Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Bear-san cheers for Fina in the first round

The participants begin to move as the moderator calls for the start, and Fina begins dismantling the Wolf.

“And now, every participant is starting their dismantling!! Number 1 Deed-kun, who won last year, is aiming for a second straight win; Deed-kun is 19 years old this year. Next year, he will not be allowed to compete under 19. He wants to win one last time, win two in a row, and compete in the Veteran’s division next year. But the one who wants to put a stop to that is Garde, number 11, who came in second last year. His age is 18, one year younger than Deed-kun, will he run away with it this year and not let Deed-kun win?!”

The master of ceremony skillfully commented on the profiles of the participants.

This gets the audience excited.

He mentioned the numbers, and I appreciated knowing where to look, thanks to the flags with the numbers on them next to the tables.

“Some of the others have been honing their skills for the past year to keep up with Deed-kun and Garde-kun. Who knows how the competition will turn out!” (Master of Ceremony)

I looked over at the others and saw that they were dismantling with defeated faces… However, they were satisfied just being able to participate, and they were all very good at it.

“Whoa, among the participants, there is someone who is dismantling the Wolf with knife work that is as quick as the rest! The number is 51, um, the material.” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony was searching for something.

“Let’s see, her name is Fina-san, she’s the youngest participant, 11 years old. I don’t know where she’s from, but she was recommended by our guild master. As such, let’s ask the guild master, what kind of girl is Fina-san?” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony waved to Sanya-san, sitting a little further away.

The conversation flowed steadily, as if there had been a meeting.

Sanya-san took a magic mic, the same one the master of ceremony was holding, and started speaking.

“Fina-san is a girl who has supported her family by dismantling since she was very young. That’s why, at the age of 11, she has mastered the art of dismantling.” (Sanya)

“It’s a story that makes you cry. A little flower that bloomed in the midst of the bitter, smelly men. I wish her the best.” (Master of Ceremony)

When the master of ceremony said this, the other women participants who were also dismantling complained.

“You have a lovely, beautiful flower here as well!” (Woman Participant)

“That’s right.” (Participant)

Of course, it wasn’t just the women; the men were in on it (raising the complaint as a banter) as well, though Fina being the youngest was correct.

“I beg your pardon for this. From the adventurers, we are joined by a new adventurer, Claire. Although their party consists only of female members, she is an adventurer who is making a headway. I’m sure there are many male adventurers who would like to join their group of female adventurers. With me being one of them.” (Master of Ceremony)

The audience bursts into laughter and excitement.

Several other female adventurers were also in attendance.

Of course, there were also women participants, not only adventurers but also women wearing the uniform of the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Another girl who participates is Eliza, from the guild staff. She is a girl who works as a receptionist and even dismantles when she has time. I wish her the best of luck. Let’s have the other dainty, beautiful flowers do as well as the men.” (Master of Ceremony)

Well-spoken.

I think he could be a pick-up artist.

“Sanya-san, you knew a lot about Fina, but you must not have known she could dismantle until Ellelaura-san told you. Perhaps it was Ellelaura-san who told you?” (Yuna)

I turned my gaze to the most suspicious person.

“It wasn’t me.” (Ellelaura)

Ellelaura-san denied it.

“Then how did she know?” (Yuna)

Someone raised a small hand in response to my question.

“Well, maybe it was because of me? The other day, when I was invited to tea, we talked about how Fina can dismantle. So…” (Tirumina)

The culprit was her mother, Tirumina-san.

What an unexpected revelation.

“Looks like Fina is embarrassed, and her hands have stopped.” (Master of Ceremony)

“Huh?” (Fina)

“Oh, she can’t even respond.” (Master of Ceremony)

Fina’s hand stopped as everyone looked at her.

“Oh, no big sister! Keep up the good work!” (Shuri)

Shuri cheered loudly. Shuri’s cheering brought Fina back to her senses, and her hands started to move again.

“Alright, it looks like her sister cheered from the audience. Cute sisters.” (Master of Ceremony)

That comment made Fina shy again.

“Such a family-oriented girl is entering the competition. Let’s not let those sisters lose, even against her big brothers and sisters participating around her.” (Master of Ceremony)

More attention was drawn to Fina.

And the dismantling continued.

Fina, who was nervous at first because of the Master of Ceremony, was quietly dismantling.

There was no hesitation in her dismantling.

She dismantled hundreds of wolves that I know of, and there was no way that Fina could not do it.

There was no way that Fina could not dismantle a wolf.

If she couldn’t, it would be because she was under pressure.

As I stared at Fina, the man who was the master of ceremony (MC) of the event raised his voice.

“Whoa, so fast, and it looks like some of them have finished their first Wolf! The first is Deed-kun, the previous winner. But soon to follow, Garde-kun is also about to start his second Wolf.” (Master of Ceremony)

More and more other participants finished dismantling their second Wolf, but not Fina. But it was almost over.

