The Victor's Toast
One... two... three!
Light erupted skyward.
Three streaks of radiance bloomed toward the heavens.
Meteors of pure light danced across the sky, sketching out the faces of Lily and the General-tier players of Team Lily.
Each portrait was an intricate mosaic of thousands upon tens of thousands of glittering points of light — you could tell just how much effort had gone into them.
Then, all at once, the starry images dissolved and seeped into a long, towering magical jumbotron rising above the stage.
Each face appeared upon it, and from between them stepped out the caster, Kim Yong-woo.
Staff waiting at the foot of the stage held up bouquets and prizes.
Kim Yong-woo stood before the roaring crowd and bellowed into his microphone.
"The fiercely fought 3rd Mock Siege Battle! The grand champions aaaaare~~~~"
WHAAAAAAA!!!
"Team Lily~~~~!!!"
POW! POWWW!!!
"And now! Please welcome your glorious champion team to the stage!"
The jumbotron displaying the players' faces split apart down the middle, and we emerged from between the two halves.
Me and Redberry. And Vlack.
A ripple of confusion ran through the crowd at Devil's absence.
"Player Devil will unfortunately be absent due to unforeseen circumstances. But of course, his prize money and bouquets will be provided in full, so no need to worry! Though, naturally, distributing them will be up to Team Captain Lily."
You really don't have to distribute them to me.
HAHAHAHAHA.
The audience erupted in laughter at Kim Yong-woo's quip.
I picked up the microphone that had been prepared for me and let out a soft laugh of my own.
"Should I, though?"
"Hm?"
"That was a joke."
It's been a while. A scene like this.
I'd been through plenty of moments where I accomplished something and then stood before a sea of people to speak.
But this time, it wasn't a 'speech' for anyone's sake, nor a 'matter' tangled up with grave and weighty topics.
A festival.
For the first time, I was experiencing it purely as one player among many — savoring the festival, and being one of the lights that illuminated it.
"I simply have to ask for your victory remarks. Player Lily! In your very first Mock Siege Battle, you seized the championship while setting the historic record of three wins from three matches! How does it feel?"
"......I'm happy. Genuinely happy."
Matches played just for the pure joy of it, to give people something fun to watch.
Perhaps this was exactly what she'd wanted for me.
Free from the responsibilities and the position that bound me — as Lily, as the Saint.
Just as my plain, unadorned self.
And so.
"First of all, myself included — Vlack, Redberry, Devil. Every one of my teammates worked so hard. If it had been me alone, it certainly wouldn't have been easy."
I was strong, yes — but because they were there, I could enjoy it all the more.
This was, after all, a competition where everything ended the moment the Core shattered — no lives lost, no people mourned.
I didn't need to go all-out, and yet I could still give it my own kind of best; and my teammates, each in their own position, each brought their own strength to bear.
'...Though Redberry might have had it a little rough.'
Compared to Vlack or Devil, she hadn't really gotten a chance to show anything.
Part of that was because she was still learning, so there wasn't much for me to teach her yet.
"My thanks go to my teammates for following me so well. And above all... ah."
Oh.
I paused for a moment and steadied my voice.
The scenery swept into my view in one glance.
The stands packed shoulder to shoulder with countless people.
I took it in, slowly.
One by one, piece by piece.
Every single bit of it, leaving nothing out.
"Take your time, there's no rush."
"Thank you."
I'm always thinking about it, every single day.
"...Thank you, always, for loving me."
Thank goodness I came back.
"Ah... we won. We won!"
WHAAAAAA!!!
Vlack! Vlack! Vlack!
Vlack thrust a clenched fist high into the air, and the roar of the crowd shook the stage.
He delivered his remarks with relish, brimming with excitement.
Truthfully, this Mock Siege had been quite the gamble for him.
The scale rivaled an official tournament. Enormous physical resources from countless spectators and officials had been poured into the stage preparations alone, and the costs must have been astronomical.
'From what I heard, something like ten billion won... or more, I think they said.'
"This Mock Siege — honestly, if it hadn't been for Lily here, I don't think we could have taken the championship..."
Of course, it had all been bankrolled by sponsorships from various kingdoms and sponsors, but with so many competing interests involved, navigating all the procedures must have been quite the headache for him.
Come to think of it, he'd mentioned having another engagement tomorrow, hadn't he?
