24. Regular Hero Promotion Test (2)
on the day of the test.
This is a campsite near the dungeon where the test will be held.
The warriors participating in the test are living in a common campground, but I was allowed to live separately by the guild.
Is this Philip’s strength?
It’s burdensome to have the attention and attention, but when I see something comfortable, I wonder if I should have revealed it a long time ago.
Anyway, since it was a few hours before the day, the group let them rest without hard training to adjust their condition.
To be exact, I’ve been resting like that since yesterday.
I was a little free.
There is nothing to inform the party, and there is no training.
I was just sitting in the middle of my camp and playing with Kati, who was in cat form.
“Nyangyangyakyakyak-.”
… This is the sound Kati makes while watching birds fly by.
“Yak-yak-kyak-kyam-.”
It is called chattering, and it is said that cats make this sound when they see their prey.
“Nyangnyang.”
When the bird disappears, it looks at me and babbles, probably losing interest.
I played hunting with my fingers as I had just done.
It is a game in which the fingers stop and move repeatedly like a prey, and Kati follows and catches them.
“… Nyaang!”
Kati grabbed my index finger and hugged me, biting me lightly and babbling.
“Nyangmyawangungyang-.”
I wonder if he is a prisoner who can transform into a cat.
I’m sometimes confused about whether it’s a cat that can transform into a human.
… No, little by little.
“Ian.”
“yes.”
That’s when Mercy came to me.
“A letter has arrived.”
I received an envelope from Mercy, but Mercy’s expression was very confused.
“what’s the matter?”
“No, just… . Look at the sender.”
“Sender?”
I looked down and saw the envelope.
[From: Aria]
“… Maybe that aria?”
“Do you have any other arias to write to?”
“Why is he with me?”
“So it is.”
Mercy crossed her arms and clicked her tongue.
Kati growled and glared at the envelope.
“Once they came, I felt I had to give them.”
“Well done.”
There might be important business, so I couldn’t ignore it at all.
But isn’t this a letter inside?
When I opened the envelope, there were other items besides the letter as expected.
It was the necklace Arya was wearing.
“what?”
I left the necklace and read the letter.
[Ian. Have you been at peace? Since the trial date… .]
From one day on, 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 Arya’s letter.
‘I don’t think there’s much content.’
It was as expected.
I read it quickly and didn’t miss the content, but there really wasn’t much to it.
To sum it up, I was sorry for so long, and instead, I was giving this necklace as an apology.
I put the letter and necklace intact in the envelope and returned it to Mercy.
“Send it back.”
“Yes.”
Mercy returned it to the messenger who delivered it.
“What is it written on?”
When she returned, she asked.
“Nothing. It’s all about being sorry.”
“You mean now?”
“What… . I guess so.”
That necklace is a very useful relic.
However, it is highly likely that receiving it will be for some reason.
Or they may give me room to misunderstand my actions.
I hated that.
Most of all, I heard that you’ve gotten weaker recently. What if I take this out?
“Ugh… .”
Mercy sat down next to him and sighed.
“Oh right. Did you send everything you were told to send?”
Prior to the official exam, there were several people to invite, so he asked Mercy to send a letter.
“Yes. Sure. I sent it all when I told you yesterday morning. I wrote down the date and this place well.”
“Yeah, didn’t you get any reply?”
“There was one thing that was confirmed to come, but that’s all.”
“Hmm. okay. you know what to do Did the elves arrive well?”
“Yes. You have arrived safely in Galway and Friedrich. I was looking for a place to stay. While watching and studying, he said he would let you know if there was anything special you said.”
Communication with the elves was possible without actually writing and sending them.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t real time.
I used a fast bird or flying insect nearby, but it took about 30 minutes to communicate.
It takes several weeks, so even 30 minutes is enough time.
Above all, even if the image mirror could be used in both directions, the value of the elven scouting team would still be valid because the price would not be cheap.
“Good.”
“Hehe.”
Mercy, who smiled sinisterly, came closer to me.
“You only choose pretty things! You cute boy!”
“Get away because it’s hot.”
“Nyaung-!”
Katy clings to Mercy while the two bicker.
“Ian. There will be an explanation of the exam soon.”
It was notified by the test administration.
There was some time left, but I led the party out.
*
“Hee?”
Vivian let out a strange exclamation with eyes wide open like a rabbit.
“Huh… .”
Lucia also let out a long breath as if surprised.
It was the same for me too.
The way to the entrance of the dungeon where the test will be held.
There are a lot of people.
It’s to the point where it looks gross.
‘Did he do some kind of emperor procession?’
I even heard that.
All of them were onlookers who came because they were curious about this test.
“Is that what Iris-sama invented?”
He turned his attention to Helena’s question.
What she’s pointing at… It was a very large television.
It almost looks like a movie theater screen, but of course it’s not really like that.
It is an enlarged version of the ‘image mirror’ developed by Iris.
However, there is a limit to making the crystal ball bigger, so it was made by making a large plate and attaching crystal pieces that receive magic power on top of it.
There were a total of 4 huge image mirrors here.
Since there are four parties, each party will take charge of one.
Iris could be seen busily repairing and inspecting under that large crystal screen.
“yes. It’s called a video mirror, but I heard that this is the first real battle.”
