[Finn's POV]
My name is Finn Deimne. I am the captain of the Loki Familia.
Even though I am already in my 40s, I still look like a 10-year-old child, and my height barely exceeds 120 cm.
This isn't because I belong to the Dwarf race but because I come from the Pallum race. Pallums grow while retaining the appearance of children.
Currently, the Pallum race is in a bad situation. They are on the brink of collapse, with no motivation to improve their lives. Instead, they choose to submit and obey stronger races.
That's why I have a grand dream.
I want to become a guiding light for the Pallum race.
I want to be a beacon that reignites their spirit.
That's why I've fought so hard to reach the position I hold today.
Besides that, I always maintain my fame and reputation so that other Pallums can raise their weapons and follow in my footsteps.
But just a few days ago, after we had returned from the dungeon without having a chance to rest, we ran into an avoidable problem.
If only I had silenced Bete and stopped him from speaking carelessly yesterday, we might not have to engage in a stupid War Game with another Familia.
Still, I have to admit that I share part of the blame for this.
Maybe it's because my Familia is one of the strongest in Orario that I became arrogant and let Bete say whatever he wanted.
I thought that no matter what we said, no other Familia would dare to challenge us—especially since Bete was talking about some weak adventurer with no clear origin.
Just hearing that made me assume that there wouldn't be any consequences for us, Loki Familia.
But it turns out, I was wrong.
There was a Familia bold enough to challenge us.
They dare to fight us not just with empty words, but they actually had the power to back it up.
In truth, that wasn't the real problem. I'm not afraid of fighting strong opponents.
After all, it's only natural for adventurers to face stronger enemies. Plus, it would give me a chance to boost my reputation as the strongest Pallum in Orario. But the real issue is that this time, our opponents aren't strong adventurers or from a powerful Familia.
He's just a level 1 adventurer from a Familia that was only formed a few days ago.
When all the adventurers in Orario hear about this, I'm certain they'll think Loki Familia is bullying a small, weak Familia.
This will, of course, have an impact on the reputation I've carefully maintained throughout my decades-long career as an adventurer.
I tried to stop this War Game, but Loki wouldn't listen to me.
And because of that, now I'm here with the core members of Loki Familia, waiting for Loki to return from Denatus to hear the outcome of the event.
"Hello, everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting!"
Loki entered the room, cheerfully shouting.
It seems the results from Denatus favored Loki Familia.
"So, Loki... what's the outcome from Denatus?"
I urged Loki to tell us the results right away.
"Finn... you're so impatient. Let me hug my precious Aiz-tan first. I've missed her so much."
Loki said that as she threw herself at Aiz, but Aiz dodged without saying a word.
"Loki... be serious... this isn't the time for jokes!"
"Tch... fine, fine... You don't need to worry about this War Game at all."
"What do you mean?"
I couldn't understand what Loki meant. What does she mean by saying I don't need to worry about anything?
After that, Loki explained what happened at Denatus and what type of War Game would be held.
Once I finished hearing everything, I let out a sigh of relief.
Who would have thought that this War Game could be conducted in such a unique and peaceful manner?
"But Loki, even though our stakes are higher, why are all the rules so favorable to Loki Familia?"
"Ah, don't think about it. Aqua is just a foolish goddess; from what I see, her mind is only filled with money, money, and more money."
"Is that really the case?"
I fell silent and didn't ask any further questions.
Anyone who has heard the rules of the War Game between Loki Familia and Aqua Familia would surely know that Aqua Familia is at a significant disadvantage in this War Game.
I thought so too, we didn't need to do anything, and victory was practically within our grasp.
But for some reason, I felt that something was off.
My heart felt uneasy, but I didn't know why.
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[3rd Pov]
The next day.
In the colosseum of Orario.
All the residents of Orario, both adventurers and civilians, had filled the colosseum to witness the War Game between Loki Familia and Aqua Familia.
The gods and goddesses gathered in a VIP room to watch the course of the War Game.
Above the wide colosseum, there was a large magic screen displaying a close-up of a small stage in the center of the arena.
It was on this stage that the War Game of rock, paper, scissors would take place.
From the eastern entrance of the colosseum, 70 adventurers from Loki Familia walked in.
Finn stood at the front, leading the Loki Familia adventurers into the arena.
At the same time, the entire audience cheered loudly in support of Loki Familia.
"Let's go, Loki Familia!!!"
"Go, Loki Familia!!"
"Defeat that arrogant Aqua Familia!!"
"Go, Finn! You can definitely beat that underwear-stealing demon!"
When all the adventurers from Loki Familia had assembled and taken their positions,
Kazuma entered the colosseum alone through the western door.
As Kazuma's figure appeared on the magic screen, all sorts of jeers and taunts erupted from the audience.
"BOOOOOOOO!!!"
"Panty thief!!"
"The Sword Princess will defeat you!!"
"Loki Familia, teach this panty-thief a lesson!!"
Despite the many jeers and insults hurled at him by the audience, not a hint of fear or worry appeared on his face.
His expression was filled with confidence, like a lion ready to pounce on its prey.
Kazuma ignored their taunts and slowly walked toward the adventurers from Loki Familia.
