On this day, we all gathered in the Coliseum instead of going to the dungeon.

　It was the day of the year's awards, which had been mentioned before.
　It was a ceremony where the city's dungeon association honored adventurers who had contributed particularly well that year, thereby motivating them.

　The awards are ranked from 1 Star to 7 Stars, but the Lyota family are all nominated, so they're all here for it.

　At the back of the coliseum, in the waiting room.
　I walked in with my dress-clad friends and saw a familiar face there.

　Neptune.
　The mainstay of the Neptune family, a very famous adventurer.

''Well, well, well, it's been a while, Lyota-kun.
'Neptune--' Don't get attached to me all of a sudden, don't put your hand on my shoulder.
Don't be trite. It's just you and me.
What kind of friend are you?
Hmmm, yes.

　Neptune squared his shoulders with me, plucked his chin and thought about it.
　He's a gentleman, but his face is well made, and his handsome face, the kind of handsome face that isn't disgusting, becomes a thoughtful face up close.

'Can I write 'nemesis'?'
Didn't we have that kind of relationship?

　I made a big deal out of it, I have no idea what the hell kind of relationship is.

So, soulmate. Oh, yes, of course, the friend of the heart is the friend of the heart.
Now that's an expression I've never heard before!
For my part, I'd be willing to fight for a single woman. Of course, in the end, I'd like to congratulate you on a nice, clean break.
You talk about all this fresh-faced, fresh shit, but it's a lot of work!

　I can't believe you want to lose.

"Ha-ha, you're still a tweaker. That's why I love you.
Okay.

　I sighed in disgust.
　I know that(suki) of Neptune is 90% of the story.

　Because there's a real life (,) behind him.

　The bewitching sister character, Lil.
　The younger sister character, Ran, who makes you want to protect her.

　In fact, they are the only two people Neptune has with him, even though they are a large group, and they are probably irreplaceable in terms of their battle style.
　I'm staring at the two of them, Lil and Ran, as being Neptune's true destiny.

''Oh no, but Lyota-kun is amazing,''
What?
Lyota, as great as you are, it's not every day that an entire family is considered for an award.
Yeah.

　I glanced at my friends at my back.

　Emily.
　Celeste.
　Eve.
　Alice.

　My friends dressed up in their dresses (for some reason, only Eve is a bunny as usual).
　My most important and proud friends who are all receiving their awards together.

'I looked it up and it's been 67 years since the whole family has received an award.
I didn't know you'd look into that.
That's how rare it is, Mr. Lyota.
Thanks to .......

　I was happy to hear my friends praise me.
　When I turned around, everyone looked equally happy.

'Lyota-san,'
Margaret, I didn't know you were here. You're here, too.
Yes!

　Pushing past Neptune, it was Margaret who spoke to me, just as it was a few days ago.

　This room is filled with all sorts of people, all of whom are being honored today, and all of whom are dressed in formal attire in their own right.
　All of them were in a haze - including me.

　Margaret, who came to me, was dressed in a princess dress.
　She looked like some princess - or not just in appearance.
　Even the atmosphere she exudes is completely the princess herself.

　Noble, elegant and beautiful.

　A princess that has no complaints.
　It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time.

''Thanks to Lyota-san, I'm going to be awarded as a 4 star.
Wow, there aren't that many Star 4's out there.
It's all thanks to Lyota-san. You raised the bar for me then, Lyota-san.
Margaret's hard work was recognized after that. You can't just raise the bar and expect people to not be good enough.
Still, it's all thanks to Lyota. Um, Mr. Lyota.
Yeah?

　Margaret squirmed and looked at me, her cheeks tinted.

'Well, I hope to see you next year.
Yeah?　Yeah, nice to meet you.
Yes!

　Pah, a flowery smile on her face, Margaret.
　I was a little defensive about what she was going to say to me, but she just said hello. And when I returned the hello, she looked incredibly happy.

　Why?

Ryota, you're a good friend to me, but I don't think you're any good at that.
No.
That sucks.

　Neptune's buddies, Lil and Ran, also rubbed me the wrong way with their mouths.
　No, what's wrong with that?

