The poke of the needle against Yuriko’s side was barely felt. It would have taken far more strength than what the seamstress had to even make a puncture, even if Yuriko’s Anima wasn’t carefully condensed to protect her. Radiant Refinement made her much tougher even compared to what Strengthen Physique did.

Her gown for the Presentation was nearly finished, but a growth spurt had seen her growing a couple more inches taller, and while she wasn’t putting on much weight, her chest and hips had grown significantly from what they were a couple of years ago.

She was still slender, thankfully. Her bosom was probably still smaller than Krystal’s, but then again, there were many women whose bosom paled in comparison to her childhood friend’s impressive set. However, they did get in the way when she trained with the sword. It had taken only a matter of days before she got used to it though, and thanks to the Golden Silhouette, the stances of the Four Phases were adjusted properly.

In the past weeks, she had managed to repeat what happened when she performed Roaring Volcano’s stances. A tongue of flame trailing the tip of the blade. She managed the same with each of the other Phases, though they weren’t as obvious. With Sweeping Gale, she wouldn’t even have noticed at all if her Anima wasn’t flared. A gust of wind had moved counter to what her movements would have made, and it made her blade move a slight bit faster. As for Flowing Water, there was moisture at the tip, while Jade Mountain made the pebbles by her feet tremble.

She had spent no Animus and hadn’t exerted any force through her Anima in these instances, and as far as she could determine, the phenomena happened when she executed the stances perfectly. Having to adjust her stances when her breasts grew enough to hinder her movements lost her progress, but she had her Facet to thank as she reclaimed her progress quickly.

Of course, that meant her interests in the Four Phases suddenly shifted from a convenient exercise to a mystery that she wanted to delve into.

Yuriko noticed the Seamstress looking up at her with a horrified look that was quickly squelched.

Eh? Ah, the needle. Yuriko acted as if the needle hadn’t touched her and a few moments later, the young woman gave a quiet sigh of relief.

The gown was an off-white confection that covered her from her neck to her feet. The jacket was violet silk embroidered with gold thread, in repeating patterns inspired by the Mishala sigil. The sleeves and neckline had lacy ruffles and smooth silk gloves were to cover her hands. A hat and a veil should cover her head, but that particular ensemble was still on the mannequin. Soft leather boots with two-inch high heels completed the outfit, and it was rotting hard to move in.

Well, if she suffused it with her Anima then she could move the heavy cloth with just her Will, but the side effect was that the dress glowed with golden light. The metallic threads actually sparkled and gleamed. Maybe if she limited her Anima to the underclothing it should also prevent her from glowing too much…

Now, what was she musing on? The fitting was taking too much time off her busy schedule! The proper etiquette had already been drilled to her by her Mum, Miya, and of course, the Academy. A worm of worry wriggled in her tummy. There was a possibility that the Eternal Empress would be there!

A low possibility, to be sure. Her Majesty was busy and would rarely attend social events. More than likely, it would be the Prime Minister and the Senators who would be in attendance? Plus the noble factions. She wasn’t sure. Mum, definitely. Other boys and girls her age too? If she understood the ceremony, it was merely going to be Mum presenting Yuriko as her daughter and heir. That would be in the Imperial Palace, though which audience chamber it would happen in wasn't revealed.

Afterwards, they would move to a reception where the guests could dine and enjoy the music and dancing. Formal pattern and pair dances this time. Where Yuriko would be required to dance for the entire set. Who she would dance with was the question, but she had the sinking feeling it would be with everyone in her age group. She’d be on her feet for hours!

Well, on the brighter side it would be a good way to train her graceful movements.

“We are finished with the refitting, my lady,” the seamstress said with a curtsy.

Yuriko nodded absently and allowed the woman and her assistants to remove the layers of her dress off her. Underneath, she wore a chemise that barely covered her modesty, but thankfully, they were performing the fittings in her bedroom in the city estate rather than in a shop.

Once they were done, Ryoko and Saki dressed her for the rest of the day. The Academy was nearly done for the year, and she found herself with more free time than she was used to. And with that attack by the Shadow Stalker fresh in her mind, she’d spent most of it training. Physically and with her Anima.

Well, she’d just finished her meditations, and the disappointment of being unable to make any headway in storing Animus in her outer Anima, Yuriko intended to keep practising with the sword. And some physical conditioning. Hmm, she hadn’t pushed her body for quite a while now. Perhaps see how far she’s gone?

With that in mind, she put on, well Ryoko and Saki dressed her in training gear and she hurried to the manor’s gymnasium. She’d just gone through a warm-up when Miya walked in on her.

“Cousin! All work and no play makes you too grumpy and serious!” She chortled as she hooked her arm around Yuriko’s. “Come on, let’s go out!’

Yuriko eyed Miya suspiciously. “Where are you taking me?” she mumbled as the other girl dragged her away. “Wait, wait! Let me change my clothes.”

“Well come on then!” Miya had Yuriko wear trousers, shirt, and a cardigan. With comfortable sneakers too. Miya wore something similar, and she even kept her hair in a tidy bun, hidden underneath a flat cap. The clothes were loose enough that they hid her cousin’s curves and if Yuriko didn’t know any better, she might have thought the older girl was a pretty boy instead.

Miya tried to fix Yuriko’s hair so that it wasn’t so obvious. It wouldn’t stick though. No amount of twisting, grunting, and ribbon tying worked. Her hair unravelled out of whatever they tried to put it in. Unless it was a ponytail.

“Your Tell’s annoying,” Miya grumbled.

They settled for wearing her cardigan over it instead. The tips stuck out underneath, but it wasn’t that obvious.

“Where are we going?” Yuriko pressed.

Miya grinned. “I get that you’re bothered by the stalker, but you’ve got to come out of it. I’ll take you somewhere fun.”

