Chapter 7
Last place in the Exploration Skills training.
That report card rolled back the team's status, which had risen due to the clean sweep in the previous matches, to the lowest combination once again.
No, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it fell even further, given how much it had risen with the "Maybe...?" thoughts.
I could feel this through the prejudice-filled hostile glances from others.
This morning's training was Abyss Ecology.
Unlike the skills conducted as outdoor practice, the academic subjects were held indoors.
The structure was similar to a lecture hall, belying the term “training ground”.
It was a stepped lecture hall that got higher towards the back.
I thought I'd attend classes in places like this if I went to university…
I didn't expect to achieve that in a training center, let alone in another world.
As I entered the lecture hall, gazes turned towards me, probably due to the sound of the door opening.
Being so used to living under the scrutiny of others, I could clearly read the emotions in their gazes.
They didn't even try to hide it in the first place.
It was a familiar look.
A contemptuous gaze that said, "I knew it."
I was almost grateful for those who turned away indifferently.
“Hey, he's here. Look at him.”
“Right?”
“Yeah. It's him. The Devil Sorcerer.”
“I heard he came in last place.”
“He was showing off on the first day, but now his true colors are showing.”
“Pfft, already?”
A few of them were talking loudly, seemingly for me to hear.
This was totally like that.
“Hey, your boyfriend is passing by~.”
“Shut up.”
Hmm? This is a bit different?
I ignored their gazes and found an empty seat in a corner.
Then, I felt someone immediately sit down next to me.
"Hello."
"Oh, hi."
I reflexively greeted back and then belatedly examined the person.
Vibrant red hair with a slight curl.
Her clothes look very expensive.
She must be from a good background.
Like Arthur.
But why approach me of all people?
"I heard. You came in last place, right?"
Her informal speech came very naturally.
As I guessed, she seemed used to speaking down to others due to her high status.
"...If you came to mock me, why don't you just go back?"
"Huh? No. I'm just curious. When I saw you in the duel, your mana seemed quite good. I didn't think it would take that long."
"I don't think I need to answer you?"
I spoke to her informally to test her, but she didn't seem to mind much.
Despite my dismissal, which was essentially telling her to leave, she stubbornly continued with what she wanted to say.
"Oh right, I'm Alexandra Rubio. I'm an Elementalist. I mainly use fire."
"Roman Sun. Devil Sorcerer."
"Hmm~ That's all?"
She mentioned using fire, so she probably wanted me to say which devil I contracted with… Does she think I’m crazy?
For a Devil Sorcerer, anything related to their patron devil was top secret.
If the identity of the patron devil was revealed, it was essentially exposing the source of their abilities.
"Then how about this? If you answer all my questions, I'll let you join our team. We came in first, you know."
Is there really that much to be curious about?
Alexandra showed an unusually strong curiosity.
The first-place team.
I heard from Arthur.
The team formed by the entrants of the Alexandria School, the largest magic school in Res Limen, took first place.
It seemed that was Alexandra's team.
From the last-place team to the first-place team.
Wouldn't that be a status upgrade of earth-shattering proportions?
But that was precisely why I needed to be even more cautious.
Wouldn’t the saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” fit nicely here?
"Doesn't changing teams require the consent of all members of the team you're moving to?"
"It's fine. They're all nice people. They'll do anything I ask."
Yeah, yeah, I'm sure they would.
Anyone could see she was the young lady of a noble family.
Who would dare go against her words?
Her followers would gladly nod if Alexandra said so.
To her face, that is.
But they’d be wary of her behind her back. It's obvious.
Would Alexandra really cover for that too?
I doubt it.
It was clear that Alejandra approached me out of momentary curiosity.
Once that was satisfied, she'd lose interest.
Just like a pure child catching insects or animals out of curiosity, playing with them for a while, and then throwing them away.
"Well, thanks for the offer, but I'll have to decline."
"...Why?"
"My current team isn't bad. We came in last just because we're not in sync yet."
Lack of trust between team members was also a form of being out of sync, wasn't it?
Next time would be different.
If we learned some basic magic and Rei guided us straight to the destination without going to strange places, our time would be cut drastically.
The Exploration Skills training would continue in practical form like last time anyway.
By then, everyone would know.
That our team coming in last was just growing pains, merely a process of the team becoming healthier.
"You'll regret it? There's nothing to gain by staying in the last-place team."
The last-place team, huh?
It’s true, but somehow it feels unfair.
We were late only because we lost time due to unnecessary friction.
And above all, we were now definitely one team.
