Chapter 39
The students began organizing their questions.
The minimum number of students required for the verification was six.
To ensure fairness, the questioners, excluding Li Qin, would be selected at random.
Since the difficulty of their questions would reveal their own level of study, most students were not particularly eager to undergo such a verification.
"All right, each of you ask your question in order!"
The students selected to ask questions each finished their preparations.
Given my high score of 97, I had to answer all the questions they asked almost perfectly.
There were two main ways they could ask questions.
One was a simple question-and-answer format, and the other was a written format using a pen.
Naturally, most of them chose the question-and-answer format.
"Why isn't a Vampire Toad's tongue used as a weapon?"
"Because controlling its contraction and expansion is difficult. No one but a highly skilled person can handle it, and it also wastes a great deal of mana in the process.
Its one advantage is that it is useful for surprise attacks, but for Hunters, who generally travel through Gates, its usefulness is severely limited."
"When could it be used?"
"It's used when absorbing the elemental divine beasts from the Rainbow Well. And this is just my personal opinion, but it would be good to inject the absorbed elemental divine beast into a magical beast with an opposing attribute. The mana would repel each other and cause severe internal injuries."
An 'Ooh' of admiration escaped the students.
I answered the questions from five students without the slightest difficulty, while Teacher Enrico continued scribbling something on his tablet with a satisfied expression.
A pause-
But Enrico suddenly furrowed his brow.
He spun his tablet pen around, his expression turning grave. Worried that something had gone wrong, I asked,
"Teacher...?"
"......"
"Teacher. Is there perhaps a problem?"
He abruptly looked up. His face returned to a smile as he tapped the tablet screen.
"No, Student Raebi! You did wonderfully. A perfect score! All right~ is that the last one? Student Li Qin, you're ready, right?"
Li Qin answered that she had sent over a list of questions. Normally, each person only had to prepare one, but she lifted the corners of her mouth and said, 'Please choose one for me, Teacher.'
'A fox's smile laced with poison.'
In the old days, I might have thought it was simply a pretty, innocent smile. But after dealing with the mutant known as April, I had learned something too.
Enrico's eyebrows twitched as he looked over the list of questions. Soon, he chuckled as though he found it amusing.
"Let's use this one!"
The question flashed onto the desk screen, which was set at a slanted angle.
To prevent cheating or any other irregularities, the answer I wrote would also be displayed to the other students in real time.
I began reading the question.
'Let's see.'
......! Ha, I knew it.
['Describe the combination of 'Naturata obliqua' and 'Anthro Giganto Bacillus'.]
I'd really been hoping it wouldn't come to this.
It was incredible that she'd stooped to something this petty.
The names of the magical beasts in the question had all been assigned by the Hunter Association for more precise classification.
Naturally, ordinary Hunters did not call them that.
If I changed the names in the question to their common terms,
'Poison-haired moth' and 'parasitic worm.'
She had used unnecessarily difficult terminology to keep me from understanding the question in the first place.
For reference, even Teacher Enrico used ordinary terms for everything except when a specialized term was absolutely necessary.
'She didn't even write out their full names...'
Fortunately, once I'd figured out this much, the answer wasn't particularly difficult.
Poison-haired moths mainly appeared in A-rank field-type dungeons, while parasitic worms were species found only occasionally in swamp-type dungeons.
As far as I knew, it was extremely rare for the two to appear in the same environment.
However, combining them produced a fairly powerful weapon, and this was how it worked.
First, the parasitic worm was applied to the spines of a poison-haired moth larva, injuring the target.
The parasitic worm then infiltrated the host and began eating its flesh; in the process, it constantly secreted the deadly venom it had acquired by consuming the spines.
In the end, the host's entire body melted away overnight, and the poison traveled through the air, contaminating the entire surrounding area.
Awakened people of D-rank or below would be poisoned and die simply by being nearby, and strangely, this phenomenon occurred only with the poison of the poison-haired moth.
'......Using this method, I occasionally clear the low-rank Gates of the common dungeon type, where encounters are frequent.
If I have enough time, I can completely exterminate the magical beasts inside a dungeon.'
There were plenty of other tips and bits of information as well. Once I'd written down all my answers, I waited for Teacher Enrico to grade them.
"Hmm..."
He still wore a faint smile, but his eyes had grown serious. He studied my answers carefully and nodded.
Just as during the earlier question-and-answer session, I saw him stop abruptly at one point and frown slightly.
Assuming it was simply a habit he had while grading, I waited quietly.
A moment later, the result came out. The corners of Enrico's mouth began curling upward.
"Hehe... A perfect score, Student Raebi! You wrote everything down wonderfully!"
All the students then began staring at me with their eyes wide open.
They had been murmuring ever since the question appeared on the shared screen, and I had occasionally heard someone say, "What is this?"
They probably hadn't understood what the question meant at all.
They didn't even seem sure whether the things written in it were real magical beasts.
It was only natural that they would be surprised to hear that I'd answered something so absurd perfectly.
"Uh..."
Li Qin's face had gone rigid. My answer had even included the words omitted from the full names.
It was a combination that was rarely used in the first place and a question somewhat removed from "crafting,"
so it was only natural that no one could answer it with general knowledge.
As she put on a face that said she couldn't accept the result, Enrico spoke to her.
"Student Li Qin? You look like a Doom Specter. Are you all right?"
"......"
"Student Li Qin?"
Li Qin raised her head.
"......Can this be right?"
"Pardon?"
"It can't be!!! How did you answer this? Most Hunters don't even know Bacillus exists, so unless you used a skill..."
It was an abrupt explosion. Unable to control her trembling hands, she began chattering wildly.
