With Top and Bot faring poorly, Mid was the team's last hope. However, it seemed the Mid Laner herself was not aware of her critical role in all of this.
It is as if Andria is not trying at all. Fiona criticized. She is letting her opponent get away with everything.
For this round, Andria's lane opponent was Venus, a player who had no shortage of rough edges in her performance. Alas, Andria failed to punish the girl for anything.
"Andria, why did you not shoot her as she retreated?" Fiona asked. "You did a good job deflecting her attack, but you did not punish her for that overextension."
"Was it truly necessary, your majesty?" Andria asked. "I made the evildoer flee in shame. Was that not good enough of a performance?"
"No, it is not enough. You must properly punish her, or else she will continue harassing you like this."
"But, punishing that brave flower for her bold attack would require me to give chase," Andria argued. "As much as I like chasing cute flowers, it is a rather risky affair, do you not find?"
"Their Jungler should currently be busy clearing the Wolf Camp near Top, if that is what you are worried about," Fiona said. "You were not in danger of being ganked."
"But, at the time, her position was no more than a speculation, wasn't it?" Andria argued. "Sure, according to the ward, it looked as if Average was heading toward the Wolf Camp. However, he is a Chronomancer, so agility is his forte."
"Hmm. Is that so." Fiona found it difficult to argue any further on this point. Andria successfully weaved a narrative that suited her argument, all the while using her typical theatrics to make it difficult to talk back. Such a troublesome debate opponent.
To an extent, Andria was correct. Back at the time, there was no 100% guarantee that Average would continue heading toward the Wolf Camp. With a class like Chronomancer, he could have easily done a 180 and rotated to Mid to counterattack Andria.
However, that was a very unlikely line of play. Andria did not need to overextend to punish her opponent, so there was no good reason for Average to try ganking her. All of this was pure paranoia on Andria's end.
Or, just an excuse to play defensively. Fiona thought. As always, her main problem is her lack of assertiveness when things get rough.
In the first game today, Andria faced the same exact opponent but she was way more proactive in her lane management. She baited her opponent, contested the Griffins, and even rotated to other lanes on occasion. Back then, she showed a very clear intention to win lane control.
On the other hand, in this game, Andria was painfully passive. She played it safe without properly punishing Venus for any of the bold attacks.
What changed between then and now? Fiona could think of only one thing. It must be her morale. This always happens with her for some reason.
While Karen and Cornelia became more reckless and proactive as the Valkyries lost games, Andria actually became meeker. It felt like she was content so long as she did not cause any additional losses.
To put it simply, she gave up. Fiona concluded. The exact same thing happened against the Leopards. I talked with her about this, but I see it was not enough.
Some would argue that Andria's defeatist mindset was justified in these two matches. StormBlitz and the Leopards were powerhouses, currently far beyond the Valkyries' reach. Both of these matches devolved into one-sided affairs, so getting discouraged was only natural.
Thus, instead of trying too hard to fight for the win against impossible odds, Andria opted to fortify her defenses. She knew she would not win with this approach, but at least she minimized the odds of the team losing, on the off chance that somebody else on the team would be able to carry the game.
It makes some sense, but it is not an excuse to stop trying her best. Fiona criticized. Regardless of how strong the opponent is, everybody has to fight their hardest to the bitter end. If everybody assumed the same mentality as Andria, then the team would never win.
Alas, Andria did not take this criticism to heart. Fiona lectured the girl thoroughly but none of it sunk in.
"Frankly, I don't see the problem," Andria argued. "I'm doing my part, am I not? I'm defending the lane quite well, if I may say so myself."
"Yes, your defense is fine," Fiona agreed. "It is your lack of offense that is concerning. Where did your fighting spirit go?"
"Fighting spirit, you ask..." Andria smiled wryly. "I don't recall ever having something grandiose like that."
"Oh, but you were definitely far more proactive in the first two games. What changed?"
"'A lot has changed, quite clearly," Andria said. "More or less everything, in fact. StormBlitz put us in our place in Game 2. Ever since, they have been dominating at every step."
"And?" Fiona asked. "How is that a reason to play nothing but defense?"
"It's elementary, my dear princess," Andria said. "We are clearly fated to lose, so we might as well exit the stage with grace. As long as we do not put on a shameful performance, it is good enough."
"Is that seriously how you think about this...?" Fiona was appalled. "You are aware that this is a serious competition, yes?"
"Of course. A very one-sided competition, but a competition nonetheless."
"Then, as a competitive player, do you not feel obligated to give it your best?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Andria asked. "I'm giving my best, of course. Moreso on defense, but that's just how the cookie crumbles. Make no mistake, I'd play differently if our opponents were more manageable."
"You should play your best, regardless of who your opponents are."
