episode_0035

Galimard’s written exam is infamous for its fiendish difficulty.

First, the scope is ridiculously vast.

Starting from all sorts of ancient documents, extreme magic formulas, circuit deconstruction and reconstruction… in severe cases, even the latest papers from the Magic Tower.

They cram in such an enormous amount of information that you wonder if it’s even allowed.

And that’s not all.

The level of the questions also makes curses slip out naturally.

It demands such high-level thinking and creativity that most students find it impossible to fill more than half of the exam paper.

The professors’ malice embedded in every line of ink.

Some students eventually can’t bear it and burst into tears during the exam.

It was truly hell.

To achieve decent grades in such an exam… and to take second place, at that, deserved applause.

After all, she surpassed countless students to rank second.

I intended to congratulate her splendidly.

“Lady-nim.”

“……”

“Lady-nim.”

“……”

“Second place is also an excellent score.”

“I told you not to do that. If you do it one more time, I’ll truly get angry……”

“Second place is also an excellent score.”

“……”

If only my opponent hadn’t been Emilia.

“……I told you not to tease me.”

The villainess trembled, her expression furious.

Perhaps her reason was blurring from the continuous teasing, as even her elegant speech was breaking down.

Was she truly resentful?

Even so, she kept glancing at me, unable to raise her voice, a rather pathetic sight.

I smiled brightly at the girl.

‘This, in its own way, is fun to tease.’

This is dopamine.

I had been restraining myself recently, but my mischief-making instinct popped out without fail.

Should I say her unique reaction was delicious?

There was something utterly irresistible.

“I didn’t know Lady-nim disliked it so much. I apologize.”

“……It’s fine. It’s okay.”

“I didn’t know Lady-nim disliked it so much. I apologize.”

“Just how long do you plan to keep doing this?”

The girl asked, gritting her teeth.

Honestly, isn’t this Emilia’s fault?

Showing such a delicious reaction is practically inviting me to tease her first.

If you don’t like it, you should’ve gotten first place.

A happy sense of satisfaction I hadn’t felt in a long time.

With a childlike smile, I continued to gloat over the loser for a while.

The world is still beautiful.

I suppose I can live a little longer.

“You… find this amusing…?”

“It is delightful.”

“……”

“It is delightful.”

“I get it, just stop…!”

Emilia huffed, suppressing her anger.

As I was so enthusiastically rubbing it in,

A pink creature, who had been watching nervously from the side, lingered in my sight.

It was Regia.

“Hm, mm.”

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then opened her mouth with a determined expression.

Her slender green eyes wavered.

“Um… La-Lady-nim.”

“And what do you want?”

“Eek…!”

“Are even you, a mere commoner and an inferior student, trying to mock me now?”

“N-no! I merely……”

Was it because of her rough reply?

The girl’s shoulders instantly hunched.

Her voice was choked with fear, but Regia still stammered as she conveyed her meaning.

“I-I just thought Lady-nim was cool, so……”

“……Huh?”

“Th-the written exam, I mean… It was so difficult for me, but to get se-second place…”

What the girl said was pure praise.

“I just thought it was so ama-amazing, and I wanted to tell you how cool it was… I-I’m sorry if I overstepped!”

“……”

The villainess paused at the sincere adoration.

Emilia seemed to freeze for a moment, then her lips twitched.

“Ahem.”

She tried to cough nonchalantly, but she couldn’t hide her rising cheekbones.

The girl mumbled subtly.

“S-so that’s what you mean?”

“Yes! I truly thought, ‘As expected of Lady Benity!’”

“H-hmph… I thought you were just a completely hopeless person, but you actually have pretty good taste, don’t you?”

“I admire you!”

“Ahem!”

A smile kept escaping.

The venomous atmosphere from just moments ago had vanished, immediately softening.

Her subtly proud expression was striking.

‘Such a pushover.’

Is it because she’s starved for others’ affection?

She collapses easily, especially under a barrage of compliments.

Recognition from someone she was wary of. Naturally, her satisfaction would be even higher.

At this rate, she’d soon be captured by the protagonist.

‘I wish it had been like this in the original story.’

Such a situation couldn’t have arisen in the original story.

Because of the trauma Emilia developed, Regia always avoided the villainess.

Even when they met, Regia only ever got tormented.

‘This looks much better.’

Indeed, I liked stories like this.

Rather than tormenting, envying, sorrowing, and hating… I preferred seeing smiles like this.

A fond smile spread across my lips.

Setting aside the quiet atmosphere, I opened my mouth.

“Lady Benity.”

“What do you want now?”

“It seems your mood has improved.”

“That’s because of you.”

“Oh my~ I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“……Annoying.”

“Thank you.”

“……”

The girl finally clenched her fists.

Her eyes showed serious contemplation about whether to punch this bastard.

I hastily changed the subject.

“Anyway… you all know this is just the beginning, right?”

I was referring to the midterm exam.

Of course, the written portion was important, but in any case, the practical exam constituted the largest portion of the grade.

This meant the real test was just beginning.

“Our group has three top-tier students gathered together… so the difficulty of the assigned exam will likely be extreme.”

“Oh, what should we do? C-can we really manage on our own?”

“Hmph. That measly exam is nothing.”

“It’s not good to be too overconfident, Lady-nim.”

