Show Business

*Rustle* *Rustle* *Fwoosh*

I threw open the lid of the dumpster. After being trapped for the last few hours, my paralysis suddenly was undone. I wasn't particularly sure if that idiot girl intentionally or unintentionally undid it, but all I knew was that I had to find her before she did anything too stupid.

Before I could start looking for her though, there was one matter I had to take care of first...The rat that had been with me in the dumpster earlier had burrowed into my robes and I could feel it crawling around inside my rib cage. I slowly reached my hand into my robe as I carefully felt around.

*Hissssssss*

It started making aggressive noises as it attacked my hand. I quickly grabbed it by the head and whipped it against the brick wall, killing it.

"Now that's taken care of, time to go find that idiot girl." I muttered to myself."

I stepped out of the alleyway onto the main road, where instantly I noticed something strange... The streets were empty. I knew there was that festival going on, but it was still eerily quiet.

I wandered around for a bit trying to get my bearings. Eventually I came across a drunken man laying on the curb. I casually approached him.

"Excuse me, where is everyone?" I asked.

He looked up at me, looking half blacked out.

"Burrrrp... I-I don't know. S-something about a duel at the p-palace... Zzzzzz."

He suddenly passed out from drunkenness. I couldn't confirm this had anything to do with Erika, but I at least had a lead. If almost everyone in the city was gathered at the palace it was highly likely Erika was there too. I began making my way toward the center of the city.

✨✨✨

It was fairly apparent when I had neared the palace. A massive crowd had gathered that took up several blocks. It seemed as though the entire city was here. I stood at the very back of the crowd.

"I can't believe a foreigner challenged the Shogun." I overheard a random woman say.

"Yeah, they must be stupid or something. Everyone knows Shogun Takashi is the most powerful warrior in the entire kingdom. There's no way he'll lose." Someone else said.

I had a bad feeling. Hearing the words "foreigner" and "stupid" instantly put an image of Erika in my mind. Where I was at, it was impossible to see anything. I began making my way through the crowd. It was so densely packed, I had to somewhat forcefully nudge myself through. Eventually, I managed to get far enough through where I could actually see what was happening in the palace's courtyard and of course my worst fears were realized...

*Chink*

I wasn't particularly sure how this all began, but the scene before me consisted of Erika with a pink katana in her hands somehow disarming the shogun of his oversized sword. He was kneeling on the ground.

A girl dressed in a white yukata muttered something to both him and Erika. Erika sheathed her sword and the Shogun stood and faced her.

"As a man of honor, I admit defeat on this day. Erika-sama you truly are a fierce warrior."

Erika giggled.

"I had a lot of fun playing sword fight too, Mr. Takashi."

The Shogun faced the crowd.

"I'm sure as most of you know, there is a long running tradition in our country. When the Shogun is defeated, they must relinquish their title and bestow it on the individual that defeated them. As for this contest Erika-sama has defeated me fair and square. She is now the Shogun of this nation and I will accept my exile to Southan."

Shogun!?... Normally I would be completely onboard with an apprentice of mine seizing control of an entire nation, but something about this whole thing seemed off to me.

A commotion seemed to erupt in the crowd as people began muttering to each other, seeming shocked by their nation's sudden and unexpected regime change. I began making my way towards Erika. As I approached the Palace's courtyard, two men in samurai armor stopped me.

"No one's allowed past this point. Get back in the crowd ya bum."

*snap* *snap*

I snapped my fingers and both guards began to stumble around disoriented, which I used as an opportunity to walk past them. To be honest that was a complete shot in the dark. I wasn't sure if Erika was going to have enough mana for me to cast that vertigo spell. As I approached Erika, a group of guards instantly stopped me with their weapons drawn.

"Stop right there!" One of them said.

The girl in the white yukata instantly took notice and began commanding the guards.

"Please escort this homeless man out of here." She said calmly.

Erika quickly spoke up,

"Wait, Shiina, that's not a homeless man, that's my mentor, Mr. Arno!"

"This man that's covered in grime and smells like garbage is your mentor?" Shiina responded.

"Well, he's not normally covered in garbage, but yes."

"What the heck is going on, girl?" I said.

"We're putting on a pl-."

Shiina Spoke over her.

"Erika here has just been made the Shogun. She's now this country's supreme leader."

"How exactly did you manage to defeat the Shogun?" I asked.

The former Shogun, Takashi, chimed in,

"In one perfectly timed slash, this girl managed to disarm me. I didn't even have a chance to swing my sword. You must be quite the mentor Arno-san."

"Hmmm, it's interesting that one of the most powerful men in this kingdom would go down so easily." I pressed.

He laughed nervously.

"I guess my old age finally caught up to me... well I guess I should get going. I'll be heading to Southan to begin my exile."

Without letting me get in another word, he hastily made his way to a carriage that just so happened to be conveniently loaded with his belongings... It was a little too convenient. And with that, the carriage sped off.

The crowd was still in a bit of commotion.

"That was a fantastic 'performance'. I think you'll make an excellent 'Shogun', Erika-sama." Shiina said.

"Wait a second here. Are you saying because Mr. Takashi is retiring, I get to permanently take his role as shogun?" Erika asked.

"Of course, you earned it."

As Shiina spoke, she had an insincereness in her voice. Unlike my apprentice, I wasn't stupid, I could tell exactly what she was doing.

"Don't buy into this nonsense, girl! You don't honestly believe that you're an actress, do you?" I said.

Erika got a confused look on her face.

"What are you saying, Mr. Arno? That’s kind of mean, I think I'm actually a pretty good actress... you're not jealous are you?"

I shook my head.

"Why would I be jealous? This is all obviously not an act. You actually just were made the shogun. That girl in the white yukata is obviously using you."

"This just proves it. My acting is so good, you think this is all real!" Erika densely respond.

"..."

I was at a loss for words. She actually believed she was an actress.

Erika sighed,

"Listen Mr. Arno, I just don't think this mentor apprentice thing we have going is working out. I have an opportunity here to become a famous actress... I'm sorry, but our priorities are completely different. I think maybe this is where we should part ways."

Suddenly two guards grabbed me and restrained my hands behind my back. If I hadn't drained Erika's mana with that spell from earlier, I might have been able to fight them off.

"And what about your dream of becoming a sorceress? Are you giving up on that?" I asked.

"I can still do both. There’s nothing that says I can't be an actress and a sorceress... I just will have to find a new instructor. It's nothing personal Mr. Arno, it's just show business."

The guards began to forcefully drag me away from the palace grounds. As they pulled me away I could see Erika had a slightly conflicted look on her face, but that Shiina girl muttered something in her ear and Erika turned away from me. Shiina just shot me a smug grin as I was escorted off the palace grounds.

The guards escorted me into an alley far from the palace. The two looked at each other and grinned.

*bump*

"Don't come back!" The one said as they proceeded to shove me in a dumpster.

For the second time that night, I was laying in a pile of trash. At that moment I felt something that I hadn't felt since I was alive... that was the feeling of betrayal.