第１１８２堀：私たちのやり方 (Part1)
Chapter 1182: Our Way of Doing Things
Side: Kagura, Team 9
Before I knew it, the day of the match had finally arrived.
I’ve experienced Yuki’s erratic behavior enough to know it well by now, but this time, even I was taken aback.
I mean, trying to turn a game into reality feels a bit childish, but the impressive thing about Yuki is that the content itself is the type that requires careful, serious consideration and solid strategic planning.
What I initially thought would be a simple martial arts tournament ended up forcing us to hold meeting after meeting, and even coordinate with other teams to decide how we would fight.
And just like that, the day of the event was upon us.
Man, trying to plan all this while keeping up with our regular work was surprisingly exhausting.
"How are you two holding up?"
"Leave it to me! Mikos-chan is in top form today!"
"Yes. No problems here. I can't exactly say it's 'business as usual,' but I'm fine."
Both Mikos and Enora look like their usual selves.
However...
"You’re nervous, aren't you?"
"Ahaha, well, obviously."
"I mean, knowing the real thing is about to start, there’s no way we wouldn't be. Especially since we’re planning to surround and annihilate Yuki."
That’s right. As Enora said, we accepted the "Yuki Priority Elimination Strategy" proposed by Deryu.
But the question everyone harbors—the source of our anxiety—is whether something like that is actually enough to take Yuki down.
"For now, if we find Yuki, we don't make a move immediately. We signal the other teams. As long as we stick to that, we'll be fine."
That’s all there is to it.
Exactly. We aren't going to face him alone.
That is the rule established for the members of the Yuki encirclement and annihilation squad.
To begin with, everyone knows that no single team could ever hope to defeat Yuki.
Therefore, attacking isn't even permitted unless at least two teams are present.
"But... I’m worried if everyone will actually keep their promise. We’ve already revealed which region Mikos-chan and the others are in, so there’s a chance other teams might attack us, right?"
"That was already factored into the plan, wasn't it? Regardless, leaving Yuki in play is more troublesome. Besides, if we can't handle at least that much, winning this tournament is impossible."
"Enora is right, Mikos. And even if we do manage to defeat Yuki, we still have to defeat everyone else afterward."
"Yeah, I get what you're saying, but honestly? Everyone else has more skill than Mikos-chan’s team. In this case, shouldn't we be the ones to strike at our allies' backs first?"
"That depends on the situation. We might lose sight of Yuki even if we find him, or a team we joined up with might make contact and attack him first."
I say that "deliberately."
Because this is a chaotic battle.
Things like that are entirely possible.
"Ah, yeah. Got it. Mikos-chan is worried about whether I should be happy as a friend that Kagura has been getting so 'dark' lately. Is Enora okay with this? As a priestess?"
"It’s fine. You can't get by on pretty words alone. Even the church needs money and food to operate. To beat Yuki and win this competition, we have to do what’s necessary. More importantly..."
"More importantly?"
"Do you really think everyone, or even Yuki, would hate us for something like this, Mikos?"
When I asked that, Mikos looked blank for a moment before breaking into a smile.
"No way. They’d probably praise us instead. Plus, we’re all friends."
"Exactly. Our bonds aren't so fragile that they’d break over something like this."
"Well, that’s only if we actually manage to defeat Yuki. If we lose after trying to shoot other teams in the back, Kagura, you’ll definitely get bullied by Milly later."
"...For now, let's save shooting teams we're cooperating with for the very end. If we get shot at, we shoot back. Let's go with that."
I’ve become friends with Milly, but it’s true that if we lost because we tried to backstab someone, she would absolutely never let us hear the end of it.
I don't think we’d actually end up hating each other, but it’s still not a good look.
"Ah, I got scared for a second."
"Sigh, I thought I’d gained a little respect for you, but you’re back to this already. Well, I agree that we should only shoot allies once we have a justifiable reason."
"True."
"Then stop complaining. Besides, it all depends on how many points we can rack up before then."
In this battle royale, the initial state can be altered by spending points earned by clearing tasks or problems that Yuki prepared beforehand.
First, the base points are 50,000.
The participation fee is 20,000 per person.
So, the base points alone aren't even enough for the three of us to participate properly.
Well, you can participate even if you’re short on points, but...
"Having your stamina halved for not having enough points is too painful, so not earning points is out of the question. We agree on that, right?"
"Of course. I don't think we can fight with half our stamina anyway."
"So, what about the martial arts tournament? If we win, that’s 60,000 points, right? That alone would cover the participation fee."
"That’s a trap. Deryu and Seraria are obviously going to be there, and if Yuki participates, we have no chance of winning anyway. It’s a waste of time. It’s better to focus on the intelligence tests or the errand-style tasks."
"That’s true. All the show-offs will gather there, and it’ll take too much time. It’s better to earn points through the tests."
"But, personally, I’d like to go to the martial arts tournament just to scout it out? Just participating would cover the costs, at least. No?"
Oh, so Enora wants to participate in the martial arts tournament after all.
Well, the Spirit Priestess has high physical ability, so she’s always itching for a challenge like that.
"That’s fine. We’ll earn the points on our end. Besides, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep track of who’s participating in the tournament."
"True. Besides, Princess Fiora said she was going to participate, so it wouldn't be right not to show our faces, right?"
Yeah, as Mikos said, Princess Fiora is scheduled to join the martial arts tournament.
If we don't show our faces there, I feel like it wouldn't serve its function as a "social gathering" to build friendships.
Most of all...
"And it seems Wazuphi is participating too."
"I’ve sparred with her a few times; that girl has real potential."
"Ahaha, I can already see Niruya’s struggles. By the way, what’s happening with Hivia? Just curious."
"The First Generation and the Water Spirit are handling that. They seem to be planning a few things."
"That shouldn't be a problem. The Principal and the others are with them, after all."
Dealing with Hivia, the ghost of the Lancer Magic Academy, is one of our current jobs, but the First Generation, the Water Spirit, Principal Popuri, and Vice Principal Lara have taken care of that.
Though, it is strange that the First Generation was so eager to participate in this social gathering...