The tournament's first day had ended, and Danny was on his way home. But unlike usual, this time, it wasn't a quiet and lonesome walk. He had someone else with him.
"Thank you for doing this, but why do you live so far?"
Chaos asked while breathing laboriously.
"What're ya complaining about? This ain't your first time coming to my house."
Danny asked.
"It's the first time I do it by foot. Usually, I go by train or have a personal driver take me... But now I'm short on money."
Chaos sighed heavily.
"To be honest, we could have gone half the way by train, but I need to take a med that requires me to burn out my stamina to compete tomorrow."
Danny explained why they were going on foot.
Chaos was exhausted and complained, but to be honest, the scenery was marvelous.
Hell was a small disk-shaped realm with borders with only a few access points, like Purgatory and the Celestial Train.
Danny's house was at the edge of Hell, as far as possible from the capital and the school.
The fact that he could commute to school and back without issue was a rather peculiar reality that some students had already asked him about.
The scenery on their way was of fields full of demonic plants, and you could see far in every direction. As far as the view in Hell came, Danny's path to and from school was one of the best.
********
They reached Danny's house, and Chaos looked at the shabby house with discontent.
He was a high-level demon from a major clan and a major family in said clan, but even though he had all that going for him, he needed to live in this small house.
Danny's house was a small, run-down two-level house with a minor expansion spell.
All houses in Hell use expansion spells to make them bigger on the inside, but the spell used on Danny's house didn't even double its size.
For a high-level demon to live there, it seemed like a sick joke.
They stepped inside, and immediately, Sara, the only maid in the house, came to greet them.
"Master Chaos, welcome. Master Danny already told me what happened, so I'll show you to your room."
The old demoness said politely with a slight bow.
"Nice to see you, Sara. Thank you."
Chaos answered and followed her.
Danny looked at them going upstairs and sighed.
He had a foreboding feeling that told him that Chaos wouldn't be the last housemate joining him this year.
He chose, for the time being, to ignore that feeling and deal with the issues at hand.
He went to a room down the hallway to the right of the stairs.
This room was his library, and it was the room where he kept all the books he designated as important, his tools, and his medication.
Because of his horn breaking many years ago, his magic was barely regenerating, and he needed to take this medication that was given to him by his father.
These were small pills that could heal wounds and restore the magic in the body.
All Danny needed to do was consume one, and it was enough to elevate his state.
After taking the pill, he went to the dining room, where Chaos and Sara were already eating.
"Have you organized your things?"
Danny asked his friend.
"I'll do that after dinner."
Chaos answered.
Danny put some of the stew in a bawl and sat to eat with them.
They ate, and after eating, he went to the shower and then straight to bed. He was exhausted.
********
In the morning, the first thing Danny did was wake up Chaos.
It was still dark outside, and light would only start in half an hour, but they needed to get out before then.
They got ready and ate breakfast.
After they finished getting ready, they went out with the first light.
"Why are we out this early?"
Chaos asked while yawning.
"We'd be late if we go out any later."
Danny answered. He was not any less tired than Chaos, but he was more used to it.
They walked for a while until they reached the school and went straight to the preparation room at the underground arena.
"Have you looked at the fight list?"
Marcuse asked as they went inside.
He didn't even bother greeting them as he went over the upcoming fights of the second stage.
"On the first round..."
Danny thought for a second before saying his guess.
"It would be me against Hans Voltgoat. The second round will be Alya versus Tsuyoi Aka. The third round will be..."
Danny struggled to think of who from the four opponents left would be an obvious matchup.
"It will be me against Chaos."
Marcuse said and looked at his opponent.
"So the fourth round would be Momotaro versus Naomi."
Chaos guessed, and the three students at the top of their class sighed.
They didn't care for the other four matches of the second stage.
There was no way Naomi would win against Momotaro. He averted using magic, but he wasn't weak at it. If she was strong enough to push him into that corner, Momotaro could beat her even with magic. Though it was unlikely it would get that far.
"If I win against Momotaro, will you go on a date with me?"
Naomi asked Marcuse with eyes full of earnestness. She entered the preparation room about a minute after Danny and Chaos.
Looking into her eyes, Marcuse couldn't shrug it off as going out as friends. She liked him. He moved his eyes to his brother, who sat at the table close by and giggled as he saw the future he always teased Marcuse about coming to fruition.
"Do you have to win to go out with me?"
Marcuse asked, and Naomi's eyes lightened up.
"Does that mean that you...?"
She started asking, but Marcuse put his hand up to stop her.
"I want to at least see how it will go."
He said and explained himself.
Chaos looked at this scene worriedly with a foreboding feeling as the image of his sister appeared in his head.
A few minutes later, everyone, even Alaparos, who was previously injured, arrived at the preparation room, and they were all ready for the second day of the tournament.