Waking up, Daizen Shizaki wearily peered at the clock on the wall beside him.
"Eight in the morning...that's.... earlier than usual.."
Maybe it's because of my anxiety about the results today, he thought. Yawning and stretching, he slowly made his way out of bed and muttered with fatigue.
"Really....still feeling tired after going to sleep early, how is that-"
HELP US.
"-even possible?"
As usual, the tiredness prevailed in Dsizen Shizaki despite his best attempts to have a healthy sleep schedule.
Glancing at the beautifully designed, golden wardrobe at the corner of the room, he made his way towards it.
He looked in the mirror as the beginning of his-
The bloodied corpses by the dozens all stood, motionless from behind him as he stared.
-usual morning routine and began to sulk.
"Of course, I hate how my hair looks. Okay, bath time.....actually, wait."
He sat back down on the bed.
Looking up, he stared intently at the ceiling and then closed his eyes.
"Lusana, the Soul Bearer, thank you for everything. Please, grant me and my friends your blessings for today, and please....do not forget to look after Gariah and my Gramps back at Sekoto Town….as well as Nadeko. Please allow me to see them soon in good condition. Thank you."
He opened his eyes and remained sitting in silence.
"Gariah Firuseko."
I hope he's doing okay....hopefully my words of departure have reached him by now.
Shaking his head, Shizaki immediately got up.
"Right....right! No time for daydreaming! I need to get to the Duel Arena to view the results! But first....bath!"
***
Shizaki had now arrived at the Duel Arena nearly an hour later, and sure enough, an immense crowd had huddled up together to view the results on a very large board with names listed out.
Seeing Aya, Yukino and King, he rushed over to the stands where they were stationed, and the short girl with beautiful green eyes scoffed on seeing him.
"Late..as usual."
"Damnit! By....how much?"
King chuckled and tapped his shoulder.
"To be fair, they just posted it, man. So you came just in the nick of time."
"Oh…thank goodness. Where's Neo-kun and Kamazaki-san?"
They both haven't arrived yet. And…I was too excited to go wake Kamazaki up, so I left her behind."
He glanced at Shizaki with an awkward chuckle while Yukino eyes both of them anxiously.
The memory of last night flashed in his mind and he simply smiled at Shizaki with a nervous expression, after which he returned his gaze to the screen above and talked about something else, trying to keep his mind off of it.
"There's a lot of names....like....a lot."
"Yeah. Thankfully, they have it in alphabetical order, but still, it's taking me a good while to find 'Kawarasuri' in the K section...."
King's response to Yukino had made Shizaki's body twitch.
"I-If you do not find your name on the board....then you did not pass....is that right?"
"I guess so..."
He immediately looked over at the towering board in the middle of the arena and searched for the letter S, and everyone close to him also began to inspect the large board as well.
After nearly ten seconds....
"Ah, there we go. 'K'."
" 'Y'.....'Yuki'…"
"Huh. 'Alexandriya Aya'. I passed."
"R-Really?!"
"Congratulations, Aya-san! Ah, I found 'Kawarasuri'. Same here, I made it!!!"
Shizaki finally found 'S' as King rejoiced with the expressionless Aya.
He was obviously searching for the name 'Shizaki, Daizen.'
"Shirakura....Shari....Sheriko....Shi...."
At that moment, Xulpeca, the female chairman, arrived at the scene and began to silence the noisy onlookers with a speech.
"Alright, everyone, settle down now! When you see your name, make your way to the receptionist to get your Adventurer's License in an orderly and quiet fashion. Thank you!"
Yukino then noticed Shizaki's expression and spoke up with, "Shizaki-kun?" as Aya, King and he himself all looked on at him anxiously.
Shizaki had stepped back as his eyes widened and he formed a wry smile.
"I.....did it."
....He found the name "Shizaki".
It said, "Shizaki, Daizen."
It was a very silent answer, but it was an answer of relief.
Sighing, he sat on the seat behind him and looked up into the clear blue sky while the people around him also shared the same sentiment of joy.
"We did it! Congrats to all of us!!!"
