I left the Blood Demon alone and entered the Colosseum with the little one.
The inside was even more crowded than outside, and seeing all kinds of spectators gathered there was quite an amusing sight in itself.
“M-mister...... There are a lot of strange things.”
From a child’s perspective, the place must have been full of things resembling the monsters that had driven her dimension to ruin.
‘Though if one looks at the details, there are quite large differences.’
I patted the head of the little one who was tightly clutching my trouser leg.
“Do not worry. There is no guest here who will harm you.”
If anyone did something to the little one here, that guest would never again be able to set foot in the hotel.
That, or they would taste tremendous pain.
At my words, several nearby guests quietly moved away, but the little one was still anxious.
‘She is a wary one, so that is natural.’
In that case.
“Uwaak!”
“This is better, yes?”
I grabbed the little one and put her on my shoulders.
Since she was pressed right against me, she would feel relieved, and she would be able to see the scenery ahead clearly as well.
“It’s high!”
“It is nice because you can see well, yes?”
“U-yeah!”
“Do not fear the guests. I will protect you.”
“......Yes!”
The hands gripping my head did gain a little more strength,but her anxiety had lessened considerably from before.
Once the anxiety that had blocked her vision cleared, the little one’s field of view widened.
“Mister, are they fighting over there?”
“That’s right. Today, team battles will be the main event.”
In this event, there were survival matches, unrestricted sparring, and team battles.
It was divided into those three categories.
Among them, today’s main dish was the team battle.
“There they come.”
Just then, the two teams appeared, stepping onto the stage.
One side was a team formed by demihumans.
There was a lycanthrope, a lizardman, and even a fish-man.
“The three of them usually stay on the vacation floor with the large lake. They came all the way down here for the first time in a while.”
And their opponents were.
“Oh, it’s the grandpas!”
The Martial Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Demon, who had walked up at a leisurely pace.
“Is the Blood Demon not here yet?”
“Tsk, it seems he has become a merchant.”
“Heh heh, Heavenly Demon, do understand. His circumstances are what they are.”
“Hoh.”
As the two shook their heads,THUD! the Blood Demon fell from above the Colosseum like a meteor.
The Blood Demon, raising dust as he landed, emitted blood qi from his entire body and burned with fighting spirit.
“Hoho, hohoho. This Seat has arrived!”
“Woooo!”
“Blood Demon! I bet on you!”
“You must win!”
A protagonist had arrived. A protagonist had arrived indeed.
Receiving the crowd’s cheers, the Blood Demon took out a martial arts manual from within his robes.
“If I win this battle, I will sell the martial arts manual containing the secrets of blood arts at half price! All of you, cheer for this Seat!”
“Blood Demon! We’re counting on you!”
“Blood Demon! Blood Demon! Blood Demon!”
Unlike the Blood Demon, who drew out the audience’s response, the Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Demon merely covered their faces with their hands.
Having such a man as a friend must have been shameful.
“Now, both of you shall follow this Seat.”
“Heh heh, Blood Demon. Do it moderately, moderately.”
“I should not have agreed to join this bastard.”
“Tsk, your tongues are long. Did we not already agree to stand together?”
“Haa. Yes. It is all this sovereign’s fault. Therefore.”
Whistle!
THUD!
Along with the whistle, the Heavenly Demon stepped with a stomping stride.
Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.
With that single step, the opposing team’s movements stiffened.
Toward those who had frozen, the Heavenly Demon drew a single sword and swung it.
“I will end this immediately.”
The supreme technique that had reached the realm of defying heaven unfolded.
By the time the Heavenly Demon’s sword returned to its sheath, the bodies of the three had been torn in half.
There was no need to see more.
“Winners, the Murim Three Factions!”
“Waaa!”
“Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon!”
“Tsk, I should have promoted it more.”
At the situation that had ended the moment it began, the Blood Demon smacked his lips in disappointment.
But for the opposing team that had been revived, that instead was only terrifying.
“W-we just died a moment ago......”
“Those old men...... they only drink every day......”
“U-uuuuh. Are they not insane old men?”
Well...... there was a mental care center operating for defeated teams, so they should be fine.
“Wow, Grandpa Heavenly Demon was super strong just now.”
What mattered was the reaction of the little one sitting on my shoulders.
She probably had not seen the Heavenly Demon’s sword strike properly.
“Lord Heavenly Demon is someone who succeeded in unifying Murim, after all. In terms of martial force, he possesses a considerable level.”
“When he went swish with his sword, everyone died.”
“......You saw that?”
“Yes! It was really fast.”
What was this child, really?
The way she instinctively knew things was one matter, but this too.
‘I should examine her in detail once.’
It would help in setting the direction for the little one’s growth,and in other ways as well.
By the way,‘The Heavenly Demon would be surprised if he knew this.’
Unless one had reached a certain level, it was difficult to see that sword strike.
Yet she had noticed it.
I wondered if he would pester me even more later, saying he wanted to raise her.
Ah, then the lesson schedule would become ambiguous.
Magic, sacred power, and martial arts too.
‘Having many talents is a problem too. A problem.’
***
The Colosseum matches continued one after another.
In most cases, the teams evaluated as powerful won, but “Oooooh! The porter team has made a comeback!”
“The underdog bet hit!”
occasionally, those considered weak teams seized victory as well.
They were matches that made the spectators’ palms sweat as they watched.
As for the little one watching them......
“Hehe, mnnyaa. Chicken skewers are tasty.”
“Mm.”
She slept from midway through.
She showed interest in matches centered on magic, but aside from those, she simply had no interest.
