https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5562hc/62/
Stage Two Examination
The first round of judging had come to an end, and I managed to secure 30th place. The details of round two would be given out, but there was a short intermission first.
When the break set in, the group of thirty who passed mixed together with the twenty-one who didn’t, and the round of hugs and goodbyes began.
Dahlia is the only person I know who dropped out, but depending on the person, their friends or roommates might be leaving.
Even though I didn’t know what I was going to say, I wandered over to where Dahlia was. I found her chatting with some of the other commoners.
When she noticed me coming, she smiled and came to me by herself.
“Congratulations Liffy. I said I’d hold no grudges, and I meant it.”
Dahlia really meant it. Her tone was caring, and she brought me into a gentle hug. The perfume is a little strong on her, but I’ve long gotten used to smelling it.
“Dahlia-san…. thank you for everything.”
“Good. If you had apologized to me instead, I would’ve called everyone over here to beat you up.”
“That’s, not a very funny joke.”
“Oh, sorry about that.”
“Is that an apology? I guess I need to have everyone come over here and have them beat you up instead.”
“Oh ho, scary”
Dahlia laughed out loud and slowly separated from our hug. This person is an ordinary teammate. A nasty person who’s screwed with me. That’s how I’ve always wanted to see her. That way, it wouldn’t be hard when we had to say goodbye.
But I’ve learned things. She has a child. One she is trying to raise by herself, and in order to survive on her own, she’s able to do things like fix shelves. I know that side of Dahlia, so even though I hate her, I can’t hate her.
Did you have fun bullying me on your own? Well look at where you are now. How easy would things be if I could just say that to her and walk back on stage?
The three of us with Melia continued to do requests together all through the first screening. Melia and I were completely unfamiliar with the capital though, so we relied on Melia a lot to get around. I feel like we actually became friends during that time together.
I will never forgive this person. But, that’s not the only emotion swirling together in my heart, and it’s making my head a mess.
I couldn’t figure out why I came over here or what I wanted to accomplish, so the tears naturally started to fall.
“Liffy….”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cry….”
“The royal capital is my home. If you ever want to get some revenge or ever feel lonely, come visit me.”
It’s like she can see into my heart. Whether I hated her or was feeling lonely, she was willing to accept either option as she brought me in for another hug.
“This might just be me being nosy, but as an adult with more life experience, you’re going to struggle in the future if you show off how close you are.”
Dahlia subtly brushed her hand against the pair of matching earrings I shared with Lily. Both of us are hiding them behind our hair, so it shouldn’t be obvious to anyone. I guess there are some people who just have a keen eye though.
Dahlia didn’t seem to care about my concern at all though because she was too busy talking about how ‘cute’ the earrings were. It’s possible she’s just trying to tease me for my relationship with Lily.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Oh ho ho. Even the tone you use is starting to sound like that young lady. I like how you talked before better.”
I imitated Lily’s tone to probe for answers, but Dahlia simply laughed me off. She made her way to the exit, leaving behind nothing but the faint scent of her perfume.
“Lily-chan! Huh? Has Dahlia-san already left?”
While I finished seeing Dahlia off, Melia hugged me from behind.
“Yeah. We just finished talking.”
“I see. We weren’t very close, but it’s lonely seeing her go.”
Melia’s unexpectedly sharp comment caught me off guard. My eyes opened wide, but she didn’t seem to mind it at all. Her head tilted slightly to the side, and her gaze turned upwards. It was frightening in its own way.
“I-…. It is lonely isn’t it.”
“Mm. That’s natural. But we can’t worry about it for too long. The next round is about to start.”
Rather than being cold, maybe it’s better to say Melia’s being realistic? I guess that makes me the naive one.
The fact that the second examination is going to start means we’re going to have to compete to see who is going to drop out again. I managed to survive, but it was as 30th out of 30. I’m still in last place.
♠
After the intermission and farewell party had come to an end, the thirty survivors retook our seats, and Heath began speaking over the loudspeaker.
“I will now explain the second screening, but before that, a clarification about the voting. At this point, all votes cast in the first round will be reset. In other words, no votes you may have received so far will carry over. Only future votes cast will be tallied, and the top 16 will move on to the third round.”
