Chapter 179: Heracles (4)
The coliseum district was broadly divided into two zones.
One was the coliseum proper, where participants killed and were killed. The other was the market zone.
Of course, the boundary between the two wasn’t clearly defined, so people usually just referred to the entire area as the “coliseum district.”
This coliseum district occupied quite a large portion even within the illegal black market run by the merfolk pirate crew.
Above all, it was a place so lawless and brutal that even the merfolk pirate crew largely washed their hands of it. This was truly a domain inhabited only by those who had transcended illegality—where no rules existed at all.
“In short, it’s survival of the fittest, every man for himself, and a single golden opportunity for the have-nots to snatch what’s dangling in the sky above.”
Aresia explained various parts of the coliseum district to Poseidon as if it were second nature, even humming a cheerful tune with evident enjoyment.
She looked exactly like someone returning to their hometown after a long absence.
“I clawed my way up from the very bottom and finally got my hands on them—secret arts that only the nobles on the outside possess. My master looks like one of those lofty people from the outside, so maybe you can’t understand?”
“Hmm. I suppose I’m lofty in some ways, and not in others.”
“Huh? What does that even mean? Wait… Master, are you an idiot?”
“……”
SMACK!
“Kyaaaah!”
Poseidon smacked the insolent Aresia once more.
For a slave, her manner of speaking to her master was outrageously rude.
Aresia clutched her head as the pain rang through her skull and shouted,
“Arrrgh! Why does Master’s fist hurt so much?! I got used to my previous masters’ fists and magic in no time!”
“That’s because it carries the authority of a master.”
“Uweeeh. So lame.”
When Poseidon raised his fist again at her expression and tone, Aresia had already bolted far ahead.
She wasn’t foolish enough to stand still and get hit again.
Watching her, Poseidon pressed a hand to his temple.
Just looking at her made him sigh and shake his head.
How many more sighs had he let out since meeting Aresia? At this rate, he was starting to feel genuine respect for her previous owners.
SMACK!
“Aaaahhh!”
Of course, that didn’t mean he was going to stop hitting her head.
***
As they wandered the coliseum district listening to Aresia’s explanations, it was clear that everything imaginable was on offer.
Forbidden magic banned on the outside, secret arts of fallen noble houses, transcribed copies of secret techniques from currently powerful factions—everything was there.
Among the most eye-catching items were [Queen’s Curse], [Titanomachy], and [Eros’s Lead Arrow].
All of them were curses and spells tied to the gods—things humans should be incapable of handling—yet here they were, sealed inside magically treated glass…
“Well, with this level of disorder, it’s certainly possible to crawl up from the very bottom.”
“Right?”
“Though far more people will die in the process.”
“Well, sure. But whether outside or here, they’re all just losers anyway. People like that are useless.”
Aresia’s reply was still bright and lively, but the sentiment behind it was utterly ruthless.
Yet Poseidon had no desire to refute her or call her wrong.
Outside, countless people risked their lives and still never even got a chance.
At least in this place—free of laws and rules—they were given an opportunity.
In this coliseum, forbidden curses, magic, and secret arts could allow even the powerless to kill those who would normally be untouchable.
For example, just moments ago, a village-level (kome-grade) mage had exploded after drinking poison—thanks to a grudge-filled waiter’s sleight of hand.
Sticky resentment, desire, lies, and greed coexisted in perfect harmony; that was the true essence of the coliseum district.
Death happened everywhere. Yet for those who roamed this place, it was an all-too-familiar sight.
To them, events like this were just part of an ordinary, peaceful daily routine.
“In a way, it could even be considered an ideal form. Strong or weak—everyone equally surrenders to the impartial touch of Thanatos.”
“Wow! Master actually gets it! My previous masters cursed me out so much—one even called it outright rebellion against the fate the gods handed down!”
Aresia grew even more excited when Poseidon showed understanding.
In her eyes, all her previous masters had been stubborn, self-righteous nobles through and through.
