Chapter 26: Mysterious depths
They'd been searching for a week now and there'd been no sign of Rose. She and Poochie had scoured the markets the inns the stables and the slums of the capitol, all to no avail. Alexia was starting to lose hope. Rose might have already fled the city. She might even be dead or kidnapped by some crazy doctor with a blood fetish. With each passing day the odds of finding her were getting slimmer.
The only good news was that Doem, and his people had also failed to find her. The city was now plastered with wanted posters offering a substantial reward for Rose's capture or information leading to her. Doem and Rose's father had wanted to keep the entire matter quiet. Resorting to these posters was a clear sign they'd come up empty too and were growing desperate.
During most of this time she and Poochie had searched from sunrise to sunset as a pair. But early each afternoon Pooch would suddenly insist they needed to search separately to cover more ground. He'd promptly disappear for an hour or so before returning to join her again. It was pretty obvious what he was doing.
"You know," Alexia said on the seventh day. "If you want to watch the preliminary matches so badly you can just say so. I'm fine doing this on my own for a few hours."
"I have no idea what you mean," he said feigning ignorance.
"Sure, you don't."
There were no crowds in the street or foreign visitors packing every inn yet. The preliminaries of the God of War Tournament were seen as pretty boring and tedious. The primary rounds would be a whole different matter.
"By the way, I'll be attending the primaries with my sister and father. I'll try and get you a ticket too. There's a strict limit on the seats available and even I have to work to get an extra one. You better be grateful."
He opened his mouth.
"Don't even think about not coming if I get you a ticket! I will skin you and dip you in salt if you so much as suggest standing me up in front of Iris and dad!"
He sighed. "Whatever you say, Muffin."
Alexia scowled at him but didn't bother telling him not to call her that. She'd already done so a hundred time to no effect. Some people just loved being condescending to others!
"You not interested in the early rounds?"
"Not really," Alexia said. "Most of the matches are either going to be between light weights, or very one sided. Besides, I already know who's going to win. Iris will be this year's champion same as last year."
"You sound awfully sure of that."
She shrugged. "I've attended the primary rounds of every God of War Tournament since I was five. I've watched the strongest fighters in the world giving their all. I've only ever seen two men who I thought were stronger than Iris. One of them got vaporized by the other and the second is an outlaw who isn't participating."
"Upsets can still happen though. I saw someone who I thought might have mysterious depths."
Alexia gave Pooch a flat stare. "Mysterious depths? Seriously? Is he a spell swordsman or a philosophy scholar?"
"I'm just saying there was something about him that most would not see."
"Uh huh, okay Poochie, I'll bite. Who is this mystery man?"
"Jimina Sehnen."
"Never heard of him."
"He was disowned from a minor noble family in the Altena Empire and has been working as a caravan guard."
"What? He's a common guard? Not even a knight or captain of a mercenary company? And you think he might be stronger than my sister?"
"I'm just saying there's a peculiar aura about him."
"Uh huh," Alexia rolled her eyes. "So how much have you made from him?"
"What?"
"Well, if he's so mysterious and peculiar and all you must have bet on him and made quite a killing, right?"
He looked away. "I can't do that; it'd be beneath the dignity of a true eminence in shadow."
"What are you mumbling about?"
"I said I haven't placed any bets."
That made Alexia chuckle. "So, you think this guy could beat Iris but you're not willing to put any money on the line?"
"My friend Skel is sort of obsessed with trying to get rich off betting. I don't want to follow his example." He actually tried to make himself sound virtuous.
"So, you're just not betting out of fear of poor behavior Mr. Cid I am too cheap to even pay for my own food, Kagenou?"
He nodded. "That's it exactly."
Hearing that Alexia gave him a sly grin. "You know what? I think I want to see this mystery man in action. Let's go to the stadium this afternoon. We can afford to take a few hours off the search."
XXX
When they arrived, Alexia confirmed the man's name, Jimina Sehnen, and separated from Poochie to use the ladies washroom. Unlike a certain someone she did not declare she was going to go take a shit. But rather than the women's room she headed to the stadium betting windows. When she got there, she was very surprised to find out that Jimina's opponent was Goldoh Kinmeki. While she'd never actually seen him fight Alexia had heard that name before. He was called the 'Undefeated Legend' and had a very good reputation. Not surprisingly, Jimina was a one hundred to one underdog.
She took out two gold coins from her purse and placed them down. "I'd like to place two separate one hundred thousand zeni bets on Jimina to win please."
The man working the window looked shocked but took the money and handed her two betting slips that would pay off at ten million each if Poochie's mystery man actually came through.
Alexia headed to the stadium section Pooch had told her. The stands were no more than a fifth full, so she had no problem navigating to where he was. When she spotted him, he was sitting next to scarecrow.
"Hello, Skel, it is a pleasure to see you again." She lied with her usual angelic expression.
"Princess Alexia! It's such an honor!"
