When we reached the arena, it was almost dusk and the clearing was bathed in the golden light of the early evening sunset.
Despite that, events seemed to still be ongoing as a mix of people of different races were all competing against each other on the field.
Seabille approached me once again, the Trasif looking especially content.
"Miss Aster! Thank you for the escort once again! Please accept this as a token of our appreciation!"
The Trasif merchant pulled out a small coin pouch which was undoubtedly filled with Creas meant to pay us for escorting them on this trip.
Emilia immediately stepped forward and received it from her with a nod, "Pleasure doing business with you. Weāre looking forward to patronising our other services as well from the White Dragon company!"
Seabille assured her that she would before we parted ways, the merchant leading her convoy towards the village at the side of the arena.
The Amrap sisters also excused themselves, telling us that they had to set up their things as well to prepare for the event, though they made it clear that they wanted to join us in bed for the night which my girls were happy to accept.
I looked out at the clearing before wondering aloud, "So... What should we d--"
I stopped when I suddenly felt a piercing gaze coming from the side.
Without warning, a figure leapt towards us while throwing a punch.
Odeta immediately intercepted the figure and threw out a punch of her own, their fists colliding in the air and churning up a shockwave that exploded out with them in the epicentre.
The other party didnāt even move from where they stood, tanking the punch head on.
The dust then cleared to show an older looking Amrap grinning at us, still holding the pose with her fist in front of her and pushing against Odetaās fist.
Hmm? Somehow... She looks a little familiar?
Wait... Could it be?
Odeta let out a laugh, "Wahahaha! Sister Ardiolyta!! It has been so long!"
Oh my gosh!! It really is Ardiolyta!! How long has it been?!
The older Amrap let out a laugh of her own, "Ahahaha! It certainly has, hasnāt it? And I see you have been keeping up with your training as well, Sister Odeta! You havenāt been slacking off, have you?!"
Odeta punched her fists together, "Of course not! If I start getting weaker, how can I protect Sister Aster properly? Wahahaha! But Sister Ardi, you āve grown stronger as well!"
She flipped her hair smugly, "Of course! Did you think I would remain lagging behind when my own younger sister has managed to surpass me? Iāll be catching up to you sooner or later, Sister Odeta! Who knows? I might even take over as Sister Asterās-- Eh?"
Ardiolytaās gaze shifted over to stop at me before her eyes widened in surprise and her mouth hung open.
I tilted my head quizzically at her, wondering what was wrong.
I thought she might just have been surprised to see me until she raised a finger to point at me, "Sis... Sister Aster?"
I nodded slowly, "Yes, it is me, Sister Ardi."
She then grabbed Odeta by the arms, "Thatās Sister Aster?! Since when?!"
Odeta puffed up her chest, "Wahahaha! Sister Aster has always been like that! What are you surprised about?"
"But... But..." Ardiolyta stuttered, her gaze switching between Odeta and me several times.
She finally settled on Odeta and gave her a serious look, "Sister... Give me ten minutes... No! Just five minutes! Five minutes is enough!"
Odeta grinned, "Thereās no need for that, Sister Ardi~ You can just follow us while weāre here~"
I have no idea what the two of them were talking about but Ardiolyta obviously liked what she heard as she did the arm wrestle handshake with Odeta, the both of them flexing their arms and showing off those delicious muscles of theirs.
Mmmm... I wanna lick them~
Ahem... Sorry, what did I miss?
Oh right.
I went over to Ardiolyta, "Sister Ardi, itās been a while."
She grinned at me, looking me up and down while licking her lips, "Sister Aster! Youāve grown a lot havenāt you! When I last saw you, I think you were not even up to my knees!"
Ok, thatās an exaggeration but Ardiolyta is pretty tall at over two metres in height.
Even now, sheās still taller than Odeta though she was definitely shorter than Mother.
That means I still had to tilt my head up to look at her right now if I didnāt want to just keep staring at that chest of hers.
