https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5562hc/61/
Announcement of Results
The exhaustion from the blindfold teasing was too much for me to bear, but Lily forced me awake so that we could lay down together at the top of the tower.
I’m sleepy, but I don’t want to close my eyes. The late-night starry sky stretched out before my eyes was so bright there was almost no difference from the view back in the village.
“Amazing. You could never see something like this back at the dorm.”
“Isn’t it? I am glad you are happy.”
I heard Lily’s voice coming from right next to me. The ‘fun’ has come to an end, and her soft and gentle tone showed this was a time spent between friends.
I turned my face over to look at her from the side. Lily was looking up towards the sky with a girl-like curiosity that couldn’t be hidden. A faint smile had naturally grown on her.
“Can we hold hands?”
Without an answer, Lily took my hand and wrapped her fingers around mine. I was puzzled since I wasn’t expecting her to actually answer like that, but I wasn’t going to question it. I tightened my grip, refusing to let her hand go.
“Liffy, I am sure you understand, but I have no special feelings over ‘this’. I am still not serious.”
As she spoke, Lily bent her wrist a couple of times to show the ‘this’ was referring to us holding hands. And I know that. I’ve already come to terms with my dissatisfaction over the agreement made. I still feel that way, even if I’m reminded of it now.
“Yes, I know”
“Mm. Then it’s fine.”
“Does that mean you plan on getting serious in the future?”
“Well…. if I said you had no chance at all, I am afraid you would throw yourself from the tower.”
With that, Lily fell silent and turned towards the sky again. I’m reluctant to look away too, but if I keep staring at her, she’s going to get mad.
It’s funny though. I can say for sure that Lily is the type of person who’d be dangerous if she actually fell in love with someone. I don’t know if I can take her that far, but I’m looking forward to trying.
If I could find a shooting star, it would give us something to talk about, but life isn’t that convenient. Right when I was thinking I would drift off into sleep again, Lily finally said something.
“Have you ever noticed? The arrangement of the stars you see tonight differs from what you would see in the middle of winter.”
“No…. I haven’t. I’ve never really cared how they all line up. I just think they’re pretty to look at.”
“What this means is that even if you cannot see, the stars you think are stationary are actually moving little by little.”
“Haa…. right.”
Lily’s telling another seemingly pointless story. I can never guess what it is she’s getting at when she does this, so I just nodded my head and tried giving a safe, satisfactory answer.
“It is the same as us. We are moving, slowly but surely. You must survive so that the night will not come to an end.”
“Eh…. ah…. what’s that supposed to mean?”
When I turned my head towards Lily to get her to explain what I couldn’t understand, I found her with her head buried in her arms. Her neck and ears were a bright red even though she hasn’t had anything to drink. What’s she so embarrassed about?
“I will explain what I mean to you after the first screening. Do your best.”
I was pushed out into the cold again, so I looked up at the stars.
“I can’t do my best at this point. The voting’s done, so all I can do it pray that the results support me.”
“Hehehe…. I suppose so. Right now, where do you think I am?”
“Um…. my left?”
As soon as I answered, the starry sky turned a pitch black. It didn’t take me long to realize it was because Lily was hanging over me.
I couldn’t see her face because the light was behind her, but I could see her silhouette as she moved over and sat on top of me. A cold hand was placed on my face, and after a small, “Correct answer,” touched my ears, a short kiss came and touched my lips.
♠
“It’s about time Lily-chan!”
The memory of the happiest moment of my life was interrupted.
It wasn’t long after my date with Lily that it came time for the first screening’s results to be announced.
Currently, I was in the usual hall. The decorations hanging around the room are the same as that very first day with the ranking ceremony where my fate changed only this time, the chairs on stage only number from 1 to 30. Currently the two seats numbered one and two are empty, but chairs three through twenty-five have already been claimed by one of the contestants.
Although there was some mild shuffling here and there, the lineup for those at the very top are almost fixed which just shows how strong their base support really is.
First and second place won’t be announced until the very end. Yesterday’s newspaper went all over the excitement about whether Lily or Nerine would end up in the lead.
Meanwhile the remaining half of the total contestants are all praying that they will receive the handful of seats that still remain. I am one of those people of course.
“Thanks to Lily-chan, our team managed to get the most points out of all the teams, but our votes really haven’t gone up at all….”
Melia’s shoulders were drooping down in the seat next to me.
“Don’t give up just yet. We did what we could. With the bonus votes, we’ll definitely come out ahead. It doesn’t matter if we’re in the top ranks or not. Even coming in last means we’ve survived.”
Dahlia worked at encouraging Melia who had already half given up. I haven’t given up hope yet either. That little bit of resistance is all I can do though.
