The sun stood at its zenith, flooding the massive paved courtyard of the Twilight Manor with its light. Normally, the ring of training steel echoed here, but today the air vibrated with the roar of the crowd and the crackle of voice-amplifying magic crystals.
Three people sat on a specially erected platform resembling a judge's box.
In the center, nervously adjusting the microphone (a broadcast crystal), sweated Raul Nord. To his right, straight as a sword, sat Rane, his hands calmly folded on the table. And to his left, sprawled in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, sat Loki, holding a glass of wine in her hand.
The poor Level 4 adventurer kept glancing from his Goddess to the strange rookie, looking as if he would rather be fighting in the depths of the Dungeon right now than hosting this event.
"Ahem... Testing... Can you hear me?" Raul's magically amplified voice echoed across the courtyard. The crowd below fell silent.
Raul swallowed hard, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Alright! Welcome, everyone, to the latest Loki Familia recruitment drive! Following the preliminary round, we have selected forty candidates who, by our estimation, have the potential to become part of our great Familia."
He paused, hoping for applause, but Loki let out a loud, dramatic yawn directly into the microphone.
"Bori-i-ing, Raul! You sound like you're reading a weekly grocery list! Put some passion into it!"
Raul flinched and offered a pitiful smile.
"A-apologies, Loki-sama... Ahem. Today, this grand event will be commentated by me, Raul Nord, as well as the initiator of all this mad... ahem, celebration, our great Goddess Loki!"
Loki seized the initiative, leaning toward the crystal.
"Yo! It's me!" her voice was brimming with anticipation. "I hope you runts are ready to put on a real show for me! I want to see blood, sweat, and tears! Or at least something entertaining, otherwise you'll be flying out of here faster than a cork from a bottle!"
The crowd below murmured nervously. Raul hurried to take the floor back before the Goddess could add anything else.
"And also!" he gestured to his right. "Our specially invited guest. A person whose participation on the judging panel was also a personal request of the Goddess. Rane!"
All eyes turned to the black-haired youth.
Rane leaned toward the crystal slowly, with a dignity uncharacteristic of his age. He didn't look embarrassed or intimidated. It was as if he had spent his entire life sitting in the stands of the Colosseum.
"Thank you for the invitation," his voice sounded steady, with a slight rasp. "It is an honor for me to sit beside the Goddess Loki. I will strive to justify the trust placed in me and act as an impartial observer."
Having said this, he bowed slightly, resting his elbows on the table. The movement was polished, full of innate nobility.
Raul blinked. He had expected to see a stiff, nervous rookie, but instead saw someone acting as if he were a hired professional.
"Uhm... Right..." Raul squeezed out, looking somewhat tiredly at Rane. "You two, I see, are on the same wavelength..."
This guy... Is he not afraid of Loki at all? Or is he just crazy? flashed through Nord's mind.
"So!" Raul shook his head, returning to the script. "Let's move on to the rules of this stage. It will be a 'Battle Royale'!"
The crowd gasped.
"All forty participants will enter the arena simultaneously," Raul continued, pointing to a chalk-drawn circle in the courtyard. "The fight continues until only twenty people are left standing. The rules are simple: anyone who leaves the circle or loses consciousness is eliminated. The use of offensive magic is forbidden. Weapons will be strictly wooden training gear. Killing and maiming..."
"Oh, stop droning on!" Loki interrupted him again, seizing the spotlight. "Long story short, there's no place for weaklings in my Familia! If you can't stay on your feet in a mosh pit like this, you have no business in the Dungeon. Show me your resolve!"
She smirked predatorily and, casting a sidelong glance at Rane, added maliciously:
"Though, I suppose someone here already has a favorite, huh? Isn't that right, Mister Judge?"
She didn't name names, but the hint was as transparent as glass.
"Can such a biased individual even evaluate others objectively?" Loki drawled, propping her cheek on her fist and boring her gaze into Rane.
He held a pause, letting the Goddess's words hang in the air, and then calmly replied:
"You need not worry, Loki-sama."
"Hoh?" Loki acted surprised.
"I am confident in my friend's victory, that is true," Rane continued, looking straight into the crowd. "However, my confidence in him in no way diminishes the merits of the others. Favoritism is poison to evaluation. It blinds the eyes and leads to mistakes. And in our line of work, mistakes cost lives. I am genuinely interested to see what each of the participants is capable of. Every single one of them came here with hope, and everyone deserves a fair assessment."
