Chapter 49 "Stable"

Delord territory.

It is located southwest of the Medream and adjoins the Nordia Territory to the east.

　There are no special products, but the arena and labyrinth are like a bottomless swamp where people who dream of getting rich never cease to enter.

　The arena and the labyrinth.

　Both are places that are inseparable from injuries, so there are many hospitals...or sanatoriums here.

There are also inns and brothels for those who come from outside, though not as many as in Willead.

　The arena is located in Strata, the city of Delord, and is a hall of fame for warriors who fight to earn fight money.

　There are two main types of guys who participate as players.

　The former are those who simply want to make a quick buck, and the latter are slaves.

　In short, they are bought by some rich person and made to fight for fight money, and even if they lose, they die, and even if they win, they get a pin money. It is a horrible world where even human life depends on money.

And what about the rest of the players?

It's the usual gambling that goes along with this kind of event.

　Well, yes, there is. The arena is being enriched by admission fees and betting.

　The other attraction, the dungeon, is... well, let's leave it at that for now.

"Wow. Fast, fast."

Heidi shouts happily from behind.

　Savage's feet are fast as he starts to run, and the scenery is flowing by at a fairly fast pace.

He seems to be taking care not to shake us too much as we ride along.

At this speed, we should be able to leave Medream in a few days.

　No, it's really easy. If this is the case, I should have built it earlier.

　This thing would run through any terrain.

　On the way, we passed merchants and adventurers with astonished expressions on their faces, but it was nothing to worry about.

　The distance that would normally take 10 days to cover was completed in three days.

　Thus, we were able to enter Delord without any particular trouble.

　"Is that Strata?"

　"Yeah. Famous for its arena."

　"It's amazing. It's so big you can see it from here."

　The arena was still quite far away, but I could see it.

　I knew it was big, but it was really big.

　Well, we are almost to the city...

　I look at Savage. Is it really safe to let this guy into town?

　Should we let him wait around? No, that's a no-no.

　If they find him, they might take him down. Should we go in from the front?

　Well, we'll see what happens.

　"Is this guy...a ground dragon?"

　The gatekeeper looked at Savage with astonishment.

　"Yes, but I'm keeping him. Is it all right if I come in?"

　'Oh, yes. But I need something to vouch for your identity."

　I handed the plate around my neck to the gatekeeper.

　"Is that all right?"

　The gatekeeper checked my plate, nodded, and handed it back to me.

　It seems to be all right.

　I get off the Savage and walk into town, pulling on the reins.

　"It's lively in a different way than Willead."

　Most people come here for the arena.

Only those with skill or money will be here.

　The commoners with no money have no use for this place.

　"First, we need a place to stay."

　"Okay. But...Savage..."

　I was thinking about that, too. It would be difficult to stay in a regular inn.

　We'll need a big inn where we can leave him. If we looked around, we could at least find an inn with stables, like the ones used by merchants.

　"What are your plans here?"

　Heidi, who was walking next to me, asked me about my plans.

　There's not much to do here, that's for sure.

　I'm not planning on staying long myself, so I'm going to enjoy the arena for a while and then say goodbye.

"....Well. I think I'll have a little fun in the arena."

　"Are you going to be there?"

　"No, I'll be watching."

　"I see. I'll go with you then."

　"You'll have to pay your own entrance fee."

　Heidi chuckles, "I know."

　As we were talking about this, we came to a plot of land where the inns are all lined up.

　The one with stables is ...... that one.

We found the inn we were looking for, so I let Savage and Heidi wait outside and went inside.

　"Welcome."

　The receptionist was a sharp-eyed old man.

"I need a room for two people and a ride."

"'Okay. The horse..."

　"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't have a horse."

　The man at the reception desk raised his eyebrows and walked out.

　"What do you mean it's not a horse? ......"

　...and then his eyes met Savage's.

"............, this one's just ridiculous."　

　"You don't mind, do you?"

　"Yeah. I'm just worried he's going to eat one of the horses in the stable."

　I look at Savage.

　Savage guffawed and nodded.

　"No problem."

　I show the plate to the old man.

　"If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."

　The man at the reception desk seemed convinced, and he showed me to the stables behind the lodge.

　We took Savage into the stables behind the inn.

　He walked in, sniffed the stalls, and then entered an empty space and crouched down, closing his eyes.

　"You need to be quiet."

When I said so, Savage responded by wagging his tail at random.

　He's kind of a listless guy, isn't he? Oh well.

　When I left the stables...there was quite a crowd.

"Is that your dragon over there?"

　A well-dressed old man came forward from inside.

　"Yes, it is."

　He looked kind of proud, so I answered in a reasonable manner.

　"Will you give it to me? I'll buy it at your price."

　"I'm sorry, but he's not for sale."

　I answered immediately.

　Heidi next to me said, "Hey!?" but I ignored her.

