The Start of The 16th Finals

(A/N: A match of 32 competitors is referred to as the 16th finals because it determines which 16 competitors advance.)

She arrived at the Genji Dojo, where she found a large match-up chart that stood at the side of the entrance to the competitive arena.

After entering the dojo, she was led to the area behind the circular competition ring, which was surrounded by cloth and served as a resting place. Each competitor had their own resting place—the resting place was a three-meter square room with a bed, a wooden box, a small table, and a tent roof to shelter from the rain. With the competition lasting a week, they were told they had to stay on the premise and rest within these resting places for the entirety of the tournament. Unless they were given permission to leave.

The tournament had always been like this until the final round. Ayla didn't care to give this rule any more thought, although she would miss the hot spring. Not far away, a road surrounded by cloth led to places such as the men and woman's bath.

There was also a public resting area outside for the competitors, where they could wait to enter the tournament or watch the tournament directly from the edge of the ring.

Ayla went directly to the public resting area and found an open area on a bench where she could get a good view of the matches. There were others there, but she ignored them.

Outside of the resting area, around the ring, were stands, along with any open space filled with people who had come to spectate the tournament. The atmosphere around the ring seemed very enthusiastic as the spectators were eagerly waiting for the next round of the tournament to begin.

A few minutes passed, and the people in the stands couldn't wait for it to begin.

At this time, there was the percussion of taiko drums outside, accompanied by the beautiful music played from a biwa.

"The Warrior Tournament's 16th Finals... officially begins!" A man with a bold and loud voice announced.

At this time, the majority of the 32 competitors were now in the public resting area, with the others either being in their private resting area or somewhere else on the premise.

Ayla leaned against the back wall of the resting area, her eyes closed, minding her own business. She didn't care about the others, but she kept her ears open to listen to those around her.

"Ho-ho?! I didn't expect there to be a woman among the remaining line-up of competitors in the last few stages of the tournament. How pathetic are those losers to have been defeated by a woman in the first round?" In an arrogant tone, a man remarked.

Ayla kept her eyes closed, as she didn't care about the one who had said those words. She simply kept her eyes closed and ignored his words.

The man looked Ayla up and down carefully as he thought, 'This woman from the preliminary round is really fucking beautiful!'

He found it hard to believe that there was someone this beautiful among the common people. This man was a rich noble, belonging to a family that was under the Genji Clan.

The man decided to tease her and pulled out his closed paper fan and waved it in front of Ayla's face. "What's the matter? How come you are closing your eyes and ignoring me? Did you not get enough sleep? If you'd like, I can let you into my private resting area and you can sleep there."

Hearing this, Ayla blocked her hearing so she wouldn't have to listen to this man's blabbering. And if this man took any action, she would break his arms and legs.

The man got irritated that he was being ignored and was about to grab her arm when the drums outside got louder and a judge suddenly shouted, "The first match, Takeshita's Tokugawa Shiji versus Tetsu Hayabusa!"