After the teams got situated in their own respective dorm rooms, we were all given about a day to chat and socialize amongst ourselves before the Preliminary match began. It was mostly meant to fan the flames of friendly rivalries and/or to just have people chat to get to know each other a bit more. Remember, this isn’t a fight to the death or anything, this is just a friendly competition between the world’s finest! That being the case, Lune was pretty antsy about not being with his family.

You see, the dormitories were divided by gender. For obvious reasons, the men and the women couldn’t be put in the same place, so there were actually two neighboring buildings each representing the women’s and the men’s dormitories respectively. The attendees are allowed to go out and wander within the confines of the Palace, and we’re even allowed to chat mingle with the opposite gender as we please. The only rule in place is that both genders can only be together in the unisex ‘living room’ of sorts. This was basically a large hall that most resembled a cafeteria due to its numerous tables and chairs.

Lune kept pacing around our room, each step sounding more and more anxious. I already knew where that anxiety stemmed from, but I felt a bit dubious, so I feigned ignorance to try and tease him.

“What’s got you so nervous?”

“Hm? Oh, never mind me.”

Oh, he’s trying to hide it! He’s so obvious, yet he’s acting like it’s nothing for me to get involved with! This loudmouthed imbecile almost always tells others about his issues, and more importantly always advocates that others tell their issues to him! But look at him now, he’s definitely feeling the guilt of meeting his wife and daughter so suddenly that he’s been reduced to nothing more than a weak and spineless man!

“You sure?” I placed my hand on his shoulder, “Could it be… that you’re nervous about the Preliminary match?”

“Eh? N-No, it’s not that.”

Oho, he really jumped at that one! He’s probably thinking something like Really, Meil didn’t read the mood? Humu, that’s the prank, dude! I did read the mood, it’s just that I’m playing dumb to play mind games with you, thus ironically making you look dumb!

“Then… you wanna go to the bathroom, but you don’t know where it is? Don’t worry Lune, I’ll go with you and ask, you don’t have to hide it.”

“Meil, I went right before we were situated into our dorms. By the way, the bathroom is at the end of the hallway.”

Huh, I actually didn’t know that, so thanks for that, Lune. That being the case, it seems I played dumb a bit too well, leading to me losing him a bit. He now finally realized that I was just beating around the bush on purpose to get him to be honest about his worries, so with a heavy sigh he finally caved.

“Fine, you win. The issue that’s bugging me is that I need to finish my chat with Cecily, but there’s no way for me to contact her and get her to come out to the living room.”

“That’s fair. You’ve certainly got a lot to tell her, but there’s just no way for two people to communicate without sending a letter. That being the case, the postal system won’t help you because the address would virtually be the same since you’re both in the Palace.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’ve been wracking my brain trying to recall how one of Issei’s inventions worked. I believe he called it a ‘smartphone’? In any case, it’s this nigh-magical device that allows the user to hear the voice of another person no matter where they are in the world – provided that person has the device as well.”

“What the hell? Is such a device even feasible in this world?”

Lune told me this before, but apparently that foreign friend of his is named Issei Kaido, and he’s also not from this world. Not sure how that works, but that would certainly explain Lune’s somewhat sudden advances in our world’s technology during his time in Cardina as Sol Pandora.

“I’m wouldn’t believe it myself if I hadn’t seen it work firsthand.” He said with a finger pointing up, “Then again, is such a device really that difficult to imagine? I’ve seen a Book that tells the future, after all.”

“A Book that tells the future?”

“Did I not tell you about my time in Sibirus? That’s surprising, given the fact that Marina and I met there, I figured I’d have told you about it at least once before.”

“Uhh, no? You haven’t? In any case, you think you could make this smartphone thingamajig?”

Just while we started wracking our brains about this mysterious device, we got a sudden knock on the door. Opening it cautiously, we were greeted by none other than the girls themselves. But how, I thought, how did they sneak past the guards?!

“Yo, may we come in?” Cecily asked as she held her hand over her daughter’s mouth, “Time sensitive question, by the way. Nelly’s not good at stealth just yet.”

Just yet? N-Never mind, after we let them in, we began the discussion.

“How’d you guys make it here without being seen?” Lune asked.

“Did you forget I’m ARA’s greatest assassin? I slit throats like you cut your morning bread.” Cecily said whilst covering her daughter’s ears, “Sneaking around surveillance is mere child’s play.”