'The banquet... was it?'
Clapclapclapclapclap.
"And now! For our final program, it's time to lift this championship trophy, followed by the award ceremony for your prize — the Mythic-grade equipment, Blue Guardian!"
I stepped forward.
Countless cameras trained on me.
Kim Yong-woo handed over the Blue Guardian, and I accepted it, sliding it onto the index finger of my left hand.
It had looked rather large when it was being handed over, but some magical effect must have been at work — it fit perfectly.
Pretty.
You have obtained the legacy of the Great Smith, Drak!
The World Quest — Legend of Talikal Kingdom is now available.
The Blue Guardian gazes steadily upon you.
'World Quest? Talikal?'
So the Mythic-grade equipment was tied to a quest too?
— Miss Lily.
I had been staring absently at the ring when Vlack's whispered transmission made me look up.
— Don't bother with that quest. It's one where you have to collect them all, and it's impossible anyway — a few users already have some of the pieces.
Collect a full Mythic-grade equipment set...
Something stirred inside me. A craving.
"...Now I'm nervous."
"Good. Very good."
"Hey, it feels like they're looking at us? Then..."
One... two... three!
Click!
"It turned out great."
I held up a photograph.
An enormous silver championship trophy, engraved with a crest of three castles facing one another.
In the photo, the three of us were holding the trophy aloft, faces full of joy.
Me, Vlack, and Redberry.
Devil's absence was a shame, but the picture came out beautifully all the same.
By now the internet was surely awash with shots of us from every angle imaginable, filters and all.
"Doesn't it just?"
"...Why do I always lose. Why do I always get pushed around..."
And sitting across from me was Yena.
Once the post-tournament cleanup and her broadcast were done, she'd declared she had grievances to air, bought food and alcohol, and barged straight into my home without so much as a warning.
I had once told her we should grab a meal sometime, but I genuinely never thought she'd actually show up.
I poured the wine Yena had brought.
One look and you could tell it was expensive. Living in upscale places, apparently even the booze she bought was upscale.
"Everybody loses sometimes. That's just life."
"Hoooh... life is bitter."
Yena was already well into her downhill slide.
"Keep that up and you'll pass out like last time."
"Not this time. I don't go down that easily — that day was just weird, okay?"
Normally she can down four bottles without so much as swaying...
Yena muttered something under her breath, then hiyah! — and knocked back another glass.
"Hmm..."
Well, back then she'd been drugged, so that probably accounted for a lot of it.
And even setting that aside — at most it would have made her get drunk faster. It wouldn't have changed her fundamental tolerance.
I raised my own glass as well.
"Still, you worked hard. You've grown quite a bit too, Yena."
"...Honestly? I'm really curious. What exactly are you, Lily? I figured it'd be rude to ask, so I was trying not to, but."
"Are you drunk?"
"No."
"You're drunk. I can tell just by looking."
"No. It's only been a couple of drinks. We just opened the second bottle—"
"What about that time?"
"AAARGH!"
FORBIDDEN TOPIC!
Yena shrieked like she was having a convulsion, shot to her feet, loomed over me for a moment... then plopped back down and grabbed her glass again.
"Tonight I'm getting you drunk no matter what it takes, because I will hear it. It's making my blood boil."
"You really think you can?"
I can drink anyone under the table, you know.
"HA! Guess you don't remember, since you only saw me that one day. Just you watch what happens in two hours!"
"Hnnngh... *hic*... Why do I only remember getting my teeth kicked in all day long...!!"
"These things happen."
Two hours later.
Having guzzled down three bottles of wine, Yena had become one with the table.
The alcohol content was high, granted — but for all her big boasting, the result was honestly pretty entertaining.
Clack.
Still, it hadn't been entirely without effect — even my own face was a little flushed by now.
"The world isn't fair, that's all. Not that I'm blaming the whole world or anything..."
"*hic*."
"Honestly? You've got real talent, Yena. It's just... a little slow to bloom."
Yena truly did have talent.
It was simply that the people around her shone so much brighter that hers looked dimmed by comparison.
Clack.
Her glass ran dry.
I reached to pour more, then stopped, staring down at my bare index finger.
A ring that didn't exist in reality — only in Deo En.
"A World Quest, huh..."
That sounds fun.