Zofia had a lot to say.
It was clear that she held a deep grudge against the so-called General Chamber of Comrce.
And honestly, it wasn't hard to understand why.
Her beloved niece had been cast out of Kazimierz for the most absurd of reasons by that very organization.
Anyone with a heart would be furious.
What made it worse was how the General Chamber of Comrce, after so cruelly exiling her, was now shalessly riding the wave of popularity surrounding Infected knights.
It was disgusting.
But that wasn't all.
For soone like Zofia—soone who still believed in the honor of knighthood—the Major created by the General Chamber of Comrce were a mockery.
A travesty.
To her, it felt like they were stomping all over sothing sacred.
These people would do anything if there was money involved.
Anything.
"But you're a competitive knight yourself, aren't you?" Steven asked, a bit puzzled. "If you despise those guys so much, why participate in their gas? Wouldn't staying away be the real act of defiance?"
Originally, he'd thought that Major was so sort of evolved cultural tradition unique to Kazimierz.
But now… It all just sounded like a money-making sche dressed up in the guise of pageantry.
Suddenly, Steven found his interest waning.
Once sothing reeked of the stench of profit, it lost all taste—like fine wine turned to vinegar.
"Because I need money," Zofia replied bluntly.
Her eyes were firm. Her tone, resolute.
"I may despise them, but that doesn't change the fact that this is the fastest way to make a living in Kazimierz. They may have discarded the spirit of knighthood, but I carry my own ideals onto the field. In doing so, I can show people a better path—even within their twisted arena."
"...Just like Margaret once did."
Her voice softened as she spoke the na.
"Like a true knight standing tall beneath the stadium lights."
At the ntion of that radiant girl, her eyes shimred with longing and admiration.
It wasn't just her.
Even the other two in the room were overco with nostalgic reverence, their expressions distant, as if seeing a legend before them once again.
...Seriously? That girl had this many fans in Kazimierz?
Steven, anwhile, felt no such thing.
He had never witnessed Nearl's brilliance on the battlefield.
But even he could tell—the impact she had left on this knightdom ran deep.
Unshakably deep.
"So," he asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "does no one try to rein the General Chamber of Comrce in? Surely soone's gotta keep those vultures in check. If they're left to their own devices, they'll run Kazimierz straight into the ground just to make a quick buck."
After all, rchants don't tend to care about patriotism.
Unleashed and unregulated, it wouldn't be surprising if they ended up selling out the entire country.
"There is soone," Zofia answered, shaking her head slightly.
"The only reason the General Chamber of Comrce hasn't taken full control is because of the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi. They're ant to be a check against corporate power."
"But in tis like these... even the Sprawiedliwi is struggling to do anything aningful."
There were many in Kazimierz—people like Zofia—who knew the truth.
They understood what the Major really were: just another tool for the General Chamber of Comrce to rake in profit.
But so what?
Just because they knew the truth didn't an they could stop people from loving the spectacle.
It was entertainnt, after all.
And those sa people had to survive in this system too.
Living in Kazimierz ant living with the General Chamber of Comrce, like it or not.
That was the bitter reality.
And that's exactly why Zofia chose to fight in the tournants—on her own terms.
"Huh... well, I gotta say…"
Steven gave a small grin, his fingers still resting on his chin.
"That's... pretty interesting."
He didn't pass judgnt on Zofia's choices.
Everyone had their reasons.
And unless you'd walked through the sa fires as they had, you had no right to cast stones.
"So thank you, Miss Zofia. For enlightening . For a simple traveler like myself, this has been... incredibly informative."
Steven gave Zofia a respectful nod.
No matter how you looked at it, she'd willingly shared valuable insight with him—and that was sothing worth being grateful for.
Now that he had a clearer picture of what the General Chamber of Comrce was, and which financial conglorates made up its backbone, he felt like the puzzle pieces had finally started to fall into place.
But he wasn't here to save this country.
He wasn't trying to beco so radiant beacon like Margaret, lighting the way for the people.
He wasn't even a knight—technically speaking.
No mount.
No knight's belt.
Just a wanderer with curiosity and half a plan.
Speaking of knights… wasn't the most iconic type the dragon knight?
Too bad there didn't seem to be any dragons in this world.
Unless he sohow summoned Talulah from the Ursus tundra?
...Though now that he thought about it, that woman didn't exactly strike him as the rideable type.
Not in any sense of the word.
If he even suggested such a thing to her, he'd probably end up with a boot to the foot and a death glare strong enough to make him cough up his last al.
The image made him laugh softly to himself.
"You're welco," Zofia replied, slamming back a mouthful of icy beer with the practiced ease of soone who'd done it many tis before.
"But if I may ask... why the sudden interest in the General Chamber of Comrce, Mister Steve? If you're just a tourist, what does any of this matter to you?"
She tilted her head, genuinely curious.
