[Third Person POV]
Erza was familiar with the type of person Bekk Oris was.
As an S-class mage, she was one of the more experienced guild members when it came to nobility. Mostly because the others, like Natsu, would cause more problems for the guild, so Makarov tended to hide the quests for the more reliable guild members.
He didn't take all of them down since some quests weren't clearly associated with a noble, such as the quest with Duke Everlue. Others he just felt weren't so difficult as to need to worry, though Makarov was often proven wrong.
That's why Makarov hid those he knew were clearly associated with 'important' nobility. If they had a good reputation, Makarov would usually try to give a good impression by sending Fairy Tail's best; otherwise, he just couldn't be bothered.
On many missions involving nobles, Erza had seen many of them with large egos and little skill. It honestly baffled her at times why they had nobility when they had no magic, administrative skills, business instinct, or even basic kindness. She knew it was their ancestors' abilities that had gotten them there, yet somehow they didn't, preferring to think the world had given it to them for being born.
Bekk Oris was similar. Though Riser had told her he was a reincarnated devil, meaning he had to work his way up, it was clear that effort didn't humble him in the slightest. If anything, it reinforced that arrogance.
Still, despite her displeasure towards Bekk, Erza knew she had to handle this tactfully. If she was going to be Riser's knight, she didn't want to make him look incompetent by rushing into anything.
Eventually, Erza looked to Riser, who proposed a deal to Bekk Oris. Erza would fight Bekk Oris in the Ashkarion Arena, a place where Riser's first brother, Ruval, had honed his peerage before entering the Rating Games.
If Bekk Oris were to win, then he would be allowed to recruit Erza to his peerage. Should Erza win, however, then Bekk would have to trade one of his available pieces to her (read: give up the piece).
Though rare, it wasn't unheard of for a peerage bet to occur when only one party had them.
Despite how ridiculous it sounded, it did happen, and there were rules for such a deal to be accepted.
First, both sides must have similar strength.
Second, neither side could be forced/pressured/coerced into accepting.
Third, only one piece could be lost at a time.
In the end, it was like the Davy Back fights in One Piece, but much stricter. The rules were made to prevent someone from taking all the pieces from weaker peerages. With the peerage system designed to strengthen the devil race, competition like this was allowed but heavily regulated so no one could abuse it for their own means.
Let it be known, in the face of lust, people could become very stupid, willing to give up a priceless artifact for a nice pair of tits.
Riser wasn't complaining, though.
The only theoretical downside was that Erza would claim the piece, but that would be fine with him. She would probably ask his opinion on which piece to take and potential servants, regardless.
The three quickly headed for the arena.
When they got there, Riser took a second to look at the towering building. It reminded him of the sports domes he'd seen on TV, but much fancier. Like a high-tech Roman Colosseum decorated like the Palace of Versailles.
Dozens of people were going in and out of the building at any given moment. Devils were a species that revered strength and lacked entertainment.
After all, Issei somehow became a TV star that kids aspired to be, even though he had only been a devil for around a year by then, and the title of Red Dragon Emperor only got him so far since it was eventually degraded to Boob Dragon Emperor, forever staining Ddraig's prestige.
Riser, who had texted his mother about the situation, was greeted by the arena manager, who quickly ensured Erza and Bekk's deal was broadcast and arranged for the match to take place after the current one.
Bekk was completely oblivious, assuming the manager wished to curry favor with him. When the manager brought out the contract for the duel, Bekk gave it a once-over to check for any funny business and signed.
Erza and Riser separated from there, with Erza going to the waiting room and Riser to the stands.
Riser took his seat in the stands behind the door Erza would enter from.
Though he could easily get a VIP seat, he wanted to be closer to the action to cheer for his knight. After all, everyone knows motivation from friends and family is better when you can see it.
Erza's fight was moved to after the current match at the manager's behest, knowing it would help the future peerage member of one of Lord Phenex's children. Though slightly put off by Erza being human, since Lady Phenex was endorsing her, Erza was basically guaranteed to become a devil.
The current match was between two longtime fighters of the arena, Zair Ash and Hork Tannel, both mid-class devils. Both were talented devils reincarnated into the peerage and had been fighting weekly for the past three years to raise their strength to high-class for a chance at promotion in the future.
Erza watched their fight on the TV in the waiting room, imagining herself fighting either combatant. She would win, but both would put up a good fight, probably about as good as Natsu, and despite how much of an insult it sounds like, it wasn't.
Natsu was a difficult opponent for most people, and unless the opponent was overwhelmingly strong by comparison, like herself, he usually had a good chance at winning.
Eventually, the match ended when Zair restrained Hork with ice chains and punched him in the temple.
The medical team escorted the two off, while Erza made sure she was presentable before heading to the gate. Walking past a stretcher carrying the unconscious Hork, Erza finally entered the arena, ready to kick Bekk's ass.
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Author's Note:
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!