Chapter: 31
“What?! He committed suicide? Who gave him permission!”
Gladiator fights, those brutal contests where sword-wielding warriors and monstrous creatures clash fiercely, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
The 15-year-old slave who killed himself today was supposed to be used as a sacrificial offering to kick off the gladiator games.
If a slave dies, you can just find another one to take their place. But this time, that wasn’t going to work.
“Damn it! An important guest is coming!”
The Dark Merchant known as Totojen was slated to come and watch the gladiator fights. He had some particularly twisted preferences.
He got a kick out of watching beautiful or adorable kids get hurt.
His favorite was to see children, who could drop dead at any moment, slay monsters, losing their innocence and spiraling into corruption. But there wasn’t a single frail yet cute kid who could tear apart a monster among those who fit his aesthetics.
Instead, the plan was to showcase delicate kids being ripped apart by monsters for his twisted entertainment.
His standards for appearance were super strict; even the slave who had just committed suicide was barely up to par.
“Damn!”
But now that slave was dead. There simply wasn’t time to find a replacement. That meant they were about to lose a big-paying customer.
“I need to figure something out…!”
Thinking about the cash he made from pleasing Totojen, the Odol-like guy’s eyes lit up.
“There’s gotta be at least one slave that fits the looks criteria… Oh wait!”
He suddenly recalled the slaves he had locked up underground a few days ago.
“Those kids will do…”
Muttering to himself, he remembered Jiso’s orders. They weren’t supposed to be messed with without permission since they were for an event.
“Surely, Jiso would think this option would be more entertaining.”
Chortling to himself, the Odol-like man hurriedly pulled out some paper and began writing a letter to Jiso about the two slaves.
He quickly scribbled away and tied the letter to a crow’s leg to send it off. Less than an hour later, he received a reply.
It simply said, “Do whatever you like.” The Odol-like man grinned wickedly, revealing his yellow teeth.
*
“Iris, let’s eat.”
The pitch-black darkness had settled in, and the cell that should have been barren now looked entirely different.
The walls and floors were still made of dark rock, but now there were lights on the ceiling, and a small, usable table sat in the middle of the room.
On the table were two rice balls the size of fists. It’s a well-known rule that when you’re in a desperate situation (or something similar), items necessary for survival pop up like magic.
And when you’re taking care of a ‘pretty’ ‘younger sister’, gathering food and supplies becomes a breeze. Thanks to this, the two of us were surviving without starving.
“If we keep living like this, I bet the room will get bigger.”
One wall of the room had already turned into some kind of mechanical device. I hadn’t done anything special—when Iris decided to go to the bathroom, the wall randomly flipped and turned into a toilet.
What a kind-hearted joke for a cute underage girl! I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned into a normal house with more time.
“Iris, come on, eat.”
Iris was completely out of it, like a deer caught in headlights. She barely chewed and swallowed the food when I fed it to her bit by bit.
Once she swallowed, she’d just sit there, staring blankly into space.
After finishing feeding her like she was a baby, I gave her half of my own rice ball. Seeing her skinny body, I couldn’t really help it.
After I swallowed the remaining half, I sat next to Iris and started to brush her tangled hair. She started fidgeting with her hands.
When I reached out to hold her hand, she quietly grasped it back. After a few days of care, she had begun to cling to my sleeve or hand without saying a word.
“If I take good care of her, maybe she will improve a bit?”
Relieved even by the little changes, I started talking.
“Iris, do you want to learn how to make rice balls later? Where I used to live, kids learned how to cook too. Oh, I taught them how! If you learn, Iris, you’ll definitely do well.”
I kept sharing stories about living with kids so Iris wouldn’t feel weird when she meets Noah and the others later on.
Not entirely sure if she was listening, it felt better than just being silent, so I kept chattering about the kids.
Talking about them reminded me of Noah. Honestly, I wasn’t too worried about Noah or the kids.
Since they were original characters and had Julianna, an ‘adult,’ around, I figured they’d manage somehow.
The root of my belief stemmed from the fact that Iris, the original protagonist, was still alive and kicking. It reassured me that the main characters don’t get killed off, and as the story goes, Iris and Lian are definitely going to meet.
For these reasons, my worries about the kids were pretty mild compared to my concern about Iris, who had completely checked out.
“I’ll have to thank Pia when I get back.”
I had no idea why Pia suddenly shoved me away, but thanks to her, I managed to find Iris, so I was planning to give her cookies later as a thank-you gift.
