Chapter 28 - After the Gargoyle Subjugation (1)
Imdiately after the practical test ended, all the students who had taken the exam returned to the lecture hall. It was to hear the announcent of the results.
"You've all worked hard, students. This batch is certainly excellent. Even this old man was quite surprised while watching the exam."
Professor Paige began with a good-natured smile.
The fact that he seed to be looking in the direction where Yuna and I were sitting... was probably not just my imagination.
"You all achieved truly outstanding results, so I hope you won't be discouraged even if you don't make it into the rankings. No, after hearing these results, the word 'discouragent' might not even enter your minds."
A aningful phrase added at the end. At those words, the other students began to whisper among themselves about its aning. Though they couldn't speak openly in front of the professor.
-What are the results, for him to say that?
-First place must be Her Highness the Princess...
-Besides the Princess, there isn't anyone that amazing in this division, is there?
-Well, if you had to say soone...
Even amid such confusion, I could feel gazes strangely fixed on .
Wondering if the impact of the sparring test had worked well, I satisfyingly raised the corners of my mouth in a grin.
"Heh..."
Yuna, unable to contain her pride, was smiling to herself, her lips twitching. She really was bad at hiding her emotions.
Anyway, leaving such students behind, Professor Paige began to announce the results.
"Third place, the esteed Princess Regina Eliade Abellon. One 7th-stage Golem, seven 3rd-stage Zombies, fifteen 2nd-stage Hounds, nineteen 1st-stage Imps. A total of 151 points."
-The Princess is 3rd? With 151 points?
-There are two more people above her...?
-That's a score that would more than suffice for 1st place...
As the 3rd place was announced, the lecture hall began to stir. Well, this was expected. Both that Regina would be 3rd, and that the other students would beco more confused as the results were announced.
However…
I turned my head slightly and looked at Regina sitting next to .
This girl, her score wasn't this high in the ga. The highest score I'd seen for Regina in the ga so far was at most in the 110s.
‘Was she taking it easy then too?’
It was truly absurd.
"Fufu, I tried to be quite serious this ti... what a sha, isn't it?"
As if sensing my gaze, Regina shrugged her shoulders and showed a sly smile.
"...You're amazing."
It was a statent that included various anings. It ant that if I hadn't participated, she would have taken first place even while taking the test easy.
I thought her personality was amazing, and her ability was amazing too.
"Oh my, are you one to talk?"
But at Regina's retort, I could only shut my mouth.
I couldn't exactly say, ‘That's not the aning of amazing I was referring to,’ could I?
"Of course."
After replying so, I looked ahead. Professor Paige was about to reveal the next rank.
"I will announce the 1st and 2nd places simultaneously. Hoho. You'll understand why when you hear it."
At Professor Paige's words, the lecture hall stirred once again. It was because there was generally only one reason for a simultaneous announcent.
-A joint subjugation?
-No, isn't it just a tie? It's not like they caught all the monsters during the test through joint subjugation.
Unfortunately, since they only caught one, that was correct.
"Ahem, then I will announce it."
Anyway, in that noisy scene, Professor Paige cleared his throat and... spoke again in a composed manner.
"2nd place, Rain Enlight, joint subjugation of one 9th-stage Gargoyle. Total 173 points. 1st place, Yuna, joint subjugation of one 9th-stage Gargoyle. Total 173 points. As she delivered the final blow, Ms. Yuna becos 1st according to the tie-breaker rule."
And the words that ca from his mouth were the achievent of a failing knight and a sage, and also the starting point of the storm that was to co.
***
Three days passed after the practical test ended. Word travels fast, as they say. The rumors about the results of the practical test had already spread widely within the academy.
Yuna's and my achievent had also beco quite a hot topic.
Two freshn defeated a Gargoyle within the exam ti.
From a general perspective, it would have been an incident so shocking that the word 'anomaly' would be insufficient to describe it.
In the original , it was a monster that could be defeated even at this point if you raised a few characters well, but from the perspective of reality, it ant that two freshn who had just entered the academy had dealt with a mid-to-high-level monster that required at least three active knights to engage.
Such was the prestige of a Gargoyle. Looking back at the history of Archenia Academy, the precedent of subjugating a Gargoyle in an entrance exam or a practical test, regardless of the number of people, was sothing that happened once in several decades, if at all.
Anyway, it was undoubtedly a significant achievent worth making such a fuss about, but it didn't beco as much of a topic as the achievent itself.
The reason was simple. It was buried by a greater impact.
There was soone who had single-handedly beaten a Gargoyle and, on top of that, wiped out other monsters. And not just one, but two of them.
If you're wondering who these monstrous individuals were, so might have guessed... but it was a story about Serene and Arien, who possessed overwhelming strength among the protagonists of at this point in ti.
"Haa, to think they caught it alone when we struggled so much to catch it together..."
Yuna muttered so while we were moving to Professor Paige's office to receive the prize for the practical test. It seed Yuna had heard the rumor too.
"Well, as of now, their level is certainly different."
"Right, right, the daughter of the Magic Tower's master and the freshman representative, you an."
I glanced at Yuna out of the corner of my eye. It wasn't good for her to be anxious because of the current difference in ability, and though she didn't show it, her anxiousness was noticeable.