“Mommy! What are you guys talking about??’ Nelly protested.

“You’ll learn when you’re older, dear!” Cecily quickly quieted her down before covering her ears once again, “That being said, Meil, I still haven’t told you about how we got a spot here as attendees. I feel like I owe you at least that much.”

Well, no matter what, it seems that Cecily is a kind person at heart. So kind in fact that I’ll completely ignore her earlier statement. Ugh, it made me shiver, the way she said ‘slit’.

“Thing is,” Cecily explained, “All the ARA Generals are actually considered eligible to participate in the awards, seeing as we’re literally the most important part of one of the world’s largest countries. The others declined though, as they had to hold down the fort, but they felt it to be right for me to go and talk to Lune privately.”

“Ah, those guys…!” Lune recalled, “Max, Jorgen, Aaron, Ed, you and I. There should’ve been like ten of us, but the world giveth, and the world taketh away.”

Cecily gave him an awkward smile after he displayed his retrospective poetry, but quickly mellowed out herself. Looks like they had a whole ton of close friends back in Great Hiana. Can’t say I can relate, though.

“In any case!” I decided to move the conversation to its next topic, “Why is Nelly with you then?”

“Same reason you’re with Lune.” She went on to explain, “An attendee is required to have an assistant with them, so using a few loopholes to my advantage, I had her take up the role.”

“And why’d you go ahead and do that?” Lune asked.

“To make you all the more ashamed, my dear~!”

“Gahh!” He grabbed his head by his temples, “Confliction! I’m kind of mad that you’re made Nelly go through such an arduous journey just to shame me, but on the other hand I’m elated that you called me ‘dear’ once again, even if it was a jeer!”

“W-What?” She jumped back with a flushed expression, “T-That’s not…! That wasn’t my intention, you delusional idiot!”

“Ah! You just called me idiot! I haven’t heard you call me that since before we were even dating! I’m so happy right now, I could kiss you!”

“K-K-K-Kiss?!” Her face was now bright red, “Not in front of Nelly! N-No wait, I meant to say Not now! Or no, I’m still mad at you, so no!”

At this, she picked Nelly up and ran off as quickly as she could. Looking back at Lune, I had finally figured out that this was all part of his master plan to extract a few cute expressions from his wife once again. Now that’s how you prank someone! I should be taking notes, dammit! That was genuinely impressive!

“Same time tomorrow?” Lune mocked Cecily as she ran through the hallway.

“You wish!”

Just as she had turned around with a pouty expression, Lune timed it perfectly so that she could very clearly see him blowing her a kiss, leading to her practically exploding from embarrassment. Scratch that, this level of teasing is actually far more scary than impressive at this point…!

***

As soon as morning struck, we had been woken up by the officials and told to get dressed and go to the cafeteria. Again, the men and the women were once again divided into our own halves, but from the angle I was seated in, I could very obviously see Cecily stealing a few (scratch that, a ton) of glances at Lune’s back. I’m calling it now, these two are getting back together, hands down.

After we ate, it was finally time for the Preliminary match. This was your standard, run of the mill intelligence test. Each team’s representative was seated in a room, given a pen and paper, as well as a time limit. The questions covered everything from mathematics to history, then geography, and even literature in some cases. Obviously, this was my calling, and seeing as Lune only knew basic arithmetics, it was all but obvious that I would be representing our team.

Cecily too was representing her team, as Nelly was still far too young to even read, much less know the answers to the questions on the test. The people that weren’t participating in the Preliminary match are to be seated on the sidelines, being allowed to cheer for their companions and even give a few hints if they see their companions are stuck on a certain question. This of course, provided they don’t get caught.

“I’m gonna sit this one out, literally.” Lune explained, “Not only are you the smarter one, Meil, but I just don’t like the idea of leaving Nelly to sit alone amongst all these strangers. I’ll take care of her while you get this one done.”

And with that, the test had begun. First question, second question, fifth question, thirty sixth question, one hundred and fifty eighth question, aaaaand… Whoa, is it already over? It’s only been twenty minutes! I still have like two hours left before the time limit!

“Yo, judge!” Cecily suddenly raised her hand as well, “I’m done with mine. Where do I submit it?”