That’s a major blessing for someone like me. Everyone here will have to start from zero, shortening the gap between me and them. Of course, everyone is going to have their support bases that carried them this far, but this means I can still break through by taking votes from the people who have already had to drop out. The way I think has stayed the same. It’s just now my goal is the top 16 instead of the top 30.
“As with the first examination, bonus votes will be given to those with a high level of achievement in their tasks, so please work your hardest to complete them…. and now, it is time to announce what that task will be. Monster subjugation. Points will be calculated based on how long it takes you to complete the subjugation and the strength of the monster being faced. Each team will be ranked based off these points, and bonus votes will be awarded to the team with the fastest time.”
The reactions of the different hero candidates were varied. Some had already completed monster subjugations as part of their requests from the first examination, but others had no real combat experience at all. I am part of the latter group. In addition, it’s most likely I won’t play an active part in whatever subjugation I end up taking.
“We will decide on each team’s opponent after teams have been formed, but rest assured, the monsters we have prepared monsters more powerful than those encountered during the first screening.”
Everyone there had an expression that said, “You really didn’t need to put in the effort.”
But I get why you’d want something like this. The first and second group of heroes were mostly chosen based off appearance, so we have a situation where our all-important heroes can’t necessarily participate in any battles. It’s caused a growing number of people to say the whole hero competition is an unnecessary waste of time.
The organizers probably want to make sure the heroes have at least some level of battle ability to fend off that criticism.
“Lily-chan…. monsters? Scary.”
Although we were sitting a little further apart because of the order change, Melia still leaned back in her chair so she could whisper to me.
“Yeah. I’ve never fought with a weapon before either.”
“Well, we’ll be in a hodgepodge team again, so we might have to stand out some other way.”
Melia was only half right saying that. As long as a team has a mage, they won’t need a dancer. Melia is a healer though, so there will be plenty of chances for her to stand out. She could easily carve out a place for herself and leave me behind as dead weight.
“This time around we will form six teams of five. As was with the first selection, members will be selected starting with the top rank. Please note though that this time around, the right to choose your opponent will go in the reverse order–with the team holding the lowest ranked contestant gaining the right to choose first.”
“So in other words, I’m in thirtieth place, and whatever team I end up with will get to choose whatever monster they want?”
I didn’t quite get what Heath was saying, so I tried sounding it out to the person sitting next to me.
“I think that interpretation is fine. They may be trying to shine a light on those of us who are lower ranked. I am grateful.”
My neighbor left me convinced. Heath, or someone up in management, probably wanted to improve the situation where those at the very top continued to garner all the popularity while those further down never see the light of day. It’s one more stroke of luck for me.
The first place Nerine immediately began forming her team. It looks like she never considered the possibility of having to choose who she’d team up with, so she was incredibly nervous.
“Lily-san. Peony-san. Um…. Ran-san. And Liffy-san.”
My name was called. Nerine made a choice based off the rules read to us. While collecting a team she could use to fight monsters, she also secured the right for first choice in the competition.
I quickly moved up to where Nerine and the other girls had already gathered.
“Sweet! We’re together this time!”
Ran waved her hand at me in that same, friendly attitude she always has. It’s like she’s completely moved past the incident between us at Don’s place.
“It would’ve been better to settle for a low ranking mage rather than Liffy.”
Peony was a little annoyed to see me here. But I can’t hold it against her when she’s technically correct. They would have an easier time if there were more mages. Lily and Ran are good enough as the vanguard, so there are no issues on that front.
“We do not know what kind of monsters we may be forced to fight, so it is important to have more options available to us. If it is a mage we need, Nerine will manage.”
Lily subtly backed me up. I still vividly remember the fancy magic Nerine used to blow up that scarecrow the first day of the competition. I don’t want to be the type to leave everything to someone else, but she could easily take on most monsters by herself.
“Oh…. actually, I can’t use magic.”
Nerine laughed by herself at the shocking confession, completely ignorant of the despair-filled looks we were giving her.
Experimental Translations 