Belonging

Ladies and gentlemen! Our spectators, citizens, tourists, and, of course, our contestants who made it past the prelims!

Did you get some good sleep last night?

Me? I got some of the best sleep in my life. Thanks to our contestants, my gambling debts are all paid off!

Let me thank the contestants I put my money on! I never would've slept so well without you! Don't think for a second that means I'm giving you a cut, though!

Okay, let's get down to it. Yesterday's prelim was plenty exhilarating as it was, but it's what comes next that's the real spectacle of the Dossoles Warrior Champion!

The main event will officially begin after a short rest period over the next two days, and there is much to look forward to about our contestants this year! We'll have some highlights coming up next! Don't miss a single one!

Now, let's take a look at the beautiful performance that won our contestants a spot in the main events—

Urgh, I can't do it. Just listening to this presenter talk makes me want to toss the TV out the window.

I almost broke my leg in the prelim yesterday, and I didn't even make it to the next round.

Man, this sucks. All the money I put on this match down the drain!

Did you bet on yourself?

Of course not! I'm not an idiot!

I bet on a few big names from the last couple years, hoping that at least one or two of them would make it to the end, but the bastards all got eliminated in the prelims!

And my favorite team even got done in by these two bitches who decided to pop in out of nowhere. What kind of sick joke is that? I bet a million on my guys!

Oh...? That's something. Who are they?

What was that team's name again? Lung... Something with the word lung in it. Some weird ass name.

Maybe you just need to take a deep breath?

Nah, it's on the tip of my tongue... Ugh, never mind. I don't remember, but just thinking about them makes me rage!

Okay, let's calm down a little. Want a drink? This one's on me.

Really? Thanks a lot, girl.

Weird, though... It kind of feels like I know you from somewhere. Have we met before?

*Cough*, probably not. I just got here the other day.

(Of course you know me. I cost you a million out there.)

(It's a good thing I'm in disguise. Ernesto said half the city watched the broadcast... and here I thought it was just an exaggeration...)

That's weird, though. The top contestants from last year didn't make it through the prelims? Has that ever happened before? I'm guessing a lot of bets went bad over that.

Yeah, for sure. It's a miracle we didn't get any jumpers yesterday. I bet the bookmakers made tons of money!

You think the match was fixed...?

What else could it be? Everyone got shit luck?

This isn't really all that uncommon. It's happened in the past, at least, but... uh... how should I put it? This year's a little different.

What do you mean?

You know how I said I threw my hat in the ring and fought in the first round? Now, there's a bunch of new faces joining the fray each year, but we always have enough regulars to fill the popularity rankings.

But not only are there a bunch of weird new teams this time, there's been a weird vibe going on too.

........

(I knew it... There's something wrong with this competition. The competition's a great opportunity, and they aren't going to let it pass by.)

(Who knows how many agents are among these teams, lying in wait with their sinister motives?)

(No, I don't have enough evidence to jump to conclusions just yet. I thought I'd be able to find some clues in the warehouses today... I never expected somebody else to get there ahead of me.)

(Following that lead only got me to this bar. Just who took them down before I got there? Grr... I still need more information.)

Man, I really wonder how much those bastards paid the competition committee under the table... Hey, are you listening?

Hm? Yeah, I'm listening. This year's a huge mess, it seems. A lot of contestants got hurt in the prelims, too.

My leg still stings.

Are there usually this many injured?

That's just how these competitions are.

My hurt leg's nothing. This is just how it works here!

A resort town like this isn't all that common anywhere, and especially not in a place like Bolívar...

Let's talk about something else. Anything that has to do with Dossoles will do. I still want to spend some more time here and see the sights.

Here, let's go for another round. On me.

*Gulp*—Hah! Nothing like drinking straight out the bottle!

Hey, you've had quite a few drinks yourself, haven't you? You don't seem drunk at all.

Hmm, I'm feeling a little dizzy.

Really? You look pretty sober to me.

I've got some training at work.

This is nothing. I have this friend who can really drink like a fish. Makes me wonder what's up with her liver.

No kidding? That's something.

I'm not kidding, and she knows how to cozy up to just about anyone.

Hm?

What's that noise? What's going on?

Huh? What did you say, you punk?

You wanna say that again?!

Yeah, I'll say it again!

That rundown shop of yours? It's over! You were lucky enough to make it past the prelims, but so what? You think you'll get the gold statue and pay off your debt? That's not even going to cover the principal!

