“Wow, that’s a huge crowd,” Tia said.
“Well, of course. The selection of the Hero is a big event.”
Three days before the start of the competition, we arrived in the big city of Punir, where the selection was to take place. The liveliness of the town was unmatched by any other town we had passed through. Even the main street, where only 10 people could walk side by side, was so crowded that it was impossible to walk freely.
“Is this going to be okay? Our accommodations and all? I bet all of the inns are full, right?” Tia asked.
“It’s all right! You are both my friends, so you can stay at the same inn!”
“I see. That’s a relief,” Tia said.
“So, let’s report our arrival first. I don’t wanna be even more late as I already am,” I said.
“Wafuu! Then, let’s get to the arena right away!”
Waffer led us to the arena in the center of town. The arena, which boasted over 500 years of history and could hold 100,000 people, grew more impressive the closer we got to it. Just looking up from below, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
“It’s really amazing,” I said.
“Fufu~, it sure is overwhelming when it’s this magnificent,” Tia replied.
“Oi, you two! This way!”
When Waffer called, we went through the line of people who wanted to watch the show and went through the side door into the office. Soon after, a woman—who appeared to be a clerk, a beautiful, white, fluffy-haired, dog-type chemonian—approached us.
“How may I help you, sir? This is our office, so if you would like to view the show, you can go to the reception desk at the front,” she asked.
“No, not that! I am Waffer! I am a brave candidate recommended by Burute-sama!”
“I beg your pardon. We have verified your letter. Would you please come to the reception desk?”
“I understand!”
A chair was recommended, and Waffer wrote his name and pressed his paw against the paperwork that was held out in front of him.
By the way, there were two species of Chemonians, one with long, thin fingers like humans, and the other with hands that were more like animals, like Waffer’s… In short, there were two species with hands that were not suitable for holding tools, but in both, various forms of tools had been developed so that there was no shortage of food, drink, or pens to hold.
Now, Waffer inserted a ring-shaped fixture between his short fingers. It enabled him to be able to attach a pen and write without gripping it with his fingers, and he actually dexterously scribbled his signature on documents.
“Is this okay?”
“Yes, thank you. Now then――”
“Oioi, even a little guy like this is a hero candidate?”
Then, unexpectedly, a voice came from the back of the office. We turned our heads at the direction of the voice. Standing there was a large man of nearly 190 centimeters. A Chemonian with very short-cropped, shiny black body hair.
“Huh? Who are you?”
“What? You don’t know me!? The first hero candidate, Master Doben-sama!”
“No, I don’t know a single thing about you!”
“Ugh! Hey, you’ve got some balls…”
The man who identified himself as Doben approached Waffer, who was plainly agitated without malice. The two were as different in size as an adult and a child, but Doben bent down and stared at Waffer’s face up close… his mouth forming a grin.
“… heh, you’re strong, huh?”
“It’s only natural. I’m a candidate for the hero, so there’s no way I’m weak.”
“If you were just a hero candidate pushed by the higher ups, I’d have punched you in the face right here, but if you’re really strong, I ain’t got no problem with that! Waffer, you say. I look forward to fighting you!”
“And so am I! I’m going to make you bounce with my paws!”
“Keh, you son of a bitch!”
Despite his rough language, Doven left the office laughing happily. As I watched him go, Tia sneaked up on me.
(Hey, Ed. That guy…)
(Ah. That guy’s pretty strong.)
一In the first round, my eyes were not sharp enough to accurately assess the strength of the Chemonians, a race different from humans. Now, I could see it clearly.
(Probably as strong as Waffer)
(Eh? But isn’t that strange? Now, Waffer is much stronger than Waffer in the dream world, right?)
Tia wrinkled her eyebrows at my words and asked me a question.
Yes, being as strong as Waffer, who trained ahead of time with the knowledge of the future, meant that Doben was much stronger than Waffer in the first round when he hadn’t trained. In fact, in the first round, Waffer was greatly upset when he was told to “go home before you embarrass yourself”.
(How on earth did he win? Ah. Is it something like the awakening of hero powers happened?)
(I wish that were the case. … I’ll tell you in detail later.)
“Here you go!”
With Waffer back after completing the formalities, Tia and I broke off our private conversation. However, the look on Tia’s face made it perfectly clear that she was not convinced, so additional explanation would be necessary later. Well, it was convenient, since I was planning to tell her in the first place.
“So, what are you going to do now?” I asked Waffer.
“Yes. For now, after going to the inn and dropping off my luggage, I’d like to ask Ed and his companion to be my training partner! Three days of basic training alone would dull my sense of competition!”
“Of course. Tia’s alright with it, too, right?”
“What!? Uh, yeah. Okay.”
“Good! Now we can beat that Doben or whatever he’s called!”
Waffer, wagging its tail and talking big, was honest to the end. I was impressed that he made it this far without being corrupted, but … this was the way he worked. This purity was the essence of Waffer, in my opinion.
After that, we walked through the town again. This time, we did it together, and settled down in a less luxurious but more solidly built inn. That night, there was a small knock at my door, and when I opened it, there was Tia, clad in a thin nightgown.
“… Am I just in time for a night crawl1?”
“You fool! Just get in the room! Quick!”
“Mou~, I am just joking… Ow oww.”
I invited Tia into the room, rubbing her reddened forehead after getting a poke to the head. I had already anticipated she would come, so I offered her a cup of tea from a pot kept warm by a magical device, and she took a sip and shivered.
“Fuu~~ So calming. It gets a little chilly at night.”
“That’s because you are dressed like that. Why are you even dressed like that?”
It would be one thing if I had suddenly visited her room, but since she came over here, there was no reason to wear a nightgown. Why not just wear normal clothes?
""
“? Because we’re going to bed right after this, right? Then. it would be a hassle to change every time.”
“No, so why didn’t you just wait and get dressed after we were done talking?”
“No. Then I won’t be able to lie on the bed even though I’d be in my room.”
“Ah, yes. I see. ……”
Apparently, in Tia’s mind, relaxing in her room was more important than showing me her nightgown. Well, yeah. I mean, it was very Tia-like, but as a girl who’s probably around… marriageable age, I don’t know if that’s appropriate…
“… I’m telling you, the only time I dress like this is in front of Ed, okay? You’re like a little brother to me. … But look, tell me more about what you said during the day! Why Waffer and that do, do …”
“Doben.”
“Yes, Doben! Did he beat this Doben?! Ed never tells me the important stuff until the last minute,and it’s been bugging me!”
“No, because if I tell Tia, it’ll show up on your face. … and you are not very good at pretending that you don’t know, right?”
“Guuu~. …”
At my words, Tia became fiercely reluctant. It depended on the content, but basically, Tia was not good at lying. She was more than a little unreliable when it came to sharing secrets that could be embarrassing if they were discovered.
“I-I’ll do my best. …”
“Then, I’m counting on you. I’ll tell you this time. I’m going to need Tia’s cooperation.”
As I watched with a bitter smile as Tia frowned, her ears twitching, I began to talk about Waffer, Doben, and the future involving the two of them.
Footnotes
Night crawling or Yobai (in Japanese): At night, young unmarried men would silently enter houses with young unmarried women. A man would silently crawl into a woman’s room and make his intentions known. If the woman consented, they would sleep together. By the morning he would leave. The girl’s family might know about it, but pretend they did not. It was common for young people to find a husband/wife like this.