However, I don’t think there is a single person in this room who was playing around while we were running around the capital. Each of us did our best to accept requests and complete tasks for the sake of the people. It isn’t just our achievements that will have born fruit.
When the commotion after the announcement of the twenty-fifth place had calmed down, Heath once again opened his mouth.
“And now, to announce our current 26th place…. Melia Laeria!”
“Hooray! Lily-chan! Dahlia-san! It really was fine!”
Melia grabbed my and Dahlia’s hands and started jumping up and down. I’m happy, but this means there are only four chairs left. Even if it’s our team that ends up filling those seats, one of us is going to get left out.
“I’ll be waiting for you. Both of you. You definitely have to come.”
Melia hugged me and Dahlia together and whispered those words into our ears.
“She says it like it’s easy.”
“Well…. it’s something to be happy about. Melia should’ve been ranked even higher. She has a great personality, is cute, and her healing is amazing.”
“That’s true. It’s a competition where we’re supposed to be kicking each other down, but one smile from her, and it’s all over.”
Dahlia and I folded our arms as we watched Melia run up the stage. If the next person called is another person from our team, the odds of us surviving will jump up.
Sure enough, what came next lifted those expectations even further. Twenty-seventh place was one of the noble daughters from our team who had gone out to work in the suburbs.
We all contributed to this result of course. Still, it looks like you can’t ignore the contribution I managed to make by completing that Don request.
“Liffy-san. Thank you very much. To be honest, it has already been decided which guild I would be joining, so there is no point in me staying….but I suppose I could play around here for a while longer.”
Dahlia narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue as the noble left us there and ascended the stage.
“If that’s how you feel then just drop out. We’re desperate over here.”
“Well…. no need to get upset. Our names will be coming up right here.”
Despite my hopes, the next two names to be called were the other two nobles on our team.
Finally the only seats left open were the 1st, 2nd, and 30th place chairs. Dahlia and I are still here. So are Lily and Nerine.
Surprise, I’m in first place, and it is actually Lily or Nerine who fell below thirtieth. That’s the miracle playing in my head.
“Before we announce our 30th place contestant, we will announce our 1st and 2nd place simultaneously.”
Most of the people who haven’t been called yet are waiting with their last hopes placed on that 30th place seat. It’s just evil to play with our hearts and make us wait like this.
“Our current first place is…. Nerine Candy! And that makes Lily Ruhuna our new second place contestant!”
A roar ran through the venue. Lily Ruhuna is first place–in a way, that idea had become a commonly accepted fact here. The roar of the crowd proves that the results weren’t a uniform decision either.
I had to hide the frustration I felt for Lily and looked around to try and find her. Knowing her, she’d be walking up to the stage while holding Nerine’s hand and with a smile on her face.
But that was wrong. Lily left Nerine behind and carried on to the stage by herself. It was only when she reached the foot of the stage that Lily realized what she should have done and quickly returned to the seats to pick Nerine up.
I could tell by the way she walked that Lily was oozing frustration, but she did a good job of hiding it when she got on the stage itself. From there, she expressed her gratitude to her supporters, complimented Nerine, and swore she’d get her revenge in the next round with her usual serene expression. She then sat deeply down in the second place seat.
For her part Nerine looked dumbfounded, and after saying a few vague phrases, she sat down in the first place seat.
Even if it’s just the way they sit, it is obvious that Lily is more suitable to be the queen of this place. Still, public opinion is what it is, and there is nothing we can do about it.
“And now, it is time to make our final announcement.”
Heath’s voice brought my mind back to the matter at hand rather than the ups and downs of people ranked far higher than me.
No matter what happens here, either Dahlia or I are going to drop out. That is unless we both drop out.
Heath’s announcement is going to carry bad news no matter what. It made it hard to look forward to, so I turned my head down instead. Then, my hand suddenly felt warm. Dahlia’s hand had grabbed mine.
“Liffy, there are no grudges here. No matter what happens.”
That mouth, is the same mouth that insulted me and order her companions to assault me.
These warm hands, are the same ones that beat me and threw me out a window.
And yet, she’s also the same person who took charge and guided Melia and me as a teammate.
You can write off any kind of superficial relationship as just what it is, but when I’m treated like this, it reminds me of both the good times and the bad. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.
It was hard putting my feelings into words, so instead, I silently squeezed her hand back. Dahlia joked with me, “Not so tight,” but this is the best answer I could give her.
“Our thirtieth-place contestant is…. Liffy Ruhuna!”
My head shot up in surprise that my hopes had actually been fulfilled. The first thing I saw was Lily’s face. Our eyes met, and she gave me a happy wink.
Then the grip around my hand slowly let go.
“Congratulations Liffy. Now get up there.”
Dahlia sent me off with the kind of calm tone you would use with a child, and I started up towards the stage.
Experimental Translations 