Chapter 13 - Midterm Exam (1)

Arthur Carlyle.

20 years old.

The most promising talent of Frontier, one of Res Limen's leading prestigious guilds and one of the five major guilds.

His amazing talent and magic were so rare even within Frontier that there were already open talks within the guild about Arthur being future guild master material.

Having lived up to all expectations, he entered the training center to gain more diverse experiences outside the guild.

If one were to define him in a single sentence, he could be described as a man whose daily life was training and whose training was daily life.

However, the past few days were different.

Throughout recent training sessions, Arthur was unable to concentrate due to being preoccupied with a single concern.

In fact, since academic training involved little hands-on work and was closer to classes, it didn't matter much.

He had already learned all the content at the guild anyway.

The real problem was that he couldn't even do the mana manipulation training he usually did concurrently during that time.

His mind was so completely filled with that concern.

Should I tell him?

That he'd die if he continued physical enhancement in such a way.

Perhaps the beast-folk girl on his roommate's team didn't know he could use demonic mana.

But that can't be right.

If he noticed it at a glance, the beast-folk girl who taught him directly couldn't have missed it.

Or maybe she underestimated the amount of mana used based on beast-folk standards.

Whichever it was, there was clearly a gap in perception between them.

The hooded Spirit Summoner was obviously unfamiliar with physical enhancement.

The same went for his roommate.

The beast-folk who used physical enhancement did so in a way quite different from humans.

Wasn't this a composition where misunderstandings could easily arise?

I should tell him.

He didn't dislike people who were confident in themselves.

Despite being a Devil Sorcerer, looked down upon in mage society, his roommate lived true to his convictions without losing spirit.

And he was a person who made his best efforts to be able to do so.

Shouldn't he ensure that those efforts don't become a noose around his neck?

Arthur reached his decision just as the afternoon exploration skills training was ending.

Surprisingly, unlike their last-place finish in the first training, his roommate's team completed the training at a speed rivaling the top this time.

They even came out faster than Arthur's team.

Of course, Arthur was the type to arbitrarily insert various pieces of training time beyond simple exploration skills, so he inevitably took longer than others.

The fact that he never finished outside the top 5 despite this showed his outstanding ability.

Anyway, the progress shown by the otherworldly combination of Battle Mage-Devil Sorcerer-Spirit Mage, who couldn't use any basic magic at all, was remarkable.

To the point where there were unbelievable rumors that the daughter of the Alexandria School head, who had made a bet with his roommate, had completely holed up in the training grounds.

It must have been backed by a lot of effort.

It's only right for me to tell him, after all.

Arthur, once again satisfied with the conclusion he had reached, said to his teammates, "I'll have dinner separately today. I have something to do."

His teammates willingly accepted Arthur's proposal.

They're grateful teammates. I should increase the density of feedback and one-on-one customized sparring sessions at the next after-training gathering.

Unaware that this might be the reason his teammates let him go so readily, Arthur headed off with a slightly guilty conscience.

Towards the training building.

Naturally, each training room within the building prohibits others from entering at will.

Permission from the person inside was required for entry.

Arthur found where his roommate's name was written on the entry list and pulled the string connected to the bell inside.

There was no answer, but he heard the sound of the locking magic being released.

I guess that means come in.

Arthur grabbed the doorknob and pulled.

And the scene that unfolded beyond the door was too stimulating for Arthur, who had been all about training, training, and more training.

Roman was lying on the floor, and the beast-folk woman was straddling him...

Arthur's cool mind quickly rotated, analyzing-interpreting-reviewing the visual information sent by his eyes, and arrived at one conclusion.

At that answer, his stern expression wavered for a moment but soon returned to its original expressionlessness.

"...Did I intrude when I shouldn’t have?"

He uttered only a short, dry statement.

Then, he immediately closed the door and let out a deep breath.

His face was redder than it had ever been.

How could such a... in this sacred training space...

Had he misjudged them?

Arthur squeezed his eyes shut.

As if trying to erase the scene he had just witnessed.

Arthur Carlyle.

20 years old.

Experience with women, none.

§

"I misunderstood."

When I explained that we were training for close combat with Rei, Arthur nodded calmly.

Wasn't he surprised?

I was really shocked.

I had opened the door thinking it might be Leaf, but when Arthur's face appeared, I wondered if I was hallucinating.

Only after he closed the door did I accept it was real and hurriedly called out to stop him.

Fortunately, Arthur seemed to accept my desperate explanation.

"Right. You're not that kind of person."

You speak as if you know me well?

We were roommates, but I didn't think we had any personal conversations.

