episode_0113

On the day the exam starts.

This is the campsite near the dungeon where the test will be held.

The warriors participating in the test were staying at a common campsite, but I was given permission by the guild to stay separately.

Is this Philip’s power?

I feel burdened by all the attention and attention, but when I see something comfortable, I feel like I should have revealed it sooner.

Anyway, since it was a few hours before the day, the group rested without training hard to control their condition.

To be exact, I have been resting like that since yesterday.

I was a little bored.

There is nothing to inform the party, and no training is taking place.

I was just sitting in the middle of my camp playing with my cat, Kati.

“Nyanyang medicine medicine-.”

… This is the sound Kati makes while watching a flying bird.

“Yak-Yak-.”

It is said that cats make this sound when they see prey, called chattering.

“Nyannyang.”

When the bird disappeared, it seemed to have lost interest and started cooing at me.

I played a hunting game with my fingers like I just did.

This is a game where you repeatedly stop and move your fingers as if they were hunting, and Kati follows them around to catch them.

“… Nyang!”

Kati grabbed my index finger and hugged me, biting it slightly and cooing.

“Nyanmyangwangungyang-.”

I wonder if he is a beastman who can transform into a cat.

I sometimes get confused as to whether this is a cat that can transform into a human.

… No, a little often.

“Ian.”

“Yes.”

Then Mercy came to me.

“A letter arrived.”

I received an envelope with a letter from Mercy, and her expression was astonished.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, just… . Look at the sender.”

“Sender?”

I looked down and looked at the envelope.

[Sender: Aria]

“… Could it be that Aria?”

“Do you have any other Arias to write to?”

“Why is this guy talking to me?”

“That’s right.”

Mercy crossed her arms and clicked her tongue.

Katy growled and glared at the envelope.

“Once I came, I thought I should give it to you.”

“Good job.”

Since I might have important business to do, I couldn’t just ignore it.

But isn’t this just a letter inside?

When I opened the envelope, there were other items besides the letter as expected.

That was the necklace Aria wore.

“What is it?”

I left the necklace and read the letter.

[Ian. Have you been at peace so far? Already from the trial date… .]

At some point, I was able to guess the entire content of the letter just by reading the first line.

It was like that even now when I read Aria’s letter.

‘I don’t think there’s much to say.’

It was as expected.

I read it quickly and didn’t miss any content, but there really wasn’t much to it.

To sum it up, I was sorry for all this time, and I was giving this necklace as an apology.

I put the letter and necklace intact in the envelope and returned it to Mercy.

“Please send it back.”

“Yes, yes.”

Mercy returned it to the messenger who delivered it to her.

“What is written there?”

She asked when she returned.

“Not really. All they said was that they were sorry.”

“You mean now?”

“What… . I guess so.”

That necklace is a very useful relic.

However, there is a high possibility that receiving it will be for some reason.

Or it might give them room to misunderstand my actions.

I hated that kind of thing.

Above all, I heard that you have become weaker recently. What should I do if I take this away?

“Ugh… .”

Mercy sat down next to him and sighed.

“Oh, that’s right. Did you send everything you asked me to send?”

Before the official exam, I had several people I wanted to invite, so I asked Mercy to send me a letter.

“Yes, yes. of course. When I told you yesterday morning, I sent it all. I wrote down the date and location carefully.”

“Okay, haven’t you received any reply?”

“There was one confirmation that he would come, but that was all.”

“Hmm. okay. I guess you can figure it out. The elves arrived safely?”

“Yes, yes. I heard you arrived safely in Galway and Friedrich. I also found a place to stay. While watching and studying, you said you would let me know if there was anything special you mentioned.”

Communication with elves was possible without actually sending a letter.

However, unfortunately, it was not in real time.

They used fast birds and flying insects nearby, and it took about 30 minutes to roughly convey the message.

It will take several weeks, so even 30 minutes is a satisfactory time.

Above all, even if the image mirror can be used in both directions, it is not cheap, so its value as an elven scout is still valid.

“It went well.”

“Hmph.”

Mercy, smiling sinisterly, came close next to me.

“You only do very pretty things! This cute guy!”

“It’s hot so it falls.”

“Nyaung-!”

Kati clings to Mercy and the two argue.

“Ian. Exam explanation will be coming soon.”

The test management side notified me.

Although there was some time left, I led my group out.

*

“Hie?”

Vivian let out a strange exclamation with her eyes wide open like a rabbit.

“Huh… .”

Lucia also let out a long breath as if she was surprised.

It was the same for me too.

The path to the entrance to the dungeon where you will be tested.

There are so many people.

It’s so crowded that it looks disgusting.

‘Did you go to the emperor or something?’

I even had that thought.

They were all spectators who came because they were curious about this test.

“Is that what Iris invented?”

I turned my attention to Helena’s question.

What she’s pointing at is… It was a very large television.

It almost looks like a movie theater screen, but of course it’s not really that.

It is a larger version of the ‘image mirror’ developed by Iris.

However, there is a limit to making the crystal ball large, so it was made by making a large plate and attaching crystal pieces that transmit magical power to it.

There were a total of four huge video mirrors here.

Since there are four participating parties, each party will be in charge of one task.

I could see Iris busy repairing and inspecting beneath that large crystal screen.

“Yes. It’s called an image mirror, and I heard that this is my first time using it.”

“Oh… .”

Of course, that’s because I’m very conscious of myself.

