Netori SSS-Emperor: All Queens Shall Be Mine!-Chapter 32: The Rules Of The Competition

As the crowd settled yet again, Astoria took a deep breath and began her announcement.

"The participants of this competition can forfeit at any point, but if forfeit hasn't been announced, then the others are free to take your life to make you forfeit," a few looks of concern flashed in the participant's eyes, unbothered by the shift in their expressions; however, Astoria continued on. "You will compete against each other at different tasks or battles; the winners move forward while the losers must either forfeit or fight against the winners to move forward regardless of initial defeat."

Turning her attention to Rostei, Astoria directed her sceptre at him.

"Rostei Heel, you are the only person who garnered more boos than cheers," watching his eyes widen with terror, the queen knew exactly what was going on in his head. "Now choose! Will you forfeit, or do you wish to fight the rest of the participants to move forward?"

Taking a reluctant step forward, Rostei's body skulked on its own. Looking around at the seat of the elites, he was met with looks of pure disgust glaring at him. Knowing that his days were numbered either way, he turned around to the other participants. The moment his eyes landed on Wolf and the beastman; however, his confidence was further shattered as there was no way he could win.

"I..." Lowering his head with a heavy gulp, he raised his hand and announced. "I give up! I'm done!"

A round of applause erupted in the coliseum. Nobody wanted him to be king, and unlike William, they had no need to hide their dissent either.

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"Now be off!" Astoria declared, and feeling heavily defeated, Rostei began walking away.

Once he was gone, a moment of calm took over the coliseum. The rest of the candidates were no saints, but Rostei was someone they had to deal with daily. A bay master he called himself amongst many others of his ilk, they were essentially the middlemen that soaked most of the profit and wouldn't allow for direct business with the ship's owners.

"The participants may head to their rooms while the preparations for the next events are made!" Stomping her sceptre, Astoria dismissed everyone to their rooms. The crowd, however, was rushed with hawkers selling food, it gave them an opportunity to make money while there was nothing for the audience to do.

At the same time, Wolf finally had the opportunity to talk with Sola. Even so, waiting until they were walking side by side in the underground hallway leading to their room, he grabbed her by the hand and led her away from the rest of the group. While doing so, he noticed Renee waving at him from a corner. Beckoning her closer, he wasted no time in taking the duo to his room to discuss things further.

"What the hell are you thinking joining the competition like that?!" Pushing to a corner of the room, Wolf glared into Sola's eyes, demanding an answer. "And do not dare lie, you've been dubious from the start, but pulling that stunt in front of everyone, do you even know half a thing about defending yourself if someone comes after you now?!"

There was concern bleeding through his gaze, but more than that, he felt anger. He had no need for a proxy to enter alongside him, for if he did win, countless people would now accuse him of cheating.

"Get away–" Pushing Wolf away from her, the bunny girl stood firmly staring at him for a moment. "Robert escaped! I was down there, and the bastard's missing! I'm sure he's looking for me right now, and if he'd gotten to me, nobody would've questioned where my body got buried! But if I'm a candidate and I go missing? At least someone would question what happened!"

Blurting it all out in the span of a few seconds, Sola began panting from angst alone. The faunan had been scared for her life since yesterday, and with Robert missing, she expected a knife to the throat any waking moment. Overwhelmed with fear, she teared up in front of the other two.

"And I-I was trying to help too..." Looking away from the duo with her hands folded, she wiped her tears and hissed in silence.

Realizing his mistake, Wolf reached forward, but his hand was slapped away. Turning his head to Renee, he was met with a sigh and a shake of her head.

"Seems like you have just as much of a knack for upsetting ladies as you have for laying with them," with a light chuckle, Renee reached for the faunan, but unlike Wolf, Sola allowed her to wrap her in a hug. Stroking the back of her hair, Renee eased Sola into her arms.

'Ugh, I hate this...' Smelling fear and stress on the faunan, Renee's feline instincts had been kicked up a notch and even though she was trying to comfort Sola, her mind dreamt of gore and the brutalization of another species of faunans.

Distancing herself as soon as Sola calmed, she faked a smile and stepped away from her. Pushing Wolf forward instead, she sat in a chair and watched them two mingle together.

"I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't know what was going on in your head..." Wolf offered a hand apologetically.

Reluctant as she was, Sola gave him her hand and leaned into his arms as well. Hugging him tight, she took his scent in deep and before she could realize his odor set her heart at ease. Staying like that for a few minutes, the bunny girl held him tight. But eventually, after being separated by Renee, everyone knew that it was time to talk strategy.

A total of eight candidates had entered the competition, and with Rostei gone, seven remained. The preparations for the next event were ongoing, and in the meantime, Robert was missing, with nobody knowing where he'd gone. Leaving Wolf and his group in a very uncomfortable position, but William wasn't spared either, for most of the remaining candidates were standing against him.

'Only a matter of time until the event begins, it wouldn't hurt to have a talk with the rest of the candidates, would it?' Hoping to find some common ground, Wolf decided to knock on everyone's door and see if their principles aligned so that alliances could be formed. And the first person on that list was the reptilian girl, Kukei Rumblethunder.