"So? What brings you here?"

"Well..."

At my question, Arthur looked towards Rei.

Really? Is this guy... No, right?

If my assumption was correct, I'd have no choice but to teach Arthur the severity of the law as a righteous Devil Sorcerer.

Rei also frowned slightly, apparently not liking Arthur's gaze on her.

Bristling like a hedgehog, Rei asked, "Do you have a problem with me?"

"Yes."

Even Rei momentarily blinked, unable to react to Arthur's blunt affirmation.

Arthur continued, "The way you're teaching physical enhancement is wrong."

"What?"

"Your method is the beast-folk way. It's not suitable for humans, especially a Devil Sorcerer with limitations on using mana."

"Huh?"

"There's a reason physical enhancement is divided into various methods. There's a suitable method for each individual. It's better to teach a different way from now on. That's what I came to say."

As if his business was done here, Arthur stood up briskly.

It was a refreshing decisiveness with not a trace of lingering attachment.

Phew... Fortunately, this guy wasn't like that.

Unlike me, who was relieved that my suspicions turned out to be unfounded, Rei's eyes were even fiercer than before, clearly displeased at having her teaching method criticized.

"Hey. You barge in suddenly, say I'm wrong, and think you can just leave?"

"Leave? What do you mean?"

"Who knows him better, me or you? I think I know him better."

Rei suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me to her side.

This kid... she had been rubbed the wrong way.

"And I think I know more about physical enhancement too. I'm teaching him in a way that's perfect for him."

"...That's hard to ignore."

You too?

Arthur spoke with a voice clearly tinged with discomfort, unlike his previous dry tone.

A situation ready to explode at any moment.

I slowly moved away from Rei's side.

I'll just watch, you guys handle it yourselves.

§

The library I came to after finishing training with Rei.

I sat down in front of Leaf, who was already settled in, and told her about what just happened. 

Leaf quickly pushed aside the notebook she was reading and leaned her upper body toward me.

"So who won?"

"It was a tie."

"What?"

"Rei won when they only used physical enhancement, but Arthur won when he used magic."

"It's hard for Rei to win with magic since she's a beast-folk."

Mmm. I see, I see. 

Knowing that Rei was younger than her, Leaf now called Rei by just her name,

"But it's coming up soon, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"The completion qualification exam. It's right around the corner, isn't it?"

"...You're right."

The completion qualification exam, which tests geography and ecology, was on Friday.

The skills check was conducted the next day, Saturday, in the provisional license exam.

The reason Leaf didn't come to the training ground with us today was all because of the completion of the qualification exam.

"Uuuugh... there's too much to memorize..."

Leaf flailed her arms while lying face-down on the desk.

Truly the epitome of a student suffering from last-minute cramming before an exam.

"That's why I told you to listen properly during training and take the initiative in practical sessions."

"I-I thought it wouldn't be a big deal since Rei was just playing around too..."

"She did advance learning."

Despite never having been to the Abyss, Rei strangely knew a lot.

She said she learned it before becoming a slave.

However, Leaf, who hadn't anticipated this possibility at all, was greatly shocked by Rei's knowledge.

"Betrayal, it's betrayal...!"

I wasn’t sure who she thought betrayed her, but she certainly seemed to think someone did.

Leaf was tapping the desk and blaming her own laziness on Rei.

She pretended to be angry, but to me, it seemed like a truly pitiful rebellion.

"No, I won't go easy on you. I have no intention of going easy. Quickly, look at your book."

"Heeeng..."

At my firm words, Leaf raised her head and picked up the notebook that she had pushed aside.

How long had we been studying like that?

A shadow appeared over our desk.

Thinking it might be Rei, I shifted my gaze, but there stood a woman with hair even whiter than Rei's.

"Hm?"

Who was this again?

She seemed familiar, but...

Ah, her... the one who had a subtly cold atmosphere with Alexandra...

"You!"

"Yes?"

The woman's voice, as she looked straight down at me, had an indescribable dignity and pressure.

"I've heard about it."

"About what...?"

"That you made a bet with Alejandra?"

Is the rumor only spreading now?

We hadn't been talking about it on our side.

Recently, Alexandra seemed to be training quite diligently, perhaps feeling a sense of crisis, so it made sense that the rumor about our bet was only now circulating.

"I'll help you. I, Fiona McManus, stake my name on it."

She made a bold declaration while elegantly gesturing towards her chest.

Her confidence and pride in revealing her name were palpable.

A face full of confidence, not even considering the possibility of refusal.

But my impression was a bit different.

Help me?

"For what reason?"