In a VIP room,
the gods and goddesses could clearly see the difference in treatment between the adventurers from Loki Familia and Kazuma.
"Hahaha... Aqua, did you see that? No one is supporting Aqua Familia!"
Loki tried to provoke Aqua.
"Pffftt... I don't care about that. You'd better get ready to leave your Twilight Manor and prepare the betting money!"
"Oii, oii, the game hasn't even started yet, but you're already saying things like that. What makes you so sure that Kazuma will win this War Game?"
"Well, just wait and see—you'll realize how great my Kazuma is in this game!"
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"Thank you for coming to witness this War Game!"
"I AM GANESHA!"
Ganesha opened the War Game by introducing himself to the audience. After feeling satisfied with his introduction, he instructed one of his members to lead the proceedings of the War Game.
She is the captain of Ganesha Familia. She is a cool and assertive woman, she is very different from Ganesha, who appears carefree. She has short azure hair and matching azure eyes, making her quite admired by many. In addition to being the captain of Ganesha Familia, she is also part of Orario's military police, responsible for maintaining the city's security.
'Ughhh, damn it. Lately, I haven't been able to sleep because I've been searching for that crazy magician who throws explosive magic every night in Orario. But why do I have to deal with this ridiculous War Game?'
Shakti complained to herself a little. Although she was somewhat dissatisfied, she still made an effort to carry out her god's orders to the best of her ability.
'You damn magician, if I find you... I'll hang you from a pole, tie both of your hands in a horizontal manner, and parade you around the city so everyone knows who the crazy magician is behind the explosive magic disturbing Orario every night.'
"Everyone, let's start this War Game!!!"
As Shakti started the War Game, the audience erupted into loud cheers, eager to see the proceedings unfold.
"WOOOOOO!!!!"
"WOOOOOO!!!!"
Typically, War Games are not open to the public. But this time, both adventurers and civilians could witness the War Game for the first time.
"Participants from both Familia, please come up to the stage!"
Shakti instructed Aqua Familia and Loki Familia to send their participants up to the stage.
From Aqua Familia's side, it was clear that Satou Kazuma was the one stepping onto the stage, as he was the only participant from Aqua Familia.
Meanwhile, from Loki Familia's side, they decided to send Bete as the opening participant for the War Game.
Bete walked toward the stage, suppressing his anger. When he was close to the stage, he jumped up, attempting to intimidate Kazuma.
"HEH, Just as I expected from a small Familia, you even resort to little tricks like this to avoid facing Loki Familia head-on!"
"It doesn't matter what method we choose; your goddess approved it, so shut your mouth, cat-eared guy!!"
"Cat, you say?? I'm a wolf!!"
Bete could barely contain his anger and almost attacked Kazuma. But remembering how Finn had scolded him harshly, he clenched his fists around his legs to stop himself from attacking Kazuma in front of him.
"I don't mind fighting you, but don't forget this War Game is rock, paper, scissors."
"Tch, then let's just get this stupid game over with!"
"Then, the rock, paper, scissors War Game begins—Kazuma vs. Bete!"
As both players readied themselves, Shakti quickly declared the game had started.
Kazuma and Bete performed their important ritual before throwing their choices.
"First comes rock! Then comes paper... You can't throw them all, rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
In this War Game, both of them had to chant that spell while singing and dancing before throwing their choices. Of course, all of this was due to Aqua, who had made this ridiculous rule.
Kazuma and Bete extended their hands forward with the same speed.
Kazuma: Rock
Bete: Scissors
Bete lost in the first round. Although slightly annoyed, he still managed to keep his composure.
"Tch, the first one was just a fluke, but I can see his hand movements. Next time, I'll win."
In the second round, they both performed the same silly chant as before.
Kazuma: Scissors
Bete: Paper
Once again, Bete lost. But this time, he couldn't hide his shock.
'No way, I clearly saw that he was going to throw rock; how could he suddenly switch to scissors? Don't tell me he knew I was reading his movements and changed it at the last second?'
Bete questioned his doubts, even though he couldn't find an answer.
In the third round, Bete lost to Kazuma again, despite using all his skills to read Kazuma's hand movements.
He left the stage with a wounded spirit. In just a few seconds, his Familia had already lost 30 million Valis.
After that, Loki Familia sent 10 high level adventurers to face Kazuma, but none of them could win even a single round against him.
Finn, as the captain of Loki Familia, was, of course, very surprised by this. Not only had they lost 330 million Valis, but he also couldn't understand how Kazuma kept winning continuously.
Of course Finn had tried to investigate this game as soon as he heard about this. It was supposed to be fair, where the chance of winning when someone used rock, paper, or scissors was 1/3 each. But somehow, Kazuma kept winning against 11 people without losing a single round. Even though Finn sent adventurers with sharp eyesight and quick reflexes, none of them could predict what choice Kazuma would make.
Giving up on using the abilities of seasoned adventurers, Finn began sending lower-level adventurers randomly.
In the 15th round, Finn sent Lefiya. She was an Elf with great magical potential. However, she lacked the determination and courage to be a true adventurer.
(To Be Continued)