Ple-Sen
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In the breaks between training sessions, Alaria continued to supplement her diary with entries.
"The Amphitheater
A place that is linked in my mind with some of my warmest memories. It was very pleasant to catch interested glances full of admiration. Especially after I used to catch glances of a... different nature back in my own town. And watching other competitions was a fun activity, even if I didn't participate in them myself. But let's take things one step at a time, as my notes are already extremely chaotic. It might make sense for someone who, for one reason or another, doesn't remember certain aspects of their life, but regardless.
The running competitions evoked mixed feelings in me. On one hand, it was very pleasant to see Elrina bolt forward like lightning and beat them all. Have I already mentioned that she is a wonderful woman of many talents? Well, watching this was pleasant, but the rules of the competition allowed for the use of "special" equipment and wonders of technical progress. So victory was not so much the result of intense training as it was a contest of fat wallets. And Elrina's wallet happened to be the fattest part of her body. Victory was unsurprising, given her meridians! Without proper finances, the chances were bleak even for someone like Metis or Norax, whose people love to boast of their superiority over simple little humans. Fifth place is not the most impressive result for a superhuman, is it? Though I don't know if any of them shared the views of their kin. Her extraordinary strength and endurance didn't help, nor did they help Arite, who settled for only third place. Perhaps that's why she later developed a hatred for technological progress? More amusing than this was seeing the face of an out-of-breath Halmeldir, who crossed the finish line among the last. True, at that moment I still didn't understand what a vile person he was. But Narissa proved herself to be great—a trained girl who, under other conditions, could have claimed first place. Nano left little of an impression on me. Before I sat down to make this entry, I had even somehow forgotten her presence. As for the last participant... I believe her name was Estia?
As for the dance competitions, I happened to participate myself. Well, aren't I great? Of course I am, since I earned third place with my own two feet! Alas, I was surpassed by the exotic beauty Erimida, who took first place, and the well-groomed aristocrat Talias, who took second. I cannot say that it was shameful to lose to either of them. Erimida had clearly dedicated a considerable portion of her life to her craft, while Talias seemed to me like a ballroom enthusiast. Among other interesting faces, another foreigner was also present at the contest—Syeonhwa. But if she stood out for anything, it was only for her dismal results, as only Elrina performed worse than her. I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt to watch her performance. She clearly needed more practice and I would have been happy to help with that, had we had a free day for it. No such day came. And it likely never will.
For the traditional archery competitions, for obvious reasons, I did not sign up. A bit ironic, considering that now I have to use a bow as well. I didn't see a single familiar face there. First place went to a very lovely, though some would say overly feminine, youth named Fion. It's even strange that he didn't enter the men's beauty contest. Second place, in contrast to Fion, was won by Ledon, who crawled out of some unknown ditch. I still shudder when I remember his face. But the guy who took third place was lucky not with his face, but with his name. His name was Cringe Edgedark and it was perfectly clear that his parents didn't love him very much. Otherwise, they wouldn't have named him so. Last place was taken by Primula. It was difficult not to laugh again at the "impressive" results of self-proclaimed superhumans, even in a competition with only four participants.
I didn't sign up for the modern weapons shooting competitions either, once again choosing the role of spectator. This time, the stakes were higher, as Elrina decided to show off her skill before the crowd! Alas, she did not show off. I won't say she was exhausted or anything, but she placed closer to the end of the list. Lower places were taken only by Aylon, the only man in this contest, and Meretta, another representative of superhumanity. Naturally, she took last place. It couldn't help but bring a smile to my face, despite Elrina's pitiful results. The winner was someone named Tiella, but other than her association with Ipomoea, I knew nothing about her. She turned out to be a dark horse, at least from my position. Second place went to Alisa Lit, known for her skill. I imagine many expected first place from her. And the third position remained with someone named Climene, whom I have never heard of since.
The moment of my triumph (probably sounds overly sinister) was the women's beauty contest. I could play the modest girl and wonder "How did this even happen?", but I won't. I won't say that I had no worthy competitors, but it's hard to deny that there could have been more. Although at times it felt like I partially succeeded thanks to my "novelty" and an image that stood out against many of the other participants. Especially compared to the pretty, but not very interesting, Arter and Ertele. Arietta was clearly considered the favorite. I felt a bit sorry for Gordetia, whose beauty few appreciated. Did the pointed ears scare them off? In any case, I was happy with my victory. And with the photo shoot that followed the win. It's a pity I never managed to get the magazine in my hands—so much piled up that it even somehow slipped my mind.
As for the winner of the men's beauty contest, it was my old acquaintance—Halmeldir. Obviously, pointed ears didn't scare the ladies off. To be honest, the selection wasn't the best. Except perhaps Mephes was not bad. Milanis and Tias were okay, but Dahlas clearly thought he was more handsome than he actually is. And as for what a monstrosity like Elix was doing here, I have no idea at all. A face like that should be hidden, not flashed at beauty contests! He got points only for his audacity. Or from ladies with very poor eyesight.
But the vocal contest turned out to be my failure. I don't know if the audience didn't like the song I chose or the quality of the performance, but I ended up only one position above the end of the list. Only the foreigner Zestris, with his traditional songs, was rated worse. I assume that the audience disliked anything overly unusual, given Calamansi's victory. I was surprised to see Mushimaro at the contest—a mighty warrior who utterly hated women and once insulted poor Tsukiko when she made a suggestion about sparring. Even more surprised were my thoughts on the vocal talents of One-Eye, who grabbed second place right after Minos. Apparently, greedy bastards make decent singers, and I simply lacked enough greed and bastardry. Perhaps one could go on for a long time describing the compositions heard, but is that a meaningful pursuit? They must be heard for oneself to form an opinion. I'll only note that Angel's voice was truly angelic."
