Chapter 34: Entrance Test

“Name is?”

“Lute Macklen.”

“Occupational Aptitude is?”

“Villager.”

“To what extent can you use magic?”

“I can’t use anything other than Life Magic.”

The man nodded, and the bearded man in white robes said with a smile.

“Rejected/Failed.”

On the grounds of Artena Magic Academy, several examinees were clamouring about.

From what I heard, there were only 35 seats this year, and it was particularly tough to get in.

That said, once you enroll, you’ll never have to worry about feeding yourself again. If I were to speak in terms of Japan, it would be a level of earning between that of a doctor and a lawyer… Well, it’s a cheat-like qualification.

Even in the worst cases, if you become an adventurer and were a graduate of Artena Magic Academy, you could still earn over five small silver coins a day.

By the way, in this world, the currency goes as a gold coin being one million yen, a large silver coin being around a hundred thousand yen, and a small silver coin being ten thousand yen.

So, 5 silver coins was fifty thousand yen.

Even menial labor paid that much, so I was quite surprised.

When I was in Japan, I had heard about a doctor working part-time for a wage over ten thousand yen, but this world certainly had a greater shortage of qualified individuals than Japan.

For that reason, the ground was filled with students whose eyes radiated hope and ambition, but…

I didn’t even get to take the test, and was already failed by the old receptionist.

“Hey, wait a moment.”

“I am not waiting. You’ll definitely never make it through. The fees for the tests are also 5 small silver coins. It was made that high so that casual people like you don’t bother us. Well, I won’t say anything bad, so leave.”

There were up to three tests, but the first test was quite simple.

One had to fire their most specialized magic at the placed targets coated with defensive magic.

That’s all there was to it, but in order to be efficient they dropped unwanted applicants.

“As if I’ll leave just because I’m told off.”

“There is no one with the occupational aptitude of a villager who has ever passed the test. Someone who can’t use anything other than Life Magic can’t take the test, right?”

“It’s not like I can’t use magic other than Life Magic…”

“A villager can’t use any magic other than Life Magic, though?”

“Well, it’s not really magic. It’s more of something magical, or how should I say it…”

Sage arts/Wizardry.

A magic that originally shouldn’t have existed in this world, and could harm the power balance of the world, a magic classified as great magic in ancient times. A lost and forbidden power.

To put it bluntly, it was way too powerful, and if I let it out here, it’ll cause a huge hassle.

Even if I suppressed it to its minimum, destructive sage arts/wizardry could easily blow away the school building behind the targets themselves.

That said, the target couldn’t be destroyed using Life Magic which didn’t rely on one’s magic power at all.

Damn it, what were you asking me to do here.

“So, leave.”

That said, I couldn’t really leave.

“Why are you standing silent like that? You can’t use any magic other than Life Magic. Hurry up and leave.”

At that point, a man called out to Lilith standing next to me.

“Hey, young lady there?”

An appearance peculiar to magic swordsmen, it was a man clad in silver armor.

His age seemed similar to ours, at about sixteen year olds.

I wondered if he was also an examinee, I had a bad feeling about him coming from the five knights who seemed to be escorting him.

Children of great noblemen got admitted into a special class by giving extra money.

In that case, was he also a special student? But, then why was he here in the examination grounds?

Anyway, the magic swordsman approached Lilith.

And grabbed her shoulder.

“I never thought I’d meet such a beauty the moment I enrolled. And she’s also an examinee at that, huh?”

“Shoulder. I’d like it if you didn’t touch me.”

Ignoring Lilith who started furrowing her brows, the knight kept nodding to himself.

From the remark regarding enrollment, he was certainly someone who enrolled into the special class.

“Looks like I’m a really lucky man.”

And then, the magic swordsman clapped.

“I have a proposition for you. I’ll make you a student through a backdoor, so won’t you become my woman?”

Placing his right hand on Lilith’s cheeks, he made an evil smile.

Lilith looked at him blankly. The magic swordsman misunderstood her expression and said.

“Oh, young lady can’t even speak out words of gratitude at this sudden windfall. Fufufu, and young lady, you’re more fortunate than you can think, y’know? Because I am the Fasilia Kingdom’s king’s nephew!”

And then, the magic swordsman reached down to Lilith’s buttocks, and groped her.

“Because she’s slim, it’s pretty small. Well, doesn’t feel too good to grope. But, if she’s this pretty, I can’t complain.”

Lilith froze due to all that had happened.

After a while, Lilith finally managed to process what had just happened, and glared at the magic swordsman.

“Unpleasant. Hey, Lute?”

“Hmm?”

“This trash, is it fine if I… Finish him off?”

Haah… I sighed.

Certainly, this magic swordsman is unpleasant to me too.

“You can do that anytime you like, right? Lilith? There’s no point in standing out needlessly.”

Lilith nodded at my words.

“If Lute says so, that’s fine. But, I am annoyed. So I have a suggestion.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Later on… since I worked hard and held it in, I want you to pat my head.”

“O-Okay…”

Then, smiling like a flower, Lilith nodded.

“For the time being, Fasilia’s King’s nephew? Could you please get away from my good friend?”

Lilith frowned at my words ‘good friend’.

“Not a person you treasure, but a good friend?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Apparently my words upset Lilith, since she immediately puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

And then watching our exchange, the magic swordsman said to me provocatively.

“I see. You seem to get along quite well, maybe childhood friends or something as such? However, a lowly villager like you isn’t worthy of being her friend.”

Haah… I sighed lightly.

Slightly frustrated, my words naturally became loud.

