In the other pool, Charles was experiencing pretty much the same as Maxine. He was enjoying the warm water and couldn't help but feel relaxed. After being stuck out in the rain earlier, having a warm bath like this was just what he needed. Although he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

As he had expected, he wasn't the only one enjoying the bathing pool as there were other men inside as well. Most of them kept to themselves and were simply bathing but there were a couple who had noticed him enter the pool. They had found it odd that a man such as Charles would come and bathe by himself, plus his darker skin tone did make him seem more unusual around this part of the world.

For now, Charles was left to himself as he continued to bathe himself, not just that but he also went to sit down onto the bottom of the pool. His head was just above the water line and he was glad that he wasn't any shorter than he was. He could see the steam from the water rising up and it made him feel a warm feeling inside.

He couldn't help but imagine that he was in a hot spring set in mountainous terrain with snow and cold winds blowing around him. He had read about such places in books and wouldn't mind going to visit them himself. Unfortunately, they were all a very long distance away from Angleland. Although this country did have some mountains, none of them had hot springs and thus for now the experience was limited to his imagination.

"Hey you!" stated a voice. At first Charles simply ignored it as he didn't think that they were speaking to him. He was sure that they were referring to someone else as there were many other people in the pool. "The bloke with the black hair." Charles turned his head and saw a couple of men sitting near the edge of the pool. They were looking directly at him and he realised that they were speaking to him. "Come over here, we wanna ask you something important."

The man who was calling him had a long red beard and a bald head. He was very largely built and even though he was sitting down, Charles could tell that he was a very tall man, maybe a foot taller than himself. The man who was sitting next to him was a large man himself. His thick beard was black and he had a full head of hair. Like the other man, he had a large build but looked to be slightly shorter than his companion.

"Y-Yeah what is it?" asked Charles. He had moved towards them and he had made sure that his private parts were below the waterline as he didn't really want to expose himself in front of them.

"You here for the qualifiers?" replied the Red Bearded Man. His voice was quite gruff but also welcoming. If he wanted to, he could likely beat Charles to within an inch of his life if he so pleased.

"Yeah."

"I take it that you're a spectator because no offense, I can't see someone like you entering with a reasonable expectation of victory." He was still smiling at him and it did make him feel easier.

"I-I'm actually here as a squire. The person I've been squiring for is going to be entering the tournament. I'll just be there to help her out."

"What was that last part again?" replied the Black-haired man.

"I'm helping her out." He then realised what they had noticed and he was sure that he was going to get ridiculed in a few moments.

"You're a squire for a woman?"

"Y-Yeah I am." Suddenly both men began to laugh loudly while Charles simply remained where he was and watched. There wasn't doing anything that could offend the men as this was the last thing he wanted to do. Without Maxine's protection, he was in a place where he was vulnerable.

Before Charles could say another word, he heard both of the men laughing their heads off. To them it had been like hearing the world's funniest joke as they couldn't get over what they had just heard. Charles himself just remained where he was and didn't really react to it as he didn't want to do something that led to a direct confrontation.

The laughter lasted for around a minute and seemed to be dying down for a moment, only for it to pick up once again. All through this time, Charles couldn't help but feel embarrassed by this, he knew that they wouldn't be laughing if Maxine was there but right now, he was on his own and had to fend for himself.

"Oh, I haven't had a good laugh like that in a very long time," said the Red Bearded Man. By then the laughter had become nothing more than a chuckle as they had gotten it mostly out of their system.

"To think a woman entering the tournament," replied the Black-Haired Man. "I thought that I'd heard of everything but I guess I was wrong."

"And she has him for a squire, I don't know what's more unbelievable."

"If you're quite done, I think I'll be on my way," replied Charles who simply wanted to get away and enjoy the rest of his bath although he wasn't sure if that was going to be a possibility now.

"Hey wait one moment, we just want to know. This woman that you're squiring for is she hot? Is she someone that I could easily mount?"

"I doubt it, now I bid you good day."

Charles went to move away but felt a large hand come down onto his shoulder. This caused him to stop where he was and he was almost too afraid to turn around. Instead he turned back around and could see the Black-Haired Man standing there. He had stood up and moved towards him which meant that Charles could now see a part of him that he preferred not to see.

"Hey there now," said the Black-Haired Man with a smile on her face. Charles could see some of his teeth, they were mostly yellow and those were the ones that he had. There was a fair amount that were missing. "We still haven't asked you the important question yet, we were going to ask you about taking a bet but instead we have a better idea. Both my friend and I are entering the tournament and if we happen to go up against your lady friend. Well, how about this, she takes a dive for us and we'll make sure that she gets properly compensated since that's the name of the game, money."