“One after another, they started with their second wolf, but be careful, because points will be deducted if you fail in your haste.” (Master of Ceremony)

Fina finished.

The master of ceremony noticed that, too.

“Ohh, the 15th one to finish the Wolf is the youngest girl, Fina-san! That’s great.” (Master of Ceremony)

The audience was excited.

After all, when a little girl was doing her best, you wanted to cheer her on, didn’t you?

“Fina-san, that’s awesome!” (Shia)

“Go for it, big sister!” (Shuri)

“But now it’s the damaged Wolf. Unlike the Wolf we saw earlier, it’s going to be more challenging, can Fina-san do it?!” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony exclaimed with concern, but Fina continued dismantling the damaged Wolf.

Her knife movements have no hesitation.

“I’ve said it many times, but remember that points will be deducted if you can’t dismantle not only fast, but also carefully and neatly. Moreover, dismantling the second Wolf you will be dismantling have been more damaged than the first, so if you rush it, you will fail!” (Master of Ceremony)

Just looking at them made my hands sweat.

Perhaps it was because I have a competitive nature, but I was torn between wanting Fina to win because she was going to do it and wanting her not to overdo it.

But Fina was not in the competition to lose.

“Fina, go for it!” (Yuna)

I wasn’t shy to raise my voice and cheer for Fina.

Fina was trying her best. I couldn’t ask her to cut corners. So, I cheered her on.

“Big sister, keep up the good work!” (Shuri)

“Fina-san, do your best!” (Shia)

Shuri and Shia both shout.

Perhaps it was my imagination, but I felt Fina’s movements became faster.

“If you make it to the top 60, you’re through to the second round. Some of the participants might therefore be thinking about the second round and relaxing. But that’s not the way it should be! Are you going to cut corners in front of a girl who is working so hard!” (Master of Ceremony)

I felt as if every participants’ speed had increased with the urging of the master of ceremony.

He was good at stirring things up.

But I was sure the excitement was building.

The other women participants were also doing their best; as a fellow female, I was inclined to root for the women.

The dismantling of the Wolves continued to progress.

Even a layman like me could tell that the end was near.

“Oh, here comes Deed-kun, the winner, raising his hand! He was the first one to raise his hand!” (Master of Ceremony)

He did raise his hand.

“But as I have said many times, being fast is not enough. If there is a mistake in dismantling, points will be deducted, so it doesn’t necessarily mean first place.” (Master of Ceremony)

Then, a little later, a second person raises his hand.

“The next person to raise his hand is Garde-kun. Garde-kun, you look frustrated. But even if you take first place here, it has nothing to do with the final winner, so don’t be frustrated.” (Master of Ceremony)

Then, one after another, they raised their hands.

How about Fina!?

Fina was nearing the end. Then after finishing dismantling, she raised his hand.

“Ohh, here comes Fina-san raising her hand! She is 13th. Earlier, when she was doing her 1st wolf, she was 15th, but now she has overtaken two people and finished 13th!” (Master of Ceremony)

The crowd goes wild.

There were 60 participants going through the first round, so unless there was a significant point deduction, there should be no doubt they would make it through the first round.

Then the scoring started, starting with those who had finished.

The dismantled furs, meat, and various other items were scored.

Then everyone finished dismantling, and the scoring began to be tallied.

“The nervous ones are the ones who finished dismantling around the 60th position, because the scoring is always variable in this area. But even if a competitor finishes dismantling early in the top rank, if the dismantling is in a bad condition, they will fall to the lower ranks. If the results couldn’t be sold, they would receive zero points.” (Master of Ceremony)

That was to be expected since the material was dismantled for the sake of selling the material. If the materials couldn’t be sold, they would receive zero points. No, it would be a minus.

Supposing that a monster was originally worth a gold coin when sold, but that was at the cost of the adventurers’ lives fighting and defeating the monsters. It would be worth nothing.

The same goes for a guild that buys it from the adventurers. If it failed to be properly dismantled the profit was zero, and the amount of money paid for it would be a negative figure.

“Then, the one whose number and name are called will advance to the second round!” (Master of Ceremony)

“What number are you, big sister?” (Shuri)

“Number 51.” (Fina)

“First, number one, Deed-kun.” (Master of Ceremony)

There was a round of applause and cheers.

“There was no change in the ranking. And second place goes to number 11, Garde-kun.” (Master of Ceremony)

This part of the show was pretty much as expected.

The problem was around number 13, where Fina finished dismantling.

Then the rankings, numbers and names were called out.

“In 11th place…number…you, in 12th place…number…you.” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony read out the rankings, numbers, and names.

Fina’s name was not announced yet.

Shuri keeps muttering “number 51” over and over again in her breaths.

If they were going to call her, it would be soon.

“Thirteenth place, number 51, Fina-san.” (Master of Ceremony)

Fina’s number and name were called.