Naomi emerged from the forest to discover the promised beach. While they traveled through the forest, clouds had begun to gather in the sky. This turned what should have been the happy sight of a beach into a much duller and more depressing image. A much more dull and depressing image. "Girls! I found the beach. Let's get this stuff into position." Walking onto the beach, she made way for her friends to come out. Because they have the highest strength, Amaya and Sadie were picked to carry the boat through the forest.
The two girls grunted as they carried the boat to its resting place. They set the boat down in the sand and rubbed their back from the pain.
"Grab that knight. We need to ditch the body and get back to the hotel." Naomi said this while walking over to the boat. Naomi lifted the armored man by the shoulders. Sadie quickly came over to grab his legs. The two carried him over to where the sand meets the water. Swinging their arms away from the sea before preparing to toss him in. They repeated this motion three times before letting go and flinging the body into the water.
While the two caught their breath, Darla and Tess unpacked some of the supplies left on the boat. They spread out the various boxes, barrels, and one suitcase. They moved the supplies to create space for Lance to sit and sail. They set the two oars on either side of the cabin. "Okay~, the boat is all set!" Tess hopped off the boat with a little bounce.
Naomi stretched her arms and back to relieve tension. Hands on her hips, stretching her back into an arch. "Good. Let's get going. We need to get back to the hotel before the games end. I heard the starting horn a little bit ago. Sadie, we're going to lag behind and destroy our tracks. We need to make sure no one can trace us back to the boat."
Amaya, Darla, and Tess all made their way up the beach. They had to follow the shore until they came to a river. And then follow the river back to town. Naomi and Sadie trailed behind the group to remove the footprints as they emerged.
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Leopold led Lance and the rest of the Celestial Dragons to the arena he had built for this event after blowing the starting horn. Leopold imported polished wood from Mary Geoise to build the arena. The arena was a colosseum. One wall held a scoreboard with nineteen slots for individuals. Hanging in front of red curtains. In between the stands and the curtains was a circular stage made of tan wood. Leopard moved to the stairs that led up to the stage.
"If the nineteen young Dragons who were chosen could follow me up to the stage, we can begin with the games."
Lance stretched before stepping in front of his family. "Welp! Looks like I get to go and handle this business!" He walked forward and waved at Tyrus and Abigail. "Wish me luck out there, Abigail!" Lance put on an extra coating of sugar to try and hide his true feelings about the event.
As the nineteen loaded onto the stage, the rest of the nobles climbed the stairs to sit on it.
Lance moved with the crowd as he went to the center of the stage. Standing in the perfect spot, Lance glanced around to see the chosen members of each family. Lance recognized almost everyone here. Everyone who was selected was the same age as Lance. He went to school with these people. He had even bullied a good number of these kids.
There was exactly one person he didn't recognize. There was a girl with short green hair and two eyes of different colors. She wore a mask over her mouth and wore a black dress that went halfway down her thighs.
He wasn't the only one who gave her odd looks. But he seemed to be the only one keeping his focus locked on her. A quick glance around allowed him to identify all the other families present. Shepard, Eneverdean, Donquixote, and Manmayer. Every time he went through the families, he couldn't find her familiar with any of them. But there was only one family she could belong to—
Lance's thought was interrupted by trumpets blaring from the top of the seating. Each of the nineteen turned and looked up where the instruments were playing. The sound of the trumpets came from the top center of the bleachers. One of the five elder stars was sitting in a special box designed just for him. Lance had only seen the five elder stars occasionally at fancy events, never outside of those occasions. It was his understanding that it was rare for any of the Gorosei to attend celebrations on the surface like this.
With his hands resting on the tip of his cane, the Elder Star sat. He raised his cane and banged it against the ground to signal the trumpets to stop. "My fellow Celestial Dragons. It is my pleasure to announce this year's Native Hunting competition. It is an honor for me, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, to lead this Native Hunting Competition. I will also be bringing four of our fine contestants into the fold of God's Knights. Today's fine competitors were not present in the previous competition. So I will provide a quick explanation before we proceed."
When Saturn finished speaking, a thick black liquid filled the large scoreboard. It rushed down from the top and wrote letters in the negative space. Spelling the names of all 19 contestants. This involved placing large zeroes at the far right end. Allowing several digits' worth of space between the number and the end of the name.
Scanning the large sign, Lance found the name of the girl he couldn't place. Gunko Jaygarcia. How the hell did he hide her for all these years?
"Located east of us is a small village attempting to repopulate this fine island of Oykot. They have refused to pay the heavenly tribute. As a result, they have made themselves the target of our fine game. There are 10,000 residents in total. Your goal will be to slay more of these "Rabbits" than any of your competitors. On the roof of the stage is our special proctor. Who will be observing you and telling the person who will be transcribing your score onto the board? The four with the highest score will be put in God's Knights as squires. And the three highest will be awarded special devil fruits. You all follow a proud tradition. I expect all of you to try your hardest."
From his place on the stage, Lance yawned slightly. While his eyes were closed, the quest sound played. Opening his eyes, he saw a proper quest prompt in his vision.
[Quest Received: Native Hunting Competition CCXLV. You have been selected to represent the Duval family in the 256th Native Hunting competition. Achieving success means a guaranteed spot in the God's Knights. Failure ensures your family's honor is tarnished in the halls of Mary Geoise.]
[Success Condition: Place fourth or better in the Native Hunting Game.
Reward: A spot as a Squire in God's Knights. 5000 exp
Failure: Place fifth or below in the Native Hunting Game.
Optional: Place third or better to be rewarded with a devil fruit.
You do not have the ability to refuse this quest. ]
Damn! Five thousand experience? That was enough to take someone from level one to halfway to level four. It almost made him want to try and win…almost.
"Now then. Enough with the formalities. On my mark!" All nineteen of the dragons face the direction of the town. They are getting ready to sprint towards their quarry. Some are taking running positions. And others, including Lance, are just standing, waiting for their cue to start running. "Get ready… goooo!" He slammed his cane into the floor of his box again.
With the signal, all of the young men and women ran. Ready to find their glory in the small shanty town.
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If you enjoyed it, please leave a review or comment! Let me know if you want to see more of the Harem Pirates. And if we get to 100 stones, I'll drop the first cover story.