Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer

A few days had passed since the exams had ended and the results had been published.

------------ Demilia Garcia and George McToine from the American group.

The two of them lived together in a small house.

Living with just two men can be a bit rough, but they couldn't just disrespect the house their country had provided for them, so they lived together in a shared house without complaint.

"Good morning, 4th place George-kun."

"Shut up. You say the same thing every morning. I'm sick of it."

"Hmm? Did you say something, eternal 4th place George-kun? Did you say something to me, who is in 1st place?"

"Oh, this is why it's so embarrassing when idiots come first."

'No, no, an idiot can't be in first place. The fourth place is the position that an idiot would be in."

"Tch, you're really getting on my nerves."

Their relationship had deteriorated.

When they were in the American facility, George was always in 1st place and Demilia was in 2nd.

Demilia, who always resented that fact, seemed to have taken this opportunity to start treating George poorly.

"By the way, I wonder where 4th place George-kun was and what he was doing? Maybe he was being toyed with by the Swordsman?"

In response to the words he couldn't deny, George bit his lower lip in frustration.

"It was Pyne. She got me, that's all. The swordsman had nothing to do with it."

"What? You got beaten by that tanned girl?"

"Demilia, you were just lucky. All the classmates who encountered Pyne had their limbs severed equally. If you had encountered her, you would have been ambushed too."

"Do you know the saying that luck is also part of one's abilities? Besides, in the forest, assassination techniques are the strongest. It's your fault for not taking precautions, George."

Unable to refute Demilia's sound logic, George fell silent.

The reason Demilia was so openly sarcastic was because there was a reason for it.

After they sent the details and results of the exam back to their home country, they received this response:

"Great job, Demilia. George, you have let us down. If you fail again, we plan to send you back. There won't be another chance. For now, your punishment is a six-month pay cut."

That was the cold response they received.

As supporters, they couldn't complain, and they were aware that it was their own fault for failing.

What was the point of America investing such a large sum of money to buy two spots and send them over? That was the intent behind it all.

The two of them were supposed to cooperate with each other and produce results.

Nevertheless, George's disappointing result of 4th place was due to his own lack of ability.

This was a collective responsibility, and Demilia was also at fault.

"I'm really sorry about that. We were cautious, but we were too complacent."

"Well, that's true for me too. If we had been cooperating since we first met, this wouldn't have happened. We could have finished in 1st and 2nd place, one after the other."

"There's no use regretting it now. It's the second term, and we'll definitely make a comeback."

"Of course. Next time, we'll be the overwhelming 1st place."

The two of them carried the expectations of their country and the happiness of their families, and continued to study and train together.

[However... I can't beat Tenji. Even if Demilia and I teamed up... it's probably impossible. But, this is only for "now". No one knows about the "future".]

Deep down, George believes that there will come a time when he can get back at Tenji.

--------------Mohammed Pyne.

In the restaurant on the first level, Pyne apologized with a sorry expression.

"Mushtafa-san, I'm sorry."

"Why is Pyne apologizing?"

Sitting across from her was a supporter, Mushtafa Musu, who exudes an aura of gentlemanliness wearing a gentleman's suit and a gentleman's hat.

Their appearance was actually quite gender-neutral. If you were asked whether they were male or female, it would be difficult to answer.

He had come to Mallorca as a collaborator for the exam, and had invited Pyne for a post-exam treat.

"I... couldn't become first place."

"I don't really mind. I was just fascinated by Pyne's talent, and I wanted to include you here. Please live the way you want, grow, and someday be of service to the person I respect. That's enough for me."

"Yes, I will strive to do so."

"Don't take it too seriously, okay? Don't push yourself too hard during your growing period. Take it slow, patiently, and enjoyably. That's my greatest wish for you."

"Yes!"

"Pyne's smile is still lovely, isn't it? Let's add another tower parfait. Excuse me, could we have one of those?"

After that, a huge parfait over one meter tall appeared on the table of Mushtafa and Pyne. It is said to have disappeared into the stomach in just 15 minutes.

