Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 31
>Chapter Title: Frenzied Arena
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Frenzied Arena
“What?! That brat killed himself? Says who!”
A gladiatorial match. A cruel sport where warriors wielding swords fought fiercely against monsters, sending the crowd into a fever pitch.
The 15-year-old slave who had committed suicide today was scheduled to be a sacrifice to mark the beginning of the match.
If one slave died, another could be used as a substitute, but this time, it was difficult.
‘Damn it, and with such an important guest on the way!’
Totogen, known as the Dark Merchant, was scheduled to arrive to watch the gladiator games. He had… rather perverted tastes.
He enjoyed watching beautiful or lovely children get hurt.
His favorite spectacle was watching children on the verge of death kill a monster, shedding their pure innocence and becoming corrupted. However, among the delicate and cute children Totogen might favor, none had the physical prowess to tear a monster apart.
Instead, the plan was to put on a show of tender children, the kind he liked, being torn to shreds by a monster.
His standards for appearance were incredibly strict, so the slave who had just killed himself had been prepared with great difficulty.
“Damn it!”
But that slave was dead. There was no time to find another one. That meant losing a major client.
‘I have to do something...!’
Remembering the money he'd received for satisfying Totogen, Ottugi’s eyes gleamed.
‘There must be at least one slave who meets his aesthetic standards... Ah!’
Ottugi remembered a slave he had locked in the basement a few days ago.
‘If it's them...’
Muttering to himself, he recalled Jiso's orders. His warning not to use them carelessly, as they were to be used for an event.
‘I’m sure Jiso would say this is more entertaining.’
Ottugi grinned and quickly unfolded a piece of parchment, writing to Jiso about the two slaves.
He scribbled a quick letter, tied it to a crow's leg, and sent it off. A reply arrived in less than an hour.
The letter read, ‘Do as you please.’ Ottugi revealed his yellowed teeth in a sickening grin.
***
“Iris, let’s eat.”
“...”
The cell, which should have been shrouded in an impenetrable darkness, looked completely different from before.
The walls and floor were still made of black stone, but there was a light on the ceiling, and a decent small table had been placed in the middle of the room.
On the table were two rice balls. It was a given that in a survival situation (or something close to it), the necessary items would simply appear.
This was especially true when you had a ‘pretty’, ‘little sister’ type to look after; food and supplies became remarkably easy to come by. Thanks to that, the two of us were able to live without starving.
‘If we keep living like this, the room might even get bigger.’
One wall of the room had already transformed into a mechanical contraption. I hadn't done anything. It was just that when Iris was about to relieve herself on the floor, the wall had spun on its own, revealing a toilet.
The gag filter was incredibly kind to pretty, underage girls. I figured that with a little more time, it might even upgrade to a regular house.
“Here, Iris. Eat.”
I had no idea what had happened to her, but Iris was completely out of it. She would only chew and swallow if I personally put bite-sized pieces of food in her mouth.
Once she swallowed, she would just sit there again with a blank expression.
After feeding her all her food like I was feeding a baby, I gave her half of my own rice ball. Seeing her gaunt frame, I couldn't help it.
I popped the remaining half into my mouth, chewed, and swallowed, then sat down next to Iris. As I combed her tangled hair, her fingers fidgeted.
When I took her hand first, Iris quietly squeezed it back. After a few days of taking care of her, she had started to quietly hold onto my clothes or hand.
‘If I take good care of her, her condition will get a little better, right?’
Relieved that there was at least some small change, I opened my mouth.
“Iris, the rice balls we ate today, do you want to try making them yourself later? Where I’m from, the children learn how to cook, too. Oh, I was the one who taught them. I’m sure you’d be great at it if you learned.”
I kept telling her stories about my life with the children so she wouldn't feel so resistant when she eventually met Noah and the others.
I wasn’t sure if she was listening, but it was better than doing nothing, so I continued to chatter on about the kids.
Talking about them made me think of Noah. I wasn't particularly worried about Noah or the children.
She was a character from the original story, and with an ‘adult’ like Juliana by her side, I figured they would manage somehow.
The source of this faith was the original protagonist, Iris, who was alive and well. It reassured me that main characters really don't die, and that Iris and Rian would meet as they were supposed to.
Anyway, for various reasons like that, my worries about the children were faint. I was more concerned about Iris, who seemed to have completely lost her mind.
‘I should thank Pia when I get back.’
I didn't know why Pia had suddenly pushed me, but thanks to her, I was able to find Iris, so I planned to give her a cookie or something later.
