Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 33

The interior of the colosseum was massive. It was easily capable of fitting over one-hundred thousand people, with seats built into the bedrock that spanned the entire circumference.

All the seats were arranged in a tier, reflecting the rigidly stratified nature of Arcadia's societal structure. Special viewing boxes were situated in the north and south ends respectively, built their for the sorceresses and foreign dignitaries. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform for the senators, and below that was the maenianum primum, the place where the nobility sat. The next level, the maenianum secundum, was reserved for the commonwealth; the lower part was for plebeians while upper part was for wealthier commoners—merchants and the like.

Elincia stood in the viewing box on the south side. There was a chair reserved just for her, but she didn't feel like sitting on it. Her nerves were a wreck. At that moment, all she wanted to do was be with Caspian.

"Are you thinking about Caspian?" a voice asked behind her.

Elincia turned her head to find Lady Akane standing immediately behind and to her right. That day, the shinto sorceress was dressed in a dark blue kimono with light blue highlights, and her hair was done up in an elegant bun. She looked lovely. Elincia felt envious.

"Am I that obvious?" Elincia asked.

"Just a little," Lady Akane said with a smile.

"A little?" Lady Aakarshaka bounced toward them with a spring in her step and threw an arm around Elincia's shoulder. "This girl is like an open book. You can practically see her thoughts as if they were projected onto a screen." Leaning down, she grinned at Elincia, who squirmed uncomfortably in her grasp. "So, thinking about your hubby, are you?"

"C-Caspian isn't my hubby..."

"But you want him to be, right?" When Elincia felt her cheeks heat up like Ifrit's flames, Lady Aakarshaka laughed. "You can't fool me. We all know who you want to win."

"T-that isn't—"

"Stop teasing the poor girl, Sister," Lady Aakarshana said, appearing on Elincia's other side. "Can't you see that you're embarrassing her?"

"That's the whole point," Lady Aakarshaka grinned so widely her eyes were forced into a squint. Lady Aakarshana merely sighed.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't speak of such matters where everyone can hear you," Lady Sylvia said suddenly. Unlike the other sorceresses, she sat on a throne. Standing faithfully by her side was the ever monolithic D'artagnan.

"Don't be such a bore, Sylvie," a voice came from the stairwell.

Elincia and the others turned to see Lady Erica and her entourage enter the viewing box. Derek walked faithfully by her side like a puppy. Elincia could almost see his tail wagging as he stared at Lady Erica with an expression of reverence. It nearly made her giggle. Walking by his side was Collafloore, the half-elf who Caspian had apparently saved from incarceration. Tiffania, his little sister, was holding Lady Erica's hand.

"Erica," Lady Sylvia greeted, though it looked like doing so took effort. The wide smile that Lady Erica wore, as if she understood this, likely didn't help.

"Good morning everyone." Lady Erica's glimmering purple eye contained a spark of mischief. "Isn't this an exciting day? I'm looking forward to seeing how well Caspie does in this tournament."

"Huh? So, you're just here for that Caspian boy, then?" Lady Aakarshaka scratched the back of her head. "I never took you for the kind of gal who'd go after someone like him? Then again, you don't really have a type, do you?"