Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Bear-San Watching the Dismantling Event Part 3

One of the participants couldn’t help but comment, “I think the choice to select helpers would depend on what kind of monsters we are going to dismantle.”

Indeed, if they ended up picking people like Fina and me, who have difficulty dealing with insect-based monsters, as their teammates, that would only slow them down.

“So, after seeing for yourselves the monsters to be dismantled in the fourth round, we will ask you, the participants to choose one.” (Master of Ceremony)

After the Master of Ceremony said this, five attendants came out.

The five attendants distanced themselves from the container. Then, when they put their hands in their magic bags and pulled out their contents, giant monsters, wyverns, appeared.

The audience buzzed as the wyverns came out.

“A big bird!” (Shuri)

“No, those are not as cute as birds, right?” (Yuna)

I pointed out Shuri’s words.

“In this fourth round, a group of three will have to dismantle a wyvern.” (Master of Ceremony)

It was true that it would be impossible for one person to dismantle a wyvern.

The wyvern is a creature the size of a two-story house when it stood upright. If a civilian were attacked by something like that, that person would surely die. If I didn’t have my bear gear, I’d probably be killed, too, if I met one.

The wyverns had their heads cut off and separated, so those looked similar to those I had defeated during the royal capital raid, specifically the ones I killed while they were asleep.

“Now, the five of you who have qualified to the fourth round will now get to choose two assistants each to form a group. Each group will dismantle one wyvern together.” (Master of Ceremony)

“But how do we choose the two people who will help us? I think it would be unfair depending on what order we choose them.” (Participant)

If the person in first place gets to choose first, he would obviously choose the next immediate best two to be in their team. In that case, the person in fifth place would have no choice but to choose the less competent helpers than others. This would put the person in first place with an overwhelming advantage.

They could also decide via Lottery, but that would depend on luck.

“Don’t worry, they are trying to be fair in that aspect. See, they’ll explain how to choose.” (Ellelaura)

Perhaps because the Guild has organised this event every year, as Ellelaura-san explained, so the organizers should have been prepared for something like this.

How the competition would proceed is the participants would choose from 1st to 5th of the top 5, selecting their first team member, and then, the 5th placing participant now gets to choose their second member first, in reverse order.

In other words, even if the first-place to fifth-place participant picked the best assistant available in the first round, that same participant could end up with the worst pick in his second choice, which would balance the team, having a preferred first-choice pick and a possible unwanted second choice pick.

“Well, that’s a decent rule. This should at least even things out to some extent, right?” (Yuna)

“Hmm, not only that. There’s also the possibility of specifically choosing only people they know or an acquaintance of someone they know, so there can be a synergistic effect.” (Ellelaura)

Ah, I see, if selected helpers were fellow adventurers, or fellow guild officials, or acquaintances, they would be more likely to follow directions properly.

Even if selected helpers were competent, if they didn’t get along with the participants, they wouldn’t have a good time following directions, and it would be harder to coordinate with them.

Even in games, it would be more efficient to party with someone who had partied with you many times than with someone you didn’t know.

But a level 100 would definitely be more capable than a level 1, so I expected there to be some guiding required.

“Whatever the case may be, the higher ranked participants who get to choose first will still have an advantage, won’t they?” (Yuna)

Well, I suppose it’s still better than using methods that had an element of luck involved.

“Well then, let’s start with the first place in the overall score and choose.” (Master of Ceremony)

Names were called, and the first person was nominated. Then, those who were second, third, fourth, and fifth chose. After completing one round, the fifth-place participant got the first pick in the second round to select the second team member.

When every participant finished choosing, a brief explanation of the rules were given.

The people assisting must not do anything other than follow instructions. Waiting for instructions would usually be frowned upon when dismantling outside of competition, but this was a competition for the five remaining participants who reached the 4th round. And it was their leadership that was being tested.

They had to keep track of who had completed which tasks at any given time.

