Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: An Unlikely Team
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How could the teams be decided like this?
So much for objective metrics and fair assignments.
While I stood there, dumbfounded, a voice that couldn’t read the room piped up.
“Haha! You’re all in luck to be on the same team as I, Mir Giant. You can rest easy. From now on, I will lead you.”
As the squirrel-sized punk shouted boisterously, the Young Leader who was probably dozens of times more disgruntled with this team than I was let out a shriek.
“No way!”
Lady Rubietta…
That is, Shar’s face was practically ghostly white.
“I… I was assigned to a team like this…? So much for objective metrics and fair assignments…!”
My thoughts exactly.
“Hey, whirlpool woman. That’s a bit harsh.”
“What’s harsh is what’s going on in your head!”
“What?”
“Rest easy, you say? Didn’t you mean to say ‘despair’? This… this team is doomed-!”
It seemed she was the type to drop formalities when she got excited.
Anyway, there’s a timeless truth that applies in situations like this—when someone next to you is causing a scene, you tend to calm down…
As Shar completely lost her mind, I, in contrast, became composed.
And looking at the situation again, I came to the absurd conclusion that the team balance itself wasn’t actually that bad.
In truth, the only truly outstanding talent here was Shar.
My points were high, but as I’d noted before, I hadn’t shown an exceptional performance in most classes. On the contrary, I suspected the instructors’ evaluation of me was quite low.
Evan’s points weren’t low either, but his internal evaluation might be even lower than mine.
After all, the Martial Arts Teacher, who held the most sway among the instructors, had a poor opinion of Evan.
And as for Mir Giant, there was nothing to say.
“Ca-calm down.”
“How can I be calm right now! Ha. I will never accept this. I’m going to file a complaint!”
And she stomped off toward where Instructor Juan was…
…only to return exactly one minute later, looking as if she’d been turned to white ash.
“What did he say?”
“I’m doomed… I’m so doomed…”
“I see.”
As I nodded, Evan cleared his throat to get our attention.
“Well… I’m sure we all know each other’s faces and names, but should we introduce ourselves again? I’m Evan Helvin.”
“Ruan Bednicker.”
“I am Mir Giant! A descendant of the great Frost Giant Ymir!”
“Oho…”
As I expressed my admiration, a look of proud satisfaction appeared on Mir’s face.
The truth was, I was impressed by the fact that he knew the word ‘descendant’…
…but I decided not to reveal that inconvenient truth.
Anyway, our gazes turned to the last team member, Shar. But she was still out of it and said nothing.
“Hmm. It seems Lady Rubietta is in a state of shock, so let’s move on… Anyway, let’s do our best as teammates from now on.”
It was a cliché, but I had nothing else to say, so I nodded.
However, Mir looked at me with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
“…Right. Blond Bednicker. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
Judging by his expression, it seemed he was still holding a grudge about the special test.
I’m talking about the incident where I tied a rope around his face and knocked him out with a blow to the back of his head.
‘Good grief.’
To get this kind of reaction after doing a good deed. I wasn’t even hoping for a thank you.
As I was pondering how to respond, the Martial Arts Teacher’s voice rang out.
“Alright. That concludes the team assignments. Young Leaders, please gather again.”
Following the Martial Arts Teacher’s command, the Young Leaders gathered before the platform again.
I checked on Karon first…
Karon’s team had three members.
On either side of him were Zeros of the merchant powerhouse, the Silvera family—and Shinba, who would later be called the hero of the beastkin.
Karon’s two closest associates.
‘Those three ended up on the same team?’
It already reeked of something fishy, but…
- A remarkable coincidence can happen up to twice. So, be suspicious, but do not jump to conclusions.
- What about three times?
- Three times is enough to be certain.
Recalling my Fourth Brother’s words, I decided to hold off on certainty for now.
“And to commemorate the team assignments, there will be a short test starting tomorrow morning.”
“What?”
The Young Leaders murmured at the unexpected announcement.
One of them asked a question.
“Didn’t you say there were no other scheduled activities for the weekend?”
“Of course. That’s why this test is optional.”
Juan said with a bright smile.
“If you don’t wish to participate, you may return to your dorms and rest right now. However, those who are absent will be at a disadvantage in terms of points.”
“…”
The Young Leaders stared blankly.
They looked like fresh-faced rookies just entering society, getting scammed for the very first time.
Naturally, what Juan said was just a play on words.
Return to the dorms and rest?
Would a single person here do that?
The Young Leaders gathered here were, for all their faults, elites selected from all over, with high pride and a belief that they were the best.
They would never miss an opportunity to earn points.
So, the Martial Arts Teacher’s proposal was practically a veiled threat.
“…Is this test also a special test?”
“That’s right. Sharp of you.”
In the last special test, the top five earned a lot of points, and Karon, who took first place, received immense benefits.
He used those benefits to solidify his current position…
If Karon were to claim first place in the second test as well, the gap would become too wide to catch up.
As if they all realized this, not a single Young Leader left their spot.
“It seems there are no absentees. Your proactive attitude is wonderful to see, Young Leaders.”
“…”
“It’s fine. There are no point deductions in this special test. The content is also very simple. You just have to go into the forest and retrieve anything.”
The Young Leaders blinked at the suddenly announced test content.
