Chapter 189: End Of The Practical Test
"I don’t suppose we are disqualified, are we?" Valletta asked a little offhandedly as we headed back towards the entrance of the rift.
I raised an eyebrow at her, "Why would you think so?"
"I thought part of the requirement was that we had to go through the test without knowing your real identity and if we were to figure it out, we were not supposed to reveal it, are we?"
I waved my hand, "That’s fine. That was never part of the requirements to begin with. Don’t worry about it. Besides, it allowed me to see the candidates’ abilities and personalities for myself. And I have to say that this group should pass without any issues."
I eyed Olivia when I said that and though she glanced at Valletta for a moment, she looked back at me and gave me a curt nod.
Good... It would be quite embarrassing if it were to end up being a case where they were to be rejected by Olivia for other reasons after I said aloud that they were to be accepted.
Though... I guess if I were to overrule their decision, I believe mine should take precedence anyway so it doesn’t matter.
Valletta suddenly stepped in front of me to face me, forcing me to come to a stop as well.
I also noted that she was pretty much around Olivia’s height as well, making me wonder if it’s a common thing for people from other worlds to be so tall.
She lifted her dress and gave a deep curtsy, the same curtsy that one might see a noblewoman from a mediaeval fantasy movie would do.
"Please allow me to introduce myself again, my Master... I am Valletta Incotassia, former Queen of the Obsidian Kingdom and, as I believe is accurate to your world’s terms, a Vampire."
I blinked at her, "Former queen? Master?"
She straightened herself, "Yes. Though it is but an empty title now since my Kingdom has all but fallen into ruin with the invasion of these Anomalies that burned my world to ashes. You do not need to trouble yourself with such trivial details, my Master."
I blinked again, "Ok... I think we might also be skipping a few steps here... Why are you referring to me with that term?"
"Because I have decided to serve under you. And as such, you are my Master, no?"
"I mean... More like I’m employing you than owning you..."
"That makes no difference to me, my Master. You are someone who stands above this Queen, thus you are my Master. This Queen shall serve you for as long as you have use of me."
I don’t even know how that train of logic works but... Ok?
Speaking of which...
I turned to look at the dark elf girl who had been quiet the entire time after I had revealed my identity as the Mortal God.
A squeak of surprise came from her when she saw me looking at her and she tugged on her hood to hide her face even more while looking down at the ground.
She was even shivering quite visibly too.
Do I really scare her that much?
I guess for normal people, meeting a Mortal God is probably a big deal so she’s most likely still in shock or something.
Also, I can tell that Dan was enjoying everything that was happening so far and treating this like some kind of performance with how he was grinning ear to ear right now.
And when he caught me looking at him, his smile just got wider and he gave me a cheeky thumbs up in response.
I turned back to Valletta who was still looking at me with a look of anticipation on her face, as though she was waiting for something.
Only problem was that I don’t know what she was expecting here... She didn’t ask me a question did she?
As though reading my mind, Valletta smiled at me, "I gave you my vow, my Master. It is up to you if you would accept it or not."
I have a choice? That’s surprising.
I thought for sure that after she said all that, having me reject her would be pretty lame.
But before I could say anything, Olivia butted in.
"If you wish to pledge your vow to my Lord, do it after we have confirmed your status as a Guardian."
The goth Vampire turned to scowl at the red Oni, "What difference does it make? Why can’t I just pledge my vow to my Master right now?"
"Because you would be pledging yourself to my Lord as a Guardian when you are accepted as his Guardian and if you do it now, that would defeat the purpose of this test."
"Hmph. What does that matter? Isn’t it better to do it now rather than later? I have already made my decision to serve my Master and it is my Master alone who should decide whether to accept my vow or not, isn’t it?"
Olivia narrowed her eyes, clearly wanting to refute her but unable to find any words to refute her with.
These two seem to really not get along...
I decided to jump in right then by clearing my throat, "Ahem... Sorry Valletta, but I’ll have to agree with Olivia on this. My Guardians worked hard on setting these tests and interviews up to look for potential companions for all of us. This place is not just run by me but all of us working together so I want to give them a chance to decide as well. That’s why I will only answer your vow after all of this has concluded."
I was afraid that the vampire might be upset at my decision but surprisingly, she relaxed and curtsied again, "If that is what my Master wishes. This Queen shall obey."
Huh... That’s surprising... At least I don’t need to worry about this becoming a fight I guess.
She joined the group and Olivia took over the lead to guide us back towards the portal.
Dan took the opportunity to step beside me and he shot me a grin.
"Not bad ah? Already getting yourself a Queen before you even got a princess. Going straight for the hot milf?"
I rolled my eyes at him before whispering, "Shut up... They’re going to figure out you know me before this if you keep this up."
He shrugged but said nothing else and joined the others behind me.
We encountered another group of interviewees that were also on their way back towards the portal halfway, this group being led by Leena.
The centauress paused when she saw us and gave Olivia and myself a nod in greeting before joining up to walk alongside Olivia.
I’m guessing this group also completed their test and were on their way back towards the portal as well.
At least... That was what I thought until I noticed how haggard they looked... Like they had just been put through the wringer or something.
Olivia took one look at the group and turned to Leena, "No good?"
The centauress shook her head, "Individually, they’re fine... But getting them to work together in a group proved to be impossible. They got in each other’s way more often than not. I will not trust my back to any of them."
Ouch... Couldn’t you two have said that when you aren’t in front of the people in question?
Look... They’re even looking quite ashamed of themselves right now.
Incidentally, this group was a mix of other worlders and a single local girl.
I couldn’t really offer any words of comfort to them since I wasn’t sure what happened and I was still acting as an interviewee to the others anyway.
We eventually came to the front of the portal and it seemed like we were the last group to arrive as everyone else was already here.
Olivia directed us to rejoin the rest and went to talk with the other Guardians, presumably to listen to their reports on how their own groups did with the test.
I strained my ears and managed to overhear my Guardians from here thanks to my increased abilities.
"How did it go?"
"Not good... Not good at all."
"All of them were really new... They couldn’t even beat an Anomaly on their own."
"None of mine stood out as well... I do not think any of them is suitable."
"Fufufu~ Unfortunately, I would have to report the same. They were entirely inept and unprepared to face even this level of Anomalies."
"How did yours go? Mmm~ It should be good since Master is there right?"
"It went... Well. As expected."
"Well... Mortal God did have his eye on those three after all so that goes without saying."
"Does that mean we’re accepting them?"
"We’ll do a final evaluation today of all the results and then make a decision afterwards. We will reconvene in the meeting room tonight."
Hmm... Seems like they’re pretty much confirmed to be my Guardians at this point doesn’t it?
Guess we’ll have to prepare for new colleagues soon.
Comments