After the second round, Fina and Sanya left the commentary table and returned together.
"Yuna-onee-chan" (Fina)
Fina came running towards me with a smile.
"Fina, congratulations." (Yuna)
I'd only said congratulations for a while now, but that's all I could say, so I couldn't help it.
I wished I could say some more clever words, but they just didn't come out right away.
Everyone also said "congratulations." It seemed like everyone could only say the same words.
However, Fina smiled happily at everyone's words.
"Still, that's rude. I'm young." (Sanya)
Sanya said while pouting a little.
Apparently, she was angry at the moderator's words earlier.
"Aside from your age, I think you are young for an elf." (Yuna)
"That's right. I hope you don't say it in a human sense." (Sanya)
Well, not just elves, people wanted to look young. Some children wanted to stand tall and be seen by adults, even if just a little.
"Sanya-san, what is the next monster?" (Yuna)
"I can't say that. But as I said before, there aren't any rare monsters in the under-19 division." (Sanya)
The problem was that it's not a rare monster. It might be different between the royal capital and Crimonia.
It's the same thing as the food produced in different regions. Even in the game, the monster habitat was different. What was normal in one area might be absurd elsewhere.
"But from the third round onwards, it gets a little more difficult. There's going to be a difference between those who have experience in dismantling and those who don't." (Sanya)
What about Scorpion? I couldn't judge whether it's rare or not rare in the royal capital.
If it's Scorpion, Fina had the experience, so there's a good chance she would make it through to the third round.
"If you want Fina to play an active role, I think it would be a good idea to give us a little more information." (Yuna)
"Uh, now that you mention that. Actually, I haven't been informed either." (Sanya)
Sanya-san revealed.
"Originally, I would receive a report in advance, but since I recommended Fina-chan this time, the deputy guild master decided not to give me a report. Don't you think it's terrible?" (Sanya)
The deputy guild master, I believe, was the person who had been in charge of the Adventurer's Guild while Sanya-san and Ruimin was away to the Elf Village.
I'd never met him, but I wondered what he's like.
From what I'd heard, he seemed like a more solid person than Sanya-san.
"Then Sanya-san is not involved in selecting the monsters to be dismantled." (Yuna)
"Yes, the selection of monsters is left to the guild staff. I am the last one to check and make decisions, but the deputy guild master stopped them from submitting that report." (Sanya)
Well, the top person didn't do all the work in the guild by himself. If you didn't delegate tasks that could be delegated to your subordinates, your human resources would not develop, and your work would be concentrated on one point.
"In other words, Sanya-san is not trusted." (Yuna)
"Yuna-chan, that’s terrible." (Sanya)
Laughter leaked from everyone around.
Fina was also laughing. I hoped it relieved some of the tension.
Then, the venue preparations were completed, and the third round began.
Sanya-san took Fina with her and went down to the ground where the venue will be held.
"Are you all ready? There are finally 40 people. Half of the 20 people will advance to the fourth round. It's sad that the beautiful flowers are gradually disappearing, but this can't be helped. Ability Without it, it will just disappear. However, I want these beautiful flowers to do their best, just as much as the men." (Moderator)
There were about 6 women left, and Fina was among them. The proportion of women was less than 20%.
There were a lot of male participants, so perhaps there was a sufficient number of participants.
"I want Fina-chan, who I am secretly rooting for, to do her best, but this next one might be tough." (Moderator)
When the moderator said this, the next item to be dismantled was brought in by the staff.
This time it was covered with cloth.
A voice from the venue asked, "What is it?"
Dollys were lined up next to each participant, and the cloth was taken all at once.
There was a commotion all around.
"Mom, what is that?" (Shuri)
Shuri leaned forward and looked at the object on the trolley.
What was sitting on the cart was a long green body. The tail was long, the face was elongated, and the mouth was large. If it bit you with that mouth, I wouldn't let go.
In conclusion, it's a crocodile.
I came to this world and saw it for the first time.
"That's a Gator." (Tirumina)
"Gator?" (Shuri)
"It's a monster that lives in rivers and swamps. It's a dangerous monster that emerges from the swamp and suddenly attacks when you pass by a swamp." (Tirumina)
It's called Gator.
Of course, there were still monsters that I didn't know about.
There were rivers and swamps near Crimonia, but I'd never seen them. This probably meant that they did not live in all rivers and swamps.
It's the same as the fact that there were no crocodiles living in Japan's rivers.
But what I didn't know was that I'd never asked Fina to dismantle it.
