The image of Arvastan's capital city beca clearer as we drew closer. After two hours, we finally arrived at the harbour. It was bustling with people. Ours wasn't the only ship arriving—others were coming in from all over the central continent. From here, we could see the colosseum standing tall among the city's buildings. We left the harbour with Rima leading the way.
Since it was already lunchti, Rima suggested we eat at one of her favourite local restaurants first. The capital was crowded with people and filled with flags and decorations stretching from building to building. rchants lined the streets, calling out to custors, and everyone seed busy bargaining. Joy radiated from everyone's faces.
It truly felt like a festival.
On our way to the restaurant, a voice suddenly called out to .
"Big Sis Luna!"
I looked around to find where the voice ca from. Across the street stood a young woman with brown hair dressed like a healer. My heart skipped a beat, and a wave of longing filled my chest.
"Elise!"
Across the road, I saw Elise and the others waving with big smiles on their faces. As soon as our eyes t, they hurried toward .
"Big Sis Luna! I missed you so much!" she cried, hugging tightly.
As her petite fra clung to , the longing that had built up over six months surged in my heart.
"I missed you, too."
"Hey, Elise, give a turn! I want to hug her, too," teased a red-haired girl.
"Phina! Co here!"
Elise let go of , and Phina took her place, hugging tightly. Soon after, she let go as well.
"Lynn, aren't you going to hug Big Sis Luna?" Elise asked the green-haired elf girl.
"Mm! I want to," Lynn nodded before embracing , too.
After a while, Lynn released as well. I turned to Aldian and Kyle, who both waved back at .
"How have you been, Big Sis Luna?" Elise asked.
"I'm doing well. How about you all? I didn't expect to run into you here."
"Yeah… we're thrilled to see you again," Elise replied.
"Did you co here for the tournant too?" Phina asked.
"No, I didn't co to participate."
Relief spread across the girls' faces after hearing my answer.
"Why the reaction?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that if you were competing, our chances would be zero," Phina laughed.
"So if you're not participating, what brought you here?" Elise asked.
"I ca to accompany my sister. Oh, right, let introduce you—this is my sister Rima, and this is Lusserina."
"Rima? Is she the long-lost sister you talked about?! Rimaria Oberyth?! The S-rank adventurer?!" Elise shouted.
Elise's voice drew the attention of nearby passersby.
"Oops, sorry," Elise said sheepishly.
"Let's find a better place to chat. I know just the spot," Rima suggested.
"Whoa! What a view!" Phina exclaid.
"Yeah, it's sothing," Elise agreed.
"Mm, I agree," Lynn added.
* * *
We were at the rooftop of a luxurious restaurant—once again, thanks to Rima's connections. From here, we could see the bustling crowd below. As for Langit, Griffa, and Riffon, we left them at a stable and used concealnt magic so they wouldn't scare the other horses. anwhile, Putih and her two cubs, Bamby and Arimby, were waiting in our hotel room.
Once settled, I introduced Elise and the others to Rima and Lusserina, starting from the left: Lynn, Phina, Elise, Aldian, and finally, Kyle.
"My na is Rimaria Oberyth, as Luna said—I'm her twin sister," Rima said.
"You can call Lusserina. Thank you for looking after the Lady," Lusserina added.
Hearing this, Elise and the others looked back and forth between and Rima.
"Whoa… you two do look alike! I can barely tell you apart," Phina said.
"Mm, truly alike," Lynn agreed.
Everyone else nodded in agreent.
"Wait a second—'Lady'? Big Sis Luna's married?!" Phina cried out.
"Errm…"
Oh no, how do I respond to that?—I panicked inwardly.
"…"
"Hey, nice to et you too, Miss Rimaria, Miss Lusserina. You can call Al, like the others," said Al.
"Yes, nice to et you," Kyle added.
Nice save, Al!
"…"
"N-nice to et you!" the trio—Elise, Phina, and Lynn—echoed.
"I heard you helped my sister. Since you've been looking after her, there's no need to be formal with . Just call Rima," Rima said.
Hearing that, the girls exchanged looks with wide eyes.
"R-really?" Phina's eyes sparkled.
