Chapter 36
The day after the promotion matches.
Huh? You think it seems a little fast?
The promotion match had ended so quickly that there wasn't much to say.
It wasn't very exciting or romantic, either.
“Today is the practical evaluation… I have to stay focused!”
“Do your best. You'll win easily—as long as you don't run into me or Ian.”
“Aah… I know you two are strong, but hearing it put like that hurts…”
“Oh. Sorry.”
But it's true.
Arin wouldn't lose to some mere Class A cadets.
She's talented, and now she has a dwarf-made shield and mace, too.
For the record, Arin's main weapon is her shield, but she carries a mace as a secondary weapon.
You could call it a typical paladin build, I guess.
At her level, she'd probably be among the strongest first-years.
Of course, her written exam went badly, so she's ranked 16th overall. But anyway.
“El. What if we end up in the same group?”
“…Who knows?”
The death match groups are chosen completely at random.
Apparently, there was even a time when the top ten students all fought together.
…If I end up against Ian, well… I guess we'll just have to fight.
“If that happens, El will crush Ian!”
“You really… If we meet, I won't go easy on you.”
“Likewise!”
Arin and Ian were bickering as usual. Sometimes they really did seem like twin siblings.
You know how some kids are always arguing over who's the older sibling?
“Hmph! Let's meet in the training arena! I'll give you a huge black eye!”
“That's my line.”
“Whoa, Ian. Did you just say you'd hit the face of a tiny, cute girl?”
“No, that's not what I…”
“Boo. You're trash.”
“That's right! Trash!”
“How did you get that from what I said?!”
…
“Then we will begin the practical evaluation for the academy midterms! The individual combat ability assessment!”
After teasing Ian for a while, the announcer made the announcement in a loud voice.
They called it an individual combat ability assessment, but it was basically just a ten-person death match.
There was no need to be nervous.
“Then I'll announce the contestants! First, from Class A…!”
No, I said not to call us contestants. It takes all the wind out of my sails.
“…And last, El, who defeated contestant Saia with a single forehead flick!”
-Aaaah…
Sighs came from the Class A cadets assigned to my group.
Was it because they knew I was freakishly strong?
Still, their reaction stung a little.
“All contestants, to the arena!”
Well, what can you do?
“Good luck, El!”
“Good luck.”
“Yeah. I'll be back.”
With Ian and Arin cheering me on, I headed out. The other cadets slowly made their way onto the arena, too.
Hmm… Look at those murderous glares.
I guess they've decided to take me out first.
They must've figured there was no chance if I picked them off one by one, so they decided to eliminate me first.
A pretty smart choice. If only I weren't their opponent.
“Then the match… begins!”
“Raaah!”
The moment the match—no, the exam—began, a male student carrying a huge hammer charged at me with a peculiar battle cry.
His aura had a faint color to it, so he was quite strong for a first-year.
Behind him, several cadets who looked like mages were casting spells at me, while the others charged in, aiming for my blind spots.
You guys have pretty solid teamwork for Class A cadets, huh?
They hadn't even discussed it, but their coordination was impressive.
But that's not enough!
-Clang!
“Wha?!”
“You put up a good fight.”
“Bwek!”
I knocked the hammer aside with my sword, then kicked the male student flying.
His name was… I don't know. Sorry.
-Vwoooom!
“Hmm…”
I dodged the spells coming from behind with the bare minimum of movement.
“Aaaagh!”
“Guh!”
At the same time, I sent two male students charging at me with swords flying back with a blast of sword wind.
-Whoosh!
“Nice try.”
“No way?! She caught the arrow with her hand… Guh!”
I caught the arrow flying toward me and threw it back. The archer girl took the hit and passed out.
Oops. That'll leave a bruise.
“M-monster…”
Four of them were out in an instant.
Three mages, one spearman, and one assassin.
“Take this!”
Just then, one of the mages launched a huge fireball at me.
That was obviously a full-power spell. Was he planning to take me down with him even if he got eliminated?
-Kwoooom!
I casually cut through the spell with my sword, and it exploded with a deafening boom, filling the arena with smoke.
Heh… So it was a smoke-screen spell from the start. If it had been an actual fireball, it would've exploded on impact.
-Whoosh!
And through that smoke, a male student playing the assassin swung a dagger at my neck.
