Chapter 37: 37

“Three days from now, there will be a knockout competition among 16 participants in this arena. The first day eight matches will be held in the first round; on the second day, 4 matches will be held in the 2nd round; and 2 matches will be held in the 3rd round. The third day will be the finals, and if you win there, you will be recognized as a Hero, and after that, a ceremony will be held,” I said.

“Eh, it’s a winner-take-all. But wouldn’t that put one at a disadvantage if faced with unfavorable opponents?” Tia asked

“According to the higher ups, ‘A man who loses just because they were matched against an unfavorable opponent cannot become a Hero’. Well, they have a point.”

A situation in which a brave man was relative was always a piece of nonsense. Besides, it was natural for the Demon Lord’s side to analyze and take countermeasures against the only one Hero in the world. In other words, if someone couldn’t win against someone stronger than them, they were definitely not fit to be a Hero.

“But wouldn’t it be better to make them all heroes? I think we would be stronger if we all worked together,” Tia said.

“I think part of the reason for choosing a Hero is that they want to have someone who can be a symbol of hope and can help to unite people’s hearts and minds. I mean, they’re not going to kill each other in the selection process, the rest 15 will continue to fight the Demon Lord’s army as usual.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s true. I’m sorry for diverting you. Go on.”

I nodded lightly at Tia’s words and continued the conversation.

“Yes. And… Ah! Okay. First of all, I’m going to say this as a prerequisite. Sure, at that time, Waffer was not as strong as other candidates, but by no means am I saying he is weak, okay? After all, he was even chosen as a Hero candidate. Why, he won the three games leading up to the final as usual with some leeway. I don’t have anything to say about this one, but the … issue was the final, i.e., the fight with that Doben. Doben was clearly stronger even then. I don’t think the other hero candidates who fought against him were a match for Doben, or rather, they were all stronger than the hero candidates Waffer had defeated.”

“… Does that mean there was someone behind the scenes trying to make Doben lose?”

Tia asked with a mysterious look on her face, and I quietly shook my head.

“I don’t know. I didn’t have the time or ability to look into it at the time. It is possible that it was really a coincidence… but anyway, Doben and Waffer met in the finals… and Waffer won. There were rumors circulating that he had not fully recovered his strength from a series of battles against strong opponents, or that he was injured in a way that could not be seen from the outside, but these were just rumors. Waffer fought with all his might and won the title of Hero by his own strength… at least, that’s what I thought…”

“The way you put it, you mean it wasn’t, right? Gosh, I don’t want to hear it even though it bothers me so much….”

Tia frowned blatantly and her ears drooped. I understood the sentiment, but unfortunately, the lecture was compulsory.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to force you to listen to me, okay? Three months after Waffer became the Hero, a village was attacked by a large number of Kuronuris. Naturally, me and Waffer rushed over there … and there was Doben. Waffler offered to fight with him, but Doben stubbornly refused. As a result, half of the village was destroyed, and many people were killed or wounded. Doben was also killed there, and the surviving villagers …. of that village, where Doben was born, told Waffer a story he did not want to know. He heard that Doben lost the finals of the selection round because they took his family hostage and demanded that he ‘lose to Waffer.”

“What!? Something like that!!!?”

With a bang, Tia slammed the table and stood up abruptly. The impact caused the tea in the cup on the table to spill and splatter, and I wiped it lightly, trying to sound calm as I did so.

“Calm down. I know how you feel, but it’s the past … or rather it hasn’t even happened yet. Waffer was horrified when he heard the story. He was an honest and pure guy. Knowing that the title of hero was not handed to him, but offered to him by hands covered with dirt… In addition to this, the village suffered numerous casualties, and even led to the death of Doben. He couldn’t cry. He could not even repent. He was not allowed to stop, confess his sins, or even commit suicide. The villagers, who at first told the truth with the intention of taking revenge, were completely taken aback by the sight of the pathetic Waffer. Then, Waffer, who was stunned for a while, barely recovered even if only in appearance, and spoke wistfully of his own helplessness… The villagers, who sympathized with him, told him about the training ground with that Mikagami that Doben’s family used to use. So? You wouldn’t choose to know about that through legitimate means, would you?”

“Yeah, right. That’s too much….”

Tia muttered in a deep, quiet, somber voice. Knowing Waffer, who was always so energetic and positive, it was only natural that this would happen if I shared his feelings.

“Waffer trained at that place for about two months, like he was one step away from committing suicide. The result of that was an even stronger Waffer than the current one, but … In return, Waffer stopped laughing. He always looked somewhat sad and lonely…. After a while, I left the party in front of a labyrinth that only Chemonians could enter. So, I don’t know what happened after that. Did Waffer manage to defeat the Demon Lord? What happened to the world? … I don’t think it ended too well.”

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“Right….”

Tia’s head, which was looking down, was perhaps remembering the events of the first round of the Dream World. A future in which no one would be happy, which had been brought about by the slightest misstep.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s an act of God to do something about something we don’t know, isn’t it? I’m not so conceited as to say that Waffer and this world were unhappy because of me, if I do say so myself. But not now. We know what happens, and we can even turn this shit ending around.”

“R…Right! So, what exactly are we going to do about it? What should I do?”

“Don’t panic. The most critical part of the sequence of events is the incident at the finals of the Hero Selection Committee, which is the reason why Waffer and Doben are at odds with each other. But if that is eliminated, there is a possibility that Waffer will not be able to beat Doben. That’s not good for us….”

“What!? You wouldn’t let them threaten Doben, would you?!”

“It’s not out of the question to change the target slightly and then have them threatened.”

The problem was telling them (The new target) to “lose to Waffer”. In other words, if I threatened them to lose the match before that, then they would not be able to reach Waffer. That way, Waffer would almost certainly win, and the feud with Doben would almost, if not completely …disappear.…

“Ed?”

“Don’t give me that grim look. If we want to be sure, that’s one way to go. But in the event, if Waffer loses, we’ll have to give up on him and join another Hero….”

“Don’t worry! Waffer will win!”

Tia emphatically assured me, even though she had no evidence to support her claim.

If I had been alone, I would have played it safe and compromised. Every uncertainty should be eliminated, and the priority should always be oneself.

But now, I was not alone. If this was the result of being greedy and whining like a crying child, then …. this time was also no different.

“Then it’s settled. If we believe Waffer will win, all we have to do is find out who or what is threatening Doben and stop them. And after that, … we’ll both be cheering for Waffle as hard as we can.”

“Ed!”

I said with a grin, and Tia jumped up from her seat. Her arms around my neck felt soft but warm, and when she rubbed her cheek against me, I could smell her gentle, flowery fragrance.

“I knew it, Ed really is Ed after all! Together, we can make everyone happy!”

“Yeah, I know.”

Kicking off the dark shadows that would make things easier if we used them, we aimed for a future that was only bright. I did not yet know how much effort it would take to do so, but the price for the smiles of Tia and Waffer, my two friends, was such a bargain that I might start worrying about going bankrupt.

Nevertheless, we would show no mercy. Fufufu~ I’d take it all this time, too.

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