Ch.2828. Beginning of Term Assessment (1)

“How did you end up there?”

It was a question directed at Sylvia, who had appeared out of nowhere.

I could understand Michelle, but why was she here?

“Ah. Just a moment.”

Sylvia hesitated briefly, examining the crumpled box before confirming its contents were fine and letting out a sigh of relief.

What she pulled out from the crumpled box was a fountain pen.

“What’s with the fountain pen?”

“I’ve been going around apologizing to people I’ve wronged and giving them gifts. You were the only one left. So…”

In short, she was using the money she earned today to apologize to people and give them fountain pens, modest as they were.

If she had been raised with a proper education, her gentle, lamb-like personality would probably have earned her many friends.

I’m not sure how much she suffered because of her position as an illegitimate child of a count’s family, but there’s no disagreement that it wasn’t right.

As I accepted the gift from the poor, pitiful Sylvia, I decided to speak to her again.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well, Sylvia.”

“It’s just a fountain pen, but… I thought it might help.”

“Just a fountain pen? For students, this is a treasure. Especially when it’s from a friend.”

“Friend…? Is that… what we are? Hmm… W-well, I’m glad you like it.”

At my words of gratitude, Sylvia’s face lit up. Or perhaps it was the word “friend” that pleased her.

To such a Sylvia, Junon added a curious remark.

“I like who you are now better than when you were at the count’s house.”

“W-what…?”

“Back then, you somehow didn’t seem human. How should I put it… like an emotionless mannequin chasing after an unreachable goal? Anyway, I’m saying I prefer you now that you’ve shed all that.”

“I… I see…”

“If you ever have any troubles, let me know. I’ll step up and help you.”

Seizing the moment, I returned Sylvia’s ribbon that I had been keeping.

Back then, I had kept it as a sort of token to prevent Sylvia from making rash moves, but now there was no need for that.

Then, to my surprise, Sylvia’s body began to tremble slightly.

“Sylvia…? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I-I-I-I’m fine…! I just need to go to the bathroom for a moment…!”

“Huh…? Oh, okay.”

With that, Sylvia snatched the ribbon from my palm and ran off in the opposite direction without even making eye contact.

But… that’s not the way to the bathroom.

‘I’m going crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy…! What? He l-likes…? That…!’

Sylvia’s face turned as red as a ripe fruit, radiating heat.

To hide her face, which had become as flushed as a ripe apple, Sylvia had no choice but to flee from Junon.

It was fortunate for her that he didn’t see her face in this state.

“Junon… he…”

Said he liked me. Said I was to his liking.

That he preferred the current me much more than the past me.

Every time she recalled those words, Sylvia’s face would cool down only to heat up again, ripening once more.

“Ugh… why am I like this…?”

Worried that Junon might dislike her for behaving this way, Sylvia tried to regain her composure by rubbing her cheeks with her palms.

As time passed and the heat gradually left her skin, Sylvia was already wearing a faint smile.

“He thanked me…”

When I’m the one who should be thanking him.

With that thought, Sylvia let out a small chuckle. What had caused her, who never smiled once while at the count’s house, to start showing her emotions?

─Sylvia! Time’s almost up! We have to go take the exam at 3!

It was because of the boy calling her name over there—the same boy she once bullied.

“Oh, yes!! I’m coming!!”

Hurriedly trying to tie her hair with the ribbon again, Sylvia instead put it in her pocket and stood up.

There was no longer any reason to wear the ribbon.

Everything had changed since her benefactor, who had completely transformed her world, had untied it.

***

As expected, the beginning-of-term assessment was divided into written and practical exams.

For the written exam, I remembered many of the questions from before, so I might have actually scored better than in my previous life.

The written exam wasn’t really the issue, though.

“The practical exam will be conducted as a joint exercise. I will now announce the roster, so gather in your teams.”

In the distance, Professor Muniher began calling out names from his list.

And soon, it would be time for my name to be called.

“Junon, Charlotte,───.”

The practical exam for the beginning-of-term assessment, or joint exercise, works like this:

A team of six members, organized by position, heads to a designated location to gather magical power in their badges.

Of course, this designated location isn’t like before, where they used Talbert Arc to create it.

“The exam location this time is the Tveshar Lowlands.”

