Sierra City (5)

"Okay."

Ariel readily accepted Selly's proposal. She decided to spend the day with Selly.

After all, she was planning to stay in the city for a while, so it seemed fine to spend a day like that.

"Ta-da!"

Selly had bought a lot of desserts.

She said it was to repay Ariel for sharing the strawberry tart, but to Ariel it just seemed like Selly wanted to eat them.

While the strawberry tart was Delight's most popular item, the other desserts were also quite delicious.

"Oops!"

As Ariel was munching on a blueberry muffin, Selly wiped the crumbs off her mouth with a tissue.

Crumbs had gotten stuck around Ariel's mouth.

"What if a girl gets all messy eating? I guess even elves are no different from humans."

"..."

Ariel silently looked at Selly. She felt a bit hard done by.

Originally, she wasn't such a messy eater. It was because she had possessed the character Ariel and her mouth had become smaller.

And above all, there was also cream smeared around Selly's mouth.

Ariel wiped Selly's mouth with a tissue too, and Selly was startled and averted her gaze.

"Ahem, ahem. By the way."

Selly turned her gaze. Towards the table by the window where Cal was sitting.

"Why has Sir Carl been glancing this way since earlier? Was the rumor true after all?"

Ariel tilted her head.

"Rumor?"

"Yeah, the rumor that Sir Carl courted an elf but got rejected! Seeing him keep glancing this way... the elf in that rumor must be you, Ariel?"

Ariel silently gulped down her milk. She had never heard such a rumor.

Moreover, she was starting to feel drowsy and her eyes were getting heavy. She was getting sleepy from eating.

"Hmm~ Poor Sir Carl. From his expression, it seems he's already fallen for you, Ariel. Then what's going to happen with the princess? This is quite a serious issue... Ariel?"

Selly, who had been muttering to herself, blinked when she looked at Ariel.

"Ariel, are you...?"

Ariel had fallen asleep sitting up.

Unlike other noble ladies, Selly had no interest in the opposite gender. She disliked dressing up elaborately or flirting at social parties. The only reason Selly attended social parties was for the food - there was always plenty of delicious food at those parties!

While Ariel was sleeping, Selly busily devoured the desserts. Thanks to that, Ariel could sleep comfortably for a while, and Selly only got up after completely finishing the desserts.

"Ariel, wake up. It's time to go out and play!"

When Selly gently shook her shoulders, Ariel slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't avoid falling asleep after eating, but she would wake up immediately if someone woke her. Of course, she wasn't fully conscious yet.

Ariel swayed with half-closed eyes, like someone intoxicated with alcohol.

"This way, over here, Ariel. Oh my, you're such a child."

Selly carefully tended to the dazed Ariel. Looking at her now, Ariel's hair was completely disheveled from not being brushed.

It was because she had rushed to Delight as soon as she woke up in the morning.

"Are elves usually like this?"

Muttering so, Selly brushed Ariel's hair neatly and straightened her clothes.

"Alright, let's go."

With a sleepy face, Ariel was dragged out of Delight by Selly.

As soon as the two left, Carl, who had been sitting at the window table, also got up.

There was no trace of desserts at the spot where Carl had been sitting.

*

Selly took Ariel around the city tirelessly, from one place to another. Usually, Selly didn't have much free time, so she intended to make the most of it today.

Fortunately, there were various festivals going on in the city of Sierra, providing plenty of entertainment for Selly and Ariel.

"Ariel, let's try that!"

Selly dragged Ariel to where people had gathered. There, a burly, muscular man was sitting at a table, with a sign that read:

[Arm wrestling challenge! Anyone confident, feel free to try!]

The entry fee was one silver coin.

If you could withstand the muscular man's arm wrestling for 5 seconds, you will get a lizardman leather wallet. If you could last 10 seconds, you'd get a premium minotaur meat as the prize.

"Then what do you get if you win?"

Selly tilted her head, looking at the sign. There was no mention of the prize for actually winning the arm wrestling match.

"Could it be that they think it's impossible to win? That's quite confident of them."

Selly smirked.

While the man's arm muscles were larger than Selly's head, not considering the possibility of winning seemed to provoke her competitive spirit.

