(Tower of War Knight, Floor #15)
From what I heard, visitors weren't allowed this high up in the tower, yet here I was, in a spacey office. Ezume was really kind and mature, he even offered me a cup of coffee, which I accepted.
I poured my sugar and took a sip.
"So, you're not mad at me?" I asked.
Ezume replied with a soft smile, "For what? The trainees who received injuries brought it upon themselves. When one is so eager to prove themselves, they tend to lose their sense of danger. You are not at fault."
The first time I had a conversation with him, I knew that he was a kind man, but I didn't know he was this easy-going.
"If you don't mind me getting to the point a bit, what did you want to speak with me about?" I was genuinely curious and hoped it didn't come off as rude.
"Nothing much. When I saw you, there was something familiar about your appearance. I couldn't quite point out what it was, so I figured I'd just have a conversation with you."
He didn't seem to completely notice who I was yet. I wasn't trying to deceive him or anything, I would've been more than happy to give my name if he asked for it. I didn't have to worry about being exposed as 'Amaya the Legendary-ranker'
Being their own small nation, The War Knights had no reason to reveal my actual name to the Ashetira kingdom.
I finished my coffee and placed the cup on the table.
"About my appearance, what did you find familiar about it?" I asked.
Ezume looked to recall his memory with no issues, "Your facial expressions sort of remind me of this girl I saved once. She was out in the forest, about to get killed off by a demon. Luckily, I was there that day. I'm aware that the comparison is a tad bit funny, but I really think you look like her. These days, word about her is starting to spread."
I smiled, "That girl's name was Amaya, right?"
Ezume's eyes opened wide, "How do you know who I'm refering to?"
"It's natural that i'd know. I am her, after all."
With the snap of my fingers, my hair changed back to it's white color and my eyes went back to being black.
Ezume chuckled, "You young ones are funny. Ya know, you could've just told me who you were from the beginning."
I tried a little too hard to make that reveal cool. I was slightly disappointed that It didn't get a dramatic response.
"Oh..sorry." I apologized.
"Don't worry, it's fine. Another thing, since you did use one of the sparring rooms, could you tell me how you enjoyed it?"
"I really liked it alot. The way it simulated a biome of nature was incredibly accurate.'
When I thought about it, it was like magic was more advanced than science in some ways. In my original world, we haven't even found a way of creating a fabrication that advanced.
"I'm glad to hear that. If you enjoyed that, you're going to enjoy this." Ezume placed a paper in front of me.
{ Competition of the new year: Taking place on January 1st.
Application must be turned in before December 20th, 12 P.M
Only teams of 5 will be allowed to partake in the competition.
Fill out your info below.
Teammate 1:
Teammate 2:
Teammate 3:
Teammate 4:
Teammate 5: }
I read it all pretty quickly, but I still asked. "What is this?"
Ezume stood up and walked over to a picture on the shelf. It was a picture of himself and four others, all holding 2nd place medals.
"It's a yearly team competition. It's been around for nearly 12 years now. You're strong, I figure you will have a good chance of winning, if you're interested that is. Should I mention the generous rewards?"
That evening… Due to the tower's immense space and size, I was given a room to spend the night in, along with Mary and Emi.
I thought about the details of the competition.
It's a yearly competition where the strongest people will partake in teams of 5.
I didn't have much interest in it, until Ezume told me about the rewards. On top of being rewarded 10,000 gold to be split between members of the team, each member will also be allowed to make a request from the King. And any request will at least be considered, even the request for a High-Priest's blessing. With that, I'm sure I can turn Emi back to normal.
There was still one big issue, with my current stats, There will likely be some opponents that I can't defeat with only my skills.
"Are you okay?" Mary asked, concerned. She realized that I was deep in thought about something.
For now, I wasn't willing to go into detail about it with anyone. So I played it off.
"Yep. All that sparring today has me sort of worn out. I bet you're feeling tired too. Let's get some sleep. When we wake up, we can go have a nice breakfast."
Mary's face lit up, almost reminding me of how Emi used to be.
"Woahh, really? We can eat all that good food again? I can't wait."
Adorable. I never had a little sister, but this must be what it feels like, having to look after someone younger.