“I see… This is what he meant…!”
It was time for the fifth and final group, Yuugo and Ryuuga’s.
In the third exercise area that was modeled after a town, Yuugo was eager to take on the test and show off his power by fiercely battling monsters… But that was not happening.
He was sitting on the edge of the roof of a tall building, with his arms crossed and groaning, not in combat mode at all.
He did not even have Blaster equipped or moved around looking for enemies. He simply watched as others fought, and thought about how he now understood what Ryuuga meant, while laying down.
“I understand now, Ryuuga. We just gotta accept it.”
He looked up at the ceiling, and groaned a little as he sat up and looked to where noise was coming from.
What he saw was Shian and Egos fighting monsters with other students.
They gave instructions so the others could precisely corner the monsters and Shian and egos could take them down.
It was well coordinated… Thought Yuugo, as he thought about how not long ago they used that coordination for something else, and let out a deep sigh.
“Oh? You look pretty sad. Did something happen?”
“Ooh? Ryuuga? Should you really be slacking off here? The teachers and the combat miko are watching.”
“I don’t care. And you also understand that there is no point in moving around because we are being watched, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
After speaking with Ryuuga, who appeared as Yuugo grumbled to himself, he sighed again.
He understood that Ryuuga was on the same boat as him, and spoke.
“Now I get what you meant. This test began before we came to the exercise area. And the teams were put together before the test started.”
“That’s it. That way, they can form cliques to not only take down enemies, but also get in the way of the others. Like they did to us just now.”
Ryuuga’s words made Yuugo remember what just happened to him. Looking back, it was pretty bad.
The moment he entered the exercise area, he was pushed back from his starting position and forced to get a late start.
He then ran around looking for enemies, but any time he tried to fight one, someone got in his way and others used that opportunity to steal his spotlight.
Even worse, Yuugo had some painful experiences when people attacked him along with monsters.
He remembered how Shian and Egos were at the heart of the students getting in his way, and grimaced.
“So they’re getting their payback here…! Popularity is a weapon, and it’s not like they’re cheating, but… It really pisses me off that they’re getting the upper hand!”
Melt was his only real friend there, so he groaned with some envy.
If he really wanted to, he could have conspired with Ryuuga, and was mad at himself for throwing away that advantage. But he was even more upset than he should because his nemesis Shian and Egos were using their friends to get in his way. But Ryuuga was calmer.
“I assume it’s no coincidence that they are in the same group as people who want to coordinate with them. It was set up from the start.”
“Ah…?”
“You called them Shian and Egos, right? Look at the faces of the students fighting with them. Do you notice anything?”
Yuugo looked closely at Shian and Egos and the others, and saw that they were the same ones who were with them when they were antagonizing him before.
He knew it was way too big of a coincidence for them to be together, and realized someone had to have put them together.
“Was it that Ramy Nira? She said she’s responsible for the exchange students’ this and that, and she’s in charge of this test, right?”
“Yes. You were focused on cheering Epee on, but right from the first group, leaders and their minions were put in the same groups. This means that teacher is fixing this test in order to show off what they call hero prospects to the exchange students.”
“Ahh… So it’s not just the students who give them preferential treatment. Some teachers are pushing for them too…”
Zenon, Isaac, Shian, Egos… Yuugo had seen plenty of these hero prospects, and so he had to question if Ramy was doing the right thing by arranging for them to be involved with the exchange students.
As for Ryuuga, he was blatantly shown the negative aspects of these hero prospects right on his first day, so he turned to Yuugo with an awkward smile.
“You’re frustrated, aren’t you? It’s annoying to have to sit back and watch them work because we were sabotaged and can’t show our power.”
“That too, but… Seeing that really makes me think that this is bad…”
Ryuuga wondered if Yuugo was angry about being driven into this situation by Ramy and the hero prospects, but he felt more strongly about something else.
Ryuuga looked to where Yuugo was pointing, and asked him a question.
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