"Fina, has she ever dismantled that Gator?" (Yuna)
Not as far as I know. So, I asked Tirumina-san.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what kind of monsters Fina has dismantled before. She's not a talkative girl, and besides, I was probably sick. That's why I didn't want her to worry. I think so, but we hardly ever talked about dismantling. If you think about it that way, I've failed as a parent." (Tirumina)
When Fina's mother was sick, she was given dismantling work by Gentz-san.
Fina was a kind girl. She might have kept quiet so as not to worry her mother, who was lying ill.
"But instead, wouldn't it be fine if Gentz-san knows? I think it would be fine if one of the parents knew." (Yuna)
My parents had no idea what I did for a living. Considering that, Tirumina-san was doing a good job of being a parent.
"That's right. Yuna-chan is here now. And just because she doesn't talk about it doesn't mean she's doing anything wrong. Above all, she's my daughter that I'm proud of." (Tirumina)
"Daughter pride?" (Ellelaura)
I didn't know where she heard this from, but Ellelaura reacted to the words "proud of daughter."
"If you're talking about how proud of your daughter is, I'd like you to include mine too. Well, not only Noah, but Shia also got excellent grades at school..." (Ellelaura)
"M-Mom, it’s embarrassing, please stop!" (Shia)
Shia panicked and stopped her when her mother suddenly started talking about herself.
"Eh, why do parents talk about how proud they are of their daughters?" (Yuna)
"Even if you do, don't do it in front of your daughter." (Shia)
It's true that it would be embarrassing if it was done in front of me.
"Well then, Tirumina-san. Next time, let's brag about each other's daughters." (Ellelaura)
"Um, about Noah-sama and Shia-sama…" (Tirumina)
"Look, Auntie is in trouble too." (Shia)
I didn't think it would be possible to boast about the daughter of an aristocrat and her own daughter.
Tirmina-san hadn't known Ellelaura-san that long either, so it might be difficult for her to hit it off.
While they were talking, a crocodile and a gator were placed on each table to be dismantled.
Fina stared at Gator.
Maybe she's in trouble.
"Well, it's enough that Fina came this far." ()
I agreed with that. At Fina's age, I didn't think there were many kids who could dismantle something like this.
It was amazing to be among the 40 people out of over 100 participants.
"If she can't dismantle it and come back, we'll welcome her properly." ()
"Yeah" ()
"Yeah." ()
"She made it through the second round, so that's pretty amazing." ()
Since it's about Fina, she might come back depressed. I would praise her when she got back.
"Then let’s begin!" (Moderator)
At the same time as the moderator spoke, the sound of drums sounded, and the dismantling began.
Everyone started moving at once.
I thought that Fina could not dismantle the gator, but she grabbed a knife, cut the gator's stomach, and without hesitation, dismantled it.
"Fina-chan, she's dismantling it." ()
"Yeah" ()
Everyone looked at Fina strangely as she dismantled the gator.
"That kid could even dismantle a gator." (Moderator)
Tirumina-san looked at Fina as she dismantled it, as if seeing her daughter's side for the first time.
I didn't know anything about her before we met.
Even after meeting me, Gentz-san might have been teaching her. I didn't go to the adventurer guild's dismantling sites, so I didn't know much about what Fina had dismantled. I also felt like I'd seen a new side of Fina.
"As expected, some participants have not yet disassembled a gator, perhaps because they have never dismantled a gator, but the youngest Fina-chan’s hands are still moving!" (Moderator)
Fina's hands were moving as the moderator said, but the speed of dismantling was slow. It seemed like she's doing it slowly and thoughtfully.
However, some of the other participants had stopped working completely.
After all, it might be a monster that was a bit rare for newcomers.
"Fina-chan must have learned somewhere and accumulated experience and knowledge. It's amazing. However, the two winning candidates, Dedd-kun and Gard-kun, don't want to concede victory to such a girl. Without being able to read it, he dismantles the Gator at an incredible speed." (Moderator)
Laughter erupted from the audience at the moderator's words, and jeers such as "Let the girl win!" and "Leave it down!" were heard.
"I understand how everyone in the audience is feeling, but this is a tournament where age under 19, gender, and background don't matter. So please forgive Dedd-kun and Gard-kun." (Moderator)
The venue was filled with laughter at the words of the moderator.
But, as if she couldn't hear the voices around her, Fina was mindlessly dismantling the gator.
Maybe that's how concentrated she was in dismantling it.