The Unbound World’s “Normal” is Difficult

The second day of the Sacred Cup in the bright morning.

The battlefield was more thriving than it was yesterday on the day when the woman most loved by God - the Virgin - was chosen.

By virtue of their status as saints, candidates do not clash with each other in a flashy way.

On the contrary, they compete for their power to heal and nurture life.

The content of the contest varied from time to time, and in some cases the woman who called the rain clouds the earliest became a saint, and in others the one who healed the injured the most was called a saint.

The way in which the Virgin's abilities are manifested is also varied: some pray, some dance, and some sing.

In other words, from the audience's point of view, the Holy Virgin Championship in the Holy Grail is like watching a mysterious show.

The candidates also fully understood it, and the support of the audience can sometimes influence the judgment of the referee, so inevitably they began to pretend to attract the attention of the audience.

In this way, Virgin Determination increasingly reinforced the nature of glamorous entertainment.

As a result, now that the candidates are entering, there is a loud cheer from the audience seat behind the everyday academy that values quiet.

Elma and Irene were waiting in turn at the stage entrance, but the candidate's spectacular entrance was followed by a serious conversation in a quiet voice.

"Come on, Elma? I'll check again. What is your mission?"

"I can't win, I can't shake it, I can't stand it...."

"That's right. You are an average international student. Be careful not to push other Virgin Cadets to complete the assignment in seconds or otherwise stand out.

"It doesn't stand out....."

Yes, it is.

Because of yesterday's "insignificant return", Elma, who instead gained attention at the opening ceremony, was named after both Lucas and Irene.

"Incorrect definition of 'discreet'!

And I was narrowed down.

Even this morning, she nodded mysteriously, "I will do my best...", helping her with her ill health and clouding her glasses.

At that time, one of the candidate girls walks through the entrance gate deliberately trying to bump into the Elmas.

In an extraordinary outfit, she glanced at Elma in an irresistible manner and snorted her nose and maliciously whispered away.

"It's a disgraceful candidate for Virgin Mary. Whatever your strength, this battle of Virgin Mary is a substantial popular vote from the audience. Why don't you go home and take a look in the mirror before you start feeling nasty?

…………

Elma's glasses, who was looking behind her, glistened with joy.

Elma turned to me as if she was expecting something, but Irene told me quickly.

"Because it's not. It's not a flag. It's not an alternative to" Hmm, B rank ", and it's not pretending. I repeat, the novel you read is a collection of things that are not normal at all in the real world."

".......................................... is that so?"

It was an extremely unfortunate tone.

As for Elma, it still doesn't bother me that Marc's novel was judged to be "completely unusual."

"... when I walked down the road, I accidentally pulled out the Holy Sword, or just smiled and the opposite sex fell down one after the other, so I thought it would be okay this time..."

"That's it, Elma!?

Irene finally screamed, but as Elma, who had Gilbert the former brave and Heidemary the whore of Sangoku, she could only roar like this.

"Really... it's hard to say 'normal'..."

"You can't set an example for a youth novel! Only a handful of thin books can guide your life in this world, right? If you look around more and imitate the most dominant movements or the most plain children, it will solve the problem!

I see.

Elma nodded with a momentum that seemed to put her hands together.

And then, finally, Elma and the others came.

Walk through the entrance gate to the designated stage.

However, Irene frowned when she heard the audience start booming at the same time as Elma, who was in a shameless state.

"What's the matter, it's not just a gathering of men who value girls, rather than believers who watch over Virgin Candidates. I can't believe this is the culminating festival of Auricism."

"For Aurelia, a tourist country, festivals are an important resource. I guess I have to make a deal with doctrine."

"This is just corruption."

Irene pulls her mouth and looks at the audience seat for a moment.

It was like looking for someone.

Normally no one would notice, only Elma noticed the sneaky eye movement and tilted her neck, but Irene held her fist to regain her vigilance.

"Come on, let's get down to business!

The moment I got to my podium, I lost the opportunity to pursue it.

A huge, cobbled arena.

There are roughly thirty cadets lined up on a circular stage at equal intervals to draw a rectangle.

Each stands in front of a simple desk and chair with as much outfit as possible from the top of the uniform.

Even admission was regarded as part of the performance, and the appearance was like an actress on stage.

Some even bring a large number of maids in tonal costumes to help them.

The rare exception is Chloe, who wears a default uniform at the very end and is not wearing glasses - Elma and the flax-haired girl next to her.

