episode_0088

[Clara Adelien eliminated. Time remaining until exam ends: 2 hours 33 minutes. However, since only Loki remains, the practical exam will now end.]

A broadcast announcing the ‘real’ end of the practical exam interrupted Clara and echoed through the forest.

“As you said, Clara-ssi, the exam is over. And I’m the one who won.”

Seeing Clara react to my words, I realized that even a dazed expression looks beautiful on a pretty person. Her beautiful red eyes were wider than usual, and within her slightly parted lips rested a crimson tongue, the same color as her eyes.

‘Anyway, I really succeeded.’

When I gave up on the written exam and fully planned the practical exam, my first thought was, ‘Will this even work?’

I had three main parts to my plan.

The first was to enter the situation room where I could check the location of all students and the entire forest.

The second was to scatter Bluetooth magical tools throughout the forest, allowing me to broadcast fake announcements at any time.

The third was to drain the stamina of the other special class students as much as possible.

This method was the best way for me to overwhelmingly secure first place in the practical exam.

Clara’s parted lips slowly closed, then opened again as if to say something.

“What exactly is happening right now…”

As Clara spoke, her eyes slowly closed, and she began to sway.

Huh? Isn’t that dangerous?

Seeing Clara stumble, my body reacted on its own first.

Clara, who had begun to sway, eventually lost her balance and was just about to fall to the floor.

-Grab.

Fortunately, I had moved the moment Clara started swaying, so I was able to catch her, and she didn’t fall to the ground. The only really small, truly minor problem was that I hadn’t grabbed her arm or hand.

“…………..”

“…………..”

Clara stared at me silently, her eyes wide open. Then, without a word, she shifted her gaze to my arm wrapped around her waist. My arm was around Clara’s waist, and naturally, my hand was between her side and her stomach. It was holding that ambiguous spot.

Hmm, it’s firmer than I thought.

Despite being in an embarrassing position with her stomach grabbed, Clara didn’t seem embarrassed; her face didn’t particularly redden.

“Let go of me, quickly.”

Looking closely, it seemed she was a little embarrassed after all. Her face didn’t redden at all, but her ears were flushed red, just like her eyes.

“If I wasn’t here, you would have fallen to the ground. Wouldn’t my arm be better than a dirty floor?”

“Take your hand off.”

Clara struggled, as if she wanted to get out of my embrace as quickly as possible, but.

-Tighten.

“Ugh.”

When I put strength into the hand gripping Clara’s side, she stopped struggling and glared at me.

“I understand you want to get out of my embrace quickly. But please stay like this for a moment. You don’t even have the strength to stand right now, do you?”

“…………..”

Clara said nothing, as if struck by the truth of my words. It probably wasn’t because she ran out of mana. Clara had used a lot of mana before fighting me, and she spammed many spells while running away from me, but that alone wouldn’t deplete her mana.

The reason Clara was so exhausted despite that was…

‘It must be because of the last spell she used.’

It seems she’s still unable to freely use the power she learned from the Tower Master. Though she’ll likely be able to wield and spam that magic freely later.

“Ugh… at least ease your grip.” Clara groaned and said, glaring at me.

Ah, I forgot to loosen my grip.

“Please wait a moment.”

I loosened my grip, pulled a chair from subspace, and carefully lowered Clara onto it. Sitting in the chair, Clara rubbed her side, as if the spot I had grabbed so tightly hurt.

“What on earth do you carry around in your subspace?”

“I always carry various things. They say well-prepared men are popular with women, don’t they?” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Oh, should I get you a blanket so you can rest comfortably?”

“No need.”

I pulled another chair from subspace, placed it next to Clara, and sat down.

“Then, shall we have some tea until the professors arrive?”

Sitting in the chair, I pulled out tea and teacups from subspace.

“I don’t need tea, just explain it. Why are you still here when you were eliminated, and what was that exam end broadcast we heard in the middle?”

“Hmm. If Clara-ssi drinks this tea, I’ll tell you specially.”

I poured tea into a teacup and offered it to Clara, who was sitting next to me.

“………….”

Clara seemed reluctant, but she must have known I wouldn’t tell her otherwise, so she eventually drank the tea.

“How is it? Do you like it? Is it delicious?”

“………………..”

Clara didn’t answer my question and silently drank the tea again.

“The professors will be here soon, so I’ll explain it as simply as possible.”

