Chapter 92

"Then, let me confirm the rules once again."

The elderly supervisor, who had been summoned into the VIP room, stood between the two princes. Due to Iksa's declaration of war against Prince Sting, a battle between the two royal heirs had ensued.

...Still, I've only ever seen this supervisor.

Thank you for taking the time to come here despite your busy schedule.

"Ah, please do."

In response to Iksa's silence, Prince Sting wore a confident expression.

He probably judged that Iksa's decision to engage in this inappropriate bet was due to a fit of anger.

Iksa is also an actor.

He's good at making people think that.

"...So, the second round of the 'Slave and Warrior' battle is about to begin. If Prince Iksa wins, the slaves who win the match will be freed according to the original conditions. If Prince Sting wins, the various rights and privileges that Prince Iksa owns, starting with his rights in the underworld, will be transferred to him. And as a battle between royal heirs, the outcome will be recorded. Is that acceptable?"

"...Yeah."

"That's fine."

While this was happening, the host began to announce the start of the second round.

This time, the warriors of the warrior faction were starting to appear in the arena.

"Oh."

Among them was Lunato.

"Haha, this is bad luck. I didn't expect that the gladiator from 'Lavinia' would participate this time."

"......"

"Hey, you're not going to claim a rule violation, are you? We didn't agree on which gladiators would participate, right?"

"I understand."

Iksa answered in a low voice.

Did Prince Sting know that Lunato would appear as a warrior in this battle?

If so, it makes sense that he was so confident about this match.

The power difference between the warriors and the slaves is like that between an elephant and an ant.

"Huh?"

Then I noticed another familiar face among the warriors.

It was Cyraus.

No way, did he really quit being an adventurer and become a bodyguard, and now he's a gladiator?

"That gladiator? He used to be my bodyguard, but he got into a lot of debt at the gambling house. When he came crying to me, I decided to have him work as a gladiator in the arena as well as a bodyguard."

That was unexpected.

Well, at least he didn't become a slave.

Cyraus is falling fast.

"I'm back. I just returned."

At that moment, Valka returned to the VIP room.

She must have finished her discussion with the arena staff.

"Welcome back, Valka."

When I called out to her, Valka bowed her head slightly with a puzzled expression.

"...Oh? Where are those two?"

Then she noticed.

She realized that Garai and Moguro were not with me.

At that moment, the slaves of the slave faction were starting to appear in the arena, looking around nervously. The 'Berserkers' were making their appearance.

"......What!?"

Prince Sting and Valka exclaimed simultaneously when they saw Garai and Moguro among the slaves.

"That's... Iksa! Those are your companions—"

"We just signed a contract."

I explained to Prince Sting on Iksa's behalf.

"Right before the second round started, two of the slaves who were supposed to participate complained of illness. So, we happened to be nearby and signed the contract to participate as slaves instead."

"Such a coincidence!"

Prince Sting's comment was justified.

In reality, we had contacted the slaves before the battle and asked two of them to pretend to be very ill.

The arena staff were surprised, but they couldn't cancel the event, so they reluctantly accepted our offer.

It was a bit of a brute force method, but we managed to get Garai and Moguro into the slave faction.

"Iksa! You never told me about this!"

"Yeah, I didn't."

Faced with Prince Sting's agitation, Iksa replied with a carefree expression.

"But it's not a rule violation, right? We just bet on the outcome of the 'Slave and Warrior' battle in this second round. We didn't agree on which gladiators would participate, did we?"

"Damn..."

"Wait, my lord. What's going on? Did something happen between you and Prince Iksa?"

Just as Valka was about to ask, the supervisor cleared his throat.

"Please, both of you. I'm still explaining the rules."

"By the way, this 'Slave and Warrior' battle also involves monetary betting organized by the arena. The main bet is on which faction, the slaves or the warriors, will win. However, just predicting the winner isn't enough to make the bet valid. Most of the audience will probably bet on the warrior faction."

I had also done some research beforehand.

Betting can be done at any time by approaching the counter near the entrance or the staff who patrol the arena.

