Being equally obsessed with sumo, the prince and I both had ferocious smiles on our faces.
“You have talent, Boorman! I’m looking forward to our next bout!”
Kukuri spread out her body and utilized the elf’s momentum against him to execute kotenage—an armlock throw.
“Agghh!”
Boorman was sent rolling off the dohyō.
“Winner, Kukuri,” announced the gray referee, raising his hand to the black side of the ring.
The arachne assumed the squatting position for the referee’s announcement of her victory. You are incredibly strong, Kukuri. That was magnificent. She had become much stronger since our bout in Aryagard when she was in human form, having grown through training in Clifton’s stable.
Beneath the dohyō, Boorman was beating the ground in frustration. The elven elders ran up to him.
“You did well, Boorman! You made me proud to be an elf!”
“So freaking what...? I lost, damn it!”
“Don’t be silly. That arachne fought so well thanks to her extensive training. You should be proud of how much of a fight you put up against her!”
“Say—what if we borrowed the power of spirits to use magic in sumo?”
“That is a wonderful idea! Let us develop our own style in this sport!”
The elderly magic enthusiasts were clearly excited.
“Boorman, come to Aryagard once this is all over. With some training you’ll become a splendid sumo wrestler.”
“Floortje... I...I...”
The elf burst into tears. Yes, you should cry when you lose, and then train. The fact he had been able to invoke his spirit of sumo in his very first bout attested to his promise as a student.
Next, the alraune Uta climbed the dohyō.
“My turn now. Don’t keep a girl waiting, pretty prince.”
This one seemed rather flippant. Despite being an alraune, she had legs and could walk, albeit slowly and unsteadily. Was she really a strong contender in sumo? Her skin was pale green, her eyes red. On her head bloomed a great number of flowers. There were flowers around her hips too, which looked like underwear or bloomers of some sort. Said flowers were divided by a mawashi made of ivy sitting tight on her hips. I didn’t want to let the prince have a bout with such a gorgeous beauty, but there was nothing I could do about it. Such were the rules.
“Be careful, Your Highness,” I warned him.
“I know. It’s pretty interesting to fight monster rikishi, with their special abilities. And they’re so strong too.”
“Yes. Please don’t lose.”
“I’ll be fine. Trust me on this one, Floortje,” replied the prince with his usual kind smile.
The cat ears that were his pride were pricked up, as they always were. Ah, in two years he had grown so dependable. He was the kind and strong prince of my dreams.
“♪ With large and bright eyes... ♪ With hair dark as the wet feathers of a crow... ♪ Standing, she’s as lovely as a Chinese peony; seated—as lovely as a tree peony, and walking—as lovely as a lily... ♪”
“What a beautiful song! I love your songs, Floortje.”
“Oh—I didn’t mean to.”
I couldn’t keep myself from singing a jinku that glorified female beauty. Dosukoi dosukoi!
“So, His Highness is going up against an alraune. A vegetative type of monster that lives deep in the demonic realm.”
“Is there anything you don’t know, Adela?” I asked.
“Of course. Regardless, the special ability of an alraune is using pollen to charm or poison her opponents. She can also shoot out ivy to entangle them and suck out their vitality over a long period of time.”
“Sounds like a somewhat prurient type of monster.”
“It is. Alraune are known as vegetative succubi.”
I didn’t think that she would instantly attain victory just by successfully performing those abilities of hers, but Prince Richie would have to be careful: he was about to face a Dark Rikishi of the makuuchi division.
Adela climbed the dohyō and began to announce.
“On the east, Richie, Richie... On the west, Uta, Uta...”
The two wrestlers climbed the dohyō next. Uta blew the prince a kiss and was scolded by the gray referee. I wasn’t fond of such frivolous wrestlers. She was still unsteady on her feet, her balance poor as she performed shiko. Was she going to be okay?
“Face each other.”
The two’s fighting spirit grew. This part—where the wrestlers have to synchronize their breathing—is the real thrill of sumo.
Finally, Uta’s and Prince Richie’s breathing synchronized. They touched the ground with their fists and got up. The alraune was rather slow in doing so, however, allowing the prince to crash into her at full speed! This should be...
“I see you’re pretty strong, Prince.”
Despite the force of the impact, Uta hadn’t moved an inch. Why? He crashed into her when she was in the half-sitting posture, barely keeping her balance! The flowers on her body began to sway, releasing pollen of various colors.
“Charming pollen, poisonous pollen, numbing pollen, all free of charge,” spoke Uta.
“Air Sumo Form!”
As the prince uttered these words, an armor of wind formed around him, blowing the malevolent pollen away. He took advantage of the gust of wind to boost his speed as he charged into Uta once more.
Smash! The prince took a step back, astonishment written across his face. Even with its increased speed, his charge hadn’t managed to move Uta one bit. As he put a little more distance between them, Uta remained in place.
“Heh heh heh... My sumo is rather immobile, you see. I prefer to be heavily fortified instead.”
“You’ve put your roots down, haven’t you?!”
“Bingo.”
Uta raised a leg, putting on full display the thick mass of thin roots which extended down from it, covered in the soil of the dohyō. There was a large hole beneath them. So this was why she was so unsteady on her feet and so slow to get up at the start of the bout. She had literally planted her roots in the dohyō. This was her sumo.
“Bark, bark, bark, bark!!!” barked the pup in my arms.
Prince Richie had lost the initiative. Uta, meanwhile, started to move her hands as if performing teppo.
“Teppo Whip.”
A coil of ivy shot out of her palm, assaulting the prince with the force of regular teppo, which he smoothly dodged. Prince Richie, a tricky lightweight wrestler, was facing a walking fortress who could plant her roots in the dohyō. Their styles of sumo were the polar opposites of each other.
Uta remained in the black part of the ring, shooting her Teppo Whips at the prince. He continued to dodge, moving around freely. All of a sudden, he attempted to grab one of her whips instead. This made sense, because if he could simply make it touch the ground, it would result in his victory.
“Bad move,” said Uta in a playful voice.
Bam! The Teppo Whip made a sharp turn and struck the prince on the chest.
“Kgh!”
Ah, a red line has formed on the prince’s white skin...