Let the Games Begin (2)
"They're holding a hunting competition for each village?"
"They're even giving out prize money!"
"I heard you get the title of the North's Greatest Hunter!"
"...? I don't think that was part of the deal..."
"Quiet."
As soon as the news of the hunting competition broke, the entire North was in an uproar.
It was a rare piece of entertainment dropped into a world starved for leisure.
Since every other household was already boasting about their confidence in specific categories, it would have been stranger if they hadn't been excited.
"I'll show those softies living in the warm areas near the Lord's Castle which village the real Northern men come from."
"This competition was made for me! I'll show my parents. If I lead my village to victory, they'll finally understand how serious I am about becoming a mercenary."
"My husband seems to have forgotten his old ways lately. Should I go out there myself and give him a wake-up call?"
Their excuses were different, but their inner thoughts were identical.
'I'm the best at hunting!'
There was one more thing that stoked the competitive fire of the Northern people.
"As expected, a bear is worth 20 points!"
"An Iron Boar is only 15 points? But it's still a monster."
"Monsters are not all the same. That thing is a dimwit that only knows how to charge. Back in my day, when I caught an Iron Boar—."
It was the fact that the points awarded for each beast and monster inhabiting the North were different.
Men are a species capable of staying up all night arguing over useless debates like, "Who would win in a fight, a lion or a grizzly bear?"
(It’s obviously a fight the grizzly bear wins, by the way.)
It was all the work of hormones, but the problem was that Northern people seemed to inherit this testosterone-like hormone regardless of gender. If three people gathered, they would immediately start debating and arguing over the point allocations.
"Hahaha! A snow leopard is definitely stronger than a Snow Goblin Shaman, no doubt!"
"That’s ridiculous...! Anyone can see the shaman is stronger. How did the points end up like this?"
"Heh. Admit it! Our respected Lord has certified that the snow leopard I caught is more dangerous and ferocious than the Snow Goblin Shaman you caught."
"Ugh...!"
Because of the point board, some people were finally putting an end to decade-old arguments.
"Listen here, dearie. I went hunting when I was exactly your age, and something went whoosh and flew by. I thought it was a goose, so I quickly fired my bow and brought it down. And, oh, I hit it right in the left eye. Do you know how hard that is? Look here. See? Anyone who hits the eye of a flying bird gets 15 points regardless of the species. I wasn't called the 'Divine Archer' of our village for nothing. Ho ho ho."
"Wow! Grandma, please teach me how to shoot a bow!"
The elders were lost in old memories, their eyes sparkling for the first time in a while.
But the most important thing was something else.
"Now, it is time to choose."
"Huu-."
People sat in a circle with tense faces.
They were so nervous that some even had beads of sweat on their foreheads, despite the weather not being particularly hot.
"I have tried to select the participants as fairly as possible, but if you have any objections, speak now."
"Yes, Village Chief!"
"The first person selected is... Kulan!"
"As expected! The captain of the guard is a given, obviously."
"And Shantore, Mirantz, Lenti, Hayesna..."
"Yes!"
"I cannot accept this! Why was I left out!"
"Hey! This is the fairest selection list possible, yet you're throwing a tantrum because you were left out?"
"Grrr!"
It was the task of deciding the ten participants for the hunting competition from each village.
Those selected puffed out their chests, as the selection itself was a recognition of their status in the village, while those who were rejected vowed to be selected in the next competition.
The children were already running around playing hunting games, shouting, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a player representing our village!"
The Lord's Castle.
Late at night, officials and servants gathered in the darkened kitchen.
"You all heard the news, right?"
"I hear the players participating in the competition are being decided in each village one by one?"
"Our Lord's Castle needs to finish our selection soon, too."
"Let's make a decision tonight, for sure."
It was a meeting to form 'Team Lord's Castle'.
Despite Aiden's grumbling to stop talking nonsense, Jamie, the head chef, and Brikal had managed to secure the right to form a team together.
In fact, Aiden had tried not to give permission at all for fear of unnecessary controversy, but he eventually gave in to the servants of the Lord's Castle who were walking around with faces as if the sky had fallen.
- If I hear any complaints later, I won't let you off the hook.
- That won't happen. Not accepting a fair and square defeat isn't the Northern way!
- What is this 'Northern way' anyway, huh?
- Heh.
Aiden had actually been worried, so he grabbed a few villagers and asked them, but they all reacted by asking what the problem was with the Lord's Castle forming a team.
Some even thought it would be a problem if the Lord's Castle didn't participate.
After all, if they were competing for the title of the true number one in the North, wouldn't it be a half-baked victory if someone was missing?
- But if you think about it, the Lord's Castle is the host. Are you really sure this is okay? There might be disputes over the judging later.
- You said the knights and soldiers aren't participating, right?
- That's true, but...
- I wanted to face off against the soldiers, so this is a shame!
- Excuse me?
- The more life-or-death the duel, the more romantic it is to face the strong rather than the weak.
- ...It's just a hunting competition. It's not a life-or-death struggle.
- Ho ho. It's about the mindset, Administrative Officer!
