And with that, the Eniastar Team was formed. A team barreling full throttle towards the goal of becoming the strongest. The three of them had taken the first step, and—
“They’re not coming... are they,” muttered a certain boy.
“Yeah... It’s been a week already...” groaned a fox.
“...Right.” a spirit dispiritedly sighed.
The team was already faced with a crisis.
“Ah... Even after I begged Eli to let me hand out fliers...”
“I thought we’d get at least one person after all those posts I put on the bulletin...”
On the terrace of Café Argent, Athena and Fram exchanged a deep sigh.
The upper limit on a team was eight members. There was no lower limit, so even if a team had only a single person registered, they were allowed to take part in the Roulette.
Unfortunately, as one might expect, this was not very realistic.
There was a limit to what someone could accomplish on their own, and greater numbers increased the breadth of tactics that could be employed. No matter how strong an individual was, it was difficult to take on multiple attackers, and these would be no ordinary attackers either. The Babel Roulette was where the mighty joined hands, so gathering the appropriate personnel could be called an absolute necessity.
However, in the week since they began, not a single hopeful applicant showed up.
“This is a bother... Given Yuri’s popularity, I thought we’d have our pick of candidates.”
Yuri defeated Elias despite his rare lineage as a mix-blood. He was a shining rookie bathing in attention. With such hopes placed on him, surely an interested duelist would at least want to hear what he had to say... But as of yet, even that was a pipe dream.
Additionally, this wealth of attention had turned into a large shackle of its own.
“I tried asking some of our regulars, but they all got cold feet...”
“There’s not much we can do about that. Having hopes placed on us means we’re expected to perform considerably well. It won’t be possible for anyone who isn’t confident in their ability.”
From the reactions they had seen over the past week, there was actually an exceedingly high number of interested duelists, but...the threshold was seen as too high for anyone to actually try and join.
“Too much for my shoulders.”
“If I’m unable to do anything, I’m not sure what people will say about me.”
“With all that attention, defeat will leave a much larger impact on my life as a duelist.”
These were generally the opinions posted on the city bulletin. Gazing at these depressing reactions, Yuri pressed his face to the table, his lips pursed in a pout.
“Mhm...why don’t they just try it out before they read too deeply...” he said.
“I know, right... With all the races together, sure, there are a few who don’t think they’ll fit the team affinity-wise, but there are lotsa things you don’t know until you’re actually fighting together.”
“Not everyone can be as thoughtless as you two. It’s nothing to complain about.” Fram tapped the two heads planted flat against the table. “And it looks like there was another reason.”
“Hm? What sort of reason?” asked Athena.
“And I quote, ‘Yuri’s fighting style is so grotesque, it will be harsh on my sanity.’”
“So you mean I’m the problem!?”
“Ah... Right, it took a while for us to get used to it.” The fox-girl’s ears drooped like dying saplings as she recalled the scenes from their training together.
The Tribe Skill of a mix-blood that Yuri had worked out—Tribal Armament—allowed him to exhibit tremendous power in exchange for massive damage to himself. That power was what gave him the edge to triumph over Elias, but many were rather shocked by the sight of him blowing off his own arms and ultimately ending up without a limb left to stand on.
It should also be noted that this fighting style was generally disliked. At the end of the day, duels were a form of entertainment. While duelists shared a general understanding that Yuri had fought to the best of his abilities, the viewers from around the world saw him as a “guy who throws down disgustingly,” performing acts that they “can’t really show to the kids.”
As the viewing count and general popularity of one’s duels affected income, then considering their future prospects, it was impossible to join the team without due concern.
When the three shared yet another terribly heavy sigh, something cast a shadow over their table.
“...If you’re going to be taking up seats, at least order something.”
Yuri slowly raised his face to the ice-cold voice. There was Elias lording over them, a fed-up look on his face.
“I can put up with you using this store as a meeting spot, but if you set up camp with our seats, I will treat you as customers.”
“Oh, then one coffee please!”
“I’ll have a meat sandwich!”
“The dessert of the day.”
“Meaning you’re going to be here for a while,” Elias puffed before listing out the order on his memo pad.
After taking a better look at him, Yuri noticed he wasn’t wearing his usual outfit.
“Mr. Elias, you’re wearing the waiter uniform today?”
“Yeah. My employee is running late on personal business, so I’m standing in.”
“Huh? But Eli, don’t you usually just wear your casual clothes?”
“I am the owner of this shop, so to distinguish my position, I purposely opt not to wear a uniform but—” Cutting himself off, Elias turned his face. From the depths of the terrace rose the shrill cheers of several women. “Lately, we’ve been getting more female customers, so I’ve begun dressing like this.”
“Why, Mr. Elias, your merchant spirit is surprisingly strong...”
“This shop’s proceeds are just as important as my duels. If the shop goes under, my comrades and I will be forced to find new work. And you three wouldn’t want to have to job hunt on top of searching for members, would you?”
“Before that, I question whether there’s anywhere that will hire me at all!”
“I’m confident I’d be fired within a day!!”
“I’m not going to go work for someone I don’t know at this point.”
“Let me correct myself. If I throw you out onto the streets, I would be doing a disservice to the world.”
With a miserable shake of his head, Elias returned to the hall. But it wasn’t long before he was back on the terrace.
“So what’s troubling you, anyway?”
“Oh? You just couldn’t leave us be, could you! I love you, Eli!”
“Thank you. Well, I already have a general grasp of what’s going on.” He picked up one of the fliers stacked beside Athena and nodded. “I see. There’s no way you’ll get anyone with these.”
“You’re always so quick to put me down! I hate you!”
“My sister’s emotions are far too unstable.”
“That’s just the usual. So what’s wrong with it?” Fram quickly asked, sensing that the conversation was about to derail.
“First off,” Elias indifferently replied as he swung the paper around, “you haven’t set any conditions for Rank or Tribe.”
“Eh? That’s no good?” Yuri cocked his head quizzically.