She'd sat with Cid and his friends for several lunches, so scarecrow was at least able to communicate with her now. Though he did continue to stare wide eyed and blush. Alexia looked about but didn't see fatty anywhere.
"Is Po not here?"
"No," Skel answered. "He had to go home to help with the harvest. I'll let him know you asked about him though. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."
"Yes, I'm sure he will be. Here Pooch," she handed Cid one of the two betting slips.
He accepted it but looked wary. "What's this?"
"Proof of how much faith I have in your judgement."
Alexia didn't care about the money. To her two hundred thousand zeni was pocket change. Betting on Jimina was a win win situation for her. Either he'd lose, which she fully expected, and she'd get the pleasure of rubbing it in with all of Pooch's talk of 'mysterious auras' and 'peculiar depths' and whatnot. Or he'd win, in which case she'd get a hundred gold coins to go shopping with and Cid would have to praise her for being so generous with her pooch.
For some reason he didn't look particularly happy when he saw what she'd given him. "I never told you to actually bet on him."
"How could I not after hearing how amazing you think he is? If he's really as strong as you say Jimina should win his match no problem."
To her surprise it was not Pooch but scarecrow who reacted.
"Jimina?! Princess! You didn't bet on Jimina Sehnen did you?"
She looked over at scarecrow, for once he wasn't talking to her with the usual reverence. There was shock and even a bit of outrage.
"That's right. Cid told me the man has hidden strengths, so I decided to wager two hundred thousand zeni on him." She showed him her betting slip.
"But don't you know who he's fighting?! His opponent is The Ever Victorious Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmeki! There's no way he'll win he's got no chance at all! That's why I'm betting two hundred thousand zeni on Goldoh."
"You are?" Cid said in surprise.
Scarecrow proudly shoved his betting slip in Poochie's face. "You bet! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make free money! No way am I passing this up!"
"How'd you manage to get that much cash though?" Pooch asked.
"I begged and got an advance on next month's allowance, I borrowed money from all my real friends who are still in town (from the aggrieved way he said that Alexia was certain Poochie had not been one of those friends), I got a small loan from a guy named Alfonso the Leg Breaker, and I pawned off everything I possibly could. When a chance like this comes along you don't waste it!"
"But wait a moment," Alexia said. "Goldoh is a one hundred to one favorite. Doesn't that mean that even if you win, you're only going to earn two thousand zeni?"
Alexia's sense of money was a bit skewed, but since she'd started dating Poochie she'd had some experience with the prices of things poor people bought. She immediately converted that sum into ten tuna king sandwiches. Did poor people really think that was a lot?
"Free money is still free money."
Poochie looked over at her. "This is why I think I should avoid betting."
"Huh, I hate to admit it, but you might have a point."
"Princess," Scarecrow said. "You should go back to the betting window and demand they cancel the bet. Your bet on Jimina is a guaranteed loss. You really shouldn't listen to anything Cid tells you; he can be a real idiot sometimes." He turned to Poochie. "No offense, man."
Poochie shrugged. "None taken."
"I thank you for your concern, Skel. But it's quite alright. I'm sure if Jimina loses Poochie will find some way to make it up to me." She gave Pooch the sort of warm inviting smile a lion gives a wounded gazelle. "Isn't that right, Poochie?"
"Whatever you say, Muffin." Pooch slipped the betting slip into his pocket.
Scarecrow let out a tiny squeal. "You get to call the princess Muffin? I can't wait to tell everybody!"
Alexia felt a vein throb in her forehead but maintained a mask of angelic composure.
XXX
She sat down with Poochie and scarecrow and together they watched the opening matches of the current round. She judged the quality of the fights to be at about the level of most of the Academy Qualifying Tournament. So not actually bad if taken completely on their own. They were only lacking if you compared them to what would be seen in the finals.
As she sat there a lot of the sparse crowd was staring at her almost as much as at the combatants. Everyone recognized her and they were amazed to see a real-life princess so close. She was used to this sort of attention. She had her mask firmly in place and sent the onlookers pleasant smiles and occasionally waved to them. From all the happy looks she spotted, it seemed her deception was as good as always.
Alexia was actually having a pretty good time. It was genuinely fun to watch the matches with Poochie. (She had no issue ignoring scarecrow.) Then after the fifth match Poochie stood up.
"I need to go take a shit."
"Couldn't you say, 'I need to use the bathroom' like a civilized human being?" She asked in annoyance.
"I just thought I should make it clear this is a number two and I may be gone awhile."
"Thank you for being so considerate."
He nodded as if completely missing her tone and quickly scampered away.
As soon as he was gone scarecrow spoke up. "It's still not too late, princess. I bet if you run down to the betting window and yell at them you can get your money back. Half of it at least."
"Thank you for your concern, Skel. But it's quite alright, I won't be upset if I lose. And I could never be so rude as to yell at someone because of a decision I made."
He looked at her like the goddess she truly was. "You're so enlightened and kind, princess."
"I know."
As she sat there something occurred to her. "Skel, if Jimina somehow wins and you lose your bet won't that be bad for you?"
