Chapter 180 : Area 1 - 1
Chapter 180: Area 1 - 1
Karin asked,
“Is... is it over?”
“Keep it down. Every time you get excited like that, something goes wrong.”
“Okay... sorry.”
We all stared at Karin in astonishment.
Who would have thought someone with Karin's personality would actually apologize?
Oblivious to our gazes, she simply continued staring at the voting results.
'She's nervous.'
Then again, it wasn't just Karin.
My own hands were damp with cold sweat.
We waited for several more minutes.
The total voter turnout remained fixed at 70%.
My 27% and Edgar's 43% also remained unchanged.
Haa...
I took a deep breath and declared,
“I think it's over.”
“All the voters from the Third and Fourth Territories have finished voting.”
“......!”
Thud.
Thud.
One by one, everyone in the party collapsed onto the ground.
“Thank goodness.”
“Seriously.”
“Ugh... I don't think I've ever been this tense before.”
“Our lives literally depended on that vote.”
“So the voter turnout from the three territories combined was seventy percent.”
“Which means the voters selected from the First Territory make up the remaining thirty percent.”
“Everyone worked hard.”
“Ah... I'm suddenly hungry.”
Listening to everyone's chatter, I smiled.
But I quickly regained my composure and spoke.
“Let's finish things up.”
“Finish?”
“Yes.”
“Just a moment.”
I beckoned to the eight monsters I had deliberately held back earlier.
“Now it's your eight's turn to vote.”
“We vote for you too, right?”
“No.”
“If that were the case, why would I have separated you beforehand?”
“Then...”
“I'd like each of you to give one vote to one of my companions.”
I pointed to the rule.
If the gap between first and second place remains less than double until the very end, every participant who receives at least one vote passes. Any participant who fails to receive even a single vote is eliminated.
“Now all the voters from the Second, Third, and Fourth Territories have finished voting.”
“The gap is under double.”
“That means the game can't suddenly end midway anymore.”
“......”
“Of course, the First Territory may begin voting later, so we can't completely relax.”
“But at the very least...”
“The game won't end simply because we're missing one or two votes... or rather, eight votes.”
“Hmm.”
“In that case, it's time to take care of my companions.”
“I see.”
“So that's why you held the eight of us back.”
“You humans really are clever.”
Just then, Louis spoke up.
“Wait.”
“Don't tell me... Kaiid and I are included among those eight?”
“Yeah.”
“Why us?”
“We're not even your companions.”
“We're not even human.”
“Well... might as well.”
Louis tightly shut her mouth.
She looked emotionally shaken.
Meanwhile, beside her, Kaiid threw both arms into the air and jumped up and down.
He looked like a school of carp swarming toward fish bait.
“Wahahaha!”
“I lived!”
“Now I'm going to live!”
“......”
“As expected of Lord Mason!”
“You know I like you, right?”
“No, I love you!”
“This is definitely love!”
“The love Master is always talking about...”
Smack!
Suddenly, Louis slammed her palm into Kaiid's back.
Hidden beneath his clothes, there was probably a perfect handprint now.
“Gah!”
“W-What was that for?!”
“Please.”
“Shut up.”
“You're embarrassing.”
“Ah...”
“Yes, ma'am.”
In any case, the eight monsters we had held back each cast their votes.
One vote for each member of our party.
With that, everyone had fulfilled the minimum condition for passing.
How did the standings look now?
■ Popularity Poll in Progress
※ Total Voter Turnout: 70%
1st. Edgar Tyler (43%)
2nd. Mason Giard (27%)
3rd. Armelia Ker Deniroom (0%)
3rd....
Armelia complained,
“Why am I still listed as zero percent after receiving an entire vote?”
“To describe one vote as an 'entire' vote...”
“Well, it's an extremely valuable vote.”
“Hmm.”
“It looks like the percentages are rounded.”
“There's no way Edgar is exactly forty-three percent and I'm exactly twenty-seven percent either.”
The actual percentages were probably displayed to at least two decimal places internally.
The small bulletin board simply rounded them.
Although it displayed 0%, I had personally watched the final eight monsters vote for everyone in our party.
There was nothing left to worry about for them.
Versium spoke.
“So all that's left is maintaining a gap of less than double between you and Edgar until every vote has been cast.”
“That's right.”
“If we do that, we'll all pass.”
“Yes.”
“Though every other ordinary participant will be eliminated.”
“No.”
“That hasn't been decided yet.”
“If the voters from the First Territory each give even a single vote to the ordinary participants, they'll pass as well...”
...Hm?
At that moment, something felt off.
I repeatedly tilted my head, trying to identify what was bothering me.
It didn't take long before I realized it.
“That's strange.”
“What is?”
“The Popularity Poll started roughly five hours ago.”
“Yeah.”
“That sounds about right.”
“So why hasn't a single High-Ranking Monster from the First Territory voted?”
I stared at the small bulletin board.
The Third and Fourth Territories had overwhelmingly voted for Edgar.
The Second Territory had overwhelmingly voted for me.
Yet aside from the two of us, every other participant remained at 0%.
Benjamin said,
“Surely they have voted.”
“Perhaps they're simply rounded down to zero percent.”
“No.”
“If that were the case, these rankings wouldn't make sense.”
“The rankings?”
I pointed at the bulletin board.
■ Popularity Poll in Progress
......
......
3rd. Armelia Ker Deniroom (0%)
3rd. Aina Noel (0%)
3rd. Versium Phallax (0%)
3rd. Sienne Katrin (0%)
3rd. Benjamin Noel (0%)
3rd. Karin Oblanc (0%)
3rd. Louis Danahan (0%)
3rd. Kaiid Bell (0%)
4th. Drake Penn (0%)
......
......
“Everyone in our party is listed in third place.”
“......!”