Aiden thought to himself.
So this is what they mean when they say that in a village where people have three eyes, a person with two eyes becomes the abnormal one.
He thought he had figured them out quite a bit, but it seemed he needed more time to fully understand the Northern people.
Anyway, the atmosphere at the meeting to select the ten players for the Lord's Castle hunting competition was fierce.
"Shouldn't we start by picking a leader?"
"No! It's better to pick the ten players first and then have them pick a leader!"
"That's nonsense. If it's a leader representing our Lord's Castle, they should have the consent of everyone in the castle, not just the players!"
"Stable hand, I know you're trying to stir up trouble about picking a leader because you don't think you'll be selected!"
"Hmph! Why do you think I won't be selected? I just wanted to be a leader who proudly receives everyone's applause."
"Ha! That's funny. The leader is obviously my share!"
"What? You think I'll let someone who can't even catch three wolves properly represent the Lord's Castle!"
"You'll have to apologize for that right now!"
The workers of the Lord's Castle were particularly reckless, even among the fierce and belligerent Northern people.
Whether they were like this because they worked at the Lord's Castle or they ended up working there because they were like this, the cause and effect were unclear.
Bang-!
There was a sound like a thunderclap amidst the power struggles.
Crack-.
Thud.
Following that, a wooden table that looked to be half a foot thick split in two and crashed to the floor.
"The squawking like a flock of ducks is so noisy I can't listen to it anymore."
"......"
It was the head chef, Brikal.
Gulp.
Aiden, who had come down to the kitchen to grab some rabbit jerky because he felt peckish while working late, saw the scene and thought:
'Shouldn't that man have been a knight instead of a chef in the first place?'
No, even if he were a knight, is it even possible to split a Northern oak tree, which is so dense that even an axe can't penetrate it properly, in half with a single punch?
"Ah, you've arrived, Administrative Officer."
"Don't mind me, please continue what you were doing."
Brikal insisted he couldn't do that and disappeared into the kitchen to make a sandwich, and...
"...Isn't the leader basically decided?"
At Aiden's words, everyone nodded as if they had promised to do so.
In front of them lay the table, split clean in half, looking quite pathetic.
'Honestly, they never know how to let things pass quietly, oh my.'
Aiden signaled to Jamie, who was sitting in a seat, to finish up quickly and go get some rest.
He just hoped for some peace and quiet starting tomorrow.
And the next day.
"What is this?"
Aiden, who had arrived at the office first again today.
While working for a long time and interfering in all sorts of matters, he suddenly felt something was strange.
'Why is the castle so quiet today?'
Did the composition of Team Lord's Castle for the hunting competition finish, and that's why everyone is so quiet?
'Even so, it feels quieter than usual.'
Unable to overcome his curiosity, he finally came out of the office and walked around the Lord's Castle, and he finally realized it.
The construction of the Administrative Welfare Center wasn't finished yet, so all five newly created departments were inside the Lord's Castle.
Even the residents who usually avoided government offices realized that "government offices aren't bad places" due to the bounty and the pilot cultivation complex, so they would often drop by if they had nothing to do, wondering if there was anything new.
The first floor and the garden were always bustling.
But,
"What? Where did everyone go?"
There were no people.
I don't know for sure, but it seems like more than half of them have disappeared compared to usual.
Aiden liked this silence very much, but,
"Come to think of it, Jamie. Where did that guy go again?"
He realized belatedly that his adjutant hadn't shown his face in the office all morning.
"Adjutant Jamie has taken leave."
"Leave?"
"Yes. For the next three days."
"Is something the matter?"
"That is-."
Kalisa shrugged and replied.
"I heard he was eliminated from the Lord's Castle representative selection yesterday."
"And?"
"He doesn't seem to accept it."
Well, this was unexpected even for Aiden.
Jamie, the human weapon, being eliminated.
'I thought he was the head chef's only rival. Was that guy just strong and nothing else?'
Come to think of it, he did say he only studied because he didn't want to be a hunter since he was young.
When the villagers were making a fuss about him becoming a hunter, he acted like a brat saying he didn't want to, but when they told him not to, he started jumping around again; he really was like a colt that hadn't grown up yet.
"But what did they say was the reason for his elimination?"
"They said he's never actually hunted properly."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes. He's beaten up plenty of mercenary groups that turned into looters, but it seems he's never set out with the intention of hunting beasts."
"......"
When he caught bad guys and received bounties, he treated catching people like hunting, but it seems beating up looters doesn't count as a performance record.
It was a standard that was hard to understand, but Aiden had no intention of getting involved.
"So he's going to prove it now."
"Prove it? Prove what?"
"He took three days off to prove that he is sufficient to be one of the representatives."
"...Crazy bastard. Did he finish all the reports I assigned before he left? If he comes back, he better know he's forfeiting all his weekends and holidays, ugh! ...But, where did he go?"
"...To the mine."
"?"
"He said that's the best place to catch beasts and monsters at once."
Ha.
He really does all sorts of things. All sorts of things.
Aiden had to suffer from a headache again today.