“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!”

 

and cut it off! Hurry,

 

you die here, don’t even

 

was

 

to my stomach, but everyone else seemed to crave for violence, for blood to

 

like the Olympics? Like other sports events? The human desire to see disaster happen was the same no matter

 

already, there were still a few tenacious ones left that had withstood the bloodbath. And yet, when the last

 

player that had taken down the last monster standing was

 

who were getting dragged out

 

them to recover. That’s too bad,” Cesare said as he watched the helpers come

 

this man actually capable of

 

back cheerfully, “Why didn’t you bring Enzo, then? I’m pretty sure he would have jumped at the chance to participate. I mean, wouldn’t

 

his arms while fighting here like those poor

 

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 move his jaw. He only spat out nonsense,

 

never allow it even if that punk had already traveled all the way here. But who knows if it

 

get sympathy from me? I know

 

coming here so that you can take this opportunity to get a grip. He would’ve preferred that much better, isn’t that

 

that mean? You know how much our

 

you thought of me as your real family, you wouldn’t have pimped me out five times.” All I could do was laugh at my harsh

 

different if I was? Would

 

the daughter of a courtesan, after all, so Father and Brother have truly been merciful. I really have nothing to complain

 

“Ruby…”

 

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

 

if only I had the energy left

 

up. I wondered what other types of monsters today’s match had in store to outdo Behemoths, but the demons that

 

of that, the atmosphere was

 

without thought, but today’s monsters made the players be on their guard in a

 

turned solemn and the audience quieted down, the gloomy chill in the air making everyone’s hair stand on end. If yesterday’s match felt like

 

go to Hell, you

 

about to take you out

 

madness hadn’t subsided in

 

the monsters was overrun with ghouls. Their gray, decayed skin looked awful and they were emitting a strange,

 

they didn’t seem to be injured. Rather, they seemed to have been engulfed by

 

to see what was happening on the ground, but whenever a sword or horse accidentally flew towards the edges of the platform, towards the audience, the sacred shield protecting us all would light up, flashing brightly

 

eyes of the Cardinals, including Cesare, unfortunately, and other high-ranking priests

 

the players were down on the ground made it

 

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

 

there fighting so hard to live? What was the point

 

the basket filled with candies, something made me halt. Someone had refilled it. I hadn’t noticed it, because I

 

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

 

“That’s rum,” Cesare said.

 

“So?”

 

“… It’s strong.”

 

drinking won’t get me drunk. Didn’t

 

from it. His eyes were focused on something far away on the battlefield as I saw him purse his lips. Perhaps he realized he was being contradictory,

 

“Really? How so?”

 

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