The Broken System Chose the Antagonist
Chapter 3: First Quest Complete

Chapter 3: First Quest Complete

Sensing the arrival of another candidate, Hilda looked up from the table.

The woman who stood in front of her had long, straight blonde hair with the top section tied back, using a blueish grey bow—a typical half-up, half-down hairstyle—and a pair of striking, bright blue eyes. And her attire consisted of a black leather jacket, a black turtle-neck, a pair of jeans, and black boots.

She had a slender figure, and to say she was eye-catchingly beautiful would be a total understatement.

Hilda looked up at the young lady from her seat and locked eyes with her, who, in turn, did the same thing back. Hilda also noticed that, unlike the others, the young woman didn’t seem the least bit nervous about coming up to the table.

Her behaviour mildly piqued Hilda’s interest. Especially so with what happened next.

"Put me down for the Infantry Exam."

"Ho~?"

Leaning forward in her seat, Hilda asked:

"Is that really what you want? To let you know, I won’t be able to register you for it if your Vitality falls short."

"..."

The woman went silent. But then slowly pushed out her hand for Hilda to take.

"Measure me."

Hilda blinked, then smirked in amusement. She reached out for the woman’s hand, gently grasping it.

The smirk she had then froze before widening into an attentive smile.

"You’re rather hot, Miss~" Hilda commented, measuring the heat that came through the woman’s hand.

"I can say the exact same to you," the woman responded plainly.

Hilda’s eyes sparkled as she stood up, her grip of the woman’s hand tightening a little.

"You can tell?" She asked, eagerly.

"..."

Seeing as the woman had no intentions of answering her question, Hilda fell back onto her chair, retracting her hand away from the woman’s to fetch her pen.

"You’re eligible for the Infantry Exam. Could you please tell me your name, miss?"

The woman nodded indifferently, then answered:

"My name is Nadia Crane."

Hilda’s expression froze.

"Is that so..."

Seraphine, who was standing a few metres away, clutched both sides of her head in shame. ’She was behind me in the line the entire time? How didn’t I notice that!? It must be from the lack of sleep... wait, if Nadia is already at the front, doesn’t that mean Callum is?’

As Seraphine immediately began to glance around for the male lead, Hilda, who was frozen still from Nadia’s revelation, slowly glanced at a random spot in the air.

Her eyes then began to move like she was reading. When she eventually finished, she immediately lifted her right eyebrow in confusion.

She then smirked and looked down, scribbling next to Nadia’s name. Afterwards, she handed the woman the same document she had given to Seraphine.

Later, when Nadia finished signing it and turned around—prepared to walk away—Hilda abruptly called out to her.

"Oh, and before you go, could I tell you something about your hair first?"

"My... hair?" Nadia turned around, confused.

Hilda flashed a warm and innocent smile as she rested her chin on her interlocked fingers.

"I find it very beautiful, meine Dame. That’s all~"1

Nadia’s eyes widened when she heard that, confusion appearing deep within her pupils.

Eventually, she was able to break out of her stupor and give a response.

"Oh uhm... thanks, I guess."

She then turned around and walked away with one singular thought in mind.

’What’s meine Dame?’

Whilst waving Nadia goodbye, Hilda slowly glanced back at the random spot in the air.

[Quest: Encounter Nadia Crane and Compliment her]

[Importance: Minor]

[Reward: 15 SC]

[Status: Completed]

’I finally found you, Nadia Crane...’

Six days ago, the System had given her a mission to seek out someone she hadn’t ever met or heard of before. At first, she wanted to know if others had any information about the "System".

Unfortunately, each time she tried to make an attempt to talk about it, her throat would immediately close up, causing her to go mute.

So, for the last couple of days, she simply ignored it. But curiosity eventually got the best of her. After all, why did this mysterious screen want her to seek out someone she had never heard of or met before?

’Which eventually led me to take on this job.’ Hilda smiled wryly, finding herself immensely bored with the repetitive work. On the same day that she decided to figure out who Nadia Crane was, she discovered that the woman was about her age.

So, with that information, she volunteered to be a Registration Officer. And it was a good thing she did.

[Congratulations, Host. To complete your very first mission by the System, you have been granted One Pull from the System Space.]

’System Space...?’ Hilda repeated before waving the screen away, ’I’ll look at it later.’

Afterwards, she continued to assist people with their registration, which felt more like filtering to her.

And at some point, Hilda thought back to her awkward conversation with Nadia, causing her to smile brightly.

From that brief exchange, she was able to gather three things about Nadia.

The first would be Nadia’s high capacity for Vitality, which defined her immense potential. The second being that the woman was rather reserved when speaking to her, as if she was only forcing herself to be nice around her. This bit made Hilda even more curious about her; after all, the two had never met, so why the hidden hostility?

