Chapter 32
Hm! Not bad.
I smiled with satisfaction as I looked at the shattered targets.
Targets punched dead center without the slightest deviation.
To hit them all with a single spell, I had to use the extra spell Karnaroff had taught me: Penta.
There was no room to mix in a homing formula.
So I used Dragon Eye to measure the wind speed.
'I even took care to match the grading criteria.'
Its projectile speed and accuracy were second to none.
Each one had enough power to easily pierce a 1-centimeter steel plate.
Casting speed was already battle-ready.
Honestly, with all the exam studying lately, I hadn't been able to use magic properly, so I'd been building up some stress.
It was about time I headed to the tower, but I hadn't expected such a great opportunity to come along.
It was about time I went a little flashy and wrecked things.
“Now then, let's see everyone's reactions...”
So I looked around at the students...
“Huh? What's wrong?”
Robert was so shocked his eyes looked ready to pop out.
Linia was staring at me, speechless.
Aris was shaking her head.
Even Karnaroff was staring at me with his eyes wide open.
The other students weren't much different.
“W-what in the world is that?”
“Basic Attack Magic...right?”
“My Basic Attack Magic never looked like that!?? It completely shattered even the distant target!”
“P-Penta Casting!!?”
“Are you the god of magic!?”
“That first-year is doing that? What noble house is she from?”
“I heard she's a commoner?”
“Do you think that makes any sense??”
“Should we try recruiting her?”
“Idiot, do you think your house could pull that off? Didn't you see her walking around with the young lady of House Script?”
Ah.
Did I go a little too flashy?
Someone shouted.
“As expected of Yumia! I knew I could trust you!! I knew it from the moment you submitted data like that!”
After that, cheers broke out.
“Yumia! Yumia! Yumia!”
“We're leaving this exchange event to you, Yumia!!”
“Are we finally going to beat the knight school?”
“Up-and-coming researcher Yumia!”
Ah, shit.
I went too far.
'Then I might as well enjoy it.'
I slyly took the sunglasses out of my pocket, slipped them on, and gave a smug expression.
Feeling the moment, I even made a V sign with my thumb and forefinger.
Heh-heh.
As expected, even if it's a hassle, I do like being the center of attention.
“Quiet!”
Karnaroff silenced the students.
“First, there was no rule allowing you to destroy five targets at once... but I'll handle that part at my discretion.”
“So how many points is it?”
“And come to my lab later. I need to hear about that eye of yours.”
“So how many points is it?”
Something like that isn't important.
What mattered more was my score.
“100 points.”
Good thing I'd secretly checked the grading criteria on the blackboard without Aris noticing.
I needed something to make up for how badly I'd botched Imperial History.
Of course, Penta Casting hadn't been part of the plan.
What if I'd failed?
Because we still have finals, gentlemen.
“Thaaanks.”
Having gotten the score I wanted, I hopped right into the stands.
Because there was a slight drop, I landed with a somersault for flair.
Then, once again, gasps of astonishment burst from the students.
“100 points...?”
“A 100? From that Karnaroff?”
No, look at my somersault.
They've been so fixated on the 100 points that nobody even noticed.
“This is the first time I've ever seen someone get 100 on Karnaroff's test.”
“Did that even happen before?”
“I heard it happened once a few years ago, though...”
Aris, who had been sitting there, seemed surprised too, as if she hadn't expected a 100.
“A-a hundred points! Congratulations!”
“How was my somersault... ugh, never mind.”
“Even I... can't do that. Just how strong have you gotten, Yumia?”
“You did well. Thanks for going as far as using Penta Casting.”
Robert, too, swallowed his pride this time.
Linia offered sincere thanks.
“So there really is always someone above you, huh.”
Robert clenched his fists in frustration.
“Grow up by taking after this big sister here.”
Robert, you can become great.
Just not above me.
“That way of speaking is really irritating. You look older than me to begin with.”
Ahem.
I'm a proper adult, you know.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty. I came to Reinhart the moment I awakened my innate magic.”
“You're still wet behind the ears, and you're trying to act like my equal.”
“......? Why are you acting like you're way older?”
Because I am way older.
Tch, what would you know.
That's why you're stuck in third place forever.
After hurling ridiculous insults at him in my head, I suddenly got curious and asked.
“But don't you learn magic when you're little?”
“If you practice magic before your circuits have fully matured, you can actually damage them. If anything, you're the unusual one for being so young.”
“So that's a thing, huh.”
“You there, be quiet.”
The students after that received fairly high scores.
30 points, 44 points, 28 points, 33 points, 32 points, 50 points.
Everyone hit the first three targets well.
Many students stumbled on the fourth, but occasionally someone would even hit four.
