‘Is this Nova?’
Suthia was standing not far from the small dragonkin girl, staring at her with disbelief.
Based on the impression of Nova, Suthia imagined that even as a child, the Nova would be quite independent and perhaps a bit aloof.
But now.
The door to the gladiators’ resting room was pushed open, and a staff member of the arena walked in. His gaze swept over the room and finally rested on the dragonkin mother and daughter sitting in the corner. .
“Next up. Noya”
After the announcement, Noya shifted her gaze from her daughter and politely nodded to the staff member before getting ready to head to the arena.
Seeing her mother about to leave, the little girl, though understanding it was for work, still showed a face of reluctance. She clung to her mother’s clothes, acting coquettishly, refusing to let go.
“Nova, be good. As we pinky promise okay~? When we’re outside and mommy isn’t around, Nova has to learn to be strong.”
Seeing her daughter so attached, Noya seemed somewhat helpless. She crouched down again, touched the little dragon horns just sprouting on Nova’s head, and then ruffled her daughter’s hair.
“Mmhm~. Got it mommy.”
After listening to her mother, the little dragonkin girl finally let go of her mother’s clothes. She then began to look around the resting room with a mix of nervousness and fear in her eyes.
Before, with her mother by her side, the little girl hadn’t paid much attention. But now, with her mother about to enter the arena, the little dragonkin girl looked around the resting room again, especially at the gladiators with fierce faces and bulging muscles, and felt even more intimidated.
Especially at the thought of staying here alone with these intimidating gladiators, the little girl’s head shook like a rattle drum.
The hand that had just let go of her mother’s clothes was now clinging again.
“Wuwu. Mommy, these uncles are so scary. I’m scared. So scared.”
“Don’t go, Nova doesn’t want mommy to go!”
“Don’t, don’t leave Nova alone here. Mamaa.”
The little girl started to cry and scream, her small hands tightly hugging her mother’s waist, refusing to let go. This scene caused other gladiators in the resting room to show mocking and disdainful expressions.
Unexpectedly, these gladiators only dared to look down upon them with their eyes, especially at the little girl, but no one dared to actually say anything out loud, let alone take the opportunity to tease the mother and daughter.
As a mother, Noya was in a difficult position. Her daughter, afraid of being alone, clung to her, while on the other hand, the arena’s staff member was urging her repeatedly that it was almost time for her to enter the arena.
Just as Noya, having no other choice, was about to apologize to her daughter and forcibly pry her hands away, footsteps sounded from beside them. Noya looked up to find a very young human man approaching them.
“Ms. Noya, how about I help look after her?”
“Eh?”
The offer from the unfamiliar young man surprised Noya, and it also diverted the attention of the crying little dragonkin girl, who peeked up at the young man from her mother’s embrace.
Afterward.
She sneaked another glance, and then another, several times.
There was no helping it. Compared to the burly, fierce-looking gladiators around the resting room, Renji, with his young and handsome appearance and well-proportioned figure, was like a breath of fresh air.
The young dragonkin girl, apparently a fan of good looks, seemed to instantly take a liking to him.
-“If this uncle is with me, then, then it’s okay.”- Nova peeked out from her mother’s embrace, a bit shyly stealing glances at Renji while whispering into her mother’s ear.
Noya then lightly tapped her daughter’s head in correction, saying, “He’s a brother, not an uncle!”
Then Noya’s gaze returned to Renji, showing an apologetic expression like any single mother would when asking for help:
“Then I’ll trouble you to temporarily look after my little troublemaker. It seems she likes you very much. I really appreciate it; I promise I will pay your kindness back ”
“It’s nothing”
Renji waved his hand and then took the little dragonkin girl from Noya’s arms.
At first, the little girl was a bit shy and hesitant.
But soon, she found Renji’s embrace as comfortable as her mother’s, even smelling nice, and quickly became lively and outgoing again, wrapping her arms around Renji’s neck and waving to her mother.
“Mommy, go on, and do your best~!”
“You little brat… Sigh… Mommy will be back soon, don’t bother your brother! Okay?!”
“Got it, hehe~!”
Seeing her daughter acting this way, Noya seemed helpless again and gave Renji a “sorry for the trouble” look before turning to leave hurriedly for her match.
…
“Nova, you don’t seem worried about your mommy at all?”
Hearing the handsome big brother ask her this, the young Nova blinked her big eyes and curiously asked:
“Worried? Why worry? Mommy is very strong, the strongest dragon in the world. No one can beat Mommy!”
“And Mommy said she would be back soon. Mommy never lies.”
Seeing the little girl’s confidence, Renji magically created a candy from his pocket and tempted Nova, “Then let’s sneak out and watch your mommy’s match from the audience seats.”
“Not sure if that’s a good idea. Mommy said Nova shouldn’t run around, can’t leave this room,” the little girl verbally resisted, yet her eyes were fixed on the candy in Renji’s hand, visibly swallowing her saliva.
By the time Renji took out a second candy, little Nova completely surrendered. Eating the candy, she happily let Renji carry her out of the resting room. 𝘳.𝑐𝘰
Arriving at the spectator seats, Renji noticed that this match’s audience was much larger than during his own fight, with the crowd’s cheers being even more deafening.
Soon after, with the arena announcer’s shout, Nova’s mother emerged from the end of the corridor. When the audience saw the symbol of “dragon” – the prominent double horns atop Noya’s head, they erupted into an even more fervent uproar, highlighting the rarity and appeal of dragonkin, explaining the surge in audience numbers and their enthusiasm.
“Hey, hey, hey, is she the new dragonkin mentioned in the announcements?”
“Heard her tribe was destroyed by a disaster, so she came to Gulase, even brought her daughter along.”
“Pfft! Seriously? First time seeing someone bring their family to become a gladiator. What a responsible mother, oh no, a widow, hahaha!”
“It’s surprising to see a demi-human looking so good. Worthy of being a MILF, such charm. With that figure and face, why would she think of becoming a gladiator? Such a waste of beauty”
“Can’t wait to see her torn apart by the monsters, then watch her daughter’s reaction. I’ve bet on the monster, anyone following?”
“You’re twisted. But sounds interesting, I’m in!”
“Count me in too! Watching female gladiators’ matches is all about seeing how they die tragically in the sexiest way, haha!”
“I’ve also placed my bets, but let me be clear, I’m not as disgusting as you guys. I just want to see the fighting capabilities of a dragonkin.”
“Shh—stop pretending to be so righteous!”
Wealthy merchants with bushy beards, well-dressed nobles, excited gamblers, thrill-seeking commoners… The spectator stands gathered a diverse crowd, all unleashing their most primal desires.
In Renji’s arms, little Nova didn’t quite understand the noisy chatter around her. Seeing her mother enter and everyone getting excited, she assumed they were all cheering for her mother, so she joined in enthusiastically, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
Holding onto Renji with one hand, her other chubby little hand waved nonstop, imitating the audience, nodding her head and cheering for her mother below.
Normally, when gladiators fought each other, bets were placed on the outcome of the fight. But in debut fights like now, against Miasma monsters, the audience’s bets served an additional purpose.
The arena’s announcer, after receiving a note, suddenly shouted in surprise:
“Breaking news! Breaking news! It seems our newcomer, Noya, has already become extremely popular on her first appearance! Her prize pool has exceeded even the ‘dog’ level, and even the ‘snake’ level! According to the arena’s rules, Miss Noya’s opponent will be replaced with…”
“A ‘elephant’ level Miasma monster!”
𝑖𝘦𝑎.𝗇t