#547 Showdown: A Silver Wolf Vs. A Gold Bat

And so, the day of the event has arrived. 

Ten-tennen! Orkubo’s Castle: Season Three!!!

The previous seasons were well received; this time, the number of participants has hit a new record!

As always, we intend to make this event as lively as possible.

Orkubo’s Castle is located in the territory ruled by Dalkish in the Human Kingdom.

This normally quiet place is as bustling as a metropolis today.

The spectators alone seem to fill the place, and the kiosks, such as Letasreit’s bean shop and Veil’s Ramen shop, are packed.

But today, a special event was prepared to attract even more people: a genuine fight between Silver Wolf & Golden Bat, two S-class adventurers. 

Prior to the main competition, the two who stand at the top of the human race will challenge Orkubo’s Castle’s intensive obstacle course!

As soon as we announced this during the opening ceremony, the venue was filled with excitement.

“Did they say Golden Baaaaaaaaaat?!”

“And Silver Wolfffffff?!”

“What a time to be alive to see two of the most prestigious S-class adventurers participating in a tournament!”

"How many more times will Orkubo’s Castle keep surprising us?!”

Cries of joy and wonderment could be heard from all directions.

That’s how famous the S-Class adventurers are.

The statement that they have more prestige than the Demon Kingdom’s Demon King was once again proven correct.

As part of the ceremony, these two adventurers will challenge Orkubo’s Castle before the main event.

But it's not just a matter of clearing the obstacles ahead of them.

After all, we have two of the most talented people in the world with us. It was a given that they would clear it without much difficulty, so Golden Bat and Silver Wolf were asked to compete at a higher level in the form of one-on-one competition.

In other words, they will race to see who can clear all the obstacles first.

They will start at the same time and will go through all the obstacles to reach the castle tower.

The first to reach the goal wins.

It’s also the battle of the century that will determine once and for all which of the two is the better adventurer.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that the audience would be hyped.

“Everything is going as purrlanned!”

Black Cat, the cat therianthrope, acts cocky from the VIP seats.

The other S-class adventurers are livening up Orkubo’s Castle in their own ways, such as Pink Tonton hosting her special ring for wrestling with fans and Kato demonstrating his trampoline tricks.

“She’s the only one not doing anything...”

“Oh, what are you talking about? I'm purrlaying the most active role by setting up this historic match!”

She thinks she’s a promoter of this whole thing?!

“Acknowledge my purrofound planning! You wanted to make this event more exciting, so you thought of having all the S-class adventurers compete. It's a great way to create an all-star atmosphere, yet I dared to purropose pitching only two of them in a battle! The motive behind this is...! Is...!”

Black Cat talks like she’ll announce the answer after a commercial break.

“S-class adventurers are special! But the most special among them are those two!”

Unlike the Heavenly Four, the S-class adventurers are not a dedicated team.

It’s merely a social rank.

Only a few of them have passed the stringent criteria that you can count them with just one hand. And because of that, they tend to be lumped together as a group.

Among this renowned group of people, there’s a clear hierarchy established.

Golden Bat is ranked first, followed by the Silver Wolf, Black Cat, and so on.

“That’s just a random evaluation by the public.”

“Does that mean Pink Tonton and Kato are in fourth and fifth place, respectively?”

“They may not be in the top ranks in terms of overall strength, but they have a one-of-a-kind purrsonality. They are treated as jokers whose next moves are unpurredictable.”

I see.

If that’s the case, then Golden Bat and Silver Wolf truly are the top two of all adventurers.

Pitch them, and they’ll undoubtedly fight an exhilarating battle.

“If Wolfie wins, he might just become number one in the hierarchy! The audience will boil with excitement at its purrospect!”

“Huh? Why?”

Does everyone wish Silver Wolf to be the top adventurer that badly?

“Don’t you understand? Take a good look at them.”

Black Cat points at the two adventurers standing at the starting line, waiting for the signal.

