Ch.34Reassignment Exam (2)

“Before the exam, I’ll distribute electronic maps showing Aether distribution. Since the maps only show approximate distribution, if you’re not good at mathematical thinking, it might be better to just run around and search on foot. Students who need it can download it here.”

The explanation ended right there. I had heard everything I could.

I saw students below Middle Class hurriedly forming groups. The weak tend to band together to compensate for their weaknesses.

I couldn’t mock them.

Because that’s human nature, and it’s actually a strength.

I too wanted to form a team with someone who had combat ability.

In the midst of this, Seti made a proposal.

“Want to be on the same team?”

It was somewhat blunt but had a strangely expectant tone.

“You’re pretty good at fighting.”

“Me?”

I pointed at myself and asked incredulously. Seti nodded without hesitation.

“When you took down that monster during the practical evaluation.”

“That only worked because Rustila was there.”

“I know.”

Then Seti suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

“Where are we going?”

“Deeper.”

Seti, who had been pulling me down the slope, suddenly stopped walking.

We had arrived at the camp of the supplementary class, where students with poor entrance scores gathered.

She looked around and began to explain.

“I vaguely knew this kind of test was coming. So I trained to improve my Aether detection ability.”

“That’s a gamble.”

“Not a gamble. I was almost certain.”

Well, this was exactly the difference between Seti and Eidel.

“If I had to put it in terms, it’s like investing in stocks? I have a sense for it. The sense of victory that you didn’t have back then.”

“If you say so.”

Her manner of speaking strangely resembled Zernya’s. The Adelbein bloodline can’t be hidden, it seems.

“Cooperate with my plan.”

“Yes.”

I responded indifferently.

“So here’s the deal. Let’s combine my Aether detection ability, your adequate combat skills, and whatever mathematical thinking ability you might have.”

“……”

“Honestly, I think if we siblings stick together, we’ll be stronger than if we go separately.”

“…Siblings, huh.”

“What? Why? We are biologically siblings.”

Seti replied with her arms crossed, looking somewhat pouty.

“You wouldn’t even acknowledge me as your brother before.”

“Shut up and keep listening.”

Seti cleared her throat with a “hmm” and continued.

“But just the two of us won’t be able to get stable results. We need one more person, like you mentioned earlier.”

Who could that person be?

Actually, it was obvious.

Just then, a girl with a blonde ponytail passed by us. I saw her, but she didn’t seem to notice us in the crowd.

She looked like she was leaving to find someone to team up with.

I think our needs would match perfectly.

“Rustila!”

Just as I called her name and reached out my hand.

Thwack!

My hand was bent downward. I felt a stinging sensation on the back of my hand.

“What the…”

Frowning, I turned my head to see an android in a suit standing there with an expressionless face.

“Please look with your eyes only.”

An android similar to Sonia had appeared.

***

While some students come to Academia purely to study, others enroll mainly for romance or a dissolute lifestyle.

More precisely, they want to let loose.

They think: “I studied hard, so don’t I deserve a reward?”

And for many males, one such reward is pursuing romance.

At seventeen, it’s the age when many become interested in the opposite sex and actively approach them like cunning snakes.

However, the number of snakes approaching Rustila exceeded imagination.

“Want to form a team with us?”

She had just rejected another team’s proposal 10 seconds ago and was walking away. Two more male students approached and made their proposal to Rustila.

“Your sword stance is different. You must be really good with a sword.”

“He’s good at math, and I have good detection abilities. What do you say? Want to team up with us?”

“No, I…”

Just as Rustila was about to decline with a sigh.

“That won’t be possible.”

An android wedged herself between the male students and Rustila.

Her name was Verdia, a 5th generation android with neat formal attire and straight dark hair. She had been assigned as Rustila’s bodyguard, succeeding Zermel.

“Our Lady Rustila is a noble person. Please refrain from approaching her carelessly.”

“Wow, so your name is Rustila. Your name is as pretty as your face.”

“You’re making unnecessary advances.”

Verdia physically pushed away the smooth-talking male students. It was truly an iron-clad defense.

It was so harsh that even Rustila felt embarrassed watching it.

She thought Verdia’s overprotectiveness was becoming a nuisance to others.

“Aren’t you being too harsh?”

Rustila asked.

Verdia shook her head and muttered.

“My lady is a peerless beauty. Do you think such riffraff will back off with a gentle rejection?”

“Well…”

Peerless beauty? That’s going too far. I don’t think I’m ugly, but I consider myself rather plain.

“Still, Verdia? I’m not interested in relationships yet. I think it’s better to seriously consider such things when I become an adult.”

“My lady, you are too innocent.”

Verdia sighed and rebutted.

“As the saying goes, no tree will stand if struck ten times. Men are all woodcutters with axes. Do you know what will happen if these persistent ones keep striking at you?”

“……”

“I have no intention of letting such monkeys approach you.”

Verdia continued with her hands behind her back.

“But it would be dangerous alone. Since we don’t know what dangers lurk inside that forest, you do need companions who can protect you in case of emergency.”

“You’re allowing it?”

“Yes. To be honest, I think your father’s order to avoid all contact with others is a bit extreme.”