"It's only 'as of now'. Didn't I tell you? That you could beco the strongest person in this academy."
"You, again..."
"What do you an?"
"Ugh... no, it's nothing."
When I blinked and replied, Yuna avoided my gaze and rubbed her face with a strange reaction.
‘What does she an?’
Anyway, it seed the topic was successfully changed, so I shifted the subject to another story.
"Still, people's gazes must have changed a bit since the test."
"Gazes? ...Ah, well, that..."
"You don't seem to like those gazes either."
I had expected it, but as expected, her crumpled expression made it obvious.
"It's like... the number of people who strangely try to talk to has increased..."
Yuna scratched her head roughly with a very uncomfortable expression.
‘I can see why she’s reacting like that.’
Although our achievent was sowhat overshadowed by those who made a bigger impact, it didn't an that Yuna's and my achievent disappeared.
Now that the results of the practical test were rumored, there would be no small number of people trying to get acquainted with Yuna, aiming for her skills.
In short, it seed she didn't like the change in temperature felt from the gazes. If she had followed the original story, they probably wouldn't have even thought of talking to her.
"It must be uncomfortable. People who were sneering at you just a few days ago, or if not that, people who didn't even talk to you, suddenly acting friendly."
"Yeah, that! The guys who didn't even say a word suddenly, like... like...!"
Yuna, whose vocabulary had failed her again, made a sowhat dramatic gesture.
Still, seeing her, it seed she was within her usual range, so I was relieved.
It was around the ti we almost reached Professor Paige's office while talking like that.
Click, clack.
An elegant and stable footstep was heard clearly from the opposite hallway.
"That's also a kind of opportunity, you know? Ms. Yuna."
"P-Princess?"
As you can tell from Yuna's completely flustered remark, it was Regina's voice.
Since she had taken 3rd place in this practical test, Regina must have been on her way to receive her prize too.
"Of course, not everyone who approaches you will have a sincere heart, but isn't it a good thing if you can filter out a precious connection from among them?"
Regina continued speaking and looked at . The fact that she used the expression 'precious connection' without revealing her twisted nature, and that her nature was reflected in the expression 'filter out' even within that elegant language... was very much like Regina.
"...I think so too. Ms. Yuna has good intuition, so I don't think she'll be taken advantage of by soone intending to use her."
But I couldn't say that out loud, so I replied as such. I actually thought so too.
In the original , Yuna had a few friends she got along well with, so even if she showed promise early, if they were a good match, they would form a bond.
"W-well, that's true..."
And at Regina's summary and my supporting fire, Yuna scratched her head again and pursed her lips.
Well, it wasn't a problem with a set answer in the first place, so it seed best to leave it at that.
"I knew you were close to the Young Lord, but I haven't had a chance to talk to you personally like this, Ms. Yuna. Ah, co to think of it, we're taking the 'Understanding the Evolution of Continental Monsters' course together... if we end up in the sa group, please take care of , okay?"
"Yes, y-yes...!"
What followed was... mundane small talk. More accurately, it would have been closer to Regina trying to close the distance with Yuna.
Yuna, completely intimidated, was almost like a answering machine.
‘She’s sothing else.’
The timing was impeccable. Regina herself must have confird Yuna's value and was trying to close the distance, but she had excluded herself from that category by offering advice on Yuna's preceding worries.
If things had gone wrong, she could have been perceived as one of those who were 'only now talking to her', similar to the other students.
Wickedly cunning, that was my impression of Regina so far.
"...Whatever, it's fine."
I muttered so. Well, since Regina and I were in the sa boat, it wasn't bad for Regina and Yuna's distance to narrow. If Yuna were to get into a deal where she was unilaterally at a disadvantage, I could just stop it.
Anyway, as I walked while watching the fresh combination of Yuna and Regina, we soon arrived in front of Professor Paige's office.
***
Nothing particularly noteworthy happened in the professor's office. As usual, I received the prize with so words of encouragent, and was told that they expected great things from in the future.
But the 'prize' in my hand was definitely sothing noteworthy.
A shining stone the size of a fist, crafted like a jewel and emitting a brilliant blue light. In other words, a B-grade Magic Stone, packaged in a box, was in my hand.
‘With a magic stone of this level, I can make sothing useful for the future.’
My plan was to use this magic stone to create a weapon that would supplent my weakness, naly, firepower.
A low-grade magic stone would have had less destructive power than my sword, let alone supplenting my firepower, but since this was at least B-grade, I could just make it a firepower-specialized type.
In the ga, a magic stone was sothing you could only use properly if you had the combination recipe, but now that it was reality, I could just have it processed. Whether there was a reliable processor... I had to start looking for one.
Anyway, it was when I left the professor's office and was lost in thought while looking at the box...
"...Hey."
Yuna hesitantly approached . In her hand was the 1st place prize she had just received, a box containing Mandragora Extract.
"Ms. Yuna? What is it? I believe it's ti for you to go back to class."
"Urgh, you relentless guy... no, that's not it!"
"...?"
There shouldn't be any reason for her to be hesitant with anymore, so what was it? Just as I was thinking that, Yuna suddenly thrust the box at .
"...You, you take it!"
She said, squeezing her eyes shut.
"...Pardon?"
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