Ch.246Round 1, Fight!

After finishing our reconnaissance of the underground fighting arena, we returned to our lodgings. We shared our findings with Mina, Phyllis, and Iris, then began preparations to achieve ten consecutive victories.

First, Seti was chosen as our competitor. While this was the obvious choice considering her close combat proficiency, it seemed there was another reason—the others didn’t want to see me undressing other women. I had no complaints about Seti’s decision, as I had no intention of flirting with unknown round girls when I already had four beautiful girlfriends.

I took responsibility for countering the whiskey-induced condition deterioration. Once the match began, magical support would be impossible, and any buffs from spells or potions would be nullified by the magic tools in place. However, 21st-century modern medicine offered an alternative solution.

“Liver activator?”

“Yes, it’s a medicine that temporarily enhances the liver’s detoxification ability, making it harder to get drunk. If you take it before drinking, your alcohol tolerance increases surprisingly well.”

“Huh~ So you can make such medicine without using magic or alchemy.”

This miraculous elixir, Heo-something syrup, could help even the weakest drinker remain sober through the first round. This medicine, which had protected the health and mental well-being of countless office workers, would shield Seti from Hell’s Garden’s whiskey intoxication strategy.

After completing our preparations and verifying the effectiveness of the liver activator, we all headed to Hell’s Garden’s underground arena together. We wanted to support Seti in her match, and we calculated that visiting as a group would be safer. As they say, the hardest part of gambling isn’t winning money—it’s safely leaving with your winnings.

Our group—consisting of a Human, an Elf, a Dwarf, a Cat-folk, and a Dark Elf—immediately attracted the attention of men as we entered the club. Among the five women, Iris drew particular attention, perhaps because Dark Elves were rare, or because she wore a collar of subjugation around her neck. Not wanting to get entangled, we quickly made our way to the iron door leading to the basement.

“I’m here to compete in the underground arena.”

“My goodness… you, miss? Really?”

Unlike yesterday, the alluring woman guarding the door looked back and forth between Seti and me when Seti announced her intention to compete.

“…Are women not allowed to participate?”

“No, anyone can participate if they pay. But you never know what might happen in the ring. Wouldn’t it be better to reconsider, so you don’t make your boyfriend sad?”

“It’s fine. Here’s fifteen hundred gold.”

When Seti handed over the money without showing the slightest intimidation at the threatening advice, the woman quietly rose and guided us to the basement. Today, too, barbaric matches stained with blood and sweat were taking place in the underground arena.

“Competitors come this way for a physical examination. Everyone else can find a place to watch.”

“You’re not going to let men touch Seti’s body, are you?”

“Usually, only male staff conduct physical examinations, but… this is a special case, so I’ll do it myself. If you’re worried, up to two people can accompany her.”

Jessica and Mina decided to accompany Seti during her physical examination. If there was anything suspicious about the magic tools used, Mina would detect it, and if any suspicious magic was used, Jessica could handle it. Fortunately, there seemed to be no issues during the examination, as after about five minutes, Jessica, Mina, and the woman who had guided us emerged from the competitor’s waiting room. Jessica was holding Seti’s cloak and feather hairpin.

“I understand the cloak, but why is the hairpin prohibited too?”

“Seti asked me to hold onto it. She said it would be a shame if it got damaged.”

Jessica and Mina shrugged as they answered—our predetermined signal for “no suspicious elements during match preparation.” If there was no immediate trickery, Seti’s chances of winning seemed quite high.

“…Hmm? Aren’t you going back upstairs today?”

“Since it’s the first time a female fighter is competing, I want to watch for a bit. It might be useful reference for future business.”

“So you’re the owner of this establishment?”

“My father holds ownership, but I manage it. I thought the name Josephine Hawkins of Hell’s Garden was quite famous… but judging by your reactions, perhaps not?”

“I’ve only been in Grantis for about three months.”