“Ohh… .”
That, of course, is entirely conscious of me.
It was a good thing for me.
Although I do not feel a little uneasy.
The crowds of people also came to intuit the test through that.
‘It’s been said that rumors have spread since the test date was set, but I didn’t expect it to come in so many.’
I walked with the group.
You have to go further to the entrance.
Those who were looking at the giant image mirror also looked this way when I appeared and whispered.
“That person is that Philip… ? Was Ian your original name?”
“Even if it was mysticism, didn’t you openly go about it?”
“It’s not a mystery how it came about… .”
“You look good, but why? Why did you keep hiding that face?”
… How did the mysterious look come about?
Of course, that attention was also directed to my warriors.
“Five! Look at that red hair! It’s King Slime Slayer Vivian!”
Why did you become a slayer when you only killed one?
“Oh, right, right! I saw it in a monthly magazine. They say you killed a king slime with one shot.”
“The article said the second Sylvia, maybe?”
“At the time, I thought the reporter was exaggerating, but if Philip picked the talent, it might be true… .”
“Since Sylvia was a big slime, isn’t she greater than Sylvia?”
The constant praise made Vivian’s neck red.
“Ugh… .”
Unable to bear it, she grabbed the brim of her wizard’s hat and pulled it down to hide her face.
Seeing this, someone shouted.
“Ugh! cute… !”
“Are you hiding because you’re ashamed? cute!”
All of a sudden, compliments about how cute it was came flying in from all directions.
The more Vivian did, the deeper she bowed her head and hid.
I could feel my chest pocket quivering.
This is where Mercy hides.
She gets scared because of the crowd, but seems to laugh when she hears Vivian being teased.
“Whose tin helmet is that?”
“Isn’t that Helena? Even the armor looks like a paladin.”
“Looking at the orange hair sticking out from under the helmet, that’s right.”
… oh
I took away the tin helmet I was using before, and now I’m hiding in the new armor I got.
“How old are you? Aren’t you a kid? Are you very short?”
“You’re so small, but you’re fighting?”
“ah. I guess you heard I flinched.”
“Isn’t your gait too stiff?”
“You must be nervous. Aren’t they cute?”
Helena, who had been already stiff and walked like a machine, became stiffer.
It’s a bit taller than my stomach, so it’s not short… .
I’m an adult soon though.
Many people recognized Lucia.
Although he joined relatively recently, his popularity has not been pushed back.
The beauty that lies between that calmness and coolness was one of the reasons for his popularity in the first place, but it was secondary.
The main reason was that she was the son of Lorenzo di Fiorene.
The already famous Lorenzo di Fiorene became even more famous thanks to his treason charges.
Equally, the accusation almost created a bad public opinion, but sympathy was created when a part of what had happened to her in the House of Fiorene was made public.
‘But there are still a lot of bad things to say about your skills.
Vivian subdued King Slime.
Helena passed the Magdalen Abbey public exam from last place to first place.
Compared to the two, Lucia hadn’t shown anything in public yet.
‘You’ll have to show it in this test. With that level of skill, bad public opinion will soon die.’
Unlike the previous two who were nervous, Lucia was very relaxed.
“Wow, isn’t that a face too precious to be a hero? really pretty… .”
“Hey, hey, I just made eye contact.”
“It sucks. Did you see me?”
“But what kind of weapon do you wear so many… ? Aren’t they heavy?”
Unlike Vivian and Helena, who creaked from tension, Lucia was very relaxed.
He recognized them and even waved at the cheering people.
“Yes~ Thank you all for coming to support us~”
At those words, cheers erupted from both men and women.
I laughed out loud at her response.
“You are very gifted.”
“So I mean. I thought I would have become a warrior long ago. Why didn’t you find me sooner?”
“Ah, it was my fault. sorry.”
Lucia smiled and patted my forearm.
“It’s a joke, a joke.”
Since Kati was a cat, she didn’t attract attention as a warrior like the previous three.
However, the cheers and interest were not the same.
“How cute-!”
There were so many people who went wild when they saw the white cat in my arms.
Kati turned her ears to the side and waggled her tail wildly, as if it was noisy and bothersome.
Regardless, people were fascinated by the cuteness of cats.
Arrived at the place where the test is guided.
If we were the last, the other three parties had already gathered.
The onlookers didn’t even come here to see if they noticed.
The atmosphere of the place where the warrior party gathered was different.
tension and boundaries.
I could still hear the cheers of the onlookers from behind, but as soon as I stepped into this place, the air calmed down.
The gazes of the other warrior parties were different.
There was also a party that seemed to envy or respect.
I also watched carefully to understand.
There were also those who seemed jealous.
‘but. It hasn’t been long since I debuted, and with such a reputation, I’ve already come to take on the official exam.’
You might think it’s cheeky.
I have nothing to say even if I think I got my fame for free because of me.
‘They might think that their skills are also lacking.’
Breaking that prejudice is the role of the parties involved.
The tension that had developed between the four parties was pulled tight.
Vivian and Helena were nervous in a different way than before.
Lucia couldn’t relax now either.
“Nice to meet you.”
The man in uniform guarding the entrance to the large dungeon going down underground opened his mouth.
“I am a guild dispatcher to manage and supervise this test. From now on, I will explain about the test.”