276: White Masks
“It’s rare for you to miss even a single round,” Felicia Thundershnauf said. The black mask-wearing ball of snow-white hair said with her back toward the newly arrived, white mask-wearing trio. Unlike the other times she spoke, this time her voice was not magnified for all the crowds to hear, which allowed speaking discretely with the privileged.
All three figures that arrived through one of many secret tunnels behind them wore fiery-red robes. All three had hoods on their heads to conceal even their hairstyles, though the masks were fully visible. Two—the tallest figures that stood behind, at either side of the middle figure—held their hands behind their backs, with straight and proper posture, chest out, shoulders wide. A posture of guards at their post.
“Bah! That annoying old hag had her fucking—shit! Fuck! Forget it!” the shortest of the three white masks cursed repeatedly as she walked up to the railings next to the white-haired announcer. The voice clearly belonged to a young female, and even the hanging fiery red robes could not fully hide her developed body. Short as the female white mask was compared to the other two, the girl still had a full head over the hairball who barely reached five feet.
“I hope I didn’t miss anything particularly exciting,” the girl sighed and casually rested against the metal bars: elbows on the metal, head in hands. “Usually, the first round is just to get rid of the boring shitters, so it should be fine.”
Though the girl’s expression was fully hidden behind the mask, her frustration radiated from her voice and posture. She looked down to the crowds, in the same direction that the announcer was looking.
The announcer of the games paid little attention to the swearing or complaining of the white-masked girl. She simply continued watching the debauchery of the citizens of Klapsus with slight amusement. “Like children eating dirt, aren’t they?”
“H-What!?” the white mask looked at the back of the white hairball.
“Ah, right… My bad! Terribly sorry for the poor joke,” Felicia made a half-assed apology after a moment’s pause and continued observing the arena and the participants that slowly returned to it. Number Seven was among the first to arrive, well in advance of the time limit, even before the white masks arrived.
“Not much need for rest for that one?” Felicia giggled. “I hope he doesn’t have ‘performance issues’ in the bedroom. Though it would explain the overcompensation on the battlefield, wouldn’t it?”
“Is he someone worth paying attention to?” the white mask girl asked and studied the muscle mountain with mild curiosity.
“He is among the favorites to win... Yeah, you did miss some fun stuff.”
“FUCKING SHIT, I knew it!!” the girl cursed and slammed her fists against the rails. She cursed loud enough to form a small echo in the dark mines despite the immense noise pollution created by the crowds that were concluding their intermission activities and returning with excitement to watch the next round of games.
“Calm down, the others will hear!” Felicia finally turned to the potty mouth girl.
“Who the fuck you think you’re talking to!?”
“… I’m sorry, Your Highness,” Felicia bowed slightly. “All that I meant is that you should try and preserve the image and the mythical aura of the white masks. Those that get upset easily are…”
The white-masked girl breathed deep and clenched the bars as she got a hold of herself. “If it wasn’t for that annoying… It’s fine! I’m fine! Not a piece of some-ARGH! FUCKING OLD GEEZER!”
Felicia stood nearby silently. Neither recoiling nor moving closer to calm the girl. She did not so much as flinch. Felicia had already voiced her concern once, there was no point repeating herself as none of the white masks had short-term memory issues, as far as she was aware.
But seeing that her suggestion was thoroughly ignored, Felicia simply cast a dampening spell. It was a simple spell that worked in exactly opposite way to her voice enhancement spell that allowed Felicia to do her job here so efficiently. Now, with the invisible dampening barrier created around the platform they stood on, Felicia no longer had to worry that any unnecessary information would be given away.
“… Is this it?” the girl asked as she viewed the participants that had gathered in the arena.
“Hmm? Almost, yes,” Felicia nodded as she counted the participants who were already in the arena along with their shirtless, kilt-wearing escorts. “A couple more are on their way. See? On those three paths?”
“… Wasn’t there a couple participating tonight? Both wore fur, the woman had glasses…”
“Oh, yes! They’re dead.”
“WHAT!? … Really? After all the trouble I went through… I was sure that it would have at least some effect…”
“What effect?” Felicia’s tone of voice changed abruptly, no longer the playful one.
“I guess none if they kicked it against these shitters!” the girl exhaled in frustration.
“Your highness, may I ask what you were expecting from those two?” Felicia insistently probed for information.
The girl turned her head toward the little hairball and looked down on the announcer. “What. Did. I. Miss?”
“Are you perhaps referring to the nine or ten feet tall, four-armed, two-headed mutant?”