Didn't I say it myself just yesterday?
To remember that we were a team.
Honestly, I wasn’t that deeply attached to the two of them, and my relationship with Leaf and Rei was business-like at best, but it was quite unpleasant to have the team disparaged.
More than anything, it was more unpleasant to be treated as a mere object of curiosity for simple amusement.
Maybe that was why… maybe that was why those words suddenly burst out of my mouth.
"Want to make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"On which team will pass the Exploration Skills test first in the midterm exam."
Alexandra looked at me as if asking if I was serious.
That gaze was like looking at a strange creature she'd never seen before.
"Really?"
"I'm serious."
Alexandra let out a chuckle.
It seemed to have come out unconsciously. She was so surprised.
Perhaps that chuckle was the closest thing to Alexandra's true feelings yet.
"Alright. What are we betting?"
"I haven't thought of anything specific. How about a simple wish? Excluding anything too outrageous. Within reasonable common sense."
"Within common sense. It's a bit vague, but not bad."
Sorry, but I'm going to win this bet.
The time of 1 hour and 51 minutes from last time?
If I put my mind to it, I could cut that to less than a quarter.
Rei's guiding ability is real.
Although Alejandra's team was incredibly fast, I didn't feel like we'd definitely lose.
Rei's guiding ability beats even the most advanced navigation system.
She didn't hesitate even once at complex intersections.
I wondered how she found the place with that lizard, but Rei just had good intuition.
After we defeated the lizard, she went straight to the destination.
If it weren't for Leaf and me slowing her down, Rei might have come in first by herself.
Maybe she wasn't a lower-ranked vanguard, but a high-ranked vanguard.
I heard Arthur's team came in third.
If Rei was at that level, well, we can take on even Alexandra, who came in first, right?
And if I blast away any obstacles with generous magic bullets?
It's not impossible.
[As expected of my pact-bearer, you have a plan.]
Of course. I'm not one to fight battles I can't win.
Seir sent a satisfied feeling at my cunning thoughts.
Just as I calculated that I would win, Alexandra seemed all too confident in her victory, slightly raising the corner of her mouth.
"Still, if you change your mind, come find me. I think we'll keep a spot open for a while. But you know, right?"
"That if I do, I'll have lost the bet?"
"That's right."
Alexandra stood up with a satisfied smile.
I guess she couldn't stay here too long since she had her team.
"I'll be waiting in anticipation."
Alexandra left without any lingering attachment, as if this meeting was enough for her.
Well, from her perspective, it must be amusing.
A mere Devil Sorcerer from the last-place team with the minimum of three members challenging an elite from the first-place team to a bet.
She probably thinks it was an obvious match that didn't even need measuring.
But the world didn't always go as expected.
"Um, excuse me..."
A sudden voice from beside me almost made me jump out of my seat, but I barely managed to hold it in.
Why is her presence so faint?
As I turned to the side, trying to calm my startled heart, there was Leaf without her usual wooden staff.
"...When did you get here?"
I had started speaking informally to Leaf on the way back after yesterday's training.
I told Leaf to speak comfortably, too, but she said she was more comfortable with formal speech and was still using honorifics.
"J-just now. But..."
Leaf hesitated, unable to continue her words.
I had a rough idea of what the problem was, so I asked, "Did you hear?"
"Yes..."
Leaf lowered her head and trailed off.
Her demeanor clearly showed her lack of confidence.
"Don't worry. You saw Rei, right? We just need to follow her well. More importantly, isn't the hood uncomfortable? Can you see well?"
"It's fine. I can see well..."
It was amazing that she could even see at all with the hood pulled down so low.
Come to think of it, she didn't seem to stumble or misstep during yesterday's exploration training.
"Um, should I take it off?"
"...Hm?"
"N-no, not that! The hood, I mean. We're on the same team... it doesn't seem right to keep talking without showing my face..."
"Do whatever makes you comfortable. I'm not going to force you to show your face. What's wrong with not seeing a face? As long as we can communicate well."
But as for hooded girl #2, Rei...
She didn't even show up, that one.
The academic subjects were individually evaluated.
Any disadvantages of not attending were bore alone.
However, since the disadvantage was just missing the class, there wasn’t a particular point deduction or anything.
I guess it's not my problem to worry about.
The team is the team, and I am me.
If the academic subjects were team projects, it might be different, but I couldn't interfere with Rei to that extent.
Let's put aside thoughts of Rei for now.
"I'm Mosley, the instructor in charge of Abyss Ecology. Skipping pointless self-introductions, we'll proceed directly with the training. As it's the first session today, we'll conduct it in lecture format. There will be practical training next time, so it would be good to listen properly."
