Chapter 244 – The Dumetor Interworld Tournament.

Chapter 244 – The Dumetor Interworld Tournament. AnnouncementHappy New Year!

"H-Holy hell..." Kirika marveled at the enormous arena before her. She'd only just arrived at Akagi's estate, but she was already lost for words by the sheer size and scale of the stage that the Demon had made for her show.

{T-This thing is huge! How the hell did she build it all in like a month?!?} (Kirika)

Due to the windey mountain roads, you couldn't really see the arena on the approach, and it was only after cresting one last hill that she managed to get a good look at it. The massive tan structure looked like some kind of ancient Roman Hippodrome combined with an Olympic stadium.

"I guess the Demon Lord ain't no joke when it comes to construction either..." She gave a defeated laugh as she sat behind the wheel of her car. Kirika wasn't expecting to even attend this event, but when offered there was no way she was going to turn down such an opportunity.

The official opening of the Dumetor Interworld Tournament would be tomorrow, but the contestants as well as members of the media were arriving today. Akagi wasn't too keen on having that many outsiders actually on the ground within her nation, so the number of outlets was limited, and she made sure to pull them from across the world to give more reach.

{Focus Kirikia! This is a big-time event! One that makes the Olympics look like a joke, and it's right here in my backyard! You were invited by the fucking Demon Lord to cover this Tournament for Japan, and you damn well better do a great job!} (Kirika)

She had no idea why Akagi chose her, though she thought that it had something to do with her being (A) from Kyoto and (B) because Akagi remembered her from the Tokyo press meeting. Though whatever the Demon's reasoning was didn't really matter to the reporter since she was being given exclusive access to what was turning into the hottest topic of discussion on the planet.

{This could easily be the highlight of my entire career! So get it together and make sure you don't fuck this up, Kirika!} (Kirika)

"We've seen these kids fight before, but getting this many together for an all-out event to dedicate the formation of a new country..." Kirika shook her head as she imagined just how chaotic things were about to get. "This last year with these returnees has been crazy, and this might honestly take the cake." She gave a dead laugh as she slumped over her wheel.

{At least the upside is that I've had quite a lot of fun covering them and their antics, though I do wish they'd stop doing such crazy things, at least for a little while. Fighting a giant Dragon right next to Kyoto was a bit excessive...} (Kirika)

After taking a moment to psych herself up, Kirka got out of her car. From the parking lot, she could see a dozen or so other news organizations had sent reporters, with most clearly being from overseas. Akagi had invited to a few news outlets from around the world, and offered to put them up during the event. She didn't really want reporters on the ground but figured it best to just let a few in to placate the flood of requests she was getting. The only catch was that they would have to send people who spoke fluent Japanese since she wasn't about to have her people play translator.

"Jeez, she got people from the States, the UAE, China, how many dozens of European countries, I think that man is a Brazilian reporter that I've seen before, and there are some that I don't recognize." Kirka said as she pulled her pack out of the car. Lucikily she was used to working alone and with her own small bag she could easily deliver footage live to all of Japan.

{Now, what am I supposed to do from here? She said that somebody would come and greet us all when we arrived, but that won't be until 8 am.} Kirika had arrived a bit later than most of the other reporters, as those who flew in had arrived in the previous days. Right now, it seemed that the other news agencies had taken up positions around their respective vehicles and were broadcasting.

"I guess I can try to go inside and-" Kirika's external thoughts were interrupted by a voice off to her side.

"Oh hey, you actually came." Hishya said as she walked over. She wasn't in any armor and was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants because it was a bit chilly in the early morning. "Good to see you again." She smiled.

"Hishya?" Kirika hadn't expected to meet the Dragon girl just yet and was a bit stunned by her sudden appearance. "I mean, it's good to see you too. But what are you doing out here? It's still rather early, isn't it?" She figured the second most well-known returnee wouldn't be just walking around the parking lot.

