CHAPTER 81: WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH

"I-It’s not over!"

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

Welp, you heard that right. The Master of the losing side has just announced that his Magical Beast (is bro dead?) can still continue.

I highly doubt that, and you can see the supporters of Liohime Kitagami easily refuting that claim.

"Oh, get the fuck outta here with that bullshit!!" Ophiel cried out angrily. "Your beast is pretty much without a face right now!!"

"I can only hope to be this delusional," Harvey muttered, and began to leave the scene. "Looks like the battle is over, so I’m leaving."

However, Yariko refused to admit defeat, and Shihon, despite being exhausted of her magic abilities for now, was still able to fight with only her physical strength as she rose up and held her paw to Killcreation’s neck.

"N-NO, WAI-"

"Listen here, stupid," Liohime spoke with a scoff, "you lost, get over it. You better get ready to hold onto your bet of giving us your rooms to enjoy for a day as well as running around the hotel butt-ass naked! Or...we can keep going with this fight, but it will just be a slaughter with Shihon experimenting new shit."

"Uwaahhh!!! T-This can’t be happening!!!"

Falling onto his knees with a face that radiated pure dejection, Yariko gave up, and his coworkers rushed to his side, consoling him and handing out crystal shards that seemed to glow.

"Yariko!! Use this for your Magical Beast to heal, quickly before it dies!!!"

Liohime’s eyebrows raised, recognizing the beautifully lit crystals.

Those guys have Mana Heal Crystals? Huh?

Noticing that they had acquired a means to heal their Magical Beasts with rare and expensive items, he paused before responding.

"So, uh...is he conceding or not, cause...I don’t think he can talk much right now."

"Although we hate to say it," a girl next to Yariko replied with a concerned face, "Yes, he lost. You guys win."

Immediately, Jolene jumped with joy and Ophiel, who had been carrying the sleeping Bica the entire time, merely smiled faintly, while an applause and cheers came from bystanders who would soon disperse.

"Good, then," Liohime spoke up, "cause I’m calling the bet off."

"....Huh?"

The light returned to Yariko’s eyes as soon as he heard that.

"R-Really?"

"Oh, I meant just the rooms. I’m not interested in entering any of you guys’ lame ass rooms. You’ll still be running around naked."

"WHAAAAAAA!!!??"

"I’m kidding, man. Yes, I’m calling it off for both."

"O.....Oh."

"Scared you, didn’t I?"

"O-Obviously!?"

Liohime chuckled and recalled Shihon while the power of the Mana Healing Crystals helped to slowly but surely regenerate Yariko’s Magical Beast.

"I made harsh bets that could affect either of us to put me in a harsh situation so that I could practice with my Magical Beast with extremely high stakes. It was nice to experiment with our synergy when there’s an extreme pressure, which could be similar to what we might have to face in the Paradisus Legion."

"You...certainly have a weird way of strategy," a young man replied while hoisting Yariko up to his feet. "What would you have done if you lost anyway?"

Liohime took a peek at Jolene.

"I would have asked our own Murder-Fore-Hire Shinigami Soldier to leave no witnesses of the bet."

"Y-YOU CRAZY BRAT!!"

"Sooorryyyy!"

Liohime apologized while clasping his hands together and sticking out his tongue, and walked over to Yariko, his opponent, before stretching out his hand for a handshake.

"You were pretty good out there," he said. "If fate allows us to work together closely in the Paradisus Legion mission, let’s do our best whilst side by side."

Yariko’s eyes widened, and a warm smile appeared before he reached out...

...And slapped away Liohome’s hand.

...

...

...

"Huh?"

"YOU MAKE A BET WITH ME ABOUT RUNNING A ROUND NAKED, BEAT MY MAGICAL BEAST TO A PULP, MAKE A FAKEOUT ABOUT THE CONFIRMATION OF THE BET, AND NOW YOU WANNA ACT LIKE YOU’RE BUDDIES WITH ME!?!?!?!?"

"H-HAAAHHHH!? HEY, I CAN MAKE YOU DO THAT FUCKASS BET IF I STILL WANT TO, YOU KNOW!! THE BET IS IN GODDAMN WRITING!"

"-HK, YOU’RE THREATENING ME AGAIN YOU DAMN-"

"-I DON’T GIVE A FUUCKKK!!!"

Ophiel and Jolene exchanged glances and sighed.

"Good grief. I’ll go and manually remove Shrimpdick from this mess, alright? It’s about time we get going. You gan head back inside the hotel and...get Bica to bed."

"Y-Yeah."

Ophiel turned away as Jolene approached the two bickering young men, but then faced the group once more, staring at Liohime with wavering eyes and a tense expression.

((

"So you’re Shihon, huh? I’m Ophiel, and this less-pretty girl next to me is Bica."

))

He bit his lip softly, pondering for a few seconds before ultimately leaving the area in silence.

***

The next day was the final day of relaxation before the beginning of mayhem, but even so, a big event had been planned for this mostly peaceful day.

However, this event was not planned by Liohime, or his co-workers, or the Hallory Circuit Shinigami Soldiers, or the three other Shinigami Soldier groups who had arrived later in the day before.

No, rather...

--All fifty members of the country’s total Shinigami Soldier groups who had been tasked with the retrieval of the mysterious Magical Beast egg in the dangerous Paradisus Legion had been informed and were now transported to one of the client’s houses for one final meeting before the official mission’s start.

While in a private bus with many other coworkers from differing regions, Liohime Kitagami kept to himself while sitting next to Jolene Aurora, staring aimlessly out of the window as he reclined back with silence.

"Hey, Shrimpdick, what are you daydreaming about?"

"Nothing. And stop calling me that."

"Aww, but I thought you liked that nickname?"

"When have I ever-"

"Oh, I think we’re here."

Liohime quickly peeped outside to witness a spectacular mansion, and he instantly swallowed hard.

He was about to see the mysterious, ruch and seemingly powerful client face to face.

Just what would this person be like? he wondered.

He couldn’t wait to find out.