At first, when I was asked to participate in a demolition event, I thought it would be a good idea for me to participate.
Besides, I was afraid of showing Yuna-onee-chan how pathetic I was in defeat.
But if I try hard, I might be recognized and be by Yuna-onee-chan's side forever.
That's how I participated.
The wolf in the first round was a monster that I had dismantled many times before. My body remembered how to dismantle Wolf, so I could do it even with my eyes closed.
It would be an exaggeration to say that I could close my eyes to this, but it meant that I had dismantled enough wolves to do just that.
Cut this, take this out, and my hands moved before my head could think.
In the first round, Wolf's dismantling, I was number 13 out of over 100 participants.
I didn't expect it to be ranked this high.
While the dismantling was going on, the man in charge and Sanya-san talked about me, so I was a little embarrassed. But Sanya-san, how did you know so much about me?
After the first round, I was supposed to go back to my mother's place with Sanya-san, so I went to Sanya-san.
"Congratulations, Fina-chan. You were amazing." (Sanya)
Sanya-san praised me.
"Thank you. Are you happy with how it turned out?" (Sanya)
"Good job. Everyone was impressed with Fina-chan." (Sanya)
Ugh, that's embarrassing.
"I want those who are lower in rank than Fina-chan to be motivated and acquire more dismantling skills than they are now. I want the people watching from the audience to think that they can do dismantling themselves. It's actually difficult, though. However, the beginning is the most important thing. I hope that Fina-chan will be able to support those people." (Sanya)
"I……" (Fina)
I couldn't do that.
"Hehe, just dismantle it normally. Look, Yuna-chan and the others are waiting for you." (Sanya)
As I was walking while talking to Sanya-san, we came back to Yuna-onee-chan and the others.
Yuna-onee-chan happily welcomed us.
Mom and Shuri both looked happy.
When everyone looked happy, I was happy too.
The number of times I'd smiled while doing dismantling work had increased since I met Yuna-onee-chan.
In the beginning, I couldn't help but hate dismantling.
Nowadays, I could dismantle it normally, but the first time I dismantled Wolf, it was so disgusting that I threw up.
But there were no other jobs that paid money for kids like me. So I held back and worked hard to dismantle it.
If I were to look at myself now, I might be surprised.
When I thought about it, my younger sister Shuri might be amazing.
At first, she said it was disgusting, but she was doing their best to dismantle it. "Because my father and sister do it too," she said, laughing.
If she kept going like this, she might be better than me. However, both Yuna-onee-chan and mom wanted Shuri to do what she wanted with an open mind.
I thought so, too. I could do what I like. After meeting Yuna-neechan, I started thinking that way.
I had never thought about such things until I met Yuna-onee-chan.
Sometimes Yuna-onee-chan came to see me dismantling things, but she has an indescribable expression on her face.
I might have looked like that in the past.
But even though Yuna-onee-chan was an adventurer, was it okay if she couldn't dismantle it?
Ah, but if Yuna-onee-chan became able to dismantle things, I would become an unwanted child.
So, even if Yuna-onee-chan wanted to learn demolition, I would refuse.
Because dismantling was a connection between Yuna-onee-chan and me.
And then the second round began.
The second round was a one-horned rabbit.
I had butchered quite a few One-Horned Rabbits, although not as many as Wolf.
There's not much difference the way a wolf dismantled, but their body skeletons were different, so we couldn't insert a knife in the same way.
I couldn't dismantle it as quickly as Wolf, so I thought I might not be able to get past the second round. However, the people around me weren't that fast either, and although I fell down the ranking from the first round, I was able to get through to the second round.
Are there fewer one-horned rabbits in the royal capital?
Or are there more dismantled monsters?
When I returned to Yuna-onee-chan, she greeted me happily just like in the first round.
My mom, Shuri, Shia-sama, Ellelaura-sama, and Sanya-san too. Everyone looked happy.
It made me happy too.
So, I'll do my best next time.
And then the third round began.
This time, the monster to be dismantled was covered with cloth and transported on a trolley.
Maybe it's hidden because it's a rare monster?
Please, use a monster that I have dismantled before.
I looked at the cart as if praying.
When the cloth was removed, a large green creature came out. It's a gator.
I once dismantled the Gator with Uncle Gentz, who wasn't even a dad at the time.
Actually, it seemed like they shouldn't have let me do it, but since I was in financial trouble, they let me do it.
The first time I took apart a Gator, it was difficult. It's completely different from Wolf, One-horned Rabbit, and many other, and my past dismantling experience didn't help.
I had to learn how to dismantle it from scratch.
But Uncle Gentz kindly taught me.
And when I managed to finish disassembling the gator, Uncle Gentz complimented me and said, "Good job," and I remembered being happy.
When I got home that day, I wrote down the instructions on a piece of paper so I wouldn't forget how to dismantle the Gator.
I looked at the paper with instructions for dismantling the Gator many times and studied it.
So next time I had a job dismantling a Gator, I could do it.
The second time I dismantled it, I was able to do it slowly, but without Uncle Gentz's teachings. I was happy when Uncle Gentz complimented me and said, "You're amazing even though you only taught it once."
But after that, they didn't let me do any Gator work.
I later learned that Uncle Gentz was warned about having me work on the Gator.
Uncle Gentz, I'm sorry.
Such a gator would be placed on the table.
I had dismantled it quite a while ago.
I remembered it, wrote it down, looked at it many times, and studied it. I could clearly recall the Gator dismantling procedure in my head.
Yeah, it's okay. I remember how to dismantle it.
I didn't want Yuna-onee-chan to think that I couldn't do it.
