I’m Sorry! (3)

The second applicant, to avoid following Gilbert’s example, didn’t introduce himself separately and immediately prepared his magic. What he showcased was wind-attribute magic that established attacking power with strong air pressure, and this time, he succeeded in breaking a small part of the protective formulas surrounding the dummy.

As if this was just barely enough to pass, Elaine put down the score sheet with a somewhat softer reaction compared to Gilbert’s case.

“Next.”

It was Ariel’s turn.

‘Surely breaking this as much as possible meant extra points, right?’

Standing in front of the dummy, Ariel briefly recalled the content of the original story she remembered. Though time had passed and memories were starting to fade, she still remembered these details clearly. Good. With this level of memory, there shouldn’t be any problems going forward…

‘Ah, she explained it.’

Come to think of it, this wasn’t about memory; Elaine had explained everything before the exam started. Feeling inwardly embarrassed, Ariel quickly erased her thoughts and quietly prepared her magic.

‘What’s this?’

Elaine’s eyes widened at the chill felt inside the exam venue. Ariel Walpurgis. As the daughter of her mentor, she intended to pay even more attention, but the moment Ariel gathered her magical power, Elaine realized that all her worries until now had been unfounded.

A piercing cold chill. Ariel’s specialty was ice and lightning attributes, passed down through the family line. But the chill affecting the entire exam venue was already beyond the level of a new student.

“I will begin.”

With Ariel’s declaration, which sounded clear and beautiful yet cold at the same time, an ice field began to form from beneath her feet.

Crack crack crack!

The ice field, advancing as if to freeze not just where she stood but the entire exam venue, soon reached where the dummy was.

Crackle!

The dummy started freezing from the bottom up. At this unprecedented sight, not only the two who had already finished their exams but also the girl waiting as the last in line widened their eyes.

Eventually, only a huge ice pillar remained where the dummy had been. However…

“Is this all?”

While freezing the dummy along with its formulas is certainly impressive, it can’t be evaluated with just this. Bluntly speaking, if the opponent were a skilled magician, they could quickly break the ice, or if they mainly used flames like Gilbert, they could melt it with overwhelming firepower.

Above all, merely freezing doesn’t damage the formulas, and naturally, the dummy remains intact. In this state, a passing grade can’t be given.

“No.”

Therefore, Ariel didn’t end it there. She had no intention of ending it. With her palm facing down, she slowly extended her hand, then suddenly clenched her fist tightly.

Crash!

The ice pillar shattered to pieces. Not only Elaine’s formulas but also the dummy protected inside was completely destroyed.

While the ice attribute might seem at first glance to be an invincible attribute that can freeze anything, in reality, it’s not quite like that. Freezing can be blocked by the opponent’s magical power or magical tools, and even if freezing succeeds, the act of freezing itself doesn’t have much direct attacking power, so the opponent can escape, necessitating preparation of a separate formula immediately after.

That’s why magicians who handle the ice attribute mainly use tactics of first freezing the opponent to subdue them or creating ice objects to strike with. Bursting the ice after freezing is no different from crushing the subdued opponent with magical power. Naturally, this required strong magical power to accomplish, so not many magicians directly put it into practice.

And the dummy Elaine created wasn’t prepared weakly enough to be defeated so easily.

“Well done.”

Elaine nodded and set Ariel’s exam paper aside separately. Ariel’s passing was as clear as day. But why set it aside separately?

It was very easy to deduce the reason for this.

“Next.”

Elaine restored the dummy as if nothing had happened. The chill that had covered the exam venue had disappeared without a trace. Ariel returned to her place with an indifferent face.

“Ugh…”

The fourth girl to come out gave an impression completely opposite to Ariel who had just taken the exam. Bright blonde hair and blue eyes that somehow felt warm, unlike Ariel’s. Just from her appearance, unlike Ariel who maintained an icy expressionless face, she had a strange charm that unknowingly made others relax their expressions.

“Begin.”

Elaine declared the start while trying hard to maintain a poker face. The girl hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes tightly and began to gather magical power.

‘This is?’

Bright. That was the first impression of the girl’s magical power. Hot. That was the next impression that came to mind. Bright and hot. A huge mass of energy was in front of the girl.

‘Could this be?’

Just as Elaine’s eyes widened,

“H-Here I go!”

The girl’s magic was released with what seemed like a somewhat weak shout.

There was a flash. Along with an intense emission of light strong enough to blind both eyes for a moment, just as one was about to recognize what was happening,

Boom boom boom!

An intense explosion occurred with a force not at all inferior to what Ariel had shown earlier.

“I-It’s over…”

The sight of the girl breathing heavily already felt completely different to Elaine. What kind of year is this? The applicants coming as new students are beyond imagination.

What the girl used was clearly light-attribute magic, so rare that you might not find it even if you searched the entire continent. An attribute that can help allies like priests using light, or as just now, add heat for powerful attacks. Historically, those who used this attribute all grew to become figures known throughout the continent.

“…Well done.”

Although inwardly she was not just surprised but shocked, Elaine managed to maintain her poker face somehow. Her role was only that of an examiner. Once the scoring was done, that was it.

However, the four applicants clearly saw that the girl’s score sheet was placed in the same place as Ariel’s.

