The White Tiger's Trial

"D-did I... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really succeed?"

"You succeeded...?"

Cheonma and Hwaryeon, who had been closest to the White Tiger Sword, reacted to my voice with wide, round eyes.

"Did you see that? This is who I am. Hey, everyone~ your oppa pulled it off!"

"Grrr... can you please stop calling yourself 'oppa'!? It's so hard to get used to a man talking like that!"

Ah... King of the World... Right. Let's just hurry up and confirm who the true owner of the White Tiger Sword is.

I carefully held the White Tiger Sword in both hands and approached Cheonma first.

"W-wait!? Me, I'm first!?"

"I have to prove it's not you."

"...So you're saying the White Tiger Sword *could* be mine?"

"..."

Yeah... she doesn't believe me. She's really running that happy-delusion circuit at full speed, isn't she? Fine. Since you didn't trust me, I'm going to shatter that nasty thought of yours. Go! White Tiger!

Unlike with the Blue Dragon Sword, when Cheonma reached out toward the hilt, the small White Tiger watching silently transformed into a sharp, cat-like mode, hissing just like a tiny dragon.

Grrrrrrr! Hiss! Hiss!

"Y-you bastard!!!! Seriously... it's not mine!? You guys, I'm the one who pulled you with my coins, you little—!!!!!!"

As expected, Cheonma, rejected by the White Tiger Sword just like the Blue Dragon Sword, vented her frustration, jumping up and down in place. She was trembling with indignation, clearly feeling wronged. See? I told you. It's not yours. It's not your style. People who need to have it shoved in their faces to believe it... you really have to make them feel it the hard way.

I left the fuming Cheonma behind and approached Hwaryeon, who seemed to have a higher probability of being the owner. Hwaryeon, perhaps anticipating that she had finally reached the moment she desired, smiled brightly at me—holding the sword—and the White Tiger, which was toddling on top of the blade.

I carefully presented the White Tiger Sword to Hwaryeon. Confident that she was the owner, she reached out toward the White Tiger.

Purr...

Just as I expected, the White Tiger didn't hiss; it didn't reject her hand. Just like with the Blue Dragon, the White Tiger purred, welcoming her touch. With this, the owners of the Blue Dragon Sword and the White Tiger Sword were decided, and my hypothesis gained solid credibility. From now on, they'll definitely ask me before any Gacha pulls.

Hwaryeon gripped the hilt and lifted the sword toward the sky. Seeing this, I heard Cheonma mutter to herself in a disappointed, self-deprecating tone, her shoulders slumping.

"Ha... it's real... I understood it with my head, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but... still... I hoped... it wasn't me..."

"You... you're suited for the Vermilion Bird... You'll be able to pull it soon. So... let's just wait a little."

"..."

Cheonma, who had been expressing her distress with her eyes closed at my words, opened them. And then...

"...Is it really the Vermilion Bird...?"

"Of course. Out of a 1/4 chance, I got 50%... no, I got 2 out of 4 right... can't you trust this oppa of yours?"

"...You keep saying oppa, where on earth did you learn to use that word? It's so cringey, people don't even use it."

"No... then what is a younger sister supposed to call her older brother?"

Is it not oppa? And then, what came out of Cheonma's mouth was a culture shock.

"? What are you talking about? I just call him 'Hey'."

? Is this a "Hey, ride" situation? Seriously, calling an older brother 'Hey'... In this gender-reversed world, the hierarchy of men... it's a crazy world that treats it like an empty wasteland... Sigh. Do I care? I'll just do as I please.

"Really? Well, I'm just going to do what I want."

"...When have you not? That's why... all those female cats keep clinging to you..."

? "What keeps clinging to me?"

"Ah... hurry up and attach one of those divine beasts to me too!"

"Aah... is that all? Don't worry, I'll do it for you soon."

"'Do it for you'? What's with that... tch..."

After joking with Cheonma, I asked Arthur and Hwaryeon if they had gained their qualifications.

"Arthur! Hwaryeon! How is it? Did you become the owners of the swords?"