“In other words, you can’t be so focused on what’s in front of you that you lose sight of what’s going on around you.” (Yuna)

“I’m usually so focused on what’s in front of me that I can’t possibly dismantle something while giving instructions.” (Fina)

Fina muttered when she heard the rule.

“I don’t think so. Fina has always been a gentle girl who is very aware of her surroundings, so I’m sure you can do it right.” (Yuna)

“…Yuna Onee-chan.” (Fina)

“It’s just that even though you can see what’s going on around you, you don’t seem to be very good at instructing other people on what to do.” (Yuna)

“Ugh.” (Fina)

Fina had the personality of wanting to do everything herself instead of asking others to do it, as she did when Tirumina-san was sick, and maybe she just wasn’t very good at relying on others.

I wondered if she was aware of this because she did not argue with me about it.

“On the other hand, Yuna-chan always asks people to do everything for her.” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san said it a little sarcastically.

It was best to leave the troublesome things to others.

Besides, there was a saying about the right person being in the right place at the right time. If someone else could do it better, it would be better to leave it to them, making it easier for everyone.

If I did everything, everyone else would lose their jobs. I don’t want that, because I want to be in charge of just being lazy.

“Hmmm… I guess if you add Yuna-chan’s and Fina’s personalities and divide them into two, it would be just right.” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san laughed as she looked at me and Fina.

I could agree with Tirumina’s words, but there was also a possibility that it would end up as a half-baked and weak personality.

And so the 15 people in the venue, one participant and two chosen ones each, stood before the wyvern carcasses.

“So, are we ready?” (Master of Ceremony)

Everyone gulped.

“Then please begin!” (Master of Ceremony)

The five groups simultaneously started dismantling the wyverns.

Everyone who remained until the fourth round were the best of the best.

The five leaders gave instructions to their companions.

The wyverns’ head, wings, claws, and other parts were dismantled with practiced hands. This could only be done if the people doing this had the knowledge in how to dismantle them in the first place. That included having the people they have chosen from the failed participants who also possess such knowledge.

The wyverns were dismantled one after another by these fierce competitors.

Fina watched as the wyverns were dismantled.

“Aren’t wyverns scary?” (Yuna)

“Their faces are scary, but I’m fine with them.” (Fina)

“Then, would you like to try dismantling a wyvern next time?” (Yuna)

“Eh?” (Fina)

Fina looked at me with a surprised expression.

“I still have a few wyverns, so if you want to try it, I’d be happy to let you do it.” (Yuna)

“Yuna-chan, that may be easy for you to say, but Wyverns are rarely encountered and usually not easy to defeat.” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san, who was listening to my words, said in exasperation.

I defeated wyverns during the time of 10,000 monsters raid and more during my time on Targui Island.

By the way, I did not give all the Wyverns to Sanya-san. I have a few left in my bear box if I ever need them.

“But I’ve never dismantled a wyvern, and…” (Fina)

“Well, you’re watching and learning, right? Besides, you can ask Gentz-san to teach you.” (Yuna)

“I wonder if he has ever dismantled a wyvern?” (Tirumina)

Could Gentz-san’s reputation be so low from Tirumina-san’s point of view?

“He was able to deal with a Black Viper, so maybe he can do it.” (Yuna)

“I think he can do it because the structure of its body is the same as regular vipers. And the main difference is in the hardness of the skin and other parts.” (Tirumina)

That reminded me of the time when I asked Fina to dismantle a Tiger Wolf, she said she could do it because it had the same body structure as a Wolf. Was it really that similar?

“Well, you could ask him first, and if Gentz-san can dismantle a wyvern, you can ask him to teach you.” (Yuna)

“Yes.” (Fina)

Actually, Fina might have wanted to try dismantling a wyvern.

