Hero Audition Ch. 82

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5562hc/82/

Pledge

The formation of the teams had already been decided, but aside from the competition, apparently they would be holding individual interviews for each of the candidates who had made it to the final round.

Nobody had told me anything about this, so I was dragged back to a room with no time to prepare. When I went in and sat down in a chair, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia when I saw who was sitting across from me.

“Oh…. it’s been a while.”

The person in charge of my interview was the same reporter girl who had followed me during the first round of the competition.

Back then I had wondered just how low on the totem pole she must be to have been assigned to me, but things have changed for the both of us. When the person she covered makes a huge leap from the bottom of the barrel to a potential finalist, it sounds like a good portion of credit for that achievement went to her writing being able to increase the number of people willing to vote for me.

With a glance I could see that her notebook was already filled with notes, so she’s probably already interviewed several other people. It’s kind of surprising to see people had so much to talk about.

“Getting right down to it….please tell me about your pledge if you become a hero.”

“M-My pledge?”

“It is an activity you vow to take once you’ve become a hero. It typically has something of a significant social connection. As an example, some of the other contestants spoke on doing what they could to support the poor and use their influence to speak to those in charge on their behalf. There is another contestant who promised to exterminate vermin for free to help local farmers.”

That last one was probably definitely Ran. But, everyone else is thinking about some serious stuff. It’s one thing when we’re talking about all the noble contestants, but when you tell me that even Ran has already properly thought about this, I need to start asking some questions.

I’ve never really considered what I’d do if I became a hero because I never thought I’d become one. If I remove that assumption, what would I do?

Show everyone how I live my life. If I did that, would the dancers’ honor be restored? But the scope for that seems too focused.

My mind wandered to the faces of everyone I’ve met so far. Rose, Dahlia, Nerine, Melia, and Lily.

“I….I think it would be great if we lived in a world where men and women, commoners and aristocrats, could fall in love and live freely regardless of their gender of background.”

“That….sounds quite idealistic.”

“I guess so. But it’s also true that there are a ton of people out there who are desperately trying to reach that ideal while just as many people do whatever they can to hold them back. People who are willing to just let things go and live their own lives are fine as they are. But, I want to do everything I can to help those people who make their own choice to go against the grain. That’s what I think.”

“Okay. Then what exactly are you going to do to achieve this?”

I didn’t know what to say. It’s surprising enough to find that I could say anything remotely this deep. Everything I said just kind of rolled off my tongue when I thought about it, so if you ask me for something specific, I can’t really add much.

“U-Um….I, I’ll date a noble girl! I’ll start by living freely without worrying about any old customs. People can laugh at me or they can try experiencing it for themselves. I’ll take the first step and show them it’s possible.”

“Ah….I see. Meaning….you already have someone in mind? Just to be clear, I won’t include this part into the article.”

The reporter girl smiled. When I shyly nodded, she leaned forward and grabbed my hands.

“I know this is weird since we’re already here, but please, let me interview you again! I’m interested!”

The reporter girl’s eyes shined brighter than any diamond.

“Ah…. sure….if I become a hero….I’ll be counting on you.”

I felt like I was backed into a corner from embarrassment, and it felt like I was in a position where I had to say yes.

From there, we talked about my enthusiasm going into the final competition, and we soon ran out of time.

When I left the room, I found Olive waiting outside with her back against the wall next to the door. Apparently she is the next one to be interviewed, and from the way she’s looking at me, it looked like she was waiting for me.

“Liffy-san. I did not mean to eavesdrop, but I heard what you said through the door. Tell me, how serious are you about what you said?”

“Um…. you mean about everyone being free?”

Olive was looking me straight in the eyes and nodded her head.

“Very.”

“I see. And are nobles included in your plans?”

Lily is a noble too you know. If Lily’s involved, then of course my answer is yes.

“Of course. But, why are you so curious?”

“I have a claim as the next head of the Elijah family. However, since noble society is held together by primarily male lineages, I will be seen as a placeholder at most. As it currently stands, I will have only two choices ahead of me if I wish to properly handle my duties. Have a man adopted into the family, bear his child, and raise the son born of that marriage to take over the family or adopt a child for myself and have them take over the family when they reach the age of eighteen. I find myself unable to accept that situation. I wish to rebuild and grow my home with my own two hands.”

“So you want to be accepted as the head of your family despite being a woman. Are you asking me to help you with that?”

Olive gave a definitive nod and answered, “Yes.”

I’m currently of the mind that I’ll probably never become a hero, yet she’s asking me for something like this. I guess if you want to be successful, you need to be prepared to use whatever you can.