And that was precisely the arm wrestler's ploy - to stimulate people's competitive nature and increase participation.

"Alright, who's next to challenge me!"

The arm wrestler spoke arrogantly. He had just effortlessly pinned down another man's arm in one second.

"Me!"

Selly stepped forward and shouted.

The arm wrestler snickered when he glanced at Selly.

"I won't go easy on you just because you're a lady."

"I don't need you to. I only plan to last 10 seconds."

Selly tossed a silver coin into the box next to the man and sat across from him.

She seemed quite confident.

'After all the exercise I've done, there's no way I can't last 10 seconds?'

At the Matiel family, they exercised daily to maintain their figures.

Thanks to that, while Selly's arms were slender, her muscle strength was quite high.

In fact, Selly had never lost an arm wrestling match against boys her age.

So she might just be able to last 10 seconds.

'I'll last 10 seconds and get that premium minotaur meat to share with Ariel!'

Just the thought of premium minotaur meat made her mouth water.

"Start!"

The arm wrestling match began.

*

'I can't believe this...'

Selly got up from the table with a sullen expression.

Not only did she fail to last 10 seconds, but she couldn't even hold out for a single second.

In hindsight, it was an expected outcome.

The man's arms were larger than Selly's head.

No one in the gathered crowd expected Selly to last more than a second.

"Ugh... my premium minotaur meat..."

Selly trudged back to Ariel's side.

"Ariel, why don't you give it a try? It's just for fun, anyway."

At Selly's words, Ariel stared blankly at the arm wrestler.

The arm wrestler also looked at Ariel and smirked, "Oh, an elf. How interesting. For the elf lady, I'll make it 3 seconds. If you can just last 3 seconds, I'll give you the premium minotaur meat. What do you say?"

"Go ahead, Ariel. It's fine if you can't last. Here's the silver coin, mister."

Selly paid Ariel's entry fee and pushed her forward.

Eventually, Ariel sat across from the arm wrestling man.

From the outside, the difference in their physiques looked serious.

A huge man and a small girl.

"Go elf girl!"

"Beat that big guy in style!"

People started cheering for Ariel.

"Alright, get ready then."

Somehow, Selly had become the referee.

Ariel clasped hands with the arm wrestling man.

The man's hand was very thick and large, making Ariel's hand look swallowed up by it.

"Start!"

At Selly's shout, the arm wrestling began.

"Oh, oh, oh...!"

People gasped with widened eyes.

They thought Ariel would be done in 1 second like Selly, but unexpectedly, Ariel's arm didn't budge at all.

"1 second! 2 seconds! 3 seconds!!"

People counted the seconds, and Selly jumped around excitedly.

"Kyaa! Ariel! You endured for 3 seconds!!"

Meanwhile, the arm wrestling man's face had turned red as he exerted all his strength trying to push down Ariel's arm.

'What is this...?'

Disbelief filled the man's eyes.

'I can't push her down...?'

He was the previous champion of an arm wrestling tournament held in the imperial capital, having defeated hundreds of participants to proudly claim the trophy.

That he couldn't push down the arm of a tiny girl like Ariel was simply unbelievable.

"Uraaah!"

A rough roar burst from the man's mouth.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and thick veins bulged on his arms.

Still, Ariel's arm didn't move an inch.

'This can't be...!'

If he thought it was by magic power, it might be a bit understandable.

There are spells that enhance physical strength after all.

However, the table Ariel and the man were sitting at had a magic restraining glyph carved into it.

On this table used in official arm wrestling tournaments, magic power could never be used.

In other words, Ariel was currently enduring the man's arm with pure physical strength.

"11 seconds! 12 seconds! 13 seconds!!"

They had already passed 10 seconds.

"Wow! Elf win!"

"Elf win!!"

The cheering people.

The atmosphere around them was completely heated up.

That a small girl was taking on a huge, seemingly unbreakable man - it was breathtaking.

'Damn...!'

The man gritted his teeth, dripping with cold sweat. His arm strength was gradually waning.

'Could I...lose?'

Just as the man thought that.

"Hey."

Ariel asked the man in a whispering voice.

"What do I get if I win?"