This exam would be particularly difficult.

As it was a stepping stone to a core episode, it was wise to approach it cautiously.

I encouraged my group members.

“Shall we do our best together then?”

“The practical exam date is already tomorrow… Don’t you dare hold me back.”

“I-I’ll try my best!”

“Hehe, I will also do my utmost.”

Words exchanged in their own ways.

Thinking of the exam that awaited us the next day, we each took our leave.

***

That night.

Regia tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

“……”

Even though it had clearly been a frantic day because of the written exam, sleepiness strangely didn’t seem to come.

Perhaps it was due to the tension that made her mind go blank.

The girl quietly placed a hand on her chest.

Thump thump thump thump-!

Her heart was beating especially wildly.

Following her shallow breaths, her heavy chest expanded and contracted repeatedly.

Her long, flowing pink hair glowed faintly in the night light.

The girl mumbled.

“……Can I really do well?”

A question she asked herself.

Her voice was laced with deep distrust.

“Even if I can’t be of help… I don’t want to be a hindrance.”

Her powerful summoned beast.

However, it had a weakness: the summoning itself would fail if even slight emotional turmoil occurred.

Just like during the last class placement exam.

Regia was worried.

That she might cause trouble.

That she might not be able to repay the trust placed in her.

The girl gently bit her lip.

‘Young Master Snakers.’

The only person who called her a friend.

He had readily extended a hand for this exam too, proposing they form a group together.

Her heavy heart stirred with complicated emotions.

“……Why someone useless like me.”

She had clearly been exposed in the last exam.

An amateur who couldn’t properly summon a summoned beast. She had revealed such a pathetic side of herself.

Yet the boy had trusted her again this time.

“That’s because… I trust you, Regia.”

When asked why he chose her as a group member, the young master replied that way.

Without a hint of hesitation.

“I don’t know.”

She couldn’t understand.

Why did he.

Why did he so readily trust her, when she couldn’t even trust herself?

That undeserved trust was, in a way, overwhelming.

“Still… I don’t want to disappoint him.”

A quiet whisper to herself.

She deliberately closed her eyelids.

The girl simply tried to sleep, unaware of the terrible things that would come tomorrow.

It was a night steeped in deep darkness.

***

So, the next day.

The long-awaited day of the practical exam arrived.

To take the exam, we were listening to explanations in the designated area early in the morning.

It was a transfer area where teleportation patterns were prepared.

“The exam will proceed as previously announced.”

Snake, Pilot, Vain.

Standing before the three was a woman with purple hair, exuding decadent beauty.

It was Selena, who was in charge of supervising this midterm exam.

The woman gazed at us with indifferent eyes.

Fatigue was discernible within her red eyes.

Selena, who had been standing still for a moment, took a swig from the liquor bottle she was holding, then continued her explanation.

She was indeed a heavy drinker.

“The exam content is monster subjugation.”

A magic circle is laid out before you.

This is a magic circle that combines spatial, illusionary, and dimensional formulas, and the moment you step on it, it will transport you to a specific location.

At that location, monsters appropriate to each group’s level will be prepared.

Once you cleanly subjugate the given area, the exam will conclude.

“You can rest assured regarding safety.”

Safety personnel are standing by in the vicinity.

In situations where serious injury is a concern, the exam will immediately end, and you will be returned.

Additionally.

We will not inform you of the terrain that awaits.

It will be chosen from among numerous terrains: ruins, forests, seas, caves… so please adapt quickly and break through.

That concludes the explanation for the exam.

“Any students with questions?”

Selena lightly posed the question.

As it was information we had already sufficiently familiarized ourselves with, we quietly shook our heads.

Then the woman opened a booklet in her hand.

“In that case, we shall begin immediately.”

Her voice announced the start.

Thump-.

I calmly stepped forward.

A faintly glowing magic circle lay beneath my feet.

Amidst the intensely swirling mana, I spoke to the girls standing beside me.

With a meaningful smile.

“Regia. Lady Benity.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Why are you calling?”

“There’s something I’d like to tell you.”

It was a slight bit of apprehension.

A hope that they wouldn’t be too surprised by what was about to happen.

“Whatever you see, try not to be too surprised.”

The sudden advice I threw out.

The two looked at me with puzzled expressions, but I paid no mind and took my final step.

We stood in the very center of the magic circle.

Following that.

Rumble rumble rumble-!

The mana that filled the surroundings began to surge wildly.

The stored magic played out, and blue flashes of light swirled around. It was a brilliantly sparkling scene.

The moment the three figures were about to flicker out of existence.

Crackle-!

A strange noise brushed past.

The crackling noise, like sparks flying, repeated a few more times before growing uncontrollably loud.

The magic circle, originally blue, turned a vivid red.

“……?!”

“……!!”

Crackle crackle-!!

Dark red fragments surged in all directions.

The remnants of mana raged ferociously, disturbing the surrounding air like a storm.

We stood at its center.

“The magic circle…?!”

“W-wait, what is this…!”

“Kyaak! Young, Young Master…!”

“Hehe.”

Selena, Emilia, Regia.

Even as everyone else was horrified, I was smiling calmly.

Is it beginning?

“Shall we go?”

Click-!

After that final word, my vision went dark.

We were thus flung to an unknown place.

To where terrible monsters awaited.