She then nodded at everyone behind me, "I see youāve got more friends now, havenāt you? There werenāt this many of them the last time! Actually, I donāt even recognise any of you now! Ahahaha!"
I nodded and started introducing everyone to Ardi, or at least reintroducing a few of them.
"This is Katsuki, my personal maid and lover. This is Lisa, sheās my Alchemy and Lumenmancy teacher and lover. This is Delmare, sheās my singer and muse and my lover. This is Emilia, sheās my business manager and lover. This is Minnera, sheās my artist and also my muse as well as my lover. This is Ira and this is Tsara, both of them are leaders of a cult who are accompanying me right now."
Ardi blinked at me before gesturing at Ira and Tsara, "I wonāt say that Iām surprised they are all your lovers but whatās wrong with these two to not be your lovers? Are they only into men or something?"
The two mentioned cult leaders narrowed their eyes at her but said nothing.
I chuckled, "Thereās some complicated reason for that... Anyway... Everyone, this is Ardiolyta. She is Odetaās sister and she was also my mentor back when I was young."
Ira turned to look at me, "She trained you, Aster?"
Ardiolyta waved her hand dismissively, "Oh come now, I didnāt even do anything that much, Sister Aster! All I did was give you some basic training! I would even argue that the training regime you had helped me more than I helped you!"
"Well... You did help me train in my combat skills and I would say most of what I know stemmed from that."
"Ahahaha! You give me too much credit, Sister Aster! But I will happily take it!"
Speaking of which... Itās been a while so I peeked at her with [Screened].
[Name: Ardiolyta
Title: Head Trainer, Big Sister, Captain, Trainer of the Dragonslayer, Immortal
Race: Amrap
Gender: Female
Current Mood: Elated
Stats:
1355 Strength
258 Dexterity
566 Endurance
138 Magic
Skills:
Hunting (Tier 3), Tutor (Tier 3), Navigation (Tier 2), Sailing (Tier 2), Leadership (Tier 2), Cooking (Tier 1), Martial Skill-(Axe Proficiency (Tier 3), Unarmed Proficiency (Tier 3), Sword Proficiency (Tier 2), Dagger Proficiency (Tier 2))
Magic Skills:
Geomancy (Tier 2), Pyromancy (Tier 1)]
Oh wow... She really went the strength build I guess... She really wasnāt kidding about training herself to be stronger to catch up to Odeta...
I suppose I shouldnāt be surprised considering the fact that she took Odetaās punch without even moving...
But if you ask me... I think if Odeta fought her sister seriously... She might still win, though I have to admit to having a little bias there.
Ardiolyta grinned at me, "So, Sister Aster!! I heard you will be participating in the battle arena event, right? Iām looking forward to seeing you on the field and showcasing all your abilities!"
You too?!
I cleared my throat, "Ahem... Iām not actually sure if I will participate yet though... I mean... I originally only expected to come here to take a look, not participate in the event... So I guess--"
She didnāt even let me finish before she grabbed me by the shoulders, "What?!! You canāt be serious!! How can you come all the way here and not at least compete!! You have to, Sister Aster!! For everyone! You have to show off!!"
Eh? Why do I need to show off for āeveryoneā?
But I couldnāt even ask her that because she started shaking me and I was seeing stars with how hard I was being shaken.
It felt like I was being tossed around in a category seven earthquake with how hard she was shaking me.
Thankfully, Odeta came to my rescue and stopped her, "Wahahaha! You donāt need to worry, Sister Ardi! Sister Aster will definitely participate and kick everyoneās ass!! You just have to sit back and watch!"
I take that back, she was not coming to my rescue at all.
Ughh... Iām not really that against participating but... I would at least appreciate some warning ahead of time before this, you know?
What if I embarrass myself and get my ass handed to me? You know my strength stat isnāt even at a thousand yet, right? If I used only pure strength and no magic, I would get owned for sure!
Well... Whatever, at least I know my girls will also be participating in the event so I wonāt be alone...
...
They will be participating... Right?