The Arm Wrestling Tournament Begins

“Eh—?!”Having heard the relayed results while seated in the rest area beside the arm wrestling arena, I let out a small sigh. ‘Was it a sigh of relief, I wondered? It didn’t quite feel like it.’The arena assignments for the contestants had already been released; Brother Mingdao, number 302, and Ruka sister, number 303, were both in the less crowded Third Arena, while Leidi, number 304, found herself in the First. As for me, the sole remaining participant, I was ‘coincidentally’ allocated to the Second Arena. ‘It felt as though we had been completely scattered.’ ‘Was this a good thing or a bad thing?’While avoiding facing our own people in the preliminary rounds was certainly a relief, the fact that my shield-like companions were all separated left me pondering. ‘Did this mean I would have to face those disgusting old men who had been ogling me all by myself?’“Ugh—” I instinctively hugged myself, shivering slightly. The mere thought of the impending spectacle sent shivers of disgust down my spine.“Don’t make such a grim face; try looking at it from another perspective—there are good things about this, too, aren’t there?”Leidi gently tapped my brow.“Huh?”Leidi, seemingly having seen right through my current thoughts, smiled as she sat down beside me and wagged a finger playfully.“Think about it,” she began, “if an arm-wrestling competition, which is a one-on-one event, is split into three arenas, doesn’t that mean the champion, runner-up, and third-place winner will be chosen from the ultimate victors of these three arenas? To put it plainly, our current situation means we’ve got all three top spots covered!”“Er?! Eh?!!!”’It was a sudden realization!’ ‘This outcome was practically inevitable!’ ‘How could any ordinary person possibly defeat us?’However…“Strictly speaking, wouldn’t this count as cheating?” I offered Leidi a wry smile.Compared to us, with our distinct advantages, the other contestants were competing purely on their own skill. ‘I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for those who were genuinely participating.’Of course, that excluded the perverted old men who had snatched up most of the more revealing female cosplay outfits.“Ding-dong-dong-dong~~” The distinctive mall announcement chimed.“[The competition is about to begin. All participants in the Cosplay Arm Wrestling Tournament, please report to your respective arenas immediately. I repeat, the competition is about to begin. All participants in the Cosplay Arm Wrestling Tournament, please report to your respective arenas immediately.]”“Hoho~ The one-sided slaughter is about to begin~”“I never thought your pretty face could utter such a dreadful word as ‘slaughter’…”After a brief exchange of banter, my mood had slightly improved, and I resignedly made my way toward the Second Arena.“Click—click—click—click—”… …“Tsk—” I unhappily shielded my face and chest with my hands. Why did the camera flashes assault me like a tidal wave the moment I moved? ‘Had they never seen a beautiful woman since birth, these people?!’Upon reaching the Second Arena, several staff members meticulously explained the rules of arm wrestling to all the contestants. To my surprise, arm wrestling actually had international rules, which were unexpectedly complex; it was truly an eye-opening experience!The tables in the arena, complete with poles and pads, were also manufactured according to international competition standards, appearing quite expensive!However, after the detailed explanation and demonstration of the rules, the staff members, much like stand-up comedians, added a witty remark: “Regarding the aforementioned rules, we only enforce one: ‘Contestants must not have long fingernails.’” This quip sent many contestants into peals of laughter, effectively enlivening the atmosphere.Subsequently, under the guidance of the staff, the arm wrestling competition, subtle in various ways, commenced.The Second Arena had a total of 128 participants; dividing that number in half repeatedly meant it would take seven rounds to reach a single winner. In other words, I would have to compete seven times. ‘Which meant… I could potentially be sexually harassed seven times…’… … ‘My mood soured instantly.’****“Guh-umph—” From across the table came the all-too-familiar sound of someone swallowing.Excluding the referee, this was the third time.Yet, surprisingly, the stares weren’t as irritating as I’d expected; they merely made me feel quite shy.Hm? You ask why my reaction is different from what I said before? Why isn’t there a feeling of disgust?Well, it seems my luck has been rather good; all three of my opponents so far have been women.And… without exception, all of them, with numbers beyond 310, were bunny girls. ‘Heh heh… so you didn’t have a choice either, did you?’ ‘I’ll take the opportunity to avenge you all.’“[Guh-umph—Can I ask about your, uh, chest, that, uh, you know.]” The young woman across from me stammered, unable to articulate her question clearly. ‘Why were they all so fixated on it?’ ‘Aside from serving as a soft pillow when sleeping on a table, having a large chest was actually quite troublesome, you know.’ ‘And yours isn’t small either, is it? At least a B-cup, right?’ ‘One should be content with what they have!’I offered her a slight, wry smile, unsure how much she would grasp from my silent reply.“[If you win, Big Sister, please tell me! You absolutely must tell me!]”The young woman was a little hysterical, apparently having understood very little.“[Mm.]” With a flushed, wry smile, I decisively pressed her hand down. ‘Even if she had won, I wouldn’t have been able to explain it anyway.’ ‘Was I supposed to tell her about Leidi’s glorious deeds? I wasn’t that foolish.’“[Ugh—I lost… I failed… But! At least let me gaze upon those breasts until the end of the competition!!!]”Having lost the match, the young woman excitedly gripped my hand, as if pleading for something.“[…Please, help yourself… (?)]” ‘To be honest, I was startled.’ ‘This young woman’s obsession with breasts was incredibly deep.’And in the matches that followed… my good luck ran out.“[Ehehehehe~~ Hiss~ Hiss~]”My fourth opponent was a fellow wearing a green bandana and carrying a turtle shell (?), resembling something out of Ninja Turtles… ‘Male… pervert… disgusting pervert…’ ‘At least try to compose your expression a little.’ ‘Even the referee next to you is more of a gentleman!’“CRACK!” ‘(Rage level: one hundred percent!)’Even with the pad providing cushioning, the table still let out an incredibly loud thud. With a look of utter disgust, I directly knocked him out! ‘Unlike the young women before, there was no need to show this guy any mercy!!!’The fifth opponent—“[Little sister~ Do you want to be my trainer~? I’m very obedient, you know! Very obedient!]”… … ‘I had no interest in a Pikachu that looked so fat it could drip oil, and was utterly uncute!!!’“SMACK!!” ‘(Rage level: two hundred percent!!)’The sixth opponent—“[Little bunnies love carrots, right? Uncle has a big carrot down here~]”… … ‘Rage level: zero percent…’With a completely indifferent expression, I couldn’t even be bothered to reach out anymore. ‘Why on earth did a guy with unkempt nose hair, chest hair, armpit hair, leg hair, and arm hair dare to wear a bunny girl outfit?!’ ‘I absolutely refused to acknowledge such an eyesore, such a repulsive thing, as a bunny girl! Absolutely not!!!’ ‘And what was with that remark?! I could sue you, you know!!!’“[Hey! Referee! Can’t you disqualify him for this?! This is serious sexual harassment!]”“[Yeah! Yeah! Disqualify him!]”“[He’s just a pervert, not even cosplaying!]”“[Protest! Protest!]”It wasn’t just the young woman from before; even the surrounding contestants couldn’t stand it any longer. ‘Serves you right, you pervert!!!’“[This way, contestant, please—]” The referee, with a look of disdain, gestured to him like a butler saying, “Please, this way,” the meaning unmistakable: “Get lost!”And so, amidst a flurry of camera flashes and cheers, the utterly perverted man finally slunk away from the arena. ‘Honestly… there really are all sorts of people in this world…’****“[It’s truly incredible?! Such a petite girl actually managed to win until the final round?!]”“Eh—heh—heheh—” I offered a few helpless dry laughs to my final opponent of the preliminary rounds. ‘Should I apologize? It seemed it was already too late.’The seventh contestant appeared to be American… and… their muscles… were on a level that gym trainers could only dream of reaching. They had made it this far purely on their own strength, which made me feel a little apologetic. ‘I wasn’t sure if it was because it was the final match of the preliminary rounds, but we were surrounded by a large crowd before the competition even began.’ ‘Wow, being gawked at like this was truly awful…’“[Ready—!]”Under the referee’s guidance, our right hands clasped firmly together. ‘Oh my… I was practically engulfed, wasn’t I?! Their hand was so huge…’“Eh~ You actually didn’t forfeit?!”“Leidi?!” Hearing the voice, I, still mid-match, looked toward a corner of the crowd in surprise, only to find the three of them actually stirring up a commotion!“You guys finished your matches?! Did you all win?!” ‘Never mind the less crowded Third Arena, had even the preliminary rounds of the First Arena concluded already?!’“No, no, no, actually, the three of us no longer have a chance to enter the finals,” Brother Mingdao apologized to me, scratching his face sheepishly…. … ‘Huh? What the heck?! What happened to sweeping the champion, runner-up, and third place?! Why am I the only one left?! How did you all lose?!!!’With a look of combined surprise and speechlessness, I averted my head, ignoring my opponent’s apocalyptic expression, and instantly ended the match…. …Everyone present fell silent.Then—“Click—”“Click—click—click—click—click—click—click—!!!”A storm of camera shutters erupted.“At least pretend a little…”Leidi’s retort was instantly drowned out by the barrage of shutter clicks, each one screaming, ‘This will be tomorrow’s headline!’ ‘Oh, come on! You guys set me up!!!’