It was a good thing for me.

Although I feel a little uneasy.

The people who flocked there also came to see the exam through that.

‘I heard rumors have been spreading since the test date was set, but I never thought there would be this many people.’

I led my group and walked.

You have to go further to the entrance.

Those who were looking at the giant video mirror also looked at me and started whispering when I appeared.

“That person is that Philip… ? Was Ian his original name?”

“You said it was mysticism, but didn’t you go around openly?”

“It’s not mysterious how it came about… .”

“You look good, why? Why have you been hiding that face?”

… How did that mysterious thing come about?

Naturally, the attention was also focused on my warriors.

“Oh! Look at that red hair! It’s Vivian, the King Slime Slayer!”

Why did he become a massacre when he only killed one animal?

“Oh, that’s right, that’s right! I saw it in a monthly magazine. They say he killed a king slime with one hit.”

“In the article, it was called the second Sylvia, maybe?”

“At the time, I thought the reporter was exaggerating, but if it was the talent that Philip chose, it might be true… .”

“Silvia was a Big Slime, so isn’t she greater than Sylvia?”

Vivian’s neck turned red from the constant praise.

“Ugh… .”

As if she couldn’t bear it anymore, she grabbed the brim of her wizard’s hat and pressed it down to hide her face.

Someone shouted after seeing that.

“Gasp! cute… !”

“Are you hiding because you’re embarrassed? Cute!”

Compliments suddenly poured in from all around, saying it was cute.

The more Vivian did this, the deeper she lowered her head and hid.

I felt the pocket on my chest tremble.

This is where Mercy hides.

He was scared because of the crowds, but he seemed to be laughing when he heard Vivian being teased.

“Who is that helmet that looks like a tin can?”

“Isn’t it Helena? The armor also looks like a paladin.”

“It looks like orange hair sticking out from under the helmet.”

… ah.

I took away the tin helmet I used before, and now I’m hiding in the new armor I received.

“How old are you? Aren’t you a kid? He’s really short?”

“They’re that small and they’re fighting?”

“Ah. I guess you heard it. I flinched.”

“Isn’t your gait too stiff?”

“I guess I was nervous. It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?”

Helena, who was already stiff and walked like a machine, became even stiffer.

He’s a little taller than my solar plexus, so he’s short… .

Still, you will soon become an adult.

There were many people who recognized Lucia.

Even though he joined relatively recently, his popularity hasn’t faded.

The beauty that lies between calmness and coldness was one of the reasons for its popularity, but it was secondary.

The main reason was that she was Lorenzo di Fiorene’s child.

Lorenzo di Fiorene, who was already famous, became even more famous due to charges of treason, which attracted even more attention.

Likewise, the accusation almost caused negative public opinion, but as part of what she suffered in the Fiorene family became public, sympathetic public opinion arose.

‘But there are still a lot of bad things to say about ability.

Vivian defeated King Slime.

Helena passed the MacDerlin Abbey public exam from last place to first place.

Compared to the two, Lucia has not shown anything publicly yet.

‘You’ll have to show it in this test. Since he has that level of skill, negative public opinion will quickly kill him.’

Unlike the previous two who were nervous, Lucia was very relaxed.

“Wow, isn’t that a face too precious to be a hero? It’s really pretty… .”

“Wow, hey, I just made eye contact.”

“That’s terrible. Did you see me?”

“But what kind of weapons are you carrying around like that? ? Isn’t it heavy?”

Unlike Vivian and Helena, who were nervous and creaky, Lucia was very relaxed.

He even waved at people who recognized him and cheered.

“Yes~ Thank you all for coming to support us~”

At those words, cheers erupted from both men and women.

I laughed out loud when I saw her response.

“You are very gifted.”

“That’s right. I should have become a hero a long time ago. Why didn’t you find me sooner?”

“Oh, it was my fault. Sorry.”

Lucia laughed and tapped my forearm.

“Just kidding, kidding.”

Because Kati was a cat, she did not attract attention as a warrior like the previous three.

However, the cheers and interest were no less.

“Cute-!”

There were so many people who squealed enthusiastically when they saw the white cat in my arms.

Kati seemed to be noisy and bothered by it, so she turned her ears to the side and swung her tail wildly.

Regardless, people were fascinated by the cat’s cuteness.

I arrived at the location where I was informed of the test.

We were probably the last ones, but the other three parties had already gathered.

The onlookers seemed to have noticed and didn’t come all the way here.

The atmosphere where the warrior party gathered was unique.

Tension and vigilance.

You could still hear the cheers of the onlookers behind you, but as soon as you stepped foot in the place, the atmosphere calmed down.

The perspectives of the other warrior parties were different.

There were also parties that seemed to envy or respect people.

I watched closely to try to figure it out.

There were some who seemed jealous.

‘but. ‘It hasn’t even been long since I debuted and I’m already so famous that I’m here to take the official exam.’

You might think it’s arrogant.

Even if you think that fame was gained for free because of me, I have nothing to say.

‘You might think that they lack skills.’

It is the role of the parties involved to break that prejudice.

The tension between the four parties tightened.

Vivian and Helena were nervous in a different way than before.

Lucia couldn’t relax right now either.

“Nice to meet you.”

A man in uniform guarding the entrance to a large underground dungeon opened his mouth.

“I am a guild dispatcher who will manage and supervise this exam. From now on, I will explain the test.”