My Yandere Empress

The four of them had been so focused on their matches that the thought of where they would be staying at night never once crossed their minds.

And now that they were out, with the crowd having already returned, they were in a serious problem.

"Well, before anything, we need to look for some food. I don’t think I shall be able to move my body if I remain on an empty stomach for two whole days."

Shen sighed as his stomach growled embarrassingly.

The others nodded, not preferring to speak much and saving their leftover energy.

Not knowing the city at all, they at first entered the nobles’ section by accident. Everything there screamed grandiose. One glance at that place and the squad was already turning their backs on it.

They knew they had neither the money nor any leverage to secure food for themselves. Let alone a room to stay in...

But just as they were about to leave the district behind, they met a Bewitcher who seemed to be coming from the direction of the exam ground.

Enzo immediately recognized her. And how could he not, when he had been saved by the same lady twice that same day!

At that moment, the Bewitcher was walking all alone, her fingers stroking her chin as if in contemplation. But the moment she saw them, she stopped in her tracks.

Her eyes, covered by the hood, tracked Enzo, and a deep sigh of relief threatened to escape her throat.

She walked towards the group with brisk steps. Then, pretending like she was just curious about them, she pointed towards Alyssa and asked, "Aren’t you that girl who was producing weapons out of thin air? That was one impressive Aspect."

"T-thank you..." Alyssa muttered, her eyes darting everywhere but at her. Receiving sudden attention and praise had clearly thrown off the girl. And it was showing.

Not willing to dwell on the matter, the Bewitcher quickly changed the topic.

"Anyway, what are you all doing so late at night?" Pointing at the other three, she asked, "You three are also candidates, right? Go and get some rest. You can explore the areas later, you know."

Enzo felt his lips twitch. He clearly wasn’t expecting to be ignored in that manner. In fact, he had been meaning to thank her properly.

But she closed off that path herself. By pretending not to know him, it was almost as if she was asking him to follow some script whose lines he didn’t know.

So he complied. Maybe showing association with a slave might hurt her position in some way.

But a random encounter? That could be seen as a lady looking out for her people. Out of empathy, or out of whatever reason that would suit her.

Well, in that case...

Enzo stepped forward and performed a little bow. "Thank you for asking about us, lady. But you see, today is the first time we have stepped foot in this city... no, in this Empire. We have neither the money nor any people who would provide us with lodging."

In the end, through her help, they were able to secure a place with food for themselves without having to earn a single penny to pay the motel owner.

If she was willing to do charity, why not take advantage of it?

Before leaving them, the lady had introduced herself.

"Call me Lady Elena. Or, if you want, Elena would be fine as well. You four can get some rest. I shall be on my way. See you tomorrow!"

With that, she was gone, leaving Enzo with a smile on his face, feeling like he had just performed the best scam of the decade.

Little did he know that Elena had been searching for them for the last hour, to make sure they had a place to live for the next two days.

And since it was a direct command from a certainperson, Elena couldn’t help but feel her shoulders relax significantly after having completed her task.

***

The next day, the sun had risen early, burning with an intensity that made standing on the sand feel like standing on molten rock.

"Whatever these people are wearing, I definitely want for myself later." Smut complained as his eyes shifted to the leather footwear that even the common citizens of the Empire were wearing.

"Hey, I have an idea. Let’s rob four of these people when they’re returning back to their houses." Shen whispered in a conspiratorial tone, his voice sounding quite proud, as if he believed he had come up with an extraordinary plan.

Or maybe he truly believed that.

The other three looked at him with deadpan expressions.

"You can be scum. We are not!" Alyssa exclaimed in indignation.

"I am not scum! And obviously, I was talking about robbing only the ones that look like they can afford to lose those things again."

"Doesn’t make it any better. And please keep quiet, unless you want those guards to arrest us. Or something worse." Enzo warned while still nursing his head. Yesterday, it had only ached. But today, a small lump had formed over the injured spot.

Wearing a helmet for protection was out of the question.

Shen, thankfully, stopped rambling his nonsense.

The host soon appeared and greeted them once, before one of the Bewitchers took over, and just like the previous day, the entire crowd prayed alongside her.

With all formalities out of the way, the duels began from where they had stopped the previous evening.

Shen was called in the very first round itself. His opponent was a strong guy, one who almost pushed Shen to the brink of defeat. But he persisted and won anyway.

"One thousand fifty and nine hundred ninety-nine! Approach ring number three!"

Enzo’s third match happened in the third round of that day.

His opponent was a malnourished boy. His hands were as thin as sticks, but with a bulging stomach.

The match didn’t last long, as with simple tactics he overwhelmed the boy until he was pushed to defend himself purely out of desperation.

He fought two more matches that same day. The fifth match was somewhat harder for him, as his opponent was quite agile and moved like someone who had been training for some time.

But if anything, Enzo knew how to maneuver the "macro" of any situation. And thus, before his opponent — clearly better than him — even knew what was happening, the invigilator standing to the side declared,

"Candidate nine hundred ninety-nine wins!"

Only then did the boy notice the grin plastered on Enzo’s face. His eyes widened as he looked down to see one of his own feet outside the ring itself!

The second day came to an end.

Enzo, however, was nowhere near pleased with himself. His face looked extremely grim as they returned to their lodge.

’Tomorrow, I need to win five matches...’

Given his stamina and his amateur techniques, he highly doubted he would survive the day.