With Ao’s match over, Sue and Horn headed to the medical team’s tent, while we made our way to the food stall.
First, I needed to introduce Sylvia-san to the attendants who were helping out.
“You may have seen her in the match against Ao, but this is Sylvia-san. She’ll be helping out at the stall.”
“I’m Sylvia. Nice to meet you.”
“““Nice to meet you!”””
Since the attendants had watched Ao and Sylvia-san’s match, they welcomed her without hesitation.
Now, with customers waiting, it was time to open the stall quickly.
“Sylvia-san, can you cook?”
“Yes, I can manage the basics.”
“Good. The bread has just arrived, so please work with the attendants to make sandwiches.”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”
It was a relief that Sylvia-san could cook. Since the bread had arrived during the match, she would focus on preparing the sandwiches.
With that, the stall officially opened.
“Five meat sandwiches, please!”
“Eight yakisoba bread!”
“Ten rice balls!”
“Understood!”
From the moment we opened, customers swarmed in as if they had been waiting for this exact moment. And they were buying in bulk, meaning huge orders came out at once.
Do these locals all have enormous appetites?
“Hey, that’s the slime, isn’t it?”
“Good luck in the main tournament!”
Once again, just like yesterday, many people came up to Ao. Ever dutiful, she waved her tentacles back and forth while preparing slime-baked food.
And then there was another visitor.
“You almost had it, little lady.”
“Next year, you’ll get your revenge, right?”
“Ah… t-thank you.”
Sylvia-san replied shyly.
Some of the customers were also stopping by to speak with Sylvia-san. Though she had lost, she had put up a strong fight against Ao, leaving an impression on the spectators.
However, as I kept glancing at the matches from the sidelines, I saw people with all sorts of styles advancing. Some people just barely made it through, while others advanced with ease. There were swordsmen, thieves, and even women making it through.
Among them, one particular person who had advanced caught my attention.
“Shun-oniichan, that person seems… strange.”
Shiro whispered.
“Yeah. Definitely someone to watch out for.”
Shiro had sensed something off about the competitor who had advanced.
A magic-user type, draped in a black hooded robe, he exuded an eerie presence. It wasn’t just the unsettling appearance. There was something about his aura that felt wrong. Even Ao had reacted, sensing that something was unusual about this person.
With that, the preliminary rounds came to an end.
Unsurprisingly, the one to keep an eye on was the man in the mysterious black robe.
On top of that, we received another warning from the customers.
“Good thing the little lady is here at this stall. Some suspicious person approached those who lost in the preliminaries.”
“Yeah, I noticed too. I already informed the passing soldiers.”
“This happens every year—scouts approaching adventurer groups, or sometimes even recruiting for shady organizations.”
By chance, I had also spotted a suspicious person approaching other preliminaries’ losers, so I had reported them to the patrolling soldiers.
Hmm… with this year’s martial arts tournament drawing more participants than expected, I have a feeling something might happen.
But first, I needed to check on Sylvia-san.
“Sylvia-san, you’ve done well. Are you tired?”
“Shun-san, I’m fine. We are stronger than we look, so I’m perfectly fine.”
She replied, showing off her strength. She claimed she was fine, but… there wasn’t even a hint of muscle showing.
“That’s good to hear. The steward in charge will handle the money, so please wait a moment.”
“Oh, the lodging was paid in advance, so it’s fine for tomorrow. But… could I take some bread for tonight’s dinner?”
“Take as much as you want. Since we’re almost sold out, it’s better to give it away than let it go to waste.”
I reassured her.
“Thank you very much.”
With that, the preliminaries had ended, and all that remained was to pack up the stall.
I wondered what tomorrow’s matches would bring.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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