As soon as they heard “Tveshar Lowlands,” the students began murmuring with various reactions.

Some wondered if it was too dangerous, while many others nervously clutched their chests.

The Tveshar Lowlands are located at the boundary between the southeastern Mirpark and southwestern Algenib.

Unlike Mount Utulum, the location for the end-of-term assessment, the climate and natural environment are mild and pose no major problems.

So why are the students murmuring?

It’s because the Tveshar Lowlands are particularly notorious for frequent appearances of magical beasts.

The only area in the rectangular-shaped Ardelion Principality that’s indented, making it closer to a pentagon.

A place where incidents and accidents never ceased within the principality, eventually classified as an area outside the border.

That was the Tveshar Lowlands, the location for this beginning-of-term assessment.

No one knows exactly why magical beasts appear so frequently, but it’s said that the ecosystem is already so active that magical beasts appear every time there’s a subjugation.

In other words, it’s essentially a real battle.

For students who haven’t yet built up their strength, this exam involves the potentially dangerous encounter with actual magical beasts.

There was only one reason why this location was chosen for the exam despite such risks.

“Professor Flocan designated the location for this beginning-of-term assessment. He said it would allow you to show your true abilities.”

Professor Muniher also mentioned that he thought practical subjects were placed too late in the later years and semesters.

Well, there might be other reasons too, but he added that it seemed like an excellent location for an exam.

If he were to realize what’s about to happen, he would probably vehemently deny it.

But even Professor Muniher would just tell me to focus on the exam properly rather than listening to nonsense if I tried to tell him.

Well, the water’s already been spilled, so I’ll just have to try to contain it somehow.

By now, our team had moved to the entrance, and everyone was introducing themselves.

“Nice to meet you all. Let’s work together for a good result.”

“I look forward to working with everyone.”

“Leave the crowd control magic to me!”

“────.”

And soon, a voice reached Charlotte.

“I’ve heard a lot about Lady Eshreldt’s achievements. It’s an honor to be on the same team!”

“…Yes.”

While the team members were exchanging greetings one by one, no one said anything to me.

So I might as well jump in.

“Anyway, I’m a vanguard, so you’re going to tell me I’m useless and to leave later, right? I’ll just leave first.”

They won’t care anyway.

It’s better for me not to stick around and hear their harsh words. And they’re probably secretly hoping I’ll leave.

If I jump in first and leave as I initially planned, I won’t have to face Charlotte either. Isn’t that killing three birds with one stone?

Besides, even if I leave the team and proceed like this, it won’t cause any major problems.

-‘If you really can’t match up with your team, you can go separately, or if you see necessary talent, you can recruit from other teams.’

That was one of the few exam provisions Professor Muniher mentioned.

Since they can’t prevent discord between team members, they allow separate activities if people don’t get along.

It means they understand that personality differences can arise when people meet, and they’ll accept mutual avoidance if things really don’t work out.

‘Well, the exam is judged by the magical power gathered in the badges anyway.’

Thanks to that one provision, what’s supposed to be a joint exercise becomes more like a group project rather than a team activity.

And furthermore, this is the same reason why numerous teams are decimated when their vanguards leave.

‘I should go straight to those guys.’

With everything proceeding smoothly without any obstacles, there couldn’t be a better opportunity.

However.

“Would you mind having a word with me?”

I realized something was wrong when I noticed someone had followed me, grabbing my shoulder and speaking up.

***

Charlotte Eshreldt’s motto is quite firm.

Think coldly, discard boldly what needs to be discarded, and take decisively what needs to be taken.

Simply put, such boldness and clean handling ability had removed all the obstacles that came into Charlotte’s life.

There had been virtually no obstacles she couldn’t remove until now, and she believed it would continue to be so.

However, the recent obstacle wasn’t just a stone. The memory brought by that stinging headache was impossible to remove.

‘Could this man… be the cause?’

Charlotte was suspicious of Junon, the vanguard position member of the same team standing before her.

Perhaps he had done something, or secretly hired someone to use dark arts.

She suspected that somehow, through some method, something that caused skull-splitting headaches had passed through his hands.

But what was the reality?

-‘What? A commoner? The person I asked you to investigate?’

-‘Yes. There’s only one person with that name in the principality, not the empire.’

-‘…Any special notes?’

