“Who among you is the ringleader? You have put on quite the show.”
Lily looked over each of the participants one by one as she spoke. When our eyes met, she didn’t flinch, instead passing over me like I was just another person in the group.
“You all sure have it nice. You can survive the auditions as long as you have your fat family backing you up. Well we don’t have it that easy!”
Someone from the low-ranking commoners group spoke up. It was like a switch flipped, and the other girls began grumbling as well.
Nobles and commoners, mages and others. Cliques have formed inside this contest, and now, the low-ranked commoners are being singled out. Differences in the cliques are causing things to get jumbled together and get complicated. It’s easy to look down on the commoners’ method, but really, is it that different from how Lily got her first place position?
Having identified the source of the voice, Lily walked over to the girl and grabbed her by the collar.
“If you’re that desperate, then at least struggle within the rules. If you grab what you can in a shithole like this, you’re just going to end up exploited. Can’t you even understand that much?”
The word ‘shithole’ was definitely used to provoke a reaction. The dissatisfaction from the lower-ranked commoners only grew louder. Lily ignored them all and had Ronaldo brought in front of her. He was thrown on the floor having been tied up after the noble girls restrained him.
“Ronaldo-san. You taught me quite a bit about what it means to run a business. I certainly remember how disgusting those eyes of yours were every time you looked at me, but I never thought you’d put on something like this. It seems I still have some learning to do on how to read people.”
Lily grabbed Ronaldo by his thinning hair and forcefully lifted his face. He groaned in pain, but Lily didn’t let him go.
Lily told me when we exchanged the “contract” between us that there was someone who taught her the significance of such things. It was a merchant who frequented her family home, and I’m guessing it was Ronaldo.
“Selling your vote for money or other rewards is prohibited in the Hero Audition. This clearly goes against that rule, doesn’t it?”
Ronaldo didn’t say anything as his head clumsily dangled in the air. Lily clicked her tongue and gave his hair another tug.
“Ronaldo-san. Your company handles quite a bit of food. Isn’t the yearly review coming up? How was it this year? Have you kept your facilities sanitary? Don’t get careless, else some incompetent subordinate of yours might deliver rotten crap to my family. Or gods forbid, the royal family.”
It’s obvious she isn’t just making small talk here. This is a threat. For Lily’s parents, the Ruhuna family, destroying Ronaldo’s business wouldn’t even be a challenge.
Rather than Lily, we are talking about the authority of her parents and older siblings, but here, in this moment, she is their representative. Only those with power have the ability to turn truth to lies and lies to truth, and right now, Lily is the one with the most power here.
“I-…..I don’t know who any of these young girls are! I have no relation to any of them nor do I have any interest in the auditions!”
Ronaldo raised his voice into a scream loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Lily made the same smile she makes when she bullies me and looked around her.
The other merchants were all nodding, sharing in the same sentiment as Ronaldo. It’s a sign that none of them will interfere with the voting going forward.
The emotional support of the lower-ranked commoners was all undone. The girls put in the effort to earn these merchants’ votes because they believed they would be taken care of even if they ended up dropping out of the audition.
However even that path was cut off thanks to Ronaldo’s petty act of self-preservation. The low-ranking commoners who understood had their spirits and complaints dashed away.
“Well, this is the end of that then. Let us continue with a fair, honest fight. We won’t say anything about what happened tonight. I believe that will be for the best for all of us.”
Olive put a close to the discussion with a coaxing voice that I’m sure rubbed a couple of the commoners the wrong way. But from the perspective of those who attended tonight’s party, this would be the best they could ask for. The public would surely look at them harshly if it was discovered they were selling their bodies for votes.
But how does this benefit the nobles? They were able to grasp the weakness of some of their competitors. Unless, they are hoping to avoid smearing mud on the Hero Audition’s name?
The invading aristocrats were the first to file out of the room, followed shortly after by the gloomy commoners. Each of them glared at me specifically on their way out.
It’s like they think I’m the one who broke their association by letting the nobles find out about it. That might be partially true, but it was actually Melia who escaped on her own from the mansion and brought the authorities down on the place. She saved me, so why are you making it look like I’m the one holding a grudge against her?
