Surprise her! Act like you collapsed!

It was clear that a direct approach would bring me no victory here, so I let one of her claw attacks cut me. I grimaced and stumbled to the ground.

Right away Aijuka’s predatory instincts took over and the catgirl pounced. That was my chance. As fast as humanly possible I jerked my dirk upwards and caught her right in the stomach. Aijuka screamed and collapsed on top of me. She tried to get up but I would allow no such thing, We wrestled for a bit, before I mounted her and prepared for the killing blow.

“I sur...render.”

….ha?

“Aijuka Zoroi has surrendered. The Victor is Mari Beta!” Ben boomed and within moments the arena erupted into cheers. I felt a curious warm feeling embrace me and noticed how my fatigue and wounds where washed away. Then the familiar feeling of dizziness engulfed me as I was teleported away only to land in a fancy chair in front of a desk.

What exactly was going on?

“My utmost congratulations for making it through the first round, Mr. Beta”, said the well dressed gentleman behind the desk. “And congratulations as well for acquiring a ****.”

Wait, what?

I followed the officials eye towards the chair next to me where Aijuka was sitting with a way too pleased grin on her face.

“Now, in regards to your ****, there are few things I need to inform you about.”

“H-hold on a minute!”, I interrupted him, still trying to get a grip on this situation. “I never wanted a ****! She just surrendered out of nowhere!”

“I see”, the official nodded ponderously. “That is rather unusual but not unheard of. In that case, do you intend to sell her? We can take Miss Zoroi off your hands right away for 200 Gold coins.”

“No!” Aijuka screamed into my ears. “Not selling me! Want to be Maris mate!”

I looked at her and she was on the verge of tears. Shit..how could I possibly do this to this cute, innocent girl?

“N-No, I think this is quite alright, please just remove the spell.”

The official gave me a look of not very sincere sympathy. “My deepest apology, Mr. Beta. I am afraid there is no way of removing the spell of absolute obedience. It is a safety mechanism to avoid any possibility of a **** escaping.”

“You can't be serious. I don't want a ****!”

The official’s look of sympathy now showed the tiniest hint of annoyance. “Well, of course as long as you don't give her any orders, that would pretty much achieve that goal.”

“I suppose...” I said, scratching my head, not really satisfied with this solution. “There is really nothing that can be done about this?”

“Mr. Beta. I can guarantee you that the **** Tournament Association Rasheul spared no expense in ensuring that dispelling is impossible. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a fraud. As a matter of fact, the **** Tournament Association Rasheul is so confident in our design that we actively press charges against anyone who claims our spell of absolute obedience is not absolute.”

Great.

I looked at Aijuka, who seemed not fazed in the slightest. Even If I never gave her an order, it still felt weird knowing there is a girl out there who is technically my ****.

“At this point I would usually recommend to install our patented safety orders in your ****, but I am afraid I would overstep my boundaries with that suggestion. Still please take this guidebook, just in case.”

The official handed me a booklet. I doubt I would ever need it but whatever.

“Your ****’s prior dorm room will be available to you for the remainder of the tournament. Your prize money, 400 Gold coins, has already been wired to your fighter’s pass. I wish you all the best for your next bout, Mr. Beta.”

And with that we where quickly ushered out of the office, to make room for the next winner, no doubt.

400 Gold Coins.

Back at home you would have to work two years for that amount.

And yet I just earned it in less then ten minutes.

But even that sum was nothing compared to what I needed. 10.000 Gold, the magician told us. An absurd sum, unobtainable for the likes of us. And yet here it was obtainable. All I needed to do was keep winning.

Keep winning.

I looked back at Aijuka who was following me very eagerly and sighed. I should get this sorted out quickly. “So....Aijuka..”

“Call my Aiju, please, Master.”

“M-Master? Alright, Aiju, look, I am really not into this whole **** thing. So I'm giving you your freedom.”

“Noooo!” Aijuka screeched and clutched my arm. “Don't abandon me. Master! Please!”

“Wa!” Why in blazes was that girl so infatuated with me? We tried to kill each other just moments ago! Was this another effect of the obedience magic? I better hope not! “Why?”, I finally asked. “If you need a Master surely there are others...”

“No!” Aiju interjected. “Master strong, Master would have killed Aiju. Aiju want Master to mate to make strong litter.”

“Ahahaha...”

For the record, mating between Galmons and humans was possible. In fact it had to be as no male Galmons where ever born. Was this all just a ploy for the catgirl to get a mate?

I sighed. “Well, if I am your master here is my first order. Stop calling me that. I’m Mari, alright?”

Aiju nodded. “Good, Mari. Easy to remember! Do we mate now?” She grabbed my arm, pressing her boobs not so subtly against me.

If I had a drink I would have spit it out. “I-In any case, it’s a bit early but shall we eat something first? My treat, I did just win a large sum of money after all.”

“Yes! Aiju can provide food for Mari, no problem. Many mice in town.”

I politely declined.