Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Kuma-san, Second Round in Support of Fina

The drums sounded with the master of ceremony’s voice, and the second round began.

Fina dismantled a Horned Rabbit using her knife and dismantling toolkit.

The main difference between a Wolf and a Horned Rabbit would be the horn.

I had heard from Fina before that dismantling a horned Rabbit was difficult. That may be why dismantling Horned Rabbit was chosen as the next stage after the Wolf.

“All the participants are now processing Horned Rabbits at once, who will be the first to finish! Would it be Deed-kun and Garde-kun, who are dismantling it at a tremendous speed!” (Master of Ceremony)

Compared to the other participants, the two of them were dismantling their Horned Rabbits very swiftly…

It was apparent that the skill level differences between the two and the other participants were as wide as a gulf. To begin with, Fina was no match for them neither in terms of physical size, strength, or everything else; Fina’s strength might be less than half of what they were capable of. She was also shorter, so Fina was using a stepping stool.

Compared to those two championship contenders, she was far inferior in all aspects, but still, Fina did her best with her small body.

“Now let’s look at the other participants. The third place during the Wolf round was Jaws-kun, and right now he’s way behind the rest. Does he not have enough experience in dismantling Horned Rabbits?! Similarly, those who were in the top ranks during the wolf dismantling were all lagging behind. Is their lack of experience showing? No matter how high they rank in the first round, if they rank low in the second round, they will not be able to proceed to the third round!” (Master of Ceremony)

It was the same for Fina, whose speed was slower than she had been when she dismantled Wolf.

“Let’s look at the ladies next. As I thought, we would start with her, right? Fina-chan, the youngest, handles her knife without hesitation; at the age of 11, I wonder how much effort she had to put in to hone her dismantling skills to such a degree?” (Master of Ceremony)

Our Fina did put in a lot of effort.

Other participants might have done the same, but I didn’t care about them.

“People will proceed step by step. That step may be fast or slow, depending on the person. But if you don’t have the will to go on, you won’t progress, and Fina-chan must have worked many times harder than others.” (Master of Ceremony)

When the master of ceremony mimed crying a little, the audience cheered, “Go for it!” and Shuri, who was next to me, was cheering loudly.

He focused on pointing out Fina, perhaps to inspire the people around her, as Sanya-san had mentioned.

They may look at Fina’s dismantling and rethink their approach to life.

Step by step, a path would open up.

Of course, sometimes that path might get blocked.

Some may pass through that blocked path with effort, some may go through it in a big circle, and some may stand still.

But if one could pass through, one would grow.

They would not even realize the road was blocked if they did not press on forward. Indeed, one would not grow if one stood still, even if one could advance.

In my original world, I stood still, stagnant, not moving forward.

But by meeting Fina and the inhabitants of this world, I think I stepped forward.

So I hope Fina will be rewarded for her efforts to live.

“Let’s take a look at the other women in the group. Eliza-chan, who works as a receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild and dismantling work, is making good progress. Claire, the adventurer, is a little behind?” (Master of Ceremony)

But I see that some women in the Adventurers’ Guild also participate in the dismantling competition. Maybe they wanted to be a receptionist but got sent to dismantle?

Sometimes, I have heard stories that when people join a company, they end up in a different department from what they wanted to work in.

Being a shut-in might be best for me, as I could do what I like.

But that would only be possible if I had enough money. Most people work hard at jobs they detest to survive, and even Fina couldn’t do dismantling the first time she tried it. No one could dismantle a monster from the beginning.

The only way to get used to it would be to do it over and over again.

Thinking about it that way, I would look like a useless person.

“Actually, in the Adventurers’ Guild, Horned Rabbit is handled by women most of the time.” (Sanya)

Sanya-san, who was at the commentary table, replied to the master of ceremony’s words and told us about the inner workings of the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Is that so?” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony waved to Sanya-san.

“Yes, the men tend to do the creepy monsters, and the women tend to do the relatively less creepy ones that have fur. You see, the men don’t want the young girls to hate them. And then they fancy themselves up and say, ‘I’ll take care of the monsters over here, can you take care of the Horned Rabbit?'”

Oh, I could sort of imagine that.

The appeal of a kind man.

He would dismantle the disgusting monster himself and let the woman dismantle the Horned Rabbit.

From my point of view, all dismantling would be the same. But if I had to choose between a spider and a Horned Rabbit to dismantle, I would choose the Horned Rabbit.

“I can see the ulterior motives of the men. They are trying so hard to make the women like them. But this is convincing. I now understand why the men working in the guild are slow to dismantle Horned Rabbits.” (Master of Ceremony)

The audience booed the men when they heard the story.

“Shut up! There’s no way I’m going to let the woman I love dismantle a disgusting monster!” (Jaws-kun)

“Oh, Jaws-kun reacted. Apparently, there’s a woman in the same office that he’s interested in. It’s nice to be young. Don’t you think so? Guild Master Sanya-san.” (Master of Ceremony)

The master of ceremony casually turned to Sanya-san, who was at the commentary table.

“Oh, I’m young as well.” (Sanya)

“I’m sorry. The guild master is a young woman, indeed. So does that mean you can understand how Jaws-kun feels?” (Master of Ceremony)

“Of course, as a young person, I can understand.” (Sanya)

From Sanya-san, I could see something like a black miasma, but I was sure it was just my imagination.

I doubt she could transform into a dark elf, right?

The definition of a dark elf varied from one work to another, so it wouldn’t necessarily mean they were evil. Right now, Sanya-san might become an evil dark elf.

In a human sense, Sanya-san’s age was that of a grandmother. But in an elf’s sense, it would be very young.