Good teamwork, but for an assassin, he was making his presence way too obvious.
-Tap
“Guh…”
“Next time, do a better job hiding your presence.”
Ah. He can't hear me if he's unconscious, can he?
-Whoosh!
After lightly striking the assassin student on the back of the neck to knock him out, I swung my sword to clear the smoke. A spear wrapped in a considerable amount of mana came flying at me.
Is the spearman going all out? It's stronger than I expected, even considering that…
Behind him, the other mages were sprawled on the ground, completely exhausted.
Aha. They'd poured everything into that one attack.
In that case… I should show them a little courtesy, too.
“First Form.”
For the first time, I unleashed a proper sword technique.
My horizontal slash split the cadet's spear in two, and the pieces fell to the ground.
“…That's unbelievable.”
“Thanks for the compliment. Are you surrendering?”
“I am. I've got nothing left now.”
“Aaaaaah! Contestant El!!! With her overwhelming skill, she took down all nine of her opponents by herself!!!!”
-Waaaaah!!!
-She's the best!!!
The crowd roared at the announcer's words… No, this really made me feel like I'd come out here to put on a show.
I'd been feeling that way since yesterday.
Still…
‘Getting cheered for. This might be addictive.’
-Grin grin.
Just like yesterday, I waved to the cheering crowd as I left the arena.
…
“Good work, El. That was amazing.”
“You were incredible! The best!”
“It was nothing.”
When I returned to my spot, Ian and Arin welcomed me.
“I wonder who's up next. I bet one of you two will have to go out there.”
“I want to get this over with and rest!”
“Same. The sooner this is over, the better.”
“Heh.”
Well, as long as I'm not first or last, I don't have much to worry about.
“Then I'll introduce the contestants for the second match! First, Arin, ranked 16th in Class A! And ranked 25th…”
“Aah! I got picked!”
“Good luck. You can beat anyone they put you against…”
“And last! Ian, the top student, who showed overwhelming strength in the promotion match!!!”
…
…They really did end up in the same group.
“El…?”
I stopped midsentence without thinking, and Arin looked at me with a hurt expression.
Damn. But I didn't think she'd be able to beat Ian…
“That's so mean…”
“I-I mean, good luck, Arin.”
“What about me, El?”
“You, shut up and stop being so oblivious!”
Seriously, what an oblivious idiot.
…
Ian, looking thoroughly deflated, and Arin, who was somehow beaming, stepped onto the arena.
The other eight students were already there.
“All the contestants have entered the arena! Then the match… begins!!”
As soon as the match began, three students charged at Ian.
They'd decided to take down the strongest one, Ian, first. Again.
Even if Ian took them all out like he did in my match, they'd probably get a better evaluation than if he picked them off one by one. It wasn't a bad strategy.
Two of the students charging at him were carrying swords, and…
“Die, Ian!”
“That's harsh!”
…Arin?
Why was she charging in right away?
But Ian attacked all three without holding back, his sword aura shining a brilliant gold.
Sigh. He could've gone easy on them.
I'll have to console Arin…
-Clang!
“…What?!”
“Nngh… I won't… go down that easily!”
-Bang!
“Ugh!”
…She blocked that?
She even counterattacked instead of just blocking.
…How is that possible?
“Hmph! You and El both think I'm just some little kid who needs protecting! I'm actually pretty strong, you know!”
…Honestly, I was surprised. I hadn't realized she'd gotten this strong.
A vivid pink mana surrounded Arin's shield and mace.
…No, it wasn't pink. It was cherry blossom.
‘Has she found her own color…?’
It was still close to an ordinary pink, but if you looked closely, you could clearly see the cherry-blossom shade.
…Amazing.
Just as Arin said, I'd thought of her as weak and someone who needed protecting.
But in reality, she was strong enough to have found her own color.
There couldn't be even ten cadets in the entire academy who had their own color, could there?
…I was more arrogant than I'd thought.
Come to think of it, my arrogance had gotten me into trouble plenty of times.
Like losing to Ian, having my breasts touched, or getting those kinds of feelings at the hot springs.
…Why are those the only things I can think of?
Anyway.
I should've paid a little more attention to her.
I'd never really looked at her properly, for all sorts of reasons: I was distracted by how cute she looked, she was a close friend, and I thought she was weak.
Honestly, this makes her worth getting excited about.
Arin winning.