--- [Alex’s perspective]
“That’s enough. Put him down.” – Leanne
He looks a bit annoyed, but he doesn’t argue.
He puts me down, and I fall to the ground, gasping for air.
“Tsk.” – Kuro
He turns around and walks back to his team like nothing happened…
“And we have a winner! Kuro from team Leon won the final match!!!” – Leanne
…
I lost…
Our entire team failed, and it’s all my fault…
I was so confident that I could win, but…
He absolutely crushed me…
I didn’t even stand a chance.
I’m so pathetic…
I jump back up to my team, but right when I’m about to apologize to them, Shin cuts me off.
“Don’t worry about it, buddy. That guy was a monster; I don’t think there’s anyone here that could have beaten him. Don’t blame yourself for losing, there was nothing you could have done. You got unlucky, that’s all.” – Shin
He puts his hand on my shoulder and tries to comfort me.
“Shin’s right, it isn’t your fault.” – Lily
“There’s always next year. Let’s train hard so we pass next time! I think it’s time to learn SDM, don’t you?” – Shin
SDM…
He’s right.
If I knew that, then maybe…
I’m not strong enough as I am now, but I’ll make sure that changes.
By this time next year, I’ll make sure that we are E-rank!
“Thanks, guys.” – Alex
Shin smirks.
“That concludes this year’s E-rank exam!!! What a wonderful event. This year’s contestants were extraordinary!” – Leanne
Lett’s looking over at us.
She looks both happy and sad at the same time.
Happy that she made it, but sad that we didn’t…
“Out of the hundreds of people that joined the exam, only 10 incredible individuals reached the second round. Vaman Album from the Dwarfs, Lucas Nix from Mercury, Shin Magnum from The Red Knights, Lily Sol from White-Point Star, and Alex Minima from The Red Knights. I want to congratulate you all for making it this far. I would say the same to Fei Glacies from the Reapers and Jack Cultro from the Dwarfs, but they sadly passed away … They were both amazing hunters themselves.” – Leanne
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
I look over at Shin.
As soon as she mentioned Fei, he suddenly started looking more distant.
I can’t imagine what he’s feeling…
She died because of him, but he didn’t mean to do it…
“But more than anything, I want to congratulate the three people that passed the E-rank exam and managed to rank up!! Leon Adamas from the Reapers, Lett Lepus from the Red Knights, and Kuro Velox from Atlas, you may all come down here.” – Leanne
All three of them jump down to Leanne.
“From this moment, you three are officially E-rank hunters!!!!!” – Leanne
She reaches her hand forward and tries to shake hands with Leon, but instead of taking her hand, he puts his own in his pockets instead.
“Nice. Can we leave now?” – Leon
“U-uhm, I suppose?” – Leanne
“K.” – Leon
He turns around and walks away.
He doesn’t take her hand; he doesn’t thank her.
He just walks away.
Kuro does the same.
Out of the three winners, only Lett remains.
Leanne looks confused; she obviously didn’t expect the winners to just walk away.
Lett sees the confusion on Leanne’s face and grabs her hand in Leon’s place.
“Thank you!” – Lett
“Oh, uhm, yeah.” – Leanne
At the same time, I see that Lily taps Shin on the shoulder.
“Hmm?” – Shin
“Remember how I said I had something I wanted to talk to you about after the exam?” – Lily
“Yeah?” – Shin
“Let’s go.” – Lily
Right.
I forgot.
She starts walking away, and Shin follows after her.
I follow Shin, but Lily immediately stops me.
“Not you.” – Lily
“Sorry…” – Alex
“I’ll see you in a moment.” – Shin
They walk away, and I jump down to Lett.
--- [Shin’s perspective]
“Why couldn’t Alex come with?” – Shin
“…” – Lily
She just ignores me while we continue walking.
After a little while, when we’re relatively far away from the rest; she stops.
“What is your opinion on the Emperor?” – Lily
“The Emperor? What kinda question is that?” – Shin
“Could you just answer?” – Lily
“Not the biggest fan I suppose.” – Shin
“What if I was a part of the royal guard? They would have you killed for saying that.” – Lily
“Uhm, are you?” – Shin
“No, but that’s beside the point.” – Lily
“Then what’s the point?” – Shin
“You express your opinion without fear, not many people can do that.” – Lily
“I see, but what was it that you wanted to talk to me to all the way back before the exam even started?” – Shin
She sighs.
“You intervened when those guys were about to be killed. You stopped it from happening. If the leaders of Dolor wants to, they could report you to the royal guard. If that happens, you very well may become a wanted man. Enemies of the royal guard, and by extension the Emperor, will NOT live long…” – Lily
“What are you getting at, why are you telling me all this?” – Shin
“You’re not stupid, I know that. You knew exactly what you were doing when you saved them. You knew the risk you were taking perfectly well. Yet you still did it…” – Lily
“…” – Shin
“There’s a way to keep you safe.” – Lily
“Oh?” – Shin
“There’s this group, this organization… They’re filled with people like you, people who’d risk it all to fight against the injustice in this world. I was saved by them once, and they could save you too. Come with me, and I’ll guarantee that the government won’t find you.” – Lily
I think about it for a moment before replying.
“Thank you for the offer, but I can’t accept.” – Shin
“What? Why?!” – Lily
“Because I want to stay with my friends.” – Shin
“What if I let them come too?” – Lily
“I would love nothing more, but I know they wouldn’t do that. They have their own goals they want to achieve; going into hiding wouldn’t exactly help them achieve those goals.” – Shin
“But if you don’t, there is a high possibility that you’ll die!” – Lily
I chuckle a little.
“What? What’s so funny about that??” – Lily
“Aren’t you the one who just praised me for risking my life for the things I believe in?” – Shin
“…” – Lily
“Besides, I still have the protection of my guild. They won’t let anything happen to me.” – Shin
“What about when you leave to go on missions?!” – Lily
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Okay?” – Shin
“…” – Lily
“Oh, by the way, what’s the name of the organization?” – Shin
“The END.” – Lily
“The END? What an ominous name… Anyways, thanks for the offer.” – Shin
“Let me know if you ever change your mind, okay? Seriously.” – Lily
“Sure.” – Shin