“Well I wouldn’t be opposed to helping if I become a hero. Still, it’d be faster for you to just become a hero and do it yourself.”

“True enough. However, there are times when the unexpected comes to pass, and it pays to be prepared for the just in case. It is better to bear the temporary embarrassment and ask for a favor rather than panic once the situation arises. Now if you’ll excuse me”

After saying what she wanted to say, Olive passed me by and entered the room for her own interview.

♠

The last few days passed, and the day of the final competition was here.

After all this time, Lily had never revealed her plan to Ren and Olive. Not that it was much of a strategy. They just needed to defeat our defenseless enemies after I knock them down with my dancing.

But that isn’t going to be enough to satisfy our teammates, so once we got into our four-person waiting room, the two of them rounded on Lily.

“Lily-san. You’ve disappointed me. In the final moment, you prioritized your own personal feelings.”

“Olive, calm down. It’s not like that.”

Lily looked at me for support while obviously troubled. Judging by her gaze, she probably wanted me to dance for them in here.

When I shook my head, she mouthed the words, “Hurry up!” at me. She’s going to owe me big time after this. I held up three fingers, but she shook her head and held up two. We didn’t exchange any words, yet I got Lily to agree to listen two of my requests in the future.

“Olive-san, can you take a look at this?”

“Haa…. what is i-…. the hell….?”

Olive turned around towards me and quickly covered her face with her hands. Maybe it’s a natural reaction since I was dancing and naughtily shaking my hips in front of her.

Still, Olive’s expression gradually fell apart. Of course, I didn’t want her to fall apart right before the actual battle, so I stopped my dance halfway through.

“W-What was that?”

“Liffy, you should’ve carried the dance all the way to the end.”

Lily chimed in while obviously having fun at Olive’s broken state.

“No chance. I’ll hit the other team with this dance when the fight starts. They should all collapse soon enough, so you can go ahead and defeat them after. Actually, how do we win these mock battles?”

“The winner is decided when one team surrenders or they steal the handkerchief kept in their pockets. An excellent healer is on standby, so unless someone dies, we should all be able to walk out of here without injury. Actually I hear they asked Melia to be here as well, so perhaps even death won’t be an issue.”

Lily explained it to me. Hearing that I’m going to be showing this dance off to Melia too makes me want to hold my head, but I’ll decide what’s right when we win this fight. All I have to do is clench my teeth and get it done.

“Things will end up surprisingly one-sided….”

“Become a hero, and there will be ample opportunities to fight with others. In that sense, you could say we’re showing off your best qualities. Well, as long as they treat the first scratch as good as a death, then we’ll clean up quickly.”

I haven’t talked to Ren much since the underwear theft incident, but she has a rather refreshing personality. She comes off as reliable, similar to Lily.

“It is almost time. Let us go win this.”

We left the waiting room and headed towards the venue with Lily taking the lead.

Traveling through a dimly lit stone hallway, we soon found ourselves in a large, circular arena.

Mountains of people filled up the arena seats surrounding us. We didn’t do anything special on entering, but the cheers from the audience were loud enough that I was afraid the stands would collapse under the excitement.

“Lily-chan! Do your best!”

When I heard my name called out, I turned around to find Melia sitting in the stands right next to Dahlia. There was someone else, a child, sitting in Dahlia’s lap. I smiled and returned their waves.

The people here are probably all expecting some epic fights with clashing swords, sparks flying, and shockwaves from crashing spells.

They’re going to be seriously disappointed when everyone gets incapacitated by a simple twerk.

I found Peony and Ran standing in the entrance on the other side of the arena. I never thought I would ever end up fighting them as an enemy.

“Then everyone, to your positions! Prepare for battle!”

As the announcer’s voice rang over the crowd, both teams took a fighting stance.

As soon as the gong sounded to begin the battle, I turned my back to them and lowered my waist.

I ignored the mixture of cheers and jeers that rose up from the audience. My dance is to secure victory and nothing else. There was no music, but the cheers and the jeers mixed together with people stamping their feet on the ground creating a beat I could match my dance to.

Everyone is watching me dance. I’m sending out a message, showing them all who I am.

I wasn’t dancing for very long when Lily and the others started walking towards the other team.

While I kept up my dance, I turned my head to look behind me and saw that all four of the members on the other team had fallen to the ground with some of them lying on their backs and others having fallen on their stomachs. Lily, Olive, and Ren leisurely pulled out their handkerchiefs as they continued to writhe around in agony.

We easily won the first battle with only a handful of seconds having passed after the first gong.

Chapter 81 ⊥ Chapter 83