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In the coming days, two more matches took place. Jason vs Fredrick, and Garrett vs Wilhelm. Jason obviously won his match, though Theodore wasn't there to see it. Garrett vs Wilhelm, though. Theodore was there. And he saw it. Quite an interesting match, if he had to say so.
The match went as he'd thought it would, but Garrett's use of his powers was still quite something to watch. How terrifying, in many ways, though it wouldn't be enough against Theodore. When the match was over, Theodore returned home.
On the way back though, he felt strange. It was as if something was off—
[Blink].
A crash sounded where he was earlier, and turning around to look at whoever attacked him, Theodore was simultaneously surprised and not surprised to find Velka there.
...What was she doing here?
Why was she attacking him?
He could take a guess or two.
"Do you want me to take care of her?" Miss Bodyguard whispered into his ear.
"What. Didn't you want me to face her?"
"That was back then. I thought it'd be a good way to drive you to become stronger."
"But?"
"...But it is not needed anymore."
"Sure, whatever, she's irrelevant. Be quick about it."
Theodore chuckled. "It's not polite to attack someone from the back, you know?" He said aloud.
Velka didn't respond. She looked pissed. Theodore sighed. Well, he could only give so many chances. "Velka, I—"
"You killed him." she said.
He blinked. "What?"
"You killed him." Velka repeated. "You killed him."
"Oh. Yeah. I did."
"Why?"
"Are you that dense?"
"He was a good person."
Theodore knew that words were useless against such people. "If you're here for revenge, then fine, I accept it. Let's not drag this out. Attack. I won't even fight back. Or move."
She did just that. Rushing at him and leaping into the air, she brought down her sword. Theodore's mana shield blocked the blade easily. Well, he didn't say anything about defending himself.
Velka didn't seem to care, though. Her eyes were red. She slashed again and again at him, her sword hitting the shield each time.
It was a pitiful sight. She was wasting her time and her talent. This was a waste of her skills, of her life, of everything. Theodore could see the anger in her eyes, the rage. And all of it, he could see, was directed at him.
He sighed again just as Miss Bodyguard decapitated the woman before she even realized it, grabbing onto her head and letting the body fall.
She dropped the head on the ground too, and it rolled to a stop near his feet. Given her expression, it didn't seem like she'd even realized what happened.
One moment she was alive and the next, dead.
It was that quick and painless, at least.
"Good job," he said to the bodyguard, expressionlessly.
"I am paid to do this."
Theodore shrugged. "Still, good job."
Miss Bodyguard gave him a stare.
"Wanna grab food?" he offered.
She continued to stare, tilting her head. "...Sure."
***
Getting rid of the body was easy enough, all they had to do was inform the guards—who were stationed all over the capital—and then hand over the body to them. Then they got some food and ate at a restaurant nearby. The restaurant was a small place, with only a few tables and chairs inside. There were also a few paintings on the walls that depicted scenes from old legends and fairy tales. The owner of the establishment was an older man who wore glasses and had gray hair.
Eating there, Theodore realized one thing, Miss Bodyguard ate a lot.
Like, a lot a lot.
Was she perhaps a foody, he wondered.
They ate in silence for some time, but after a while, Theodore asked her a question, "What Rank are you?"
She looked at him, not answering for a moment. She seemed to be pondering whether to tell him or not.
"It wouldn't be false to classify me a Rank 6. Why do you ask?"
"Curious." Theodore narrowed his eyes. "So you're at bare minimum Rank 6."
Nod.
"Were you with me in the Hunting Grounds the other day."
Nod nod.
"Was that centipede Rank 6."
She stopped munching on her food. "How would I know?"
"You can probably sense it."
She stared at him, and then went back to eating. After some time, she answered, "No."
"Oh."
"If it were, you wouldn't have been able to escape."
"Right."
They finished their food in silence.
***
With the participants chipped down to four, only two matches were left before the final. These two matches would decide who'd get to fight in the final. And thus, the organizers were doing anything in power to fan the flames of drama.
It was fair to say that the attention and interest in the tournament was at an all time high with the remaining participants being Theodore, Garrett, Julius, and Jason.
It was a dream final for the organizers, as they were getting a lot of attention from all around the capital.
Thus, Theodore had to stay hidden. If he was spotted outside it didn't take long for this world's paparazzis to get a whiff of his scent and then start chasing him everywhere, trying to get interviews and exclusive footage.
So when they crashed his dinner with Miss Bodyguard, Theodore was a bit annoyed. With their recording crystals floating in the air around him, the paparazzis started to ask their questions.
And most of them were looking for juicy bits and pieces that would get them a good story.
"Mr. Theodore, do you think you can win the tournament?"
"Uhh... Yes, probably," Theodore said, not knowing what else to say.
"Is it true that you and Tessia had a romantic relationship?"
"What?"
"Can you tell us more about it? We have reports that you and Tessia—"
"What." Theodore's brows furrowed. "That is completely false," he said.
"Uhh, yes, uhm," the reporter scratched the back of his neck. "I'm just reading off a script," he said, laughing awkwardly.
Another reported chimed in. "Mr. Theodore, is it true that you're betrothed to Miss Freya as a political arrangement?"
"Who is the one writing such false rumors?" Theodore asked.
"Mr. Theodore, Mr. Theodore, is it true that Julius is your illegitimate brother and you've come to challenge him in the finals?"
The fuck. Theodore stared at the reporters.
"Who is this lady, anyway?" another reporter asked, pointing at Miss Bodyguard. "Is she your girlfriend? She looks way older than you, though."
"No, she's my bodyguard."
"Oh, well, that is unfortunate," the reporter said.
"Yes, very." Theodore said dryly. "Anyway, I think we're done here." Saying so, he stood up from his chair and walked away from the table.
Miss Bodyguard also got up and followed after him, disappearing as she did so. The reporters bothered him for a little bit, but eventually they gave up and left him alone.
Heaving a sigh, Theodore made his way back home.
***
The next pairing was drawing, and it turned out to be Jason vs Julius.
Theodore couldn't help but wince when he read about it. Jason had no chance against him, not in his current state. He was going to lose, and it would be an embarrassing defeat.
"Damn." Freya whistled.
"Yep," Theodore said.
"I wanna go watch."
"Same."
"Let's go then," she said.
And go they did, though not before making sure to mask themselves and wear disguises. When they got there, the crowd was roaring.
"Wow, this place is packed," Freya commented.
"Yup," Theodore replied. "Look at them go at it," he added, nodding towards the arena.
Appearing right outside the arena, they walked inside the building, and then went towards their seats.
The arena was full today. There were thousands of people here, all cheering loudly for one person or another. Some were even booing at certain people.
Given that he was with Freya, Theodore didn't teleport into the VIP room even though he could—as he had access to it in this space—and instead stayed with Freya in the public seats.
There were a lot of people sitting around them. And it was a very different environment than Theodore was used to these days, so much so that he couldn't help but think back to his past life. On Earth. Quite fondly if he were to say so.
Although that was the past and he was in a different world now, a different life, he realized he missed this. Being just another face in the crowd.
Theodore glanced over at Freya who was staring at the arena with a smile on her face. He couldn't help but mirror that smile, moving his eyes away from her and gazing into the arena as Jason and Julius appeared.
The crowd roared louder, and the atmosphere became electrified.
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