Ch.8989. Reversal (5)

“That guy… he’s late.”

The man waiting for a student at the examination site mutters to himself.

It’s not that everyone who should come out hasn’t yet; the number of remaining students can be counted on one hand.

They say most people come out quickly during their first magic manifestation, but that’s not always the case. There’s always a reason for being late.

“Professor Jake? What brings you here?”

“If you came to observe, we’ve almost finished everything…”

“Ah, no, it’s not that. Everyone, carry on with your duties.”

Though he said that, he was deeply concerned about how to bring the student along.

-Try to bring him quietly. Understood?

Sigh.

The Duke’s demanding instructions naturally drew a sigh from him.

Especially since Junon had already drawn attention twice recently, he could easily be accused of favoritism if he wasn’t careful.

He could perhaps pass on a few words once the exam ended, but right now there were too many people around to do so. It would be too noticeable.

‘It would be better to bring him quietly… but how should I do it? I might have to give up if I’m not careful.’

Though he wasn’t here to supervise or instruct the main exam, he couldn’t say he was following the Duke’s orders.

“All four returned together? Which group?”

“Group U, sir.”

“Each of you extend only the arm with the bracelet and wait until the recording is complete.”

With the last group leaving, only Junon remains in the examination site now.

‘This is hopeless.’

Professor Jake thought to himself as he silently swallowed a long sigh and turned back toward the academy. In this situation, there was simply no way to quietly bring Junon along.

-Thud, thud.

The sound of footsteps as the last person exits the examination site.

The students who were still gathered without dispersing probably had a good idea, but the owner of those footsteps was Junon.

“Group J, Junon. Returned.”

“I’ve already informed you that acting independently would result in a penalty, but is there a reason you acted separately from your group members?”

“I didn’t want to rely on my group members.”

“Rely… I see. But for such a reason, you can’t avoid the penalty. I’ll record it, so extend only the arm with the bracelet and wait.”

Meanwhile, the instructor who retrieved the data from Junon’s bracelet tilted his head in confusion.

“Something seems strange…”

“What is it, sir?”

“…No. It’s nothing. Return to your position.”

The instructor recording the exam flinched for a moment, but that was all.

With Junon’s record—the last one—completed, the examinees’ records were now filled without any gaps.

All that remained now were the results. But instead of announcing them, the instructor continued with an explanation.

“I will now explain why we had you take this exam.”

For those who manifested magic armor and those who didn’t—the significance of this exam lay elsewhere entirely.

“Ugh… I don’t understand what they mean by ‘feeling that sensation.’ Do you guys get it?”

“How could we? We didn’t know anything while fighting the magic beasts.”

“Right. Even when facing the magic beasts, I just assumed it was magic drawn from the magic stones. I don’t even know when it happened.”

The students who realized the truth while hunting magic beasts were all equally puzzled.

Those who faced the truth all had the same reaction.

Naturally, they thought they had fought the magic beasts with magic armor manifested from magic stones, and that the signal came to their bracelets when all the external magic was consumed.

But what was the reality?

All the supervisors and instructors unanimously stated:

The magic from the external magic stones had long disappeared, and their internal magic was already supporting the maintenance of the magic armor.

Otherwise, they said, such data couldn’t appear in the bracelet signals.

In other words, without realizing it, their bodies were already channeling magic into their armor.

The students who realized this were all thrown into confusion, and the supervisors and instructors encouraged them to recall that sensation again.

“Ugh… I guess I’ll head to the Dube Hall anyway. What are you going to do?”

“I can’t let my body cool down while waiting for the next magic manifestation class. I need to practice there.”

“Me too. Since we need to feel it physically again, I’m going to repeatedly create artificial magic stones and manifest them.”

Despite various discussions, the priority was to get a feel for the next step.

The examinees now only needed to grow on their own with the small hints they received.

‘…I should do that too.’

Having manifested magic armor that he couldn’t manifest before his regression, he had just obtained a weapon to counter the grim future.

Being lazy was not in Junon’s dictionary. However, he now had a slightly faster path available.

“S-Senior? Are you finished? You were late coming out, so I got hungry and… hehe.”

A girl who couldn’t resist her hunger and was secretly eating a sandwich while waiting for her senior to finish the exam.

This girl’s existence was his shortcut.

It’s not without reason that people seek out experienced veterans at victory banquets.

Magic armor manifestation was probably the same. Having someone who had already been through battle to seek advice from was quite a good opportunity.

“No, no, you could be hungry. I won’t scold you for that.”

“Really…? Still, I feel a bit sorry…”

“If you’re that sorry, just have a meal with me. That sandwich won’t fill you up anyway.”

Of course, they wouldn’t just be eating, but that was beside the point.

Today again, Lenias followed Junon like an obedient rabbit.

***

Junon. It was that guy again.

Being placed in the same group was bad enough, but when she naturally eliminated any chance for Junon to intervene, this time Senia showed something strange.

What was the problem with preventing Junon from stepping in that made her say such things?

Erika couldn’t understand Senia’s behavior as she suddenly directed her anger at her.

-‘You. You’re weak and stupid to the point where you’re not even worth comparing to Senior Junon.’

-‘Does it make you sick, jealous, or envious when this guy participates in battle? No, I wish it were that simple, but it might not be. In terms of magic stones or magic armor manifestation speed… is it scary that Junon is growing faster than you? Yes. That’s why you’re trying to keep him in check, right?’

First Lenias, and now Senia.

Whenever these echoing voices reached her head, Erika unconsciously bit her lip.