It seems there were 37 entries in total.
"The Amphitheater
A place that is linked in my mind with some of my warmest memories. It was very pleasant to catch interested glances full of admiration. Especially after I used to catch glances of a... different nature back in my own town. And watching other competitions was a fun activity, even if I didn't participate in them myself. But let's take things one step at a time, as my notes are already extremely chaotic. It might make sense for someone who, for one reason or another, doesn't remember certain aspects of their life, but regardless.
The running competitions evoked mixed feelings in me. On one hand, it was very pleasant to see Elrina bolt forward like lightning and beat them all. Have I already mentioned that she is a wonderful woman of many talents? Well, watching this was pleasant, but the rules of the competition allowed for the use of "special" equipment and wonders of technical progress. So victory was not so much the result of intense training as it was a contest of fat wallets. And Elrina's wallet happened to be the fattest part of her body. Victory was unsurprising, given her meridians! Without proper finances, the chances were bleak even for someone like Metis or Norax, whose people love to boast of their superiority over simple little humans. Fifth place is not the most impressive result for a superhuman, is it? Though I don't know if any of them shared the views of their kin. Her extraordinary strength and endurance didn't help, nor did they help Arite, who settled for only third place. Perhaps that's why she later developed a hatred for technological progress? More amusing than this was seeing the face of an out-of-breath Halmeldir, who crossed the finish line among the last. True, at that moment I still didn't understand what a vile person he was. But Narissa proved herself to be great—a trained girl who, under other conditions, could have claimed first place. Nano left little of an impression on me. Before I sat down to make this entry, I had even somehow forgotten her presence. As for the last participant... I believe her name was Estia?
As for the dance competitions, I happened to participate myself. Well, aren't I great? Of course I am, since I earned third place with my own two feet! Alas, I was surpassed by the exotic beauty Erimida, who took first place, and the well-groomed aristocrat Talias, who took second. I cannot say that it was shameful to lose to either of them. Erimida had clearly dedicated a considerable portion of her life to her craft, while Talias seemed to me like a ballroom enthusiast. Among other interesting faces, another foreigner was also present at the contest—Syeonhwa. But if she stood out for anything, it was only for her dismal results, as only Elrina performed worse than her. I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt to watch her performance. She clearly needed more practice and I would have been happy to help with that, had we had a free day for it. No such day came. And it likely never will.
For the traditional archery competitions, for obvious reasons, I did not sign up. A bit ironic, considering that now I have to use a bow as well. I didn't see a single familiar face there. First place went to a very lovely, though some would say overly feminine, youth named Fion. It's even strange that he didn't enter the men's beauty contest. Second place, in contrast to Fion, was won by Ledon, who crawled out of some unknown ditch. I still shudder when I remember his face. But the guy who took third place was lucky not with his face, but with his name. His name was Cringe Edgedark and it was perfectly clear that his parents didn't love him very much. Otherwise, they wouldn't have named him so. Last place was taken by Primula. It was difficult not to laugh again at the "impressive" results of self-proclaimed superhumans, even in a competition with only four participants.
I didn't sign up for the modern weapons shooting competitions either, once again choosing the role of spectator. This time, the stakes were higher, as Elrina decided to show off her skill before the crowd! Alas, she did not show off. I won't say she was exhausted or anything, but she placed closer to the end of the list. Lower places were taken only by Aylon, the only man in this contest, and Meretta, another representative of superhumanity. Naturally, she took last place. It couldn't help but bring a smile to my face, despite Elrina's pitiful results. The winner was someone named Tiella, but other than her association with Ipomoea, I knew nothing about her. She turned out to be a dark horse, at least from my position. Second place went to Alisa Lit, known for her skill. I imagine many expected first place from her. And the third position remained with someone named Climene, whom I have never heard of since.
The moment of my triumph (probably sounds overly sinister) was the women's beauty contest. I could play the modest girl and wonder "How did this even happen?", but I won't. I won't say that I had no worthy competitors, but it's hard to deny that there could have been more. Although at times it felt like I partially succeeded thanks to my "novelty" and an image that stood out against many of the other participants. Especially compared to the pretty, but not very interesting, Arter and Ertele. Arietta was clearly considered the favorite. I felt a bit sorry for Gordetia, whose beauty few appreciated. Did the pointed ears scare them off? In any case, I was happy with my victory. And with the photo shoot that followed the win. It's a pity I never managed to get the magazine in my hands—so much piled up that it even somehow slipped my mind.
As for the winner of the men's beauty contest, it was my old acquaintance—Halmeldir. Obviously, pointed ears didn't scare the ladies off. To be honest, the selection wasn't the best. Except perhaps Mephes was not bad. Milanis and Tias were okay, but Dahlas clearly thought he was more handsome than he actually is. And as for what a monstrosity like Elix was doing here, I have no idea at all. A face like that should be hidden, not flashed at beauty contests! He got points only for his audacity. Or from ladies with very poor eyesight.
But the vocal contest turned out to be my failure. I don't know if the audience didn't like the song I chose or the quality of the performance, but I ended up only one position above the end of the list. Only the foreigner Zestris, with his traditional songs, was rated worse. I assume that the audience disliked anything overly unusual, given Calamansi's victory. I was surprised to see Mushimaro at the contest—a mighty warrior who utterly hated women and once insulted poor Tsukiko when she made a suggestion about sparring. Even more surprised were my thoughts on the vocal talents of One-Eye, who grabbed second place right after Minos. Apparently, greedy bastards make decent singers, and I simply lacked enough greed and bastardry. Perhaps one could go on for a long time describing the compositions heard, but is that a meaningful pursuit? They must be heard for oneself to form an opinion. I'll only note that Angel's voice was truly angelic."
It seems there were 37 entries in total.