I was surprised. I didn’t expect to see the protagonist right away. The blonde girl still walking with a dazed expression.

Her name is Mari. She has no surname as she’s a commoner, and she’s the protagonist of this world, the Arsian Chronicles. The very person I’ve been constantly conscious of and reminding myself to be cautious about.

‘She really is amazing when you see her in person.’

Destructive power enough to completely blow away the dummy made by the examiner. That laser will probably be aimed at me later. Ugh, it’s scary just imagining it. Can the current me block that?

‘If I go all out, maybe somehow… but what comes after is the problem.’

Of course, that’s close to a finishing move even for Mari. A technique powerful enough to obliterate even decent-level demons in one shot. But if you ask if that’s all, it’s not. As time goes on, the power of that laser will increase, and Mari herself will develop new techniques. My head is already starting to hurt…

But for the current me, there was something more important than that. None other than verifying the original work!

‘This is essential.’

The start of the Arsian Chronicles begins from Mari’s hometown, but the Academy entrance is the story of Chapter 1 that comes right after. In other words, the scene where the villainous lady Ariel Walpurgis clearly imprints her own role also appears.

‘Parent insult.’

Yes. Ariel commits the unforgivable act of belittling Mari by mentioning her parents. I still vividly remember being dumbfounded, thinking what kind of behavior is this towards someone you’re meeting for the first time. Even if it’s between a duke’s daughter and a commoner, isn’t this going too far? That’s what I thought.

And now I have to actually do that. The very thing I hated so much!

‘I really don’t want to do this…’

For Koreans, one of the things they really can’t stand is insulting parents. The other is being criticized for being bad at games. And now, I have to do such an unforgivable act.

‘I guess I have to…’

It’s really an unpleasant task. It might even cause self-loathing. But it must be done. It’s what I’ve been thinking about all this time. It’s what I’ve thought I must do over and over again. So I have to move.

Finding Mari wasn’t a difficult task. She was said to be lingering near the exam venue after the exam ended. And because of that laser, she was attracting everyone’s attention, making her even easier to find.

‘Found her.’

Spotting Mari looking around blankly, I approached her with unwavering steps. Perhaps sensing someone approaching her, Mari slowly turned this way, and when she saw my face, her eyes widened.

Huh? Somehow it feels like the surroundings suddenly got quiet, is it my imagination? Ah, that’s not what’s important. I should focus on the protagonist.

“Ah, hello…?”

The way she greets with a dazed face is exactly as described in the novel. Although she doesn’t know etiquette or anything, from her perspective, it must be a greeting she somehow managed despite the confusion. If it were my original personality, I would have accepted it as is… but unfortunately, I have something I need to do.

“You, what’s your name?”

“M-Mari. I don’t have a surname…”

“No surname? So you’re a commoner.”

“Y-Yes…”

Ugh, if it were up to me, I’d want to tell her not to be so nervous and speak comfortably. I’d like to take her somewhere with a nice atmosphere and chat leisurely. I want to enjoy this feeling of actually talking to the protagonist of the novel I’ve been reading.

But from now on, I have to leave an emotional scar on this protagonist. I have to make her harbor resentment towards me, the villainous Ariel Walpurgis.

As I slightly frowned, Mari flinched and trembled as if she had done something wrong. Good. So far, it’s going according to the plot. Now, from here, that line…

‘What was the line again?’

Oh, wait a minute. This is dangerous. Let me think. Think, think… Certainly, here Ariel delivered a parent insult to Mari. And Mari, shocked by such a terrible insult, collapsed on the spot and burst into tears, and the images of Ariel and Mari were clearly established that day.

But what did Ariel say at that time? Hahaha, I can’t remember… I’m sure it was a parent insult, but.

This is not good. My thoughts are dragging on. I’m hesitating too much. I shouldn’t hesitate like this here. At times like this, there’s no choice. I’ll have to use the insults I heard while gaming in my previous life.

In some ways, it might be an even worse insult than in the original work. It might not just be an emotional scar but could completely break her. Actually, when I heard this, I immediately had a reality check and turned off the game. But… there’s no choice. Unless I can remember the original line, this is all I can do now.

I’m sorry, Miss Mari!

“As a commoner, to come this far… it must have been hard for you.”

“N-No, not at all…”

“Your parents must have had a hard time too. They must have worked day and night to send you here. I pay my respects to them.”

“Y-Yes…?”

Ugh… I can feel my conscience stinging as I say such harsh words with my own mouth, but there’s no choice. I have to make sure to deliver the last line!

“Do your best with all your might from now on. For the sake of your family who worked hard for you. Good job.”

As I deliberately spoke with excessive politeness and even gave a slight nod at the end… Mari began to shed tear-like tears.

She’s about to cry. It’s understandable. It’s an insult that wouldn’t be strange to elicit such a reaction. Roughly translated, what I said means something like, “Your parents went through so much hardship to send someone like you here, so why are you like this? Do well on your own. If you don’t want your parents’ level to be questioned.” The feeling is something like this. Although there might be slight differences in interpretation depending on the person, it roughly comes out to this meaning.

At least, that’s how I heard it.

I’m sorry. For saying such insulting words to your face… But, with this, the operation is successful.

‘It feels like I’ve forgotten something…’

It feels like I might have forgotten someone… but I probably don’t need to worry about it.