"I'm sorry, princess," Andria apologized in advance. "Though I'm a big fan of fantasy and fairytales, I consider myself a realist in practice. I know when something is impossible."
"'Impossible'? Is that what you truly believe?"
"Yes. And I'm sure that, deep down, you know it's the truth as well," Andria said. "Though you force yourself to struggle for victory, clearly you're aware that our chances of attaining it are nonexistent. It is quite the tragic tale"
What an irksome argument... Fiona frowned. Of course, I know that realistically our chances of winning are slim. But, that is no reason to give up so quickly.
As far as she was concerned, this should be the mindset of every competitive player. After all, there was a "crowd favorite" in every sport. One of the players was always more favored to win, but did that mean the opponent should simply give up? Of course not.
Alas, Andria did not care for that competitive mindset. As far as she was concerned, if winning was unlikely, then it was better to not try at all.
How can she have such a defeatist mentality? Fiona wondered. I did my research before recruiting her, so I know what she should be capable of. And yet…
It was peculiar. Andria was a top-notch actress who often secured the leading roles. On top of that, she was athletic and her classmates reported she dominated in volleyball and dodgeball during PE.
So, how could a successful competitor like Andria be so fragile? How could she quit at the first sign of something going wrong? It was unfathomable for Fiona, whose entire life revolved around competing.
The worst part is that her flowery language also makes it difficult to argue back. Fiona frowned. I prepared a proper line of attack in advance, but she still found a way to dismiss my words. It is quite irksome.
Alas, the game moved on without waiting for Fiona and Andria to resolve this issue. Still, Fiona continued to tackle the problem whenever she had spare time.
"So, to summarize," Fiona said. "You have basically given up, is that what you are saying?"
"I suppose that is one way to interpret it," Andria answered. "Of course, I fully intend to pull my weight. I won't become a liability for the team, that much I promise. But, if you're expecting me to be extra motivated to give it my all, then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."
"It's not only me you're disappointing," Fiona said. "All your fans will be disappointed as well if they hear this."
"And that's why I'm only sharing this secret with you, my lovely princess~" Andria winked with a smile.
"That smile of yours…"
"Hm? What about it? Did it captivate you?"
"It's an ugly facade."
"... is that so." Andria found herself stunned for a moment. It was rare for her to struggle with launching a sophisticated rebuttal.
Even if you claim you are a "realist", deep down I am sure you still want to win. Fiona asserted. The desire to win is human nature. Nobody can stay oblivious to it.
That was Fiona's firm belief, but she already knew she would fail to sway Andria's opinion with just that. In order to change the girl's mind, Fiona had to deliver results. Not with words, but with actions.
Until then, Andria will remain an unreliable chess piece. She was a player with enough skill to be a rook piece, but right now her worth was that of a mere pawn.
It was odd, honestly. Out of all the candidates for the club, Andria's resume seemed the most convincing. She was a senior student with prior experience in Classmancers, as well as a successful actress from a young age. On top of that, judging by her grades, she was accomplished in both academics and sports.
Furthermore, she was popular with the other students, mainly with the underclassmen. The "flirty prince" persona she wore was a hit with the younger girls, selling them the fantasy of a "handsome man" paying attention to them.
Personally, Fiona found the whole affair rather awkward. But, the audience enjoyed the show so clearly there was a demand for that kind of escapism. Either way, this impressive act, combined with Andria's other accomplishments, should have made her a rare diamond for the team.
But, only half of this talent turned out to be true. Indeed, Andria was a great actress. So good, that she put wool over everybody's eyes to create an impressive reputation for herself.
For example, her good grades. Were they the result of hard work? Not at all. She simply had a good attention span and good memorization, both skills she needed for acting. So, it was enough for her to attentively listen during lessons and memorize the material. At the middle school level, that was enough to get good grades.
Likewise, Andria came across as "good in sports" due to her regular workout routine, which she needed to stay in good shape for acting. A student who exercised regularly was bound to be above average at sports, which was as far as Andria went.
It was not like she ever struggled in any particular sport in order to improve. She was good at the sports she was good at, and mediocre at the sports she was mediocre at. There was never any extra effort put into any of this.
And, it seemed Andira extended the same mentality to Classmancers as well. Even though she attended club practice like everybody else, she did not seem particularly serious about it.
She played Ranked with the team and performed adequately, but it never felt like she tried too hard to fix her issues. She must have felt it was "unnecessary" so long as her performance was passable.
And indeed, even in this game, some could argue that Andira's performance was "good enough". She was facing an aggressive player from StormBlitz, yet she did not allow the enemy to fully dominate the lane. For her, this was "good enough".
But no, it was not good enough. The Valkyries came here today to win, not to postpone their defeat. Andria must have been confused about that part.
Though she did not lose lane control right away, her negligence allowed the enemy to slowly but surely build up momentum in Mid...