[26th Round] New Festival
I didn’t say this out loud, but I was very grateful to Hero Satan.
I thought the inspection team would outright fail us, but we gained a chance to pass thanks to his hard work.
Despite two setbacks, the third time was a huge success!
Thus, Mollansoft postponed releasing their final decision.
And this wasn’t just based on Disco’s discretion.
Other members of the inspection team reported that the condition of the school and the staff was good.
Therefore, they decided to observe two additional students and directly participate in the festival to give a final assessment.
In other words, this festival was more important than it had ever been.
“Welcome to the festival!”
“Welcome to the festival!”
The trainees greeted all the visitors with bright smiles.
They were generously rewarded for killing alumni who participated in the festival, so they eagerly waited for people to fall into their trap.
This festival’s main event was the victory over the Demon Lord, but some changes had been made to that scenario.
▷ Announcement: Welcome, alumni of Fantasy. After the reorganization of the curriculum, the rules of the festival have also undergone major changes. Choose between the Lord of Demons and Goddess of Angels and become the one who will bring victory to your faction! Your choice is permanent, so choose wisely! We wish all Heroes good luck!
There were no more detailed rules.
One would win by infiltrating one of the strongholds located in the western and eastern parts of Festival and defeating the Demon Lord or Angel Goddess.
It didn’t matter if the participants formed a team or did it alone.
Everything was up to the graduates.
“Isn’t the choice obvious?”
“Heroes must always side with the Goddess.”
“The truth is on the side of the beautiful Goddess!”
“I’m with her!”
“Who’d even side with the Demon Lord?”
Some mistook it for horse racing and chose Demon Lord, but most graduates chose the “Goddess” without much hesitation.
And they regretted it.
“Ah?! What is this pile of flesh?!”
“Did I accidentally choose the Demon Lord?!”
“Aaah! My eyes!”
“Is this the Goddess?!”
“That can’t be her!”
The heroes who saw Goddess Parmael were confused.
Some of the Heroes who saw this “creature” were genuinely disgusted, instinctively pulling out their weapons.
If the beautiful angels guarding her didn’t stop them, this event would have ended even before it even began in earnest.
Disco also followed this trend and chose the “Goddess faction” and smiled bitterly at their meeting.
“I see your unique aesthetics haven’t changed, Parmael.”
“Oh, it can’t be! Secretary Distoria?! Phew! Help me! Phew! I’ll reward you! Phew!”
Opening her eyes as she drowned in grease, First Angel Parmael immediately recognized and begged for the inspector’s help.
But Disco shook her head.
“Unfortunately for you, that doesn’t fall within our interests. Oh! Nevertheless, in memory of the days gone by, let me give you a piece of advice. It would be best for you to be quiet and play by the rules. Many investors are outraged by your careless leadership.”
“That wasn’t my fault! Phew!”
“Ah, stupid and arrogant Parmael, did you really think you could deceive Mollansoft? Did you really think we wouldn’t know about your thefts and fake reports on the amount of Romantium mined? My master will never forgive you.”
“What?!”
“Let’s end our conversation here. Better enjoy the festival!”
Disco went on an adventure with the graduates who accompanied her.
*****
After spying on the Goddess faction teeming with narrow-minded F-rank alumni, I couldn’t shake off my discomfort.
There weren’t that many people in the Demon Lord faction.
But that wasn’t the worst part of it.
“Do you remember me, Demon Lord?”
“You’re here too, huh, Satan?”
“Of course. I’m a graduate now, after all. I’m allowed to take part in the Festival of Heroes since I can only be appointed to the position of intern once the inspection ends.”
“Is that so.”
Satan, First Graduate of the 5th Curriculum!
Even though he got his degree by utilizing the dastardly power of friendship, he was still much better than the usual graduates from previous curricula.
I expected great success from him.
“I love Green Cake.”
“Hey, don’t ruin the atmosphere. Why are you talking about this here?”
“I am a candidate for a traineeship, so if not now, then when?”
“Chop off the Goddess’s neck first. Then I’ll deal with your nonsense.”
“Thanks!”
“Oh…”
Up to the 90th floor of the Demon Lord’s Tower, he seemed normal to me, but he destroyed his entire image instantly.
Now, I no longer knew what to expect from him.
The number of people in the Demon Lord faction was so small that it was easy to count all the dummies.
… 186 people?
The number was still growing, but this was almost 100 times less than the Goddess’s army.
I was concerned.
“My lord, don’t worry so much.”
“Uh, you are…”
“Ellis, the S-rank maid of the men’s dormitory. I didn’t offer my body to you last time, so I was deemed worthy to help you, Demon Lord.”
“Wow…”
What an incredible merit.
My cowardly wife’s decisions never ceased to amaze me.
“There are so many traps set up by the interns between the two camps that there’s nowhere left to step,” Ellis continued. “So by the time there’s a clear path, the number of survivors will no longer differ much.”