“But I’ve never seen a wyvern before, and it’s enormous. I can’t believe Yuna-chan fought and defeated such a monster. Where did you encounter it?” (Tirumina)

“It’s not really that much of a problem. …but, Tirumina-san, is this really the first time you have encountered a Wyvern?” (Yuna)

I encountered some when dealing with the 10,000 monsters and others when I was on the sea.

I didn’t tell her about the 10,000 monsters raid, nor did I speak in detail about the ones I encountered at the sea.

“As I said before, even adventurers don’t normally get a chance to see wyverns. Even if they do see them, it’s only when they are flying far away or when they are already a corpse.” (Tirumina)

In other words, if you run into them up close, they would likely kill you.

Just when I thought I’d managed to divert the subject safely, Shia’s casual remark rendered it futile.

“But I’ve seen wyverns before, and they’re enormous.” (Shia)

“You’ve seen them before?” (Ellelaura)

Ellelaura-san reacted to Shia’s words.

Shia immediately thought it was a bad idea and shut her mouth.

After I killed the wyvern that appeared in the Targui. Shia, Shuri, and Fina were there to look at the fallen wyverns.

Shia, perhaps feeling uncomfortable, looked away from Ellelaura-san.

“Shia-chan, where did you see a wyvern?” (Ellelaura)

Funny, Ellelaura-san appeared to be smiling, but not her eyes.

“I, I saw it from a distance.” (Shia)

“Oh, when did you see it? If you saw it over the royal capital, there would have been an uproar.” (Ellelaura)

Shia’s eyes darted around and then finally settled on me as if pleading for help.

“Yuna-san~~~” (Shia)

When Shia said my name and asked for help, it was proof enough that I was involved.

Since I couldn’t hide what happened during our island visit anymore, I told her about when we went to the island during our time at the beach on our employee trip.

Of course, I didn’t mention Targui island, but I explained that we had encountered wyverns while exploring a particular island.

“Huh, that’s when it happened.” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san heard the story and immediately understood when it was.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to worry you.” (Yuna)

“I was surprised to hear about the spiders yesterday, but I didn’t realize that you had even killed a wyvern when we went to the beach.” (Ellelaura)

“But you two, Fina and Shuri, didn’t tell me about it, even though it happened.” (Tirumina)

“And Shia, too.” (Ellelaura)

Tirumina-san looked at Fina and Shuri while Ellelaura-san looked at Shia.

“It’s not because the three wanted to lie. Everyone was having fun, so I asked the Shia, Shuri, and Fina not to tell anyone else because I knew it would cause unnecessary tension if the rest of the people on the trip found out that Wyverns were in the area.” (Yuna)

“I’m not mad. I know how kind Yuna-chan is. And I know that if they had known that Wyvern was on the nearby island, they would have been too scared thinking that the wyverns may attack, and they wouldn’t have a good time.” (Ellelaura)

“That’s why I just asked Shia, Shuri, and Fina not to speak about it, so please don’t be mad at Shia.” (Yuna)

I defended Shia because I would feel sorry for her if she ended up being scolded.

“Besides, I’m the one who took down the wyvern, and I made sure it was safe when Shia, Shuri, and Fina were watching me deal with the corpses.” (Yuna)

“I heard both Shia and Noa had a great time on that trip. And that Yuna-chan was very considerate.” (Ellelaura)

“Yes, it was great. If the others had heard that there were wyverns during the trip, they might not have enjoyed it as much as they did.” (Yuna)

Ellelaura-san and Tirumina-san agreed with my explanation.

“I think Yuna-chan simply thought about us and was thinking that it was necessary to keep quiet about it.” (Tirumina)

“Thank you, Tirumina-san.” (Yuna)

It made me happy to hear her say that.

“Tirumina-san trusts Yuna-chan, doesn’t she?” (Ellelaura)

“Well, yes. We have been saved by Yuna-chan many times.” (Tirumina)

“Oh, indeed. I’ve been saved by Yuna-chan many times, as well.” (Ellelaura)

They looked at me warmly.

I wish they would stop looking at me that way.