The Arena (Part 2)

Finding a free spot was a bit challenging, but right as he sat down, the strawberry-blond-haired man was approached by a youthful and cheery girl carrying a book and a charcoal pen, escorted by a bulky thug almost twice her height and at least five times her width.

"Sir! Do you plan to bet tonight?"

The girl leaned in and asked the strawberry-blond-haired man.

"Of course, young lady! Of course!"

The man laughed heartily in response.

"This is for you then, Sir! Hold onto this badge! When you place your bets, refer to yourself as the symbol and the number on the badge. You say the amount you want to bet to me, I will note it, and my colleague will take the money from you. It must be paid upfront. After the show, if you win, you have to go over there to cash out your winnings and exchange them for this badge. If you don't win, after the show leave normally through the door, there will be someone there to collect the badge that way! If you win, do not exit the building before cashing out the winnings, even by accident or mistake! Leaving at any point will invalidate your bets, and your money will not be refunded! Toilets are in that corner over there. It's a small copper coin for a single use!"

The girl, who turned out to be one of the croupiers, gave the man with the cane a small wooden badge painted white with a black heart with a white number twenty-one in the middle and explained, pointing in two separate corners of the remodeled warehouse.

"I understand! Thank you! Here! For you and your colleague!"

"Sir! Thank you very much!"

"Much appreciated…"

The man with the cane smiled gratefully and pushed a small silver coin into the girl's hand, making her let out a shocked gasp and call out - even the bulky thug ended up lowering his head to the seated man and mumbled, clearly taken by surprise by the fact that he was included.

A couple of minutes later, the main door was closed, and everyone in the stands went silent, focusing on the arena.

"Welcome, everyone!"

That's when a charming, blond-haired man walked to the middle of it and called out, spreading his arms in a show of hospitality.

"Another week passed, and here we are again with, I dare say, the most exciting show of the entire Wondalandor!"

The man called, and the whole arena responded with deafening cheers.

"As always, we have prepared the most heart-pounding and exciting event for you! We've got criminals fighting for their freedom, debtors clinging to an easy way of repaying what they owe, and heroic combatants who will do their best to prevent those from escaping their just punishment while all of us will get a chance to win big!"

The blond-haired man called out, and once again, the arena was filled with excited cheers of anticipation.

"Before we start, let me remind you that death is but one of the outcomes that might happen in this arena. But for such a scenario, the fight will be treated as the trial of combat, with the winner walking out free and with no sin or crime to their name! All according to the rule introduced by His Lordship, Marquess Gerart Revereal!"

The speaker reminded everyone, and the ruler of the territory, although not present, received a standing ovation.

"Not to mention that…"

The speaker continued, slightly lowering his voice and allowing himself a cheeky grin.

"...in case of a correct prediction of the death of one of the participants, the winning bet doubles!"

He finished, and the crowd went wild again.

"Oh, but just remember, making a bet for the outcome of a fight and betting on the death makes it a double or nothing. So even if you correctly predict the winner, if the loser isn't dead, you get nothing! And if you bet on a winner but the winner ends up killing his opponent, and you haven't predicted that you also get nothing! Bet responsibly!"

The speaker added, and this time the cheers were much less, some even booed at how difficult it was to actually get rich on the bets. But in the end, it wasn't a new rule at all, and everyone soon grew excited again, which also marked the end of waiting.

"Dear guests! The first fight will be between a newbie hero, Leon, and a recently caught rapist who will have his name cleared and returned if he wins! The odds are - your money multiplied by two if Leon wins, against your money multiplied by one and one-fifth if the rapist takes the win!"

The speaker announced, and the audience got busy placing the bets.

"Sir, what about you?"

Having been done with taking the bets in her sector, the lively girl walked up to the man with a cane and asked with a pleasant smile.

"Can I ask something first?"

"Of course."

He asked, and the girl nodded encouragingly.

"How come the hero of this fight is more likely to lose?"

The man asked, quite clearly disgusted by the idea.

"Oh, it's because this particular sinner was going around raping teenage boys and young men. He is rather strong, quite a bad match for the new hero's debut."

The girl breathed out with a troubled expression and explained in a hushed voice.

"Oh my…!"

The man with the cane gasped in shock.

"In that case… Heart twenty-one, I bet three big silvers on the hero winning! And I say that the rapist will die!"

"Very bold move, Sir! As you wish!"

The man with a cane declared, taking out the coins and placing them on the outstretched hand of the bulky thug while the lively croupier noted the entry with a spirited cheer.

The opponents entered the arena.

The nameless rapist, a large middle-aged man with a robust build, didn't even look particularly sleazy or even slightly more suspicious than some of the thuggish mugs working as guards in the stands…

"Nhnhnhnh~!"

…that is until he smiled creepily, eyeing out the reddish-brown-haired young man who was just finishing wrapping up his fists with bandages.

"..."

As for Leon, his eyebrow twitched a little bit when his opponent began licking his lips and making kissy faces at him, but otherwise, he remained calm.

Although the hero wasn't on the shorter side, his opponent certainly made him look fragile with his arms the size of Leon's thighs.

Now that the audience had a good look at the two, the odds of the bets certainly made sense.

"Bets are now officially closed!"

The announcer declared, raising his hand. Everyone in the audience shifted restlessly, focusing on the arena.