"I-I don't think you can give her what she wants," replied Charles. He knew that more than anything that Maxine wanted a knighthood and no amount of bribery could prevent her from trying to achieve this goal.

"I'm sure that I can." From his mannerisms and tone, Charles could tell exactly what he was talking about. It made him feel uncomfortable and he was sure that Maxine would be none too pleased if she could hear him now. It would have been likely that he'd lose the rest of his teeth.

"I-I'll ask her for you when I see her next."

"Oh good, if she wants to make a deal, then meet us just outside of the registration office at around four today. Maybe if she's looking for a good time as well, we can accommodate that as well."

"I-I'll let her know."

With that Charles was able to move away as it seemed like the men had said what they had wanted. He did intend to tell Maxine about them, but it was greatly unlikely that she would take them up on their offer. Although a price hadn't been set, he knew that even if they promised her a castle, she would still turn them down. Her goal was too important to her to give away for such a thing.

In the other pool, Maxine was still enjoying the warm water and the relaxing feeling that it gave her. A part of her just wanted to bathe in there forever, however she knew that she simply couldn't do that. Instead she knew that if she wanted to earn her knighthood that she couldn't indulge in such pleasurable things.

Instead she slowly rose out of the water and began to make her way towards the exit. Once she stood up, she could hear the whispers of some of the other women inside of the bathhouse. These were the ones who hadn't noticed her before and now they were taken by surprise.

A couple of them were thinking of complaining since due to her muscles they thought that she was a man. However, when they saw her breasts and the fact that she lacked a penis, they soon realised that she was a woman. None of them knew how a woman could get as large as her and none of them dared to confront her. They feared that she would tear them in half if they said the wrong thing to her.

Either way, Maxine simply ignored them and made her way into the changing rooms. It took her longer than she would have liked to dry herself off as the towels available were simply too small for someone of her stature. This was something that she found very annoying but she carried on regardless as there was nothing else, she could do in this situation.

Once she had finished, she stepped out of the changing rooms and simply waited for Charles to return. The wait was around fifteen minutes before her squire stepped out from the changing rooms. He was mostly quiet and he was glad that he had gotten away from the situation previously without getting hurt.

Now that he could see Maxine again, his fears were set aside and he smiled up to her. He would have loved nothing more than happy to have run up to her and hugged her. But he stopped himself from doing so as he thought that she might find it embarrassing. Plus, they were in a public place so he didn't want to do such a thing.

"Hello Charles," said Maxine as she watched him approach her. "Did you have a nice bath?" There was a warmness to her voice that he wasn't used to and he quickly nodded to her.

"Y-Yes I did," replied Charles. "But there's something that I need to discuss with you, somewhere more private."

"Very well." She could see that he was somewhat worried about it and thus thought that she should take notice of what he said.

A couple of minutes later the pair found themselves just outside of the bathhouse in a sheltered spot as it was still raining heavily. There Charles told Maxine about what had taken place in the bathhouse and the two men who wanted to make her an offer. He also told them how they had laughed about the fact that he was squiring for a woman. This was something that she found very annoying and she wished that she had been there to put them in their place.

However, she thought that if they were indeed entering the tournament that her opportunity to face them would come. Even though she hadn't been present, she felt that her honour had been tarnished and that Charles had gone through an embarrassing event that was simply unjust.

Now that they had bathed, both of them made their way towards the registration office for the tournament. Both kept their eye on the time as four o'clock was when the two men wanted to meet up with Maxine to try and make a deal. Since they had not seen her in the flesh or even realised who she was, it was unlikely that they even realised just how big and powerful she was.

The search took slightly longer than they would have liked as they needed to stop for directions in order to find what they were looking for. It was a relatively small building and thankfully there was no one queuing outside of it so it was only a matter of going inside and doing what needed to be done.

For a moment, Maxine didn't know whether they were in the right place but Charles was able to read a sign that was close by. This was the clear indication to him that they were indeed in the right place. There they could see someone sitting behind a desk with a couple of other people standing close by as security.

Neither Maxine nor Charles intended to cause any trouble as they began to go through the process of signing her to the tournament. There were a few minutes of confusion as the Register began to look through some of the paperwork and small print as he wasn't sure whether a woman could enter the tournament. There had been an age restriction but this wasn't a problem for her as she was beyond the youngest allowed age.