*Clank.*
Just then, the sound of the locked door opening echoed. The one who opened it was a man whose face, unlike Jess’s, looked very much like an animal’s. The man had the face of a rat and a long tail.
“Hey, you two, with me... What the hell is this?”
The rat beastkin looked around the inside of the cell with a bewildered expression. For some reason, I felt the urge to make a “ta-da-da-da” sound effect with my mouth, but I held back.
“Did Jiso-nim order it to be like this because he told us to take special care of them...? Ah, whatever. If I'm late, he'll raise hell again...”
Muttering something to himself, the rat beastkin beckoned to Iris and me, who were holding hands.
“You two, follow me.”
I didn't know what was going on, but resisting wouldn't do any good, so I stood up. I was about to help Iris up, but when I stood, she followed suit.
Once we were outside, the rat beastkin locked the cell door and started walking ahead.
We took the elevator we had used to come down to the basement and went straight up. The floor they got off on was the one where Iris had first been imprisoned.
We got off the elevator and walked straight ahead. The rat beastkin stopped in front of a large door across from the elevator.
He approached the wall and pulled a long rope hanging there. A bell chimed from beyond the door.
*Kugung.*
As if that were the signal, the door opened.
ROOOOAR—!
A massive cheer mixed with the shouts of people's voices, creating a roaring din in my ears. I considered taking out my earplugs from my pocket but decided against it, thinking it would draw attention.
Inside the door was a short corridor. At the end of the corridor was a staircase. It looked to be at least thirty steps.
Bright light seeped in from the top of the stairs, which seemed to connect to the outside. However, it was blocked by iron bars, so there was no way out.
“Wait inside, and when the bars in front open, go out.”
“Is that all?”
At my question, the rat beastkin gave me a dumbfounded look.
“You must be new here. Slaves don’t ask questions. Got it?”
The rat beastkin clicked his tongue and walked out through the open door. Then the door slammed shut with a thud. Iris and I were left alone in the space connected to the outside.
‘What is this?’
I scratched the back of my head and looked around. A few old weapons were lying against one wall. Seeing no reason to inspect the ominous weapons, I decided to go up the stairs.
I thought about leaving Iris for a moment and going alone, but she wouldn't let go of my hand, so we went up the stairs together, hand in hand.
“Thank you! Thank you! Now, let’s begin the real gladiatorial match!”
“Uwoooooooh!”
“Wheeeew!”
A large, round space, an ecstatic crowd, and the exaggerated tone of a man who seemed to be the announcer.
‘Don’t tell me... this is the Frenzied Arena?!’
It was the arena run by Jiso, a place where one could watch the bloody fights between monsters and humans, humans and humans, and monsters and monsters.
However, the fights were not fair, and the rule was simply that as long as it was fun to watch, anything went. It was a place where humans were torn apart like toys.
‘W-w-wait a minute! He just said to go out when the gate opens, right?!’
My face turned pale. I would be fine, but Iris… she could die.
*Clank, Charrreuk!*
“...!”
And just like that, the iron gate lifted upwards. I immediately took a step back with Iris. Then, a huge, muscular man standing outside the gate grabbed both of us and hurled us into the arena.
“Ugh!”
I barely managed to hug Iris to my chest as we rolled across the ground.
*Clang.*
A sword fell in front of me as I lay sprawled on the ground.
“Dying quietly is no fun, so try to struggle as much as you can.”
The man who had thrown me in smirked and went back into the corridor we came from. It seemed he was the one who had thrown the sword. I staggered to my feet and looked around.
The roaring crowd and the scorching heat that made my skin tingle.
An artificial light created by Jiso's demonic energy brightly illuminated the arena.
“Now, the monster that will fight this pitiful pair of siblings is...?! A Snakelion!”
*Clank, Charrreuk!*
From the opposite side of where I stood, I heard the sound of an iron gate rising. A lion with a snake as thick as a grown man's arm for a tail was growling as it emerged from behind the bars.
I hastily grabbed the sword. It was quite heavy, and the tip drooped downwards.
‘Tsk, should I run and climb the wall to escape? Or should I try to get through this with those words?’
As I frantically racked my brain for words that could get me out of this crisis...
“Huh…?”
Iris snatched the sword from my hand. Startled, I looked at her and froze. A pure white light was shimmering in her eyes.
The beautiful glimmer that signified the makings of a Hero was there.
“...”
Iris silently let go of my hand and began to walk forward, step by step. Before I could even try to stop her.
*Thwip!*
She shot forward.