“Hmm… to have reached Westend Seventh in just three months, you must be quite skilled. Capable security personnel are always welcome, so consider it if you ever need money.”

“Sorry, but I’m planning to try for a civil service position after retirement.”

I see no reason to leave a lifetime position with a million gold contract fee and monthly income of five thousand gold to work at a strip club. The conversation between the madam and us ended there, and finally, after the current challenger achieved five consecutive victories by defeating two opponents, it was Seti’s turn.

“Oh? What’s this, a woman?”

“She’s a Cat-folk, isn’t she?”

“Isn’t she that woman? The first Cat-folk adventurer who was in the newspaper…”

When the brown-skinned beauty in a tank top and spats appeared, the surrounding spectators began to murmur. I felt proud that some people recognized Seti even in this setting.

“Oh, what a cute little lady. I wonder if those tiny fists can even hurt me?”

“You’re the one who should forfeit and go to the hospital. You look like you’d pass out from one hit.”

“Wahahahaha!”

The audience erupted in laughter as Seti coolly countered the provocation from the fierce-looking bald man. Since all the spectators except us were men, they seemed to favor the healthy-looking brown-skinned beauty. But regardless of appearance-based preferences, betting odds were calculated coldly.

Despite having already achieved five consecutive victories and still looking energetic, the bald muscleman was given odds of 1.1, while the relatively small Seti received odds of 2.5.

“Fighters ready!”

Even after the referee’s command, the bald man continued to leer at Seti’s body with a lecherous expression. Meanwhile, Seti lowered her waist and lightly placed her left hand on the ground, looking ready to spring forward at any moment.

“Fight!”

*Ding!*

“Hehehe—”

*WHACK!!*

As soon as the bell rang to start the match, Seti lunged forward at a speed invisible to the eye, just as I had expected, and delivered a clean elbow strike to the right jaw of the bald man. It was like a brown storm sweeping across the gray ring. This was Seti’s charging attack—the same one that had pierced the hearts of countless monsters with a single spear.

*Thud…*

The bald man collapsed unconscious, not even knowing what had happened to him. Even the referee was so stunned that he just stood watching until Seti gave him a look, at which point he finally began counting.

“…Seven, eight, nine, ten! K.O!”

*Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding~*

Seti’s first match ended in just one second, and the money we had bet on her returned 2.5 times over. It was the moment a powerful dark horse made her debut in Hell’s Garden’s underground arena.

~~~ Hell’s Garden 2nd Floor, Staff Office ~~~

As the Cat-folk girl who appeared like a comet knocked out three men in succession, Hell’s Garden’s underground arena began to boil with unprecedented excitement. Josephine Hawkins, the owner of Hell’s Garden who had watched the matches, excused herself citing business matters and headed to the second floor.

About twenty well-built men were waiting on the second floor, which was a staff-only area. These were security personnel who would intervene if rowdy male customers caused trouble on the first floor or in the basement. Some of them also doubled as challengers in disguise, tasked with stopping anyone who showed overwhelming skill and achieved a winning streak in the underground arena.

The current popularity of the underground arena was built on the “Box of Stopped Time,” the prize for ten consecutive victories. Without being able to prepare an equivalent prize, they had to prevent anyone from achieving ten consecutive wins by any means necessary.

*BANG!*

“Sweepers, assemble.”

When Josephine entered the waiting room with a serious expression and gave that order, the employees designated as “Sweepers” for the arena quickly gathered before her. After examining the men arranged in two rows, she selected two who were particularly skilled and hadn’t appeared before customers recently.

“You and you, go down to the basement right now and participate in the fifth and eighth matches. There’s a Cat-folk woman on a winning streak, and her skills are no joke. If you can’t win in the fifth match, at least drag it out to drain her stamina.”

“Understood, Madam.”

The two men selected by Josephine descended to the basement through a secret passage unavailable to regular customers. Now they would change clothes, disguise themselves as challengers, and attempt to stop Seti’s winning streak.

That was what Josephine had to believe.