She was supposed to be the lead candidate and, like Elma, lay down in a white uniform with no eccentricity and looked down gently as if she avoided the audience.

Elma stared at her while refuting Irene's words as a plain child.

"Model....."

"Hey, Elma, if you're going to imitate her behavior, she's fine. It feels a little rustic, it smells rural, and it feels normal anyway."

Irene points to a girl in a row a little away from herself who feels dressed anyway.

Elma asked Irene quietly, keeping her gaze fixed on Chloe only.

"The corners of your mouth are lowered and your lower lips are pulled up... a slight expression of tension that acts in the direction of emotional restraint. Is it normal to be nervous enough to try to kill emotions in these situations?

"Because it's normal. In a sunny place once every 30 years, there should be candidates who carry the expectations of their families. It's weird not to be nervous."

I see.

At that time, Chloe raised her face twinkly and showed a frightening expression.

Behind her is a candidate dressed in flashy clothes.

The girl who hit Elma the other day.

When she took something out of her pocket, she looked back at Chloe to intimidate her.

Elma leaned her neck.

"Occasionally, is it normal to run a frightened gaze at people you think are rivals? Sometimes rivals take out pieces of paper and gaze at it with pleasure. Are these normal things?

"Isn't that normal? Perhaps a piece of paper is an amulet or a protective charm? It's common for a weak mob to walk in front of overwhelming rivals in this situation."

As Irene watched, the girl looked around. As a result, they closed the conversation in complete disagreement.

"I see. I'm going to use her as an example."

"I think so. But just in case, don't forget your whole body... sometimes you look around the candidate and imitate the majority movement."

"Yes"

Their goal is no longer to win the chalice.

It was a much more difficult embodiment of mob behavior.

"Now I'm going to run the Holy Grail Department. The candidates should receive one bowl at a time."

One of the Cardinals proclaims the opening of the Virgin's Department from the center of the arena.

It is a small senior cardinal who will be in charge of the process this time.

It was also Chelsea, the main pro-Rudential figure who sent this request, who gave him unreliable hair.

Chelsea moisturizes her puppy eyes and nods gently to Elma.

In other words, it's a plea for "how to win".

With an attitude that just said that I would entrust you with the fate of the pro-Rudenians, Elma who realized it noticed signs of patrolling, but Irene also spoke up there.

"I didn't say don't win anything. In your case, when it comes to truth, it will definitely turn into something less than the Holy Grail. For the first time, we've made every effort to stay away from winning and just settle for a normal win, and that's what we're reading. Your actions are neither betrayal nor a breach of order."

"Yes"

As Elma nodded quietly, a bowl of plant seedlings began to be distributed.

Some of the clerks who gave the candidate a bowl appeared to be Lucas dressed in an incredible manner.

When he looked at each other, Elma raised her thumb with her face, feeling a concern from both directions, as he just told her not to overdo it.

Lucas and the others were instead agitated.

"All that I have given you are the seedlings of Arolo, the national tree of my country Aurelia, which is also planted in this arena. However, all of these seedlings have been partially damaged."

Seeing the bowl distributed to everyone, Celso began explaining with a small voice.

The elderly cardinal nodded to the cadets who groaned in the last part.

"Yes, the challenge is to heal and nurture plants. Those who have regenerated the seedlings of the bowl and raised them bigger than anyone else will receive the crown of the Virgin."

While healing and nurturing appear to resemble seemingly similar abilities, the former is the ability to "change the state" by repairing what has been destroyed, and the latter is the ability to "strengthen the state" by developing the nature of the subject.

There was no candidate for both, and everyone felt anxious about completion.

No, you can't cultivate seedlings unless they are regenerated first, so the ability to heal is more advantageous than cultivating them.

The healing cadets gradually regain their calm.

Some of them sent a seepage of superiority to Chloe, who lacked the ability to train (...).

"It seems like a pretty difficult task to see the reactions around me... Elma, don't tell me you're actually the owner of two kinds of sacred powers that can be healed and nurtured.

"You don't remember the holiness in the first place."

"Yes, that's right."

Irene's voice seeps with a little relief.

By the way, Lucas, who was dressed as an executive, secretly stroked his chest, saying, "This time, there won't be any Elma."

Tension. Ready. Superior. Anxiety.

There is tight air between the cadets standing in the arena.

"Now, bless the candidates. Holy Grail Virgin's Department - Begin"

Together with Chelsea's declaration, the girls grabbed the bowls.