Chapter 159:

Chapter 159:

Translator: MarcTempest

Proofreader: naturallyInconsistent

Chapter 159 Eliminated.

It was already dark when everyone gathered at the Reheln Hill, so they decided to start the selection of the team members the next morning.​They had built about five shelters in the process, so there was no problem with accommodation.​And now, at midnight, when the clock struck twelve.

I was checking the personal information that Maiev had collected.​Trixie, Becky, Janet, Yvonne, Yushia.

There were only five who passed in the first round, not many. But the data was deep. In other words, each person had at least 50 pages of information.​“...Not entirely useless.”​By the way, this investigation was done by Maiev. He had verified it several times by trapping them in the frame, so there was no false information mixed in.​It didn’t take much time to look over the data of the five people, but there was one variable.​The Knight of the Flickering Flame, Scarlet Judith.​I muttered calmly.​“Well, does it matter?”​I intended to be fair in selecting the team members. And I had confidence in myself.​Bang─!​Suddenly, a sound of magic explosion came from outside. My eyes naturally turned in that direction.​The magicians, including Becky, were trying various kinds of magic without sleeping. Indeed, their power had improved a lot since I first met them.​On the other hand, on the opposite side, Yvonne and Janet were swinging their swords.​They were both the rising stars of the first-year knight department, and the leader of the Celestial Blessing of the second-year.

They had some taste in swordsmanship. I could feel that they had also made progress.​But there was someone who did nothing.​Scarlet Judith.​She was not swinging her sword right now. She was not observing the actions of the other waiting candidates. She was just standing still, looking at the window of my shelter.​It was a one-way transparent glass, so they couldn’t see me from that side. But still, she was looking this way with her red eyes flickering.​I summarized the evaluation criteria.​The first was whether they had potential for development, and the second was whether they fit my plan. That was the minimum.​I looked at Scarlet quietly.​Our eyes were touching, but not touching.​If you meet these conditions....​“I won’t rule you out.”​◈​The next day, at dawn, Scarlet opened her eyes.

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It was nothing more than waking up from meditation, not sleep.

Looking around, she saw that some of the early risers were warming up.​“Knight of the Flickering Flame, did you sleep well?”​A second-year knight student, the leader of the Celestial Blessing.

Janet approached her and spoke kindly.

Scarlet nodded briefly.​“I was really surprised. I didn’t expect to see you here. You must have joined to honor Judith’s name....”

“No.”​Scarlet cut off Janet’s words with a firm voice. It was a cold reception.​“...I’m sorry. I talked too much.”​Understanding her meaning, Janet left her seat after adding a few more compliments.

Left alone, Scarlet began to review the worries she had all night.​‘It’s suspicious.’​The daughter of the Cloud family, Elphis’s team had won.​The recruitment criteria had been relaxed to allow anyone to apply, but Elphis’s team had completed their application when only ‘students’ were eligible.​And those ‘students’ were not the ones that Scarlet saw at the academy.​‘It must be revenge.’​It was not hard to figure out the cause and effect after obtaining the information that the son of the Cloud family had lost his life in the Hunting Competition.

They must have wanted to get back at Flan.​Scarlet dared to want to protect Flan.​If only Flan would ask her why.​He didn’t ask or question Scarlet’s reason. He just treated her like any other candidate.​Then. Flan showed himself.​“The first task is simple.”​He spoke calmly and opened the record. The formula inside it emitted light and unfolded the terrain of Reheln in the air.​“I’ve marked the destination for each individual.”​Six red dots appeared on the three-dimensional terrain.

They must have been the destinations for each individual.​“There will be a cube at each destination, so leave your own mark in any way and return.”​Everyone nodded.​“If you have any questions, ask them now.”​But no one had any doubts, and soon they all scattered.​Scarlet also headed for her destination.​She was immune to the humid climate by nature, but the terrain was bizarre, which was a bit of a problem.

“Hm.”​It would have been easy if she had used fire to make a straight path, but she didn’t choose that method.​“He must be evaluating the traces.”

Dawn butterflies were creatures that would flee at the slightest sign of presence, so there was some reason to it.

Scarlet focused only on hiding all traces of her existence and moved like a powerless person.

“Ugh...”

It was a hard task. She had to act without using any of her innate abilities, and soon her whole body was covered in sweat.

And finally, she reached her destination.

At the edge of a sharp cliff, her name tag and cube were hanging.

Scarlet decided to leave only a very faint mark on the cube and started to return.

Bang-.

She opened the door of her dwelling.

Flan’s dwelling had become more luxurious in the meantime. He was sitting on an antique chair in front of the fireplace, reading a book.

Scarlet parted her lips.

“I completed it.”

Flan checked Scarlet’s mark through the record sheet connected to the cube and nodded.

“The second task is simple.”

Flan’s hologram pointed to a specific area again.

“I completed it.”

Rustle, rustle.

Flan just turned the pages even after hearing Scarlet’s words.

The silence grew longer and Scarlet’s throat burned.

And at some point.

Flan said.

“Scarlet, did you see a Dawn butterfly?”

“Yes.”

“I see. You worked hard.”

Flan’s answer was just that.

“...”

He didn’t even bother to verify that Scarlet had seen a Dawn butterfly, nor did he ask anything else. He just calmly acknowledged that she had worked hard.

Did she pass or fail? She couldn’t tell what he meant.

“Pl... No, listen.”

Flan.

She couldn’t spit out his name easily, so she changed her words.

“I want to know the result.”

“The result... I just made a decision.”

Flan finally closed the book. Their red eyes met in the air.

“You failed. Scarlet.”

“...”

At first, she didn’t know what she had heard.

“...?”

And three beats later, the question hit her.

Scarlet’s eyes went blank. She thought she had done everything right for the mission.

She barely managed to squeeze out a sound, after repeatedly opening and closing her lips.

“I didn’t fail, I couldn’t have failed...”

“Yeah.”

A voice that cut off her words firmly.

Flan’s expressionless gaze turned to her.

“So, you’re not needed for my plan.”

And then, words that pierced her heart like a dagger.