Chapter 5
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“Damn it.”
Elijah brushed the dust off her clothes.
She'd just been clinging to Dowd, insisting they be friends, before the dorm supervisor caught her and tossed her out into the hallway.
“You could've at least humored me. What a petty person.”
Though she grumbled, Elijah's thoughts were still filled with Dowd Campbell.
It'd been a while since she'd met someone so interesting.
Even now, people outside were calling the duel a sham, a fix, and so on. But Elijah had a gut feeling.
The man who'd taken her down in one blow was the real deal.
She couldn't begin to guess what method he'd used, though.
‘There's definitely something about that guy.’
At the very least, she could tell he was far more suspicious than he let on.
And she was the sort of person who could never let a question go unanswered.
The reasonable conclusion she came to was this:
What was the optimal position for learning his skill and observing him up close to gradually find out what sort of person he was?
A friend, obviously. A friend.
There was no downside to getting close.
‘...Though I don't really know how to become friends with a guy.’
Since she'd grown up among girls at a monastery from a young age, men were an unknown species to her. She'd barely had any chances even to speak to one, let alone make friends.
Of course, that didn't mean she intended to give up.
‘But with that attitude...’
No matter how she tried to approach him, he pushed her away so thoroughly that he was an impenetrable wall.
It was enough to hurt even someone as thick-skinned as her.
Maybe she should give up on getting close to him for now...
“Ow.”
Maybe because she'd been so lost in thought, she turned a corner at the end of the hall and collided with someone coming from the other direction.
“Goodness. You should watch where you're going.”
“No, I should be the one apologizing...”
Elijah's automatic reply to the words coming from the other person died in her throat.
She'd realized who she'd bumped into.
“Are you hurt?”
As student council president Elnore asked expressionlessly, Elijah's hand instinctively gripped her sword.
And then she immediately despaired.
‘...I can't win. Not a chance.’
She gauged the difference in their levels in an instant and groaned inwardly.
She was skilled enough to be appointed a full-fledged knight right now without a problem, but the other woman was in a different league.
No matter where she struck, all she could see was her own death.
‘So this is House Tristan...’
Just as you'd expect from the daughter of a renowned swordsmanship family hailed as the pinnacle of the continent.
They were only a few years apart, yet she'd already reached this level.
She took her hand off her sword and managed to answer.
“...I'm fine.”
With her lip bitten, she uttered the words in frustration, and the other woman merely gave a slight nod.
It was a reaction that made Elijah's anger flare up all over again.
Elnore had clearly seen her reach for her sword, yet hadn't so much as flinched.
As though it didn't matter in the slightest.
As though she wasn't even worth worrying about.
“...”
To Elnore, that was all Elijah amounted to.
Someone she could afford to ignore.
Even though she belonged to the very house that had turned Elijah's entire life upside down.
Anger that burned her mind white surged up for a moment, but instead of letting it spill out, Elijah forced it down inside.
There'd be no point in showing it now. She couldn't beat Elnore even if she attacked with her sword.
“Here, take this.”
Elijah managed to put on a smile as she picked up what Elnore had dropped when they bumped into each other.
A bag containing some simple snacks. On its front, in cute handwriting, it said ‘To Dowd Campbell.’
‘What is this guy doing popping up here, too?’
Despite the thought, Elijah continued the conversation politely.
"Are you going to see him?"
"I am."
“Turn right from here and keep going. You'll find the place you're looking for.”
With that, she handed the bag to Elnore and hurried away.
Anyway, she didn't feel great when she was around this woman.
“Wait.”
But Elnore called her back.
“How do you know where Dowd Campbell's room is?”
“...?”
She wondered why Elnore was asking, but she should answer anyway.
“I was just with him.”
The instant Elnore heard that, hostility surged from her.
It was intense enough to be mistaken for killing intent.
‘...Hostility? Killing intent?’
Why?
No, seriously, why?
Elnore hadn't even changed her expression when Elijah reached for her sword. So why was she this angry just because Elijah had been with that man?
As Elijah stood there completely bewildered, another question came her way.
“What business did you have with him?”
The temperature in Elnore's voice seemed to have dropped considerably.
She even had the feeling that if she mentioned anything about being friends, Elnore would actually attack her.
“Uh, just to get to know each other a little, since we're both freshmen...?”
Elnore's eyes narrowed.
It was clear she didn't like what Elijah had just said.
“Romantic relationships between freshmen are prohibited.”
“...Pardon?”
What the hell was she talking about all of a sudden?
“At any rate, it's prohibited.”
“Was that actually in the school rules...?”
“I just made it one.”
“...”
Right. In principle, the student council president did have the authority to do that.
Though it wasn't there to be abused like this.
“So don't visit Dowd Campbell's room from now on.”
“Um, may I ask what your relationship with him is, President?”
Elnore fell silent at her question.
The silence was so long that it left even Elijah, who'd asked, feeling awkward.
“...We have no relationship.”
The answer came with considerable difficulty.
It seemed to be loaded with frustration, too. As if she hated that they were in such a relationship.
“Then I'll be going. Be sure to remember what I just told you.”
