Volume 11 Chapter 4 Preliminary Round Begins
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Kerstin’s Perspective
I was in my room at the castle, working on the maintenance of my magic gun, when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Knock knock.
”Come in, it’s open!”
The one who entered was Talia, a fox woman who served as one of Kent’s concubines.
I had seen that she was busy with preparations for the Garuda Clan’s Beast King Tournament lately, but it didn’t really concern me.
”Ms. Kerstin, I actually have some good news for you… Would you like to hear it? It’s not bad for ‘Black Bullet’.”
As Talia stepped into my room, she closed the door and approached me quietly.
I had heard rumors that she was involved in some shady dealings for the South District Margrave, so I instinctively tensed up.
”W-what! What’s this? You come in here with that sneaky look and say you have good news? That’s suspicious!”
”No, really, I need your help, Ms. Kerstin…”
Talia leaned close to me where I was working on my gun, whispering softly.
”Actually, I plan to participate in this Beast King Tournament…”
I almost dropped the parts I was holding.
This was shocking because Talia was someone from the Administrative side of the tournament.
”But… Ms. Talia, aren’t you part of the Administration? Isn’t it a problem for someone from there to join the tournament?”
”I have Lady Elkisa’s permission, and according to the historical Administrative manual for the Beast King Tournaments, it doesn’t say that someone from the Administration can’t participate!”
I looked at Talia’s face and thought she was cunning.
It’s clear that among Kent’s concubines, Lady Lila is the strongest.
Ms. Annabella has a firm grip on the Blackdagger family, but I thought Talia might establish her own position with her schemes and unique plans.
…I don’t want to just be the leader of the Hunting Group.
I want to have Kent’s child too.
Maybe I should create a new partnership with Talia…
”As expected, you really are called the cunning fox. But if you want to use our team, you need to request paid leave from Kent… Ms. Talia will help with that, right?”
If Talia is bringing this up, I figured she already had a way to get to Kent, so I asked for paid leave during the tournament.
”Your paid leave has already been approved. Plus, there will be betting on the winner this time. If you bet on yourselves, you can make a lot of money.”
Talia grinned and whispered in my ear again.
”Well… it’s not just about the money, right? If we’re going to do this, we need to make sure we have our rewards secured. You can’t just move us with money.”
”Hehe… If Sir Kent successfully takes the first fang of Ten Elite Garuda, we will prepare a victory party for everyone. Well, since it’s Sir Kent’s victory party… I think you know what that means…”
I held Talia’s hand as she spoke.
”Yes, let me help! Let’s make Kent the first fang!”
”Then, I’ll borrow your team, Hunting Group Leader Kerstin. Of course, you’ll fight too.”
So, our team decided to participate in the Beast King Tournament with Talia as our representative.
Of course, we had Talia use her power to ensure we could use our magic guns in the tournament, preparing thoroughly as we waited for the day of the preliminaries.
* * *
*Ines’s perspective
I had come to Ignis Farm with Ms. Feria.
The reason I was here was that Ms. Clarette, the head of the farm, called me without telling me what it was about.
After arriving at the farm, I started walking toward the mansion where Ms. Clarette and the others lived.
”I wonder why they called me too? Sure, my chest is big, but I can’t milk anything…”
Ms. Feria walked while holding her chest, which threatened to overflow from her maid outfit.
”Pure milk only comes from the Minotaur breed! No fakes allowed. It’s already whispered that this is Sir Kent’s private hobby farm. So, be careful!”
Ms. Feria’s words made me react nervously.
I had heard that recently, Sir Kent had taken others from different races into the milking room, and I thought that was why I was called this time.
”But I heard that Mr. Kent drinks what he milks, right?”
”N-no, that’s not wrong! But it’s not allowed! Next time, I’ll have Ms. Annabella tell Sir Kent firmly!”
I couldn’t tell Ms. Feria that I was there when Sir Kent brought Ms. Carlamia, who is from another race, into the milking room.
I was embarrassed as I was forced to milk a lot, and Ms. Carlamia finished quickly, so I ended up being the substitute cow and got impregnated.
Ms. Feria, who had been watching me closely, smiled and said,
”I want to join next time!”
”No way!! Ms. Feria, are you even listening to me?!”
While we were chatting happily, we arrived at Clarette’s mansion.
I rang the bell to call Clarette.
Ding ding.
”Yes! Oh, IneIne, I’ve been waiting! Come in, Ms. Feria!”
Clarette came out, her large chest bouncing.
She took our hands and led us inside.
I followed her into the parlor as she pulled me along.
Then, I sat down on the sofa.
”The reason I called you both today is──”
”I-I understand! I will definitely complain to Sir Kent through Ms. Annabella!”
I decided to confess before Ms. Clarette could scold me.
”Sure, it felt amazing, and I was almost dying from how much I was squeezed, but it was wrong to mix other races in the sacred milking room. It’s my fault, I admit it. Sir Kent insisted on using it, so I had no choice… but I cleaned everything up properly afterward!”
I slammed my hands on the table in the parlor and bowed my head to Ms. Clarette.
Silence filled the room.
”Ah, that matter. It’s fine. I promised Ms. Helga and Ms. Lila during the funding, and Sir Kent can use that milking room freely.”
Clarette’s words made my mind go blank.
”I-I could use it… really?”
”Yes, it’s okay. You can use it whenever you like, and I would appreciate it if you could do some milking too.”
”Whaaaat!!!! Then why did you call me today?!”
”I want IneIne to participate in the upcoming Beast King Tournament. By the way, I made this.”