Rustila’s pupils dilated upon hearing those words.

Verdia was certainly different from Zermel. True to being a 5th generation android, she was more flexible.

‘Your father told me to monitor you because you’re not coming home. Anyway, it’s an honor to meet you.’

The high-end android that the Kersil family had spent a fortune on to guard and monitor Rustila was actually giving her freedom.

It was a misjudgment for Rustila’s parents, but ultimately a good thing for Rustila herself.

“I have someone in mind.”

Rustila said.

Her cheeks were faintly flushed.

“……”

Verdia sensed something unusual in the air.

Rustila continued walking around to find that person she had in mind.

Soon, she could hear a boy’s voice calling her from a distance.

Right after that, Verdia reflexively swatted away a hand that was reaching toward Lady Rustila.

***

“What is she saying? Look with my eyes only…”

I rubbed my reddened hand while glaring at the android.

She introduced herself as Verdia.

“Our Lady Rustila is like a golden branch, a jade leaf. No matter who you are, you are not worthy of comparison.”

“I’m from the direct line of the Rheinland family.”

“……”

The android’s expression turned dumb.

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

“Eidel von Rheinland.”

“…Ah. That scoundrel?”

“Would it hurt to call me this year’s top student?”

“I apologize. I was just testing you.”

Verdia began circling around me.

After contemplating for a while, she narrowed her eyes like a flounder.

“You’re completely different from the information in my database. None of the news articles match what I’m seeing.”

“So?”

“Please wait a moment.”

Verdia circled not only around me but also around Seti.

“This young lady passes.”

“What about me?”

“Just a moment.”

After watching her for a while, I began to understand Verdia’s algorithm.

She seemed to have more lenient standards for those of the same gender as Rustila.

That’s when Rustila jumped in.

“Verdia, Eidel is one of my only two friends.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Don’t doubt Eidel.”

“……”

Tap, tap. She suddenly started throwing light jabs at me.

They were just light taps on my shoulder or cheek, so they didn’t hurt. But for some reason, it felt unpleasant.

Still, I endured it.

I could roughly guess her intentions.

“Verdia, what are you doing…!”

Rustila was flustered, and Seti giggled watching me take the light hits. I endured this unpleasant assault for nearly a minute.

“You pass.”

The reward for my patience was sweeter than expected.

***

Being called one of only two friends by Rustila.

It felt strangely good. Have I completely made one of the main characters my ally?

I should aim to maintain friendly relationships with the rest of my classmates and make them allies too.

“Eidel, Eidel?”

“Huh?”

Rustila was calling me.

“…We are really close friends, right?”

She asked.

What kind of question is that? Of course we’re friends.

“Of course.”

“Yes, right? That’s a relief.”

Rustila let out a deep sigh, seemingly relieved about something.

Me, Seti, and Rustila. The three of us entered the foothills of the Dodeca Forest to begin our journey to find Aether.

First, there were three rules for the practical evaluation:

First. No fighting with other students.

Second. Golems will appear only after a certain time has passed.

Third. 6 points per Aether fragment, 300 points per Golem defeated.

Though called Aether fragments, they looked like glowing chunks of chromium, making them easy to spot even in broad daylight.

Fragments were scattered here and there along our path. When we picked them up and put them in our pockets, a “ding!” sound would play and the scoreboard would update.

However, this method wasn’t efficient.

We needed to fully utilize our Aether detection abilities to find what’s called a “motherlode.”

“Let me concentrate.”

Seti closed her eyes to meditate and then pointed in a direction.

“Hmm, over there.”

Northwest.

That’s roughly how it worked.

But even this wasn’t enough.

For one person it might be sufficient, but to secure enough Aether fragments for three people who needed to distribute them fairly, interpreting the map was essential.

“I solved it.”

Fortunately, the interpretation wasn’t difficult. After a few mental calculations, I wrote down the known numerical solutions and understood the Aether distribution.

More professionally speaking, this method is called Brute Force. It involves thinking of all possible function solutions and substituting them into the equations given on the map until something works.

In simpler terms, it’s grunt work.

But for someone like me with a supercomputer-level brain, it was easy.

“What? Already?”

Seti was surprised and peered at my tablet.

There were several areas where the graph spiked up like delta functions. I pointed to these and said:

“Aether fragments should be clustered here.”

Targeting these areas would allow us to score massive points.

I selected several locations from the northwest direction Seti had indicated.

“We should go around this area and collect. If we’re lucky, we might get as many points as defeating one Golem in one go.”

We headed straight there.

As it turned out, the first motherlode point was a modest gold mine. We only managed to mine about 60 points worth.

But that was fine.

We had time before the Golems became active, and we were the only team that had completely solved the map and visualized it as a graph.

We continued to accumulate points smoothly, scoring 72 points at the second location and 108 points at the third.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, a chilly wind blew.

“…Does the air feel different to you?”

“Yeah.”

Seti, who was best at detecting Aether, spoke first, and Rustila put her hand on her sword hilt.

I couldn’t feel anything due to the influence of the Foreign God, but I could roughly guess what was happening.

Something was starting to break loose.

Just as I thought that, the Foreign God’s quest window updated.