"Man! You weren't lying when you said the food was amazing!"
"I could probably eat here forever…"
We were scarfing down Mel's, the innkeeper, food like a pack of wolves starving in the winter. On the plate was a delectable array of freshly baked breads, tender fish fillets, and succulent steak paired with a glass of cool and refreshing water. As a hungry woman, the meal was bliss. The other patrons scattered around the inn sneaked glances at us, but I ignored their stares. If they have something to say, they should get it over with…
Clein was watching us eat as he talked. "While you guys are eating, I'll give you the run-down about the tournament. First, the tournament hosts preliminary rounds before the actual tournament. It's to give those who weren't specifically invited a chance to compete in the main tournament. They must win their scheduled fight to take part. You two are already enrolled in the main tournament, so you can skip the preliminaries. After the preliminaries are finished, the hosts will create a bracket with the remaining attendees and draw slots for who you will face. After slots are drawn, you just have to wait until it is your turn to fight."
Woah. That is a lot to take in. Is there some kind of rule book or something? I want to read up on it just in case. I don't want to let Solgen down just 'cause we messed up and broke the rules...
"It doesn't stop there. I haven't even mentioned the best part of these tournaments," said Clein. The man's excitement was getting contagious, as his way of explaining was making even me unable to sit still. Isaac paused mid-chew on his stick of bread, mouth agape in surprise.
Please close your mouth… there's food literally falling out the sides.
Clein stifled his laughter and continued speaking. "In order to keep the tournament fresh each time it's hosted, they have a sort of gimmick. For example, last year, the participants couldn't use the same weapon for every fight. Watching them use weapons they had no experience with was a blast. Only the organizers and those higher-ups know beforehand what the theme is, keeping the participants in the dark until the day of the tournament."
I finished my meal and took a sip of water before speaking. "That's pretty smart of them. It keeps their interest at an all-time high and has them guessing what it could be. Who came up with that idea, Clein?"
"It was the king, of course. He has an eye for entertainment."
Hm? Who said that? Clein's lips didn't move when answering, so…
I looked behind Clein and saw two gentlemen sitting at one table across from us. One of the men was a middle-aged man in his forties with long, graying black hair and stubble on his chin. He was wearing a blue suit and a fedora. The other gentleman was gazing out the window of the inn. I couldn't see any distinct facial features as he had a hood draped over, but I could tell he was strong as hell because he was oozing power. While the blue suit guy had a slender build, the hood guy was burly. I even noticed some scraggly hair beneath the hood.
The blue-suit guy glanced at Isaac and I. "Excuse me, you guys were talking so enthusiastically that it was hard for me to not listen. I take it you three are entering the tournament?"
Clein waved the blue gentleman off while chuckling. "Haha. You got it all wrong. I'm not entering the tournament, these two are. I'm just giving them information on what to expect."
The man peered over at us curiously. "Ah, I see. I've never seen you two around here before. Where are you from?"
Isaac swallowed a piece of bread and spoke first. "We came from Ear-"
Before Isaac could say anymore, I gave him a swift elbow to his side, and I chimed in.
"What he meant to say was that we're from Igni town, a place in the Magmi Region."
"Igni town? So, you're entering as the representatives of Morgac?"
"You know the old man?" Isaac muttered, massaging his side.
The man's lips curled into a smile. "Yes. I met him approximately ten years ago."
The blue-suit guy reached into his suit's flap and pulled out a small pocket watch, glancing at it. "I would love to continue chatting with you, but it's time to take our leave. We were thinking about taking a brief break and found this inn here."
After a quick nod, both men got up from their seats and were about to walk out the front door when the fedora man looked back at us.
"Good luck with the tournament. I hope you two will surprise us and the audience with a spectacular show."
With a tip of the fedora, he exited the inn.
Clein watched the men leave as he gazed out the window. "What a friendly fellow. Anyway, I see that you two are done with your meals. How about we head out and explore Port Silis?"
Isaac wiped his messy mouth with a napkin and abruptly stood up. "Hell yea! Let's go check it out."
We signaled to Mel that we had finished our meal and gave her our thanks. She gave us a brief bow and went on to assist the other patrons. After that, the three of us went to explore the town.
****
"Near the grain warehouse are the stables. That's where the steeds are staying for the time being. That open red building right there is the fish market. If you want seafood, that's your place. If I were you, I'd watch out for the smell. Over to our right is…"
"Hey, Clein?" I began to say. "You don't have to point at every building, ya know?"