Clarette spread out a piece of cloth in front of me, looking dazed.
The cloth had beautiful writing that said, ‘Ignis Farm’s Pure White Milk for Sale.’
I couldn’t help but glance at Ms. Feria next to me.
I had learned through our time together that Ms. Feria loved these kinds of flashy things.
”Wow! That’s so cool! Feria will wear that and join the Beast King Tournament!!”
”No, no! Wait! Ms. Feria! If you enter the tournament without permission, Sir Kent will be mad. You won’t be able to do your maid duties!”
”About that, I already got permission from Ms. Annabella. If IneIne joins Ten Elite Garuda, the value of Pure White Milk will skyrocket!”
It seemed that Clarette had already taken care of things, and our participation was set in stone.
”No, no! Wait a minute. Ms. Feria and I will just lose right away!”
Clarette brushed her hair back and chuckled softly.
”Hehe, it’s okay! I’ve already gotten permission for Dragonewt to join us from Ms. Talia. And it seems Neril’s friends will help us too!”
…so there’s no way out.
I felt trapped in a cage with no escape…
”You’ll join us, won’t you?”
Clarette smiled brightly as she moved closer to me.
I never thought this person, who seemed so business-minded when she ran a farm in the East, could be so fierce.
But knowing she was fighting for her people’s status in the South District as a refugee, I couldn’t dare say no.
”…Okay, I’ll do it… but please, just let me skip that banner.”
I quickly bowed my head to the floor in apology, but Clarette presented another banner to throw over my shoulder.
”I thought it was unfair to have only Ms. Feria’s banner, so I made another one! I think it suits Ines really well.”
Seeing the banner draped on my shoulder, warm tears started to fall from my eyes.
”I’ll do my best.”
And so, we decided to participate in the Beast King Combat Festival, riding our Dragonewt and joined by Neril’s friends, carrying the Ignis ranch banner.
* * *
*Iska’s perspective
I was introduced to the members of Rosalinda’s Hunting Group, and we quickly headed to the Southern Region to successfully defeat a petrifying chicken, a Cacatris, a rank A monster, and devour it.
This way, I avoided falling into starvation and boosted my abilities.
Thanks to that, I felt lighter than ever and maintained my ability to identify enemies and allies without falling into a [madness] state.
Just like Rosalinda said, the members saw my Devour and didn’t even flinch.
They didn’t change color, just treated it like normal.
Usually, anyone who saw that Devour scene would keep their distance, but the members of Rosalinda’s Hunting Group are still eating like nothing happened.
”Told you, didn’t I? There’s no one in my Hunting Group who’d be grossed out by your Devour. We’re all gluttons here. We’ve got ex-rogues, beggars, and even some who ate monsters during a mishap in battle. That’s the kind of strays that join my group.”
Rosalinda laughed as she looked over the members gathered in the taverns.
The members laughed along as they listened to her.
I wonder if it’s okay for me to be a part of this circle…
As I mingled with the members celebrating their hunting success, I found myself starting to like this Hunting Group.
I thought that maybe here, my Devour might be accepted too.
”Iska, you’re more than welcome. Eating monsters is no big deal. I even know a monster-cooking expert. I’ll introduce you sometime. It’s surprisingly tasty.”
A wolf-like man, one of the members, sat next to me and put his hand on my shoulder, holding a drink in the other hand.
Rosalinda grabbed the man’s hand as she saw this.
”Hey there! You sure you want to lay a hand on my girl and end up with a big hole in your belly?”
”Whoa! No way to draw a sword with one hand while being grabbed.”
Laughter rose from the members in the taverns.
Before I knew it, I was laughing along too.
* * *
The qualifying rounds for the Beast King Martial Tournament starting the next day are supposed to select the 15 teams for the finals.
All participating teams are divided into 15 groups and will have a round-robin within each group.
The teams with the most wins will advance to the finals.
We, ‘Rootless Weed’, are 2 teams: my team and Rosalinda’s team, and we are taking part in the qualifying round, assigned to different groups.
I am in Group Three while Rosalinda is in Group Eight.
The newly built arena was packed with Abyss Vena citizens and Estfort residents who came to take part in the betting for the qualifiers. It was a huge success.
”Turning the fight into a show? Whoever thought of that is really clever. The ticket sales and betting profits must be amazing!”
Rosalinda was stretching in the players’ waiting room, glancing at the audience.
Just as she said, rumors were going around that a lot of money was involved in this Beast King exhibition, and all the participants were fired up.
Some participants entered as individuals, while others formed parties to join together; plus, the Garuda Clan’s Hunting Group sent several teams to this festival.
”Wow, there are so many participants! Are almost all the monster hunters from the South District’s Garuda Clan here?”
”Yeah! Famous Hunting Groups like ‘Wild Wind’ and ‘Imaginary Hound’ from the Garuda Clan sent a lot of teams. There seem to be many individual parties joining as well, so it’s quite a crowd.”
The Beast King exhibition had an unusually high vacancy rate, and it became known that even a lucky run to the finals could get you into the Garuda Ten Elite, resulting in a flood of participants.
”To everyone participating in the qualifiers! Please be quiet! We will now hear the rules from Lady Talia, the head of the tournament, so listen carefully!”
A woman in charge of registration at the temple entered the players’ waiting room, raising her voice to grab everyone’s attention.
”Looks like it’s about the rules. Rosalinda, make sure to pay attention. Not to brag, but my brain really hates remembering things.”
”Yeah, yeah. I already know that better than anyone.”
Once the noise settled, a fox-woman with a megaphone stepped up to the stage and began to speak.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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