Once it was determined that her gender couldn't prevent her from signing up, they went through the process of filling out the paperwork and paying the entry fee. Unfortunately, it was a little more money than Maxine was hoping to pay. She could afford it, but it also meant that she wouldn't be able to visit the brothel. This would have been something that she could have done if she hadn't been alongside Charles but casting him off so that she could have some intimate time with a sex worker never crossed her mind. Not only did she see him as her friend but she also could see how valuable he was to her.

When it came to Charles there was further confusion but thankfully it only lasted for a moment. Since he too was armed with a sword the Register assumed that he too was signing into the tournament. He soon realised that Charles was there as a squire and thus he was allowed to sign in under Maxine. Each competitor was allowed to have a squire or some kind of helper sign in alongside them, but they were not allowed to compete. This was something that wasn't a problem as he didn't have any desire to compete.

Once everything was in order both of them made their way out of the building as the qualifiers didn't begin until the following day. This gave them a little opportunity to go around and enjoy some of the scenery of Lake Town. Maxine remembered her parents telling them about when they had arrived here, it had been near the start of their quest and there had been a couple of incidences.

One included Sir Tucker getting into a heated disagreement with another man and leading to a duel in the street. It would have likely ended with someone getting at least a cut, but Jessica had stepped in and took her future husband away. It had led to a disagreement between them later on and a story to tell their children.

Suddenly, Charles realised that it was getting close to four o'clock and he remembered that he was supposed to meet the two men that he had met in the bathhouse. Maxine knew all about it and already they had thought of a plan. She had been informed about what they had said and she was far from impressed.

At around the right time and place, Charles found himself standing there and waiting for the men to arrive. Maxine was also present but she had hidden herself out of sight, this was no easy feat for a woman of her size but she had been able to find the right hiding spot. For now, she was completely out of sight.

For the next few minutes, they simply waited. There was a short time that Charles thought that the pair would not turn up. However, just as he was going to say that they weren't coming, he saw them approaching. Both of them looked very large and bulky as they were glad in armour. The only part of their skin that he could see was their heads as the rest was completely covered up with armour.

They both seemed quite happy to see him as like him, they thought that he wouldn't turn up. They were somewhat surprised to see that he was alone as they had assumed that Maxine would arrive shortly. Charles was still nervous but he kept his composure and waited to hear what they were about to say.

"Oh, you're actually here," said the Red Bearded Man. "Looks like I owe him a drink." He pointed towards his friend while he said this before focusing back on Charles. There was a smile on his face as he thought that they were both in charge of the situation. "Since your lady friend is entering the tournament, we can pay her a little money in order to ensure that we progress. If she were to face either of us, she can take a dive so to speak and then we can compensate her financially. If she wants, maybe we can compensate her in a different way as well." It didn't need much for Charles to realise what he was talking about and he knew that Maxine could hear them.

"Where is she anyway?" replied the Black-Haired Man. He began to look around a little in the hopes of seeing the woman who Charles was squiring for. However, neither of them bothered to turn around and look behind them.

"She's behind you," answered Charles as he pointed behind them.

The two men turned around and saw what they had hoped would be a stunning woman. However, when they did turn around, the first thing that they saw was the armour-clad chest of Maxine. Slowly they began to crane their head up until the could see the face of the giantess. Neither of them could have guessed that she was so large and when they looked at her expression, they could see that she was far from pleased. Both of them were around six and a half feet tall, but they felt very small in comparison to her.

"Are you suggesting that I take a fall so that you can win these qualifiers easily?" asked Maxine in an annoyed tone. She wanted to hammer in the fear to them and it seemed like she was successful. "You truly are pathetic if you have to resort to such tactics to ensure victory. What kind of men are you?"

Neither of them could really answer this as they were both in awe and fear of her. Never had they seen a person so large in their entire lives and since they were used to being the larger people in a situation. This was a major change for them as they hadn't felt this small since they were children.

"I heard about what you said the bathhouse," stated Maxine as she continued on with what she was saying. "Not only do you insult me but you also embarrass my squire! Do you have something to say to him?" Slowly both of the men turned around and apologised to Charles for what they had said earlier and laughing at him. He in turn was amazed to see this taking place, he was just glad that Maxine was on his side. "Normally I would show you just how unhappy I am but today is your lucky day. Since we're all competitors in the qualifiers, that means I'd be disqualified if I were to attack you here and now. So, because of that, I'm letting you go unharmed."

"T-That sounds good to me," replied the Red Bearded Man who was more than worried about the situation. He was glad to hear that she was going to let them go. On more than one occasion he had thought that she was some kind of performer on stilts and that the armour made her looks so large. But when he saw the manner of how she moved and simply how big her head was, he realised that she was indeed that large.

