"Y-you continental nobodies..."
Raon bit his lip as he watched Alice shake her fist.
'I can't argue with that.'
He couldn't dispute Alice's words describing him and the other successor candidates as nobodies.
'We really are a mess, after all.'
He had complacently assumed he would secure one of the two final successor candidate positions, never expecting to pay such a price for not visiting the ports and beach villages connected to him.
'I was too complacent.'
The Robert region, the city where the Black Tower was hidden, the port he saved from the White Blood Religion. He had saved quite a number of coastal cities and villages.
Had he made the effort to visit them all, there was a good chance he would have placed first today instead of Alice. (E/N: You were kinda busy securing the help of actually powerful forces to try and save the world. Can't do everything)
But using the excuse of not having enough time, he focused on other matters and neglected them. Beyond this test, he felt he had done those people wrong. Crack!
Karoon made it into the final candidates, but he clenched his fist so tightly it made a sound, seemingly frustrated at having first place stolen by the unexpected Alice.
"So it's not brother and nephew going up, but brother and sister?"
Balder exclaimed in amazement that anything was possible. Seeing how he didn't care at all about his own elimination, he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself.
"Woooaaaaah!"
"I didn't know Lady Alice was interested in the head of house position."
"I know. I thought she was forced to take the first test."
"Well, who wouldn't be interested in becoming the head of Zieghart?"
"With that many supporters, she's earned recognition not just for her skill, but for her character as well."
The spectators at the training ground nodded, agreeing that Alice was more than worthy of recognition.
"Grrrrrr..."
Glenn seemed not to have heard these results beforehand, as white foam was flowing from his mouth.
"How in the world did this..."
He trembled at his fingertips, unable to believe the results even as he looked at them directly.
"Hnnnngh..."
Chad also seemed at a loss, grabbing his head and letting out a silent scream.
"It's over. My future..."
He tightly closed his eyes, recalling his past bet on Raon.
-Puhehehehe!
Wrath burst into laughter, finding the current situation absolutely hilarious.
-It's been so long since I've seen your face crumple like that! This is so satisfying after being so frustrated!
The creature stroked his stomach with his plump hand, expressing how refreshed he felt.
-That's why this king told you to put in proper effort.
"Hmm..."
Raon furrowed his brows with his mouth closed.
'Tsk.'
He wanted to object to Wrath's words, but this time he really had nothing to say, so he just clicked his tongue inwardly.
"How about that? I did well, didn't I?"
Alice shrugged her shoulders, saying she had acted for the sake of the family.
"I really went around tirelessly."
"Why now, of all times."
Glenn pressed his lips down firmly.
"You worked hard this time? Why couldn't you do this properly before..."
He tightly gripped the armrest of the throne with his hand, as if resenting Alice.
"Father. Your true feelings are showing, aren't they?"
Alice smirked at Glenn as if asking if he was okay.
"Hmm, I'm sorry."
Glenn nodded, suppressing his rising indignation.
"Seeing father like this makes me feel even better."
Alice smiled broadly when she saw Glenn's contorted face, saying it made her heart beat faster. She seemed like someone who would get along very well with Wrath.
"Ahem!"
Glenn cleared his throat as if he had nothing to say and slightly raised his eyebrows.
"T-then, will you accept the current rankings as they are?"
He lowered his eyes toward Alice, as if hoping for one last chance.
"Hmm..."
Raon swallowed hard as he heard Glenn's words.
'Aunt might forfeit or pass it on to me.'
Alice might forfeit because she held great goodwill toward him. Glenn also clearly asked that question with the same expectation.
'Though this is a bit pathetic.'
Despite various circumstances, he could have risen with his own abilities, and receiving help from Alice because he failed to do so was extremely embarrassing.
-Pathetic indeed.
Wrath clicked his tongue lengthily.
-That sea woman's feelings for you are genuine though.
He frowned, saying it was obvious that Alice would help him.
'Sigh. It might not be bad if Aunt advances either.'
Raon was scratching his cheek and smacking his lips when...
"No. I won't accept it."
Alice firmly waved her hand.
"Oh!"
For the first time, Glenn slightly lifted his buttocks from the throne. His eyes filled with expectation.
"I would have said that in the past. After all, becoming a successor candidate was just a result I stumbled upon by chance."
Alice smirked as she watched Glenn's expression contort again.
"Huh...? T-then?"
Glenn sat back down on the throne and swallowed dryly.
"Before the second successor test began, I was planning to gather supporters halfheartedly and pass them on to Raon. After all, I could just withdraw."
Alice nodded, saying that at first she had intended to hand everything over to Raon as Glenn had hoped.