"Yeah!!!"
King took Aya and Yukino's hands as they all jumped up and down, while Shizaki closed his eyes and smiled.
I....did it. I actually did it.
***
Holding a card with only his name, adventurer status, and signature of the chairman inscribed on the front and back, Daizen Shizaki paced back and forth, while unable to shake off his wide and beaming smile.
I'm officially an adventurer of Aldranza!
Thinking of how his old man would react to this only made him even more excited and emotional as he pumped his right fist into the air.
Meanwhile…
"There you are!"
King rushed toward the girl named Bella Kamazaki, who sat alone in one of the benches positioned in front of the entrance to the Living Quarters and beside the fountain. She seemed unusually down in her attitude and as Aya, Yukino and King approached her, they all came to a realization of what the reason for her change in mood was.
King leaned towards her, his face instantly changing to that of slight fear.
Fearing the worst, he spoke.
"K.....Kamazaki...did you....?"
Kamazaki exchanged glances with him and stood up. The group held their breaths.
Immediately whipping out a peace sign with her right hand and sticking out her tongue with her left hand displaying a white card, she leaned forward with a sudden teasing smile.
"Just kiiiiding!!!! Of course I passed the Selection!! Gyahahaha!!! You should have see your faces- ow ow ow ow ow owwwwwww!!!!!!"
King wasted no time in pinching her on the cheeks tightly with his fingers from both hands and reprimander her with a scowl.
"You damn idiot!!! Don't play with my feelings like that, shitbag!! I've never felt like wanting to punch someone so badly since when I first met you!!!
"Uwahhh!!! Okay!!! I get it, I'm sorry!!! It hurts, it hurtsss!!! Let me go, I say!!! Let me go!!!"
Yukino breathed a sigh of relief, happy that Kamazaki had actually passed, while Aya cracked her knuckles, as if wanting to actually punch her.
"Fooling us like that....King, when you're done with your pinching session, I'll finish the job with a good beatdown."
"No, no, noooo!!!! I apologize!!!! I'm sorry, I said!!!!"
***
"Me? Yeah, I passed. I mean, was it ever in doubt?"
The rest of the group, except for Shizaki who immediately went back to his room, had finally found Neo as he sat alone by the seats beside the cafeteria, with his both legs propped up as he was evidently resting, his mask seemingly glimmering from the reflective light off of the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
Aya responded:
"As expected, to be honest."
"Thanks."
"It wasn't a compliment, it's just that it wouldn't make sense for a person with your strength and capabilities to fail."
"Uh....yeah, that still sounds like a complime-what happened to you?"
Neo stopped and directed a question to Kamazaki, who wore intensely red, swollen cheeks and swollen bumps on her head. She whimpered and was at the verge of tears, but still managed to force out an answer.
"I-I'm....hic...fwine....hic..."
"Yeah.....no, I highly doubt that...."
"Don't pay her any mind. Now that we all have passed, when is the party recruitment process?"
Aya scoffed and let out that question, and Neo replied while still facing Kamazaki.
"Most likely from tomorrow up until next week."
King, however, began to chide in.
"Yeah, yeah, but seriously, guys? We just finished our Selection! Let's not talk about that right now. Instead, we should celebrate this occasion!"
"H-He's...hic.....right...."
"Did I give you permission to speak, Kamazaki?"
"Eeek!!! N-No, sir!!"
He narrowed his eyes at Kamazaki in contempt but soon sighed. Aya also seemed to agree with his statements.
"King is right. Let's rest and celebrate our passes. What exactly should we do, though?"
"U-Um..."
The half-elf attempted to get into the conversation, and was successful, with all eyes now on him.
"All of the newly-selected adventurers are planning to have a party tonight where all members can come together to celebrate and introduce themselves...."
"That....doesn't sound too bad. It would be a good time to meet the people who we will soon be seeing very often."
"Where and when exactly will it be held, Yukino?"
"At…the Recreation Area behind the Living Complex."
"That's the place close to the public saunas, right? Let's do it."
Therefore, the celebratory party had been decided.
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 32: Results of the Selection.)