In fact, Sanya-san did look young and beautiful. Elves really were a cunning existence.

“Yuna Onee-chan, I can see the blackness on Sanya-neechan’s body.” (Shuri)

Shuri asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Don’t look.” (Yuna)

I gently put Shuri’s face between my Bear Puppets and made her look at Fina.

I had no idea that Shuri could also see that black aura.

Regardless of Sanya-san’s black aura incident, dismantling the Horned Rabbit continued to progress.

“We are already around the middle of the dismantling, but Deed-kun and Garde-kun seem to be a step or two ahead of the others! Fina-chan, the youngest, was 13th in the first round of Wolf, but the Horned Rabbit is a little behind! Quickly, I’d say she’s about in the middle of the group!” (Master of Ceremony)

Maybe it was inexperience. I had never asked her to dismantle a Horned Rabbit as much as she did with wolves.

The more experience one had with dismantling, the more confidence one would have, and the more one would be able to dismantle it without hesitation. If it were Fina now, she might be able to work with a Wolf, even with her eyes closed. But that would not be the case with a Horned Rabbit.

As with anything, experience was an asset and an advantage above all else for the individual.

It was natural that one would be better with a sword or magic if one had used it many times than if one had used it for the first time.

Bread tastes better when it has been made by an experienced hand rather than an amateur’s hand…

If you were not a genius, experience would make the difference.

I wish I had hunted down more Horned Rabbit and asked Fina to do the dismantling for me.

But if she was in the middle of the 60 people, she was around number 30. Her place is already within 40…so she could make it through the second round if she continued doing her best.

You did not have to force yourself to aim for the top. Right now, it is important to go step by step.

Although I wasn’t Tirumina-san, I was more nervous than when fighting a monster by myself.

Despite my worries, Fina’s hands continued to dismantle the Horned Rabbit.

Good luck, Fina!

Then, the master of ceremony looked at the audience and let it proceed.

“We are almost at the end of the dismantling. Some of you are starting to see the end.” (Master of Ceremony)

I could see it. They were the two candidates for the championship.

“Whoa, Deed-kun raised his hand! He’s fast, very fast! After the first round, he is the best in the second round as well. You can feel that he is determined not to let anyone else win! And a little later, Garde-kun also raised his hand. Depending on the scoring of their dismantling, there could be a change in the standings!” (Master of Ceremony)

And as they finished dismantling the Horned Rabbit, more and more people raised their hands, one after the other, as if following after them.

Fina was still dismantling.

“…Onee Chan.” (Shuri)

Shuri watches worriedly.

“Whoa, looks like Eliza-chan finished too! She’s around number 15 or so! She’s the fastest of the women participants!” (Master of Ceremony)

That woman who works as a receptionist and in dismantling has also finished.

Fina was nearing the end, but more and more people who had finished dismantling were raising their hands.

“Onee Chan, she raised her hand!” (Shuri)

“Whoa, here the youngest Fina-chan also raised her hand.” (Master of Ceremony)

At the same time as Shuri, the master of ceremony also noticed.

Perhaps he was watching.

“Let’s see, I guess she’s number 30 or so. That’s a good enough rank to get through to the second round. However, as I have said many times, points will be deducted for messy dismantling, so it is not a definite ranking.” (Master of Ceremony)

Number 30. The order has not changed since the halfway point.

I was relieved to see that her ranking had not dropped.

As the master of ceremony said, this ranking was enough to pass through to the second round.

Fina’s dismantling was very careful. The ranking should be as high as it is now.

The judging began with those who had finished dismantling, and Fina was nervous as she was being scored.

While Fina was being graded, others were finishing dismantling one after another.

After all the dismantling and judging were complete, the master of ceremony announced the rankings.

“Only the top 40 who can go to the third round! The rest, you did your best so that you should not have any regrets!” (Master of Ceremony)

He was a good emcee.

“Okay, we’ll start with first place, Deed-kun in first place and Garde-kun in second place, so the order here remains the same!” (Master of Ceremony)

There were cheers saying “I knew it!” from those around us.

These two were exceptional.

“The rankings after the third place have changed a lot, compared to the dismantling of wolves!” (Master of Ceremony)

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

“In 16th place, … number 16, Eliza-chan.” (Master of Ceremony)

The audience cheered.

Eliza-san waved her hand toward the audience, which drew even more cheers.

She worked hard, had a pretty face, and was probably the most popular woman in the audience.

Above all, she was the highest-ranked female participant.

Then they called out to the 20th place, but Fina’s name was not listed.

“Is Onee Chan okay?” (Shuri)

Shuri looks worried.

“It will be fine.” (Yuna)

Fina was around number 30, so it was no surprise that her name was not called yet.

The master of ceremony continued to call out the rankings, numbers, and names one after another.

“Twenty-sixth, … twenty-seventh … twenty-eighth, number 51, Fina-chan!” (Master of Ceremony)

There were cheers from all around.

The cheers were heard when the receptionist’s name was called, but when Fina’s name was called, the cheers were just as loud.

“Yes!” (Shuri)

“Fina-chan, that’s great!” (Shia)

Shuri and Shia shouted in delight.

“Fuuuh!” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san exhaled tiredly.

“Fina-chan, you really are amazing!” (Ellelaura)

Ellelaura-san is impressed.

Although she dropped places from the first round, she made it through to the second round without a hitch.

This time, the difference was the amount of experience she had.

But she still made it through to the second round.

By the way, Claire, the adventurer who voiced her opinion in the first round, was ranked 38th, and several other women made it through to the second round.

Considering this, Fina’s 28th place was great enough.

Still, it was exhausting to watch.

This might be the first time I have ever cheered for another person from the bottom of my heart.