"No."

"No."

The two heroes shook their heads at my question.

"What? Why? Have you never heard the voices of the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger?"

"No."

"No."

What is this? Did something go wrong? Why... can't they communicate... I rested my chin on my hand and thought for a moment, looking at the swords Arthur and Hwaryeon were holding. Then, as if possessed, I approached the two heroes and placed my hands on their heads.

"...W-what is this!?"

"...W-what are you doing!?"

The two heroes were flustered by my actions at first, but as I patted their heads, they stood still. After patting their heads for a while, I found one commonality between Arthur and Hwaryeon, who were holding the swords.

"Eureka!"

"E...?"

"What...?"

"I think I know. Why you guys still can't hear the voices of the divine beasts and haven't gained ownership. This is a commonality between you two, Arthur and Hwaryeon... but not just you, the divine beasts didn't reject my touch either, right? That's the commonality... and... should I tell you the solution?"

"Ah... tell us!"

"Ah... tell me!"

"Hmm... that is..."

When I hesitated on purpose, the two heroes, curious, grabbed both ends of my shirt and pulled, shouting for me to tell them.

"I think I need to use the system's power with me as the mediating medium."

"...What do I have to do?"

"What do I have to do?"

"'What do you have to do'... you just have to talk to the sword while maintaining contact with me."

"...Contact..."

"If you don't want ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to, you don't have to."

"Ah, I'll do it!"

"I, I'll do it!"

"Good. Arthur on my left, Hwaryeon on my right. Stand there."

I took my hands off their heads and waited for them to move as I said. The heroes standing on either side looked up at me.

"...?"

Their faces were full of curiosity.

"Arthur, hold the sword in your left hand... Hwaryeon, hold the sword in your right hand. And keep your other hands down..."

"..."

As I said, they lowered their empty hands. Once I confirmed that, I reached out and interlaced my fingers with theirs.

"!?!"

"?!?"

Startled by my actions, the two heroes flinched and stared at me.

"Both of you, close your eyes... and focus on my voice."

"...!"

"From now on, open your senses with the intention of hearing any sound. It should be a piece of cake for you, right? ... Now!"

Hoping my theory was correct, I remained silent and waited blindly for the system notification that the two divine beasts were responding.

...

...

"..."

"..."

"..."

How much time had passed? There was no system notification... and suddenly, the roars of the two divine beasts that had soared into the sky earlier echoed loudly.

Kuoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Kruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

It was as if... the roars of the two divine beasts were saying... "I have descended here."

After the roars ended... immediately after, cyan and red pillars fell from the sky toward us with incredible speed.

Wooooooong-

The pillars, which had been maintained for a while, soon slowly dissipated. And... as each pillar vanished, a giant Blue Dragon coiled like a snake remained in the cyan pillar... and a giant White Tiger remained crouched in the pure white pillar, looking down at us. Overcome with fear, I gripped the interlaced hands of the two heroes even tighter. As if I didn't want to let go...

A moment later...

"!#%&**(&^#$%$@@#$%"

"#!#@#!$!%!$##?%#!!%!%"

When the two heroes' shouting in unintelligible words stopped, the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger began to fly at full speed toward the hearts of the two heroes they had chosen. The Blue Dragon and the White Tiger collided with their hearts and were sucked inside, disappearing. The two heroes, as if they had already discussed this beforehand, accepted the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger naturally without any abnormal symptoms.

"This is... the power of the Blue Dragon..! And the voice of the Blue Dragon!"

"This is... the power of the White Tiger..! And the voice of the White Tiger!"

They answered in unison, opened their eyes, and looked at me.

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

Thanking me... they should be thanking the other heroes, not me.

"...You have to help the remaining heroes well."

"Of course."

"Of course."

Wow... that was really exhausting. I used up all my coins... I'll just get a good night's sleep today... and try to collect more coins tomorrow...

"Alright... everyone, get some rest today, and tomorrow...!"

- Wait a moment! -

?

A familiar voice came from somewhere. Who is it?

..

..

.

You...

Who are you?