The Class Assignment Exam (1)
With the Canolatl subjugation campaign and the subsequent mop-up operations finally concluded, peace once again returned to the academy.
The academy and its student body had suffered minimal lasting harm. Thanks to extensive efforts dedicated to treating the students' psychological trauma, normal operations resumed in surprisingly short order.
And so, the examination that had been temporarily shelved in the wake of subjugation drives and defensive sieges made its inevitable return.
"At last... finally..."
"Please. Just this once, please."
"Let me get promoted this time...!"
The Class Assignment Exam—the crucible that would evaluate the students' abilities and reshuffle them into their respective classes—had arrived.
Repeatedly delayed though it was, the exam was ultimately overseen not by the Noble Faction, who had continually nitpicked and stalled, but by the Grand Duke's faction.
Having prepared tirelessly for this very day, the students were enveloped in thick waves of tension and nervous anticipation as the hour of reckoning approached.
Having finalized all necessary preparations, Professor Muniherr stepped up onto the courtyard rostrum.
"As previously announced, this Class Assignment Exam shall be conducted via duels."
With those few words, the crowd fractured into joy and despair.
The lower-class students shrank back at the mention of dueling, while those from the upper classes cheered in excitement.
Historically, whenever duels featured in the assignment exams, the dividing line between upper and lower classes had been practically predetermined.
Frontliners would find their approaches blocked or movements restricted, and once their feet were glued to the spot, projectile spells would bombard them until they were forced to retire. No matter how skilled a vanguard might be, the rules drafted by the Noble Faction effectively tied their hands, resulting in an assessment structured solely to ostracize frontline combatants. That was what the dueling exam had always been.
This time, however, things would be different.
"Previously, examinees were issued Mana Badges, and victories were determined strictly by the durability remaining on those badges. However, this time, you will be assigned random opponents inside the Talbrut Ark. That is the entirety of the exam you will undertake."
On the surface, it seemed uncharacteristically straightforward for a man like him. Provided that was all he had to say, at least.
"Bear in mind: if you obsess solely over victory and defeat, you will pay dearly."
Because role discrepancies were so stark, previous dueling exams had measured student merit almost entirely by win-loss records. Examinees wearing Mana Badges fought within the sparring hall, and once their badges absorbed enough damage to turn red, defeat was declared. It was a simple, unambiguous format that overwhelmingly favored rearguard casters who could bombard targets with elemental magic from afar.
Yet what had he just warned?
He stated that pairings would be randomized—and staged within the Talbrut Ark.
The identity of one's opponent remained completely unknown, and rather than a standard sparring chamber, the venue shifted to the interior of the Talbrut Ark, with no forewarning of what terrain would generate. Thinking it over, the circumstances were functionally identical to the End-of-Term Evaluation.
With an exam rife with variables on the verge of commencing, a moment of decision arrived for one young man.
Now, what should I do?
Two diverging paths weighed heavily on my mind. The first was to coast through the exam with minimal effort, avoiding any unwanted encounters with my former comrades. And the other...
"Junon."
"Sylvia?"
"Um... you know how you promised you'd grant me a favor before?"
"Hm? Of course I remember..."
I had offered it out of a mixture of gratitude and guilt for everything she had suffered by my side, telling her she could ask for whatever she wanted.
During our fight against the Orthoptera swarm, Sylvia's sharp reprimands had held the other students in check and pinned them into their roles, which had been a massive help. Even during the siege of Alkaid Hall, it was because Sylvia gritted her teeth and restrained that one impetuous team from breaking ranks that we managed to comfortably outlast that critical final minute Professor Dahlia had spoken of.
In truth, under conditions that kept spiraling from bad to worse, she had been an unsung hero of that desperate stand. Out of basic decency, I naturally wanted to repay her.
"But the exam's about to start any second. You want to ask for it right now?"
The timing felt remarkably strange, to say the least.
"Yes. It has to be right now."
"Uh... all right. Go ahead, I'm listening."
What could be so grave that she felt the need to set such a solemn mood right before the Class Assignment Exam? Still, seeing the sheer resolve written across Sylvia's features, basic courtesy demanded I give her my undivided attention.
"I don't want you to just brush things off this time."
"Hm? Brush what off?"
"Your reputation keeps getting twisted into something awful. You were the real hero behind the Orthoptera defense, yet you deliberately passed all the credit onto others... Honestly, it broke my heart to watch."
"Sylvia..."
"I want the other students to see you for who you truly are this time. So... please, don't let this exam slip by halfheartedly like you did back then."
I had no idea. I never imagined Sylvia had taken it to heart like this.
