It had turned out to be a pretty blatant farce, but we still had a lot to do after this. First, we would have to go work something out with the merchant that Sadeena was working for. Otherwise, there was a good chance that Raphtalia’s fellow villagers might end up being sold off as compensation for Sadeena’s debt, before we even got our hands on the prize money.

Either way . . . the next fight was sure to be a throwaway match. I didn’t even want to consider the possibility that our opponent could be as strong as Sadeena.

“Sheesh . . . You sure surprised me with that one.”

Sadeena offered us her insincere felicitations. Then again, the plan had been for her to throw a match from the very start, so surely an upset like this wouldn’t be a problem. At least that’s what I thought, but apparently the people running the tournament weren’t happy with how things turned out. A messenger ran up to the announcer and passed him something, which the announcer then read out.

“Ahem . . . The organizing committee would like to express their heartfelt appreciation for the excitement shown by our guests today. Furthermore, they would now like to conduct a quick survey in an attempt to provide our guests with an even more enjoyable experience.”

Even the announcer had a suspicious look in his eyes while reading the message. I had a good idea what was going on, but there was no point in complaining. The spectators broke out into a commotion. They hadn’t called it a disqualification or anything like that, since the underground coliseum basically had no rules to start out with. But they could still take action under the guise of providing additional entertainment. That was my guess. They probably couldn’t do anything to us directly, due to the involvement of the slave trader and the accessory dealer. So they had decided to deal with us right here like this.

“The members of the tournament organizing committee will now be making an appearance.”

After the announcer finished speaking, up near the top of the coliseum, near the seating area reserved for distinguished guests, several pudgy merchants appeared. The one that looked vile enough to be their representative raised both of his arms into the air, as if waiting for applause.

“Members of the audience! We, the organizing committee of this tournament, come before you now in an attempt to provide you with an even more enjoyable experience today.”

He spoke slowly in a loud voice to ensure that everyone in the audience could hear him. The match was already over, so what was he planning on doing?