Then, the sound of a gong sounded at the same time as the moderator said, "Okay, let's get started!"
Everyone started dismantling at the same time.
I took a deep breath to calm myself, and then began dismantling the gator.
First, cut the stomach, rinse it with water, take out this part, then open it further and secure the magic stone.
Well, next is this skin...
I dismantled it slowly but carefully, remembering the order of dismantling.
Dad had told me this many times.
What I dismantled would be sold. I had to dismantle it so that the person who bought it would be happy.
Sellers also wanted to sell clean things rather than dirty things. The commercial guild would also thank you.
And if we dismantled it in a dirty manner, we wouldn't get any work.
So, we had to dismantle it cleanly. Because that's what dad taught me.
Besides, if the dismantling was dirty, Yuna-onee-chan might not let me do it.
I don't want Yuna-onee-chan to say things like, "Fina's dismantling is dirty, so you don't have to do it anymore."
Dismantling was the bond that connected Yuna-onee-chan and me.
That's why I didn't want Yuna-onee-chan to think that I lost in the third round because I was dirty in front of her.
Even if I didn't make it through to the third round, I could say with confidence that I lost because I didn't dismantle it cleanly.
Besides, I was sure Yuna-onee-chan would praise me for dismantling it so neatly, even if I lost.
I would dismantle it carefully but as quickly as possible.
If I remember correctly, I'm going to cut this first, then this, and then I'm going to take this out.
I was curious about my surroundings, but if I looked around, I would want to quickly dismantle it, so I tried not to look.
However, even if I didn't like it, I could still hear the words of the moderator.
It seems that Dedd-san and Gard-san were dismantling things at a tremendous speed.
I wish he didn't talk.
I got so anxious that I sped up the dismantling process and ended up losing my pace.
If I tried to dismantle a gator quickly because I was not used to it, it would be sloppy.
I had to concentrate and carefully dismantle it.
And 70% of the dismantling process? When the session was over, the moderator raised his voice.
"Oops, Dedd-kun, you raised your hand here. As expected, Dedd-kun was the one who finished first. Dedd-kun is an adventurer, isn't he?" (Moderator)
What, is he done yet?
It's fast.
The Wolf in the first round and the One-Horned Rabbit in the second round were quick to dismantle, but Gator's dismantling was also fast.
Furthermore, a person named Gard finished.
I was not done yet.
The guy dismantling next to me started speeding up.
No, the surroundings too.
I also wanted to increase the speed, but if I did that, the dismantling would be sloppy.
Currently, I didn't have the skills to dismantle a gator quickly and cleanly.
If I was concerned about my surroundings, I would want to quickly dismantle it.
I dismantled it at my own pace without worrying about those around me. However, every time the moderator called out the names and ranks of those who had finished, I got nervous.
I wanted to cover my ears with both hands.
But if I did that, I wouldn't be able to dismantle it.
Dismantling would not be completed unless we moved our hands.
"Number 15 is Eliza-chan!" (Moderator)
Even a woman finished it so quickly.
It's impossible not to care, but I would do what I could. No matter how busy I or how urgent I was, I would carefully dismantle my work.
Of course, it would be disappointing if we lost, but it's better than having to dismantle it in a hurry and in a messy manner.
I would concentrate on the remaining dismantling process.
All I have to do is flush this area with water, clean it up, and done.
It's finished!
I raised my hand.
"Oops, four hands went up at the same time! ..." (Moderator)
I looked around.
There were three people raising their hands.
Moreover, I was also number 20 at the same time.
Only 20 people could make it through to the third round. Out of four people, three would fall. Depending on the score of the dismantling, the ranking might go up or down.
It's okay. I dismantled it carefully and neatly.
At a distance, I could hear the person grading the score saying, "This is terrible. Points will be deducted."
If someone told me something like that, I would be shocked.
Just as I was feeling anxious, a staff member came over and graded the gator I had dismantled.
"Wow, that's amazing. It was dismantled properly. There were no mistakes in the disassembly procedure either." (Judge)
He praised my dismantling.
I'm glad.
And then the review ended.
Please, I beg of you.
As I looked around, as if praying, I saw that there was some problem, and the people who were to judge were gathered and talking about something.
"Gai-kun, Fatt-kun, could you please just a second?" (Judge)
The person who judged it called the two people.
"This dismantling process is deducted points. This part is not cut properly. This dismantling process is wrong." (Judge)
It seems like they were talking about the problem of dismantling.
Then they came to other people and to me.
"On the other hand, he and she are well-developed. That's why I've graded them like this. Do you have any questions?" (Judge)
They both seemed to agree and shook their heads.
Then, he slumped his shoulders and returned to his seat.
Maybe, just maybe.
Once everyone had finished scoring, the rankings would be announced. First and second place were two extremely fast people. If it was true, I would have liked to have been able to watch the dismantling of these two people up close, rather than as a participant.
In 13th place was a woman, Eliza-san.
It's amazing that even a woman could dismantle something so quickly.
When I looked at Eliza-san, she noticed me and waves lightly.
She's like a kind older sister.
I hoped we could talk about dismantling next time.
While I was thinking about this, the ranks and names were being called one after another.
"...18th place. That is Fina-chan!" (Moderator)
Huh? Me?
Not 20th place, but 18th place? I couldn't believe it.
I was praised for my careful dismantling.
The two people who were called were able to finish the dismantling faster than me, but their dismantling was sloppy and they fell down the rankings, finishing in 22nd and 23rd place, unable to advance to the third round.
Unbelievably, I was able to reach the fourth round.
Author's Note
It's a little long, but it's from Fina's perspective.
Do your best Fina!