Back during the End-of-Term Evaluation, she didn't know the full story, so she let it go, and I only recalled her asking about it once during the Start-of-Semester Evaluation. Since she hadn't pried or brought it up afterward, I had simply assumed she would turn a blind eye this time as well. After all, the gazes directed my way had never been kind to begin with.
Yet with this single plea, I finally understood how Sylvia truly felt.
I see... That was why she stuck with me back then.
Why had Sylvia stayed by my side after the battle against the Orthoptera, when the mere smell of blood made her retch with nausea? Simply because we were friends? That alone hardly felt like enough of an explanation.
Given her personality, she had probably endured it to the absolute limit. Swallowing her tongue again and again, holding back her indignation every time people pointed nasty fingers and whispered malicious gossip about me. Had she failed to rein herself in, she might have ended up blowing up like Michel did back when we crossed paths in the Underground Waterway.
Enduring the stench of blood just to walk me all the way to the dormitory had likely been her own quiet effort to chip away at the prejudice and scorn surrounding me.
"...You want me to shake off the way people see me right now, is that it?"
"Yes!"
Sylvia's face instantly brightened, overjoyed that Junon had understood her intent.
She had been the very first to recognize the decency and warmth beneath his aloof exterior. Having had her life completely turned around by his help, this was Sylvia's singular wish—and the favor she now asked of him. She did not want him suffocating under baseless rumors and malicious slander; she wanted him to display his true ability and character so that everyone would finally acknowledge him.
"All right. So that's your wish."
Ironically, right up until Sylvia spoke to him, Junon had been torn between two paths. But now, his answer was settled beyond doubt.
"Let's meet in Class A, Sylvia."
"Yes! You promise!!"
He discarded the second option—slacking off to drift into the lower classes just to avoid the members of Team Tembris.
Aris often found her thoughts drifting back to that moment without realizing it.
To the sight of her comrade, Erika, left utterly alone on the battlefield after the students broke ranks and fled during the Orthoptera onslaught.
I can't focus. And the exam's right in front of us...
Even if the cowardice of others had caused it, there was no denying that her own failure had fostered that panic. And following immediately in that thought's wake, ironically enough, was Junon—the one who had resolved the entire crisis and wiped away her mistake.
The horrific sight of Erika's abdomen impaled remained an absolute nightmare to Aris. How could she not draw comparisons? The defensive formation Junon chose, the siege battle he orchestrated, and the triumphant result he brought about.
Though a monumental milestone like the Class Assignment Exam loomed before her, her hand remained glued to her forehead, fingers brushing through her pink bangs in agitation. Charlotte had tried to reassure her, but like an inescapable aftershock, the memory kept replaying in her mind, seizing control of her thoughts.
"I thought you'd be the most relaxed of us all, Aris."
A comrade sporting a nonchalant expression and a bob cut of dark brown hair that suited her remarkably well—a peer who carried the air of an older sister despite being the exact same age—spoke up from behind.
"...It's none of your business, so stay out of it, Senia."
"Look at you, bristling when someone's just worried about you."
"Did I ask for your concern? In case you didn't know, that's called meddling."
Teammates or not, friction was inevitable. Her clashes with Senia were an all too frequent occurrence. Yet today, the air between them felt somewhat different.
"No matter how much you dislike me, we're still on the same team. When your condition is so visibly terrible, how am I supposed to ignore it?"
I knew it.
"You're doing this on purpose right now, aren't you?"
"Hm? Am I? Who knows?"
It had to be payback. Back in the Mock Combat Room, she had needlessly gotten on Senia's nerves until the girl threatened to quit the team, and Senia was the only one Aris had never properly apologized to. Even so, a childish urge to be petty took hold of her.
"This isn't a mock battle, so what right do you have to critique me right now, Senia?"
"Oh, is that how it is? So terribly sorry for meddling, then."
"Glad you realize it. Could you please refrain from doing it next time?"
"Yes, yes, whatever you say."
Bickering like this brought back memories of their first encounter.
Had it been during their very first mock battle that their conflicting views clashed? Faded first impressions resurfaced in her mind. She had despised Senia's haughty, disinterested demeanor and the dismissive, prickly tone that bounced off whatever anyone said. They were polar opposites in personality. Their constant disputes likely stemmed from being total antitheses of one another.
Yet contrary to expectations, when Senia grew angry, it was for good reason. What Aris had received from her back then was concern—genuine, heartfelt worry for a comrade.
Why that image of Senia's fierce anger came to mind right now was a mystery, but thanks to it, the traumatic vision of Erika's injury no longer dominated her thoughts.
"Well, looks like you're doing better now, at least," Senia said with a soft smile. She had come over out of concern before the exam, but there was no longer any need to fret. It didn't look like Aris would ruin her performance.