"Yes, really," Rima confird.
"…"
"Oh, right, if I may ask, why did you bring Big Sis Luna here?" Phina asked.
Rima and I glanced at each other upon hearing the question.
"We were invited to the martial arts tournant as guests," Rima replied.
"Guests?! That's amazing!" they all cried out in unison.
"It's nothing special. Honestly, it's a hassle. I'm just here to sit and watch. Luna got bored, so I brought her along," Rima said.
"Hey! Why'd you have to tell them that?!"
Everyone laughed. We had lunch together, then spent the rest of the day strolling through the capital's festival. We watched street circus performances, tried unique snacks like Tabouleh and Kofta, and even viewed the colosseum up close.
When the sun set and dinner ti ca, we dined at another fancy restaurant thanks to Rima's connections, then relaxed in a hot spring bath. Of course, it was a won-only bath.
"Ah~ I still can't believe we got to see Big Sis Luna again," Phina said.
"Yeah, I've been waiting for this day," Elise agreed.
"I missed you all so much."
"She did—Luna was disappointed when she couldn't find you in Barqa," Rima teased.
"H-hey! You didn't have to say that!"
Elise and the others burst out laughing.
"Oh, right, what have you been up to these past six months?" I asked.
"Since you left, we've been training non-stop, especially our magic skills," Lynn answered.
"Really? Now I can't wait to see how far you've co."
"Are all of you participating in the tournant?"
"Yes, we want to test what we've learned in the past six months," Elise said.
"Is it okay for all of you to compete?" Rima asked.
"What do you an, Miss Rima?" Phina replied.
"I an, if you end up facing each other—you already know each other's strengths and weaknesses."
Hearing that, the three girls looked at each other and nodded in agreent.
"Of course, we've considered that. But we've all committed to giving it our all, even if we face each other," Elise said.
It was true—when I used 'Analyze' on them, I could tell their levels had risen since we last t.
"How many tis have you participated in this tournant?" I asked.
They looked at one another again.
"This is our first ti," Phina admitted shyly.
"Oh, right, Rim—you attend this event as a guest every year, right?"
"Yes, that's right. I told you—it's troubleso," Rima replied with a sigh.
"Could you tell us more about the tournant? It might help Elise and the others a bit."
Their eyes sparkled with excitent.
"Very well. So, this martial arts festival is held every sumr to commorate the founding of the Kingdom of Moesram. It's one of the main tourist attractions here. The tournant is divided into two categories: solo versus solo and group versus group. As the nas suggest, one is for individual battles, and the other is for team fights," Rima explained.
Rima continued explaining many things about the tournant and the kingdom. We also discussed several other topics. Once we were satisfied with the hot spring, we continued talking in our room before calling it a night.
[The Next Morning]
We woke up and had breakfast together at our inn. After that, we all headed to the colosseum.
When we arrived, the area around the colosseum was a sea of people. Crowds flocked toward the venue, and vendors lined the outside selling their goods.
Wow… It's so crowded! Everyone seems excited for the martial arts festival.
Once inside, Elise and the others split off to handle their registration, while I went with Rima and Lusserina to the VIP waiting room.
We arrived at a large, grand hall with stone walls. Inside were many people who looked quite important. Then, soone approached us.
"Lady Rimaria, welco!" a voice called out.
It was a muscular man with brown hair, wearing a red turban adorned with a crown-like accessory in front. He was shirtless, wearing a red robe with golden embroidery, a red batik-patterned sarong, and sandals that resembled hiking boots.
Beside him stood a woman in a fiery red kebaya and a matching red batik-patterned sarong. She wore a golden crown on her head, holding her braided hair in place.
"Prince Hasby," Rima replied.
"I was wondering when Lady Rima would show up. I thought maybe you weren't coming, haha," Prince Hasby said, laughing.
"Well, I was invited, so of course I ca," Rima replied.
"So, what about my offer? Have you changed your mind?" the prince asked.
"What offer are you referring to, Your Highness?" Rima replied.
"To beco my wife, of course, hahaha," Prince Hasby answered.
"You must be joking, Your Highness. Don't you already have four wives?"
What?! Four wives?!
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