Loki narrowed her eyes. Her crimson eyes seemed to x-ray the boy.
"Aren't you a little too young to be making speeches like that, kid?" a dangerous note slipped into her voice. "You sound like an old geezer."
"That I am," Rane parried imperturbably. "Words are but wind. Until they are backed by action, they are worth nothing. It is deeds that prove a person's true essence. And all these people below have gathered here precisely to prove their worth through their deeds. For your sake, beautiful Goddess Loki!"
Loki blinked, and then burst out laughing.
"Ha-ha! You sure know how to slip away."
Rane, ignoring the laughter, leaned back toward the microphone, his voice taking on a steely, commanding edge:
"Honored participants! Do not hold back. Show everything you are capable of: to the beautiful Goddess who forged the strongest Familia in Orario, to all of us, and most importantly—to yourselves! Ignite your inner fire! Make your souls shine so brightly that amidst the chaos of battle, we will be unable to look away from you!"
The crowd erupted in a cheering roar. Even Raul got goosebumps.
Loki had already opened her mouth to deliver another barb, but Raul, feeling his role as the host slipping through his fingers, desperately interrupted them both:
"M-maybe we should just start already?! Participants, get ready!"
***
On a wide second-floor balcony that offered a perfect view of the courtyard, the elite of the Loki Familia had gathered.
Riveria Ljos Alf shook her head, covering her eyes with her palm.
"What has she done..." the elf exhaled, a note of suffering in her voice. "She turned a serious event into a circus."
Next to her, leaning on the railing, stood a stocky dwarf. Gareth Landrock took a large gulp of beer from his mug and let out a booming laugh, wiping the foam from his mustache.
"Oh, let it go, Riveria!" he rumbled. "At least Loki pulled something interesting this time! It's been a while since we've been this entertained."
The dwarf nodded toward the judge's box.
"But what amuses me more is that kid. How does he manage to keep up with her? Playing along with this farce with such a stone face, like it's perfectly normal."
"He asked for this himself," Finn said quietly, standing a little to the side. The captain was watching Rane closely. "For his friend to participate on general terms."
"Why?" Riveria didn't understand. "We were ready to accept them anyway."
"He wants to showcase his protégé's strength," Finn replied, interest flashing in his eyes. "His blatant, unwavering confidence in that boy's success... it's quite astonishing."
By the wall, arms crossed over his chest and exuding boredom with his entire demeanor, stood Bete Loga.
"Poser," the werewolf snorted, spitting on the floor.
All three executives turned to him. Bete wasn't even looking at them; his gaze was fixed somewhere over the heads of the participants.
"He could have joined the Familia without this cheap spectacle," he grumbled. "If you're strong—join up and fight. But he set up a circus to stroke his buddy's ego. Tch."
Silence hung in the air. Riveria, Gareth, and Finn exchanged glances.
"What?!" Bete barked, feeling their eyes on him. "What are you staring at?"
Riveria slowly, with a touch of theatricality, placed a hand over her heart, feigning disbelief.
"Did... did I hear that right? Did Bete just admit that a rookie is worthy of joining the Familia?"
"Is this a dream?" Gareth played along, his eyes wide. "Our Mad Wolf acknowledged someone? Oh gods, the sky will probably fall tomorrow!"
Bete flared up. Color flooded his face all the way to his ears.
"Shut up! That's not what I said! I said he's a stupid poser!" he yelled, pushing off the wall. "To hell with all of you!"
He spun on his heel and strode quickly away from the balcony, trying to hide his embarrassment.
A chorus of laughter from the executive trio followed him.
Finn smiled as he watched the werewolf's retreating back.
It's been a while since things were like this, he thought. The heavy atmosphere that had hung over them since the failed expedition was beginning to dissipate. This strange duo had brought a fresh new wind with them.
The captain shifted his gaze back to the judge's table, where Rane was calmly explaining something to a gesturing Loki.
What else should we expect from you, Rane?
And down below, in the middle of the dusty arena circle, stood Bell Cranel.
He gripped a wooden training sword in his hand; around him, thirty-nine other candidates were warming up, growling, and beating their chests.
And ringing in his ears was Rane's voice, preaching about "souls shining."
Bell looked up at the stands, where his friend, sitting next to a Deity, was acting like the king of the world, and his eye twitched.
"What have they done..." he groaned, feeling the heat of embarrassment flood his face.