Clang.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of the door that had been shut wide open. It wasn’t Jes who opened it but a guy whose face looked uncomfortably animal-like. He had a rat-like face and a long tail.
“Hey, you two, come ou-… What’s going on here?”
The rat Therianthrope stared at the inside of the cell, bewildered. I felt like adding some effects like “follow, follow…” with my mouth, but I held back.
“Did Jiso have me come here for a special purpose? Whatever. If I’m late again, he’ll go nuts…”
Muttering to himself, the rat Therianthrope motioned for Iris and me, still holding hands.
“Follow me.”
Not really sure what was going on but knowing rebellion would lead to bad outcomes, I stood up. As I did, Iris also got up along with me.
Once outside, the rat Therianthrope locked the cell door and started walking ahead.
We took the elevator we had previously used down, climbing up and up. The floor they got off on was the same floor where Iris had first been locked up.
After getting off the elevator, we stepped forward. The rat Therianthrope halted in front of a gigantic door across from the elevator.
He walked up to the wall and pulled on a long rope. Suddenly, a ringing bell echoed from beyond the door.
Koong.
As if that was a signal, the door swung open.
Waaaaah -..!
The massive roar of cheers and the chaotic shouting of people buzzed in my ears. I considered pulling earplugs from my pocket but thought they might be too noticeable, so I stopped short.
The inside of the door was a short corridor. At the end of the hallway were stairs—looked like there were at least 30 steps.
Bright light seeped through the top of the stairs, connecting it to the outside world. However, it seemed barred by iron grates, leaving no way to escape.
“Wait inside until the grate in front opens, then go out.”
“That’s it?”
I asked, and the rat Therianthrope looked at me like I was out of my mind.
“Has it not been long since you got here? Slaves don’t ask questions. Got it?”
He clicked his tongue and slipped through the open door. The door swung shut with a thud, leaving Iris and me alone in the space attached to the outside.
‘What’s going on?’
Scratching the back of my head, I looked around. On one wall lay old weapons; there seemed to be no reason to check out the grim-looking ones, so I decided to head up the stairs.
I thought about leaving Iris for a moment to check it out, but she wouldn’t let go of my hand, so we ascended the stairs together.
“Thank you! Thank you! Now the real gladiator fight will begin!”
“Wooooooo!”
“Phweeeee!”
A vast circular space, the crowd was ecstatic, and the announcer—looking quite animated—began his hype.
‘Don’t tell me this is… the Arena of Madness?!’
This was Jiso’s fighting arena where you could see blood-soaked battles between creatures and humans, human and human, and creature and creature.
However, the matches were rigged, and with the only rule being entertainment, humans were ripped apart like toys.
‘Hang on! Wait a second! Didn’t he say to go out when the grate opens?!’
My face turned pale. I’d be fine, but Iris—she could be killed!
Clang, chrrrrl!
In the midst of this, the iron grate opened upwards. I instinctively took a step back with Iris. Suddenly, a giant muscular man standing just outside scooped us up and tossed us into the arena.
“Aaaaah!”
I rolled on the floor while holding Iris tightly.
Clang.
A sword landed right in front of my face down in the dirt.
“It wouldn’t be fun if you just die. Go on and struggle as much as you can.”
The guy who tossed me just laughed and walked back through the corridor we came from. It looked like he was the one who tossed the sword. I staggered to my feet and surveyed the arena.
The frenzied crowd and heat were so intense it felt like my skin would burn.
Jiso’s magic had conjured striking artificial lighting that lit up the arena brilliantly.
“Now, the monster that will fight against this poor pair of siblings is…?! Introducing the SnakeLion!”
Clang, chrrrrl!
The sound of the iron grate rising came from the opposite side where I stood. A lion with a snake’s tail, thick like an adult man’s arm, growled and emerged from the grate.
I hurriedly grasped the sword. It was weighty enough that the tip drooped down.
‘Should I run and escape by scaling the wall? Or should I somehow sweet-talk my way out of this mess?’
As I racked my brain for possible escape strategies,
“Uh..?”
Iris grabbed the sword from my hand. I froze in shock, staring wide-eyed as her eyes sparkled with a pure white light.
There was a shimmering beauty in her eyes, the unmistakable sign of a hero’s potential.
“…”
Iris quietly released my hand and began to stride forward, not giving me a chance to talk her out of it…
Thud!
She shot ahead.
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