“…Anything, you say?”
“Yes. Anything.”
The Martial Arts Teacher repeated for emphasis.
“No matter what you bring back, even if it’s a pebble or a weed, the instructors will grade it. Of course, the score will be abysmally low.”
He meant we should bring back something rare.
“Also, for this test, you can use your team’s combined points to purchase various items. A list of available items will be distributed later today.”
“…What?”
“What are combined points?”
“Literally, the total sum of all team members’ points.”
Juan just kept smiling sweetly at the Young Leaders’ dumbfounded questions.
“I’ll explain the detailed outline before we begin tomorrow. For now, everyone, have a pleasant holiday… Oh! And before the item list is distributed, decide on a team leader. The authority to use the combined points belongs to the leader.”
With a voice that could only be heard as sarcastic, Juan left.
Soon, the Young Leaders in the clearing either left or huddled together in their teams, whispering amongst themselves…
…leaving only my team members and me.
By this time, Shar had come to her senses.
“…Huuuuuuuuuuh.”
Though it was accompanied by an incredibly long sigh, as if she were expelling every negative thing inside her.
“…What’s done is done, I suppose. If I perform well in this hopeless team, my stock will rise. Thinking of it that way, perhaps it’s not all bad.”
Is she saying that to herself?
In any case, Shar looked at us and spoke.
“I am Shar Rubietta. First, could you please tell me how many points you have?”
“Why do you need to know our points?”
When Mir asked, Shar gave him a pathetic look.
“We need to know so we can decide what to buy from the item list that’s coming later, don’t we?”
“R-right… I have 13 points.”
Then Evan and I spoke up.
“18 points.”
“19 points.”
“Hmm… The scores themselves aren’t too bad, I suppose. Except for the giant.”
Mir looked offended.
Before these two could start fighting again, I cut in.
“How many points do you have?”
“20 points.”
“So… that’s exactly 70 points combined.”
“It seems so. In any case, I’ll take the role of team leader. No objections, I assume?”
Look at this one.
Trying to snake her way into the leader position?
“As if there wouldn’t be!”
And finally, Mir exploded.
“I am far, faaaaar more suited to be the leader than the likes of you!”
“What a ridiculous joke. Do you want to drag our team into the gutter?”
“What did you say!”
“Haaah…”
Shar sighed again and said.
“Then there’s no choice. We’ll have to ask the other members.”
“Ha! Be my guest! You two! Who do you think is the most suited to be leader?”
We received the two Young Leaders’ intense gazes.
Evan still looked troubled, so I answered first.
“Me.”
“…Huh?”
“I think I’m the most suitable.”
Frankly, if I had to choose between the two, Shar would be slightly better…
…but of course, I’d be much better than these brats.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Are you looking to die, blond Bednicker!”
“Sigh.”
At their entirely expected reactions, I shook my head and turned to Evan this time.
“Then you can decide. Evan, who among the three of us do you think is most suited to be the leader?”
“Uh, um…”
Evan made a troubled face, then pointed at me after a moment of hesitation.
And Shar shrieked again.
“Don’t be ri-dicu-loooouuus-!”
And that’s how Team 1’s leader was decided.
* * *
The always-bustling lounge was unusually quiet today.
It wasn’t that there were fewer people.
The number of people was about the same as usual, but instead of forming groups like they normally did, they were scattered like isolated islands.
The basis for this separation was, of course, the teams.
“…This is a bit weird.”
“What is?”
“It feels like the people who were my friends just a moment ago are now my enemies.”
Looking at Evan, who seemed to be chewing on his own bitterness, I first corrected a major misunderstanding.
“They’re not enemies, they’re competitors. Get used to it. We call them heroes for convenience, but not many of them have noble goals. You’ll probably compete like this often even after becoming official heroes.”
Of course, I don’t know much about heroes.
But seeing how the Grand Master Teachers taught aspiring heroes, it was easy to see that one had to be as wary of allies as of enemies.
Evan said with a strange look on his face.
“…Sometimes you talk like one of the instructors.”
“Do I?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I suppose it means I’ve learned my lessons well.”
“Pfft… Maybe so.”
“Hey! Stop chatting and gather ’round. We need to look at this item list.”
Shar still seemed to have lingering attachments to the leader position, but it appeared she had given up for now.
Perhaps it was thanks to the ‘Bednicker’ tag attached to my name?
Those steeped in authoritarianism are always weak to a greater authority.
Anyway, I spread the single sheet of paper I had received directly from the instructor onto the table.
[Water 500ml. 1pt.]
[Bag of Beef Jerky. 1pt.]
[Dagger. 3pt.]
[Rope. 3pt.]
[Net. 3pt.]
…….
…….
[Hunting Trap. 5pt.]
[Bandages. 7pt.]
[Lamp. 10pt.]
…….
…….
[Sleeping Bag. 5pt.]
[Tent. 10pt.]
…….
…….
[Potion. 30pt.]
There were more items than I had thought, and not only that, but they all seemed to have a common theme.
And I realized what the purpose of this special test was.
If the purpose of the first special test, the dawn monster attack, was ‘survival’…
…then the purpose of the second special test was, without a doubt, ‘hunting’.
Now, then…
We have 70 points.
What’s the most efficient way to use them?