I picked up my pen.
§
"Got rejected?"
A woman with dark gray hair grinned as she spoke, watching Alexandra return.
Although Alejandra was quite tall for a woman, the woman who spoke was even taller by about half a span, seeming to be over 180cm.
It wasn't Alexandra who refuted the woman's words, but the brown-haired man beside her, Johan, "Don't talk nonsense, Amaia. Rejected? That foolish Devil Sorcerer just threw away his luck."
"That's what we agreed to call being rejected, Johan."
Johan clicked his tongue at Amaia's words.
It was a habit he had when he had nothing to say.
"So, how was it?"
"Hmm~ It was interesting. It seems like it'll be fun to figure him out."
Typically, Devil Sorcerers tried to hide their class.
Mages were thoroughly self-controlling egoists.
They abhorred power that was out of control.
Therefore, they didn't trust Devil Sorcerers who dealt with power that involved the uncertain factor of devils.
To them, Devil Sorcerers who shared control of their magic with devils were seen as a kind of ticking time bomb that could cause unknown problems.
As a result, they've been avoided, and the position of Devil Sorcerers has been narrowed.
But that man, Roman, was it? He didn't seem to mind being a Devil Sorcerer at all.
Roman was confident.
He was so shameless that it almost felt like he was boasting about it.
I wonder what it is~ I'm looking forward to it. I'll probably find out while we're at the training center.
Alexandra smiled faintly as she looked at Roman.
And she wasn't the only one watching him.
§
In the director's office of the training center, a report was in full swing.
Mark, the senior instructor with the highest rank among the five instructors, reported to the director, "Director, we plan to start the regular training course starting from today."
"Good work. How many?"
"45 people."
"45 people?" The director spoke as if asking if that was correct.
Usually, the number of people formally entering the training center was around 50.
45 was definitely fewer than average.
However, the director's words conflicted with the statistics.
"That's a lot. I'm pretty sure I ordered to make it difficult for this batch. Did you evaluate generously because many precious ones entered?"
The daughter of the head of Alexandria School, the largest magic school.
The grand duchess of the ruling family of Res Limen.
A super-promising talent from the guild that was considered the strongest.
These were just the ones the director could think of off the top of his head.
Besides them, there was a whole bunch sent by various organizations with the intention of befriending these people.
Mark quickly denied the director's question.
"How could that be? Rather, unlike previous batches, we implemented dismissal measures for teams that lost in the team duels, further reducing the numbers."
To see whether they were doing their best or not, it wasn't announced at the time, but it was already planned to dismiss the losing teams to filter out the successful candidates.
Originally, the outcome was never decided by just one such duel.
However, this time, too many people came, and the level of the entrants was too high to accept those who performed half-heartedly, thinking they could afford to lose once.
"Is that so? It's still a lot, considering you cut it in half."
"Well, there were many who followed..."
"Gathering like moths to a flame."
Those who gathered followed the halo of those three.
They, too, must be carefully selected individuals sent by various groups that each have their own merits.
"How were the three?"
"They lived up to their reputation. They were truly excellent."
"They're still just chicks. Any other reports? It would be troublesome if some guinea fowl-like fellows get mixed in with the chicks playing around."
Mark was about to say there was nothing particular, but suddenly remembering a face, he carefully continued, "...There is one person who stands out somewhat."
"Who is it?"
"Roman Sun. He's a Devil Sorcerer."
"A Devil Sorcerer?"
What's this?
Is he mocking me?
The director narrowed his eyes, wondering why a Devil Sorcerer was being mentioned, but decided to hear him out anyway.
"He’s a bit… strange."
"In what way?"
"He showed no signs of fear."
All Devil Sorcerers feared their own power.
Because they knew better than anyone that their power was like a noose that tightened around their neck.
It was said that becoming a Devil Sorcerer was like climbing onto a gallows where one held the lever.
They put the noose around their own necks by forming a pact with a Devil.
And to use their power, they had to pull the lever.
Then, someday, when they fail to control their power and pull the lever too strongly.
The noose tightened around their neck, choking them and breaking their neck, taking their life.
"But he didn't show any hesitation even when using mana that should require quite a large price for just a single attack. As if the fear had been removed."
After listening to Mark's story and pondering briefly, the director spoke, "It's one of two things."
And he added, "Either he's a lunatic who's lost his mind, or he's a delusionist who believes he's special."
Neither type was likely to live long.
Especially in the Abyss.