https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5562hc/80/
Advance
The day for the unveiling of the second round’s results had finally come.
The number of chairs adorned with the different rankings which had started feeling like a tradition to me had also been reduced, and this time they were only numbered from one to sixteen. Meanwhile on this side, thirty people were lined up. Almost half of us would be leaving the dorm again.
I wasn’t able to gain the same response I did during the first round, and I don’t have the bonus votes to shore up my hopes.
My chair isn’t up there. I’ve accepted that reality, but the disappointment still had me staring at me feet rather than the stage.
Starting with first place, the announcement went underway without any regard to my personal feelings.
First place is Nerine, Lily at second, Peony in third, and Ran with fourth. Olive and Ren came in at fifth and sixth with the bonus votes they scored from the competition having bolstered their ranking.
One by one they made their way up to sixteenth, yet even as I repeated a small prayer in my mind, neither my nor Melia’s names were called. Lily eye’s looked like they were seeing something far past the rainbow. This will be goodbye.
“U-Um! I have something to announce!”
Once the sixteenth rank was called, and I was emotionally preparing myself to say my goodbyes, Nerine raised her voice from the top row.
Heath was obviously confused, but Nerine went at her own special pace and took the microphone from him.
“I’m sorry to say this all of the sudden. I, Nerine Candy, hereby resign from my position inside the audition. I would like to apologize to all those who supported me up to this point.”
Nerine bowed her head deeply. The energy inside the room exploded almost from the instant the word ‘resign’ left her lips.
The host Heath looked just as surprised as anyone else, but he was still holding back the other staff members who were trying to stop Nerine from saying anything else.
“I thought about this a lot before making this decision, and I have come to the conclusion that I wish to help people in a different way than a hero would be capable of. I promise to release more information soon! Please wait until then!”
She’s almost certainly thinking about how to use her magic tools right now. After saying that much, Nerine gave Lily a big hug with a beaming expression like a deep darkness had been lifted off of her, and she promptly left the stage.
“Ah…. um…. w-well then…. Due to Nerine-sama’s resignation, each contestant will move up one rank. Meanwhile Liffy Ruhuna, who had come in seventeenth place before this, will also be moving on to the final round of judging. Would each contestant move to their new seats.”
Heath stumbled over his words, but he was eventually able to cobble together a solution to move past this incident.
This is just a guess on my part, but I think Nerine must’ve told him about her decision before things came to this. If this was actually a surprise, she would’ve probably had to do more to keep him in check.
Since Heath was able to easily decide on just moving everyone up in the ranking without discussing things with anyone else first, it felt like he knew exactly what was going to happen and is only acting like he’s surprised. Heath sure has a lot of different talents.
“Liffy Ruhuna-sama. If you could please step forward.”
“Lily-chan! They’re calling you!”
Melia poked my back.
“Huh? Me?”
“Liffy Ruhuna. Please hurry.”
I was so busy thinking about Nerine I hadn’t noticed them calling my name.
I’m the seventeenth contestant, so I would be continuing to compete after all. I….don’t know how many miracles can happen for one person. If I’m in seventeenth place, that means I scored even more than Melia who also had the bonus votes from the competition added to her total. I’m happy sure, but when something this unlikely happens, I can’t help but feel like there’s someone behind it.
Before I start thinking about all that, I should take my blessings and take my chair. I moved up onto the stage before Heath actually got mad at me for real.
The second round came to a close with a speech from the current first place contestant, and while it was only because of a sudden dropout, that still means Lily is back on top.
♠
Similar to the aftermath of the first round, the group of people made to drop out mixed together with the group who would be moving on.
I knew where I should be going right away. Melia. We became friends on the very first day, and we’ve been together ever since. If it weren’t for her, I don’t think I could have ever emotionally gotten through all this.
As I was thinking about what I should actually say to her, I finally found Melia while she was in the middle of a hug with Peony.
“Lily-chan! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you!”
Even at this point, Melia didn’t show any sign of jealousy or other similar emotion. She never gave me a single feeling that she felt anything less than ecstatic that I had managed to make it through.
“Melia…. I’m going to be lonely.”
I didn’t mind the fact that Peony was still there and hugged them both.
“Me too. I thought we’d cheer for Peony together, but I guess I’ll have to cheer by myself now. Oh, who should I vote for though?”
“No need to worry about me. Liffy’s going to need it a lot more.”
Peony elbowed me in the side with a joke.
“You two need to get along. It’s okay to fight sometimes, but only as long as you always make up after.”
Melia started lecturing us both like she was our older sister.
“Yeah. I understand.”
“Then, I need to clean up my room before I leave. I should go. Lily-chan, I know it’s been a while since we were in the same room, but we have to have another sleepover sometime!”
“We definitely need to hang out again soon!”