“Where?”

Miya sighed. “To the city’s dark underbelly. Make sure you have your Lancet.”

“Oh. Alright,” Yuriko muttered.

It was late afternoon when they left the estate. Contrary to what Yuriko expected, the two of them didn’t take a landcrafter from the manor and instead, took the Circuit Trams to the Sky Tram tower. From there, they took the intra-city route and wound up on the opposite side of the city from the Academy. It was nearing twilight by the time they arrived at a strange dingy-looking tavern.

The common room was dim and smoky, with most of the patrons smoking a pipe, nursing a mug of ale, or playing cards or dice. No-one turned to look at them, but Yuriko felt their gazes anyway.

Miya flipped a coin at the bartender, who snatched the spinning silver octagon off the air and nodded towards the backroom.

A silver crown to enter?

Miya nodded gruffly as they passed. Yuriko gave the man a sidelong glance but followed behind her cousin. The room they entered was lit with a couple of glowing spheres but otherwise left the room in gloomy darkness. The door closed behind Yuriko, and a trap door in the centre of the floor opened into a spiralling staircase.

The stairs down led to a tunnel. It was unilluminated but it was easy enough to summon a bit of Animus, form it into a light ball and have it light the way. They walked for nearly ten minutes. The tunnel eventually ended into an antechamber, but as soon as Yuriko crossed, she felt a sensation nearly identical to what she felt in the Silver Tiger when the hallways seemed to open into different rooms.

“I can’t really get used to that.” Miya muttered.

On the opposite wall of where they entered was a small table. Miya grabbed a couple of masks from it and tossed one to Yuriko. It was an oval thing that only had holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth. There were runescript lines etched around the edges, in the inner part. Miya slapped it over her face and the mask hung there unsupported.

Then the strangest thing happened. The colour of Miya’s Animus light, which had been green, turned to white. Then shadows clung to Miya’s dress, which further concealed the woman’s curves and build.

Yuriko put on the mask and immediately felt her Animus drawn to the runescript lines. Her own Animus light orb changed colours, though she felt how the runescript lines strained. The shadows started to cling to her too, but as soon as they touched her bare skin, they melted away. In the end, the only thing the mask did for her was to cover her face and change her Animus’ hue.

They opened the door next to the table, walked down another short hallway, and then opened another door. As soon as they did, the roar of the crowd inside felt like a physical force that nearly made Yuriko stumble. Miya entered, then gestured for Yuriko to hurry inside.

They walked into a circular chamber, no, a pit, since the centre was sunken to about twenty paces below the entrance. She spotted several other doors, nondescript wood scattered on the top tier, with a few more on the lower tiers. There were nine terraces, each about five paces wide, going down.

At the very centre was an arena. A square ten paces to a side, made of white stone all in one piece. And on top of the arena, were several circles with a large number inscribed within, going from one to ten. Pairs of warriors, men and women alike, fought barehanded inside. A referee carrying a flag on either hand, red and white, watched the matches.

“...five to one odds on circle six, favouring the red fighter!”

“Two and a half to one, white, circle ten!”

“I’ll buy one for white, circle one!”

“Circle two, red, five silver crowns!”

In the din, Yuriko couldn’t hear what Miya was saying. After a while, she got dragged along down the tiers so that they could get closer to the action. Miya pointed at one of the circles, pumped her hand, then waved at a bookmaker. The person’s Animus glowed green instead of everyone else’s white.

“What’s your bet?”

“Circle 3, white. What’re the odds?” Miya said in a gruff voice. Yuriko started when she heard the voice, as it was on a lower register and the intonations were wrong.

“One and a half to one and a quarter. White.”

Miya flicked a gold mark at the bookmaker who caught the coin with practised ease. He, or maybe she, pressed the coin into a crystal screen, then handed Miya a token. Yuriko saw that the wager and the particulars were marked on it.

“And you, luv?” the bookmaker asked her.

“Er…”

“Well, take your time, hahaha,” he chuckled. “Call one of us when you’re ready.” With that, he left.

Yuriko rounded on her cousin, who was busy cheering for her bet. Miya glanced at her, then pointed at the arena.

Rolling her eyes, she did as asked. It only took a few seconds before her interest was piqued. No, it wasn’t because the male fighters were bare to the waist while their well-toned bodies gleamed under spotlights. Nope. Well, the female fighters were also minimally attired, wearing tight shorts and a breast band, or a tank top.

No, more than the succulent meat…er…where in Chaos did that thought come from? She felt the shadow of a snicker for Damien. Argh!

Anyway, more than that, the fighters were surprisingly skilled. Their unarmed techniques were at least on par with the academy’s armsmasters, and a surprising number resorted to grappling techniques. More than the punching and kicking, it was those wrestling matches that drew her eyes. She hadn’t trained much in grappling, but she could recognise expertise when she saw it.

“I won!” Miya yelled, giggling in glee.

She waved at the bookmaker, returned the token, and got her gold mark and quite a bit more back. Then she looked back at the circles and picked another one to bet on.

Miya won and lost and in the end, Yuriko wasn’t sure if she even got her original coin back. Still, she didn’t seem to mind.

Well, watching others fight, and not for life and death, but for sport, was somewhat…relaxing. The emotions of the crowd buoyed her own, and soon enough, she found herself spending a few silver marks and crowns to a couple of bets. She lost more than she won though, but she expected as much.

They returned home way past the dinner hour and Yuriko’s tummy complained something fierce. Still, the stiffness in her body was gone, and she felt a bit more refreshed.

“Thanks,” she said to Miya, who grinned and shrugged.

“Next time let’s be fighters.”

With that, Miya went off laughing while Yuriko goggled at the odd woman.