“Worthy of being a friend or unworthy of being a friend has nothing to do with one’s standing.”

The magic swordsman laughed at me arrogantly.

“The only one who can stand next to a beauty is a powerful person. Whether it’s money, or authority or just pure power. In any case, a villager like you who can’t even obtain the right to take the first test for the academy, is not worthy.”

Ignoring the magic swordsman, I asked the old man.

“Hey, old man? You’re a test director, right?”

“This is what happens in the first test.”

He pointed at targets resembling shooting targets, lined fifty meters away with his hand.

“Basically, if I destroy that target with magical energy, that’s fine, right?”

When I asked that, the examiner nodded.

After reaching about twenty paces from the target, preparing and destroying the target with our strongest magic, is what the test is.

“Destroying the target by firing offensive magic from a fixed position at least a certain distance away, that is the absolute criteria for passing the first test.”

Since I got the explanation from the examiner, I nodded satisfactorily.

The magic swordsman started speaking from the side.

“However, a villager can definitely not make it through the test. It’s not something Life Magic can break through.”

Ignoring the magic swordsman’s words…

I had seen, just a while back.

An examinee who passed by throwing a stone, then boosting it with wind magic. thus breaking the target.

So if that was the case, I raised my right hand.

If that was alright… then how about this?

I activated the techniques related to body reinforcement.

I brought down my hand in a chop that surpassed the speed of sound.

Then, activated Life Magic at the same time, which caused a wind.

“With this, there are no problems, right?”

The target fifty meters ahead split into two, and fell to the ground.

At the same time, a roar resounded through the air.

Vacuum Slash.

It was a medium range technique, adapted to incapacitate targets at long range.

And, one could achieve almost the same results using magic.

No, in this case, I used wind magic to turn a physical attack into a long-range attack. That’s how it was.

With a blank expression, the magic swordsman froze for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“That smooth cut, and the power at this range,Intermediate magic: Wind Blade?! There isn’t any crudeness either. It’s not magic that a mere examinee can use, for the likes of a villager to use it…”

The examiner who had also frozen up, opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, but couldn’t seem to be able to speak.

I knew it, but they seemed to have been underestimating me.

Well it’s just a trick, though. I don’t know any magic like Wind Blade.

“So, how is it? Mr. Examiner?”

Then, in a strained voice, the examiner said.

“You have cleared all the criteria without any problems… you have passed the first test.”

The second exam was a measurement of magic power and MP.

There were people who had MP and strength, but couldn’t use magic.

That said, MP was crucial even for close combat professions after all.

So that muscle-brained people didn’t mistakenly pass the first test, the test was designed to be based on the ability to use magic.

And now, the contents of the second test were simple.

For the second test, a simple status measurement was conducted using the various magic balls laid on the ground.

By the way, Magic Academy graduates gained a lot of career choices, like adventurer guilds, warlords, or even research establishments.

In this blood-soaked world, the leaking of one’s status can directly result in a person’s death.

Thus, people’s statuses were closely guarded and the status measurement in this round was done in a rather roundabout manner.

“Young lady- no, Lilith? Look at this flame?”

The magic swordsman looked triumphantly at the magic ball as he was touching it.

The diameter of the ball was about ten centimeters.

And within it was a Japanese Buddhist altar, in the altar was a small candle, barely two centimeters wide, with a one centimeter flame lit on it.

“Lilith? This crystal ball reacts to the magic power within a person, and lights a flame within the altar inside it. If it comes into contact with a regular human’s magic power, the flame won’t even be lit. The size of my flame is quite impressive, y’know?”

As the magic swordsman said, with the other examinees, the moment a flame was produced, they passed.

“I certainly did become a special student through my connections. However, talent for magic also runs in one’s bloodline, in terms of capability, I’m talented even within the special class.”

“… So… for a while now, what’re you trying to say?”

This guy has been following me- no, he has been following Lilith’s butt for a while now.

Rather than unpleasant, there’s nothing more annoying.

“I am trying to make the young lady, Lilith fall for me, though? What’s wrong with that?”

“Hey, Lute? As expected, can I finish him?”

Lilith smiled, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

Rather, if I gave the go-ahead, wouldn’t she actually do him in.

“That’s why, I said that’s not good…”

As I responded with a sigh, the magic swordsman glared at me.

“I still can’t accept that you used intermediate magic back there. I myself can only barely use it. So I can’t believe a mere villager like you could do it, you must have used some trick! That’s right! It must have been a trick!”

To begin with, the moment you failed to realize that wasn’t even magic, I knew what level you were at.

Ignoring the magic swordsman, Lilith asked me.

“Lute? Is it fine if I take the test?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind, though?”

Lilith glared at the magic swordsman, and said.

“You’re in the way. Get your hands off the crystal ball.”

Hearing those words, the magic swordsman laughed and said.

“The pass rate of the second test is a fourth of the first. Well, if you don’t pass, I’ll use the power of money to get you through, so become my woman then, okay?”

Looking at the magic swordsman coldly, Lilith touched the crystal ball.

At the same time, the magic swordsman let out a stunned voice.

“Ha…Ha… Ha~h?! What do you mean? That’s unbelievable?!”

Hearing this, the second test’s examiner ran up to us.

Then, I looked into Lilith’s crystal ball and exclaimed, it was just that glaringly obvious.

“This is? The flames are covering the entirety of the crystal ball? Flames that seem like they’ll flow out. Unbelievable, to make such flames appear in the crystal ball one would need to have magic power and MP close to the new student Cordelia Olston.”

Then, the examiner let Lilith pass through the test.

“You pass… If it’s you, depending on the results of the third test, you might even be able to join the special class…”

“Lute?”

