At noon on Tuesday, the Pet Shop was open for business as usual.
The Pet Shop was especially lively today. One reason was that several new varieties of ornamental butterflies had joined the shop's pets this week. Mu You had brought them back from the Dream Butterfly Roost when he last entered the gate, and today was their first exhibition. Many people had come specifically to see them.
But the more important reason was the second one: the shop was holding its first official Chocobo race!
The competition had been initiated and sponsored entirely by the Merchant Alliance. Mu You had left everything to them, providing only the venue, while the Merchant Alliance handled publicity and staffing.
An athletic competition involving magical creatures was a first in the country. The so-called professionals hired by the Merchant Alliance did not actually have much practical experience either, so this first competition was an invitational held for entertainment.
There were ten contestants, five of whom came from the Pet Shop's regular racing leaderboard. Invitations had gone to the five people with the fastest lap records.
Another four were Chocobo enthusiasts from around the country. The difference was that all of them had brought their own Chocobos.
Although Chocobos were precious, they were not creatures that could no longer be obtained. If Mu You could get them, other well-connected people could naturally acquire them through various channels too. Especially after the Chocobos in his shop became a huge hit, their commercial value had skyrocketed, and plenty of investors were willing to put money into them.
Those nine fixed participants were all professional racers. The final contestant would be a lucky spectator selected on-site. After all, many of today's spectators had come for the race, so they had to be given some sense of participation.