came running into the room, visibly rattled.
“Terrible news, Chancellor Mickaël! The fairy king has escaped!!!”
“Wh-What?! That’s impossible! There’s no way he could’ve!”
“He’s vanished into thin air, sir! The room we kept him in is empty!”
“This cannot be! Find him immediately!!!”
The chancellor rushed out of the room in a panic. The sight made Kukuri knit her brows in disapproval.
“Makes you wonder how someone like that can be in a position of power. Shall we dispose of him?”
“Not...yet...”
“Understood, sir.”
With a distant look on his face, Arima stared at the western sky.
“First...we give chase...to the yokozuna...”