As if reflecting her mood, her previously peppy, bouncing steps now leaped high—boing boing boing—in unmistakable joy.
Poseidon, unable to fathom her heart, watched her and came to one firm decision.
He needed to buy a leash and put it on her.
She was basically a human golden retriever.
***
Among the many zones of the coliseum district, the most popular—and the one that truly guaranteed a life turnaround—was the “Arena of the Dead,” where deathmatches were held.
And it was to that very place that Poseidon had now come, at Aresia’s enthusiastic urging.
“Ehehehe. I stole, I robbed, I learned here—and that’s how I became who I am today. In short, you could say this place is like my hometown.”
Aresia’s cheeks were slightly flushed with excitement, perhaps from the long-forgotten thrill running down her spine.
“Hmm… From your description, this must be the single busiest spot in the entire coliseum district—where the most people and money flow.”
“Hehe, exactly! Our Goblin Bank wouldn’t lie to a Gold-tier client. And moreover! This time, the grand prize is none other than the [Belt of the Amazon Queen].”
“Now that is a little interesting. Isn’t that the one Ares gave up his entire fortune to Hephaestus to have made?”
“Oh my! How could you say something so casually!”
While Poseidon held the excitedly hopping Aresia by the metaphorical leash, his eyes widened at the fascinating news delivered by the goblin.
The prize turned out to be far bigger than expected.
As far as he knew, the [Belt of the Amazon Queen] was Ares’s war-gear reforged into a belt. With Hephaestus’s divine power infused into it, the item was essentially equivalent to a divine weapon.
“For such an object to be here… What in the world happened?”
It was the very item Ares had given to the Amazon queen he once loved. Losing something like that should have been virtually impossible.
Moreover, it belonged to the fierce warrior women, the Amazons…
“Could it be a replica? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Oh no, absolutely not. Our merchant guild has already verified it, and a master smith from the Hephaestus Guild personally authenticated it.”
“Really, now…”
As Poseidon stood there stunned, pondering the sudden appearance of such a priceless treasure—
“Anyway. Master thinks way too much, just like a typical mage. We can just join and find out for ourselves.”
While subtly eavesdropping on the treasure discussion, Aresia secretly slipped out of her leash and registered both their names for participation.
In her mind, any treasure that caught her eye had to become hers—no exceptions.
Then, acting as if she hadn’t done anything at all, she reattached the leash and pretended to study the betting odds.
By now she had developed at least a little sense of caution. She had no desire to get smacked on the head by Poseidon again.
“Hehe, this should be perfect. Maybe Master will even thank me later. Hmm… but everyone’s odds look pretty even this time? No huge gaps in the betting lines.”
As Aresia scanned the odds board from top to bottom, she spotted a familiar name—and a very unusual one—at the very bottom.
“Ehh?! Penthesilea is participating?! She kept refusing when I begged her to join before. Uuuu… And… what’s this? A 9-year-old named Alcides?”
Just as Aresia was showing interest in the odd participant, Poseidon approached from behind.
“Sigh… Stop wandering off on your own, Aresia. Do you have zero awareness that you’re a slave? When exactly did you sneak over here to look at the odds again?”
“Hyah! Master, don’t suddenly appear from behind like that! You scared me!”
Poseidon didn’t bother responding to Aresia, who was scolding him even though she had vanished first.
If the leash had been off, finding her again would obviously have been a hassle—yet here she was, acting completely shameless. After spending just a few days with her, Poseidon had already figured out how to handle her.
“What were you doing over here? I came because I wanted to look around.”
“Aigoo, Master. That’s not the important part! My little sister Penthesilea just entered this coliseum tournament!”
“You… have a little sister?”
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you? When we were kids, Penthesilea and I barely escaped being raped by some nobles, so we ran away and ended up here. Hehe.”
Poseidon thought to himself, ‘She’s had a hard life too, huh,’ but then another thought occurred to him.