Melia kissed Peony and me both on the cheek, and she exited the venue.
We saw her off, waving her away until she was finally out of sight and even after for a short time.
In terms of ability alone, Melia is definitely better than Peony. However there’s no denying that Peony is able to stand out so much more profoundly than her sister.
“So, what kind of magic trick did you use? For Onee-chan to drop out while you continue on….”
“I honestly have no idea.”
“Hmph…. well, the votes for all the people who were rooting for Nerine are going to be split up, so fourth place is going to be up for grabs for anyone who ends up wanting it. I can’t rest on my laurels either. Let’s do our best together.”
Peony shrugged her shoulders before making her way back to her second place seat.
♠
After a short break, the explanation for the final round began.
“The final round of judging will consist of a mock battle between four-person teams. The team with the most wins in the round robin will receive the bonus votes. Also, just as was the case with the second round, all votes cast will be reset and contestant will enter the final round with a completely blank slate. Voting will close after the task has been complete, and the top four contestants will be our third generation of heroes!”
Like Peony said, this final round is going to be hectic because of Nerine’s withdrawal.
And in that chaos, there is a small hope that I’ll be able to slip into fourth place.
“Then, we will begin team formations starting with our first place contestant, Lily Ruhuna-sama.”
Lily stepped in front and looked over each of the remaining sixteen contestants.
She closed her eyes and slowly called out her first choice’s name.
“Olive Elijah.”
The venue was abuzz. Until now, the first place contestant had mostly always made their team with the other most popular contestants. Olive is ranked high too, but even with Nerine having dropped out, she’s still only fifth place. She technically falls out of place for becoming a hero, so it was an unexpected choice.
“Ren Pirochun.”
The venue got even noisier. I think she might’ve been a mage too, but I honestly never paid much attention. She walked forward confidently though, her raven black hair fluttering behind her like a flock of ravens.
Now there was only one spot left. Meaning either Peony or Ran weren’t going to make the cut. They’ve been on the same team together since the first round, but Lily must’ve fully realized how essential mages are in battle after our struggle against the dragon.
Her last pick will probably be another mage, or maybe she will choose Ran who can act as their vanguard. Since it’s a mock battle with restraints in place, Peony’s healing isn’t going to be all that useful this round.
“Liffy Ruhuna.”
An uproar of a different kind rose up this time. I never had any delusions of being picked, so to hear my name in this situation is confusing.
If Lily is looking for someone to provide support, I’m sure there were better choices if your goal is to win.
Knowing Lily’s personality, I find it hard to believe she chose me out of sentimentality, so she must have her reason. I was beckoned over and quickly made my way over to everyone.
Olive looked a little dissatisfied when I got there, but Ren, she was blatantly glaring at Lily.
“Lily-san. Would you please explain this to us? Why would you choose Liffy-san in the end?”
Olive tried her best to remain calm as she asked Lily.
“I have a plan. But, I can’t say it.”
“Should I take it that you don’t trust us?”
Lily nodded apologetically. She probably doesn’t really mean that, but she doesn’t know when or who her father will try and rope in to his plans, just as he had done with Nerine. That’s why I can understand why she’d want to hide her feelings.
“Haa….got it. But is it at least safe to say that you aren’t just favoring her for personal reasons? Fourth place is on the line for Olive and me both, so we aren’t feeling especially charitable ourselves.”
With Nerine gone, an insurmountable wall had fallen away causing Olive and Ren to be much closer to becoming a hero themselves than they would have thought. If they can bring in Nerine’s supporters, it’s not just some pipe dream that they could shoot to the top. On that same note though, if someone else were to shoot to the top, it would mean their dreams would come crashing down.
“I swear to you it’s nothing of the sort. This is merely the best method to achieve victory.”
Lily stubbornly denied the accusations. I truly think she’s telling the truth, but since Lily refuses to tell me what she’s thinking, there’s nothing I can do to support her.
“Well…. got it. That’s fine then.”
Olive’s worked with Lily in the past, so she has some idea on how Lily likes to operate. I definitely wasn’t going to complain either way, so Ren was forced to accept things as they were.
Once the teams were evenly divided, the match date was announced. Our training period would only be three days. My guess is that whatever time they originally had set aside for this round was eaten up because Nerine, Peony, and Melia were stuck in bed.
I’m honestly just grateful they weren’t telling us to duke it out here and now.
♠
I hadn’t worked closely with either Olive or Ren before, so we didn’t have much to talk about in the moment. They both ended up taking Lily somewhere away from me, so I ended up walking back to the dorms by myself. That was when someone slunk out from behind a building and blocked my way.
He was smiling, but there was no joy in those eyes.
“Liffy-san, it has been some time. I am Akatsu, Lily’s father. We met once before in the royal castle. Do you remember?”
Experimental Translations 