“Hmm?”

“The crystal ball’s ability to measure is too low. Probably, this is the upper limit of what it can measure. I’m a magic class. If I can win against her in any aspect, it’s magic and MP, there’s no way I’m at the same level as Cordelia Olston.”

“Well, that’s probably how it is. A scale that can only measure up to a hundred kilograms, would show both a hundred ten kilograms, and three hundred kilograms as simply over a hundred kilograms.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s unsettling.”

At this point, I shrugged in amazement.

“I think the examiner is complimenting you?”

Lilith cocked her head in curiosity.

I made a bitter smile.

No, normally it was the greatest form of praise for one to be compared to the hero. However, we were raised in a really special environment.

It’s a pain to explain that to Lilith.

“Can I also take the second test?”

When Lilith took her hand off the crystal ball, the flames that burnt brightly all over it died away.

And then, I touched the crystal ball.

-The flames covered the insides of the ball.

That was the maximum reaction possible for this crystal ball.

In other words, it couldn’t show a reaction beyond this to people who have magic greater than its limit. It wouldn’t be able to measure such exceptional people.

If that was the case, my second test’s results should be the same as Lilith.

Then, something unexpected happened.

-Kaboom.

“Hot!”

I unintentionally released the crystal ball.

Hearing my loud voice, people looked at me, then at the crystal ball, and then started a huge clamor.

After all, the crystal ball that was measuring my MP, now had cracks all over it.

Then, as though the crystal ball had been soaked in gasoline-

-It started burning.

The surroundings were in chaos.

From the crystal ball, the flames were getting larger and larger.

“…”

I looked ahead.

The second examiner opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.

“…”

I looked to my right.

The magic swordsman, was also opening and closing his mouth like the examiner.

“…”

I looked to my left.

Lilith silently and proudly thrusted out her thin chest while nodding.

“…”

‘I’ve done it now’… Thinking so, I held my head without saying a word.

Although I didn’t want to stand out… I let out a deep sigh, then the magic swordsman yelled loudly.

“What is this?! What in the world is this?! Isn’t this impossible?! I’ve never heard of the entrance exam’s measurement crystal ball bursting into flames?! Ehh, hey?! What does this mean?”

At this point, Lilith cut in.

“Of course you haven’t heard of it. He hasn’t shown his face before, unmistakably the true strongest man in the world. For him to be measured using a simple measuring device used in a Magic Academy’s entrance test… it would be weird if it worked.”

The magic swordsman grabbed my collar roughly and retorted.

“Oi, you! I’m telling you it’s impossible, right?! A great nobleman like me is asking you, so respond, you damn commoner! To begin with? You, you know? You’ve been suspicious since the first test! In the end, to burn up the measuring device…! Just what trick did you use?!”

“Even if you ask me what trick…”

As I shrugged, the magic swordsman came at me even more.

“Pretending to be dumb, hey examiner? What’ll happen to the results of the second test?!”

“…”

The second test examiner stopped for a moment, and after thinking for a while, said.

“The requirements for passing are whether a flame is visible when the examinee touches the crystal ball. Although there’s a chance that the crystal ball broke down, however that would be the fault of the organizers of the test, I can’t help but declare him to have passed.”

“What’s with that! Are you messing with me?! No matter how you look at it, he’s just a fraudulent villager! For a trash-scum like commoner like him to study at the same place as me, is impossible!”

Apparently unable to accept it, he started coming onto the examiner.

‘He’s just like a piranha’, thinking so, I watched their exchange.

“He still hasn’t passed the third test and to begin with you have no right or authority to decide whether he should be allowed to pass or not. You might be royalty, but in this academy, you’re just a mere student.”

Well, of course.

Unlike the spoiled child, the examiners seemed to be people who understood the situation.

At this point, the magic swordsman started stomping on the ground.

Imagine, a sixteen year old stomping on the ground.

While I was left stunned by his actions, the spoiled noble made yet another declaration.

“Hey, you? I’m nothing but a mere student you say?! I don’t know if you’re the Magic Academy’s examiner or instructor, but your words earlier were really disrespectful, y’know. Shall I tell my father’s elder brother, Fusilia kingdom’s king, about how unpleasant your words were?! No…”

He grinned and hit his palm with his fist.

“I got a good idea. You used your authority as an instructor, to threaten a good student like me. You treated me, who was at a disadvantage, cruelly. That’s right, you unreasonably harassed me, things that were done or not, I’ll tell it all to the Fusilia kingdom’s king. By the way, I have used this method to send many people into prison to rot away in horrible states. Fufufu, I’m looking forward to it…”

Eh?

Hearing those words, Lilith, the examiner and my eyes widened.

-Wasn’t this guy an idiot?!

Insidious or something like that, frankly it was disgusting. I wondered how one had to raise a child for them to turn out like this.

It was at the level where I worried about the Fusilia kingdom, hearing that he was a member of the royal family.

“No, just… you…”

As expected, even the examiner was stunned by this reaction.

Making the face of someone who got dragged into a troublesome situation, the examiner sank into thought.

And then, sighed.

Apparently, he was thinking of a way to peacefully calm the spoiled kid down.

At this point, I gave a lifeboat to the examiner.

“Hey, the magic swordsman there?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“In simpler words, you just want to not let me enroll, right?”

“Yeah. Just thinking of studying at the same school as a villager gives me goosebumps!”

“Then, how about this?”

Hmm? The magic swordsman shifted his head.

“…?”

“The third test is a mock battle between the examinees, it’s a one-on-one practical test, right?”

