Leave a comment

“She’s quite impressive…”

Lilith lounged comfortably, her cheek resting on one hand as she relished the complimentary snacks available in the lounge. Her dainty cherry tongue glided over her slender fingers as she licked them like an alluring and greedy cat.

She watched the announcement of Princess Estelle’s victory and the boisterous cheers of the audience on the screen out of the corner of her eye.

“She seems a little stronger than Luna from a few months ago,” she remarked with a bored yawn.

“That’s because I hadn’t received any personal guidance from Master Lilith at that time.” Luna came over and clung onto Lilith’s arm.

She chuckled and added, “Otherwise, that stinking b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ is just a nobody.”

“Get off.” Lilith unceremoniously pushed away Luna’s flawlessly beautiful face, which had gotten a bit too close for comfort. “You’re blocking my view of the TV.”

“What’s a TV?” Luna asked, tilting her head to the side.

“You don’t need to know.”

“So mean~” Luna covered her cheeks and looked at Lilih with teary eyes. “How can Master Lilith be so cold to me?”

“Am I really that mean? I can see you’re quite thrilled. I thought m̲a̲s̲o̲c̲h̲i̲s̲t̲s̲ like you prefer to be treated this way?”

“Is that really how Master Lilith views me? That truly makes me very sad.” Luna feigned a sob.

Despite her pitiful and sad act, all Lilith could see was “PLEASE PUNCH ME” written all over Luna’s face.

Sighing softly, Lilith resisted the urge to give the m̲a̲s̲o̲c̲h̲i̲s̲t̲ a hard punch. It would only make her more delighted, contradicting Lilith’s intent to discipline her.

Some action needed to be taken before Luna became out of control.

Lilith thought for a moment before an incredibly gentle smile suddenly spread across her face.

“It was my fault earlier. I’ll rectify my behavior.”
“Huh?”
“Looks like I’ll have to be gentle with you from now on, considering you’re an important partner of mine~”

Lilith picked up a piece of snack and brought it to Luna’s cherry lips. “Here~ Open your mouth. This is a reward.”

Luna’s face instantly turned sour, as if she had just bitten into a lemon.

“No… Master Lilith… you’re…”
“What? I can’t be mean to you but I can’t be nice to you either?”
“No… Of course not…”

Luna obediently ate the snack, yet she was completely unable to feel the happiness of savoring a delicious treat.

Lilith gently patted Luna’s shoulder and apologetically said, “I was too harsh before. I’ll be kinder to you from now on.”

“Huh? No…” Luna’s face turned pale, but before she could continue speaking, Lilith silenced her by shoving another treat into her mouth.

“Ummmpffff…”

“It’s our turn.” Skarst, who had been engrossed in adjusting the equipment on the table, suddenly stood up.

A pillar of bright light materialized in the center of the room without warning.

Lilith stretched her body and let out a soft yawn. “Well, time to get moving, or I might doze off.”

She casually grabbed Cornelia by the collar at the back of her neck, and Cornelia did the same to Lacey.

If the match did not require five participants, Lilith would have preferred to stow Cornelia away in a small world.

“Let’s go,” Lilith said as she took the lead to step into the pillar of light.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The scene unfolded before her, and Lilith found herself in a vast arena, devoid of spectators or opponents.

A colossal dice materialized in front of Lilith’s group.

“Please roll,” a calm, monotonous female voice said.

Lilith gave the dice a kick, sending it flying. It collided with a transparent barrier nearby, rebounding and eventually coming to a halt just in front of Lilith.

One point.

Lilith raised an eyebrow at it. It seemed like luck was not on her side today.

“Opponent’s score: three points.”
“Opponent gets to choose the arena type.”
“Opponent’s choice: Randomly Generated Arena.”
“Randomly Generated Arena: Swamp.”

Following the monotonous voice , the scenery before Lilith transformed once again. An expansive verdant green expanse filled her vision. The stench of decaying flora and fauna invaded her nostrils. The ground beneath her became wet and sticky, leaving Lilith thoroughly uncomfortable.

“Talk about rotten luck,” Lilith muttered under her breath.

She had just realized she disliked swampy terrain not long ago, and now she found herself in one.

The feeling was more irritating than unexpectedly biting into a savory snack while expecting something sweet.

After all, snacks have to be sweet! Those who prefer savory ones are psychopaths!

Lilith clenched her fists with that thought in her mind.

Shifting her focus back to the match, a few small black dots appeared on the distant horizon—presumably Lilith’s opponents this time.

With the variance in terrain, the distance between the two teams also differed. In the open swamp, to afford both sides ample preparation time, the gap between teams was often stretched out over a considerable distance.

At such a range, it was challenging for even Lilith’s eyes to discern the appearance of her opponents.

Nevertheless, their appearances held little importance for Lilith.

She merely desired a swift exit from this grimy swamp that had soiled her cute little shoes and skirt.

“Allow me to act first,” Lilith said as she took a step forward. A massive amount of magic power began surging.

The moment her dainty leather shoes touched the swampy water’s surface, an ancient incantation began flowing from her cherry lips, as though they were a commandment that could sway the world.

“FREEZE!”

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

On the opposing side, five identical-looking burly men were animatedly discussing the terrain before them.

“Hehe, who would have thought we’d get such a favorable venue in the first match? It seems the heavens are smiling on us brothers. Right, big brother?” the man wearing a tank top with number three on it said, puffing out his chest.

“Absolutely, third brother! We’re sure to secure a top rank in this tournament and become its dark horse!” The burly man wearing a tank top with number one on it confidently flexed his biceps.

“We, the five brothers, have secluded ourselves and trained hard for three years. Nothing can stand in our way now!” The man wearing a tank top with number four on it roared as he flexed his gluteus maximus muscles.

“When the time comes, you have to introduce Susan from next door to me, big brother!” The man wearing a tank top with number two on it flexed his abs and laughed.

“Allow me to test the waters on the other side for you all, my brothers!”

The man wearing a tank top with number five on it flexed his muscles, the veins on his temples bulged as he yelled, “TRANSFORM!”

His muscles swelled, ripping the tank top he wore.

It did not take long for the fifth brother to transform into a half-human, half-shark creature.

The sharkman surveyed the seemingly endless swamp and laughed menacingly. “Nyehehe, this is my home turf. Luck is on our side. The opponents better be saying their prayers now.”

“I’ll be off then!” The sharkman roared before plunging into the water.

BANG!

Contrary to sharkman’s expectation of a majestic dive, he felt his head slam into something hard. Sharp pain shot through his forehead, and he could see stars in broad daylight.

“W-What’s… going on…?”

In a daze, the sharkman saw the horrified expressions of his brothers. For some reason, his body was turning cold…