“Lily-chan, let’s go home.”
Melia and Peony came to pick me up while I was sitting on the floor, my arms wrapped around my legs like I was part of an early morning PE class. Both of them had this weird smile as if they were worried about me. When I took the hand Melia offered me, she yanked on it so hard I thought she was going to dislocate it or something.
“Melia, that hurt.”
“Ahaha…..sorry sorry. I just had to check something.”
“But, I suppose with you two, you’d be able to heal any injury of mine.”
“Maybe, but try not to get hurt too much. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.”
Melia and Peony had this weird thing going between the two of them. It’s not like I’m going to rely on their healing or anything. The three of us started walking after the others with me feeling like I was being left out of some secret.
♠
The three of us were able to leave the grounds of Ronaldo’s mansion without anyone bothering us, but when we reached the gate, we found Lily and Olive standing outside.
“Oh! Lily-san! Thank you so much for today. I couldn’t do anything by myself…..so you were a huge help.”
Melia bowed her head down as soon as she saw Lily. She must have ran straight to the dorms as soon as she escaped the mansion and grabbed her.
“Think nothing of it Melia-san. We would have been in trouble if their illegal voting had gone through, so you helped us as well.”
So she’s saying she ran in so the Hero Audition could continue forward in a fair manner. I didn’t really expect her to have done it to come to my rescue, but it still makes me feel a bit lonely.
“Now then. I suppose I will take Melia-san?”
“Yes. That will be fine.”
“Understood. My, Lily-san is also quite kind-hearted.”
Olive and Lily began talking about something between themselves. Melia and I shared a look and tilted our heads.
“Um…..what are you talking about?”
“There will almost certainly be some kind of reprisal for what happened here tonight, so Olive and I thought it would be for the best to have you two come under our protection. As such, it only makes sense to have you both start staying in our rooms so you are not assaulted while you sleep. It is a simple precaution since we both have single rooms, and if it ends up being unnecessary, no harm will have been done.”
Lily explained the plan going forward to us. Melia will be bunking with Olive which means I will be moving into Lily’s room.
“I-…..If that’s the case, I could sleep in Peony’s room.”
Melia apparently has some small apprehensions with Olive, so with a strained smile, she tries getting her sister to save her.
“I don’t mind, but what are two healers going to do if we get attacked? And Olive looks excited for it, so why not give it a shot. I saw some of her magic when we were busting in, and I think you can rely on her.”
“Uuu…..I understand”
“Oh my. If it bothers you that much, we can try finding somewhere else for you to sleep.”
Olive started poking at Melia after she begrudgingly accepted being roommates. She isn’t being as sarcastic as she usually is though, so this is her trying to be considerate in her own way. I think.
I don’t know what kind of wind is blowing around us at this point, but it looks like the Ran and Ren underwear incident is water under the bridge. If they’re willing to cooperate with us, it’s probably better to be obedient here and rely on them.
“It is only until things calm down. Give it a few days, and we can see how things are going.”
“I am not enthusiastic about this either. However, since this is what Lily-san thinks is best, I am willing to cooperate.”
Olive is drawing a protective line around her, but since she isn’t doing anything awful besides, it won’t hurt for her to preserve her pride. I think. She is usually looking down on commoners, so having one sleep in the same room as her might end up seriously aggravating her.
“I am sorry Olive. But if Liffy-san or Melia-san were to end up injured because of our actions here, would it not make it difficult to sleep at night? They did save the audition for us after all.”
Olive nodded her head at Lily’s suspicious-sounding joke.
After all, these two are doing it for themselves. It’s more a personal duty of Lily’s to pay me back for helping to stop an injustice rather than for my personal sake.
♠
When I returned to the dorms, I quickly packed up my things and moved them to Lily’s room. One of the commoner hero candidates spat at me as I walked down the hallway, but I wrote it off as just a frog doing its thing and passed her by.
“Sorry I made you wait.”
I opened the door to Lily’s room and said hello.
Lily waited until I got inside and the door closed behind me. Then she hugged me tight without saying a word.