“Yeah, that’s how it should be, but?”

I clapped my hands together.

“How about an exhibition match between a special student like you and an examinee like me? A match without any grudges, no matter who gets beaten to a pulp.”

“You’re on!”

With those words, the spoiled kid and I moved to Artena Magic Academy’s grounds.

Since it’s a match between an examinee and a special student, the audience was huge.

I didn’t want to stand out, but it was better than just bottling up the irritation.

“By the way, villager?”

“It’s Lute.”

“Hmm?”

I said sternly to the frowning nobleman.

“My name is Lute Macklen.”

“So?”

“Not ‘villager’, call me Lute.”

The noble grinned and nodded as he said yes.

Heh, he’s strangely straightforward. My impression of him rose from the level of raw trash to plastic trash.

“With that, well, the villager there.”

I see.

So this was a great noble, from the beginning, he had no intention of listening to my words.

“What is it?”

“I’m a magic swordsman.”

“You can tell just by looking. Although it’s not the heavy armor meant for battle, the light armor, the shoulder pads, and the sword, they’re all first-class magic equipment.”

“Oh, do you know what I’m wearing? It’s common knowledge for villagers, though.”

Well, he probably doesn’t know anything about what I’m wearing.

-At first glance, his equipment looked like it’d cost a few years’ worth of budget for his nation, but well, I guess that was fine.

“So what?”

“I was in the top three in the capital’s swordsmanship competition. And that was just swordsmanship, not magic swordsmanship.”

Everything said and done, this was a prestigious school.

Since it was chosen as the Hero of the North’s instruction school, it was obvious.

If one entered the special class, even if he was a spoiled brat, he naturally possessed the ability to belong there.

“You sure beat around the bush a lot. Like I said before, so what?”

“I’ll give you a handicap.”

“A handicap?”

“I won’t use magic. I’ll only use swordsmanship. And villager, feel free to do as you like. Feel free to get beaten to the ground by me.”

Looking at Lilith instead of me, the magic swordsman winked.

“So, Lilith can forget about this villager, and just fall for me.”

Blood drained from Lilith’s face.

“I got goosebumps.”

Lilith shook on the spot without hiding an inkling of her disgust.

Leaving that aside…

“I see, a handicap… Then, I’ll also show you some kindliness.”

“kindliness?”

I gave a leisurely nod to the magic swordsman with a blank expression.

And then raised the middle finger on my right hand.

“Yeah. Kindliness. I won’t use weapons, I’ll end it with just this.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll understand soon.”

At this point, the examiner standing outside the grounds took a deep breath.

The distance between me and the magic swordsman was three meters.

The magic swordsman held a wooden sword used for mock battles.

And then, the examiner released a loud voice.

“Start!”

And so, the exhibition match between me and the spoiled brat started.

At the same time, the noble raised his mock-sword as though it was a big joke.

Mock sword. It was a wooden sword with shock-absorption properties.

Even though safety devices were put in place, it wasn’t uncommon for fractures to take place in matches like these.

The spoiled brat brought down the mock sword without holding back, aiming for my head.

-For one, his sword skills were on the level of being fairly high from a regular perspective.

If I were to be blunt, his skills were better than what I had when I was twelve.

The mock sword was wooden and hard to swing. Imagine. In Japan, it would be like a wooden bat with sponge wrapped around it being swung down at an immeasurable speed.

What’s more, his opponent was bare-handed, yet he was swinging with all his might.

If one doesn’t react well, a normal person would probably die from this attack.

Well, to me it was something that made me yawn.

“Hoitto-”

When I evade by bending down, the magic swordsman made a surprised expression.

On the other hand, I laughed and brought my middle finger and thumb together on my right hand.

-My aim was the brat’s chin.

-Without using any strengthening skills, with my status as it was, my right hand was sent out.

Then, with a light sound, I finger-flicked his chin.

Apparently, he couldn’t respond to my speed at all.

Perhaps he didn’t even see any sign of the finger-flick.
I didn’t use strengthening techniques, and I didn’t break through the barrier of sound. If it was Cordelia, she’d probably easily evaded it.

“Out of a hundred points, about fifteen points. In the dragon’s village, one gold stripe, or perhaps two. You wouldn’t even be forgiven if caught talking to me over there.”

“Eh?”

Magic swordsman took up a blank expression.

Unable to even understand what had happened, the spoiled brat fell unconscious still standing.

Concussion.

In simpler words, my finger-flick’s impact went up his chin and shook his brain inside his skull.

Inevitably, the brat fell down like a puppet whose strings were cut.

And here, a commotion started.

Well, since an examinee defeated a special student, they couldn’t be blamed. I looked at my surroundings.

And then immediately, I understand that the reason was not me.

In the crowd which had completely surrounded me so far, resembling Moses splitting the sea, a path had been created.

“I finally found youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!”

Along that path, with great momentum, accompanied by an exclamation, without reducing her momentum, a red-haired girl was running towards me.

Her hair was as beautiful as ever. My cheeks loosened at the reunion after a long while.

With her waist-long beautiful hair, suddenly bringing her full speed dash to a stop, my childhood friend Cordelia Olston, said in the voice of a demoness.

“For years and years… Just where in the world were you wandering about! You… Idiot Lute!”

Pure white skin.

Crimson hair that sparkled in the sunlight.

Her eyes were deeper than the deepest seas, and bluer than any skies.

An individual who was more beautiful than the most masterful piece of art symbolizing beauty.

-Before I died, she was fifteen years old, and now she was sixteen.

Even though she was still an unripe fruit, she was at least one year more mature than that time.