　　　　　★

　Without knowing it, the awards began.
　It was an awards ceremony that felt like a ceremony.

　The Colosseum -- at the front, the newly appointed head of the Dungeon Association, Cell, was taking a seat at the table with his speech.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it in the future.

　After that, the awarding ceremony was held. After that, the awards were presented in order from 1 star to the next.

　There were a good number of Star 1s.
　Everyone went out to the ring of the coliseum at once, and the host called their names and introduced their achievements.
　That made the full house of spectators in the coliseum give a round of applause.

　After the first star, the second star was awarded to the adventurer who was about halfway to the top.
　This was also introduced and received a round of applause.
　There were 3 Stars, 4 Stars, and 5 Stars.
　The number of adventurers is decreasing, but they are still doing the same thing.

　Neptune, a 6 star adventurer, was the only one in the same rank, and his departure did not change that.

　To tell the truth, I was a little nervous when I heard about the award.
　I was a bit nervous because I had never seen anything like this before.

　I was afraid of what they would do to me, and then I found out that I would be treated as "the same sentence" at the graduation ceremony, in a way.
　So I was extremely relieved.

　After the awards were over, Neptune came back.

'I guess it's your turn next, Lyota.
Yeah, I'm out.

　I'm completely settled in after everything that's happened so far.
　I high-five my friends and walk lightly to the ring.

　Then--.

"Whoa!
'Kyaaaaaah, Lord Lyota!
Lyota!　Ryota!　Ryota!　Lyota!

　Suddenly, a cheer erupted that hadn't been there at all before.
　Shouts and yellow screams, and the crowd calling my name.

　The ground shook, a flood of cheers rushed in.

'What, what?　What's the matter with you?
It's natural.
Emily?

　I turned around, and before I knew it, Emily came in, all dressed up, with her hands on her hips and her chest heaving.

'We've all been waiting for you, Yoda.
Did you wait for me?
'Yes, that's right. This cheer is the result of what Yoda has done this year and what he's done for everyone.

　Surprised, I look at the ring again.
　What I've ...... done.

'Yeah, I think so.'

　Now Celeste, and her friends, gathered around.

'You're low level and cocky, but that's no surprise,'
'I know, right? You're not just a guy who makes money, that's why you're cheering.
Celeste, Eve and Alice. ......
'There are so many people who have been helped directly by Yoda, and there are many more who have been helped indirectly. So--

　Emily smiles and smiles.
　The cheers continue. A flood of cheers slowly seeped into my chest.

'...... I see.'

　This is the sight.
　The fruits of all I've done since I came here.

　When I was over there, I couldn't have imagined such a scene, which I never would have imagined from the days when everything I did was unrewarding.

"Whoa!
"Lyotaaaaah!

　Calling me - the voices of the things that are waiting for me.
　I've been rewarded a little bit in the past, but now, most of all, it felt like it was all worth it.

　I took a deep breath and turned to head to the ring.
　I'm going to reveal myself to the people who are cheering me on - I'm going to reveal myself to them.

'Ta-oh my God!'

　It was stopped by a man who jumped in with a bloodied look on his face.
　The man came in to break down the door and made a desperate plea with a mud-covered face.

'Seren!　We got a dungeon master in Selenium!

　The waiting room buzzed with the appearance of the Dungeon Master.

'Oh, come on, you're missing the forecast.
Most of the best in the business are here for the ceremony. It's not good.
You're going to replace Ceren with an ecosystem?

　The place was tingling, disconcerting.
　Without knowing it, the front - the audience still cheered.

　I'm both - no, I don't need to compare them.

'Emily,'
Hi.
"Sorry, but you'll have to accept the award in lieu of an explanation, please.
I'm leaving it up to you!

　Emily slapped her chest with a big smile on her face.
　I loosened the collar of my formal dress and ran out of the waiting room in the opposite direction from the ring.

　It's a shame I didn't get to accept the award in person.

''Whoa, whoa!''

　A cheer that came from behind me, more than double what I heard earlier. A cheer from Emily's explanation.
　It felt like it was all worth it.