The Day Before the Exam
A full week had passed since Luna and I got caught by Sonya.
Whether out of consideration for the first-years facing their first exams or not, the academy suspended all classes for a week and left the students to self-study, giving them ample time to prepare.
And for that entire week, Luna and I had been banished from the club room, which meant we ended up studying in the library the whole time.
Whatever Sonya had said to her that day must have struck a chord, because Luna threw herself into her studies without a single wandering thought and taught me everything she could.
It wasn't until Saturday — two days before the first exam — that every last test paper and answer key finally arrived.
Ohhh… so this is that exam paper they've been talking about all this time?
The moment I woke up, Armonia threw a hologram in front of my face, and whatever sleep still clung to my brain got yanked clean out of it.
Damn… not just the answer key — there's an explanation sheet too?
And I don't even need to memorize any of it?
No matter which world I was in, the hologram Armonia projected was visible only to me. All I had to do was leave it floating and cheerfully check off the answers — no pointless memorization required.
Written exams: handled. The real problem was…
The practical will probably show up around the time the written portion wraps up, right?
Honestly, the written exam was just a matter of looking and copying. But if I found out how the practical worked and still couldn't handle it?
That would be a genuine disaster.
What? Is there a problem?
The way Armonia trailed off like that never meant good news…
Huh? Oh — telling me not to poke Louis too hard?
Louis hadn't shown his face in the library lately. Clearly he wanted nothing to do with me — not even a conversation. Thanks to that, Luna and I had the place to ourselves for cozy little study sessions, but I still found it a little disappointing.
If I'd known it would turn out like this, I should have provoked him closer to the exam. Then I could have watched that bastard fall asleep right in the middle of the test.
While I was still turning Louis over in my mind, Armonia began explaining the contents of the request.
Huh?
A name I had not expected in the slightest came tumbling out.
What's his issue?
…That doesn't sound great.
I never assumed the headmaster would stay on my side for a thousand years. On top of that, his face gave away nothing of what he was thinking. But if the most critical person at the most critical time slipped out of control, anxiety was the only rational response.
Well, it's not like I run into him face-to-face anyway… Got it. I'll be careful not to rub him the wrong way for no reason.
Was he pissed about me killing that assistant professor last time? Unsettling thought…
I washed up and changed clothes with a knot of unease about the headmaster rather than the exam itself.
The headmaster is the headmaster's problem… Time to prep for the test.
I swept my cloak over my shoulders with a flourish and grinned.
I've been taking from Luna this whole time. About time I gave something back.
The written exams spanned a total of five days, covering eight subjects in all.
For three of those days, supplementary courses like Basic Attribute Theory and Specialized Magic Studies were split into two morning sessions. The remaining primary and secondary attribute exams each took up an entire morning on their own days.
Even Shutra, during exam season, left the afternoons free so students could sit for their tests in peak condition.
Louis is such a waste. If I'd timed it right, I could have put him to sleep mid-exam.
Man… I really wanted to see that pride-shattered face. What a shame.
I may not have gotten to watch Louis's ego get pulverized, but having Luna sitting right beside me, explaining things in that soft, gentle voice of hers, was a massive upside all on its own. Not a losing trade by any measure.
I looked at her with a thoroughly contented gaze. Luna suddenly noticed my stare and edged her body away to the opposite side.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Just so we're clear — not here."
"…"
What exactly was wrong with my eyes…
Either way I came out ahead, but the thing I regretted most was not being able to cuddle up with Luna. No matter how freely we studied in the library, try holding hands and grinning at each other in here. That was a one-way ticket to getting chewed out — with a side of scandal for good measure.
I showed Luna a problem I'd written in my notebook and smiled.
"It's not like that. I just wanted to ask you about this."
"…So you're saying you're not interested in me anymore?"
Good lord…
I stared at her, completely blindsided. Luna seemed satisfied with my reaction and smiled as she spoke.
"I'm joking."
"Your teasing has gotten a lot better."
Luna snorted a quiet laugh at that, took the notebook I held out, and looked it over.
"What is this?"
"A problem I made."
"A problem you… made?"
"Yeah. Figured if I tried making one myself, I might understand how the people who write these think."
"That's a good idea."
Luna studied the problem I'd written with a look of genuine interest. Then she lifted her eyes to mine and smiled.
"May I try solving it now, then?"
"Of course, my lady."
Luna arched an eyebrow, competitive fire flaring in her eyes, and set her pen tip to the page.
I had pulled the problems I judged hardest from the actual exam papers and shown them to Luna. Handing them over word-for-word would have been a problem, though, so I'd altered a few numbers and situational details first.
Enel is seriously incredible.
Changing those values was far beyond my own ability, so I'd used Enel to handle the modifications. Fortunately, all I'd done was tweak numbers and scenarios on already-written problems, so it hadn't cost all that much.
But these really are hard, huh.
There were only five problems. I'd figured she could knock out at least one or two without much trouble. Instead, Luna failed to solve a single one — which told me just how viciously difficult they actually were.
Did I pick only the absolute worst ones?
Well, if she's going to suffer either way, I'd rather she walk away with a perfect score.
Luna still hadn't cracked them by evening. Over dinner, I sat beside her and walked her through the solutions. She didn't say a single word the entire time — just locked onto every syllable I spoke.
Once she'd heard every explanation and every answer, Luna looked at me with wide, startled eyes.
