How did the team end up like this?
What happened to “fairly and objectively”?
While I was shocked and confused, I heard the voice of someone who didn’t understand the situation.
“Haha! You guys are lucky to be on the same team as me, Mir Giant! You can rest assured now. I will lead you from now on!”
As the small kid loudly boasted, the young hero who was ten times more displeased by this grouping shouted, “This is unbelievable!”
The daughter of House Rubyeta, Sharyl’s face had gone pale.
“I-I was put in a group like this...? Where is the fair and objective selection...?”
That’s what I’m saying.
“Oi, Tornado Girl. You’re going too far.”
“What’s too far is your head!”“What?”
“We can ‘rest assured’ now? Did you mean to say ‘despair’? Th-this group is doomed!”
It seemed she was the type to stop minding what she said when she got too agitated.
In any case, there was one truth that applied in a situation like this: when others were creating a mess, I became even calmer...
And since Sharyl had practically lost her mind, I was feeling very calm.
Thinking about the situation again, I realized the team’s balance wasn’t that bad.
Honestly, the only one here who could be said to be remarkable was Sharyl.
My points were in the upper ranks, but as stated before, I hadn’t shown an outstanding performance in most of the lessons. Rather, I expected that internally, the instructors were underestimating me.
And although Evan had some points as well, his internal evaluations might be even lower than mine since the Instructor of Martial Arts—who seemed to have the greatest say among the instructors—didn’t seem to like him much.
As for Mir Giant... there wasn’t much that needed to be said.
“P-please calm down.”
“I am calm! Hah, I’ll never accept this. I’m going to ask them to reconsider!”
She stalked toward Instructor Juan...
And returned exactly a minute later looking devastated.
“What did he say?”
“I’m doomed... I’m doomed...”
“I see.”
As I nodded, Evan cleared his throat to grab our attention.
“For now... although we all know each other’s names, should we introduce ourselves again? I am Evan Helvin.”
“Luan Bednicker.”
“I am Mir Giant! The descendent of the Great Frost Giant Ymir!”
“Oh ho...”
At my reaction, a look of pride appeared on Mir’s face.
Honestly, I was just surprised that she knew the word “descendent”...
But I decided not to tell her that.
In any case, we all looked at our last team member, Sharyl. However, it seemed her soul had vacated her mind as she continued to stay silent.
“Hmm. It seems Ms. Rubyeta isn’t interested, so we’ll continue... Anyway, let’s work well together as teammates going forward.”
It was a cliche line, but I just nodded since I didn’t have anything else to say.
But then Mir narrowed her eyes a little as she looked at me.
“....Yeah. Gold-Hair Bednicker. We’ve met before, right?”
Seeing her expression, I could tell she was still upset about what had happened during the special test, when I’d lassoed her head and then knocked her out by hitting the back of her head. Ř�
Goodness.
To give me a reaction like this when I’d done something good for her... I wasn’t looking for a thank you, but still...
While I was thinking about how I should answer her, I heard the voice of the Instructor of Martial Arts again.
“All right. And with that, the teams have been created. Young heroes, please gather again.”
The young heroes all gathered in front of the platform at the Instructor’s command.
I checked Charon first...
And it seemed he was the one with a three-member team.
Standing to his sides were Zeros from the merchant house of Silver... and Sinbar, the one who would be called the hero of the beastmen in the future.
The same two people that had been seen hanging around Charon recently.
So those three got put on the same team?
Something was clearly fishy...
—Unbelievable coincidences can happen twice, so be cautious but do not jump to conclusions.
—What if there’s a third time?
—Then you can be sure.
But I recalled the words of my fourth senior brother and decided to wait for now.
“Since the teams have now been made, we will have a short test tomorrow morning.”
“Pardon?”
The young heroes murmured at the unexpected announcement.
One young hero asked, “Didn’t you say that there wasn’t anything major on the weekends?”
“That’s right. That’s why this test isn’t compulsory.” Juan gave a bright smile. “If you don’t want to take it, you can go back to your lodge right now and rest. However, those who don’t attend will be behind in points compared to those who do.”
“...”
The young heroes spaced out.
They looked like people who had been scammed for the first time in their lives.
It might be obvious, but Juan was joking right now.
Go back right now and rest?
Would anyone here take that option?
All the young heroes here were elite students who had a lot of pride in themselves. They believed themselves to be the best.
They would not pass up an opportunity to earn points.
That was why the Instructor of Martial Arts’s words were really a threat.
“...Is this a special test like last time?”
“That’s right. You’re sharp.”
In the last special test, the top five young heroes had obtained points, and Charon had ranked first and obtained an incredible benefit.
Using that benefit, he had solidified his hold on first place.
If the second test gave a similar benefit and Charon obtained it again, then he would become unreachable.
Everyone seemed to realize this fact as they all stayed. Not a single person left.
“It seems everyone intends to attend. It is great to see your initiative.”
“...”
“It’s fine. In this test, there won’t be any point deductions. The test is very simple too: you just need to go into the forest and bring something back.”