He laughed. "There is no way that could possibly happen."
Alexia shrugged. If he didn't care, she certainly didn't.
XXX
Of course, when the big moment finally came Poochie was in a bathroom stall. The contestants for the sixth match of the day entered the field. One of them was decked out in shining golden armor and had a hand-crafted broad sword at his hip. He waved to the crowd and flashed them a confident grin. Scarecrow jumped to his feet and started to screech like a young maiden receiving her very romantic confession.
She could guess which of the two fighters he was.
Alexia was much more interested in his opponent. He shuffled through a gate at the opposite end of the arena floor. He wore a tattered cloak and stained trousers. His leather armor was cracked and worn. His rapier's blade had nicks on it and was in desperate need of a good sharpening. His posture was awful as he slumped towards the middle of the arena floor. Alexia didn't wonder how this guy had made it this far in the tournament, she wondered how he was even alive. This wasn't the academy qualifier; the weapons here were real and a certain number of deaths happened every single year. Everything about him announced he was mediocre at best.
Mysterious depths my ass, she thought. Why would Poochie think there was anything special about his guy?
But even as she thought that there was a gnawing suspicion that this guy wasn't what he appeared to be. How could someone like this have possibly made it a week into the prelims? Luck and a good draw might get you through one round, two at the very most, but six? No. The odds always evened out eventually, and the competition got better the further you went. This guy had to have something.
There was also the fact that while Alexia would never, ever, ever, EVER admit it… she respected Cid's judgement. Yeah, he was lazy, cheap, and a real idiot sometimes. But he also had a strange habit of seeing things everyone else missed. The trick with him was to figure out when he was being a savant and when he was just an idiot. As soon as he'd mention Jimina and his 'mysterious depths' she'd been curious. Looking at this guy now Alexia couldn't spot anything even slightly out of the ordinary. Could Poochie see things even she couldn't?
It didn't take long to find out. The referee announced their names and shouted 'fight.' Goldoh wasted no time. He went in with a flash and aimed a strike right at Jimina's neck. A lethal, but perfectly legal move. The instant it was over he was standing there waving to the crowd again, clearly more interested in their cheers than in the man he'd just decapitated.
Only Jimina was still standing there, not only untouched but having not even drawn his sword yet. When Goldoh finally realized this, he leapt back to put some distance between the two of them. In that moment he'd had his back to Jimina and been completely wide open. But Jimina hadn't done a thing he only even took out his sword after Goldoh had jumped back.
Alexia had been watching but had no idea how Jimina had avoided that opening strike. He had also let a golden opportunity to hit Goldoh in the back slip away. So far as she could tell he'd done absolutely nothing so far and was simply lucky. Scarecrow was on his feet cheering and had clearly not spotted anything.
The two of them talked for a moment, but she was too far away to hear what was said. But she felt Goldoh's mana as he materialized it into the form of a golden dragon. Alexia nodded, somewhat impressed, his mana was maybe three quarters what Iris could produce, and obviously not even a drop compared to Shadow. But it was still lot more than what your average spellsword could manage. She could understand why the man had a good reputation and was a hundred to one favorite.
He charged in with his golden dragon attack and… immediately fell over. The dragon blinked out of existence, and he simply lay there in the sand.
"What the-" Alexia was too startled to say anything more. He'd been about to strike Jimina down with one overpowering attack, but in the next moment he was on his back. So far as she could tell Jimina hadn't moved at all.
"Get up! Get up!" Scarecrow was screeching at the top of his lungs.
Apparently, he wasn't the only one to have bet money on Goldoh as many in the crowd were also yelling at him to stand up and continue.
But he didn't.
Jimina casually slid his rapier back into its sheath and began to slouch away. Only then did the referee announce he was the winner of the sixth match. Many fans started to curse and demand they get a refund. Scarecrow had let his betting slip fall from his hand and was swaying like a blade of grass in a breeze.
She ignored all that and stared at Jimina until he disappeared through one of the gates. "Mysterious depths, huh?" She muttered beneath her breath. She wondered what sort of-
"PRINCESS ALEXIA!"
"W… What?" The blood curdling scream dragged her from her thoughts.
Scarecrow had grabbed onto her sleeve and was pushing his face into hers. "Give me money! You won your bet, so you have a lot of money, right?! Give me some please! We're friends, right?! Right?! So, give me some of your money!"
"Hey! Hey! Calm down!" She tried to get some space, but he wouldn't let go of her.
If he'd just asked her a little more politely, she probably would have gone ahead and given him a couple gold coins. They were acquaintances after all, and he was Poochie's friend for some reason.
"Look! That guy's attacking the princess!" A nearby spectator shouted.
All the men in the local stands jumped to their feet and ran over to rescue her from a crazed assailant.
XXX
By the time Poochie finally made it back from his number two a pair of guards were dragging away a beaten and unconscious Skel.
"Do I want to know?" Poochie asked.
"Probably not," Alexia replied.
He shrugged and sat down so they could watch the rest of the matches together.