"Hey Kojo."
"Hm?"
"Why are we going to the bureau?" Sharone asked.
"To see if we can get a bounty," Kojo replied as they walked through the town square.
"But why? We already have enough money," Lin said.
"Yes. The reward we got from the Duke should be enough for us to survive on for a long time, so going bounty hunting is pointless," Koniko agreed.
"That's true. With that much money, I could live good as a shut-in, but that would make my skills dull," Kojo said.
(Your skills are programmed into you, they can't just get dull.)
"Guys, it's a good way to keep us on our toes."
(You're just afraid of being alone with these girls. How much of a wimp can you be?)
"Shut up," Kojo said under his breath.
"Besides, it's not like we won't run out of money," he said, opening the doors into the bureau. All the raiders stared at him.
He could feel their glares as he walked inside the building.
"What's up with them?"
(News has probably spread that you received a reward from the Duke.)
"I see."
(Be careful, this could get ugly.)
Kojo went to look at the billboard with the various bounties. All of them were taken.
He saw the receptionist and went over.
"Excuse me, are there any free bounties?" he asked.
"No, unfortunately, they've all been taken," she replied.
"I see, thank you."
He went back to where the girls were standing.
"Any luck?" Sharone asked.
"Nah. All the bounties have either been taken or cleared," he replied.
"See, I told you this was pointless," Koniko said, folding her arms.
"Well, then how about we go to the beast glades?" Kojo suggested. Looking at the billboard again. Koniko began to complain about how insensitive he was. He ignored her and went to look at it.
"Hey guys. It says there's gonna be a tournament."
"Yes, Di'ori," Sharone said. "Haven't you heard of it before?"
"Well..." Kojo scratched the back of his head.
"Honestly, you don't know anything?" Koniko said.
"It's nothing. Kojo isn't from here, after all," Lin said. "It's a tournament held in Archadia every five years. The strongest fighters from all over Archadia gather to compete to find out who's the strongest."
"Really? Isn't that just a means of entertainment for the nobles?"
"Well, the winner gets the title of Champion and has the responsibility of defending the country in times of trouble," Koniko said.
"That sounds like a Hero's job."
"The Archsaint only answers to the church," Sharone said.
"Wait, there actually is a hero?" Kojo turned in surprise.
"How can you know about that and not know about the tournament?" Koniko asked, bringing her face closer to his and narrowing her eyes.
"Anyway," Koniko backed away. "You going to join?"
"Naa. Too easy," Kojo said.
"You know, you're one cocky bastard for a newbie," Gaston said, coming to stand in front of Kojo. His gang backing him.
"What do you want, Gaston?" Kojo said coldly.
"To give you a piece of brotherly advice, don't waste your time on something that will get you killed," he said, putting his hand around Kojo's shoulder.
"And what moved you to give me advice, 'brother'?"
"Well, I, as well as everyone here, knows that you only defeated the silver Lynx because of these ladies with you," Gaston said, glancing at them.
"If you enter the tournament, they won't be there to fight for you. But I gotta hand it to you, you got moves, pretty boy," he said, putting a strand of Kojo's hair behind his ear.
"With your skills, why don't you quit going after bounties and take up a full-time job on raiding women?" Gaston said.
The people around started laughing. Kojo took Gaston's arm off his shoulder.
"What, can't take a joke?"
Kojo sighed and was about to say something, but Lin stepped forward.
"Oh, I'm sorry, little lady, I didn't mean to offend your boyfriend. Although if you're looking for a man with real strength who properly utilizes his resources," he eyed her body, "then I would be happy to take you off his hands." There was more laughter from the background.
"Big words coming from a virgin."
There was a loud "uuuuuuh" from the crowd around them.
"Watch your tongue," Gaston barked.
"And you watch that tiny prick of yours before it falls off," Koniko said.
Gaston's face turned red with embarrassment.
"Damn," one of Gaston's goons said. He glared at him.
"Look, he's red like a tomato now. I think he's gonna cry," Sharone said.
"I know, right," Lin agreed.
Gaston grit his teeth and began to draw his sword. His thugs followed his lead.
Sharone, Koniko, and Lin glared at them. A strong pressure filled the room.
"Don't," they said together, and Gaston froze, unable to move.
"That's enough, Gaston," Jack said.
The pressure vanished almost instantly, and those trapped by it were released from its hold. The other raiders quickly dispersed.