"Don't say that and sell it to me. A dragon that does not harm people is precious. Its value is immeasurable. I can make the most of its value. Of course, I won't let you lose anything."

　Don't come back at me.

　"I'm not going to sell him no matter what you say. I'm sorry, but you'll have to look elsewhere."

　"I understand your reluctance to part with a precious land dragon that you happened to come into possession of. But as a low-ranked adventurer, you can't support him, can you? If you want legs, I will give you a horse instead. Let's both have what is appropriate for our stature."

　The well-dressed old man looked at my plate and laughed at me as if he was mocking me.

　Is he trying to pick a fight? He doesn't look like a merchant. Is he a rich man?

　Well, if that's the way you're going to act, I've got some ideas of my own.

　I open the stable door.

　"Hey, Savage. That old man is asking if you'd like to be his pet. Do you want to go?"

　Savage opened one eye, took one look at the well-dressed man, snickered, and closed it again.

　"I'm sorry, but he doesn't want to go."

　I snickered at him, too.

　The well-dressed old man was shaking, his face reddish-black.

　"Don't think you can get away with this by humiliating me!"

The old man waded through the onlookers and left, his shoulders shaking with anger.

　What was that old man all about? He didn't even say his name, that's beyond rude.

　"Ah. That was Patrick, a slave owner who earns money in the arena."

　"That's not very nice. If you're going to say no, you have to do it gently."

　The old man at the receptionist's desk who was watching behind me told me. Heidi also had a bitter look on her face.

　The owner, right? In short, he is a rich man who pays off his slaves to fatten his own pockets.

　By this world's standards, slaves are treated like furniture, so I guess it's okay.

Though the exploited slaves must be very unhappy.

　But still, it's a pity. I've been spotted by something strange.

　He's going to do something to me for sure.

　...I guess it was a mistake to enter the city with Savage.

　If this is the case, I should have let him spend some time outside the city.

　Well, what's done is done.

　If that old man Patrick does something to me, I'll just take revenge.

　I tried to head to my room at the inn while thinking about that, but on the way there, I was annoyed by the merchant-like guys and even the kids who were asking me to give them Savage. Naturally, I refused all of them, but I may have to think of something.

After checking the rooms, I thought about going to the arena, but they were currently preparing the arena, so I decided to go freely until the evening.

　"I'm going to look at weapons and tools."

　Heidi said and quickly disappeared.

　What about me? I've got enough weapons and armor, so I might as well get some food.

　I'm going to check on Savage and then make my way around town.

　When I went to the stables, I heard a voice from inside.

　Don't tell me they're trying to take Savage out?

　What an idiot. He's that size, there's no way he's going to move.

　I looked inside and saw a couple of kids poking Savage with a stick.

　Ah...come to think of it, the kids were saying something lame like, "Give us Savage for free."

　What was that? Is this some kind of test of courage, peculiar to kids?

　"Hey! Come fight in the arena with me! You and me together, we're invincible!"

　...... What makes you invincible? Are you stupid? You're an idiot, go out alone.

　The point is, he wants Savage to fight in the arena to earn money.

I mean, can any kind of monster go in there? Maybe you should look into the rules of the arena a bit.

　This is so blatant that it makes me laugh out loud.

　It's a sad story that even kids are like this.

Well, no matter how much you poke him with a stick, Savage probably just tolerates it, so I'll just leave him alone, and when he gets tired of it, he'll disappear.

　I checked the perimeter just to be sure, but there didn't seem to be anyone suspicious.

I left the place after giving Savage instructions over the comms that if he couldn't take it any longer, I'd take care of things.

　This city is not so big.

　Walking along the arena, I quickly circled it.

　I groan lightly. There is nothing to see except the arena.

　I decided to eat at a suitable restaurant for the time being, but all I found was meat.

I checked the menu and found that most of the meat was related to monsters.

I heard that they use meat from monsters killed in the arena. Is this for real?

　I asked the waitress about the arena while ordering, and she reluctantly told me.

　Basically, the arena is divided into morning, afternoon, and night sessions.

The morning session is a battle between captured monsters and players.

It is also possible to bring in monsters and smash them against players, and apparently this was the goal of the kids earlier.

If the monsters win, the owner is paid, and if the players win, the players are paid fight money.

　In the afternoon, the players fight each other, and only the winner gets paid.

　Incidentally, victory or defeat is determined by the opponent's surrender, death, or inability to fight, and there are quite a few cases where there are deaths. Especially slaves who have no choice but to fight until they literally die, and many of them are killed.

Finally, at night, the game is a little different.

　The arena offers a challenge to opponents, and if they win, they receive prizes and cash prizes.

　Many of the prizes are valuable, and there is no end to the number of people who challenge and are beaten back.

　I hear that the prizes include precious medicines, tools, and super high-class armaments, but...I don't really want those things.

　But I'm interested in the game, so I'm going to watch it tonight.

　At this time of the day, I can probably see the game at night.

　I'm looking forward to it.