"Here's how it works."
Under Irena's somewhat surprised gaze, she raised one finger.
"In the first round, we were divided into four teams to capture ironfall birds, right?"
"The scores were based on a comprehensive evaluation of the capture time, number of birds, teamwork, and so on..."
"Annie put on an outstanding performance in the first round and came in first, earning four points."
Fern then held up a second finger.
"I was in the second group to capture an ironfall bird, so I earned three points."
Then she looked at Irena, her tone calm.
"Irena, you were the third to capture an ironfall bird in the first round, so you earned two points."
"Finally..."
"Frieren came in last and earned only one point."
At that, Irena pursed her lips, but didn't say anything.
After all, in the first round, she really had been the third of the four teams to capture an ironfall bird. She couldn't very well argue with being ranked third.
"Next was the second round: exploring the ancient royal tomb maze."
As she spoke, Fern held up two fingers. Her expression suddenly turned a little odd.
"Everyone passed that round, so we were evaluated based on the order in which we reached the maze's innermost core area—in other words, the hall where the water-mirror demon was."
She paused and glanced at Frieren, who was reading a book.
"Frieren, as the main attacker, successfully defeated the strongest perfect copy and the water-mirror demon itself, so she came in first and earned four points."
"I was responsible for keeping the enemy occupied and providing defensive support, and I entered second, so I earned three points."
After that, her gaze moved between Irena and Annie's tightly shut door before she continued in the same matter-of-fact tone.
"You and Annie..."