Clein let out a small chortle. "Sorry, sorry. This is my first time giving a tour of the place."
We continued exploring around the town as Clein gave us the occasional spiel about popular places like an open-air theater, which was closed, neighborhood parks filled to the brim with playful kids, and a large academy that was empty for today. He showed us the docks where most of the sea vessels were located. One of them was a gargantuan size, resembling the freighters from Earth. Clein told us the ship is used to travel to other continents and trade goods. The fishermen on the docks were in high spirits, the sound of their laughter carried away by the ocean breeze. After about an hour of touring later, we arrived at the place where the tournament would be held. The stadium was open to the sky, its oval shape surrounded by tall, white walls of reinforced concrete. Above the front entrance were big gold letters that said: Port Silis Tournament is here!
"Just as I thought. It's just like a stadium. This thing could probably hold at least eighty thousand people!" I said, amazed.
Clein bobbed his head enthusiastically. "Yep! We can't enter the area right now since the workers are preparing and whatnot. How about we go grab a bite to eat and head on back to the Inn?"
I nodded my head in agreement. "Sounds good to me. Lead the wa-"
"Whatcha call me, lil' missy?" said a nearby slimy voice.
"I called you a jerk face, jerk face!" screamed a little girl's voice.
"Kara! I'm sorry about my kid. She can be a little inconsiderate sometimes."
I spun around to investigate the disturbance and saw a group of people crowded around a clothing store. A worried brunet father was holding a little girl with coffee-colored hair and a small white dress back while a boy with the same hair color was hiding behind the father's leg. They seemed to be in an argument with a man in his thirties. He looked like the average thug, as he had a hideous scar across his face and torn clothes as if he had just been ravaged by a honey badger.
"Yo. Control your lil' gremlin else y'all be in trouble," the thug growled.
"Sorry, sir. Come on, Kara. Let's leave the man alone…" The father tried to pull the girl away, but she struggled in her father's arms.
"No! I saw him steal with my very own eyes!"
The thug inched closer toward the family and pulled out a small pocket blade. "I warned you. Don't blame me if things get a lil' roug- what the… Who the hell are you!"
I was grabbing the man's arm before he could cause any harm. I couldn't sit still and keep on watching from afar, so I dashed as soon as I saw him whip out the pocket blade.
I glared at the thug and said, "Threatening a little girl is kinda scummy to do, don't ya think?"
"Like I care!" He snorted. He pulled out another knife from his other pocket and swung the blade at my face. In a single, swift motion, I wrenched the weapon from the man's grasp and forced him onto the ground.
I leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "Make any sudden movements and your arms going to snap like a twig. Got it?"
The man's eyes widened in terror at my threat. "Okay! Let's not get crazy here…"
Really? Should you be saying that after what you've said and done?
While I stared at the thug, I shot a question at the feisty girl. "Hey, little girl. You said you saw the man steal something?"
No response came, so I glanced back to find the girl, her eyes fixed on me with a look of surprise. I thought she didn't hear me, so I repeated myself.
"So… did you se-"
"Wow! You are so cool!" She cut me off with a shriek. She escaped her father's embrace and waddled up to me with no fear visible in her eyes.
"Are you some kind of superhero?"
I slowly blinked at the girl. "A-A superhero? No, I'm just a regular person…"
She shook her head feverishly. "No, you're definitely a superhero! Only heroes can go whoosh and pow!"
To further strengthen her point, she tried mimicking what I had done earlier, albeit sloppily. Her father grabbed the little girl from behind and hoisted her up on his shoulders.
"Sorry about her. She has too much energy at her age. Come on, Kara, did you see the man steal?"
"Yes, I did! I saw him stuffing so many clothes into a small bag! I don't know how he did it."
A small bag? I don't see a small bag- unless it's in his pocket.
Reaching into them, I felt rough leather on my fingertips and pulled out a small pouch.
"Is this it?" I asked the girl. Kara nodded her head vigorously.
She said the thug was grabbing clothes and storing them in here. Is that possible? This thing is pretty small. It's the size of my palm!
The father mumbled when his eyes landed on what was in my hand. "Well I'll be… that's a Dimensional Pouch! You're able to store many items in them. Those things are extremely expensive. Just how did he get his hands on it?"