Honestly, if you consider that these people keep growing...
Korean hunter training centers wouldn't even be able to hold a candle to them.
“So a prestigious school is still a prestigious school, even when it's rotten.”
“Hm? Rotten?”
Seems pretty good here to me.
“They produced two supernovas about a dozen years ago, and they've been losing to Lunaris Knight School ever since. Though those supernovas are the ones running the whole show now.”
For some reason, I had a feeling I knew those supernovas.
The exam continued.
What surprised me was that the scores of the people around me were much better than I expected.
“Casting, Bullet.”
A white streak brushed past the very last target.
A target damaged only slightly.
But if it was destroyed, that still counted toward the score.
“77 points.”
“Whaat? Really!?”
Aris cheered with a bright expression.
“I-I did it!”
“Well done. Really well done.”
I patted Aris on the head.
Aris smiled happily.
Robert failed to hit the final target.
“77 points. You really practiced a lot.”
Still, he received the same score along with Karnaroff's praise.
“No, just how much practice did you put in to get this...?”
It's on a whole different level from last time.
“Hmph. If it's me, something like this is easy.”
But I could guess how much effort was buried underneath it.
“You persistent bastard...”
“W-what did you say!?”
“It's a compliment.”
It really is a compliment.
It's not easy to get that kind of remark from me.
“Flawless. 100 points.”
Linia really used magic by the book and got the score she was aiming for.
It wasn't as much as mine, but she drew attention in her own way.
Linia was the last.
“And so, we shall conclude the midterms here. The scores were definitely better than expected. Good work.”
Karnaroff wrapped things up with some stock remarks.
“Those who received low scores should keep working hard so you can do better on the finals.”
Karnaroff's gaze turned to me.
“…Yumia, you come see me for a moment.”
“I don't wanna.”
“......”
“I'm joking.”
“You'd better brace yourself for the finals.”
Huh?
* * *
Karnaroff's office was a room filled with very antique-looking furniture.
Several communication crystal orbs were lined up on the walls.
A gorgeous chandelier on the ceiling shattered yellow light into glittering shards.
There was a natural scent of wood in the air.
It was a nice room.
Karnaroff placed a coaster on the table and poured tea.
It was a fragrance I'd never smelled before.
I'd probably never smell it on Earth in my whole life.
Though it seemed like relaxing work, I couldn't relax at all.
Because Karnaroff was drawing up mana.
'If I mess up, am I going to get dealt with?'
In fact, Karnaroff really had the power to do that.
From what I could tell, if it were just mana, Karnaroff could definitely crush even Korea's S-ranks.
Even taking into account that Korea's S-ranks weren't especially top-tier on a global scale, that was still an astonishing level.
“I think I'll just leave.”
“Haha, why so nervous? I'm only going to ask a few simple questions.”
“What kind of simple questions require this much buildup...”
“We had always thought you were just an ordinary commoner.”
“Huh? That's obvious...”
“Commoners generally aren't recorded in the Empire's registry.”
“Well, that's fine up to that point.”
“But why do you have Dragon Eye, and what's that high-elf-like attribute? I need to know those two things.”
He raised his staff.
And about a minute passed.
A golden barrier appeared on the room's walls.
It was a barrier he had spent this much time on.
Escaping would... be difficult.
“You can't lie in here. The moment you do, a golden torrent will surge through your body. It's harmless to the human body, so don't worry.”
He handled an artifact people spend tens of billions on with a single wave of his hand.
Magic really is broken.
As soon as I heard that, I started the test.
“I'm a good person.”
Hmm.
As expected, nothing happened.
“Hmm. It works fine.”
“Is it broken?”
Karnaroff cast the barrier again.
“I'm a well-behaved student... Ugyagyagyak!!”
It didn't hurt, but my whole body was tingling.
“It works properly.”
“Did you cast it wrong!?”
That's just unfair.
I've lived so quietly... ah, this is reacting too.
Even having the intention to lie made me tingle all over.
I can't trick this.
The structure itself felt completely different from that shabby artifact.
Karnaroff began his questions.
“Are you a student of this school?”
“Yes.”
“Are you on humanity's side?”
“Obviously, I'm on humanity's side.”
“Are you hostile to the Empire?”
“No. If anything, they teach me magic and give me a place to sleep, so I think it's a pretty good country.”
They don't feed me, though.
“What were you doing before you came here?”
“A hunter... no, maybe I should say a monster hunter. I lived like a loafer while hunting monsters.”
“How did you get that constitution?”
“I don't know. It just popped up one day as I was living my life.”
“…What.”
Every bit of it was true.
Now it was Karnaroff's turn to be flustered.