“Who among you is the ringleader? You have put on quite the show.”
Lily looked over each of the participants one by one as she spoke. When our eyes met, she didn’t flinch, instead passing over me like I was just another person in the group.
“You all sure have it nice. You can survive the auditions as long as you have your fat family backing you up. Well we don’t have it that easy!”
Someone from the low-ranking commoners group spoke up. It was like a switch flipped, and the other girls began grumbling as well.
Nobles and commoners, mages and others. Cliques have formed inside this contest, and now, the low-ranked commoners are being singled out. Differences in the cliques are causing things to get jumbled together and get complicated. It’s easy to look down on the commoners’ method, but really, is it that different from how Lily got her first place position?
Having identified the source of the voice, Lily walked over to the girl and grabbed her by the collar.
“If you’re that desperate, then at least struggle within the rules. If you grab what you can in a shithole like this, you’re just going to end up exploited. Can’t you even understand that much?”
The word ‘shithole’ was definitely used to provoke a reaction. The dissatisfaction from the lower-ranked commoners only grew louder. Lily ignored them all and had Ronaldo brought in front of her. He was thrown on the floor having been tied up after the noble girls restrained him.
“Ronaldo-san. You taught me quite a bit about what it means to run a business. I certainly remember how disgusting those eyes of yours were every time you looked at me, but I never thought you’d put on something like this. It seems I still have some learning to do on how to read people.”
Lily grabbed Ronaldo by his thinning hair and forcefully lifted his face. He groaned in pain, but Lily didn’t let him go.
Lily told me when we exchanged the “contract” between us that there was someone who taught her the significance of such things. It was a merchant who frequented her family home, and I’m guessing it was Ronaldo.
“Selling your vote for money or other rewards is prohibited in the Hero Audition. This clearly goes against that rule, doesn’t it?”
Ronaldo didn’t say anything as his head clumsily dangled in the air. Lily clicked her tongue and gave his hair another tug.
“Ronaldo-san. Your company handles quite a bit of food. Isn’t the yearly review coming up? How was it this year? Have you kept your facilities sanitary? Don’t get careless, else some incompetent subordinate of yours might deliver rotten crap to my family. Or gods forbid, the royal family.”
It’s obvious she isn’t just making small talk here. This is a threat. For Lily’s parents, the Ruhuna family, destroying Ronaldo’s business wouldn’t even be a challenge.
Rather than Lily, we are talking about the authority of her parents and older siblings, but here, in this moment, she is their representative. Only those with power have the ability to turn truth to lies and lies to truth, and right now, Lily is the one with the most power here.
“I-…..I don’t know who any of these young girls are! I have no relation to any of them nor do I have any interest in the auditions!”
Ronaldo raised his voice into a scream loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Lily made the same smile she makes when she bullies me and looked around her.
The other merchants were all nodding, sharing in the same sentiment as Ronaldo. It’s a sign that none of them will interfere with the voting going forward.
The emotional support of the lower-ranked commoners was all undone. The girls put in the effort to earn these merchants’ votes because they believed they would be taken care of even if they ended up dropping out of the audition.
However even that path was cut off thanks to Ronaldo’s petty act of self-preservation. The low-ranking commoners who understood had their spirits and complaints dashed away.
“Well, this is the end of that then. Let us continue with a fair, honest fight. We won’t say anything about what happened tonight. I believe that will be for the best for all of us.”
Olive put a close to the discussion with a coaxing voice that I’m sure rubbed a couple of the commoners the wrong way. But from the perspective of those who attended tonight’s party, this would be the best they could ask for. The public would surely look at them harshly if it was discovered they were selling their bodies for votes.
But how does this benefit the nobles? They were able to grasp the weakness of some of their competitors. Unless, they are hoping to avoid smearing mud on the Hero Audition’s name?
The invading aristocrats were the first to file out of the room, followed shortly after by the gloomy commoners. Each of them glared at me specifically on their way out.
It’s like they think I’m the one who broke their association by letting the nobles find out about it. That might be partially true, but it was actually Melia who escaped on her own from the mansion and brought the authorities down on the place. She saved me, so why are you making it look like I’m the one holding a grudge against her?
