This was the fifth race of the day. According to Alice, this was the "Main Race," though I wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that.
“And now, at long last, it’s time for the fifth race! It’s the hardest to predict, yet the most pulse-pounding event of the day... the Large Species Race!!”
“Large species?” I asked.
“Hehe, you’ll understand once you see it.”
“First to take the stage is... Number one, the Tyrant of the Skies! The Red Dragon!”
A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd as the announcer’s voice boomed. A dragon nearly five meters long soared majestically over the track.
I was pretty sure that was the same kind of dragon Noin-san used to hunt. It was my first time seeing one fly, and it was quite a sight... Then again, I also remembered that particular species being quite delicious.
“Next up... Number two, the Hunter of the Absolute Frozen Soil! The Fenrir!”
“W-Wow... they just keep bringing out one incredible creature after another.”
“This race consists entirely of monsters that hold top-tier power even among their own kind,” Alice explained.
“Did they actually catch and train all of these?”
“Hardly. Most of them are raised from eggs or hatchlings granted to us by the Dragon King’s kin. Without that, they’d never listen to a word we say, ssu.”
It seemed this race featured monsters that were essentially of legendary caliber, which explained why the crowd was so fired up. Normally, these weren't the type of monsters that would ever bond with humans, but apparently, they could be taught to follow orders if raised from infancy.
“And here we have it! Number six, the legendary Magic Beast! The Behemoth!”
“Whoa! A Behemoth, ssu?!” Alice shouted.
The sixth contender was a massive creature with two distinctive jet-black horns. It was actually a bit smaller than the others—only about three meters tall—but its deep purple hide gave it an overwhelming presence. Since Alice was so surprised, it had to be a truly extraordinary monster.
“Is it really that special?”
“Special doesn’t even cover it! When you talk about Behemoths... they’re beings close to the strongest in the world, standing alongside the High Ancient Dragon, Nidhogg. It’s literally a legendary Magic Beast—people call them ‘Nidhogg of the Heavens’ and ‘Behemoth of the Earth.’”
“Wow, it’s that incredible...”
“Well, that one is still a baby, though.”
“A baby?!”
I honestly couldn’t believe her. That thing was a baby? It was at least three meters tall. Just how big did the adults get?
“An adult Behemoth can exceed five hundred Meton.”
“...That’s absurd.”
Meton was a unit in this world, and if I recalled correctly, one Meton was about twenty centimeters. That meant... over a hundred meters tall. It was a monster straight out of a kaiju movie. Knowing they grew to that size, it did make sense to call this one a baby.
Then, I suddenly noticed something. It might have been my imagination, but it felt like the Behemoth was looking right at me. I felt as if our eyes were locked. It had stopped near the center of the track and was staring intently in my direction.
“I wonder what’s wrong? I don’t think a Behemoth, of all things, would be getting cold feet...”
“I feel like it’s looking at me.”
“Behemoths have extremely violent and aggressive temperaments, so maybe it thinks you’re prey, Kaito-san~”
“Don’t say such terrifying things...”
“Ahaha, it’s fine. There’s a barrier around the arena, and no matter how much of a Behemoth it is, a baby can’t break through. More importantly, let’s go buy our tickets!”
“A-Ah, right...”
Was that really it? The emotion I felt just now didn't feel like hostility. It felt like...
When I went to buy tickets with Alice, I saw that the Fenrir was the favorite to win. The Behemoth, surprisingly, was in dead last.
“The Behemoth is at the bottom of the list.”
“Behemoths have incredible power, durability, and speed... but I suppose even they have their limits as babies. Honestly, I don’t think it can beat the Red Dragon or the Fenrir either.”
“...I see. Hmm? Those numbers written next to them aren’t the odds, are they? What are those?”
Even though a Behemoth was a mighty creature, it seemed a newborn lacked the raw power to compete with the older monsters yet. Still, it was participating in this Large Species Race, which suggested it was in a different league entirely. I pointed to the numbers like fifty and seventy written next to the names of the Behemoth and Red Dragon.
“Oh, those are the selling prices for the monsters.”
“Selling prices?”
“Yes. Any monster participating in the Main Race can be purchased as a pet. Those are the prices for them.”
“Wait, you can buy them? Is that even safe?”
I was stunned. You could actually buy the Red Dragon or the Fenrir. They were supposed to be incredibly dangerous; surely there was a risk in keeping one?
“It’s fine. Like I said before, the monsters in the Main Race are granted by the Dragon King every year. Because they have magic placed on them by the Dragon King himself, they can never defy their master.”
“Huh. Do people actually buy them often?”
“No, people rarely buy them. The amounts written there are all in platinum coins, you know. Only high-ranking nobles could ever afford them.”
Indeed, if they were priced in platinum coins, every one of those monsters cost hundreds of millions of yen. They were far beyond the reach of an ordinary person. The Behemoth was priced at... three hundred platinum coins?! Three billion yen?! As expected of a legendary Magic Beast.
“...Hey, Alice.”
“What is it, ssu?”
“Could someone like me buy that too?”
“...Well, of course you could—wait, Kaito-san?! Are you actually thinking of buying it? Do you even have that much money?”
“No, I don’t, but...”
The reason I’d asked was clear. I couldn't get the eyes of that Behemoth out of my head. The emotions I’d read through my Sympathy Magic were simple and childlike, but they were incredibly pure.
I don’t want to be here. Please, take me away...
That plea had been directed straight at me. I couldn’t stop worrying about it. I knew it wasn’t realistic. I was currently a houseguest, and keeping a monster that would eventually grow to be a hundred meters tall was a logistical nightmare.
Still, if the worst came to the worst, I could prostrate myself and beg Lilia-san, and if that failed, I could probably manage something if I asked for Kuro's help. So, the only real problem was the three hundred platinum coins.
“...Right. I came here to gamble today, after all.”
“Kaito-san?”
“I’m going to buy a ticket.”
“Eh? Wait!”
Leaving Alice behind, I walked up to the ticket booth. I placed every single coin I had earned today in front of the receptionist.
“Number six. Put two platinum coins on it.”
“Huh? Wh—!? C-Certainly!”
Hearing my request for a two-platinum-coin bet, the receptionist was staggered as she issued the ticket.
I took the ticket and slowly looked up at the board. Perhaps because this was the Main Race, the payouts had skyrocketed. The odds for the Behemoth were currently over four hundred to one. Even though my bet would lower the payout, it looked like it would stay well over two hundred.
In other words, if the Behemoth won this race, I would have enough to buy it. If it lost, I would be penniless.
Honestly, I was appalled by my own behavior. After lecturing Alice so much about her gambling, here I was about to squander everything on a single long shot.
As I was lost in thought, Alice returned with her own ticket.
“I don’t quite understand what’s going on, but you’re looking like a total stud right now, Kaito-san... So, I’m going to join you.”
“What?”
“I went all-in on the Behemoth too. Let’s sink or swim together, ssu!”
“You... honestly...”
Alice gave me a beaming smile, holding up her ticket to show she was joining my reckless gamble. I couldn't help but let out a wry laugh.
Dear Mother, Father—I know I’m being foolish, but it seems I’m quite weak to that kind of look in a creature's eyes. Today, in the first gamble of my life, I made a very big bet.
“Milady? You’re clutching your head. Is something the matter?”
“...No, I’m not sure why, but I just felt a sudden, terrible chill...”
“Perhaps the temperature has dropped?”
“No, it’s not that... I just have this incredibly bad premonition... Luna? Where is Kaito-san?”
“He has been out since this morning, Milady.”
“...”