âThree days from now, there will be a knockout competition among 16 participants in this arena. The first day eight matches will be held in the first round; on the second day, 4 matches will be held in the 2nd round; and 2 matches will be held in the 3rd round. The third day will be the finals, and if you win there, you will be recognized as a Hero, and after that, a ceremony will be held,â I said.
âEh, itâs a winner-take-all. But wouldnât that put one at a disadvantage if faced with unfavorable opponents?â Tia asked
âAccording to the higher ups, âA man who loses just because they were matched against an unfavorable opponent cannot become a Heroâ. Well, they have a point.â
A situation in which a brave man was relative was always a piece of nonsense. Besides, it was natural for the Demon Lordâs side to analyze and take countermeasures against the only one Hero in the world. In other words, if someone couldnât win against someone stronger than them, they were definitely not fit to be a Hero.
âBut wouldnât it be better to make them all heroes? I think we would be stronger if we all worked together,â Tia said.
âI think part of the reason for choosing a Hero is that they want to have someone who can be a symbol of hope and can help to unite peopleâs hearts and minds. I mean, theyâre not going to kill each other in the selection process, the rest 15 will continue to fight the Demon Lordâs army as usual.â
âAh, yeah, thatâs true. Iâm sorry for diverting you. Go on.â
I nodded lightly at Tiaâs words and continued the conversation.
âYes. And⌠Ah! Okay. First of all, Iâm going to say this as a prerequisite. Sure, at that time, Waffer was not as strong as other candidates, but by no means am I saying he is weak, okay? After all, he was even chosen as a Hero candidate. Why, he won the three games leading up to the final as usual with some leeway. I donât have anything to say about this one, but the ⌠issue was the final, i.e., the fight with that Doben. Doben was clearly stronger even then. I donât think the other hero candidates who fought against him were a match for Doben, or rather, they were all stronger than the hero candidates Waffer had defeated.â
â⌠Does that mean there was someone behind the scenes trying to make Doben lose?â
Tia asked with a mysterious look on her face, and I quietly shook my head.
âI donât know. I didnât have the time or ability to look into it at the time. It is possible that it was really a coincidence⌠but anyway, Doben and Waffer met in the finals⌠and Waffer won. There were rumors circulating that he had not fully recovered his strength from a series of battles against strong opponents, or that he was injured in a way that could not be seen from the outside, but these were just rumors. Waffer fought with all his might and won the title of Hero by his own strength⌠at least, thatâs what I thoughtâŚâ
âThe way you put it, you mean it wasnât, right? Gosh, I donât want to hear it even though it bothers me so muchâŚ.â
Tia frowned blatantly and her ears drooped. I understood the sentiment, but unfortunately, the lecture was compulsory.
âIâm sorry, but Iâm going to have to force you to listen to me, okay? Three months after Waffer became the Hero, a village was attacked by a large number of Kuronuris. Naturally, me and Waffer rushed over there ⌠and there was Doben. Waffler offered to fight with him, but Doben stubbornly refused. As a result, half of the village was destroyed, and many people were killed or wounded. Doben was also killed there, and the surviving villagers âŚ. of that village, where Doben was born, told Waffer a story he did not want to know. He heard that Doben lost the finals of the selection round because they took his family hostage and demanded that he âlose to Waffer.â
âWhat!? Something like that!!!?â
With a bang, Tia slammed the table and stood up abruptly. The impact caused the tea in the cup on the table to spill and splatter, and I wiped it lightly, trying to sound calm as I did so.
âCalm down. I know how you feel, but itâs the past ⌠or rather it hasnât even happened yet. Waffer was horrified when he heard the story. He was an honest and pure guy. Knowing that the title of hero was not handed to him, but offered to him by hands covered with dirt⌠In addition to this, the village suffered numerous casualties, and even led to the death of Doben. He couldnât cry. He could not even repent. He was not allowed to stop, confess his sins, or even commit suicide. The villagers, who at first told the truth with the intention of taking revenge, were completely taken aback by the sight of the pathetic Waffer. Then, Waffer, who was stunned for a while, barely recovered even if only in appearance, and spoke wistfully of his own helplessness⌠The villagers, who sympathized with him, told him about the training ground with that Mikagami that Dobenâs family used to use. So? You wouldnât choose to know about that through legitimate means, would you?â
âYeah, right. Thatâs too muchâŚ.â
Tia muttered in a deep, quiet, somber voice. Knowing Waffer, who was always so energetic and positive, it was only natural that this would happen if I shared his feelings.
âWaffer trained at that place for about two months, like he was one step away from committing suicide. The result of that was an even stronger Waffer than the current one, but ⌠In return, Waffer stopped laughing. He always looked somewhat sad and lonelyâŚ. After a while, I left the party in front of a labyrinth that only Chemonians could enter. So, I donât know what happened after that. Did Waffer manage to defeat the Demon Lord? What happened to the world? ⌠I donât think it ended too well.â
âRightâŚ.â
Tiaâs head, which was looking down, was perhaps remembering the events of the first round of the Dream World. A future in which no one would be happy, which had been brought about by the slightest misstep.
âDonât look at me like that. Itâs an act of God to do something about something we donât know, isnât it? Iâm not so conceited as to say that Waffer and this world were unhappy because of me, if I do say so myself. But not now. We know what happens, and we can even turn this shit ending around.â
âRâŚRight! So, what exactly are we going to do about it? What should I do?â
âDonât panic. The most critical part of the sequence of events is the incident at the finals of the Hero Selection Committee, which is the reason why Waffer and Doben are at odds with each other. But if that is eliminated, there is a possibility that Waffer will not be able to beat Doben. Thatâs not good for usâŚ.â
âWhat!? You wouldnât let them threaten Doben, would you?!â
âItâs not out of the question to change the target slightly and then have them threatened.â
The problem was telling them (The new target) to âlose to Wafferâ. In other words, if I threatened them to lose the match before that, then they would not be able to reach Waffer. That way, Waffer would almost certainly win, and the feud with Doben would almost, if not completely âŚdisappear.âŚ
âEd?â
âDonât give me that grim look. If we want to be sure, thatâs one way to go. But in the event, if Waffer loses, weâll have to give up on him and join another HeroâŚ.â
âDonât worry! Waffer will win!â
Tia emphatically assured me, even though she had no evidence to support her claim.
If I had been alone, I would have played it safe and compromised. Every uncertainty should be eliminated, and the priority should always be oneself.
But now, I was not alone. If this was the result of being greedy and whining like a crying child, then âŚ. this time was also no different.
âThen itâs settled. If we believe Waffer will win, all we have to do is find out who or what is threatening Doben and stop them. And after that, ⌠weâll both be cheering for Waffle as hard as we can.â
âEd!â
I said with a grin, and Tia jumped up from her seat. Her arms around my neck felt soft but warm, and when she rubbed her cheek against me, I could smell her gentle, flowery fragrance.
âI knew it, Ed really is Ed after all! Together, we can make everyone happy!â
âYeah, I know.â
Kicking off the dark shadows that would make things easier if we used them, we aimed for a future that was only bright. I did not yet know how much effort it would take to do so, but the price for the smiles of Tia and Waffer, my two friends, was such a bargain that I might start worrying about going bankrupt.
Nevertheless, we would show no mercy. Fufufu~ Iâd take it all this time, too.