“It has been an interesting turn of events, eh, Silver Wolf?”

The first to speak was Golden Bat, currently ranked first.

He, a bat therianthrope, has an indescribable bat head and, in that respect, shares something common with the wolf therianthrope, Silver Wolf, who has a dog-like face.

But... I've never seen a bat’s face in detail, so I don't know which parts are accurate.

I only know that Golden Bat is very proud of his hearing, and his long, pointy ears make quite the characteristic feature.

“I've been wanting to beat you to death for a long time. Just having you in my sight pisses me off.”

“......Aren’t you superior to me already?”

With the magic loudspeaker that had been prepared in advance, even the smallest conversation between the two could be heard by the entire audience, which numbered in the tens of thousands.

Bless our well-prepared staff!

“Their conversation before the main event must be heard!”

It was done under her orders?!

Oh well, that aside, the atmosphere is getting tense.

“Hmph. It's a given that I'm number one. There’s no reason for me to be proud or annoyed. But you see, Silver Wolf, it tantalizes me that you, of all people, are behind me.”

“Why?"

Anyone who’s number two would feel ill at ease around number one.

They’re the common obstacle that obstructs them from reaching the very top, after all. 

But what does it mean when the one on top considers those below them an eyesore?

Everyone in the audience tilts their heads at this irrationality.

“You are the only one among all the adventurers who have the potential to reach my level, yet you’re wasting your talent. You’re so absorbed in crap about cooperation and organization that you’ve forgotten what it means to be an adventurer.”

“I am doing this for the survival of the Adventurers' Guild. The guild is what makes us adventurers,” Silver Wolf steadfastly retorts. “Many adventurers wouldn’t be able to continue their activities without the guild’s backing. It is only right that each and every one of us should give back to those who helped us.”

“That doesn’t apply to first-class adventurers like us. You know what your problem is? You bother yourself too much with third-class people—people who cannot make it as an adventurer without relying on the organization. That is what I call a waste of talent.”

“When I was just starting out, the guild took good care of me. The senior adventurers, who taught me many things, introduced me to them. I will return that favor by guiding my juniors. That is all."

“If you had devoted all that wasted time to adventuring, you could have achieved even greater things!”

“All that would be meaningless if there is no one to take it over.”

This is becoming more dramatic than I thought it would be.

Have they always had an antagonistic relationship even before the stage was set for their showdown today?

“They’ve been in conflict over their stance as adventurers.”

Black Cat, watching from the sidelines, talks as if she’s enjoying this spectacle.

“Exploration, discovery, making a killing. If Golden Bat's belief is to purely purrsue these romances, Silver Wolf's stance is to support adventurers as a whole by serving the guild. They have different mindsets regarding these concepts and, as such, have clashed now and then!”

Now, they’re fighting one-on-one.

And their goal behind this is...!

“I've been wanting to enlighten you for a while now, and today is the perfect time to do so! I will beat you and show you how much time you've wasted!”

“Say what you want! I'm going to beat you head-on and crush your pride too!”

The audience oohs in excitement.

Golden Bat and Silver Wolf—two top adventurers with different ideas—are fighting with their beliefs and pride on the line, and the excitement is palpable.

“Ooh, I’m so invested in this now! If we let the two of them compete against each other, they’d inevitably put their purride on the line. Now that playtime’s over, it’s time to get serious!!!”

Black Cat is content with the tense atmosphere.

I must say, hats off to her for doing any and all means necessary to make the event a success. Talk about a tactician!

"Fight, fight, fight, you guys! It’s no exaggeration to say that this battle will decide the Adventurer Guild’s future!”

Hold up...

When did this ceremonial event turn into a battle for the future and pride of the adventurers?!

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title explanation: silver wolf and golden bat's names are written in katakana--shiruvaa urufu and goruden batto (actually, all 5 adventurers' names are written in katakana). but for the title, the author used their kanji counterparts, so i tried to keep that distinction