Chapter 47: The Popularity Contest, Part 1
ON the day of the contest, the academy set up a stage in the town plaza. This was where the competition would be held. They passed out flyers detailing the candidates and their accomplishments, inviting citizens of any age, gender, or economic status to cast their vote. After the judges reviewed past test scores and factored in the poll results, the candidate with the highest score would go on to an interview with the current Holy Maiden. And if she approved, they would be crowned the next Holy Maiden.
Camille du Pont had a noble’s name, but she was originally a commoner, merely adopted into the aristocracy after being nominated as a Holy Maiden candidate. This made her the first commoner to ever compete for the title—and now she had won two of the three competitions. Not only that, but everyone knew her as the original creator of Camille’s Camellia, the salve that helped reduce the appearance of scars. Adding together her knowledge test score and her monster dispatch score, she was up to 190 points.
Then there was Iris du Chevalier, the daughter of a Marquis with a long family legacy of heroic deeds. She had scored seventy points on the knowledge test and zero points during the monster dispatch mission, so she was really lagging behind. While some praised her as awe-inspiringly beautiful, she was still a noblewoman punished by God. Many believed that those who conducted themselves like true aristocrats would never catch soilpox—so if she’d caught it, it had to mean Iris was a wicked girl. And even if she wasn’t, they couldn’t relate to her anyway. Iris lived in a world they knew nothing about.
The Holy Maiden race was always a hot topic. Each year, people placed bets on who would win…and this year, the favored candidate was rumored to be Camille.
✦ ✦ ✦
❀❀❀
THE first half of the popularity contest involved completing a task set by the academy; the second half was the dance segment, which doubled as a fashion show. The audience would observe these two performances and cast their vote for who they felt was the more fitting candidate. Every year, the contest was treated like a recreational event, with food stands and a huge turnout.
Camille and Iris peered out at the crowd from backstage. Camille was dressed in her regular school uniform, while Iris was wearing her monster dispatch uniform with her hair in a ponytail. She chose this outfit purposely because she knew how the contest was going to play out; after all, she had gone through it several times before—in HanaKoro, anyway. As a result, Iris wasn’t too nervous. Camille was scared stiff, however.
“And now, this year’s assigned task…” There was a drumroll, followed by the crash of cymbals. “Retrieve the white lily frozen inside a block of ice!” the headmaster declared, his voice echoing across the plaza.
Yep, just like the game! Iris did a little fist-pump. Camille looked at her nervously, so she gave her a firm pat on the back. “If you’re too scared, then allow me to go first.” And with that, Iris walked out onto the stage.
As Iris came into view, the crowd started murmuring in confusion. No surprise there—after all, no candidate in history had ever worn their monster dispatch uniform to the popularity contest. She smiled stiffly.
Little did she know, she was wrong about where their confusion was coming from.
“Iris du Chevalier…? But that’s Mint!”
“What? Mint’s no spoiled rich girl!”
“Yeah, I mean, what kind of rich girl stomps on centipedes?”
“I can’t even picture it!”
Standing in front of the block of ice, Iris took a deep breath. Then she shifted into a fighting stance and threw out a straight punch. The ice cracked and crumbled, glittering beneath the stage lights. She plucked the lily from the remnants, dusted the little ice shavings from its petals, and raised it triumphantly over her head! After that, she walked over and handed it to the headmaster.
The audience was stunned into silence. No candidate in history had ever cleared the assigned task by using brute strength instead of magic, and the crowd was downright perplexed. Unfortunately, it was the only method available to her.
Iris walked offstage, and Camille walked on in her place, carrying her brand-new magic wand. It was a gift from Nigel, who had taken more of an interest in Camille following their dance practice. She was pretty sure he was only nice to her because Iris had asked him to help her win, but a small part of her reveled in his attention.
If I win the race, will Sir Nigel be happy for me? At some point, she had started to daydream about what would happen after she won. Will he be grateful that I made his sister’s wish come true?
Originally, Camille only wanted to be the Holy Maiden to have a place to belong. After all, if she couldn’t go back to being a commoner, she wanted to earn her keep as an aristocrat. But now things were different… If only I could be a good-hearted person who helps people, like Lady Iris, maybe he’d notice me…
She looked out at the stage, her eyes shimmering. There, amid the sea of people, she could see a boy with glossy green hair. Oh, Sir Nigel… The sight of him filled her with relief. Between him and Iris, she was starting to think her lucky color was green.
Nigel looked at her, smiled reassuringly, and mouthed the words: You can do it! She couldn’t hear him, but she understood. If he thinks I can do it, then I can!
Gently, to avoid damaging the lily, Camille cast a magic circle in midair, gathering sunlight particles to melt the ice. Glinting in the sunlight, the ice shards sparkled in all the colors of the rainbow as white steam rose up. In a blink, the ice had fully melted, leaving the lily standing perfectly in place, its petals shining from the moisture.
Camille dutifully lifted the wet flower with both hands, raised it over her head, then bowed in Nigel’s direction. The crowd cheered. Timidly, she raised her head and looked out at him; he was smiling and clapping. That was all she needed.
She handed her flower to the headmaster, who nodded approvingly.