An outsider knowing this much wouldn't change anything, after all.
Wouldn't it be better to enjoy the fights with blissful ignorance?
Steven shrugged with an easy grin.
"Oh, I just like a good story," he said casually.
"Call it a hobby—eating lons and chasing gossip. Hearing all this? It's already more than enough entertainnt for ."
Then, rising to his feet, he stretched with a lazy yawn.
He'd gotten his fill of gossip and gathered more than enough intel.
Next on the agenda: finding a way to make so quick cash.
"You're leaving already?" Zofia asked, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes.
Then, after a mont's pause, she added cautiously, "...Will you be seeing Margaret again?"
She could already tell from his movents that he was preparing to leave.
Still, she asked—perhaps because there was sothing she wished she could say, but couldn't quite voice.
"No, not yet," Steven replied, turning to glance back with a light smile.
"I'll be sticking around Kazimierz a while longer. Seeing her again will have to wait."
He had no plans to return to Rhodes Island just yet.
That was sothing the little orca girl wanted.
As far as Steven was concerned, the real show hadn't even started.
He hadn't finished eating this lon of a story.
The adventure was just beginning.
But seeing that subtle look of hesitation on Zofia's pretty face, he quickly pieced together what she was thinking.
"If you're hoping I'll pass on a ssage to Margaret... why not just tell her yourself?"
He chuckled.
"Next ti I visit, I'll bring a communicator with . When that happens, you can pour out all that longing directly to her. Say it with your own voice."
Steven scratched the back of his head.
To him, this whole situation was hardly complicated.
In Terra, long-distance communication was usually a logistical nightmare. But with the kind of high-tech gear he carried around?
Forget long-distance. He could have a heart-to-heart call with the little songbird all the way over in Iberia right now if he wanted.
If he really wanted to contact Margaret, all he had to do was give Kal'tsit a heads-up and ask her to hand the communicator over. Easy as that.
—But bringing that up now felt a bit tactless.
He'd wait until next ti—preferably after giving Margaret a heads-up herself and getting her consent.
"R-Really?"
Zofia's eyes sparkled with an excitent that was impossible to hide.
If it weren't for the whole n-and-won social etiquette thing, Steven had a feeling she would've run up and grabbed his hands in gratitude already.
"I'm just staying at the inn nearby. Don't worry, I'm not running off anywhere."
He smiled warmly and gestured in the direction of his lodging.
With that, he gave a small wave to Zofia, the bearded man, and the bartender, then casually strolled out of the bar with the ease of a man without a single worry in the world.
Behind him, Zofia drained the rest of her beer in one enthusiastic gulp. Her expression practically scread hopeful anticipation as she leapt to her feet with newfound urgency.
"No way, I have to tell Maria. If she finds out about her sister— there's no way she'll be able to sleep tonight!"
She slapped so coins on the counter and rushed out of the bar, muttering to herself all the while.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Unaware of the emotional wake he'd left behind, Steven wandered leisurely through the comrcial district of the Grand Knight Territory, bathed in golden sunlight.
Curiosity glimred in his eyes as he once again took in the sight of this modern, industrialized city—equal parts glitzy and suffocating.
Now that he knew the truth about the General Chamber of Comrce, he could see it more clearly.
Just how much of a goldmine they'd turned this "knight tournant" into.
Posters, banners, holograms—every street corner scread knight fever.
Shops advertised tournant tie-in rchandise. Celebrities and active knights alike served as brand ambassadors.
And the best-selling items? Of course, they were all thed around the current stars of the arena.
But it wasn't just the locals who were being targeted.
Tourists from all across Terra flocked here, lured by the glamor, the spectacle, the illusion of chivalry.
Say what you would—when it ca to comrcialization, the General Chamber of Comrce played the ga better than anyone else.
"The bigger the corporation, the dirtier the laundry behind closed doors..."
Steven muttered under his breath, eyes narrowed slightly.
"Well, whatever. Let's pick a lucky winner. No way to know what's really going on behind the scenes without poking around myself, right?"
Scanning the skyline with a half-lidded gaze, he finally locked onto one particularly tall and imposing skyscraper nearby.
No rhy or reason for the choice. It was just the biggest, flashiest one he could see.
The glowing logo above the entrance read: "Roar Knightclub."
If he rembered right, that was one of the Knightclub under the umbrella of the General Chamber of Comrce.
"Let's see just how rotten this place really is..." he said to himself with a grin.
Without fanfare, Steven pulled a bottle from his coat—one of his precious stealth potions.
A quick gulp later, his figure shimred, then vanished completely from sight.
Now fully invisible, he walked right through the security checkpoint at the front entrance like it was nothing, casually joining the flow of Roar Knightclub employees heading into the building.
The elevator chid as it opened before him.
"Ti to see if there's a big fish swimming in this pond..."
< >
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