Elnore left abruptly, leaving those prim words behind, and Elijah stared after her, dumbfounded.
“What the hell was that?”
If they had no relationship, would she really do something like that?
For that matter, it made no sense that a young lady from a ducal house would write a man's name in huge letters on a bag of snacks and personally carry it around.
She'd heard Dowd Campbell was from an insignificant baronial family, so what business could someone like that have with a woman like her—
-I quite like her.
-It's a façade. I know that too. I have a rough idea what she's been up to.
As Elijah thought that, a few words suddenly flashed through her mind.
Words she'd heard directly from Dowd just yesterday.
He'd spoken as though he already knew the student council president well.
“Hmmm.”
She felt her intuition snap into focus.
It was as if the pieces were falling into place.
A highly suspicious man, and the student council president who publicly claimed no connection to him but had some sort of link to him...
‘There's something going on...!’
So much for having no relationship.
Those two were definitely hiding something.
If she dug into this, some complicated backstory would surely come out.
Maybe there was even some huge secret involving House Tristan.
Elijah's intuition was screaming as much.
“All right. Maybe I'll go ahead and get close to him, if only to gather information.”
It was a declaration that would have made Dowd scream aloud if he'd heard it.
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Admission and class assignment at Elphante Academy took place in two stages.
First, students were sorted into groups based on one-on-one duels with loosely assigned partners.
After that came the ‘class assignment’ exam, which assessed each student's overall abilities in detail.
Students were grouped for the exam according to their performance in the one-on-one duels.
And because I beat the widely renowned candidate for the next [Hero], I was assigned to the top group.
Everyone around me looked confident and proud to belong to this group.
“...”
I was the only one looking like I'd just been sentenced to death.
There were several reasons, but the biggest one was this girl.
I glanced at Elijah, who'd somehow ended up in my group, and she met my eyes and waved.
She wore a flawless smile. It was creepy.
“...”
I seriously chewed her out yesterday.
Thinking about it, there was absolutely nothing good about the protagonist and me getting involved with each other.
The more contact I had with important characters, the more often my life would be in danger, and in that regard, dealing with Elnore alone was already more than enough.
So I could swear I'd done my absolute best to push this girl away.
< Gift-Related Character Alert >
▼ Elijah Chrisanax
[ Curiosity Level 4 ] >>> [ Curiosity Level 5 ]
[ You cannot claim a reward yet! ]
[ You are close to a change in favorability status! ]
[ This is an important character. Something special will happen if the status change succeeds! ]
But why had her favorability gone up?
Seriously, what was going on?
Why were there so many inexplicable things?
Come to think of it, yesterday an envelope with my name on it had suddenly been delivered outside my room.
Wasn't there a note saying ‘Good luck on tomorrow's exam,’ along with a bag full of food?
There definitely wasn't anyone who'd send me something like that, so I'd gotten creeped out wondering if I had a stalker.
‘...I don't know.’
I sighed as I thought that.
Since the message said I ‘still’ couldn't claim a reward, I supposed this girl would give me something too. I should try to look on the bright side.
But seriously, why wasn't she giving me a reward? Was it because she wasn't a villain?
“Group 1! You're up!”
I stood as I heard the assistant call out.
Well, that was that.
For now, I should focus on what was right in front of me.
The entrance exam was an event that served as the first branch of the main scenario in Sera.
It was about evaluating students' abilities through various tests held inside the stadium.
The protagonist showed off her abilities, earned everyone's recognition, and received some good rewards. That sort of thing.
In the original, it was a pretty straightforward development, as you'd expect from the early game. There was no reason for anything to turn dangerous.
Yeah.
That's how it was supposed to go.
< Gift-Related Character Alert >
▼ Elnore Erinarize La Tristan
[ Trust Level 2 ]
[ Related event about to occur! ]
Except for this.
I scanned the words in the window and looked ahead.
“Pleased to meet you. I'm Elnore, and I'll be overseeing and guiding you through the exam.”
Right. She wasn't exactly harmless, either.
As expected of the top group. The student council president herself had come to lead us.
“...”
This was far too much to be a coincidence.
Elnore's related event was happening today, and she was also leading my group during the entrance exam.
It'd be stranger if something didn't go wrong during this test.
“Then let's head into the testing area. I'll take your questions once we're inside.”
Even as I followed Elnore into the stadium, I looked around warily.
I had no idea what might happen.
Actually, in the end, it was all pointless.
The incident began in a way that was painfully obvious.
The moment we entered the stadium, there was a clank and the entrance was sealed shut.
At the same time, all the lights inside the building went out, as if there'd been a blackout.
“...”
“...”
Silence hung over the dark interior for a moment, then someone spoke in a slightly dazed voice.
“Um, you said you'd take questions, right? Is this part of the exam?”
Well, I think I can answer that for you.
[ ‘Elnore’ related event has occurred! ]
【Event: Follow-up Assassination Attempt】
- The surviving assassins are targeting this person!
- Protect this person from being harmed!
This isn't an exam.
It's a trap.
"..."
Dowd Campbell. Third day since enrolling at the academy.
His life was already under threat.
Fuck.
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