Noblesse Privilege 10 (Patreon)

Noblesse Privilege
Chapter 10

-VB-

Standing on one end in the ring of sand, I eyed my opponent.

This was my third day of stay within the palace of the Nefertaris themselves, and today, I was doing a bit of cultural exchange.

(Not that the World Nobles had culture to speak of, but the point remained!)

Standing with nothing but a pair of shorts, I hoped that I didn’t make a fool of myself.

This event was called a sand tapper. It was kind of like wrestling and sumo, but instead of pushing each other out of the ring, we had to keep each other inside the ring while gaining “hits” for each three-second foothold we have on the other’s feet. A winner would be determined by how many more hits they had. Three rounds generally decided a game, but any round with less than two hit differences would be annulled.

It was because of this, they say, that a game could last anywhere from five minutes to an hour. God help you if you decide to play with more than two players.

While I was not a man used to physical games, I wasn’t above them. After all, all men were children at one point and all men needed exercise to keep in shape. It also helped that I had specialized nutritional and physical education from another world.

So color me surprised when I found myself standing above most of the soldiers and other men who were taking part in this sand tapper. Women had their own separate rings.

Now, unlike what the One Piece manga liked to portray, most people did not have abs or muscles of Hercules. Most people, pirates, commoners, and even World Nobles, had normal bodies. Beer belly was common in low caste adult men, women became more “matronly,” and youngsters looked thin. It also didn’t help people, especially in places like Alabasta, that pirates and warlords made a mess of trades and economies, leaving most houses incapable of truly meeting the dietary requirements of all their family members.

… Come to think of it, that’s how my alliance of kingdoms started.

“It is an honor to compete with you, Lord vel Monstrathum,” the man across from me spoke seriously with a half-bow. “May the gods be with you.”

“Good luck to you, too, Officer Zekiel,” I grinned at the huge man.

Of course, exceptions existed. Zekiel introduced himself as a warrant officer of the Alabasta Army. The thirty-something year old man looked like he had twice my weight, and I found myself wondering if I was going to be breaking a bone or two today. I’m sure Zekiel was going to go easy on me; I was a World Noble, and injuring a World Noble was a travesty waiting for everyone but the World Noble.

As I moved to grab his belt which was the sumo-like part of this sport, I saw Luponte, who’d been out since yesterday night, joining the crowd. I gave him a wave and he waved back. ‘I wonder what he’s been doing? A lady friend, perhaps?’

Zekiel and I grabbed each other’s belt and readied ourselves.

… Why did he feel lighter than he should?

“Alright, I want both of you to be good sportsmen about this game!” the judge exclaimed as he brought out a stick with a fern leaf attached to the top. “In 5 … 4… 3… 2… 1… HIT!”

Zekiel struck first. His left leg shot out, but it was slower than I expected. I dodged and tried to pull back towards the edge of the ring.

Oh, and by default, the first person to step out of the ring won that round.

Zekiel held onto me tightly and stepped back instead. I used this chance where he only had one foot on the ground to shoot my foot out to stomp on his foot. The rule here was that I could not step on top of the bridge, only his toes and the part of the bridge directly attached to it.

To my surprise, my attack caught him, and I held him down.

Then he shocked me by dropping to his knees, forcing me to break my hold on him. I guessed that I wasn’t getting a point for that!

I tried again, but this time, he jumped up with both of his feet in the air and landed right next to my feet where I’d attacked!

He stomped down both of his heels on top of my toes, and I winced a little.

There was no point to striking and holding his now immobile foot now; if we just held onto our positions, he would win the round by default by having one more point than I would. So I curled my toes down and tore out the sand underneath me.

Again, no point for him.

Zekiel grinned. “You’re not too bad for a first timer!” he laughed. “I guess I’ll have to get a little bit more serious!”

By serious, he meant wrapping his entire body around mine and holding my feet.

I fell and ended up losing my first point to him.

The day was still fun. Some games, I only played with the men, including the king. In other games, men and women intermingled.

It was a fun day.

So it just had to be ruined by some asshole bombing the palace in the middle of the night.