"But my thinking changed as I met people."
She brushed back her crimson hair, which carried the refreshing scent of the sea.
"Even though it's been a long time since I left the sea, those fools still remember me and offered their support without asking for anything in return."
Alice curled her lips softly, saying they were truly foolish people.
"All I did was chase away other pirates and deal with monsters—trivial things—yet they still remembered and welcomed me with smiles."
She slowly closed and opened her eyes, as if recalling the faces of people who happily welcomed the pirate ship Azure Wind.
"Every single one of them."
Alice calmly nodded, saying that all the people in the ports and cities where Azure Wind docked waited for her with the same hearts and eyes.
"No matter how much I value Raon more than my own life, I thought it would be wrong to change their hearts based solely on my will."
She shook her head, saying that was why she changed her mind about forfeiting for Raon's sake.
"I see."
Glenn slowly relaxed his furrowed expression as he leaned back deeply into the throne.
"You're changing bit by bit too, Alice."
He changed his expression, which until just a moment ago looked like he wanted to smack the back of Alice's head, and showed a faint smile.
"Well, I am getting older."
Alice calmly nodded, saying she couldn't help but change.
"Yes. Then it can't be helped."
While feeling regret that Raon couldn't pass the test, Glenn seemed satisfied with Alice's matured transformation.
"Hmm."
Raon slowly closed and opened his eyes as he watched Alice smiling sincerely.
'That's right.'
As Alice said, it wasn't him that the people of the ports and coastal cities supported. Even if she forfeited to push him forward, it would be hard to say he had truly passed the test.
'It's disappointing to fail the test, but...'
It's good to see Aunt brightening up. Alice has a painful past of being betrayed by her son and eventually losing him. Since then, even when she smiled, a faint shadow hung over her face. But now she was blooming with a smile reminiscent of the refreshing sea, just like when they first met. She seemed to have finished sorting out her feelings.
-Huh? This means!
Wrath turned his head sharply, splitting his mouth in a wide grin.
-You're eliminated, aren't you!
The creature cackled, asking what Raon was smiling about when he was eliminated.
-You were acting all high and mighty with your big eyes before coming here! How ridiculous you look now!
Wrath burst into mockery, saying this was the first time he'd seen Raon fail since they met. Seeing how he twisted his body, he seemed to be truly enjoying it.
'Ngh...'
Raon swallowed a groan inwardly.
'This is embarrassing.'
As Wrath said, he recalled the conversation with Karoon before entering the training ground. They had put on airs, thinking today's test would be a mere stepping stone, but reflecting on it now was utterly embarrassing. If there was a way, he wanted to advance somehow, but it seemed difficult now.
Honestly, while his disappointment was great, he decided to congratulate Alice, as her regaining her original smile was also a joyous thing.
"Congratulations."
Raon bowed his head to Alice, filled with sincerity.
"Ah! There's one more thing I need to say."
Alice approached Raon with a smile, as if she had forgotten something.
"I tried to skip this somehow, but there were places that supported you until the end?"
She said he had built good relationships as she pulled out two emblems from her chest.
"Even though I went there myself, Sikot and Luren said they would support you."
Alice handed him the emblems with a bright smile.
"Sikot, Luren..."
Raon recognized those emblems and swallowed dryly.
-These are...
'That's right. These are the places I saved from the White Blood Religion's attack.'
Those two ports were places where they had gone to directly defend against the White Blood Religion's attack with blood spirit ships. Since they had witnessed him fighting and saving them, it seemed they had continued to believe in the Light Wind Palace despite his not visiting them.
"Thank you."
Raon received the emblems from the two ports and cherished them in his embrace.
"Huh? This means..."
Chad swallowed hard as he examined the documents again.
"The difference between the Central Martial Palace Master and Light Wind Palace Master is almost negligible!"
He trembled his chin, saying the numbers had become so similar that they were difficult to differentiate.
"Who's winning now?"
Balder stomped his foot as if urging Chad to speak quickly.
"The Central Martial Palace Master seems to be slightly ahead. However, since population numbers aren't exact..."
Chad shook his head, saying that while they needed to calculate precisely, there was almost no difference.
"Hmm!"
Karoon also seemed to feel the tension reviving as his eyes trembled narrowly and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
"H-how many people is the difference now?"
He furrowed his brows, demanding exact numbers.
"T-to determine that, I'd have to recalculate..."
Chad rolled his eyes, saying it would take some time.
"Huh, well..."
Glenn grabbed his temples, unable to decide what to do.
"Hehe."
Alice just folded her arms and smiled as if finding the situation amusing.
"Um, excuse me..."
