Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Bear-san heads to the Event Site

The day of the Dismantling Event.

Ellelaura-san and Shia, who were supposed to go to the Dismantling Event together, arrive at the Bear House.

Taking advantage of Ellelaura-san’s hospitality, we took a horse-drawn carriage to the site of the Dismantling Event.

Once inside the building, about 100 tables were set up on the ground, creating a dismantling area.

I wondered if that’s how many participants there would be.

“Uuu, I’m so nervous.” (Fina)

Fina mutters as she looks at the ground where the tables were laid out.

Today, the Dismantling Event for participants under 19 years old, in which Fina will participate, was scheduled to take place first, followed by the main Dismantling Event by the veteran group.

“Fina will be fine. Besides, there’s no shame in losing, because being able to dismantle at Fina’s age is an amazing feat in itself.” (Yuna)

“Yeah.” (Fina)

I think her technical side would be fine, but she might be nervous about doing it in front of people.

“Now that you mention it, Fina is going to do dismantling here, in public.” (Tirumina)

Like Fina, Tirumina-san seemed nervous as well.

“Look, if Tirumina-san is nervous, Fina-san will also be nervous and won’t be able to show her true ability.” (Ellelaura)

Ellelaura-san, who had come to cheer Fina on, eases their nerves.

“Fina-san, I can only cheer you on, but please do your best.” (Shia)

“Shia-sama…yes. I will do my best.” (Fina)

I heard students could also get a day off if they wanted to observe the event.

There were students here and there at the venue.

Perhaps they were students who performed the dismantling event at the school festival.

“I hope I didn’t forget anything.” (Fina)

Fina anxiously touches the bag of items.

“You checked it many times this morning, didn’t you?” (Yuna)

“Yes, but…” (Fina)

The Adventurers’ Guild would provide the dismantling tools, but participants who have their own tools would be allowed to bring and use the tools they were accustomed to using.

Basically, those who participate should be expected to bring their dismantling tools.

Well, at least those who didn’t have it could participate in the event. It would not be surprising if participants brought their own dismantling tools.

We were moved to a special seat, which was not appropriate for our status, by the authority of Ellelaura-san’s peerage and Sanya-san, the guild master of the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Ellelaura-sama, we have been waiting for you. And Yuna-chan, too.” (Sanya)

Sanya-san greeted us as we came to the special seat.

“Are you sure it’s alright for us to watch from here as well?” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san asked with a hesitant look on her face.

Unlike the other spectator seats, we were isolated from the rest of the audience.

There were walls on either side. I have seen something like this on the news: Was this the so-called “press box”?

There was a roof over the seats, so they would be safe even if it rained.

In addition, the dismantling area was right before us, making it easy for us to see the work being done.

As such, it was a special seat, unlike the other seats.

“Yes, it’s okay. It’s only used by a few important people.” (Sanya)

“Important people…” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san looked at Ellelaura-san and Sanya-san. They were an aristocrat and a guild master. They were great people.

“Fufu, Fina-san is a dear friend of my daughter. Besides, this was my suggestion, so don’t worry about it Tirumina-san, you should support Fina-san.” (Ellelaura)

“Ellelaura-sama, thank you.” (Tirumina)

We accepted Ellelaura-san’s and Sanya-san’s kindness.

“But I’m glad there were fewer people than I thought there would be.” (Yuna)

Indeed, the audience seats I had seen at an Idol concert or on the pro baseball news were packed. Compared to that, the current audience was sparse.

There were empty seats more often than not.

This indicated that not many people were interested in dismantling, even though it was an Event.

If it had been just me, I doubt if I would even have come to observe the event.

But if I could see rare monsters, I might come.

“Today’s 19 and under event doesn’t have much in terms of monsters, and there’s not much of an audience. People inevitably show up on the day when rare monsters and veterans with good dismantling skills are in attendance.” (Sanya)

Apparently, many people think the same way I did.

As with anything, whether it was sports, Idol Concerts, or comedy, the professionals (veterans) attract more people than the new amateurs.

“There aren’t many civilians, but people from the dismantling industry come to watch. New adventurers, and then there were people who have never seen a monster before, so they come just for the fun of it.” (Sanya)

The average person may never encounter a monster or even have the chance to see one.

It might be about the same chance as seeing wild animals in the cities of my former world.

Even if they left the royal capital, it was unlikely that they would encounter monsters on the road, and there were few opportunities to see them.

“That is why we are opening our doors to the public on occasions like this.” (Sanya)

It would be difficult to label something you’ve never seen before as dangerous. But if you’ve seen a monster, even one that was defeated, you could learn to recognize it as dangerous.

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were cute, though. If one had never seen or heard of a bear, one would not know how dangerous they could be.

They said that beautiful flowers have thorns.

If you go near a pretty Bear-san, you could potentially be attacked.

“You have a lot of thoughts in mind while holding this event, don’t you?” (Yuna)

“Yes, Yuna-chan, do you understand? It’s not easy being a guild master. If we only do this every year, we’ll get stuck in a boring routine, so I’m glad that Fina-san is joining us.” (Sanya)

As a freedom-lover, I could never be a guild master or a guild official.