“Lily-chan, let’s go home.”
Melia and Peony came to pick me up while I was sitting on the floor, my arms wrapped around my legs like I was part of an early morning PE class. Both of them had this weird smile as if they were worried about me. When I took the hand Melia offered me, she yanked on it so hard I thought she was going to dislocate it or something.
“Melia, that hurt.”
“Ahaha…..sorry sorry. I just had to check something.”
“But, I suppose with you two, you’d be able to heal any injury of mine.”
“Maybe, but try not to get hurt too much. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.”
Melia and Peony had this weird thing going between the two of them. It’s not like I’m going to rely on their healing or anything. The three of us started walking after the others with me feeling like I was being left out of some secret.
♠
The three of us were able to leave the grounds of Ronaldo’s mansion without anyone bothering us, but when we reached the gate, we found Lily and Olive standing outside.
“Oh! Lily-san! Thank you so much for today. I couldn’t do anything by myself…..so you were a huge help.”
Melia bowed her head down as soon as she saw Lily. She must have ran straight to the dorms as soon as she escaped the mansion and grabbed her.
“Think nothing of it Melia-san. We would have been in trouble if their illegal voting had gone through, so you helped us as well.”
So she’s saying she ran in so the Hero Audition could continue forward in a fair manner. I didn’t really expect her to have done it to come to my rescue, but it still makes me feel a bit lonely.
“Now then. I suppose I will take Melia-san?”
“Yes. That will be fine.”
“Understood. My, Lily-san is also quite kind-hearted.”
Olive and Lily began talking about something between themselves. Melia and I shared a look and tilted our heads.
“Um…..what are you talking about?”
“There will almost certainly be some kind of reprisal for what happened here tonight, so Olive and I thought it would be for the best to have you two come under our protection. As such, it only makes sense to have you both start staying in our rooms so you are not assaulted while you sleep. It is a simple precaution since we both have single rooms, and if it ends up being unnecessary, no harm will have been done.”
Lily explained the plan going forward to us. Melia will be bunking with Olive which means I will be moving into Lily’s room.
“I-…..If that’s the case, I could sleep in Peony’s room.”
Melia apparently has some small apprehensions with Olive, so with a strained smile, she tries getting her sister to save her.
“I don’t mind, but what are two healers going to do if we get attacked? And Olive looks excited for it, so why not give it a shot. I saw some of her magic when we were busting in, and I think you can rely on her.”
“Uuu…..I understand”
“Oh my. If it bothers you that much, we can try finding somewhere else for you to sleep.”
Olive started poking at Melia after she begrudgingly accepted being roommates. She isn’t being as sarcastic as she usually is though, so this is her trying to be considerate in her own way. I think.
I don’t know what kind of wind is blowing around us at this point, but it looks like the Ran and Ren underwear incident is water under the bridge. If they’re willing to cooperate with us, it’s probably better to be obedient here and rely on them.
“It is only until things calm down. Give it a few days, and we can see how things are going.”
“I am not enthusiastic about this either. However, since this is what Lily-san thinks is best, I am willing to cooperate.”
Olive is drawing a protective line around her, but since she isn’t doing anything awful besides, it won’t hurt for her to preserve her pride. I think. She is usually looking down on commoners, so having one sleep in the same room as her might end up seriously aggravating her.
“I am sorry Olive. But if Liffy-san or Melia-san were to end up injured because of our actions here, would it not make it difficult to sleep at night? They did save the audition for us after all.”
Olive nodded her head at Lily’s suspicious-sounding joke.
After all, these two are doing it for themselves. It’s more a personal duty of Lily’s to pay me back for helping to stop an injustice rather than for my personal sake.
♠
When I returned to the dorms, I quickly packed up my things and moved them to Lily’s room. One of the commoner hero candidates spat at me as I walked down the hallway, but I wrote it off as just a frog doing its thing and passed her by.
“Sorry I made you wait.”
I opened the door to Lily’s room and said hello.
Lily waited until I got inside and the door closed behind me. Then she hugged me tight without saying a word.
