96 96 – His Dream
After Elise, some of the participants were still unable to convince Elmer. Instead, the young master becomes even more irritated.
“Fifty-second contestants! Yua Nakagami and Tracy Hertelle! Please come forward!”
The few remaining adventurers were whispering. Before this, no one had tried in groups. No one wanted to do that because the prizes would be divided among each group member.
Yua nodded to Tracy, then the two of them walked to the center of the arena like the others before.
“Cut out the greeting.” Elmer looked tired because he had been there for hours. “Do what you have to do right away.”
“Well.” Yua flashed a warm smile, then took Tracy’s hand. Like when they practiced this morning, they focused on activating the scroll of illusion within the kunoichi.
At first, Elmer was still not excited to see the two women. However, after a while, his eyes widened. Yua and Tracy’s skin changed color. The kunoichi was now green, and the mage blue. Horns and fangs also began to grow on their faces.
“Nooo!!!” Elmer rose frantically and made the chair he was sitting in fall. Yua and Tracy’s appearance was terrifying.
Like those village demons.
“What is it, young master Elmer!?”
Elmer flinched hard when he heard that deep voice. He then turned his head to the side, finding another demon, this time yellow and wearing his butler’s suit.
The young master screamed again in terror. His knees suddenly went limp, forcing him to fall to the ground. He shook his head while crying as the yellow demon approached him.
“Get away from me, demon!”
The butler realized something, then spoke to Yua and Tracy. “Hey, stop what you two are doing!”
“Let them.” Lilian Algernon stepped out of the pack of adventurers. In the eyes of others, she looked like an ordinary person with a luxurious appearance. However, in Elmer’s eyes, his mother looked like a black demon with a goat’s head. The madam’s two upside-down tornado buns also turned into giant horns.
The butler was about to argue but immediately realized who he was talking to. So, he couldn’t do anything for his frightened young master.
“Don’t interfere, Elise,” Raymund warned the female warrior.
Elise could only look down with her hands tightly clenched.
Elmer’s body shook even more as he looked around him. All the adventurers had turned into monstrous demons of various colors, sizes, and shapes.
Yua walked over to the young master. Elmer saw that woman sticking out her unusually long tongue.
“D-don’t come near me….” Elmer was so scared that he had a hard time putting words together.
Yua started to speak in a shrill tone. “You said it yourself, didn’t you? You’re a genius and can fight without needing a trainer. Why are you so scared now? Are you not confident in your own abilities?”
“T-that’s not it…” The boy’s tears were getting heavier.
“Then fight me.” Yua brought her face closer to the young master. “Perhaps you’ll meet even more terrifying ones on your adventures.”
Elmer closed his eyes tightly, then blurted, “This is not what I want! I don’t want to be an adventurer!”
Yua raised an eyebrow, then removed her hand from Tracy, bringing everything back to normal in Elmer’s eyes.
However, the young master continued to cry like a baby.
“What do you mean, Elmer!?” Lilian looked so furious. “You want to be an adventurer, right!?”
Unable to take it anymore, Elise ran to the little boy and hugged him. “It’s okay. Everything is done.”
“Ah, I remember.” Tracy glanced at Lilian. “As a teenager, Madam Algernon had just become an adventurer, but she married Mr. Arthur Algernon.”
The adventurers whispered to each other again. They were all confused by the situation.
“What does all this mean, Madam Algernon?” Yua asked with her back to Lilian.
“Nothing has changed! This son of mine wants to be an adventurer and doesn’t want to train!” Lilian was getting hysterical. “Now, do that illusion again to persuade Elmer!!! Now!!!”
“Nooo!!!” Elmer replied in a booming voice. “Mom always tells me and the people that I want to be an adventurer! But, my goal is to be like my siblings and my father! I like reading books and studying like them! I’m also interested in the business world they are in!”
Lilian’s eyes widened so much that they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. “W-what do you mean, Elmer? Y-you want to see the outside world and fight monsters, right? You want your legend to be remembered by many people, right?”
The young master wiped his tears. “I do want to travel the world…. See new things…. However, I want to do it as a great merchant like my father….”
Elise hugged Elmer’s small body tighter and rubbed the little boy’s head.
“Hey, don’t lie, Elmer….” Lilian limped over to her son. “I already begged your father. You don’t have to take the road like your siblings…”
“Enough, madam.” Elise interrupted with trembling lips. “Don’t you see that your son is so sad and depressed? Maybe you couldn’t achieve your dream as an adventurer because you married…. However, that doesn’t mean your son has to continue your dream…. Look, he’s already rejected it indirectly by not wanting to train….”
“Shut up!!!” Lilian’s voice was like the roar of a beast. “You know what!? I love my husband, but I have had to suppress my desire for adventure for years! I don’t want my son to be like me!!! I….”
Lilian’s words were cut short by a hard slap from Yua.
“This son of yours has become like you. Lilian.” Yua’s expression was very sharp, not showing her usual friendliness. “At this rate, he will not be able to achieve his dream. Yes, like you who can’t reach your dream.”
Lilian held her reddened cheeks.
“Please, stop this, madam Algernon. Before it’s too late.” Elise spoke in an increasingly hoarse tone.
Realizing that the female warrior was also crying, Elmer hugged the unfamiliar woman.
Madam Algernon gritted her teeth. “You guys are servants of the god of hope, right!? In that case, make my son want to be an adventurer! I want him to go on adventures, fight exotic creatures, and achieve glory! I want to see him achieve what I can’t reach!!!”