Surprised by the beauty, I sighed unconsciously.

“-How many years has it been? You’ve become beautiful, Cordelia.”

“Eh?”

The distance between me and Cordelia is one meter.

As I looked at her, that expression of virtue faded, and her pure white skin turned red.

“…Eh? Just now… You… Beautiful…?”

I nodded at Cordelia’s question.

“Yeah, you’ve become beautiful, truly…”

When I said so, Cordelia’s cheeks reddened and she blushed like an apple.

Then, loosening her cheeks, and shutting her eyes, she shook her head.

“That’s why…”

“hmm?”

“That’s why… I won’t be deceived that easily!”

And then, Cordelia started walking towards me.

She stood right in front of me and-

-A sharp clapping sound echoed through the grounds.

A beautifully executed slap towards me, who thinks ‘What the…’. Cordelia opened her mouth with teary eyes.

“How many years do you think have passed? From the time with the evil dragon, y’know?! Flying away from the village on a whim, how worried do you think I was? How lonely I was?!”

It hurts… I rubbed my cheeks thinking so. I activated all my body reinforcement skills…

It hurt, rather, it really hurt… hold back a little.

If I was a normal person, my head would have been torn apart. Well, Cordelia also put in that much force because I was her opponent, though.

“I know… Well, how should I put it, it’s been a while.”

Blue lines ran down Cordelia’s forehead. And, another slap.

“You don’t know! You definitely don’t know anything!”

No, even if you say I don’t know…

Half-crying, Cordelia continued her words.

“How much I wanted to… see you… How lonely I was-”

At this point, Lilith walked in between Cordelia and me.

Lilith asked Cordelia, who was surprised by the sudden development.

“You and Lute are childhood friends, that’s unmistakable, correct?”

As expected, Cordelia was unable to hide her bewilderment.

“Yeah, it’s unmistakable. Rather you, are you the woman who was with Lute during that time with the evil dragon Amanta?”

“Most certainly. Now, I’d like you to honestly answer a question.”

“What?”

Smiling, Lilith asked.

“You hold romantic feelings towards Lute while just being a childhood friend? Who do you think you are? Why does Lute have to be scolded by you, just because he hasn’t met you for some time? You and Lute are just childhood friends from the same hometown…”

“Eh?”

“A mere hero, a mere childhood friend… Shouldn’t get in over her head.”

Cordelia quieted down for a while, and blue lines ran down her forehead.

-Oh no… I thought.

To put it bluntly, Cordelia was quick to take up a fight.

Even when she was just an inexperienced girl. Well, when she became a hero, I remember being easily convinced.

Cordelia picked up the mock sword the spoiled brat had dropped to the ground.

“I am Cordelia Olston. I have been chosen as the Hero of the North. What is your name?”

“I am Lilith, I don’t have a surname. I’m a magician.”

“You’re an examinee, right? Looks like you were trying to make fun of a hero. Like Lute and that magic swordsman earlier, wanna try an exhibition match?”

“Perhaps, you’re underestimating me as a normal examinee? In that case, I’d ask you to correct yourself. I am Lute’s follower, so obviously, I’m not normal.”

“Oh my? Am I being underestimated? Even so, I’m the Hero of the North, right? Well, just using a mock sword is probably not enough, so I’ll hold back a little too, you can go all out.”

“It would be better if you put the mock sword down.”

At this point, Cordelia smiled triumphantly.

“Oh my? To put my sword down, do you not want to fight? Is this what they call running from the battle? Well, it’s not like a magician can fight a hero, right?”

Lilith also smiled in a triumphant manner.

“With just a mock sword, it won’t even be a fight. I hate bullying the weak.”

“Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, though?”

Then, Lilith let out a half-laugh which didn’t reach her eyes.

“Quickly, put the mock sword away and bring out your holy sword, is what I’m saying. You… small fry.”

Blue stripes ran down Cordelia’s face to the extent that I could hear its sound effects.

“You’re picking one, right? As expected, you’re picking a fight with me, right?”

“The one to bring up a mock battle was you. You female gorilla.”

“This…!”

The two glared at each other and then decided to give each other a ‘fuck you’ sign.

“Let’s do it then!”

“You should just crumble before the abyss of magic.”

Then, the two ran off to the battle space in the grounds, a circle.

It was 20 meters above the ground.

While floating in the air, Lilith moved both her hands and shot intermediate-ranked fire magic from a magic circle.

Several hundreds of fireballs rained down from the air.

Flames poured from the skies toward the ground, like an air raid during the Pacific War.

The ground was completely burnt, letting out dense black smoke.

Lilith fled to the skies as soon as the match began. Now, Cordelia was being bombarded by endless intermediate magic attacks.

“Get down here! Cheater!”

Cordelia picked up and tossed a rock, however Lilith easily dodged it while flying in mid-air.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to fight in close quarters against a close-combat specialist.”

Lilith shot another fireball at Cordelia from her palm.

However, Cordelia swung her sword at the fireball.

-Holy Sword of the Oracle.

A weapon that cut right through magic power itself, it was a cheat-like weapon.

Thanks to that, Cordelia easily made it through all of Lilith’s magic attacks.

Currently, they both lacked a decisive blow.

Cordelia’s sword couldn’t reach Lilith flying in the sky, and Lilith’s magic was cut down by Cordelia.

Now, what’ll those two do, while I was thinking so, I heard these words.

“What’s with this, firing off a barrage of intermediate spells, that’s not the level of a student!”

“She’s a class apart.”

“I haven’t seen this before in the imperial competitions either, am I dreaming?”

Leaving the students aside, even the instructors were surprised.

