“I don’t-” The mediator spoke up with a harsh tone before he was interrupted. “I know, I know. I shouldn’t attack our Phenoms. However, as long as he loses and fails to become one…”
The mediator just shrugged his shoulders with disinterest. The fate of losers was of no concern to him.
“Old friend, want to make a bet that he will go back to chatting the sexy merchant girl up instead of checking the competition out or returning to his Heralds?”
Black Fang ignored the slaver woman. She was seriously getting on her nerves.
Once her eyes refocused on the images transmitted by the artifacts, her second disciple who also had the tendency to annoy her greatly, was already in the middle of announcing the results.
Just for the record, Vex ended up becoming the host of this event because the finance and human trafficking heads voted for her. The finance head because he knew that Vex couldn’t keep her mouth from spouting nonsensical things even if her life depended on it and so he wanted to see Black Fang get embarrassed in front of the masses while the slaver just found it funny, she likely had no ulterior motives.
empire
Black Fang abstained from voting because she couldn’t care less while the other circle members voted for their pupils or other backers, so Vex ended up winning the right to be the host of the event with two votes.
…
– PoV: Quinlan –
“Well then, ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to announce the end of the second event today!” Vex spoke into her microphone with a cheery tone. The 25 teams that passed, so 50 people, stood behind her. Well, not exactly 50 because some needed the attention of healers.
She then continued, “As a reminder, Monsters below level 10 were worth 1 point, between levels 11 and 15 were worth 3 points, between 16 and 20 were worth 10 points, and above level 20 gave you 25 points! Eliminating another team was worth 10 points. Now let’s give loud applause to our medalists!”
The chanting of my criminal alias already begun before she announced it. It seems that I’d become a crowd favorite.
“At first place with an incredibly overwhelming victory stands Devil and Wrath! They eliminated a staggering amount of monsters, with the exact tally ending at 400, which was bolstered by the elimination of 10 competing teams. It was clear that their focus was not on thinning the competition but on making use of this opportunity to level up, a very ambitious mindset I think we can all admire! Their point total is none other than 2010!”
<Master, if you keep it up you might end up deserving another reward from your girls for a job well done.> Seraphiel congratulated me in her usual sly tone.
<Master is amazing! Blossom loves Master.> Blossom decreed adorably.
<Yeah, we know that, Blossom. So do we. Good job, Quinlan.> Lucille replied in a honeyed tone.
<Now I can’t help but understand how Kai lost so easily.> Liora, the healer slave who I recently acquired after killing the man murmured with disbelief.
<Hmm, I could’ve killed that spineless coward myself if I wasn’t restricted by slavery magic.> Shallan added with a furious scoff before hurriedly clarifying in a worried tone, <That’s not to say that you were not amazing, Lord Quinlan! The entire audience was buzzing with overflowing excitement at your display, I never felt anything like this before.>
<Don’t worry about him getting annoyed over your words, this bastard has the thickest skin in the world.> Ayame replied as she eyed me. Although her mask was hiding her face, it was easy for me to tell that she had a proud smile plastered all over her beautiful face.
<D-don’t call Master Quinlan by such an ugly title!> Lyra barked scaredly. She wasn’t present in the arena, but my telepathic ability didn’t seem to have a range, the girls must’ve involved her in their chatting. As for why she was scared, she must’ve been conflicted.
On one hand, she felt the need to protect my honor, but on the other hand, the offender this time around was none other than Ayame who was not only my lover but also my second in command. She didn’t have any right to tell Ayame what she could or couldn’t say, and Lyra knew it perfectly.
Of course, my gorgeous oriental woman merely scoffed, <It seems we’ve gotten a second dog in our midst without my knowledge.>
<I’m not a dog!> Lyra barked with more force in her voice this time around.
However, she wasn’t the only one who took offense.
<Blossom is not a dog! She is a beast-kin and a member of the dog-kin subspecies! She has no ancestral lineage connecting her to a dog, so Ayame should take her words back or Blossom will be very angry!>
I somewhat doubted the validity of her claims, as dog-kin displayed some traits that very closely resembled the tendencies of a dog, but I couldn’t refute her claims. After all, I had no clue how beast-kin came into existence. Maybe she was right and there was no beastiality involved. It could’ve been the work of the Goddess or something.
Ayame didn’t seem very hurried to deliver an apology to the offended parties, so Blossom growled and in the next second, began wrestling with Ayame in the stands. I shook my head amusedly as I grabbed onto Iris’ hand and stepped forth.
The crowd began cheering even louder.
“… What are you doing?” Iris inquired as she eyed the hand that pulled her to the center stage where all eyes were on the two of us.
“It’s called showmanship. We should give the people what they want.” With my explanation concluded, I raised my hand which held hers high into the air triumphantly.
“Devil!!!” Many cries sounded from the stands, and I couldn’t help but recognize that the loudest ones were very clearly the voices of women. I truly gained a few hardcore fangirls.
“Wrath! Devil! Wrath! Devil!” The chanting continued while we stood with our hands raised toward the sky.