“You don’t seem to be in a good mood.”

 

“Who? Father-in-law? I guess he’s going through a mid-life crisis. The same also happened to our father.”

 

“… No, I’m talking about you, Ruby.”

 

Would you be in a good mood if you were me? Do you think I enjoy sitting next to you?

 

This b*stard had no conscience.

 

The audacity of him had me shaking my head and laughing to myself. This conversation was just so ridiculous. “Don’t say it like that. Why wouldn’t I be in a good mood? I’m having so much fun right now. You don’t have to glare at me like that. I’m good at managing my facial expressions, you know.”

 

My life must be one hell of a comedy to anyone watching.

 

“… Am I glaring at you?” Cesare, surprisingly, didn’t let much of anything show on his face. The faint look of confusion was gone within the blink of an eye.

 

“Actually, why don’t you put a smile on your face?” I hoped my sneering wasn’t that noticeable. “Your brother-in-law, who will most likely become the King of the North in the future, will appear at any moment, so shouldn’t you be showing your good side to him?”

 

Cesare didn’t say anything further. Instead, he just kept glancing at me while fiddling with the rosary in his hands.

 

His constant peeking was especially annoying today, but I decided to just put up with it since I didn’t want to hear him any longer.

 

Before long, the loud trumpets signaling the start of the match reverberated throughout the arena, but the rambunctious shouts and cries from the spectators drowned it all out as the entire coliseum filled with the crowd’s excitement.

 

My eardrums were about to burst. They were definitely going to burst.

 

Despite the fact that this was the moment I had been waiting for, I felt somewhat indifferent.

 

I hadn’t even thought about what would happen after this game was over.

 

I had nothing to lose anyway. Whatever happens, happens, no matter if I worried about it or not.

 

Everything is meaningless in the end, after all.

 

The first batch of monsters unleashed on the battlefield were Behemoths. They were animal-like demons of tremendous size and power, whose special ability was bewitching humans into giving in to one of the seven deadly sins, the sin of wrath.

 

They were ferocious and fearless creatures, unstoppable when angered, and they looked like a strange mix between a rhinoceros, a hippopotamus, and a dinosaur. The monsters rushed out into the stadium and the jeers of the audience became even louder. I think I understand now why the people of this kingdom had so many anger management issues.

 

The crowd’s hollering and cheering, the Behemoths’ shrieking and screeching, all of it became too much.

 

There were so many Behemoths down there, how on earth could these people contain their anger? Did the cries of these monsters not trigger their wrath?

 

As if everything I knew about the monsters did not matter in the slightest, the players, who had been waiting for this moment, dauntlessly jumped into the fray with their holy swords drawn. The swords had been declared sacred by the priests during a holy ritual before the start of the game, and they clanged as the men boldly and confidently faced the beasts.

 

The shouts of the audience crying for blood, the roars of the demons, the sounds of metal and flesh meeting each other and the blinding lights of divinity sealed in the swords releasing and bursting forth like lightning strikes—everything made me nauseous.

 

“Kill it! Kill it!”

 

“Where are you looking at, you stupid b*stard?! You’re the disgrace of our family!”

 

up and cut it off! Hurry, hurry,

 

don’t even think

 

hysteria was worse

 

to my stomach, but everyone else

 

to see disaster happen was the same no matter what world I

 

ones left that had withstood the bloodbath. And yet, when the last mana stone from the core of the

 

had taken down the last monster standing was a

 

dragged out of the arena because of their injuries

 

for them to recover. That’s too bad,” Cesare said as he watched the helpers come out and clean up the mana stones scattered all

 

this man actually capable

 

didn’t you bring Enzo, then? I’m pretty sure

 

Enzo crushed his arms while fighting

 

Cesare only fixated his eyes on me, looking for something. After a moment that lasted for too long, when I started to wonder if the corners of my mouth would be stuck in this position forever, he finally started to

 

to participate, and Father would never allow it even if that punk had already

 

get sympathy from me? I know damn well you wouldn’t have participated even with Father’s

 

that you can take this opportunity to get a grip. He would’ve preferred that much better, isn’t that right? I think you’re having

 

know how much

 

wouldn’t have pimped me out five times.” All I could do was laugh at my harsh reality. “Right,

 

been different if I was? Would Father have loved me

 

all, so Father and Brother have truly been merciful. I

 

“Ruby…”

 

couldn’t make sense of and his copper-toned face was

 

unfamiliar Cesare I was seeing would have been amusing to me if only

 

time, the dust in the air and the stones on the ground had disappeared and been cleaned up. I wondered what other types of monsters today’s match had in store to outdo Behemoths, but the demons that followed next

 

the atmosphere was quite different from

 

monsters

 

the gloomy chill in the air making everyone’s hair stand on

 

to

 

is about to take you out of the family

 

madness hadn’t subsided

 

platform the players were standing on to battle the monsters was overrun with ghouls. Their gray, decayed skin looked awful and they were emitting a

 

seem to be injured. Rather, they seemed to have been engulfed

 

on the ground, but whenever a sword or horse accidentally flew towards the edges of the platform, towards the

 

eyes of the Cardinals, including Cesare, unfortunately, and other high-ranking priests didn’t seem to be affected at

 

so high up while all the players were down on

 

because the monsters kept on continuing their rampage and the audience kept on shouting their lungs out. The ghouls had been steadily killing and tearing apart the players, but the crowd didn’t seem to care whatsoever. The sight of humans dying only fueled their enthusiasm. None

 

men down there fighting so

 

me halt. Someone had refilled it. I hadn’t

 

that annoyed me for some reason, so I pushed the basket away and

 

“That’s rum,” Cesare said.

 

“So?”

 

“… It’s strong.”

 

me drunk. Didn’t you tell me

 

being contradictory, so he said, “I think the final victor has already been

 

“Really? How so?”

 

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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