Wait… even as kids, would someone like her just let that happen quietly? Then maybe…
“Hehe, as expected of Master. You really understand me. There’s no way this Aresia would just take it lying down. I bit that noble bastard’s crotch clean off with my teeth and turned him into a eunuch!”
Poseidon involuntarily grimaced as he pictured the noble’s lower half being bitten off by Aresia’s mouth.
He didn’t pity the man, but as a fellow male, he could certainly empathize with the agony.
“Wait… so you’re actually a wanted criminal on the outside…?”
“Ehehehehe, yep! I’m currently worth a full 2 talents (about 200 gold coins). There are even rumors that if someone captures me alive, they’ll be granted land and a noble title.”
Poseidon felt dizzy watching Aresia brag so shamelessly and proudly.
In short, this human was effectively under the protection of the merfolk pirate crew inside here—and the moment she stepped outside, she’d be a prime target for every assassin around.
“Aaaargh, seriously!!!”
SMACK!
“Eeeeeek!!”
***
Passersby stared curiously at the sight of Aresia standing with both hands raised and a huge lump swelling on her head, while Poseidon chugged an icy frappé to cool his temper.
It was an unusual scene rarely seen in this place.
Aresia was infamous as a total delinquent, but a mage who could actually discipline her and make her stand in punishment? That was endlessly fascinating.
“Master… I really wasn’t trying to deceive you. I just assumed you already knew since all my previous masters did.”
“Bullshit. You knew perfectly well this was my first time here.”
“Yeah, but… I’m so famous that I figured…”
At Aresia’s aggrieved expression, Poseidon wondered for a moment, ‘Is that so?’
But no—he was still incredibly annoyed.
Of course, judging from her behavior so far, she didn’t seem clever enough to actually deceive anyone on purpose… which somehow made him even angrier.
Had he really been tricked by such an idiot and wasted a fortune?
He could roughly guess what her previous owners had wanted from her. But he himself had no particular ulterior motive!
“Ugh… thinking about it again just pisses me off.”
Crunch crunch.
Poseidon chewed the ice in his frappé while pondering. He had come to Thebes at Themis’s request to check on that kid Alcides—and had planned to use Aresia as his counterpart.
‘At this rate, before I can even use her properly, I’ll have to spend all my energy just protecting her from assassins. What should I do…’
“Hmm.”
“Mas… Master… Master…!”
“Mmm…”
“Argh, Master! What are you thinking about so deeply?!”
Poseidon, lost in thought, snapped back to reality when Aresia—having crept close—shook him vigorously.
“Aresia. You’re still being punished. Go back to your spot and raise your hands again.”
“Ehh! That’s not important right now! You just said Alcides, right? So Master came here looking for that little kid?”
“Hm? How do you know about Alcides?”
“Because Master just muttered it a moment ago.”
‘…I must have been talking to myself. But why is she suddenly so worked up?’
As if reading his mind, Aresia placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and declared confidently,
“Um-hahaha! What if I told you I know the whereabouts of this Alcides that Master has been so desperately searching for?”
‘I wasn’t exactly desperate, but…’
Poseidon made a sour face, but Aresia took that very expression as confirmation that her guess was correct.
“And what if I’ve even seen him with my own eyes?”
‘More than that, that smug look on her face is starting to piss me off.’
Aresia was slowly developing some tact, but she still had absolutely no ability to read the room when it came to other people’s moods. She didn’t even notice Poseidon’s expression steadily souring.
“Ehehe. So Master! If you stop my punishment right now and buy me ten things I want to eat, I might just give you the information.”
She simply grinned, already fantasizing about what price she could extract from her master.
‘Ehehehe, this time I’ll make him buy me [Medea’s Lovey-Dovey Cake]. It’s super expensive and I could never afford it before, but Master’s loaded, so he’ll definitely get it for me.’
Lost in her own little fantasy, Aresia only belatedly registered the fist heading straight for her head.
SMACK!
“Gyaaah!”
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