Chapter 487: Mayumi II
Mayumi’s jaw dropped once again. "All of you?"
"Mhm."
"At the same time?"
"Mhm."
"And you are not exaggerating?"
Yaana shook her head.
"Nope. We were completely serious too. We used everything we had, but Big Brother was still much stronger."
Mayumi slowly leaned back in her chair.
’Unbelievable.’
So something like that had actually happened?
Uta and Yaana were monsters among their generation. Manfred was no weakling either, and Maya was considered one of the organization’s most talented young leaders.
Yet all four of them had fought Elion together and lost?
Mayumi stared blankly at the drink in her hand. Perhaps the bastard had not run away from her after all.
Perhaps she had unknowingly escaped a public beating.
If Elion was really that strong, then it made sense why the Alliance was so eager to have him join the team entering the Legacy World.
But Mayumi was still angry and frustrated. Why did she have to be the one chosen to duel a monster like him?
"This is so unfair..." she muttered under her breath.
"Hm?" Yaana tilted her head. "Did you say something?"
"Oh, nothing," Mayumi replied bitterly. "Except that this whole thing is completely unfair."
She lowered her gaze toward the table. "I worked hard for this too." Without realizing it, tears had begun gathering in her eyes.
Mayumi sniffled and quickly blinked them away, refusing to let herself cry in front of Yaana.
"But he did not show up," she added quickly, forcing a scoff. "Maybe he died in a ditch somewhere."
She crossed her arms and looked away. "I hope so."
Yaana stared at her. "That is mean."
Mayumi blinked, looking to the side, suddenly ashamed of what she had said. "I do not actually mean it."
"You sounded like you meant it."
"Well, I do not."
Yaana continued looking at her with wide, doubtful eyes.
Mayumi clicked her tongue. "Stop looking at me like that."
"I am just wondering why you are angry at Big Brother when he did not even decide who you had to fight."
Mayumi opened her mouth. "That is..." She frowned. She wanted to refute the statement, but, unfortunately, Yaana had a point.
Elion had not been the one who chose her. He probably had not even known who his opponent would be.
The higher-ups were the ones who had placed her position at risk, yet she had spent the entire week directing all her anger toward a man she had never even met.
Mayumi looked down at her drink. "That is not the point."
Yaana took another bite of cake. "What is the point?"
"The point is that I earned that place."
Mayumi’s fingers tightened around her glass.
"I trained until my hands bled. I barely slept. I pushed myself through injuries because I knew this might be my only chance to enter the Legacy World." Her voice softened. "And then someone new appears, and suddenly everything I did is not enough anymore."
Yaana stopped chewing. Her bright expression became more serious.
Mayumi quickly looked away. "I know he might be stronger than me. I know that is probably why they chose him."
She swallowed the tightness in her throat. "But knowing that does not make it hurt less."
Yaana quietly placed her fork down. She reached across the table and gently took Mayumi’s hand.
Mayumi looked at her in surprise.
"I think Big Brother would understand," Yaana said.
Mayumi frowned. "How would you know?"
"Because he also worked very hard to become strong."
Yaana smiled faintly. "He might act shameless and lazy sometimes, but he does not look down on people who try."
Mayumi remained silent.
"And even if he defeated you," Yaana continued, "I do not think he would make fun of you."
"That is not very comforting."
"I am trying to comfort you."
Mayumi’s lips twitched despite herself.
Yaana squeezed her hand. "And maybe the duel can still happen later."
Mayumi stared at her. "You just said he destroyed all four of you."
"Mhm."
"And you think telling me I can still fight him is supposed to make me feel better?"
Yaana blinked. She slowly picked her fork back up.
"...Maybe not."
Mayumi sighed and covered her face with one hand. "You are terrible at this."
"I bought emotional-support cake."
"I bought the cake."
Yaana paused. Then she pushed one of the fresh slices toward Mayumi. "Then you can have half."
Mayumi glanced at the cake.
After a moment, she smiled faintly.
"Only half?"
Yaana pulled the plate slightly closer to herself. "You sprayed gin on the first one."
"Fair enough." She quietly took what she had been offered without complaining much anymore.
The reason Mayumi was so determined was simple. She had come from nothing, and she had arrived in this city with nothing.
Her homeland was a small island located off the eastern coast, between Stormbay City and the Draconic Mountain Range. It was occupied by an isolated tribe of people who disliked mingling with outsiders.
They viewed the rest of the world as corrupt and sinful, and, as one could probably guess, they did not welcome visitors either.
The people of the island possessed rather unique features, Mayumi included. Their faces had softer, less angular contours, while everyone had black hair and eyes that were sharper than those of most people. Their bodies were also generally leaner than average.
For someone who had made the deeply unpopular decision to leave her home and experience more of the world, one could imagine the looks of disdain Mayumi received after announcing her intentions.
Even her own parents had looked at her with disappointment.
The memories caused Mayumi to sigh.
She missed them, but remaining trapped on that tiny island, where everyone knew everyone and every action became the subject of gossip, had been suffocating for her.
Despite leaving her homeland, she had never forgotten the teachings or traditions she had been raised with.
She still wore her black hair in a bun, held in place by the white chrysanthemum kanzashi her mother had given her on her eighteenth birthday.
She still wore hakama trousers, a kosode kimono as her top, and a sash wrapped firmly around her waist.
Of course, after traveling so far from home, Mayumi received her fair share of stares.
Most of them came from perverted older men, tempted by the possibility of trying their luck with a rare and exotic beauty such as herself.
Her appearance had gotten her into more than a few troublesome situations. Fortunately, her swordsmanship had carried her this far.
The Kami Sword Style was not something many people in this region were familiar with, allowing her to outmaneuver numerous opponents simply because they had never encountered anything like it before.
But even with that advantage, Mayumi had never stopped working hard.
She had reached this point with nothing but her own strength, enduring countless injuries and hardships without anyone important supporting her from behind.
And yet...
After everything she had endured, after every insult she had swallowed and every obstacle she had overcome, the place she had fought so hard to earn could be taken away simply because someone more talented had suddenly appeared.
It was difficult not to feel bitter.
Mayumi knew how the world worked. She had not spent the past few years traveling alone and scraping together enough coin to survive without learning that strength mattered more than fairness.