Everyone had oohed and aah’d at her words, making me a bit jealous, but more so confused. Wait, is she really that smart to finish just a couple seconds after moi? Pardon my Simpletonic, but could she really be this much of a fille de génie? Guess Lune really lucked out with her, but then again he did tell me that those two bonded over their shared frequency of reading books at their local library…

“Me too!” Another girl’s voice could be heard, “I, Silvia Quartz, am finished with the test as well! And in record time, no less!”

“Whoa, record time?” Cecily refuted, “Then how come you didn’t raise your hand before me?”

“Hmph! That’s because my test answers are all right, as opposed to yours…”

This snarky behavior of hers was certainly not recommended for the Awards, but then again there’s always gonna be a bad egg in every baker’s dozen, right? But wait, did she say her name was Silvia Quartz?

“Quartz?” I asked, “As in, Shawn Quartz?”

“Muahaha!” She laughed annoyingly, “Right you are! You are indeed speaking of my father, who’s hosting the event! Now, bow down before me, the champion of this year’s Awards!”

At her rather loud proclamation, no one really cared, leading to her lightly blushing from the embarrassment. Some of the test-takers actually took the time to be decent human beings and gave her a pity clap or two just to break the agonizing silence. That being the case, none of the four of us are decent human beings in that regard. And yes, that includes Nelly.

“Alright, alright! Settle down!” The official said, “Silvia, as we said before, if you are gonna participate in the Awards, then you will not be getting any special treatment from the staff! Now I want everyone to focus on their tests and hand them in before the clock strikes two!”

Just as the official said, it took two more hours before everyone had finished their tests. Some didn’t hand theirs in in time, so they were actually kicked out of the Awards altogether. You’d think that to be pretty strict, but when you realize that this Preliminary match is primarily meant to throw away people like that, then it only makes sense.

“Now, to reveal the results…!”

I was about to look at my placement in the rankings, but what had first caught my eye before that is Silvia actually placing second. Looks like she wasn’t all talk, after all. A shame, really.

“Hold on, where’s Cecily?”

Looking closer at the leaderboards, I noticed that only the 50 that were on here are the ones that passed, and Cecily was… 49th?! I knew she shouldn’t have rushed the test as much as she did! She’s this close to being out on the first event!

“Woo! I made it!” Cecily high fived Lune, “Cecily number one! Booyah!”

“Hmph!” A snicker could be heard behind her, “Really now? Being so elated after almost failing such a simple test? I’d expect no less from a slovenly woman such as yourself.”

“Got a problem, you walking billboard?” Cecily returned the gest in full.

This taunt actually served a double purpose. Cecily was making fun of the fact that Silvia was dressed so formally that she was basically just showing off all the brands of the different clothes and accessories on her, but more importantly, she made fun of Silvia’s breast size. Now I’m not that well-versed in the female body, but I do understand how this could probably mess with someone.

“You…! Ugh, like you’re one to talk, you damned cutting board!”

“Hey now, calm down ladies!” Lune tried to intercept, only to get flamed for butting in.

“YOU STAY OUT OF IT!” The two yelled in unison.

“…Gotcha!” He stepped back, making a wall with his hands in a defensive position.

“Now now,” A kind but strong male voice could be heard, “A woman’s chest is not something to make fun of. We’re all here to have fun, no? Instead of fighting, why not celebrate that you made it to the next round?”

These wise words came from a new party entirely. Namely, the person in question was third place on the leaderboards – a somewhat chubby man wearing glasses named Steven Esteem. If anyone else had said what he said, then they too would probably be ignored just like Lune, but this man’s logic, coupled with his kind but loud voice, somehow resonated with everyone in the room. It felt like we were bothering him with the commotion, but it also felt extremely wrong to bother someone like him, so everyone just instinctively stopped. It’s that type of thing.

“Whatever, I don’t care anymore.” Silvia referred to Cecily before turning to leave the premises, “Just don’t get in my way, otherwise you’ll regret it, skank.”

“By the way, Meil, what’s your placement?” Lune asked loud enough for Silvia to hear.

“Oh, right.” I recalled, “Looks like I’m first place. Just above Silvia.”

At this team effort of ours, Silvia gritted her teeth before leaving all defeated. Don’t mess with Cecily, she’s got two guard dogs with her! Bark bark, bitch!