"Oh, and one more thing before you leave." She smiled for a moment before her expression turned into a glare. "You better pray that we don't meet in the tournament or else I would gladly crush your skulls in my hand. Do I make myself clear?" Both men took a nervous gulp before nodding to her. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind. Hope that you don't see me again."

"R-Right ma'am," replied both of the men before they both began to move away from Charles and Maxine.

Although they were panicking, they didn't run completely as they wanted to save some face. Instead their movement was more like a powered walk and Maxine watched them with every step that she took. Once they were out of sight she looked over to Charles and her expression changed. Rather than glaring she did look somewhat concerned as she stepped closer to him and showed some concern.

"Are you alright Charles?" asked Maxine as she showed genuine concern for him. She watched as he nodded to her.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine," replied Charles with a small smile on her face. "To tell you the truth, I'm surprised that you didn't just punch them. That is your normal route when somebody insults you."

"As I said, if I did that then I would be disqualified. Plus, punching people isn't the solution to every problem. Just the majority of them."

Charles looked up to her with some surprise as he thought that Maxine was showing more maturity than she had before. In a way, he had almost forgotten that she was actually quite young. With her personality and the way that she presented herself, it made her seem older than she actually was.

It took a moment a for him to remember that she wasn't even twenty years old yet. If he were to guess, he would have thought that she was getting close to thirty thanks to her appearance and demeanour. One thing that he was glad about was the fact that she wanted to keep him safe.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Charles. "The qualifiers aren't until tomorrow and there aren't any other errands that we can do. You could possibly find a quick job if you want but I've been thinking that it is best not to do that right now. You don't want to be fatigued before tomorrow and any kind of injury could be a problem."

"Hmm that's true," replied Maxine. Although she was practically convinced that such a thing was of little concern, she still gave it thought. If she were to injury her leg, it would make her even less manoeuvrable. Such a thing would make even the most minor of threats a serious issue. "Let's find an inn and rent a room. I need to rest up so that I'm ready for tomorrow."

"As you wish. I think the one that we visited earlier was full so that one won't be an option."

"Don't worry, there are plenty more inns around Lake Town. We'll find another one and while we're there I need you to promise something to me."

"And what would that be?" He was curious but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel worried as well.

"If you think I'm indulging too much later, put a stop to it. Even if I threaten to snap your neck, you'll still do what I've asked. Can you do that for me?"

"I-I can do." He didn't like to hear being threatened to have his neck broken but he knew that she wouldn't harm him. Such a threat towards him would be an empty one but there was also the promise that she had made to her mother.

With that, they began to look through the town in order to try and find a room for the night. However, this was a task that was more difficult than they had expected as each one they visited were filled to capacity. It began to get on Maxine's nerves as normally there wouldn't be much of an issue finding a room. But the fact that the qualifiers were taking place, there were some people who were coming to town in order to watch it.

Because of this, it seemed like almost every inn in Lake Town. They found themselves still searching as darkness began to fall. The temperature was dropping and there was the treat of rain once again. After what they had experienced earlier that day, being caught in another downpour was something that they didn't want again.

It seemed like they were travelling in circles as quite often, they would walk near inns that they had visited before and discovered that they were full. It looked as though they would have to sleep outside for the night. This was a far from wise choice given the circumstances but as time seemed to go by, there wasn't much of a choice.

Eventually, both Maxine and Charles found themselves standing outside of an inn that was right on the edge of the town limits. The temperature was dropping and there were some rumbles in the sky as they feared that it would rain at any moment. Without much hesitation they made their way inside and the first thing they saw was a tavern filled with patrons who were having a drink.

This made them feel like their chances of finding a room was minimal. If even half of the people inside of the tavern had rented a room, there would be no chance that the large woman and below average size man would find the accommodation that they needed. However, despite this, Maxine still stepped towards the counter of the tavern and she could see the innkeeper who was standing on the other side.

The first thing that she noticed was that the Innkeeper was a woman which was unusual in this profession but not unheard of. Plus, she was a fairly tall woman in her own right as she was around as tall as an average man. This still made her seem very small in comparison to Maxine but right now that wasn't important. Instead it was finding a room for the night and getting sufficient rest.

Even so, the Innkeeper couldn't help but feel intimidated as the giant woman loomed over her. From the expression on Maxine's face, it was obvious that she wasn't in any kind of mood to joke around. But before she could speak there was a flash of light that filled the inn for a moment before there was a loud rumbling sound a few seconds later. This only seemed to add to the intimidation of Maxine, even though for the time being, all she had done was stand there and look at the Innkeeper.