The silence behind me was heavier than the roar of the crowd had been. I walked away from the tournament grounds, leaving the prize money, the stunned organizer, and the wreckage of Kaito's pride in my wake. Taro scurried to keep up, his footsteps a frantic whisper against the dirt road.
"My lord... you won."
"I didn't lose," I corrected him, my voice flat. "There's a difference. Let's go. This place is boring now."
As we crested a small hill, putting the squalid encampment behind us, I felt it. That strange pull I'd sensed in the arena. It wasn't a vague premonition anymore. It was a physical weight, the sensation of dozens of eyes fixed on my back. I stopped and turned.