“I can understand the hero: Cordelia… but that magician… even after using all those intermediate spells on top of a flying spell, why doesn’t her MP run out?”

Flight magic was typically used for emergency responses and emergency evacuations.

The MP required was no joke, and if you were a regular mage, you’d run out in just twenty seconds.

That’s why, it was normally not possible for a magician to use the tactic of flying in the sky while showering someone with spells like Lilith.

No, well such a tactic did exist, but it was considered a risky tactic. Only to be used when you’re convinced you can end it in one blow.

A lot happened to Lilith and me.

As a result, whenever she was close to me, she was practically supplied by my nearly endless MP. Including Cordelia, it was beyond what most people can handle.

Thanks to that, I could get help from Lilith when I performed rituals or activated forbidden spells, but that’s a different story.

“Geez. I can’t make any progress.”

A sword in the right hand.

Brushing her hair with her left hand, Cordelia glared at Lilith.

“-In that case, I’ll be getting serious, okay?”

Cordelia’s blue eyes turned scarlet.

The atmosphere got tense, and it felt as though the temperature increased slightly. A red aura enveloped Cordelia.

“Since it’s come down to this, I’m not holding back anymore. If you get hurt, I’m sorry, okay?”

I already knew Cordelia could control berserking magic power.

Setting that aside, I called out to Cordelia.

“Even if your status has probably increased a lot, the opponent is still twenty meters above the ground, right? The situation hasn’t changed. What are you planning on doing?”

Cordelia lowered herself, bending both her knees.

And let out a scream of enthusiasm.

“Here we goooo!”

The one who was surprised was Lilith.

She should have been in a position where she could safely one-sidedly attack Cordelia, but Cordelia suddenly appeared within slashing distance.

So.

Cordelia jumped to where Lilith was, twenty meters into the sky, using just the strength of her legs.

A sword that descended, and the flash of a holy sword.

A part of Lilith’s robe was torn, and a part of her bare skin was revealed.

The sword only lightly cut her skin, and there wasn’t too much blood. Apparently, there was no need to worry about serious injuries.

Cordelia, obeying the laws of gravity, fell back towards the ground.

She lands back onto the floor, with a proud triumphant smile.

Then, Cordelia bent her knees again.

“Once more~!”

The state of the two lacking a decisive blow crumbled.

Now, only Cordelia could dish out an effective attack on Lilith.

Just before she jumped, Cordelia’s glaring expression turned into a frown.

At the same time, a headache ran through my head.

“I told her to only use intermediate magic since we’d stand out otherwise, that idiot.”

Surprised, Cordelia exclaimed.

“What’s… with this magic power? It’s so abnormal? Unbelievable… This… This is… Unbelievable…”

Floating high in the sky, Lilith said with a smile.

“This is a spell only taught to dragons, and a hidden spell even among them: God-slaying spear, Longinus.”

Taking out a metal stake from her pocket, she shot it even higher into the sky, just in case.

The stake cut through the air as it flew higher and higher.

“I have now shot it, over one thousand meters above the ground.”

While keeping her stance, Cordelia asked Lilith.

“You shot it…? Shot what?”

“A 3 centimeters wide, thirty centimeter long metal stake- God’s spear.”

“And? That’s why I said… So what?”

“What goes up… Must come down.”

“…?”

“A metal rod accelerated by gravity and magic. It’s speed far surpasses sound… You can’t possibly – defend against it.”

Hearing the words, Cordelia’s expression contorts with uneasiness.

There was no helping it.

The wave of magic power Lilith released just now, wasn’t normal even by my standards.

However, Cordelia slapped her own left cheek with her own left hand.

And then, the fear or dismay on her face, any negative emotion was erased.

On the contrary, with a cheerful smile, Cordelia pointed her sword to the skies and screamed.

“As you wish! Let’s do this!”

Cordelia with her sword pointed to the skies.

On the other hand, Lilith had a proud triumphant smile.

“In a few seconds the spear will drop. I don’t have any intention of killing you. If you wish to surrender, now’s the chance.”

“Surrender? While the spear hasn’t even fallen…? Fu… Don’t joke around.”

A daring hero, and a magician handling secret dragon spells.

From above, approaching Cordelia, was a magically accelerated homing spear- Longinus.

On the other hand, intercepting Longinus was the Oracle’s Holy Sword.

And, at that place was me, a villager holding his head.

For now, I picked up a pebble.

And then threw it towards Lilith with all my strength.

A dull sound.

Lilith became teary-eyed mid-air while holding her head with both hands.

Okay, seemed like it hit her quite well. Immediately, Lilith turned to me seemingly knowing I was the one who threw the stone.

She seemed to notice my peaceful expression, and made a surprised one.

And then canceling the flight magic, she landed on the ground and walked over to me.

“You stood out too much. What’re you planning on doing using high level magic and even dragon’s secret spells. You idiot.”

When I knocked her head with my knuckles, Lilith once again became teary-eyed.

“I decided that I wouldn’t win unless I got serious. This woman became even stronger than last time.”

I reprimanded Lilith who had puffed her cheeks with a stunned expression.

“It’s fine if you don’t win though…”

At this point, Cordelia came between us and said.

“I can’t understand too well, but… Is the mock battle over with this?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Rather, if we went any further, you’d end up killing each other.”

After thinking for a moment, Cordelia nodded, then with a carefree smile she turned to Lilith and offered her right hand.

“Lilith? You’re quite strong, you know? I don’t hate… Strong people.”

“What do you mean?”

“Strong people work hard. That’s why, like this villager here, people who are really stunningly strong all work hard.”