Oh? So, it's like the Inventory.
I heard fast and heavy footsteps behind me. When I looked back, I saw Clein and Isaac sprinting toward me.
"Shit, you're fast! Give us a heads-up next time…" Isaac said once he finally caught up.
"Yes… that would be… much appreciated," Clein wheezed as he slouched over. Isaac and Clein finally caught up to me and were now eyeing the position I was currently in. They both looked at me with a face that screamed, 'really?'
"Clein!" The boy, who was silent this whole time, was now running toward Clein with open arms.
"Oh, it's you guys!" Clein lifted the boy up and was ruffling his messy hair.
Isaac peeked over his shoulder and tapped on mine. "Hey, guys. Before you start your little reunion, how about we deal with this first?"
We made such a racket that a massive crowd had quickly gathered. I want to get this done as quickly as possible and give this guy to the authorities. Thinking about it now, where are they? I'd assume they would come running to us any second now… And speak of the devil. I see a pair of guards pushing their way through the crowd.
They had the same gear as the ones stationed at the checkpoint. A guard with a stout appearance stomped on over to us, surveying the area.
"What seems to be the problem here?"
To sum up what happened, we told the guards what crimes this thug had committed and notified the shopkeeper what happened. The guards arrested the man for theft after seeing a pile of clothes being pulled out of the Dimensional Pouch. They allowed me to keep it for some reason. I think it's because they saw the badge I had on me and didn't think twice about confiscating the Dimensional Pouch. I guess these badges can strike fear into the hearts of those who recognize it. How useful…
At the moment, we were all sitting at a table in Mel's inn. Who would've known that the family I saved was the husband and children of the innkeeper? What a small world we live in…
Mel was profusely thanking me with a lot of bows and tears. "Thank you for helping my family, Laila. I don't know what I would've done if they have gotten hurt."
I gave the woman an awkward chuckle. "Oh, it's alright! I'm always happy to help."
Mel thanked me once more and wiped away her tears. She then turned her attention to her daughter and frowned.
"Kara, we'll talk about your actions later."
Kara folded her arms and puffed her cheeks. "I did nothing wrong! You should never let thieves roam free!"
"You put you and your brother in danger!"
"Daddy would've handled him easily!"
The father nodded meekly. "I mean, if push came to shove…"
Mel scowled at her husband. "Charles! That isn't helping!"
And now they're arguing. Someone should do something about this…
I glanced at Isaac, but he was pretending as if he wasn't there at all, and Clein was too busy playing with the boy named Theo. I sighed and bent my legs to level myself with Kara.
"Kara, your mom is right. You shouldn't endanger your family like that."
Kara's mouth hung open, probably flabbergasted that I wasn't taking her side. "But-"
"BUT! I applaud your efforts and righteousness. It's good that you want to catch criminals, but think about the situation first and come up with the best possible plan with the best possible outcome. You don't always have to confront your problems head-on. There are other ways to go about it, understand?"
Kara went quiet for a second. "…I understand."
Her head hung low in a sulking manner but a few seconds later, smiled brightly.
"I understand!"
I tousled the girl's hair playfully. "Great! Hey, want to hear something cool? Me and my brother will participate in the upcoming tournament. I want you and your family to cheer for us as loudly as possible, okay?"
Kara's eyes glimmered with glee. "Really? That's so cool! Don't worry, I'll make sure you can hear us!"
With a bold show of confidence, she puffed out her chest and a satisfied smirk stretched across her face. Mel came up from behind and picked her up.
"Thank you again, Laila. It seems you can knock some sense into her. Just for that, I'll give you guys a small welcoming party! Don't tell the other residents what the party is for."
She gave me a small wink and left. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked back. It was Charles.
"Mel and Kara must really like you, huh? I've never seen my little girl that excited."
"Haha, yea. She's a cute kid." I chuckled. Charles gave me a slight nod before he walked away with his wife, leaving us to our own devices. I stifled a yawn, feeling my lips stretch wide.
"Well, I'm tired. I'm going to head to my room and rest for a bit. You three can do whatever."
I strolled through the corridors, the sound of my footsteps echoing off the walls, and climbed the steps before greeting a few of the residents who were leaving their rooms. I quickly unlocked the door, shut it behind me, and leapt onto one of the plush mattresses. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I drifted into a deep sleep.