"…Did you really make these yourself?"
"Yeah."
No, I'm lying. Enel spoon-fed me the whole thing.
Honestly, even while explaining them, the problems were so convoluted I barely knew what I was saying. The one saving grace was that the explanation sheets were so well-written that walking her through them wasn't a problem.
After absorbing every last word, Luna said:
"Can I show these to the other students?"
"No. Don't."
I said it while spearing a piece of meat with my fork, popping it into my mouth, and chewing with obvious enjoyment. Luna watched me and put on a prim little expression.
"If you showed them, the other students would definitely think highly of you. Being able to create problems like these is proof of extraordinary insight."
I shook my head while still chewing, swallowed, and answered.
"I made these for you and you alone. I don't want anyone else seeing them."
"…Honestly. You're so stubborn."
Luna smiled even as she turned a faintly pitiable look back onto the problems in the notebook. Her food went cold while she set down her fork and kept staring at them as if she could bore holes through the page.
I plucked the notebook right out of her hands.
"Ah—!"
"Eat first, then look again. It's getting cold."
"Hmph…"
Luna pouted like a child whose toy had just been confiscated and started poking at her food with her fork. I watched her and smiled, thoroughly pleased.
But even as that warm little smile sat on my face, a question surfaced.
Is that freeloader even going to show up at the cafeteria?
With exams underway, the cafeteria was running full hours from morning until night. Between his absence from the library and his carefully mistimed meals, catching even a glimpse of his face had become nearly impossible.
I was hoping to run into him just so I could provoke him properly. What a waste.
Oh… now that is a good idea.
A chance to correct the mistake from last time. Nothing beat landing a clean hit at the most important moment.
While I was busy plotting how to mess with Louis, Luna had already finished her meal in a rush and gone right back to staring at the notebook. Looking at her, a thought struck me.
"Luna."
"Yes?"
She lifted her head mid-concentration, eyes puzzled, and I said:
"Want to go out tomorrow and get some air?"
Louis woke early on Sunday morning and muttered to himself.
"Haa… finally. Exams start tomorrow."
He rubbed his eyes and swept a look around his room. Furniture dressed in crimson and gold greeted their master with ostentatious splendor — but that master didn't spare them so much as a glance, only kept grumbling under his breath.
"Why the hell am I stuck in this situation because of that bastard…"
Louis didn't leave his room except for meals. Even those he timed for the emptiest hours, eating as fast as possible before hurrying back to bury himself in his studies.
The reason was simple. There was one person he absolutely did not want to run into.
"No reason to take losses just because some bastard got under my skin."
After the ugly incident in the club room, Louis had resolved not to go outside at all.
"That bastard was definitely out sleeping around somewhere. Piece of trash… Can't win on skill, so he pulls a cheap stunt like that?"
Louis was convinced Sung Suho was pulling underhanded tricks, and to keep himself from rising to any more pointless provocations, he hadn't set foot in the library either. Thanks to that, his condition had recovered to normal and he could devote himself fully to exam prep.
But a few things still gnawed at him.
The textbooks Shutra Academy provided were magnificent — practically a distillation of every magic text in existence. But a distillation, by definition, forced summarization. And the summarized portions that no longer existed in Louis's head left him deeply uneasy.
The books containing the condensed material he so desperately wanted were sitting in the one place he had no desire to go.
"…Library it is."
Louis left his room and headed for the library before the cafeteria.
"He's definitely going to snark about last time. If it comes to that, I'll just ignore him."
He and Sung Suho had already crossed a river that couldn't be uncrossed. Louis resented his past self for looking at Sung Suho and thinking he'd be useful — for being the one to extend a hand first. From Louis's perspective, offering that hand in the first place had been more than enough consideration. That such consideration had been spat on was a humiliation he would carry for the rest of his life.
"Idiot. If he'd just licked my boots properly, he could have lived a life far better than any commoner's under me."
Louis chewed his lip as he made his way to the library. Being morning, the number of students moving about was small. His head was full of the urge to find the books and leave as fast as possible — until a current of thought sparked and one particular person rose to the surface.
Luna…
Even while studying, Louis had kept thinking of her. Luna Stadtfeld. He had never been apart from her for this long. Her residence was a mansion provided by the Brandlup family, and it sat not far from the Brandlup estate itself. Louis had gone to see her every day; even when family business kept him away, they had never been separated for more than three days.
Luna, who had always greeted him with that faint little smile. And then she came to Shutra, and she changed.
"…I just want to see her for a moment."
The desire to see Luna burned hotter than the humiliation of running into Sung Suho. He began combing the library like a man searching for lice — but Luna was nowhere to be found.
"Don't tell me she hasn't come yet?"
"Oh my, Louis!"
"Ugh…"
While Louis was scanning the library, a group of female students waved from a distance and came over. The moment they saw him, they started gushing.
"Oh my!? Louis, are you growing a beard?"
"It looks… really good on you."
"Haha… I got so focused on studying I ended up looking a mess."
Louis put on a wry smile and did his best to show the girls a pleasant face. Still smiling, he began to ask:
"Do any of you know where Luna went? I haven't seen her lately and thought we might catch up…"
"Ah! I saw her earlier."
"Oh! Where?"
Louis asked with a bright smile — and the moment he heard the answer, that smile cracked and twisted.
"She finished breakfast this morning and left campus with that Sung Suho…? person."