“…?”

“Lilith is not a hero, not even a sage, just a magician, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Yet… You’re strong enough to compete with me. It’s not as though I didn’t put in any effort, but there’s a difference in talent.”

“What do you want to say?”

“You are definitely working harder than me. In that case-”

“In that case?”

“I have to respect that one fact, right? No matter how much I dislike you.”

Then, once again, Cordelia gave a bright sunflower-like smile.

And offered her right hand to Lilith.

Apparently she wanted a handshake.

“So, for the time being, a truce. Is that okay?”

“…”

Silent Lilith.

She made an indifferent expression which was tough to read.

However, she smiled a little as though she lost to Cordelia’s bright smile.

In response to Cordelia’s right hand, she offered her own right hand.

Suddenly a strong wind blew.

Lilith’s mantle blew with the wind, revealing her undergarments.

Since it was cut by Cordelia earlier, in other words, the entire part from her head to her torso was visible to Cordelia.

That place was where Lilith’s slave mark was.

Damn it… I held my head.

In the end, since we didn’t have time, and since we only changed her ownership to me, we didn’t remove the mark.

“That is… a sex slave’s mark, no?”

Lilith nodded.

Cordelia’s face went pale as she watched.

And then, with fear, she asked Lilith.

“Then as a sex slave, your master is… perhaps Lute?”

Silently, Lilith nodded again.

Hearing those words, Cordelia’s shoulders began to shake.

That expression, I wonder if it was alright.

Half-crying, blue-faced with several blood vessels visible on her forehead… Was she sad or was she angry? Which was it, it was unclear, that was the kind of expression she had.

Then , Cordelia covered her eyes and held back her tears.

Defeatedly wiping the tears with her finger, Cordelia with a forced smile said.

“Well that’s right, right? It’s been so many years, right?”

“Hmm?”

“Lute is a man, and Lilith, even for a woman like me she’s cute. I guess it can’t be helped, right?”

“What happened, Cordelia?”

“Hmm? No it’s nothing much, though?”

To the obviously forced tone of voice, I gave a dubious frown.

“…?”

At this point, Cordelia once again covered her eyelashes.

“It’s nothing. I can understand, and as an outsider, I have nothing to say. Besides, I’m Lute’s… just his childhood friend, not his lover or anything…”

A moment of silence.

She continued with a suppressed voice.

“But…just…a little…lonely…I guess?”

Without meeting my eyes, Cordelia turned her back to me.

“…Well then, see you.”

Saying that, she started walking back towards the school.

“Hey, wait!”

“I’m not waiting- Well then~!”

“Hey! Wait! It’s been such a long time, no matter how you look at it, this isn’t right.”

At this point, Cordelia turned around and said with a crumbling expression.

“Right now, you… said this wasn’t right?”

Streams of tears flowed down Cordelia’s cheeks.

“Yeah.”

“Hey, you… are you planning on making me feel even more serious about you?!”

“…?”

“I want to say with a loud voice, you know! That this isn’t right- I want to say that!”

Not knowing what to say to her who was crying, I froze.

“…?”

With her fist closed tightly, and her face red- Cordelia glared at me angrily.

“…Oh”

I couldn’t hear it too well, so I responded to Cordelia.

“Oh?”

Trembling with rage, Cordelia shouted.

“Lute, you doooork!”

Saying this, Cordelia dashed into the school building at full speed and disappeared.

“What happened to her…”

I asked Lilith with a stunned expression.

And then, Lilith said to me a who also had stunned expression.

“Lute?”

“hmm?”

“I’ll just say this… normally… I’d also get angry.”

Well, that’s how Lilith and I were somehow able to enter Artena Magic Academy.

The time of day was morning.

It was still dark, and there was no sign of the rain stopping which had continued for the past five days.

-For a full week, I have not been having anything other than water.

I… Cordelia Olston had been spending everyday lethargically.

In terms of hunger, it wasn’t difficult at all.

Just that, I felt dull, and doing anything seemed troublesome.

Rather, I didn’t feel like eating anything to begin with, and seeing food made me want to puke.

A private room in the dormitory, a room with nothing but books on magic and training equipment.

I buried my head into my pillow on my bed.

-Even though we finally met.

It’s not like Lute becoming the master of a sex slave was a weird occurance.

Lute was already sixteen years old and it wasn’t weird for him to be doing stuff like this or stuff like that with another woman, and I had no right to bind him to me.

I know. I know that.

Lute and I were just childhood friends, we were not married and we weren’t lovers.

Even while playing around as children, we never made any promises about the future.

That’s why this was just me holding a grudge, and I knew I had no right to say anything about it.

But, I sighed.

-I wondered why my chest ached so much. When I thought of him, the back of my womb became uneasy.

“Haah…”

How many times had I sighed today.

That girl, Lilith’s face came into my mind, and my heart started feeling clouded.

“Well, it’s not like it’s certain… that he’s been taken away.”

It’s obvious for aristocrats to have mistresses, their wife and lover were separate women.

I didn’t know what kind of a relationship there was between a sex slave and her master, but it was definitely different from that of lovers.

However, the two seemed to get along well, no… If I thought about it, the chances of them being lovers was…

“… *sulky sfx*”

When I thought that far, the pain I was suppressing hit me again.

The morning sunlight came into the room

“…”

I stand in front of the mirror, and hit my cheeks with my palms.

“I am the hero: Cordelia Olston. The hero can’t remain depressed.”

Today was the entrance ceremony, and as the new student body president, I had to give out the greetings.

It’s a gathering of great people from around the country… as the hero who was to face multiple calamities, I had to perform well.

