Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer
Vol. 5 - Ch. 217 - A Short Trip Down the Memory Lane and The beginning of Preliminary Final

"Please give me one Renji doll!"

An adorable boy, seemingly of the age to start elementary school anytime soon, said with a beaming smile.

The boy's eyes were faintly red and puffy, yet they sparkled with pure brilliance as he held out the three notes of thousand yen, that he had held with more regard than life, to the shopkeeper.

The adults around unwittingly found themselves chuckling as they saw him trying his best to reach out his hand toward the shopkeeper.

"Right away~, the Ukai Renji doll, is it?"

"Yes!"

Presumably, the little boy must have cried to his parents for the allowance.

The lady shopkeeper, being charmed by the little boy's innocent adoration, received the crumpled notes and packed a deformed doll into the shopping bag.

"Do you like Renji-san?"

"He's the best explorer in the world!"

"Heehee, he's so cool indeed. So you're going to become an explorer in the future??"

"Yes, I am going to become a cool explorer like Ukai!"

"Impressive, I will be looking forward to your debut. So Mr. Future’s cool explorer, would you like to tell me your name?"

"Yeah. My name is Tenji Amagi!"

†　†　†

As the peak of December approaches nigh closer, the world had arrived in the midst of christmas eve.

In Yokohama’s Minato Mirai, the streets were filled with Christmas stalls and shops selling goods and collaborative items related to explorers. The festive aromas of nuts and the sizzling sounds of sausages being grilled filled the air, along with the cheerful voices of children, fascinated by the explorers , creating a lively atmosphere in this bustling downtown area.

In one of the stores, the third-year student Student Tenji, about to turn 18 as soon as the hand of clock ticket past 12 PM, could be seen lining in the middle of the group of childrens.

"The next customer, please come to this counter."

Coincidentally, his and the lady shopkeeper's gaze happened to fall on each other.

Feeling slightly embarrassed to be the lone young man amidst the childrens, Tenji turned his gaze downward and walked up to the counter.

"Umm...please pack...this Fuyui doll and......Renji doll."

"These ones, is it? That'll be 5,600 yen, tax included. Would you like the normal packaging for home use."

"......Y-Yes. Home packaging please."

Tenji completed the payment with his smartphone and shyly accepted the shopping bag printed with an illustration of Fuyuki Kuro. From a bystander's perspective, his reaction was akin to a kid getting his favourite toy.

This gap in behaviour in contrast to his age caused the lady shopkeeper to chuckle. Then, as if she abruptly recalled something, she examined Tenji's face with a doubt.

"Excuse me. I-I was just wondering, are you......maybe Tenji Amagi?"

"Huh? Ah, yes."

Having been abruptly called out with his name that he hadn't seen coming even miles ago, Tenji looked at the lady shopkeeper's face with a startle.

The possibility that someone might know him here just didn't occur to him at all. As a fledgling explorer, there was no way anyone would know him. Of course, he also had no achievement under his name that made the possibility further non-existent. There were only a handful of people who actually knew Tenji, a high school student and explorer.

The sole reason he could guess was maybe the lady had read about him in the magazine of Seeker Olympic and it probably stuck to her because of him being a student of explorer school.

It was just so abrupt that Tenji was bound to be startled.

"Heavens!! You really did achieve your dreams of becoming an explorer. Amazing! I must say I am really really astounded. I have been the salesperson here for a long term really but...this is really the first time I may be feeling this excitement."

"............I-I'm sorry but, have we met somewhere? Perhaps you're an acquaintance of my mother or father?"

"O-Oh dear, look at me! Indeed, it's impossible asking a child to remember me. It's from many years ago when you're still only this big, do you remember coming here to buy Ukai-san's doll?"

"Renji doll......ahh."

The situation finally clicks for Tenji when he hears the lady shopkeeper's words.

Just before enrolling into elementary school, he purchased the doll of the then-famous explorer's doll.

He remembered coming with his parents and Maharu to watch the Seeker Olympic tournament, and how he had begged to get the Renji doll. The doll had still been decorated into his room like a priceless treasure.

Renji Ukai had been an admired explorer to Tenji. He was his hero and a chivalrous person in his childhood---no, even now, he admired him just as much.

His parents had been the trigger when he started to take interest in explorers. However it wasn't until Renji's entry that he had become a bonafide fan of explorers. Stirring the world with his radiant achievement ever since then, the explorer called Renji Ukai had made his place in Tenji's heart as a very cool person.

Though, even for him, that had been a memory of long ago . He had but almost forgot about his past adoration in the desperate hustle for money and the hectic days that followed after awakening.

Tenji found him chuckling at his old memories.

"I do remember, clearly! My words, it's truly one hell of a coincidence."

"Truly. These clothes...are you from the explorer school, right? Speaking of, have you booked your seat for tomorrow's preliminary final? It's going to be a heated battle."

An awkward smile appeared on Tenji's face, but there was no helping it and the lady also had no ill feelings packed in her words.

(I-I guess so ...This uniform doesn't exactly give the image huh.)

The black uniform of Japan's explorer high school hardly inspired the image of a contestant chosen to participate in the gathering. For better or for worse, the black clothes were called the jack of all trade but master of none.