"Well then, I'll be going now. Please don't hesitate to contact me if anything happens."

"Okay! I'll do my best again!"

"Goodbye."

Mushtafa checked his watch, and then left the restaurant with the leisurely footsteps of a gentleman.

Mushtafa Musu is deeply in love with "that person".

Because of that love, he scours the world to find people who can be of use to "that person".

He travels the world to find talent, and once he finds them, he places them in the best educational institutions. And then... he believes that someday, they will become the lover of "that person".

Even if they are of the same sex.

Mushtafa Musu loves "that person".

-------------------Yu Mina and Song Chaewon, the Korean duo.

"Aaaaahhhhhhhh!"

"Chaewon, you're so loud! What's wrong with you in the morning?"

The two of them are living in a shared house. At first, they lived in separate places, but Chaewon said "living alone is lonely" and they started living together in a shared house within a month.

Chaewon is making a fuss in the living room in the morning.

"Look at this! Look!"

There was a cardboard box casually opened in the living room. Chaewon carefully lifted something from it as if touching a jewel.

It was a live poster of a handsome guy, the center of a world-famous K-POP idol group.

Mina didn't understand why Chaewon was making such a fuss over it. "Don't you have a lot of those in your room, Chaewon?"

"No, no! Look here! Here!"

Chaewon pointed to the edge of the poster. There were cluttered black letters and small writings like a sentence.

"Miss Song Chaewon. We support you with all our might from faraway Korea. How about having a meal with us when you return to Korea? The members are looking forward to it."

"Oh, really? What the--?! An invitation to eat?! What does that mean?!"

Even Mina was about to roll her eyes at the fact that there were only handsome guys. Her eyes twinkled.

"I want to go too! Handsome guys! Let's eat!"

"No, Mina! Absolutely not! You'll try to eat them as soon as you find a handsome guy! So, I'll go alone! You will definitely be the first in the next exam! And then, your head will be patted, you will be called cute, praised, and kissed on the cheek..."

Steam began to rise from Chaewon's head.

It seems she became embarrassed by what she said.

"Don't worry, it's just the two of us!"

"But if it's a no, then it's a no!"

The two of them had found the motivation to study hard and dream of returning to their home country.

Good-looking, eating, absolutely.

----------------------Ursula Limey, Illonka Secretary.

Ursula Limey, as usual, was busy with paperwork, and Illonka was there to help her.

Unfortunately, the other staff were on their scheduled day off, so the two of them were working hard to finish up the remaining tasks.

"Is that really okay?"

"What do you mean?"

Illonka tilted her head in an ambiguous way, and Ursula Limey did the same.

"It's about Amgi Tenji. He actually scored 44th, and was second from the bottom if you don't count the black cocoon."

"It's fine. It's just a little prank."

"A prank, you say..."

"A little while ago, the perverted asshole prince called me."

"...As usual, the way of addressing Leon is the only dirty thing. Your other words are very elegant and beautiful."

"That guy is trash. It's better to throw him in the garbage dump."

"Shouldn't you forgive him soon? Someday... his power will definitely be needed."

"I hate that filthy perverted bastard who pushed my granddaughter into the bed!"

"Didn't you say that you blew half of his body away on that same day?"

"That's not enough punishment. It won't be satisfying until he's completely pulverized."

"I see. So that's your revenge?"

"Well, that's part of it. The rest is just a whim."

"I see. You're hoping for Amagi Tenji to take care of it. But do you think he's the key to defeating it? I don't think so."

"You still read people's hearts surprisingly well. It's a little scary. But well... I can't say I'm not expecting anything. I want as many polished gems as I can get right now."

"That's true. But... isn't it time to start gathering them? Surely the limit of its giant form is approaching."

"What's your evidence?"

"Illonka's intuition. My intuition can't be underestimated."

"That's true. Alright then, I'll leave the arrangements to Illonka. I'll keep an eye on him as usual."

"Understood."

And so, they spent their days chasing after paperwork once again.

Until that thing was born.