A Deadly Either-Or

"Hmm... me? Naturally, that would be Lily!"

When her turn came around, team captain Leo answered with a bright, carefree smile.

The caster couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked.

"So you, too, prioritize Lily above all else. Is there a particular reason?"

"Well... how do I put it! Setting aside things like Lily's personality or her voice and looks—though those are lovely too—her skill is just on another level. What's the word...? She feels like a perfect character who can do absolutely anything?"

Mm-hm. Nodding along as if convincing herself, Leo continued.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"In that sense, Lily really is amazing. She's barely a newbie, but her skills are incredible, and she knows so much about unexpected things, too."

Lily was nothing more than a fresh face, but if all she had going for her were pretty character customization, she never would have drawn this much attention.

What revealed Lily's true worth wasn't her avatar—it was her skill and her finesse.

In particular, her near-unique mastery of manipulating mana itself only deepened her mystique.

"Oh my, oh my. If everyone keeps talking about Lily alone, the others might feel a little left out. Suppose you had to pick someone other than Lily—who would you choose?"

"Hmm... everyone here is so talented! ...If I absolutely had to pick, I'd go with DinosaursAreAlive!"

ROOOAAAR!

At Leo's words, the massive bear—summoned beast of DinosaursAreAlive—let out a thunderous roar.

"H-hey! Quiet down!"

Grrr.

Soothed his summon, the druid darted glances at Leo, who sat across from him.

Leo, far from startled, looked thoroughly entertained.

"You see, since Mr. Dinosaur is a druid, I figure he'd pair really well with my spirits! The synergy would be amazing."

"A druid and a spirit sorcerer! If you two ended up on the same team, that would be a terrifying combination."

It was true—if a druid commanding beasts and summons joined forces with a spirit sorcerer commanding elementals, their synergy could produce effects beyond imagination.

Word even went around that the two of them alone could hold their own against a full team fielding four Generals.

"Excellent. Then we'll leave the team discussion for when the selection begins. Moving on..."

"I'll do my best to win!"

"Yes. We're rooting for you!"

With the eleventh interviewee, the red-haired mage Redberry, finishing her greetings, only one player remained.

"And now! We have our very last player left. I suspect this is the one you've all been waiting for?"

"Indeed. Throughout the interviews so far, the talk has kept coming back to her without pause."

"Then without further ado, let's welcome—Lily!"

As the commentators spoke, the feed cut to a new shot.

There she sat, in a chair among the gathered players.

Her appearance was so flawless it was hard to believe she'd been made with the character creator—and it was more than enough to pull in the gazes of countless viewers.

Viewer numbers that had been crawling along all this time rocketed past the 200,000 mark with ease.

At last, the woman herself took hold of the microphone.

Tap-tap.

Tap. Tap.

"Ah—ah. Can you hear me?"

A clear, angelic voice flowed through the screen.

At the sight of her—like a living saint—the people in the venue either erupted in cheers or found themselves struck speechless, staring blankly, over and over.

"We can hear you perfectly! Ah, welcome, Lily! This is your first time on a broadcast this large, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"How are you feeling? A little nervous?"

"Hmm..."

Lily tilted her head slightly.

From her own perspective, she was merely giving the question casual thought—but every little gesture landed on the audience like a thunderbolt.

"...I wouldn't say nervous, exactly. The scale of it all is just so enormous that it caught me off guard a little."

'I've been through situations like this far too many times to get nervous.'

Standing before a crowd was something she'd endured to the point of exhaustion, long ago.

If anything, this was the first time she'd ever seen so many people gather for what was essentially a festival.

"This year's Mock Siege Battle really is far bigger than last year's! Well then, we wish you the best of luck in this Mock ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Siege Battle."

"Thank you."

"Now, on to the questions. There's a lot people want to ask you, Lily. Which team you'd like to join, what role you'll play in this Mock Siege Battle, how you intend to use that special 'technique' of yours once the actual Siege War rolls around, how your character customization was done—the list goes on."

"That's right," commentator Rakl chimed in smoothly.

"Since it would be a bit much to ask everything, let's focus mainly on questions about the Siege Battle."

"Sure."

"A great many people are expecting big things from your skills, Lily. Quite a few are saying you shouldn't settle for General—that you ought to be the Grand General."

"But with the team captains already pre-selected this time, it seems likely you'd be operating as a General rather than Grand General. Is there a team you have your eye on?"

"Actually, I have a question about that."

"Oh? Please, go ahead."

Lily paused for a beat.

She glanced around as if searching for something, then at last turned her gaze toward the podium far off to the side, where the three team captains sat.

Her golden hair caught the light beautifully.

"Is it the case that only team captains can be the Grand General?"

It was never spelled out anywhere in the rules—but in the two previous Mock Siege Battles, the team captain had always taken the Grand General slot.

The reason, of course, was the perfectly justifiable excuse that the captain was "far better than any other team member."

That precedent had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simply carried on as an unspoken agreement, which was why the rules had never needed to say a word about it.

Even between the commentators—Fracion having left for the players' benches—opinions were divided.

The definitive answer came from Vlack, seated on the captains' side.

"Not necessarily. Captains and Grand Generals were placed on the same footing simply because those captains happened to be the most skilled players with the highest ranker standings. Therefore, the Grand General position can be reassigned at any time during team selection."

In other words—as long as you were the most skilled, the roles of Grand General and General could be swapped whenever you pleased.

Lily parted her lips with a faint smile.

"I want to be the Grand General. The reason? It looks fun... and, honestly, I can't say I'm not tempted by that ring."

Like Yena, so many people misunderstood me—but I was never some saint without material desires, handing everything away for free.

If anything, I took my compensation and then some.

It only seemed otherwise because that compensation didn't always take material form.

Which was precisely why that ring was an absolute must.

Mythic-grade equipment.

If I obtained it, might I find a hint pointing to Deoen—and to the gateway connecting it to everything else?

"Going for the Grand General seat, is it? Oh my, the team captains must have quite the knot in their stomachs now."

"On the contrary, it could work out even better. If Lily truly proves herself worthy of the Grand General title, that team's odds of victory would skyrocket."

After all, only the winning team could claim both the ring and the prize money.

Passing on Lily out of fear of losing one's Grand General seat would only mean feeding a monster on the opposing side.

The caster, chuckling at the delicious chaos unfolding, asked with playful mischief.

"With your sights set so firmly on the Grand General title—what if! The captain who picks you refuses to hand the seat over! What then, Lily? Would you simply give up?"

"Then... I suppose I'll just have to fight for it and take it."

That had been the plan all along.

If they truly wanted me, surely they'd be willing to understand someone like me, too?