The types of bets vary depending on the match.

For this 'Warrior and Slave' bet, the odds change based on the specific details of the victory.

"For example, if you bet on the warrior faction winning, the victory condition is to knock out all ten slaves for more than five minutes and one second. If even one slave survives, the slave faction wins. That's the basic bet. Additionally, there's a bet on which warrior will deal the 'fatal blow' to which slave."

A 'fatal blow' is a specialized term in this bet, essentially the final blow.

The final attack that causes the slave to fall and makes victory impossible is called a 'fatal blow.'

In essence, the key to the bet is predicting how many slaves a specific victorious gladiator will defeat.

"This bet is not paid out by the house but is open-ended. The payout is calculated based on the bet amount and the odds. So, there's a possibility of winning a huge amount."

"...But in most cases, the slave faction is completely wiped out, so that rarely happens."

The supervisor continued, and Prince Sting muttered under his breath.

"Here are the main odds. If you bet on a specific warrior and they deal a 'fatal blow' to one slave, the odds double. Conversely, if a specific slave deals a 'fatal blow' to one warrior, the odds increase sixfold. If you can specify the name of the slave a specific warrior will defeat, the odds triple. If you can specify the name of the warrior a specific slave will defeat, the odds increase tenfold."

The supervisor explained the odds.

Naturally, to prevent the bets from being one-sided, the conditions for the slave faction are more favorable to encourage betting on them.

"Additionally, there's a special rule. If a specific warrior or slave deals a 'fatal blow' to all opponents, the odds for that specific warrior or slave are multiplied by 100. So, if it's a warrior, it's 3000 times, and if it's a slave, it's 10,000 times. However, this time, the bet is simply on which faction will win, so it's not very relevant."

The supervisor's explanation was complete.

The second round was about to begin.

"It's fine, Valka."

To the visibly shaken Valka, Prince Sting said.

"Slaves have never once defeated warriors. This is actually the expected outcome."

He turned his gaze to Iksa beside him.

"So, this is the reason you challenged the bet... your strategy, right?"

"......"

"That guy, while he does seem strong, how much can he resist against ten armed and powerful warriors... it will be interesting to see."

While Prince Sting spoke confidently, I looked at the center of the arena.

I could see Garai and Moguro, who had changed into the slave faction's attire provided by the arena.

Garai looked at me.

"...Garai."

Garai could see me too.

He clenched his fist and raised it towards me, as if to say, "Don't worry."

"Garai... I believe in you and Moguro."

Then the host's voice rose, and the battle began.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

"Hey, are you really okay with this!?"

--In the center of the arena.

Among the slaves facing the warriors, one of the 'Berserkers' called out anxiously.

He was one of the beastmen who had been exiled from the city and, due to the lord's schemes, had become a gladiator with a heavy debt.

Now, the slave faction, except for Garai and Moguro, consisted of eight other 'Berserkers' in similar circumstances.

"Is what you said earlier really true!? You're here to help us!"

"Yeah."

Garai took a step forward in response to the question.

The signal for the start of the battle had already been given.

One of the warriors, eager to claim the first victory, raised his club and charged at them.

"The human who was with us earlier... Mako said, 'We'll definitely help you, so please do your best in this battle.'"

"Here I come!"

Garai blocked the incoming club with his left arm.

The heavy iron weapon was easily deflected by Garai's arm, and the warrior, momentarily confused by what had just happened, was then sent flying sideways by Garai's right fist.

"There is a surefire way to win this battle."

Amid the stunned silence of friends, foes, and spectators, Garai continued.

"If we need to stand for 10 minutes out of 15, we just need to eliminate all the enemies within the first 5 minutes."

This was a team battle.

They had to protect their comrades and defeat the powerful enemies who would attack in groups.

But for Garai Quiron, this handicap—though he didn't even consider it a handicap—was nothing.

"You all need to protect yourselves and stay standing."

Turning to the slaves behind him, Garai walked straight toward the warrior faction.

"I will take care of all the enemies."