Chapter 97

97 – If You Trace the Remains of Your Dream, There Is-

The Cocoon opened.

When I got out, Mark was there.

He had an indescribable face. Is he smiling? But he also seemed calm. At the same time, he also looked frustrated.

「…Lem, he was strong.」

「…It seems so.」

「I’m sorry, even though I was already cautious against him.」

No matter how good of a Black Sorcerer Lem is, he actually shouldn’t have been able to win against Mark.

If they fought 100 times, then Mark would win 100 times.

But that’s just the overall strength. The answer would be derived if their fighting abilities are forcibly quantified and compared.

However, this was a Tag Tournament, and there were a number of strategies that he had prepared for this battle.

There must have been something more that I didn’t know about. I won’t be able to figure that out unless I ask Mark or check the video.

「Why are you apologizing?」

「Those who actually fought against him would understand but…if you look at it from the audience’s point of view, they have a firm impression of Lem as the one who was kicked out from his party. And due to the fact that I lost to him…」

Is he thinking that his value as a product would fluctuate because of that?

「There won’t be any problem with that.」

「…Is that so?」

「Of course there will be some worrisome opinions, but it won’t be a big deal. There is also the fact that Aerial had invited Lem to his party and the other heroes that lost to him before you. Moreover, if you take Fellow’s goal of establishing a fair competition into consideration, he won’t treat Black Sorcerers as coldly as the Adventurer industry had done until now. In other words-.」

「So you’re saying that…this matter will instead make Lem become reevaluated, so it will be hard for other people to look down upon the losers?」

「If this had been a project unrelated to Fellow, it would have been dangerous. Just like what you were worried about, it would have been normal to have comments saying that『those who lose against a Black Sorcerer are not fit to be an Adventurer.』.」

What’s more important than the facts itself is how it is presented and how it is captured.

It’s a relief that the person in charge of deciding that is Fellow this time.

「…Hey, what are you smiling about when you just lost?」

It’s not like he’s smiling from ear to ear, but it’s rare to see Mark smiling.

It’s not that he’s a man that doesn’t smile at all, but his expression is normally unshakeable.

「No, sorry about that. The battle with Lem…how should I express this. Aah, right. It was fun. When I think that this battle will not be tainted by outsiders’ evaluation, I…feel happy.」

「…Don’t tell me that even you have become his fan.」

I’m probably even smiling at his grumbling. This is definitely a bitter smile.

「How was Nicola?」

「…I couldn’t understand her until now. No, I didn’t even try to understand her. Failure is a terrifying thing, isn’t it? Especially in an occupation that is dependent on public favor, the slightest mistake can turn all your supporters against you. In this sort of industry, it is a mystery why she continued to obsess over a style that had failed in the past.」

Mark listened in silence.

「But through this matter, I finally realized why. The reason why she admired Lem and why she couldn’t give up on her childish admiration has become clear.」

「…and that is?」

「To put it simply, she’s an idiot.」

「An idiot?」

Mark’s eyes widened and became round.

It’s somewhat amusing and I ended up laughing. This time it was natural.

「A normal person generally has a lot of consideration. Once he fails, he can’t fail anymore. Once he succeeds, he doesn’t want to let go of it. When his life is stable, he strives to maintain or improve it. This applies to normal or slightly smarter people. But idiots are different. What those people have is passion.  If there is a place they want to go to or scenery they want to see, they can never give up on it. It’s constantly appealing to their mind, and it can’t be restrained by reason.」

「…It’s a sentence with a lot of feelings contained within.」

「That’s right. Everyone starts out as an idiot. They become Adventurers because they are stupid. They are already an idiot at the point when they choose a difficult job where they’re always divided into two sides, either a winner or a loser. Because they are stupid, they aim for first place, and because they are stupid, they think that they can be recognized by everyone. But then they realize the truth about reality and most of them realize that the only way to survive is to become smarter. Those who can’t do that will disappear and no one will remember them anymore.」

I didn’t want that to happen, so I aimed to become an Adventurer that can be popular.

Since I can’t let my sister become trash.