Then, there was the third thing she found out, and the one Hilda found the most endearing.

’She’s a bit socially-awkward~’ Hilda chuckled.

...

...

...

After all the individuals in the plaza had been registered, it was time for the assembly for the Infantry Exam.

Walking onto the stage, a man with short, slicked-back brown hair took the stage. He had a mature look in his eyes and wrinkles to go with it—he appeared to be middle-aged.

"My name is Herman Ritchel, I work at Orrey Cross Academy, and I’ll be in charge of overseeing the exam."

Using a large screen provided by the hotel, he began the presentation.

"You all will be dropped off in Calais, a port city located on the northern side of France, where you need to survive for a total of three days until extraction."

An examinee raised his hand hesitantly:

"Isn’t that extremely irresponsible? The entire world is infested with Predicaments, to just drop us off in a place so dangerous... we could lose our lives is basically what I’m trying to say..."

The government official shot him a look.

He then said:

"I’ll let you in on a little secret. After the death of the Duke Predicament, who was overseeing the western side of Europe, 7 years ago, the population of Predicament had decreased dramatically in that region. And due to the Predicaments’ irrational fear of the sea, I doubt there’s more than a measly hundred in that port city. If you’re weak, I recommend you stick close to the water."

Another examinee raised his hand.

"What if we managed to kill a Predicament? Will we get something?"

"If you managed to even kill a Predicament and have proof, you will be given more attention compared to your peers, which could likely help you land a good job after the Academy. So, we encourage you to try and kill some."

Everyone’s eyes lit up at ’good job’.

Seraphine, who was standing in the crowd, thought:

’In a world where the government would kick you to the curb if you lose your value, getting a job in the military is the most efficient and reliable way to secure a future.’

She clenched her fists. She had to make herself look useful and secure a future, at least, until she managed to find a way back home!

And for that...

Seraphine glanced in the direction of a beautiful blonde woman.

She had to cling to the Heroine’s leg!

The government official looked around before finishing up.

"We will all depart by plane in three days. You are all allowed to stay in your rooms provided by the hotel, or you can all go home and prepare yourself. Remember, in three days’ time, back in this plaza."

After saying that, he then gestured for someone to come on stage.

"Now, one last thing before I let you all leave, I would like to introduce someone from the LRM who will be joining you in this exam, Hilda Hertel."

Walking onto the stage, a woman in a black military uniform reached towards the microphone.

"Thank you, Mr Ritchel. For this year’s exam, I’ll be the LRM’s Representative. Und I’m honoured to join all of you, future soldiers of humanity. I hope that, regardless of the Predicaments you may face in this exam, you will all overcome them through sheer strength and bravery!"

She then placed her fist over her Heart, which was immediately reciprocated by everyone in the room—including Seraphine.

Hilda then shouted with a passionate cry:

"Give your Heart for the Good of Humanity!"

""Give your Heart for the Good of Humanity!!!""

As everyone else roared out this phrase, Seraphine felt an inexplicable feeling rising inside her chest. This phrase that she had just shouted was a battle cry created by GOHG to unite everyone against Predicaments.

’I have three days to prepare...’ Seraphine thought anxiously, prepared to leave before stopping in surprise.

"Oh, could I also call up the woman named Nadia Crane to the stage?"

Looking up at Hilda, who was calling out towards the Heroine, Seraphine’s eyes widened in shock as she looked towards Nadia as well, who was equally as confused.

’What’s going on? There’s no way the two antagonised each other already, right? They’re not about to go at it this early, right!?’

In the story, the main reason why the two butt heads a lot was because of the organisation that backed Nadia—the Lower-Class Equality Organisation (LCEO), a secret, rebellious organisation that fought for fair treatment between classes, preaching how all individuals, regardless of value, were still obligated to high-quality resources.

’There’s no way that Hilda found out about her already, it’s impossible...!’ Seraphine panicked.

Nadia slowly made her way through the parted crowd, her eyes filled with confusion, but also caution as she climbed up the stage. Unlike Seraphine, she was calm and collected, but she, too, was having trouble processing why she was singled out.

She didn’t say anything that could give her away, after all.

’Could it be because of the Vitality Measurement?’ Nadia thought, thinking of no other reason.

Could it be that Hilda singled her out because of her potential and wanted to announce it?

She narrowed her eyes and stood in front of Hilda, who suddenly held out her hand for Nadia to take.

Seeing the friendly look Hilda had on her face, and sensing nothing strange about it, Nadia took her hand.

’Maybe, it really is because of my Vital—’

"Meine Dame, what do you think about becoming my bride?"

Nadia’s mind immediately went blank, including everyone else in the room.

Then, almost as if scripted, they muttered in unison:

"... Huh?"

Meine Dame = My Lady or Madam. In this context, it’s “My Lady”.