{I saw the pictures, but she really does look so much different now!} (Kirika)

"I just got up a bit ago and decided to head down." Hishya said as she yawned. "Not to mention a few news outlets wanted brief interviews before the lottery, and I need to bang those out." She said while stretching. Hishya was not a morning person, and becoming a Dragon had only made her desire to sleep even stronger.

{Kana is still nice and warm in the hoard. Lucky bastard gets to sleep in!} (Hishya)

"Though there is that one guy in the Admin Office that keeps looking at you." Tsuchimi poked her in the side. "Maybe you should give him a chance!"

"No way in hell." Sagara sighed. "I hate snakes, and that's not gonna work. He's too lizard-like for me, so that's a hard pass."

"Ah, so that's why you always sass me." Hishya giggled.

"No, I sass you because you're an idiot, and it's fun." Sagara had done this in the past and was always one to harass Hishya. "But before we get too far off track, who is this?"

"My name is Kirika Okonori, and I'm a reporter at Channel 5." Kirika gave over her badge and a copy of the letter Akagi had sent her as proof of invitation.

"Ah! I know you!" Tsuchimi exclaimed. "If I recall correctly, weren't you the reporter who broke that whole corruption scandal open in the Kyoto Mayor's office years back?" She recalled the massive amount of drama around that whole event.

"Y-Yeah." Kirika was a bit taken aback by Tsuchimi's warm smile. "That was a lot of work, but I'm still proud of it." She'd broken open a massive corruption ring that was central to the laundering of millions of dollars into politicians' pockets.

"Alright then." Sagara gave her back her I.D., not caring about who Kirika was. "Tsuchi here can take you to your room so that you know where it is. We'll be having a meeting in around half an hour to go over everything regarding the tournament. In the meantime, there's coffee and light snacks on the other side of the room.” She pointed to a table that the hungry Hishya was eyeballing.

{SCONES!} (Hishya)

“And also, just try to stay out of trouble, and please for the love of all that is holy don't harass anyone. I don't want to have to throw a second idiot out of this place in twenty-four hours." Sagara sighed.

{IS THAT THE PASTE THING?!?} (Kirika)

“D-Don't worry about that. I won't cause any trouble.” Kirika gave a nervous laugh.

“Good.” Sagara nodded as she started looking at a tablet screen.

"You can follow me. Rooms for guests are upstairs, so lets get you settled in." Tsuchimi got up and led Kirika up a small flight of steps. Akagi had constructed this place with a relatively large amount of rooms to accommodate participants and other guests, and each was quite luxurious. She'd even taken some inspiration from the Great Imperial Colosseum from FWO, and some of its interior design.

"All information for networking and such was forwarded to your email, and if you have any questions shoot a quick message to either myself or Sagara." Tsuchimi said as they approached one of the rooms. "You'll be in here, Room 45, and here is the key." She handed over a small key card that would be swiped on a reader next to the door. “Enjoy your time, and make sure you don't miss the meeting at eight." She smiled before bowing and heading back downstairs.

"Well, I guess I should check out the room a bit. I can't imagine it will be that interesting in here." Kirika swiped the card and slowly opened the door, only to be floored by the room's interior. "Wha-"

The inside of the room was large, easily the size of a luxury hotel room at a five-star hotel in Tokyo, and was immaculately decorated. The floor was made of real hardwood, and the interior walls were filled with decorative carvings and other motifs that made the room pop. On top of that, the furniture looked like something right out of a medieval castle, and Kirika could tell that everything in here was of the highest of quality.

As she walked into the room and put her hand on the bed, she was blown away by how soft the sheets were, and it didn't take her long to realize that real silk had been used to craft the bedding and drapes.

"What the fuck..." Kirika was completely stunned by this room. In all her years, she'd never seen something this luxurious and fine, and that it was just a simple room created for guests at a tournament left her head spinning.

Spoiler

Sagara!

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