Raon raised his hand slightly while reading the mood.
"The Blade Queen and the Warlord also said they'd follow me, but they don't seem to be included in the calculation. And there are six mature dragons. No, there are also young dragons following them. There should be around 20 of them..."
Smacking his lips, he mentioned people Chad hadn't named. If all of them were added together, he might be able to beat Karoon, so he made one last desperate attempt, disregarding his dignity.
-Huh...?
Wrath dropped his jaw in disbelief.
-Wow, you pathetic guy!
Wrath let out a snort, saying Raon's patheticness level was exploding.
[How pathetic...]
No, not just Wrath, but the same thought crossed the minds of everyone at the training ground.
"Ah, I'm sorry!"
Chad widened his eyes, saying he hadn't thought of that.
"Then..."
Just as he was about to recalculate.
"Ahem!"
Karoon cleared his throat like Glenn, drawing everyone's attention.
"I-isn't it a bit ambiguous to count dragons as supporters? Let's say the five mature dragons are fine, but the dragons following them haven't been properly confirmed. No, actually, since they're not even human, is it really right to include even those five as supporters?"
He raised his voice slightly, suggesting that dragons should be excluded from the supporter count.
"No, you were the one who said they should be counted! You said it yourself!"
Balder shouted at Karoon in disbelief.
"Th-that was then. Thinking about it again, there seem to be slightly unreasonable aspects..."
Karoon shook his head, saying people can change their minds.
"Hey, that's not right. Dragons can transform into humans. They have intelligence. Besides, it's proper to treat internal defectors, no, defector dragons properly too."
Raon also strongly shook his head against Karoon, saying it was absolutely unacceptable. At that moment, the same thought crossed everyone's minds, including Wrath and Glenn.
[They're both pathetic...]
***
"Uh, hmm..."
Chad rolled his eyes from side to side as he looked at the documents with the completed calculations.
"A-according to the calculation results, the supporters of the Central Martial Palace Master and Light Wind Palace Master are nearly equal. The difference is around 10 people, but this number could vary depending on when the survey was conducted, so it's i-impossible to determine the outcome."
He passed the documents to Glenn, saying it wasn't his place to make the decision.
"Hmm..."
Glenn received the documents with trembling hands and slowly read through them.
"As the Shadow Agents' Leader says. These figures could vary depending on the time and place of the survey, so it's ambiguous to determine a result."
Contrary to his words about being unable to determine a result, his lips began to tremble slightly.
"Normally, it would be right to conduct the test again, but since Zieghart is currently entering a period of war preparation, we cannot do that either. Therefore..."
Glenn folded the documents and rose from the throne.
"Retracting my initial words, I will advance all three—Alice Zieghart, Karoon Zieghart, and Raon Zieghart—to the final successor candidacy."
He nodded to everyone at the training ground, saying this was the result he had to accept.
"Woooaaaah!"
"This is even better, isn't it?"
"Yes. This much should be accepted!"
"No, I think this is absolutely right!"
"Exactly! The result is more interesting this way."
"They were a bit pathetic at the end, though..."
"A bit?"
The spectators cheered in agreement that advancing all three was the right decision, as Glenn said. Of course, some people pointed out Raon and Karoon's patheticness.
"Hehe."
Alice nodded leisurely as if she had known it would turn out this way.
"..."
"..."
Karoon and Raon each took three steps toward each other. The two looked steadily at each other, lightly high-fived, and returned to their original positions.
-This is pathetic too...
Wrath shook his head, saying even their high-five was pathetic.
"Haah..."
Raon lowered his head and heaved a deep sigh of relief.
'I don't care if it's pathetic.'
At least he passed. If he had acted pathetically and still failed, it would have been truly embarrassing, but he managed to pass somehow, so it was fine. The embarrassment he felt now would be forgotten with time.
"Phew."
Glenn also exhaled a heavy breath, his face relaxing its wrinkles as if tension had finally left him.
"As I said before, the third successor test is information gathering. I will give the successor position to the person who brings the most important information that can be used to strike Derus and Eden."
He nodded, saying information investigation required as much effort as cultivation.
"Finally..."
Glenn took a deep breath and looked down at the swordsmen lined up in the training ground.
"I instructed the Light Wind Palace Master to select people who will receive guidance from me before the war. Today, I will announce those members."
He jerked his chin at Raon, as if telling him to come forward.
"Yes."
Raon stepped onto the platform with unhesitating strides. Unlike when he had shown his pathetic side, he now looked at the swordsmen with serious eyes as he opened his lips.
"From now on, I will call out the names of those who will receive guidance from the Head of House."