episode_0030

Around the empty flag, a small barrier appeared.

Thud!

“…Is this the famous fortress wall?”

I’ve read about it in books. It has the drawback of consuming a lot of mana, but unless all the mana is depleted, it is an incredible skill that will not break or disappear.

To think I would see such a skill only in the middle school exams at the academy.

As I lay there, unable to respond, Asbel shouted at me.

“I only used buffs to restrain you!”

“I’m really grateful for the princess personally restraining me.”

I turned my head slightly to look at Ad, who was holding Raves with tremendous strength, but his face already showed a shocked expression.

“These high-level skills are hard to come by.”

I slowly turned my head back to look at Asbel.

She had a mysterious purple light in both hands. But I could tell.

“This is quite a controlled power!”

This is also a high-level restraint magic that only priestesses can use. Controlled power, right?

If it’s that color, it means it’s condensed with a huge amount of mana no matter how you think about it.

If that’s really controlled power…wow…

I was left speechless in admiration.

My body felt slightly heavier and restless.

“…Are you unable to move now?”

In front of her triumphant expression of victory.

I confidently stood up from my seat and brushed off the dust on my clothes.

“Didn’t you know? Spells don’t work between fellow priests.”

“W-what…”

“The muscle pain you had last time must have been worse.”

“Don’t get too cocky. I still have a barrier!”

Her command was as impressive as rumored.

Not many people can think of the next move immediately even when confused. So it was a truly regrettable fight.

The barrier erected around the flag was made with a distance of about 4cm. It must still be lacking in mana.

However, priestesses have the most mana among professions. And she will have even more mana in the future.

Being able to use high-level skills at that age is impressive in itself.

I approached the flag, made a gun shape with my hand, aimed it at the flag, and…

“Bang.”

The flag shattered into pieces.

“If I had investigated a little more, we probably would have lost.”

“…”

Oh no! How embarrassing!!!

At my age, saying “bang”!

While I was dying of embarrassment, the atmosphere in the training ground turned cold.

“…Will it be okay?”

There was something unsettling, but it should be fine.

If I can’t remember something, something dangerous might happen…

I felt anxious, but as a commander, I should take care of my subordinates first.

I looked at Ad standing alone with his head bowed. Fortunately, he seemed to have endured without major injuries. Even though I had given the orders.

I never thought he would hold his ground against a whole unit.

Such incredible resilience and stamina.

I, who defeated such a person.

Must be even more impressive.

I smiled inwardly with pride. But…

Where did Raves go?

That fanatic must have returned to the princess by now, but due to a sense of unease, I looked around. And Raves was in a place where he shouldn’t be, holding a knife.

Right in front of me.

“Huh?”

“Raves, stop!”

…

With only a paper-thin space between my neck and the blade, he stopped. Thankfully, the knife smoothly returned to its sheath.

“What are you doing?”

“To make the princess sad and even give a reprimand, that’s a death sentence.”

…

This is why I dislike fanatics.

I hurriedly stepped back and explained.

“It was just advice. And I understand that losing can be sad, but would intentionally losing make you dislike me even more?”

…

Raves exhaled deeply and turned his gaze towards Asbel.

His lips twitched lightly, his face unable to hide the suppressed emotions.

Through his reddened eyes, he gazed at me with a strong determination as if saying it’s okay.

‘Is this really okay?’

Was it right to intentionally lose?

However, contrary to expectations, Raves obediently distanced himself from me. Did he send telepathy or something?

‘Anyway, as long as it’s resolved well, I’m satisfied with that.’

“Hey, you fool.”

It seems like it’s not over yet as Raves spoke with a suspicious expression. He’s really persistent.

“Show me your bag.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yeah, I can’t trust you at all.”

“You’re so strict… Fine.”

If I don’t show it, he’ll get mad again… I’m always the one feeling unjust!

Asbel started rummaging through my bag. What is he looking for exactly?

…Oh right.

Raves pulled out a flag from the bag.

“…As expected of you.”

“Wait a minute.”

“I’ll listen to your last words. How dare you defeat the princess by cheating.”

“No! It’s a misunderstanding! I…”

“Is that your last words?”

“No! I mean…”

“Stop it.”

Just before Raves drew his sword from the sheath, a deep male voice grabbed his arm.

‘Ad! He came to save me!’

“I’ll handle this.”

‘?’

“As a commander, using violence for cheating is a valid reason. So I’ll handle it.”

“If you insist, I understand.”

“Thank you. I don’t listen to last words from fools.”

I sighed inwardly and accepted the situation. It was just a momentary misconception.

Ad didn’t acknowledge me as a commander to listen to me, he only did it because it was a test.

Considering how he usually treats me, it was easy to understand.

I glared at Ad calmly.

He’s just saying I cheated to have an excuse to cut me.

But he knows too.

None of us had a flag. Because like other teams, we chose to hide the flag.

In the first place, having only two members in our team wasn’t a great advantage. So we chose to hide it.

Well, there was a smart student with excellent exploration skills, so it was almost like gambling.

Again, we only have two members in the team. If we didn’t have that courage, we probably wouldn’t have won. And as a result, we survived without being eliminated.

And like this.

“Ad.”

“What is it?”

“What was the initial agreement between us?”

“You know it too, right?”

⌜This midterm practical exam is the victory of Team Logs.⌟

⌜Teams remaining in the training ground, please gather at the entrance promptly.⌟

We could have won.

Raves looked at the flag and me alternately with an expression of disbelief.

I shifted my gaze to Ad immediately.

“You said it was possible, right?”