She seemed to enjoy eating the snacks sold at the stalls in front more than anything else.
‘That is how children are.’
I laid the little one down more comfortably and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
Leaving the little one, who was sleeping so well, alone,“Why did you forfeit?”
I turned toward the three Murim people who had come to my side.
Judging by their momentum, I thought they would keep fighting.
But around the semifinals, they simply forfeited and withdrew.
Even though the audience booed, calling it boring, the three declared that they had no intention of fighting further.
The Alliance Leader spoke while drinking.
“Was our purpose not to let her know the charm of martial arts to begin with?”
“It was.”
“But the child who was our purpose has fallen asleep, so what meaning would any of it have?”
When I looked at the Heavenly Demon and the Blood Demon, the two seemed the same.
“If I am going to cross blades, fighting the Blood Demon or the Alliance Leader is enjoyable. Aside from that, everything else is merely dull.”
“Mm, I have propagated the greatness of the Blood Cult, so it is enough. Sales have already been secured sufficiently.”
“You have truly become a merchant.”
“Ahem, this Seat is merely using every means available to revive the cult.”
Yes, yes. In any case, if all three had achieved their goals, I had nothing more to say.
“By the way, did the child show interest?”
“She seemed to read Lord Heavenly Demon’s movement, though only vaguely. She said it was fascinating.”
“......That child did?”
“Yes.”
As expected, a strange light settled in the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.
He had tried to show things as flashy and splendid as possible, but he must have been wondering whether the child could even see them.
‘It is no wonder he is surprised that she saw through it all.’
The Alliance Leader and the Blood Demon beside him were the same.
“Does she have good eyes?”
“No. This child instinctively noticed it. Because she has that sort of potential.”
“Hmm, she would suit the martial arts of the cult well.”
“Heh heh, Blood Demon, wait your turn. We are first.”
“Hmph, the strong come first.”
“Blood Demon, you say you are strong? How amusing.”
The person involved had no interest in the rice cake, yet they were making a fuss trying to give it to her.
“Please calm down. Hye-rin has taken an interest, but we cannot teach her martial arts right now. I believe you know the reason.”
Because they were as interested in the little one as they were, all three knew that the day she would return to her own world was fast approaching.
“If we teach her at this point, it will become neither this nor that.”
“Phew, is that so?”
“What a shame.”
“Well, that is how it is now, but it will be different later.”
If she had more time to spare,I would be able to teach the little one many things.
“Because I will make it that way.”
“Sausage, hehe.”
I stroked the forehead of the little one talking in her sleep, then looked back at the three.
“When that time comes, I will be in your care.”
“Heh heh, as for us, well. Are we not your assistants? You will do well.”
“I do not think I can be strict.”
She had already experienced a world harsh enough.
There was no need for even me to be strict.
Without realizing it, I tended to soften when it came to the little one.
“Right. May I leave the child in your care tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? Why tomorrow?”
“Ah, the little one asked me something.”
Written as “asked,” but it should be expressed as “scratched.”
Yes, she had scratched at me.
“She asked whether it was true that I was the strongest.”
“Hup!”
“H-heh heh.”
“Proprietor, surely you......”
As it happened, tomorrow was the turn for unrestricted duels.
It was the perfect stage to show the little one who her teacher was.
“As her teacher, I cannot show an unsightly appearance in front of the little one.”
I would not be able to show everything, but very lightly.
I thought simply warming up should be enough.
“Hehe, mister, are you strong?”
......I would make sure she could never ask such a question again.
***
The Colosseum event, overall, concluded well.
There had been a slight disturbance on the second day, but that too was resolved well, in any case.
“Master, for matters like that, could you please tell me in advance?”
“It was decided suddenly. I apologize.”
“Haa.”
Not by me, but by No. 100.
Even if he had complaints, what could be done?
This was the reason I had made clones.
“Enough. What about the income?”
At the mention of income, No. 100’s face brightened.
“Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. I will show you immediately.”
No. 100 lifted into the air the sack that had been placed on the counter,and the items inside the sack flowed into the hourglass in the lobby.
Continuously. Continuously.
“From stall commissions alone, we gathered a staggering two hundred days’ worth of lodging fees. In addition, the lodging fees gathered as participation fees for the Colosseum exceed three hundred days.”
“That is good.”
“We did have to spend one hundred fifty days’ worth of lodging fees to smooth over the incident on the second day, though.”
“......I said I was sorry for that.”
“Even so.”
When the contents of the sack had been completely emptied, the upper half of the hourglass was full.
“It has reached a sufficient level to welcome a new guest.”
The lodging fees needed to welcome one new guest were approximately five hundred days.
Even with guests coming often, gathering that much lodging fee was not easy.
“Shall we activate it immediately?”
“What would be the point of delaying?”
Even if I had thought of waiting for a long time,this was something that should not be delayed.
DONG!
With the ringing sound, the sand piled in the upper half of the hourglass poured down.
[Enough energy required for dimensional coordinate search has been replenished.]
[Search for a new guest?]
“Do it.”
The hotel moved in order to bring in a new guest.
Click.
The clock located at the front door moved.
Two seconds.
[The hotel front door has been connected to a new dimension.]
[Open the door and welcome the new guest.]
“You welcome the new guest.”
“Yes. But where are you going, Master?”
“To sort out my thoughts a little.”
A plan I had been thinking of somewhat lightly now needed to be considered more seriously.
“It is about time we hold a family meeting.”
I would have to have a proper conversation with the one staying underground for the first time in a while.