"We were just leaving," Gaston said, sheathing his sword and walking away with his thugs. He looked over his shoulder and glared at Kojo.
"This isn't over, kid," he said.
(Says the once-appearing villain.) Kojo smiled.
"You know when this is going to be over? When you actually get a life."
The people around tried their best not to laugh. Gaston grunted before walking out of the building.
"The nerve of that guy," Lin fumed.
"You know, I actually felt like spilling his blood," Sharone said.
"Stupid bastard," Koniko said.
"It's ok, guys. Thanks for standing up for me back there," Kojo said with a smile.
"No problem."
"Don't mention it."
"Always."
(Wow, you've got your own band of female furies.)
"Yeah."
(And you're too wimpy to do anything.)
"I can see that these girls really love you," Jack said.
(See, even the half-elf knows.)
"I- it's not like that," Sharone said quickly.
"L-l-love, I wouldn't go that far," Lin said.
"We're just standing up because he's too stupid to do it himself," Koniko said.
All three of them were blushing.
Kojo smiled.
(I'd hold onto them if I were you.)
"I will."
Sysia giggled.
"wait, wait, wait, it's not what I meant."
Of course it's not.
"Let's go, guys," he said.
Jack watched them walk out, then smirked before moving toward his office.
†*†********************
"Ok, looks like the last of them," Koniko said, pulling an arrow free from a direwolf.
"Yeah," Kojo said, throwing down the body of one of the wolves. "Man, I wish I had my phone so I could take a selfie."
"What's a selfie?" Lin asked.
"It's a picture you take of yourself using a smartphone," Kojo said, pulling the corpse into his pocket dimension.
"What's a smartphone?" Koniko asked.
"Uuuuh," Kojo said, unsure of how to respond.
"Is that magic?" Sharone asked.
"Well, I guess you could say that, though I wouldn't call advanced circuitry magic but whatevs."
They began walking home.
"Is that what your people use?" Sharone asked.
"Yeah. It's one of the devices that was designed to make life simple."
"Who makes them?" Lin asked.
"Well, it's a long process to make something like a smartphone."
"Do you need a lot of people to make one?" Koniko asked.
"The assembling is mostly done by machines."
"What's a machine?"
"It's a..., you know what, never mind."
They walked through the gate. A man came to meet them.
"Greetings. Are you Atari Kojo?"
"Why are you asking?" Kojo narrowed his eyes.
"The-" The man began, but Kojo hung him upside down using his threads, alarming the people around. He then set fire under him and made spikes protrude from the flames.
"You're one of Gaston's men trying to pull the 'come with me' card, aren't you?Well, I ain't stupid. If you think I'll fall for that, then you got it all wrong," Kojo said.
"No, you've got it all wrong," the man said, struggling to free himself. Kojo gagged him.
"I think I'll make an example of you," Kojo said, slowly lowering him.
The man managed to get the gag out of his mouth. "Wait! The duke requests your presence. I was sent to bring you to his estate."
"Really?" Kojo asked.
The messenger vigorously nodded.
"You sure?"
"Why would I lie when I'm about to be turned to roast meat!" the man yelled.
Kojo narrowed his eyes.
"Ok," he let go of the thread, and the man fell into the fire.
"Oops."
"Sir, I have brought Atari and his friends as you requested," the messenger said, smoke coming from his mouth as he spoke. The raider chief, Jack, looked at him while taking a sip of tea.
"Excellent work. But what happened to you?" the duke asked, regarding his blackened clothes. "Are you sure you're alright? I can always give you another job."
"This is nothing, sir, just an occupational hazard."
The girls looked at Kojo, who suddenly became interested in the ceiling.
"Very well, you may leave."
The messenger bowed and limped away.
Kojo tried to mouth, "I'm sorry," but the messenger freaked out and nearly tripped.
(Congratulations, your first trauma victim.)
"Have a seat," the duke said. They sat down.
"Let's get straight to the point. As you are already aware, the Di'ori tournament is in a month's time, and this year's event is going to be hosted here in Ekron."
"That's great," Kojo said. "But why, though?"
"To ensure unity, the tournament is rotated around the various provinces of the kingdom."
"I see. Well, it's good. I'll be able to get more knowledge on Archadian culture," Kojo said.
"I'm happy to see you're enthused, but it gets even better."
"Huh?"
"You're going to represent Opal in the tournament."
"That's great...Wait WHAT?!"