You got no money, and you want to gamble? Forget about it!

Cabrón! I'm gonna mess you up!

Hah, you wanna go?! Let's do it!

Hey, nobody's going to do anything about this?

I'll go take a look.

Oh, hold on. Wait a little longer.

What are we waiting for? Until things get out of hand?

Relax. They aren't stupid. They won't make a huge scene.

Dossoles would be a much worse place with far less tourism if everyone could just walk away after making a scene at the bar.

Does the bar have someone who can take care of this? Is this that common here?

More or less. It's nothing new, at least.

What about law enforcement? Police... or maybe guards?

Huh? What you need them for when nobody's dying?

........

(Is this how things work here?)

(This is how Candela Sanchez runs her city?)

(...I really don't like that. I should never have agreed to come here for my holiday. This place just isn't for me.)

Haha, how's that, tough guy?! Still got a problem with what I said?

You put your whole shop up to gamble, and you're still trying to be the nice guy here? Don't make me laugh!

*Sobs*... ugh...

No, please don't take away my shop! That's all I have! It's my livelihood! I can't leave this place!

Please... Please...

Sirs? Can you take this outside...?

Hah, if you ain't got no money, maybe don't act like a big deal! You told me that yourself before, but oh, how the tables turn! Do you hear an echo?

Scram, huevón! Dossoles don't need no hobos like you!

Whoa, that's cruel.

Hey, hold on. He's bleeding. Are you sure this is fine?!

Stop it! All of you!

Phew, that gave me a start. Didn't expect you to play the hero.

Sticking your nose into this is just asking for trouble, you know?

I don't care.

I'm not afraid of trouble. Most of the time, trouble's afraid of me.

Whoa, that's badass.

Ahem, just telling it like it is.

Let's set that aside. You said the bar would take care of this, but it doesn't look like the boss is doing much.

Oh, now that you mention it, you're right.

Yo, Boss, where are those kids you hired? I don't see them around.

Unfortunately, today's shift didn't show.

He's not around?

Did something happen?

I doubt it's a big deal. They made it past the prelims yesterday and got some money. I'm guessing they're blowing it on hookers and blackjack right now.

These punks haven't been coming to work on time lately. I'll get around to firing them sometime.

They haven't been coming into work lately... Is that because of the competition?

No idea. These kids could be making trouble anywhere.

Thank you very much for your help. Would you two like another drink? On the house, as a token of my appreciation.

Hell yeah, Boss! So generous!

(The guards ditched work. Does this have something to do with the championship?)

(Is it a coincidence? No, this can't be a mere coincidence...)

(Beating around the bush isn't going to help me find out much more here. Makes me wonder if Lin Yühsia found anything on her end.)

Thanks, but I'm good. I just did what anyone should've done.

Hm, you're done? Oh, going sightseeing?

You could say that.

Well, have fun!

Dossoles's a great place. As long as you got money, you can enjoy just about anything here day in and day out, and no one will give you guff.

Sounds like you really love this city.

Oh? I guess I do.

Have you thought about settling down here?

Settle down here? You... You hate me, don't you?

What?

I'm just joking here. Why would that mean I hate you?

This is no joke.

I'm not so sure about settling down here. Dossoles is a great place for a vacation, but it's probably not a place for a normal life.

You've seen what this place is like...

If I end up having a kid, I definitely wouldn't want him to spend his days drinking and gambling, turning into a good-for-nothing son.

Spend his days drinking, just like the two of us right now?

Sure enough. Exactly what the two of us are doing right now, and my parents call me a good-for-nothing son too.

Haha, I've never been called that.

(My... parents...)

I haven't had much of a chance to be a good-for-nothing daughter.

That must've been tough for you.

I get by.

My father is a stubborn old man. Ever since my mother left him and went back home, he's been a self-loathing loafer who knows to do nothing except drinking and gambling. He's even been balding lately. Gross.

There's no counting on him, so it fell on me to be the breadwinner.

And ever since I got top marks in all my combat coursework, no one has dared come looking for trouble.

Sure enough. I saw how you mediated that fight of theirs. That was ruthless and well-executed.

Huh, you know, I really think I've seen you somewhere before, especially with the way you knocked that drunkard out.

*Cough*... Just your imagination. Don't think too much about it.

But I mean it, though... Before, if someone'd told me I could move to Dossoles, I probably would've been over the moon.

That's not what you said just now. You said you definitely wouldn't want to settle down here.