In front of me stood a fierce beast sharpening its claws without hiding its desire to kill.

“I could have won.”

‘Ah… I’m scared of this guy.’

***

As the eliminated students exited the training ground, they were already gathered at the entrance waiting for the instructors.

“Did the instructors make a mistake?”

“If not, did we really lose to just two people?”

“If this was the case, we should have gone to the fools…”

‘You curse at me, then suddenly want to come to me.’

If that’s the case, I’ll gladly accept! Come at me!

If you’re a good person, I’ll always welcome you!

“Don’t be too conceited, Logs.”

…

Raves’ voice was louder than I expected, and the eyes of the students at the entrance were now focused on me.

Unlike before, everyone was muttering, “Who is that bastard?” with suspicion. Of course, there were some who didn’t.

“There she comes.”

“You idiot!!!”

Kadira approached me, pouring out a multitude of negative emotions within her anger.

“Just calm down a bit.”

“Calm down? How can a prosecutor like you do such reckless things?”

“In war, it’s usually the reckless ones who win.”

“…Damn. I can’t believe I lost to this bastard…”

“But you’re still in 3rd place. Look over there.”

I gestured towards 4th and 5th place.

Among them, Sara stood in the distance with a look of emptiness swallowing her.

Using her to calm Kadira down made me feel too guilty.

But it couldn’t be helped.

“I have to survive too, right?”

“You guys are below me, right?”

“Well, that’s obvious.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“Oh…that sounds too arrogant.”

“What?”

Kadira’s eyes narrowed. Oh, I said the wrong thing.

“Have you finished talking?”

…I’ll say what needs to be said and die.

“To be honest, it’s your fault for not understanding that.”

“…”

“Isn’t that right? Even though I used reckless methods, in the end, you still didn’t understand until the end.”

Sara’s determined appearance overlapped with Kadira’s.

Quickly raising both arms with trained reflexes, I made a guard.

“Just calm down a bit…!”

“Everyone, be quiet!”

Kadira immediately lowered her fist and stood at attention.

“I…I survived…”

“Everyone except Rabes, return to your positions.”

“Yes!”

As I returned to my spot, the pressure I hadn’t felt before weighed down on me. But…

If you’re strong, you can win too.

Even though I did nothing in this test, I still won.

…But is it too harsh?

Struggling back to my spot, I took out a pocket watch from my bag.

The time now is 12 o’clock.

“We started around 11 o’clock, so…”

It’s been about an hour.

Huh? Did I see that wrong?

Even if Steven couldn’t…

“Everyone, pay attention!”

Before I could finish my thoughts, the instructor shook the stunned students awake with a fierce shout.

“…I understand that you were shocked.”

Even the instructor making such a statement had a somewhat puzzled expression. It’s really hard to believe that only 2 people won.

“But as you all know, there’s a legend that a commoner student swept the midterms in the academy battalion.”

All the students nodded as if they knew. Huh?

…He’s really a monster. Probably someone crazy about fighting.

No, why even bring that up in the first place!

Hey, instructor! It’s tough enough to deal with so many students with just two people!

As if he heard all my complaints, the instructor sighed and continued speaking.

“Of course, it’s not surprising that they won with just 2 people…but let me tell you the conclusion. The reason I was surprised is that this test ended so quickly, it’s the first time in history.”

‘…’

I remembered. Steven clearly warned me to conserve my strength.

‘But…what does that have to do with anything?’

As I pondered, the instructor uttered a shocking statement.

“I didn’t tell you, but the top 10 students in this midterm were planned to accompany Princess 3 on her first diplomatic mission.”

‘What nonsense is this?’

The instructor paused for a moment, observing the students.

“It seems that if you had known, you would have worked even harder.”

‘Who the hell…!’

Honestly, accompanying the princess? It sounds like we’re supposed to be her bodyguards.

Who’s going to guard whom?

Moreover, the title of the princess’s bodyguard is like a temporary existence.

1 minute 1 second.

If you lose focus for just a moment, it’s the perfect job to die anytime, anywhere.

This was even more evident in the recent heretic incident.

It’s like putting a chick in a pack of wolves to protect a chicken.

Isn’t it just telling everyone to die?

“So, I’m considering giving you all a chance. Since we can’t assess your abilities at this level. Tomorrow at 3 p.m. Except for the 1st place team, all teams will take a retest.”

“Oh!!!”

The cheers of the students were heard. Is this something to be happy about?

“Of course, the evaluation of flag capture will be included in the exam scores. So remember that there’s no need for everyone to see the exam tomorrow.”

The instructor continued speaking, but no one was listening.

Everyone was expressing joy at the opportunity they had been given.

“And here is the 1st place, Logs.”

…”

The students fell silent again. In the gap, the instructor spoke.

“Honestly, you were the one I was most looking forward to. But… I’m disappointed. So, on the way back, we discussed whether you should be sent off among the instructors.”

‘…’

So, I don’t have to go?

Internally, he danced with joy, but since everyone would look at him strangely, he outwardly nodded in agreement and sadness at the instructor’s words.

Some of the students who looked good in that state were heard.

“Yeah, maybe Ad did it all by himself?”

“Hey, honestly, didn’t the instructor only talk to Raves?”

“Yeah, Cardi must have won really decisively.”

‘…’

‘Well, they’re not wrong.’

Anyway! Instructor!

Please eliminate me from the selection process quickly!

“However, when I asked Princess and her escort knight, Raves, they said the result is the result.”

“?”

“There’s a saying that luck is also a skill. Logs and Ad will each take a knight’s badge later.”

I glanced subtly at Raves.

He was smiling.