"Step right up in the duel arena!" the Barbarian who was managing the duels shouted. "Want to see how good your slave is? Send them here, and see them fight! Throw your coins, and have a good time. Come inside the duel arena!"
Jubei walked up to the Barbarian and gruffly pushed Thirteen forward.
"I want to register my slave to the duel arena," Jubei stated. "Here are 10 silvers."
The Barbarian looked the seven-year-old boy up and down before looking at the High Orc.
"He's a bit too young for duels," the Barbarian stated. "I've been in this business for a long time, but I haven't seen someone as young as him fight. Won't you reconsider?"
Hearing those words, Thirteen looked at the manager with a surprised look on his face. Barbarians were one of the fiercest Free Humans in Solterra.
They liked to brawl and do many other things, so he didn't expect that the man would show him a bit of kindness, despite looking like a brute.
"No," Jubei replied. "I have no need for useless slaves. Take my money and register him."
The Barbarian sighed before reluctantly nodding his head.
"He will fight in the third round," the Barbarian, who went by the name Raldo, said. "Do you also plan to join the betting?"
"What are his odds?" Jubei inquired.
Raldo checked who the boy was going to fight before giving his opinion.
"One out of twenty," Raldo answered. "He will be fighting one of the slaves who was brought here by you guys a few days ago. That boy has fifteen wins and one loss under him."
Jubei pondered a bit before nodding his head.
"Here, 40 silvers." Jubei handed a pouch containing all the money they possessed.
Raldo nodded and took the pouch from the High Orc. He then scribbled something on a piece of animal skin, recording Jubei's bet.
After that, he motioned for one of his subordinates to bring Thirteen to the waiting area while he waited for his turn to fight in the arena.
"Will he really be alright?" Rianna asked Cristopher in a volume that only the chubby boy could hear.
"I'm not sure," Cristopher replied. "But I believe that the Young Master would not volunteer to do something like this if he isn't confident about winning."
Rianna was a bit worried about the younger boy because she didn't know how good Thirteen was when it came to fighting without weapons.
She had only seen him use the bow and arrow, and she had to admit that he was much better than her in that regard.
"Don't worry," Jubei commented as he led Critopher and Rianna to the stands. "I have a feeling that the Young Master will surprise us."
The three of them didn't have to wait for long because half an hour later, Thirteen entered the Duel Arena looking around his surroundings like a scared brat.
When the Barbarians saw him, some of them laughed and started to tease the little boy, even calling him names like shorty.
Thirteen's body shuddered as he walked into the arena, acting as if the shouts of the Barbarian unnerved him. His pitiful sight made all of them laugh loudly.
Half a minute later, his opponent also appeared in the arena.
The boy was a head taller than Thirteen, and judging from his stance, he had received at least some proper training.
'He might be a retainer from one of the influential families, or his family was rich enough to hire a Wanderer to train him,' Thirteen thought.
"Sorry about this, but I have to win," the teenage boy looked at Thirteen with a confident smile on his face. "My name is Wilson. No hard feelings, okay?"
The younger boy's opponent was one of the Wanderers who had appeared near the Barbarian Territory, and he was captured by one of their Hunting Parties.
Thirteen nodded timidly, which made Wilson's smile widen.
While the two boys faced off against each other, Raldo gave the spectators a short period of time to cast their bets.
Naturally, all of them placed their bets on Wilson since they didn't want to lose their hard-earned money.
Although the winnings they would earn in return were small, they didn't mind it one bit because they thought that they were about to get easy money.
A few minutes later, Raldo raised his hand, signaling the referee to announce the start of the match. Just like he had expected, everyone had placed their bets on Wilson.
"Killing is not allowed," the Referee said. "Everything else is allowed. If you fall from the arena, lose consciousness, or surrender, you lose. Now, fight!"
After giving the signal to fight, Wilson immediately charged toward the younger boy, intending to end the fight right away.
Thirteen, on the other hand, started to run away, making the spectators break out in laughter.
"Go little boy! Run!"
"Don't let him catch you, or you'll get beaten up!"
"Run, Forest, run!"
Wilson was stronger and much faster than his opponent, so he was able to close the gap in an instant.
But just as he was about to grab the younger boy, Thirteen stumbled on the ground and fell.
Since both of them were running at full speed, Wilson wasn't able to stop himself and tripped before skidding to the edge of the arena.
But just as he was about to prop himself up, the younger boy pushed him away, making him fall out of the arena.
The Barbarians who were laughing earlier all froze in place when they realized what happened.
"Sh*t!"
"Nooooo! My money!"
'Damn it! My wife is going to kill me!"
"Why did this happen? Why?!"
While everyone was lamenting their loss, the Referee raised the seven-year-old's hand and declared the winner of the match.
"Winner, Zion!"
"""Boooooooooooooo!"""
The Barbarians in the stand weren't too happy with how things turned out.
Cristopher and Rianna, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief because they could tell that Thirteen was relatively unharmed.
One black coin was equivalent to 100 Silver, which Jubei could exchange at the Gambling Den for money.
Since the Dueling Arena and the Gambling Arena were under the same management, the Black Coins were recognized by the entirety of Gronar City as a currency. This meant that the coins had purchasing power within the city.
In fact, some people exchange their silver for this currency. It was more convenient than carrying a bag of silvers, which was too heavy.
"Congratulations on your winnings," Raldo said as he handed Jubei eight black coins.
"At least that dumb slave is good for something," Jubei snorted as he accepted the black coins.
"Do you wish for him to continue fighting?" Raldo asked.
"Might as well," Jubei shrugged. "Who is his opponent and what are the odds?"
The Manager of the arena double-checked his records to see who Thirteen's opponent was.
"This time, the odds are one in forty," Jubei replied. "His opponent is older than Wilson by two years, and he has forty-
two wins and only two losses under his belt."
"Hmm…" Jubei pondered before looking at the seven-year-old beside him. "Human, if you lose, I'll feed you to the Ogres."
The younger boy's body uncontrollably shuddered after hearing the High Orc's threat.
"M-Master, I can't win," Thirteen begged. "Please don't kill me!"
Thirteen grabbed hold of Jubei's arm, but the High Orc pushed him away, making him fall to the ground.
"I don't need weaklings," Jubei growled. "Either you win or you die. I'm signing him up for the duel."
"Of course," Raldo replied as he took the eight black coins from Jubei.
He originally didn't want to do this, but the people who had lost their money wanted to see Thirteen fight again to see him suffer.
They were still very annoyed that they lost their money, so they wished for him to get beaten up really well. That way, all of them could let go of their frustration.
After sealing the deal, Raldo asked for one of his subordinates to drag the still-pleading boy away.
"Master, I don't want to die! Please have mercy on me!"
The Barbarians, who saw this all, smiled evilly. They were quite happy with Jubei's decision to feed the boy to the Ogres if he lost.
"Serves him right!"
"Even if it's just a fluke, how dare he make me lose my money? I almost died hunting an Ogre for that!"
"He's fighting against Brakka? Man, now he's really a goner. That freak likes to break people's limbs before beating them up even after they've lost consciousness."
'Yeah. He is one sick bastard. But for once, I'll be happy to see him beat up that brat."
"I feel the same way as you do."
Jubei was led by Raldo to a room meant for VIP guests.
He had a feeling that things might get messy later, so he decided to take the initiative to place the High Orc in a different seat just in case another miracle happened.
(E/N: What they feel for Thirteen now is what I feel for that kid in Hotarubi no Mori e. Years have passed, but I will never move on.)
