Liri blinked.
"What?"
She couldn't have heard that right.
"They're fighting for you."
No, indeed, she did hear that correctly.
"What does that mean?" She asked. So far, this interaction had only managed to produce more questions than it answered.
"… I'm guessing they do not do this where you come from," Arisa muttered. "Whenever someone announces that they are in a relationship, it is tradition that if a drasen wishes to take one of the partners involved in the relationship for themselves, they may fight for them. In this case," Arisa said, turning her eyes back to the fight, "there are multiple people who want you, so… Yeah. There is a bit of a tournament going on. After a few rounds, whoever's left standing will have to fight me. Then, whoever wins that fight, will earn your love."
Liri's jaw hit the ground.
The disbelief that went through her body was electric.
"…"
For a moment, Liri's mouth remained open, but no words or sounds came out of it. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What could she even say?
She thought of something after a while. The most reasonable question that came to her mind was:
"Do I not get a say in this?" Liri asked, arching a brow so high it almost hurt.
"Uhm, well," Arisa looked away, "if you are unsatisfied with the victor, you can reject them if you wish. It almost never happens, though."
"Why?"
"Because whoever wins is clearly the strongest. So, whoever wins is clearly the better partner."
It was a way of life, a way of romance, that Liri simply could not comprehend. Sure, in her previous life, she had known that well-maintained bodies and strong physiques tended to attract people's eyes, regardless of whether the person who had them was a man or a woman, but this was just strange.
"So, if I can just reject whoever wins, we can just call your fight off and be done with it, right?"
"Yes… But, if you do, I will be labeled a coward, as they will assume you are calling the fight off for my sake. I must fight. Even if I lose, at least then, I'll maintain some dignity. Of course," Arisa quickly added, looking away, "if we had simply married, none of this would be happening. Getting in the way of marriage is viewed quite harshly. I... may have forgotten to mention that fact."
Up ahead, the sound of knuckles striking bone continued to ring out in between the audience's cheers. Liri cringed as some blood went flying through the air.
[I need to put a stop to this,] Liri thought. [I'm going to be leaving this place anyway. I don't wanna let these people beat the crap out of each other over someone who's not even going to be in the tribe in a few days. But… What can I do?]
As Liri considered her option, something quickly came to mind. As embarrassing as it was, it appeared to be the only good way of calling this whole thing off without staining Arisa's image.
Thus, she swallowed her pride, deciding to go through with it.
[Eh, come on. At this point, how much dignity do I even have?]
Sighing, Liri walked forward.
"Liri?" Arisa asked as she watched her go but, the ven did not hesitate.
She cut through the crowd, the curious eyes of spectators fixing themselves onto her as they watched the walking trophy those people were fighting over making her way to the ring.
"HEY!" She called out.
The fighters stopped.
Everyone around them turned and looked over at her, completely bewildered.
[… Here goes nothing.]
She figured it would be best to do this without an explanation or any sort of delicate preamble. No, it was likely this stunt would have its desired effect regardless of what she said beforehand.
All she needed was one word:
"Look!"
With that cue, she raised the curtain that covered her crotch and unveiled her cock to the drasen that surrounded her.
Gasps came out immediately, slipping past dropped jaws and accompanying wide, stupefied eyes.
Liri said nothing else. Even as her cheeks turned red, and her dick twitched once or twice.
The silence was deafening. Once she was sure that everyone had gotten a good look at her future baby-maker, she lowered her loincloth and power-walked away, leaving behind a stunned crowd and two confused fighters.
Arisa quickly found her and laughed, throwing an arm around Liri.
"What was that!?" She sounded both scandalized and amused. "Did you see everyone's faces? I think you might have burned that thing into everyone's memories. They'll probably dream about it tonight."
"I did what I had to," Liri mumbled. "Besides, you probably don't want to fight anyone, right?"
As she heard that, Arisa's amused expression turned slightly more appreciative.
"Was it that obvious? You are right, I don't," she admitted. "Thank you. You're even kinder than I first believed you to be."
Now, as Arisa aimed a warm smile her way, Liri was embarrassed for a different reason.
"I'm not all that…" She muttered. Eager to change the topic, she then asked, "by the way, were those archives really all you guys have relating to other places?"
"What do you mean?"
"There was almost nothing about humans or elves."
"Oh. Yes," Arisa nodded. "That was basically it."
"Why?"
"For one, we tend to travel a lot and books can get lost in the process. It just sort of happens. And, besides that, we don't really concern ourselves with humans or elves, to begin with."
"Why not?"
"Because, most of the time, when we do, it tends to end with us aiming our weapons at each other."
Having seen what humanity was capable of in this world, Liri felt she understood what Arisa was getting at. Perhaps elves carried the same bloodlust.
"If that's really all you've got, then, I don't think I'll be here for too long."
Arisa paused for a moment.
"For now, how about we go back to my home? I'll make some dinner for you!"
"I-"
Liri's stomach growled before she could say anything.
"S-Sure."
More than anything, she was just eager to put what she'd just seen behind her.
[That should stop them from wanting to fight for me... Right?] She asked herself. [There's no way they'll do anything weird like that again. Surely...]