“The display shows zero percent simply because of rounding.”
“But each of them unquestionably received one vote.”
“So they're tied for third.”
“Everyone below fourth must have received fewer votes than our companions.”
“In other words...”
“They have zero votes.”
“I see...”
“In other words...”
“Not a single High-Ranking Monster from the First Territory has voted yet.”
Everyone nodded.
All of them looked serious.
Only Karin seemed unconcerned.
“Maybe they're just waiting.”
“The voting lasts for a month anyway, doesn't it?”
“......”
“Maybe the monsters in the First Territory are just cautious.”
I nodded.
“Or perhaps... they're choosing to Forfeit.”
“Forfeit?”
“The rules say that's allowed.”
What would happen if every High-Ranking Monster in the First Territory chose to Forfeit?
If, after one month, the total voter turnout remains below 80%, all results accumulated thus far will be reset, and a revote will be held.
Looking at Rule 9, I spoke.
“In that case...”
“A revote might happen.”
“If every voter in the First Territory chooses to Forfeit.”
“Would something like that really happen?”
“I have a feeling.”
“I think we should assume there will be a revote.”
Even I could tell my expression had become grim.
Everyone tilted their heads.
Sienne cautiously asked,
“Why do you look so worried?”
“Even if there's a revote, wouldn't that actually be to our advantage?”
“......”
“Edgar would still receive all the votes from the Third and Fourth Territories.”
“And you'd still receive all the votes from the Second Territory.”
“The results would probably be about the same, so why...?”
“Come to think of it...”
“I never explained this.”
I untied the Replication Bag.
Then I pulled out a single Goddess's Tear and placed it on my palm.
“This Goddess's Tear was created by the Replication Bag.”
“Right.”
“To be precise...”
“It's a Goddess's Tear that disappears after three days.”
Everyone's expressions instantly froze.
I recalled what Magireta had told me when she first handed me the Replication Bag.
—...It doubles every ten seconds, but once you remove a replicated item from the bag, it'll only last for exactly three days. Other than the original, every copy disappears after three days, so keep that in mind.
That's right.
Anything copied by the Replication Bag only lasted three days.
“In other words...”
“The Goddess's Tears those monsters received will disappear in three days.”
“......!”
“From their perspective, it'll feel like they've been scammed.”
“They'll believe their precious votes were stolen.”
“And if a revote happens after that...”
“The monsters from the Second Territory will all vote for Edgar.”
“As revenge.”
Aina pressed a hand against her forehead.
“I don't think that'll be the end of it.”
“Won't they try to tear us apart?”
“......”
“And won't Drod end up in an awkward position too, since he introduced us?”
“Without question.”
“But at that moment, there was no other choice.”
“Even if I went back, I'd make the exact same decision.”
Everyone nodded gloomily.
Versium spoke.
“So if there's a revote...”
“We're finished.”
“Exactly, Brother.”
“We absolutely have to settle everything in this first vote.”
“......”
“And Edgar won't want a revote either.”
Benjamin asked,
“Why not?”
“A revote would guarantee our defeat.”
“Because Edgar has no way of knowing how we convinced the monsters from the Second Territory.”
“He'll assume Drod simply backed us.”
“Ah.”
“I suppose that's true.”
“In that case, he'll mistakenly believe a revote would produce roughly the same outcome.”
“Exactly.”
“Neither Edgar nor I want a revote.”
“So...”
I swallowed hard before continuing.
“We're going to fight over the First Territory.”
“......!”
“And before that...”
“There's something we absolutely need to figure out.”
—Why aren't the High-Ranking Monsters of the First Territory voting?
I slowly continued.
“Every monster in the First Territory is refusing to vote, almost as if they'd made a promise.”
“Doesn't that feel incredibly artificial?”
“It certainly does.”
“Either the High-Ranking Monsters gathered together to plot something...”
“Or...”
Or perhaps...
Armelia finished my sentence perfectly.
“The MVP of the First Territory ordered them...”
“'Do not vote.'”
Silence fell over everyone.
Had the First Territory's MVP deliberately forbidden them from voting?
To force us into a revote?
Or perhaps...
Did they intend to offer something to us once we grew exhausted from repeated elections?
I spoke.
“I suppose we really do have to meet him.”
“The First MVP.”
Edgar stared intently at the vote standings displayed on the small bulletin board.
■ Popularity Poll in Progress
※ Total Voter Turnout: 70%
1st. Edgar Tyler (43%)
2nd. Mason Giard (27%)
3rd. Armelia Ker Deniroom (0%)
3rd....
Crunch.
He ground his teeth with terrifying force.
Odline spoke.
—You'll ruin your teeth.
“If they break, you'll fix them.”
—I have no intention of wasting my Authority on something like that. You're only half monster as it is, so reviving you is already troublesome enough.
“Regardless...”
“I'm not very pleased with these results.”
He let out a deep sigh.
The moment he had learned the details of the quest from the Broken Magireta, he had immediately begun moving.
First, the Third Territory under Odline's control.
Then the Fourth Territory, once ruled by Helena...
Now left without a master.
He had traveled tirelessly, bringing the High-Ranking Monsters there under their control.
His feet had nearly worn themselves raw, but the effort had paid off.
In the end, they had secured the voters from both territories.
'I thought that would be enough to create a gap of more than double.'
Yet somehow, Mason had managed to catch up at an astonishing speed.
Odline asked,
—The voter turnout isn't increasing anymore, is it?
“No.”
“It seems everyone from the Third and Fourth Territories under our control has finished voting.”
“And the monsters from the Second Territory that sided with Mason appear to have finished as well.”
—Which leaves only the First Territory.
“Exactly.”
“Which brings me to something...”
Crossing his arms, Edgar asked meaningfully,
“What do you know...”
“About the MVP of the First Territory?”