She pointed at me and glared as though she wanted to kill me, while the other students stared at her in stunned silence.
They seemed unable to understand why she was going so far.
The more upset she became, the redder Li Qin's face grew.
Enrico abruptly caught the pen he'd been twirling and opened his mouth.
"Student Li Qin."
"Yes?"
"Anyway, the point is that your answer is correct. Right?"
"It is, but!"
"So it is? Understood. We'll begin class."
"......"
Li Qin's mouth fell open in stunned disbelief.
***
I hurried out the moment class ended.
The other students did the same, apparently afraid of being caught up in Li Qin's foul mood.
I called the person who would be happiest about what had happened.
Riiing---
Click!
"Sis April!"
-Huh? What's the occasion? Raebi actually called me first?
"Hehe... Hehehe."
-......Huh? What is it? Did you drink?
"It's not alcohol, Sis. Want to hear something funny?"
I began tattling to April about what had happened with Li Qin, from our meeting at the entrance ceremony to everything that had happened in class. I tried to tell it as vividly as possible, preserving every detail.
"And then, finally, the question..."
-Wait!
"…?"
-Are you busy today, Raebi? Maybe you'd like to eat something delicious?
April hurriedly cut me off. Having sensed the potential for tremendous entertainment, she invited me to Athens.
She sounded excited, saying she wanted to hear it in person rather than over the phone.
After confirming my schedule with Han Jihye, I accepted the invitation.
As with Ahmad, I asked Han Jihye whether I'd done something wrong, but rather than criticize me, she praised me unusually.
"Don't worry. You did well, Lady Raebi."
Her expression looked strangely pleased.
Though she spoke vaguely, she was making it clear that "the other side was the one acting like an asshole, so it's fine."
I returned to our lodging and told the attendants as well.
At first, most of them merely chuckled, but later they found it intriguing that Han Jihye's expression had brightened.
I wasn't sure, but I wondered whether it felt different because she was someone who had cared for me since I was young.
"Hello?"
-Hey!!! Why didn't you tell me about something that entertaining!
"Huh? How did Big Brother Vincent find out?"
-Jihye told me! Hey, that meal you promised to treat us to—let's do it today!
......But we'd agreed to eat in Athens.
Suddenly, I had an amusing idea.
First, I told Vincent, "Let's meet at the entrance to Thebes," then called April again and asked whether Vincent could join us.
She answered in a bewildered tone.
-I don't mind, but... There's no way that big brother would come to Athens.
I confidently told her not to worry.
Ribi joined us after hearing the news, and thus the meeting between Athens and Vincent was arranged.
I headed to Noble Island with Ribi.
Since she'd sternly warned me not to go alone again, I had no choice but to wait for Vincent with her.
Vincent's lips twitched slightly when he saw Ribi.
"Haha, Ribi's here too? I was supposed to have a meal with Raebi today."
"Me too, Big Brother. Let's go!"
"Huh?"
I grabbed Vincent, who was blinking, and pulled him along.
He must never have imagined that he would be going to Athens, because he stopped dead only after we reached the annex entrance.
He then looked over at me with a flustered gaze.
"Wh-why?"
"......You're asking because you don't know?"
"You said you'd treat us! The winner gets to decide how to spend the bet, right? Come on!"
Of course, this wasn't merely a prank intended to put him on the spot.
From my perspective, Athens and Eretria were both factions I wanted to become friendly with, so it would be a problem if they kept snarling at and fighting one another.
I hoped this incident would help them become at least a little closer. I even had a plan of sorts.
"Have you been well, Mr. Grant?"
"Mm, yes."
Grant, a baron, maintained his usual cool attitude even when he saw Vincent.
Vincent also sat quietly and enjoyed the meal.
Surprisingly, ordinary conversation flowed pleasantly, and when we began talking about Li Qin Haiyan, smiles blossomed on everyone's faces.
As April happily clapped her hands, Grant gave a faint smile and said,
"How amusing. It's a shame about the family-head position we lost. Isn't that right, Matthew?"
'Ugh!'
Matthew looked over at me.
He was the unfortunate man whose future I had blocked.
I had heard that he was the best in his family at fire magic, so I worried that he might suddenly stand up and barbecue me.
"Don't be so wary. I know you didn't do it intentionally."
Fortunately, Matthew said that and lifted the corners of his mouth in a smile.
But soon his eyes met Vincent's, and both men awkwardly looked away.
'......Looks like April is the only problem.'
I asked Grant,
"Mr. Grant. Since there's no reason for us to fight anymore, what do you think about everyone getting along?"
Grant stopped moving. He slowly raised his head and spoke.
"As I thought, something was going on. ……It seems you have something you want to do... Fine. Let's see what you've got."
Grant paused his knife work for a moment, looking as though he found it amusing. He sent me an expectant look, saying that he had been curious why I'd brought Vincent here in the first place.
I lightly crossed my arms in front of him and spoke.
"Matthew is older than Vincent, right?"
"He is."
'......'
"Big Brother Vincent."
"Huh?"
"Say 'Big Brother' to Matthew, while holding both his hands tightly."
"Yeah, okay… Huh? What did you say?"
"You promised to treat us."
"Are you joking?"
"I'm serious."
Vincent began looking at me imploringly. Grant furrowed his brow in disbelief, while April and Ribi also picked up their knives again with expressions that said, ‘Oh, come on.’
Everyone seemed to think there was no way Vincent would do it.
But we'd already made a promise. I shot Vincent a laser-like stare.
‘Do it…!’
"Hey, Raebi. Don't waste time. Enjoy the food first. You may not know this yet, but..."
"……Big Brother."
"…?"
Silence descended.