I hate it, but then again, I guess I inherited my parents’ school of thought.

That didn’t mean I was going to change my mind, not at all.

“Well then, Fina-san, it’s almost time to go to the waiting room.” (Sanya)

“Okay.” (Fina)

“Fina, be strong.” (Tirumina)

“Good luck, big sister.” (Shuri)

“Yes, I’ll see you later.” (Fina)

Fina was seen off by her family (one of them was missing, but I’m sure he was cheering her on from afar) and headed for the waiting room with the staff Sanya-san had called for her.

All we could do was to believe in Fina and cheer her on from the bleachers.

“Well, I’m off, as well.” (Sanya)

Sanya-san had some work to do, so she left her seat and went down to the field, where she sat down in one of the seats that had been prepared for her.

As we sat on the chairs and looked down at the venue from above, a man dressed in a suit appeared on the field.

The man, dressed in a suit and tie, held an object in his hand close to his mouth and began to speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen. We are now going to start the Dismantling Event for those under 19 years of age.”

Apparently, that thing in his hand was a magical device that made his voice louder, like a megaphone.

I didn’t know such a thing existed.

But thanks to that magical tool, his voice reached the entire venue.

“Now then, everyone who will be attending, please enter.”

As the man said this, people came out from the entrance and into the venue.

Among them, there was a little girl who walked in the doorway.

There was no mistaking who she was.

“It’s big sister.” (Shuri)

Shuri stood up from her chair as she cheered.

“I don’t know if it’s okay, everyone is so big compared to her.” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san looked worried.

Indeed, Fina was the smallest among the participants.

The attendants then guide the participants to their respective tables.

Fina was at the front. It was easy to see.

Perhaps Sanya-san was considerate of this as well.

“We have 105 participants. Thank you for your participation.”

The man with the magic tool, whose voice gets louder, bowed.

Apparently, the man with the magical tool was someone like a TV program host AKA master of ceremony.

“Well, this is something we do every year, but I’m sure some of you are doing this for the first time this year.” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony glanced at Fina.

“Some of you may not need an explanation, but I will give you one. The evaluations will be based on speed of dismantling, cleanliness and knowledge. And the top 60 rated as successful will proceed to the second round, so I encourage everyone to do their best.”

It looks like about half of the contestants will be sifted out in the first round.

“And for the first round of the event, we’re going to have you work on dismantling two Wolves.” (Master of Ceremony)

As the master of ceremony said this, an attendant brought wolf bodies on a cart to the participants’ side.

“Here are two wolves. As you can see, one wolf was killed by a veteran adventurer with a single blow, and the other one was killed by a rookie adventurer with multiple strikes. Now, how fast and cleanly can these two wolves be dismantled?” (Master of Ceremony)

Fina told me before that between a monster that was killed with one blow and a monster that was damaged many times; dismantling would be easier with the former.

Of course, a monster that was attacked many times would have a lot of holes in it. They would be ripped to shreds if they could not be neatly dismantled.

“Cheating is an immediate dismissal. The attendants are keeping a close eye on you, so don’t do it.” (Master of Ceremony)

***

There were about 30 attendants who would be judging the event.

“How can one cheat when dismantling?” (Yuna)

If it was a paper test, there would be cheating or something. How could someone cheat in dismantling? And the only other way I could think of would be a replacement?

“From what I’ve heard, they replaced the fur with a previously dismantled one.” (Ellelaura)

Ellelaura-san answered my question.

“Wouldn’t that be easily discovered?” (Yuna)

“Yes, apparently, but someone still did it.” (Ellelaura)

“Why would they do that?” (Yuna)

“I heard that cheating is common among first-time participants. They do it because they want to get through the first round.” (Ellelaura)

They may feel embarrassed to fail the first round. Everyone would like to at least get through the first round.

***

“Those who have finished dismantling, please raise your hands. The staff will then check your work. Any other questions?” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony confirmed with the participants.

But before the start was announced, a man in his late teens beside Fina raised his hand.

“Yes, what is it, that gentleman over there?” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony points to the man who raises his hand.

“Um, why is there a child here?” (Participant)

The man pointed to Fina at the table next to him.

“If her age is under 19, she can attend, no problem. Does she look over 20 to you?” (Master of Ceremony)

“…I don’t think she looks that way.” (Participant)

“Then there is no problem.” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony dismisses the question.

Sanya-san looked at me and smiled.

She had already told the staff about Fina.

“I see no other questions. Now, everyone, please begin preparing for the dismantling. We have dismantling tools available for borrowing, so please feel free to use them.” (Master of Ceremony)

Each of them started preparing dismantling tools.

Fina also took out her dismantling tools from her bag of items.

Then a Wolf carcass was placed on each of the tables.

“So, are you ready? Once it starts, there’s no stopping it.” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony looked around. No one raises their hand.

It looks like they were ready to go.

“Then…begin!” (Master of Ceremony)

At the same time as the man said these words, the sound of drums banging echoed through the venue.

All at once, the dismantling event had started.