An auditorium lined with long, red carpets.

The number of new enrollments this year was five hundred and the special class students among them were fifty.

The number of people in the auditorium was less than three hundred.

The guests and faculty made for a hundred of them, and the remaining two hundred were students.

The students who were allowed to attend the entrance ceremony were the special class students and the children of nobles.

The remaining students were asked to self-study at their dormitories.

This world was divided into classes and statuses wherever one went. Even so, not letting them participate in the entrance ceremony was going a bit too far, I think.

Surprisingly, Lute was also not allowed to participate in the ceremony.

Although he was admitted into the academy, his occupation as a villager became a bottleneck, and he was put into the regular classes.

“…And with that, I’d like to end the greeting of new students at the entrance ceremony.”

Broken applause was sent towards me, who was standing on the stage.

With a bow, I got off stage and returned to my seat.

After listening to the principal’s words afterwards and singing the national song, the ceremony ended.

Within the rain that continued to fall, Moses and I walked down the corridor towards the dorms.

My afternoon schedule was free, I had to return to my room and start my physical training and body strengthening skill training at once.

“Lately, your face doesn’t look too good, are you alright Cordelia?”

“…As expected, you can tell?”

“Well, I see your face everyday after all. There are dark bags under your eyes, you know?”

Well, I hadn’t eaten anything for a full week since food wouldn’t go down my throat, so it couldn’t be helped.

“By the way, I was wondering during the entrance examination, but today is the first day of the fourth month, right?”

“…That’s right. What about it?”

“Don’t you feel a little lonely?”

“Lonely? Why?”

“Spring flower festival.”

“…?”

“See, in our village we used to send flowers to people important to us on the first day of spring, right? We used to pack the plaza full of flowers…”

There, Moses frowned.

“Yeah, there was that. Such a rural custom.”

“A rural custom, huh. Well, certainly that might be so, but I really liked it.”

“Liked it? What?”

“I liked flowers. On the first day of the fourth month, decorating the entire plaza with flowers, I liked it.”

Here, Moses raised the corners of his mouth in an arrogant smile.

“From here on out, you will be proceeding down the path of a hero. Authority, fame, money if you wish for it, you will have it.”

“What do you want to say?”

“…Nostalgia for your hometown will soon disappear.”

At this point, we came to the path separating the boys’ dorm and the girls’ dorm.

“Well, see you.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Separating from Moses, I headed straight ahead.

And, I saw the figure of a boy sitting in the corridor, completely drenched from the rain.

“-Lute?”

Smiling, Lute opened his right hand.

“Yes.”

“…What do you want?”

“For a while now, what happened to you… You seem cold, or rather unattached…”

Well, of course.

Since I’m trying to be cold, and full of retorts.

Then, Lute put a hand into his pocket, and gave me a wet bouquet of flowers.

“…What is this?”

“Suzlon flower.”

“I know that, so what?”

“Today’s the fourth month’s first day, right? So I plucked it… Just now.”

“…Practicing that rural custom… even now…? And even getting soaked for it?”

“Yeah, even though I got soaked because of it.”

“Won’t you… catch a cold?”

At this point, Lute smiled brightly like the sun.

“Don’t you know? Idiots don’t catch colds.”

“………”

I was stunned.

Well, certainly, he didn’t seem to be the type to catch a cold.

“Do you know what it means to give a flower on the first day of the fourth month?”

“Family or lover. Wishing for a flower-like smile to bloom on a person important to you, that’s what it meant, right?”

“………”

“………”

We were both silent for a while.

The one to break the silence was me.

“Lilith… are you giving anything to that girl?”

“Hmm-…”

“…”

“Well, not really? She isn’t someone from our village, after all.”

“Is that so.”

“………”

“………”

Once again, a moment of silence.

And once again, I was the one to break it.

“You…”

“hmm?”

“Lilith… That woman is your sex slave, right?”

“That’s… what it seems like, right.”

“Um… So… That’s… uh…”

Even I could tell my cheeks were flushing.

However, I couldn’t help but ask this.

“That… Have you done… any perverted things…?”

“I haven’t, though? Lilith is just a childhood friend like you. That’s all there is to it.”

Lute said so easily.

I had a stunned expression.

“…”

“…”

Silence once again ruled over us.

Cordelia who looked stunned.

I, Lute Macklen, was troubled.

She had been in a bad mood for a week as well as today, there was a lot of silence.

When I used to give her a flower in the past, she’d be smiling all day long, but… Well, women her age were a pain.

Cordelia closed her eyelids and said to me, who didn’t know why he was in trouble.

“Thank you.”

“Hmm?”

“…Flower.”

“Yeah.”

Then, as though trying to sneak a peek onto my face, she said with a slight smile.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah”

At this point, while rubbing her belly, ‘tehehe’, she laughed.

“Lunch, have you had some?”

“No, not yet, why?”

Then, she pointed to the school building.

“Let’s eat together at the cafeteria.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

I nodded and prepared to go, but for some reason, Cordelia didn’t walk no matter how much time passed.

“Hmm? Aren’t you coming?”

“You go first.”

“Why?”

“It was always this way since we were young, right?”

Certainly, no matter where we went, she always walked behind me.

“That’s right.”

Saying so, I started walking ahead of Cordelia.

“Please wait.”

When I turned around, Cordelia stood there with flushed cheeks.

And Cordelia offered me her right hand.

‘Hold my hands, like you used to…’ Is what she seemed to be saying.

Geez- She was always a kid, no matter how much time passed.

-This is how, Cordelia and my school life started.