‘So Senia turned out to be the same after all.’

When she suggested not letting Junon join the team, she thought Senia also didn’t favor Junon.

But today’s behavior was clearly taking his side, wasn’t it? Perhaps Senia had already been deceived as well.

If only there had been one more person. If only one more person knew this truth, it would have been better.

Erika was repeatedly going over today’s events as she silently walked to the team’s room where her teammates were.

“Ouch. Ugh…”

Lost in thought, Erika’s head bumped into something with a thud. As she stumbled and nearly fell, Goden grabbed her shoulder.

“Erika, were you too deep in thought? You didn’t even see what was in front of you.”

“…I had something on my mind. Anyway, thanks.”

“Seems like you had some trouble with your group members. Tsk.”

Goden said such things couldn’t be helped as he opened the door to Team Tembris’s room and entered with Erika.

The other members were either attending lectures or had notified of personal activities, so only Goden, who was organizing team-related documents, remained here.

“Hmm? By the way, where’s Senia?”

“…She went somewhere right after it ended. I don’t know the details either.”

“Oh. I see…”

Why is she so cold? Goden felt bewildered by Erika’s unexpectedly sharp response.

He had prepared tips for the next step in magic armor manifestation, expecting them to come together, but now he could only scratch his chin in confusion, not knowing what was going on.

At the same time, Junon was having a meal with Lenias.

“Hehehe… I can’t eat anymore…”

Despite having a sandwich as an appetizer, Lenias had filled her stomach as if she had another stomach somewhere.

The way she was lazily rubbing her belly with a satisfied expression made anyone watching feel full too.

But, this couldn’t be helped, could it?

“Ah…?”

“No matter how delicious it is, you should check if anything’s on your face.”

“Th-thank you… ahem.”

Since Lenias always got food on her face when eating, Junon pulling out a tissue to wipe it had become almost a habit.

And then she would quickly turn her head to check in the mirror and wipe her already clean face with another tissue. This too was one of Lenias’s habits.

“Lenias. Now that we’ve finished eating, there’s something I really need to ask you.”

“M-me…? Not someone else…?”

“Yes. It has to be you. It has to be you, Lenias, and no one else.”

“Y-y-y-yes???!”

At those words, Lenias’s heart went thump!

Whether it was because he said it had to be her, or because of her senior’s action of wiping her face just now, or perhaps the subject itself…

For a girl still inexperienced in such matters, this situation could only make her heart race wildly in one direction.

And then another statement made her heart leap in the opposite direction.

“It’s something very important.”

Important?

What did he mean by important?

An important matter her senior wanted to discuss with her, and in this private setting no less… the possibilities weren’t that broad…

It was a situation that was both exciting and frightening, wondering what words would come next.

“S-s-senior?! I’m not ready yet…! Besides, there are people here…! No, what am I saying…?! Anyway, I’m not yet…!”

With anticipation and tension, Lenias’s words became tangled, and her face gradually flushed.

But Junon, with a serious expression, didn’t give Lenias time to catch her breath.

When his voice finally began to resonate, Lenias unconsciously squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Ah, I understand! If that’s what senior wants, it’s okay, but those kinds of things are still…!’

She wanted to open her mouth and say so, but a young girl’s delicate sensibilities weren’t sturdy enough to let such words escape.

However, that wasn’t the issue. Her counterpart…

“I’d like you to teach me about magic armor manifestation.”

…only wanted to ask a question quite distant from a young girl’s sensibilities.

“Eh…? Magic armor manifestation…?”

The heat that had risen to the girl’s face began to emit a very different quality of warmth than before.

***

“No matter how I look at it, this doesn’t seem right…?”

“Then what should we do? It’s better to eliminate it this way than wait for it to disappear.”

“Alright. Let’s try to eliminate it by clashing with it, as you suggested.”

At Dube Hall, as expected, students were gathered in groups sharing information.

Of course, not only those willing to share information were gathered at Dube Hall. Those who had begun to burn with inferiority, targeting this exact moment, were also secretly present.

‘Look at them having fun. Like insects.’

Cayden’s mood was so twisted that just taking in this scene was enough to make his blood pressure rise.

It’s different from before. With his eyes rolled back in contemplation of worse deeds, there was no one to stop him immediately.

“Hey, Cayden. Let’s crush them quickly!”

“Yeah. We’re so excited we could go crazy.”

The other nobles in Cayden’s gang were also impatient, thinking about reducing the efforts of their inferiors to ashes.

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Shouldn’t we watch their hopes crumble beautifully? Let’s go first.”

At Cayden’s suggestion, the nobles entered the laboratory, not even bothering to hide their rising smirks as they provoked everyone present.

“You lowly creatures. If you kneel before us now, I will personally let it slide. This is a clear warning.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s that guy again.”

“Seems he didn’t learn his lesson after getting beaten. Let’s just drive him out before he causes trouble.”

“I’ll help too.”

Students gradually approached Cayden’s gang with caution. Now they were determined to drive him away without even being flustered.

“Oh really…? So you truly intend to defy me…”

Cayden remained confident. Even in a situation where he might taste the humiliation he suffered before again.

‘What gives him such confidence?’

Senia had headed straight to Dube Hall to focus on magic armor manifestation after her discord with Erika.

She was the only one who sensed something off about Cayden’s unchanged attitude.

“Wait, you guys stop. There’s something strange about him…”

“It’s too late, you bottom-dwelling scum!!!!!”

BOOM────!!!!

The moment Cayden shouted, deafening explosions began to erupt from all around as if bombs had gone off.