Chapter 14
“Would you like to join me?”
“If you join this group, I’ll guarantee you’ll take first place.”
“Ninth, fourteenth.. and twenty-fifth. This group will be your best choice..”
The academy’s first sparring match.
It was one of the biggest events.
The first event where an official ranking would be established.
Of course, there had been the pre-admission assignment and the entrance ceremony.
Everyone knew those had already formed groups to some extent.
But this was the first time it would be expressed numerically.
And..
“Seventy percent of the ranking determined in this sparring match will remain in effect until the end of the academy.”
“In other words, the first one matters most.”
“That’s why our team is.. a combination capable of handling as many variables as possible. And we have powerful teammates..”
“I’ll think about it.”
Mist smiled and waved her away with a nod.
Mist received a great many offers.
No.
It wasn’t just Mist.
“Ms. Ena, please join our group!”
“Lady Helia.. if you join us..”
Almost all of the top-ranking students received similar offers.
But..
Mist was watching only one person’s face.
“I don’t understand..”
“What don’t you understand?”
Mist sat at the table with her chin propped on her hand and sighed.
Beside her, pink hair swayed softly.
“I don’t think I’m the most important person in this assignment..”
“.. Really?”
Ena tilted her head at Mist’s words.
If someone who was practically being treated as rank one wasn’t important,
then who on earth was?
“I’m not underestimating myself, but there’s someone else who’s the most important this time.”
“Then.. why is everyone coming to me?”
“Really? There’s someone more important than you? Who is it?”
“.. You don’t know?”
“Nope, I really don’t.”
Mist looked at Ena strangely.
Ena only tilted her head.
Seeing that, Mist realized what was going on.
She already knew the person Mist meant was [Bin].
She must have.
Then.. she was merely pretending not to know.
“You’re.. putting on another strange act.”
“An act? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Mist let out a deep sigh.
She and Ena were not complete strangers.
It wasn’t just that they’d crossed paths at the entrance ceremony.
They’d known of each other long before that.
Just as Mist knew what Ena was doing,
Ena knew what Mist meant.
But.
That didn’t mean they were close.
“You live such a.. tiring life.”
“Hiding your abilities, hiding your thoughts..”
Some people were impossible to become close to because they knew each other too well.
Even if one wanted to become close.
Like cats and dogs, they were beings that could never mix.
That was Ena.
“You knew I was talking about Mr. Bin, didn’t you?”
“Ah~ You meant Bin? I had no idea~”
Ena snorted as if she truly hadn’t known.
But..
Mist stared intently at Ena, as if she’d sensed something.
“You know what kind of person Mr. Bin is better than I do..”
Mist said that and looked at Ena.
Ena raised the corners of her mouth.
But it was obvious she wasn’t really smiling.
Mist knew it for certain.
She had gotten a different reaction.
“.. I don’t really know.”
It was unexpected.
Ena was someone who maintained her composure in almost every situation.
But her reaction changed slightly whenever Bin came up.
Seeing that..
Mist felt mischievous for the first time in a while.
For the first time in a very long while.
“... That’s interesting, isn’t it?”
Ena frowned at Mist.
Why was she making that face?
And.. what did she find interesting?
“What is?”
“Because what you just said sounded sincere.”
At those words, Ena completely changed her expression.
Back to her usual faintly smiling expression.
But.
She couldn’t erase the fact that she’d already let her emotions show.
“.. Damn.”
Mist smiled faintly.
It had been a long time since she’d seen emotion in Ena’s words.
If.. Ena had always been like this,
perhaps their relationship wouldn’t have been so awkward.
“Living honestly isn’t so bad.”
Mist spoke sincerely.
Of course..
Saying this wouldn’t change Ena.
If she could have changed, she would have done so long ago.
Instead, Ena snorted at Mist.
Even though Mist had just hit her with the most disarming remark of all.
“What are you saying? You’re the one who hates living honestly the most.”
“Haha..”
Mist laughed awkwardly at her words.
As expected.
She really was someone who could never bring herself to like Ena.
And..
The same went for Ena.
“I suppose.. that’s true?”
“Well.. you and I are pretty similar.”
Ena sighed and stood up.
Opposite personalities.
Opposite appearances.
One lived in the light.
The other lived in the shadows.
The two were oil and water, unable ever to become close.
That was why..
The one person they were both watching
might even serve as an emulsifier.
————
“Ugh.. We only need to find one more decent person~”
Life at the bottom of the rankings was truly arduous.
Truly.
“.. Don’t you know anyone?”
I sighed and looked at Elisa.
We’d more or less succeeded in assembling the team.
A tank suitable for the front line: Elisa.
One ranged attacker.
And me, a mage who was also dead weight.
We had the basic party structure covered.
Now all we had to do was slot in anyone.
But..
We couldn’t find anyone at all.
“No.. I’ve only been at the academy for less than a week..”
Elisa pouted.
She was right.
It had only been a week.
This party was already made up of everyone we’d managed to pull together.
“What about you, Mr. Bin? Don’t you have any friends? There’s someone you always hang around with..”
Elisa sighed deeply after saying that.
She had realized who Bin was always with.
“Haha..”
“.. Aw.. Lady Ena and Ms. Mist.. There’s no way they’d join us..”
“Right. They probably already have their own parties.”