Come on, try to put yourself in my shoes. I said what I said, but this place is the city of dreams. All Bolívarians hope to come here.

And all of us Bolívarians do everything we possibly can just to be able to come here.

When you get a taste of the Dossoles life, haha, no one would think life outside's as terrible as it actually is.

Forgive me for asking, but you are Bolívarian, am I right?

You could say that. My hometown was destroyed in a battle a few years ago, though. I had no choice but to move. The place's still a warzone now.

We were all hoping to move to Dossoles, but we didn't have any money. They wouldn't even let us through the gates.

And then?

Then? We had no choice but to keep moving east. Somehow we reached Columbia.

None of us knew what Columbia was like, but there was no war there. We could settle down and live in peace... Life started getting better, and I made some decent money.

Now Dossoles lets me through the doors.

Is that so...?

The city lets you in, and so you see it in a different light.

I guess you're right, but that's just the way it's meant to be.

........

(The lands... and those who live on those lands...)

(So many have gathered here in Dossoles, but it's also turned away so many.)

(In the end, who does this city belong to?)

Oh, look at that frown. Don't like the way things work?

Not at all... I'm just thinking about something.

I don't know much about Bolívar or Dossoles yet. I haven't seen nearly enough here, and it's hard for me to understand why the people here are so fond of the city, unwilling to leave.

I don't want to make too reckless of an evaluation.

Why so serious all of a sudden...?

I'm not being that serious. Just figured I'd speak my mind.

Criticism is easy, but if you can't come up with a better solution after your criticism, you just come off hasty and irresponsible.

All I can say is... In my eyes, this isn't that great of a city. At the very least, it's not my kind of city. I think it could've been a much better place.

Makes sense that outsiders wouldn't think so much of Dossoles.

But to us Bolívarians, it's a decent enough place.

I still remember it, back when I was a kid, there was this one time some folks who claimed to be part of the resistance charged into our homes while I was asleep... None of us were hurt, but it scared my whole family shitless.

The civil war?

I guess, though I've never really figured out who's fighting who in that war.

Anyway, thanks to them, the warzone grew bigger and bigger. We lost our farmland and house, everything.

Most Bolívarians are like that. We may lose everything at any moment. Our lives are always hanging by a thread.

........

I think I'm starting to understand.

No one can so much as guarantee their livelihood is safe, and their homes, however stable they may seem, may be threatened at any moment. Being able to earn the sweat of your brow is like a dream come true.

If you can manage to live like a normal person, wherever you can pull it off is good enough.

Dossoles is a good place to the Bolívarians.

That's right. That's more or less the gist.

Luck was on my side, too. If I hadn't stumbled my way out of the country, Dossoles might still be a paradise to me.

But what about now?

I still like it, even now.

Care to explain why?

There's no why or why not. It's a good vacation spot, and... well... I guess we Bolívarians need something to look forward to.

........

What kind of life do you imagine yourself living now, if you'd stayed?

Hard to say... Maybe like that drunkard just now.

I'd be trying my best to stay in the city, making some small change doing honest work or hitting it big gambling. Most likely, I would spend it just as quickly. It would probably be my lifetime wish to open a shop here...

It's hard to imagine. Maybe I don't count as a real Bolívarian anymore.

No, you are.

If I ask you where you are from, how would you answer?

I'd say I'm from Bolívar, of course.

That's more than enough.

If you weren't a Bolívarian, we wouldn't be having such a long conversation over this topic, not even stopping to take a sip of our drinks.

Your average overseas tourists wouldn't be so interested in this.

You really have a way with words, you know?

Really? My friends like to say I have a sharp tongue, when I'm yelling at people.

Don't be so humble. You speak sense pretty well too.

Haha, thanks for the compliment.

It's been fun, but I should be going. I hope we'll meet again.

Columbia... I've learned about its judicial system. It sounds like a nice place. I might find some time to pay it a visit one of these days.

You're always welcome! If you ever come visit, I'll treat you to a cup of coffee.

You know how Bolívarian coffee brands are famous all around? That's the kind of stuff we use when we have guests over. If you ever come to Columbia, I'll treat you to all the coffee you want.

Very well. I will definitely go, when I get the chance.

Let's call it my way to thank you for the drink and the conversation.

Hey, I've been meaning to ask. Where are you from?

........

Lungmen. I'm from Lungmen.

It's a great place, and no less impressive than Dossoles. If you have the time for another vacation, I recommend it.

Trust me. Lungmen won't disappoint.