Part 11: The Leadership Dress

The actual contest parts of the chapter dedicated to the contest is, appropriately, about as lengthy as getting this far. Most of that is backstory dialogue, though...

Announcer: Number 22! From the capital city of Mothergreen, Etoile Rosenqueen!



Announcer: And last but certainly least! Number 23! From the village of Orange, Cornet Espoir!

I spent far too long trying to come up with a Final Fantasy VI joke, before giving up. Since (to me at least) Espoir sounds an awful lot like Esper...




: (I thought girls wore nice dresses for contests like this...)



: Why would I want them to laugh at me!? Especially in front of the Prince! Ugh! I'm so embarrassed!! Why did I listen to you in the first place!? Stupid Kururu, stupid Kururu, stupid Kururu, stupid Kururu...
: But you... I...I really thought it was a great idea...
: You're lying!! You just wanted people to laugh at me!

That certainly lends credence to the idea that Kururu is a master troll.

: I hate you! I don't ever want to see your face again!
: Don't get all sad now! I'm just telling you the truth.



This leaves a gap in the party. One that can be filled by either Tell or L; neither is particularly good but since it doesn't make much of a difference, let's just throw Tell in just because.




This is a plan that is sure to backfire amusingly somehow. I, for one, can't wait to see how.



Rosenqueen: Oh, my Queen!
Queen: You must be worried about your daughter.
Rosenqueen: Yes! Very much so! But, it's alright... I don't think she understands my feelings...
Queen: What is wrong with you? What kind of parent are you? Didn't you hear the applause the people were giving to your daughter? It proves that your daughter is becoming a great person that people can look up to.

I honestly wonder what kind of person would unironically look up to Etoile... the mere thought of that is offputting.

Rosenqueen: But, that's only because of her expensive clothes...
Queen: People can't be impressed by nice clothes alone. You're just not seeing Etoile for who she is.
Rosenqueen: ...That may be true. But-
Queen: There will come a time when you will get along. As long as you truly care about her.



Time to go fight someone I guess. Hopefully this might actually be challenging!  ...Not even close. 



Guard: In the blue corner! Weighing in at a sultry 95 pounds! Olivia of RedBerry! In the red corner! Weighing at a very round 100 pounds. Cornet of Orange village!

For a minute there, I thought they'd finally run out of exclamation marks... Unfortunately, they managed to find some more.



: (Was it in the castle or the village? I'm sure I've met her...)
Guard: The rules of combat are very simple... the battle is over when one of you is unable to continue to fight. Remember, this is the Miss Marl's Kingdom Contest and foul play will not be tolerated! There'll be no name-calling, spitting, biting, scratching or hitting below the belt. That is all... FIGHT!



Notice how the guard didn't say monsters and puppets are off-limits? That's nice and convenient... for both competitors here. Even if they were, Cornet would have a massively unfair advantage (her Kansha Gauge naturally). Olivia is a complete joke though, monsters or no. She has no unique skills, like it matters. She has about 200 HP, so she'll be lucky to last a turn. The only reason she might, is due to the lack of a weakness (no elemental trait).



Now, who's ready for Cornet related backstory. Hey, we can't let Etoile be the only developed character now, can we?




: My mom?
: Yeah... And that horn has a special power.
: What special power?
: It has the power to make wishes come true.
: Even my wish?
: Yup!
: I wonder what my mommy wished for...
: Her wish was for Cornet to be happy...
: Really? Then, then, uh...I wish... I wish for...



: Then wish to make many friends, and play the horn.
: Okay!
: But first, you must do this one important thing. Alright, Cornet? This is very important, so listen. Wishing alone is not enough... In order to use the horn properly, you have to have other people wishing for you to show its real power. So you have to be nice to your friends, okay?
: Okay!
: But that's no big deal...
: I already got you, Kururu!
: ...Yeah! You're right. We'll be together forever!



: (Nah...That can't be it. I must be imagining things...)

So, let's see how that girl's plan for the soldier turned out.



Contestant: He was protecting me while I was fighting, and... I think I'm in love. I'm done chasing after the Prince.

Well, at least one story had a happy ending...



: Oh. It's just you...
: What do you mean by that?
: Can't you knock on the door at least? Didn't anyone teach you any manners? What do you want, anyway? I'm not in a good mood right now.
: ...I can see that. Your father seems really worried about you, Etoile.
: What do you care? It's none of your business. How would you know how I feel when you don't even have a-
: Uhh...
: That's exactly why! I don't have a father or a mother. That's why I'm telling you to stop being so stubborn, okay!?
: What did you say!? You're not in any position to tell me what to do! Why don't you practice what you preach then!? You hypocrite! I saw your last fight... You couldn't fight, just because you didn't have Kururu alongside you.

That really made no difference to the outcome, though Olivia was a complete wuss...

: Kururu has nothing to do with that!
: Is that so? That's now what I saw. Don't you think that you should just make up with her?
: Never mind that! Why don't you make up with your father!?
: No! Why don't you make up with Kururu!?
: W...Well! You've got a father and mother that worry about you!!
: I don't know why I even bother trying!!
: Alright. Let's say that the loser of the final round has to apologise first.

Omitted: several repetitions of "You first!" "No you!" "No you!" It's just irritating and annoying to go through the best of times, let alone when it's basically the same thing said verbatim constantly.

: You've got yourself a deal! It's not like I'm gonna lose the final round...
: Huh!? The final round!?
: As clueless as ever, I see. Didn't you hear? The other girls got scared after watching the first battle and went home... Fools! What did they think this was? A beauty contest?



...That's, uh, yeah... This might be a decent challenge for once. Or, it might not be. It probably is, though for the wrong reasons.

: Well, I'll see you int he coliseum. Ta-ta!
: Rocket launchers? Jeez, you'd think that she was going to war or something.
: Is this what becoming the Prince's bride is all about?




Guard: ...want to participate in this part of the competition, the next match will be the final match of this round! In the blue corner! Weighing in at a petite 90 pounds! Etoile of Mothergreen! In the red corner! Weighing in at a slightly chubby 100! Cornet of Orange Village!



: (But... I'm pretty sure I've met her somewhere before. I just can't put my finger on it...)
Guard: Now! Fight it out!

Pfft, it's just Etoile. How bad could it be?



HOLY FUCK THAT'S A LOT OF DAMAGE.

Okay, so yeah, you can't even scratch Etoile, Momie or Hammer (the two guys with the weird masks and suits) here let alone try to beat them. Etoile is way, way too powerful on her own let alone with backup, though those two don't even bat 300. Unbeatable boss fights are the worst thing and I really wish game designers would stop utilising them. Sure, this game was first made in 1998 but that doesn't excuse it. Saying that, I'm fairly curious now as to what happens if you do win this fight somehow (by either blatantly cheating or having way, way too much time on your hands). I'm sure someone has done it; there's some insane sperglords out there after all.



: ...Where did you get those weapons from!?
: Stuff like that doesn't matter, Cornet. How did I beat you? Do you believe that me being stronger or faster matters in a place like this? Is that the reason? If that's what you're thinking you're dead wrong... It's because you've lost someone important.
: When you're going through rough times, who are you usually with?
: ...
: See?! That's what I thought! Why I help you is beyond me. You never know how much someone means to you until they're gone. That's why I beat you!
: (For once in her life she's actually right... Kururu was always with me at times like this. I've taken her for granted... I've forgotten how important she is to me... How stupid! I'm sorry, Kururu...)



Next time: Apologies in a duet. Also, we finally finish Chapter 2. Goddamn this one was way longer than it feels.