The one that garnered an instant image of prominence was either the white clothes, worn only by the chosen ones, that take their entry starting from final preliminary, or the azure uniform, a symbol signifying the wearer's exceptional firepower.

The trend must have further caused her to misunderstand the situation.

Tenji wrecked his mind to look for an innocuous way to explain so as not to hurt her, for she meant no harm.

"I have not, because...well, I will be participating in the preliminary. Though I guess things often mix up with this uniform, eh?"

"Whaat!? ......O-Oh dear, I'm really sorry."

"Please, you don't need to apologise. This isn't the first time so I am kinda used to it. Well, it can't be helped with these clothes. I was a seed contestant till the 3rd round if anything so It would be a real display of skills from here."

"Woah, a seed slot!? This is impressive! I will be cheering for you from now on. So give your best!"

"Thank you for your kind words. I will do my best to make it to the final selection."

After finishing the conversation, Tenji then slowly made his way back toward the preliminary venue.

"Hmm, maybe black clothes weren't a good idea. I’m getting stares but for different reasons."

Tenji mumbled as he looked at his clothes.

If he had to guess the fitting uniform for himself right now, it definitely has to be the azure uniform that signifies the wearer's exceptional firepower. The essence of <Hell Beast Summon> was all-purpose ability but he believed it packed more than enough punch to pass as an offensive calling.

Nevertheless, it had been a while since he had worn his familiar black uniform so he ended up with it for the participation. Of course, it wasn't without reason either.

He had just returned back to Japan when Leon, a mischievous smile plastered on his face, said to him---"I heard you like black so I made sure to arrange it."

It was just in Leon's character to be non-restrained in his words, Tenji thought.

(Well, Leon-san's actions are typically based on whether he likes something or not. I have managed to get a seed slot so far, but I definitely can't say I'm blessed.)

As his body further developed in the last year and the old uniform was no longer fit for him, it was Leon who had prepared the new uniform for him. Uniforms were never the cheap items so Tenji right now also couldn't purchase it without sacrificing something.

He was a student still so there was still still before he could stand up on his legs as an explorer. If anything, it had been Leon and Kaido that bore the expense and helped him in the past two years. The only thing he had for them was appreciation only.

As he had thought so far, Tenji abruptly looked up at the building.

"Now that I look at it, Fuyuki-kun really feels like a big shot huh. His photo is almost everywhere."

A quick glance would reveal Fuyuki Kuro's images everywhere around him. It wasn't just in posters, he had been a centre of attention in this Seeker Olympic as the future zero-grade explorer.

Zero-grade explorer was the pinnacle in this world. It stands to reason that he would be the target of focus. After training in Mallorca until before the disaster, he was finally making his debut in his motherland.

As one of the sparkling talents, he alone had pulled in a great deal of customers. Tenji really found himself facing a perplexing sensation seeing the same person he had been so close to like a sibling until a year ago was now famous as a celebrity in Japan.

"Speaking of, his wallet must be overflowing from the sponsorship, right? ......I must help him reduce the burden. Hehe, it will be a party next time we meet~."

While plotting a 'cunning' plan in his mind, Tenji strolled around the shopping district of Yokohama, humming a melodious tone along the way.

Afterward, seeing that time was ticking near, he headed toward the participant's entrance gate to join the venue. This time, he was a participant and not a spectator.

He opened the map, relayed to him beforehand, and made his way to the rear entrance for contestants following the direction. Abruptly, people's gaze focused on the shopping hand in Tenji's hand.

Tenji awkwardly hide it behind him.

"Excuse me......I'm Tenji Amagi, and I had been told to enter the venue around 11 AM."

"Tenji Amagi-san, is it? Please wait a while. We must verify the QR code that must have been sent along with notification and your student ID, so please prepare them."

Tenji completed the procedure along the way as he was led to his destination. Shortly after, he was standing in front of the preliminary final's waiting room.

Even in Japan, there were only a handful of students capable of reaching this far. Typically, one would have to clear four checkpoints to arrive at the finals.

First of all, the participants were sorted out based on their basic knowledge and fundamental body measurements that were required from an explorer---the document screening.

Every year, the selection content changes, requiring more practical judgement and action—regional first preliminaries, regional second preliminaries, and regional third preliminaries.

Only those who pass through these stages can participate in the final preliminaries that begin today all over Japan. And finally, if they also managed to clear the final preliminary, the most awaited moment of everyone in the nation---the 'Main Tournament' would thus kick off.

Then, as the qualifier to the main tournament, the said candidate would immediately enter into the scouting priority list of multiple guilds, showering them in countless offers.

To summarise it---

The path to being the professional explorer, which had been their lifelong dream, would be paved in the best form possible. Of course, failing to advance to the main tournament wouldn't mean they have no hope.

However, neither of the participants wouldn't have been there if they just wanted to become 'ordinary explorers.' They wanted to aim for the pinnacle of professional explorers.

This tournament was like the springboard for the candidates that would allows them to have a best start as long as they put forth a satisfactory result.

Therefore all the students participating in the final preliminary were all desperate to pass through the gateway to access the surefire path to professional explorer---<Seeker Olympic - Japan's Qualifiers>.

And finally, Tenji was moments away from making his appearance in before the long-awaited stage and its audience.