Three days later, more people had gathered in the clearing in Konda Village than Lin En had expected.
Arataki Itto had gotten a large wooden board from somewhere to use as an arena, with a ring of tree stumps around it for the audience to sit on.
Lumine and Paimon sat in the front row. Paimon was munching on a slice of watermelon, juice smeared around her mouth.
Ronava stood on the edge of the crowd. She clearly had little interest in the Onikabuto tournament, but she hadn't left either. She simply leaned against a tree with her arms folded, her gaze resting on Lin En.
Arataki Itto stood in the arena, hands on his hips, lost in wild fantasies.
A fist-sized Onikabuto sat before him. It was dark red all over, with a glossy shell and a long horn on its head that shone like metal. It waved its forelegs in a show of strength.
"Hahaha! My Thunderbolt Invincible Red Whirlwind really is invincible!"
Itto threw back his head and laughed, then turned to Lumine.
"Traveler, yours wasn't bad either, but it was too small!"
Lumine put her Onikabuto away expressionlessly, placing it in a small bamboo cage.
Her bug really was a size smaller than Itto's. It lay in the cage, pawing glumly at its antennae.
Paimon stamped her feet, nearly sending the watermelon in her hand flying.
"Cowherd, what are you so smug about? The Traveler just wasn't at her best!"
"A loss is a loss, you little lavender melon."
Itto wagged a finger smugly.
"Go home and practice some more."
As he laughed, his gaze suddenly swept over the crowd and stopped.
"You!"
Lin En was standing at the edge of the crowd, watching the fun, when he suddenly felt Itto's gaze fall on him. He looked up, and sure enough, Itto was looking at him.
"You! The one with black hair!"
Itto pointed at him.
"Haven't you had a match yet? Get up here and face me!"
Lin En froze for a moment. He really hadn't had a match, because he didn't have an Onikabuto at all.
He looked around to make sure Itto was pointing at him, then pointed at his own nose.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you! Quit hiding! I've seen you standing there for ages. You must be an expert!"
Paimon turned and saw Lin En. She immediately remembered something and muttered indignantly.
"So the jinx is here too. No wonder we lost."
Lin En glared at her. Paimon immediately shut her mouth and shrank behind Lumine.
"I really don't have an Onikabuto. I just came to watch."
"You don't?"
Itto rubbed his chin, looked Lin En up and down, then pointed at the top of his head.
"Then what's that on your head?"
Lin En froze. His head did feel heavy, as though something were perched on it.
He reached up and felt something hard and cool beneath his fingers, along with a faint scratching sensation. He hurriedly grabbed the thing off his head and placed it in his palm.
It was an Onikabuto.
It was tiny, even smaller than the Traveler's Onikabuto. It was grayish white all over, with fine markings on its shell and a short little horn on its head.
It perched in Lin En's palm and waved its antennae, seemingly unaware that it had just been sitting on a human's head.
"Where did this come from...?"
Lin En stared at the little bug in his palm, thinking it had probably crawled out of the nearby grass, or perhaps escaped from some child's bug cage, and happened to crawl onto his head.
"Ha! You've got one right there!"
"Come on, come on, don't be shy! I'm in a good mood today, so I won't make your loss too ugly!"
Lin En looked at the tiny, drab, obviously malnourished Onikabuto in his palm, then at the mighty "Thunderbolt Invincible Red Whirlwind" in the arena.
The gap was even greater than the difference between his and Ronava's combat strength.
"Are you sure?"
"Sure, sure! Get up here!"
The crowd around them began egging him on. Paimon also forgot the lesson she'd just learned and joined in, shouting, "Go on, go on!"
Lin En glanced back at Ronava. She leaned against the tree, her golden eyes watching him from a distance. She made no gesture, but there was the faintest curve at the corner of her mouth, as if she were waiting for him to make a fool of himself.
"All right."
Lin En sighed and placed the little bug from his palm at the edge of the arena.
"I'll give it a try."
His little gray bug crouched at the edge of the arena, moved its antennae, then slowly crawled toward the middle. Itto's "Thunderbolt Invincible Red Whirlwind" stood opposite it, the two bugs making a stark contrast.
"Hahahaha! My bug was raised on meat!"
Itto put his hands on his hips.
"Yours eats grass, doesn't it?"
The little gray bug crawled to the middle of the arena and saw Red Whirlwind, several sizes larger than itself, on the other side. It stopped and drew back its antennae, as if it wanted to turn and run.
"Don't run!"
Lin En crouched down and gently tapped it on the back with a finger.
"If you run, you'll lose."
Poked once, the little gray bug shuffled forward two steps. Red Whirlwind was already charging, its long horn thrusting toward the little gray bug with a gust of wind.
The little gray bug instinctively shrank back. Red Whirlwind's horn grazed its shell and sent it tumbling.
"Hahaha, I'm invincible."
Itto laughed.
The little gray bug rolled over and got back up. Dirt clung to its grayish-white shell, making it look even worse for wear, but it didn't run again. Instead, it turned to face Red Whirlwind and raised both forelegs.
Red Whirlwind charged again. This time, the little gray bug didn't dodge. It suddenly darted to the side, then used the momentum to spring up, landing squarely on Red Whirlwind's back.
Red Whirlwind hadn't expected that move and spun in place, trying to shake it off. The little gray bug clung tightly to the gaps in its shell, its antennae swaying.
"Ah! That's cheating! I won't lose!"
Itto shouted.
The little gray bug bit Red Whirlwind on the back. Red Whirlwind flinched in pain and gave a violent shake, flinging the little gray bug away. The little gray bug tumbled twice through the air and landed at the edge of the arena, nearly falling off, but managed to steady itself.
The entire crowd fell silent for a moment.
Then the little gray bug crawled back. A corner of its shell had broken off, but it was still crawling toward Red Whirlwind.
Lin En watched it and suddenly felt that the scene was a little familiar.
Red Whirlwind charged again. The little gray bug didn't dodge. With its short little horn lowered, it went to meet the charge. The two bugs' horns collided with a faint, crisp crack.
Red Whirlwind was clearly stronger, but the little gray bug's feet were planted firmly on the board, and it didn't retreat a single step.
"That bug... really is a lot like him."
Ronava, too, suddenly became interested in the match.
The little gray bug grabbed Red Whirlwind's horn with its forelegs and gave it a sharp twist. Red Whirlwind lost its balance and toppled onto its side, its six legs kicking at the sky. It couldn't turn itself over for quite some time.
"The jinx won... won?"
Paimon's mouth fell open.
Itto stared wide-eyed at his "Thunderbolt Invincible Red Whirlwind," unable to right itself in the arena. His jaw hung open for a long time.
Lin En crouched down and held the wounded little gray bug in his palm. It lay in his hand and moved weakly, but it was still alive.
"It actually won?"