The young heroes blinked at the sudden information.
“...By something, do you mean anything?”
“Yes, anything. Whatever you bring, even a pebble or a weed, the instructors will grade you on it. Of course, your mark would be very low in those cases.”
He meant we had to bring something rare.
“Also, the teams can buy many different items using their team points. The list of purchasable items will be sent to you today.”
“...Pardon?”
“What are team points?”
“As the name implies, it is the total points of your team.” Juan continued to smile even as the young heroes looked confused. “You will be given detailed information about it tomorrow before the test begins. And so, please enjoy your break... Ah! Also, please decide on a team captain before the list of items is sent. Only the captain will have the authority to spend team points.”
After saying that with a tone that was honestly quite annoying, Juan left.
Soon, the young heroes left the field or began to talk amongst their teams...
Eventually, only my team remained.
Around this point, Sharyl woke up.
* * * * *
* * * * *
“...Fuuuuuu.”
She let out a long sigh as if she was flushing all the negativity out of her body.
“...It can’t be helped; what’s done is done. My reputation will increase if this useless team can perform thanks to me. That might not be a bad way to look at it.”
Was she really just talking to herself and saying that out loud?
In any case, Sharyl turned to look at us.
“I am Sharyl Rubyeta. Could I ask how many points everyone here has?”
“Why do you need to know that?” Mir asked, and Sharyl looked at her with disdain.
“I need to know so I can look at the list and decide what I’m buying.”
“Th-that’s true... I have 13 points.”
After that, Evan and I also declared our points.
“Eighteen points.”
“Nineteen points.”
“Hmm... well, you have more points than I expected. Except for the giant.”
Mir looked hurt by that comment. Before they could start fighting again, I interjected with a question.
“How many points do you have?”
“Twenty.”
“Then... we have a total of 70 points flat.”
“It seems so. Anyway, I will be the team captain. Does anyone have a problem with that?”
Look at this girl. She was trying to snatch the team captain position out from under everyone.
Mir exploded.
“Of course I do! Compared to you, I am a much better captain!”
“I can’t even laugh at that. Are you trying to push our team all the way down into the dirt?”
“What!”
Sharyl let out another sigh.
“Then it can’t be helped. We’ll have to ask the rest of the team members.”
“Hah! Sure! You two! Who do you think would be a better captain!”
The two of us were on the receiving end of two fiery gazes.
Evan still seemed a little taken aback, so I spoke first.
“Me.”
“...Huh?”
“I think I should be the captain.”
If I had to make a decision between the two, Sharyl would probably be better...
But naturally, compared to these brats, I was a much better choice.
“Don’t joke here!”
“Do you want to die, Gold-Hair Bednicker!”
“Haah.”
Getting the responses I expected, I turned to Evan.
“Then you can decide, Evan. Out of the three of us, who do you think should be captain?”
“Uh, ehm...”
Evan hesitated at being put on the spot before pointing at me.
Sharyl let out another scream.
“You idiots—!”
That’s how the captain of Team 1 was decided.
***
The lounge, which was usually bustling, was quite quiet today.
It wasn’t that there were fewer people present.
The same people were around as always, but they weren’t in big groups; instead, it looked like people had created their own islands.
Naturally, everyone was separated into their teams.
“...This feels a bit wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I feel like we’ve become enemies with people we were just friends with.”
I looked at Evan, who seemed to be struggling by himself, and decided to fix his misunderstanding.
“They’re not enemies, they’re competitors. Get used to it. Although the profession is called ‘hero’, there will be many people who don’t hold valiant goals. Even after becoming an official hero, you’ll have to deal with situations like this many times.”
Of course, since I wasn’t a hero, I couldn’t say for sure. However, judging by the grand masters teaching the young heroes here in this camp, it was easy to tell that one needed to be wary of their friends as much as their enemies.
Evan looked at me with a down expression.
“...You talk like the instructors sometimes.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I properly learned what they were trying to teach me.”
“Haha... Maybe.”
“Over there! Stop talking and come here. We need to check the list of items.”
Sharyl still seemed to want to be the captain, but she’d clearly decided to hold back for now.
Maybe it was because my last name was “Bednicker”?
The more someone was obsessed with authority, the more they would be affected by someone with greater authority.
In any case, I personally received the list from the instructor before placing it on the table.
[Water 500ml, 1pt.]
[Pack of jerky, 1pt.]
[Shortsword, 3pts.]
[Rope, 3pts.]
[Net, 3pts.]
...
...
[Hunting net, 5pts.]
[Bandage, 7pts.]
[Lamp, 10pts.]
...
...
[Sleeping bag, 5pts.]
[Tent, 10pts.]
...
...
[Potion, 30pts.]
There were a lot more items than I’d expected, but I also felt like there was a trend to these items.
I realized the goal of this special test.
If the goal of the first special test, the morning monster ambush, had been “survival”...
The second special test’s goal was undoubtedly “hunting”.
All right, if that’s the case...
We had 70 points.
What was the most effective use of these points?