I didn’t bother to mention that I had attached a location-tracking magical tool to the professor who guided me and entered the situation room. Just like when I explained it to Gashurin earlier, I showed Clara how I made the fake broadcasts using a Bluetooth microphone. A smart person like Clara would understand everything just by seeing this much.

“So, I was in your palm from the very beginning…” Clara muttered in a small voice.

“If Clara-ssi had thrown that last spell she used at me instead of the ground, the outcome might have changed.”

“That’s just hindsight. The reality is that I lost to you, that’s all.”

“That’s true. So, in the end, I won this midterm exam against Clara-ssi.”

Hearing my words, Clara furrowed her brow.

“What nonsense is that? You only won the practical exam against me.”

“As Clara-ssi says, I am handsome, aren’t I?”

“Haa… What was your written exam score? Even if the practical is weighted more than the written, you got 0 points.”

Ignoring Clara’s words, I pointed to myself with my finger.

“I’m first place.”

This time, I pointed to Clara with my finger.

“Clara-ssi is second place.”

“…………….”

Clara seemed unwilling to argue further and drank the tea once more. It seems she liked the tea after all.

I refilled Clara’s nearly empty teacup and opened my mouth.

“Then, as per our previous agreement, since I won the practical exam against Clara-ssi, you’ll grant me one wish, right?”

“I never made such a promise.”

“Aw, think hard. We definitely made that promise back then. Surely you’re not pretending not to remember because you’re embarrassed about losing to me, are you?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense, it’s true! Think about it carefully, just once.”

“Even if I think about it a hundred times, not just once, I never made such a promise.”

“Clara-ssi, I didn’t know this until now, but you’re really headstrong.” I shook my head and said.

“…Fire… my will…”

“Whoa! Clara-ssi, surely you’re not chanting a spell right now, are you?!”

“Tsk.”

My bickering with Clara continued until the professors arrived.

***

A few minutes before Loki and Clara started bickering.

Loki placed his sword against Clara’s back, and the professors broadcasted that the exam was over.

“Haa… In the end, that kid won.”

“Exactly. Honestly, I thought Student Loki would take first place from the middle of the exam, but I never imagined he’d win in such a way at the very end.”

Before Loki left the situation room to catch Clara. While Lucas and Sepia were fighting intensely, Loki spread another false announcement.

[30 minutes remaining until the exam ends.]

When Loki first took out the broadcasting device, I thought he’d scream again.

“To think he’d use the fact that we didn’t explicitly announce a time limit in such a way…”

“If he had suddenly said the exam was over, Clara might not have believed it, but since he kept saying ’30 minutes left,’ then ’10 minutes left,’ she had no choice but to fall for it.”

Loki’s actions were frightening for that reason. From the professors’ perspective, it was absurd, but from the students’ perspective, it was only natural to believe it.

The professors looked over at Loki and Clara, who were now sitting in chairs, drinking tea and conversing. Perhaps because of the spell Clara had cast earlier, their forms were visible, but no sound could be heard.

“They’re bickering quite well. It’s my first time seeing Student Clara talk like that. Could they perhaps be in a special relationship?”

“What kind of relationship?”

“Naturally, that kind of relationship!”

Just then, a young professor interjected.

“Huh? I naturally thought Loki was in a special relationship with Sepia Rivayden?”

“Why is Student Sepia suddenly being brought up here?”

“Because Sepia Rivayden and Loki were talking so amicably while walking to school together…”

“Eh… Professor, surely you’re not the type to think they’re in a special relationship just because they talked?”

“No, it’s not that, the atmosphere was clearly different!”

Here, another young professor interjected.

“Wasn’t it Johanna who was in a special relationship with Loki?”

“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration for Student Johanna?”

“I clearly saw them talking amicably on a bench with my own two eyes the other day!”

“Isn’t it just because they’re both part of the disciplinary committee?”

“The very reason he was allowed into the disciplinary committee, which lets no one in, was for that kind of reason!”

“Stop writing fiction.”

“Professor, *you’re* the one writing fiction right now!”

Meanwhile, the middle-aged professors, observing the ‘dignified’ debate among the young professors, conversed while drinking the tea Loki had given them as a gift before he left.

“He gets involved with a truly diverse range of people.”

“Indeed. The Marquisate of Rivayden, the Dukedom of Adelien, and even the Dukedom of Freyja—it’s beyond diverse, isn’t it?”

“Surely he hasn’t gotten involved with Her Imperial Highness, the Princess, too?”

“Hahahahaha! Oh, no way.”

“Right? As I said, it’s preposterous. Hoho.”