「I’ve been watching her since I left the field, but Nicola is not an ordinary idiot. She didn’t follow her past mistakes.」

「You’re right, she had a lot of schemes. Yet, she continued to stick to the style she admired. For an idiot, she really thought a lot about this. Not only that…」

She must have been fighting for the sake of her foolish brother as well.

「It can’t be popular? The style that Nicola wishes to have.」

「The new style itself is not the problem. It has a good balance with the current style. But…」

I think I probably understood what Lem and Nicola were trying to tell me.

When I think about that…

「…Mark. Am I not being calm?」

「You’ve never been calm when it concerns your sister.」

「Ugh…」

I didn’t expect to be stung like this.

「If you thought so, then you should’ve said so before.」

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「Do you really think that you would actually listen to me when you were not calm?」

If before this incident, Mark had told me to properly listen to my sister’s story or that I should stay calm…

…I probably wouldn’t’ve listen to him.

After all, results are important.

I thought that Lem and my sister would never be able to beat me and Mark.

But at the least, they managed to overturn it.

That being the case, I can’t ignore that result.

There was a knock on the door of the waiting room.

「…I guess it’s time for the interview of the defeated?」

「What should I say?」

Mark has been following my plan when it’s related to the work of Adventurers. Or rather, that’s the case for everyone in the party. Even Nicola was doing flawlessly at her job.

「Just say what you want to. If you want to praise Lem, then do so.」

「Understood.」

We headed for the door together.

I have to fulfill my promise.

It should be okay to do the apology after the tournament is over. First of all-

◇

I raised my hand to Berith as she came back to the waiting room.

「You did it.」

She walked up to me and just like that, she hugged me.

「Yeah…! Yeah…! We won! Lem and I…!」

I was momentarily confused for a moment by the hug that had a mix of the hardness of the Insect-Human and the softness peculiar to women, but I soon realized that it was due to pure joy. 　

「You’re right. Actually, I’m also very happy.」

I patted her back.

After we stayed like that for some time, she suddenly pulled away.

「I-I’m sorry, Lem. I just suddenly… it’s so shameful of me…! I was just so moved.」

「Yeah, I know.」

「I got all tattered in the battle, and I made Lem’s clothes all dirty.」

「You don’t have to worry about that when you’re happy.」

「Lem…!」

Berith’s eyes became teary.

「Ahaha…but the Finals will soon start, so you have to go back to your physical body, replace the Avatar, and get back in there again.

The contestants that are participating in the main tournament have made multiple Avatars at the expense of the tournament management.

So that the contestants can face the following Finals in a perfect condition.

「Y-yeah…」

She went to the Cocoon.

Although the winner can also use the『withdrawal』function to come back to the cocoon, I guess the tournament’s side would want the winner to leave the venue gallantly. So, the winners are supposed to leave the field on foot.

In that case, since the waiting room is close, if they don’t find it too troublesome, they can continue walking from there.

Philip and Mark were shown on the small-sized TV that was installed in the waiting room.

It’s the interview of the defeated. Perhaps because they were standing in front of the camera as Adventurers, they had the exact same appearance with their Avatars.

Mark praised me in a few words, while Phillip praised Berith’s attack technique.

『Lem has been making an unexpectedly steady advance in this tournament, what do you think of him, Philip?』

『I didn’t have any intention to underestimate him, but he’s a better Adventurer than I realized. To be honest, I used to think he was unworthy of being in the 4th rank party, but now I’m just ashamed of my previous perception.』

『I see. So do you think that the Fenix party’s decision was wrong?』

『I don’t know about that. He is strong, an excellent Black Sorcerer, and also a fighter. However, even if all those points were present, it’s a different story when it comes to whether he can be famous or not. Moreover, the Fenix party probably had their own circumstances. The only thing that I can say is…』

『What is it?』

『Lem showed the world a different way of fighting in this tournament than when he was in his previous party.』

After that, he talked about how his sister and Berith have something in common, which is their Earth Magic, and how his sister can also do something like that, and that since the『prince』will eventually become the『king』, he can’t always be protected by himself and Mark forever. In other words, he said that eventually they might be able to fight side by side.

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「H-how resolute… He’s shrewdly advertising his own party.」

But it’s amazing.

Our thoughts were firmly conveyed to him.

Nicola was watching it motionlessly with her physical body.

All that remained was the Finals.