"...I'm sorry, Senia. I guess I was just overly sensitive back then."
"If you're really sorry, just ace your exam, Aris. Then I'll let you off the hook."
Aris offered her apology at just the right moment. With a quiet chuckle, Senia gave her reply and turned toward the testing grounds as if nothing had happened.
"Listen to her. Obnoxious as always," Aris muttered under her breath at Senia's retreating, smiling figure.
"Don't get distracted. Focus on the exam, Aris."
Their team was still lacking in many ways. To become truly proficient, they had no choice but to learn from experienced combatants and professors. Their team leader, Goden, had said they should aim for a higher class assignment first and then broaden their horizons through further study.
The nagging guilt over the mistake that nearly doomed them had been buried thanks to her comrade's intervention. All that remained was to tackle the exam head-on.
Yet why did that familiar mop of pitch-black hair stand out so vividly today?
"Let's meet in Class A, Sylvia."
"Yes! You promise!!"
"So don't go easy on whoever they pair you against. Knock them all flat so we can meet up as quickly as possible."
With those parting words, Sylvia and Junon brought their conversation to a close before stepping into the testing grounds, disappearing from view. It was a rather pointed note to end an exchange on.
Moreover, the moment he stepped inside, the whispers of those around him grated sharply on Aris's ears.
"What's with that? 'Don't go easy and knock them all flat'?"
"Does he know the bracket beforehand or something? If he leaked it to Sylvia..."
"Tsk. That professor must really dote on the bastard."
Those who looked down on him were scrutinizing his every breath, ready to cast suspicion at the slightest provocation.
At that, the girl brushing back her pink hair abruptly spoke up.
"You people ran away with your tails between your legs when the Orthoptera attacked, and you have the nerve to talk like that?"
"R-Ran away? What are you—"
"We were in mortal danger too! We didn't have a choice..."
"And because of that, Erika almost died. The person you're looking down on at least held the line until the very end. You just can't stand admitting that you're inferior to him, can you?"
They parted their lips to retort, only to snap them shut in defeat. Coming straight from Aris, one of the central figures of that defensive battle, there was simply nothing they could say.
Had it been anyone else, they might have pushed back, but comparing their mediocre track records to Aris's stellar achievements was an insult in itself. Having scrambled in full retreat back then, they couldn't utter a squeak against her, completely ceding the momentum of the conversation. Sensing their retreat, Aris drove the nail home.
"If that's not it, then prove it in this exam. Prove that you're better than Junon."
With that parting barb, the students scoffed and hastily stalked off toward the examination hall. It was an unmistakable provocation—one designed to bait those whose defeat was already written in stone.
"We can easily prove that much!"
"We didn't run! It was a tactical retreat! We'll show you the truth in this exam!"
"I was worried you'd start making excuses already. I just hope you won't turn into cowards and run away like last time."
"I said we didn't run away!"
"Forget it, man! Let's just get in there and crush whoever we're up against!"
In essence: If you've got a problem, prove it with your results. Aris's biting sarcasm practically herded the trio straight into the sparring chambers. Thanks to her intervention, the murmurs questioning Junon's words fizzled out before the atmosphere could sour any further.
...Not that this is nearly enough to make up for anything.
Drawing attention away from him was the least she could do. She owed him a debt of unimaginable magnitude. Her comrade's life. Her own life. And perhaps even more beyond that.
Yet upon their very first encounter, driven by fragmentary memories of a future that hadn't even arrived, she had acted impulsively and launched an attack on him. All under the pretense of preventing him from joining Team Tembris. Erika had likely lashed out at him with similar hostility for the same reason.
In reality, Junon had never shown the slightest interest in Team Tembris in the first place. On the contrary, his only desire was to have nothing whatsoever to do with them. Spewing venom at someone who harbored no such designs, threatening him with magic—the more she reflected on it, the more utterly foolish and shameful her conduct felt.
Yet things were different now. The emotional girl who had botched everything now knew with certainty that he had saved both her comrade and herself. Shielding him from disadvantageous scrutiny in small ways like this was simple enough. The real problem was that she still couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.
Feeling like a condemned criminal, Aris had flinched and trembled involuntarily when Junon passed just three paces away on his way into the testing hall.
...Still, this is better.
Respecting his wish to remain completely detached from Team Tembris, preventing his name from drawing unnecessary attention—good or bad—was all she could offer him right now.
— Room 5. Assigned students, please prepare yourselves.
Given time, everything will get better.
She could only hope that one day, just as she had with Senia, she would be able to look him in the eyes and deliver a proper apology.