Clovis couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows when he determined the person's identity. As expected of them, they were truly 'dedicated' to their job. They even sneaked inside this place the moment they realized he had come here.
Clovis glanced to the side, noticing the barrier that was supposed to keep the people out. She must have climbed it and tripped.
The woman was rubbing her nose while standing up.
"Ugh…" It only took her a moment to switch to work mode as soon as she remembered Clovis was right in front of her. "A-ah! Mr. Clovis. Please wait for a moment."
"…" Clovis remained silent, but he already knew what she probably wanted.
"I am Rina from Welsen. If you don't mind, could I interview you for a little bit?" She asked.
"Your way of speaking is rather civilized…" Clovis glanced to the side, specifically the barrier that blocked the path. "If I accept, it feels like I'm rewarding a person who breaks the rule…"
"Ahahaha." Rina scratched the back of her head. "I'm desperate. If I can't get anything, I won't be able to feed myself next month."
"…" Clovis furrowed his eyebrows as if contemplating whether he should accept it or not. Then again, this might be the only chance to talk about this battle, considering the final would definitely stir up another wave of questions.
Besides, Jay had worked extremely hard this time. He raised three fingers. "Only three questions. I have to go back to check on my team's condition after all."
"Y-Yes. Thank you very much!" The reporter politely bowed her head. She was searching for the three questions she should ask about this precious chance. As expected, the first question should be the most obvious. She just tried to buy some time to think about the second and third questions. "How did you feel the moment Jay defeated Rafael from the Eight Swords?"
"I would be lying if I didn't feel good about it. The Eight Swords were a very strong group. We had been conserving Jay's strength since yesterday for this one moment. I left this match in his hand."
"If we take another look at the score, you could actually throw a few matches and defeat the Eight Swords while preserving most of everyone's strength, which should be a better state for Libation Fiesta. This way, you would be able to fight the Bloody Rose with five members. Why did you not do it?"
"That's a good question." Clovis nodded. "Indeed. I could do it that way, but please take another look at our age."
"Now that you mention it, three of you are only 16 years old. In fact, you would be able to dominate the first competition had you decided to participate there."
"Yes. However, it was only due to this competition that we were able to progress even further. This competition would definitely teach us a lot of things, especially the path for us to move forward."
She frowned. "Does that mean you're only seeing this competition as a challenge?"
"Not really. It's indeed a challenge. The reward is also pretty tempting. However, above all, there is another meaning behind this competition… the original meaning of why this city holds this competition."
"To inspire the people?"
"Indeed. I don't know if it's true or not. But it doesn't change the fact that everyone needs the courage to fight the beast, including normal people. Instead of seeing how a Tier 2 human could defeat a Tier 4 human, please look with this perspective… A Tier 2 has the courage to fight a Tier 4 human. Most people won't even bother, right?"
"Isn't that obvious? The difference in strength is clear."
"That's the problem. For us, Tier 2 humans still have the probability of defeating Tier 4 humans. It might only be 10%, 1%, or even less than 1%. But it's never 0%. The only time it reaches that point is when people give up before even fighting.
"Just one more step… Just one more swing… Just do one more thing. And the result might be different. Not a lot of people have the courage to do such an obvious thing, but I believe that this message has been transmitted to everyone. Jay has done a great job in that regard." Clovis smiled.
She paused for a moment, amused by his answer. "My last question. If you have another chance, will you change your plan to defeat the Eight Swords, such as not sending Jay?"
"I'll answer that question with a simple analogy. There are two types of scenarios. In the first one, the city is under attack and normal people have no choice but to take up arms in order to survive. In the second one, your group is currently exploring a new area and getting ambushed by the beasts. You can choose to fight or escape, which might lead to a different outcome. Jay is the former."
"Are you saying that there are battles that you can't escape? The only thing you can do is have the courage to face such a challenge."
"Yeah. It might be foolish, but if you are not going to do it, then who will? There are times where we have limited choices, so instead of lamenting about it, we should think about how to succeed and make it a reality."
She fell silent. The answer was exceptionally good, but it was too good.
"Since I've answered three questions, it's time for me to go back." Clovis nodded and walked away. At the very least, Jay's fight would be glorified even further after this. This was the only reason he accepted those three questions.
Looking at Clovis' back, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you a hero?"
"What hero? I'm nothing but another human just like you all. I'm just slightly more stubborn… not wanting fate to dictate to me. Just a bit of luck is needed to achieve it. That's all." Clovis waved his hand.
The answer took her breath away. Clovis' last answer immediately brought other answers back, making him look more down to earth. She clenched her recorder tightly, knowing what to do with the recording.