“When Mr. Bin first offered me a party, I imagined a completely luxurious party..”
“Haha.. ha.”
I broke into a profuse sweat at Elisa’s words.
‘If I told her I’d invited her to put together a ragtag party.. she’d kill me, right?’
If I’d wanted to assemble a good team, I could have made one plenty strong.
I could have persuaded the people I’d gone exploring with before.
Even if I used people I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have formed a team of lower-ranked people like this.
‘It’s too late to say anything now, anyway.’
Many teams had already been formed.
Far more people had already been assigned to teams.
Most of the very top-ranked students had already been claimed.
In fact, even the upper-ranked ones were all taken.
Even I was already part of a team, wasn’t I?
‘Well.. I do feel a little sorry for our team..’
‘But it’s a relief that this team won’t be getting any stronger.’
I was relieved.
But contrary to how I felt,
I couldn’t let that show, for the sake of the team’s peace and well-being.
I shook my head with a regretful expression.
“Well.. I wanted to gather strong people for our team too.. but it wasn’t easy. It can’t be helped.”
Elisa also pouted after hearing me.
But.. she seemed more energetic than I’d expected.
She quickly cheered up and smiled.
“Still..! Now that we’ve all gathered, let’s do our best! Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky and someone strong will join us!”
I nodded vigorously.
A good attitude.
‘Good. If we get too discouraged and end up at the very bottom of the rankings, that would be a problem too.’
For now, I’d worked hard to make the lineup as solid as possible.
So.. we might even get a fairly decent result.
“That’s right. Even if we can’t aim for first place, let’s do our best.”
I encouraged her with a smile.
To be honest.. I did feel a little sorry.
Someone who could have joined any good team
had ended up here because of me.
‘So I have to do my best.’
By design, this team couldn’t take first place.
So..
I could give it my all without holding back.
“I’ll get you as high as I can.”
That was when it happened.
A head of pink hair began to appear right beside me.
Huh..?
Pink hair?
I started to feel uneasy.
Why had she shown up now of all times?
“Really? Then are you going to lift me up too?”
‘… Crap!!’
My unease became reality.
Ena pressed right up against my side, a mischievous look on her face.
And..
The team members’ faces lit up.
“E.. Ms. Ena? Don’t tell me..”
“Yep! I haven’t joined a team yet.”
“Gasp..!!”
Elisa gazed at me, her eyes shining.
As if begging me to convince Ena.
“.. Huh?”
“What’s with that reaction? It almost feels like you’d rather I weren’t here?”
Ena couldn’t hold back her laughter and poked me repeatedly.
And..
There was only one thing I could say here.
One sentence that wouldn’t hurt Ena’s feelings,
and wouldn’t reveal what I really felt to the team.
“As if! A strong teammate like you? Of course we’d be thrilled!!”
“Hehe.. Right?”
Ena gave a slight smile and nodded.
Then she spoke to my teammates.. or rather, the people who would soon be her teammates.
“I’d like to join this team.. Is that okay?”
““Of course!!””
Elisa and the other member nodded vigorously.
The color that had drained from their faces only moments earlier
seemed to bloom into bright smiles for some reason.
“Ohoho..”
Ena looked at me with a smile.
As if she was having fun giving me a hard time.
She brought her lips to my ear and whispered.
“You were deliberately making a weak team, weren’t you?”
I looked at Ena, the corners of my eyes twitching at her words.
A devil.. she’s a devil!!
How did an event that was supposed to raise her favorability
turn into a prank like this?
“Puhaha. You’re not the only one who can pull off something as fun as what happened at the entrance ceremony, you know?”
Ena moved away from my ear after saying that.
A smile was drawn across her face.
Like she’d just landed a blow.
‘.. She was still holding a grudge over being fooled at the entrance ceremony?’
It was a little unfair.
I’d tricked everyone at the entrance ceremony; Ena had merely happened to be there.
Well.. it wasn’t as though I was completely blameless.
I could have told her in advance.
But I’d thought it was a minor matter..
I never imagined she’d get revenge like this.
“Ahaha, take good care of me, everyone~”
Before I knew it, Ena was speaking informally to the team members.
And.. no one found that awkward.
A pretty face.
Strong abilities, a high standing.
And.. the ability to naturally win people over by using all of that.
That was Ena.
Because of that ability, I’d considered raising Ena’s favorability my top priority.
Of course, the problem was that her ability to win people over worked on me too.
But.
The truth was, I was laughing inwardly too.
‘As expected.. Ena is a difficult character to handle.’
‘But I’d already accounted for the possibility of Ena joining. No problem.’
The core reason I’d put together a lower-ranked team was simple.
- To avoid attracting attention.
Ena joining wasn’t entirely a good thing.
Of course.. it would put more of the spotlight on the team as a whole.
But there was no way the spotlight would focus on me.
‘If anything.. it’s even better.’
‘If the team performed unexpectedly well, the spotlight could have fallen on me. That risk is gone now.’
Ena was smart.
And cunning.
She didn’t trust people easily, either.
On top of that, she was strong.
None of that was something I could easily catch up to.
But..
‘I know more.’
Until she realized just how much I knew about her,
it seemed I could keep freeloading.
I stared blankly at Ena.
“Pff!”
Right. Laugh all you want.