-‘I was just about to tell you, but besides being a commoner, he’s a student in Class E who has barely awakened his defensive innate magic. As for his nicknames…’

Class E’s dunce. The weakest vanguard.

Just as those nicknames suggested, he was someone who barely had the power to harm anyone with his own hands.

A close-range blocking vanguard. A type that only uses defensive equipment to block attacks and shows no significant power in using mental attacks or dark arts.

It was too far from her initial suspicion that he might have used some kind of magic.

Then there was only one possibility left.

‘I thought he might have used black magic…’

A form of power that completely tramples human principles and brings about the worst results, not in the form of magic but sorcery.

It’s commonly believed that black magic is a power borrowed from the methods of magical beasts or their primitive forms, magical creatures.

As revealed in the history of the Artena Empire, black magic was a power unrelated to Junon.

-‘He’s clean. There have been a series of incidents and accidents since he enrolled at Lebrant Academy… but nothing else.’

In the end, now that she had met the person himself, asking him directly would be the only answer.

There was no other way to address this memory, which felt like tearing out a single page from a book.

“What is it?”

As Charlotte slowly tried to approach Junon, troublemakers stepped in to block her.

“Nice to meet you! Baron Eshreldt!”

“Why so formal with ‘Baron’? You’re still young, so let’s call you Lady Eshreldt. No need to make you sound old.”

“Is that so? Hahaha.”

People blocking her path and extending their hands.

They seemed to be exchanging pleasantries and laughing among themselves, but they were more interested in something else.

“I’ve heard a lot about Lady Eshreldt’s achievements. It’s an honor to be on the same team!”

“…Yes.”

Charlotte accepted the handshake from her assigned teammate but felt quite displeased.

Somehow, it felt too blatant that they were treating one person as if they had abandoned him alone.

Charlotte suspected that unlike the other four, they were reacting this way because they were conscious of one person’s minimal magical power.

Had he immediately noticed the atmosphere of openly ignoring just one person? He promptly spoke up.

“Anyway, I’m a vanguard, so you’re going to tell me I’m useless and to leave later, right? I’ll just leave first.”

No. He didn’t show a bland reaction as if he had drunk plain water.

He didn’t just notice this; he had experienced it repeatedly, to the point of being sick of it.

Nevertheless, he took the first step away, treating it as if it were nothing significant.

Indeed, as she had heard, he was a person with formidable mental strength, getting up eight times after falling seven.

Charlotte tried to pass through the team members surrounding her again.

And once more.

“Hmm? Where are you going, Lady?”

“The exam site is this way. We’ll guide you.”

“If you don’t want to see a harsh sight, you’d better step aside.”

“What? But we’re a team… Ack!”

Splash.

“L-Lady Eshreldt! What are you doing all of a sudden?!”

“You should have moved when I told you to. Be thankful I only splashed water on you.”

“Huh…”

With a tone suggesting she couldn’t care less about them, Charlotte shot back and followed Junon, leaving behind the gazes of the other four.

After following Junon, who had distanced himself from the assigned team, Charlotte grabbed his arm and said:

“Would you mind having a word with me?”

Seeing Junon’s slightly startled face, Charlotte directly got to the point.

“You’re Junon, who just advanced to the third year, and were in Class E of the second year last semester. Known as the weakest vanguard, right?”

“…!”

While directly mentioning that she had completed her investigation.

‘This is troublesome.’

The moment Junon confirmed who had grabbed his shoulder, he was already intimidated.

How could Charlotte, who had just arrived in the Ardelion Principality, know not only his name and nickname but also his grade, class, and year?

Just when he thought he could easily shake her off without any problems, unexpected pursuit followed.

This made things quite difficult. Not only was he being delayed from sending those two elsewhere, but Charlotte, whom he had worried about meeting, was right in front of him.

No, there’s still no problem. As long as he prevents joining the party, there shouldn’t be any ill feelings towards him.

“I’ll take that as a yes. I followed you because I wanted to ask you something, so I’d appreciate an answer.”

“…Yeah. That’s my name.”

He had openly left the team declaring himself incompetent, but what was going on?

“By any chance, Tembris…”

─Aaaaargh!!!!

At that moment, screams loud enough to drown out Charlotte’s voice began to echo from all directions.