“That’s true…”
Supposing it took 200 lives to build a highway connecting Cities A and B, from a sensical perspective, it would only be proper for both cities to provide a hundred people each.
However, if City A were unwilling or couldn’t afford to connect the roads, then City B would have to provide all the manpower.
The same applied here.
However, this method of calculation had a fatal flaw.
There were 100 times more people in the Goddess faction.
Suppose that there were only 50 people in the Demon Lord faction, and in the Goddess faction, there were 5,000 people, then even 200 deaths wouldn’t matter.
Ellis laughed in reply. “Don’t worry about it. The traps laid out are so powerful that perhaps not even 5,000 people could handle them.”
“Really?”
Well, we will find out once we see them in action.
That aside… The new script was extremely boring.
I was expecting an epic battle in which I would single-handedly defeat the allied Heroes, but now all I could do was sit tight and wait while I watched the traps kill them off rapidly.
“After the tertiary education graduates have been summoned, the secondary education students’ turn would come, then the primary’s. Only after all of them have been summoned can we truly say that the real Festival has begun.”
“Hmm. Tell me, are my movements restricted?”
“You can move around the grounds of this citadel, but you’re not allowed to leave its walls.”
“It’s not as scary as I thought.”
At least I wouldn’t have to sit on my throne forever like my butt was glued to it.
I would’ve already bombarded the Goddess’ camp from a long distance, but the festival wouldn’t proceed as planned if I were to do that. Hence, I decided to hold back.
“Where are you going, my lord?”
“I’m going for a little walk. Can I put a sign on the throne saying, ‘Out’?”
“You need to provide a more specific reason. For example, ‘lunch break’ or ‘took the day off.'”
“That’s annoying. Well, let’s call it time off.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
I still had nothing to do for now.
No matter where I went, not a single graduate paid attention to me.
“I need to get a job.”
“Is it just me, or are the elves here living pretty luxurious lives?”
“There aren’t enough Heroes here. I think I chose the wrong faction…”
“We’ll have to work hard.”
The Goddess faction was full of equally stupid graduates, but they easily gathered in groups, unlike in my faction, which had so few members they all scattered about, minding their own business.
The heroes participating in the festival weren’t given anything except standard underwear and combat uniforms.
That way, everyone was given an equal start, not taking into consideration the skills they acquired during their school years. To succeed, however, they needed to act quickly.
Money, equipment, lodging, companions, information…
They had to make the proper preparations, after all.
“Those looking for work should visit the mercenary guild in the Northern Military District.”
“There’s a slime-toilet-equipped tavern in the Western Business District that offers inexpensive accommodations and food.”
“Heroes searching for light jobs can check the bulletin board in the Southern Residential District plaza.”
“If you need weapons and equipment, head to the Eastern Production District.”
The trainees quickly rushed in, helping the Heroes.
Anyway…
“Dad!”
“Daddy!”
As soon as I entered the quiet garden, my twin daughters came running to meet me.
Even though this reunion happened 30 years later, they greeted me as if only a few days had passed. Perhaps that was because the elves perceived time differently from the way humans did.
But I had a problem.
“Uh…”
Big problem.
I couldn’t remember my children’s names.
I was really happy to meet them, but I didn’t know how to address them.
At that moment, a voice saved me from my predicament, echoing like my saving grace.
“Selenis, Selvenus. This place is sacred, so be quiet.”
“Yes, mom.”
“Okay~”
Selenis and Selvenus.
I should really memorize their names.
I didn’t know which one was older, but there was a right time for everything.
“How are you?”
“Ah!”
After my daughters, Elf K rushed to embrace me.
Spending time in the garden, we discussed politics, economics, culture, war, and other topics relevant to Festival’s residents.
In doing so, I came to a conclusion.
“Woah, Selenis and Selvenus! You two are really amazing!”
“Hehe!”
“Of course~”
My praises weren’t empty.
First Empress: Selenis.
Second Empress: Selvenus.
Regent: Elfheim.
Mother Empress: Elkaterina.
Yes, Elf K’s real name was Elkaterina.
These four were the true rulers of the Festival planet, one way or another.
Since Regent Elfheim was a lover of the human race, they weren’t treated like slaves, but the elves were this world’s dominant race.
They didn’t even have to fight for it.
After all, 99.98% of the Festival elves’ combat power was in the hands of the two empresses.
Their pathetic paternal grandfather was in charge of politics, economy, and culture, while my daughters lived with their mother.
They never experienced an uprising either.
[Retribution]
[Sister]
[Elf]
No one could oppose those three divine powers, after all. Even the angels feared my twin daughters, who defeated a young Noebius.
There was simply no being in Festival that could rebel against them.
I guessed I didn’t have to worry about losing.
Showing them my Righteous Hero’s smile, I asked my two daughters, “Daddy’s back has been hurting lately. You will take care of me, won’t you?”
“Of course~”
“Naturally!”
The twins responded boldly, showing the same smile.
I seem to love my daughters more than my sons.
The victory of the MAX-Class Righteous Demon Lord’s army was already a certainty.
