Happy Monday!
Here is the first of a total of four scheduled chapters. I forgot about it until now, but I won"t be able to link to the previous chapter and the next chapter starting from the next chapter until I get back, so I will have to trouble you to either go to the home page or just use the links on NU for the newer chapters. I"m so sorry about this. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
ED: Ignite
「Akira!」
「Amelia.」
Even when there were close to three hundred women backstage, I quickly found Amelia.
Even though she was only turning around, she seemed to be the only one who was shining.
Next to her was Latisneil, and it seems the two people were happily chatting.
The two girls from the hero"s party were nearby as well.
「Oniisan, what do you think of my face? You, were curious about what was under the hood, weren"t you? Well?」
With a friendly smile, Latisneil ran up to me and asked this.
It was as if Latisneil had a dog tail and she was wagging it left and right.
…was it my imagination?
「Aah, it was surprising. Maa, you lost to Amelia though.」
I was patting Amelia on the head as I said this.
It was as if Amelia was purring, as she narrowed her eyes in pleasure.
If Latisneil was a dog, then she would be a cat.
I was a cat person, hands down.
Latisneil placed her hand on her slender waist and puffed her cheeks out.
「That"s because Amelia is a cheat! There"s no one else who has a more gorgeous face than Amelia! But, even though I"m the one saying this, I"m popular with guys!」
「Rusty would be cute as long as she didn"t say anything.」
「Eh, does that mean that I"m the so-called "unfortunate beauty"!?」
When did they become so close, the two people were calling each other by name.
But I was in complete agreement with Latisneil"s use of the term "unfortunate beauty".
「Come to think of it, I don"t know oniisan"s name, so I"m still calling you oniisan.」
Just as I suddenly recalled it, Latisnei mentioned this.
Come to think of it, I hadn"t properly greeted her yet.
I knew her name because I had looked at her information with『Eye of the World』and Yoru had told me about her, but I don"t recall telling her my name.
「I should"ve done this earlier, but my name is Oda Akira. Over here, would it be more correct to say Akira Oda? …maa, in any case, nice to meet you.」
「Nn! So you"re Akira! I remembered it, oniisan!」
「Even when I told you my name, you didn"t change the way you address me, huh.」
I couldn"t help but give a wry smile at her unrestrained personality.
There was still some time before the results were announced.
It should be fine to continue chatting.
「Your real name is Latisneil, right? Is Rusty your nickname?」
「That"s right! The name Latisneil is long, so I came up with it! It"s fine even if I continue to be called Latis, but there"s some charm to the name Rusty and it"s cute too, right?」
Maa, certainly, just Latis didn"t suit Latisneil"s personality, and it gave off a stuffy feeling.
「I like Rusty better. Akira, it"s interesting talking with Rusty.」
The look on Amelia"s face softened.
Latisneil"s lazy way of speaking and personality gave off a relaxing feeling.
It seems that Latisneil had charisma that drew people in.
『The votes have been tallied up! Now then, I"d like to move on to the highly antic.i.p.ated results!!』
I was taken aback by the voice of the host that seemingly came from thin air.
I was unexpectedly engaged in the conversation with Latisneil, and forgot that we were in the middle of a pageant.
Amelia and Latisneil looked at each other and smiled.
「…no matter who wins, there"s nothing to say.」
「Un! Of course!」
The top five winners would be announced, and they would be able to go back onto the stage.
Almost everyone backstage had put their hands together, praying, while Amelia and Latisneil obviously stood out as they simply awaited the results.
Compared to the others, who wished to be placed in the top five, these two people aimed only for first place.
Maa, what Amelia wanted was the prize that came with first place.
『Now then, I"ll announce the results! Fifth place!! …entry number 108, Natalia!!』
A girl wearing an orange dress gave a loud cry, and walked towards the stage.
Perhaps she was ecstatic, as she was saying that she couldn"t believe it.
『Continuing on, fourth place!! …entry number 25, Aldira!!』
This time, a crow beastman wearing a blue dress snorted and then walked onto the stage.
She looked extremely discontented, and glared hatefully at Amelia and Latisneil.
Maa, if these two people weren"t here, she might"ve had a chance to win.
Leaving aside the fact that she seemed to have a lot of pride, her face was good.
Only her face.
『Third place!! …entry number 1! Sonora!』
A girl in a white dress timidly walked out.
Was it good that she had the clumsy girl attribute.
At this point, the number of girls who hung their heads, having already given up, had increased.
The rival girls probably also understood that the top two would be Amelia and Latisneil.
『Now then, I will announce the first place winner!!!』
「「Eh???」」
「…aah, I see.」
While doubtful voices were raised in regards to why the second place had been omitted, I figured out what was going on and looked at the two people.
Perhaps the two people also understood, as they were looking at each other.
『The first place winners!!! …entry numbers 291, 292, Princess Amelia, Rusty!!!!』
It seems that victory and defeat had not been decided.
『This is the first time we"ve had two winners!!』
While the somewhat agitated host was screaming, Amelia and Latisneil held hands and they walked towards the stage.