What a Mess

That evening, after the first day of the group evaluation had ended.

In a quiet corner of a café in Elaim—discreet enough, if one cared to call it that—a secret meeting was underway.

"So."

Class C's representative, Freesia Reifen, opened her mouth.

"I think we all have a pretty good idea why we're gathered here."

Class D's representative, Goren Waldvin, crossed his legs and picked up where she left off.

"Well, do we even need to say it out loud?"

Every representative of the martial arts department's classes was present.

All but one.

Class A alone was absent.

Goren shrugged and met each cadet's gaze in turn as he spoke.

"Wouldn't it be better to form an alliance, even a temporary one? Surely no one here fails to understand that would be better for all of us."

"…You really have an irritating way of talking."

Class J's representative, Jeniel Sovereign, clenched and unclenched her fist as if itching to give him a knuckle sandwich. Irritating delivery aside, though, he wasn't wrong.

Class A's score was at a phenomenal level. The gap with second place was more than threefold, to say nothing of the classes further down. The group evaluation was a relative assessment, not absolute—and it carried the highest weight in the overall evaluation. At this rate, they might well see the entire top of the rankings wallpapered with Class A. What's more, given the skill Class A had displayed so far, taking first place in the next event looked entirely within reach. The cadets had no choice but to band together if they wanted to survive.

"So, we don't attack each other even if we run into one another—until Class A is wiped out?"

Class H's representative, Vessel Hammond, asked.

"Exactly. We don't know the rules properly yet, so we can't just throw together some grand plan."

The detailed rules of the mock field battle would only be revealed the next day, at the start of the evaluation. Still, as the name "mock field battle" suggested, the basic framework would be fighting each other across a wide field. Simply promising mutual non-aggression should be enough, Goren said, waving a hand with leisurely ease.

Not a single cadet considered it a cheap or unfair tactic. For the weak to join forces against a strong enemy was only natural. The instructors had likely anticipated and would tolerate a situation like this. Even if they hadn't met separately like this now, they would have formed an alliance on the spot out on the field later.

"Hold on. Is that really enough?"

Class G's representative, Celia, tapped the table.

"Is there a single class that can beat Class A in a straight fight? Don't touch each other? If that's all we do, they'll just pick us off one by one."

She laid out her points in a haughty tone. Of course, Leon was in Class A—but liking him was one thing, and competition was another. Celia, too, was putting every effort into winning the fight. Deliberately acting against her own team's interests for his sake would have been thoroughly unlike her. In any case, her point was sound. The cadets fell into a brief, thoughtful silence.

"Hmm. So you're saying we should combine our full forces and hit them together?"

Goren stroked his chin as he asked. Celia, who had only pointed out the flaw without offering a real solution, shrugged.

"We don't know for sure whether we can communicate with other teams once we're inside…"

"Communication methods, huh… Well, I doubt there'll be any."

There were plenty of magic tools that functioned as radios, of course. But it had been announced that, for the mock field battle evaluation, bringing in special items other than personal weapons was not permitted. Otherwise, rich kids draped in artifacts would have an overwhelming advantage. A natural restriction.

"Then how do we meet up? We'll all start scattered separately."

"We just agree to meet in the center. That seems like the easiest way."

Goren quickly shut down Freesia's question.

"Um…"

Class I's representative, Lucen, carefully raised his hand. As the sole commoner among high nobles, he was a little cowed.

"What about doing it this way?"

"Hm?"

Eyes poured onto Lucen all at once. He shrank his shoulders slightly but pressed on regardless.

"Even Class A couldn't handle two classes at once, right? We gather in one place early on, then form groups of two or three classes and move around."

"…That's fine as far as it goes, but what about communication?"

As if he'd expected the question, Lucen quickly added:

"As you know, our class can use a variety of special arrows. We can use light-emitting arrows."

The cadets let out small sounds of admiration. Special arrows of that sort counted as personal weapons and could be brought in. He meant firing arrows that scattered light into the sky like signal flares. Indeed, with nothing else available, there was hardly a better method.

"Hmm, that doesn't sound bad."

"Agreed."

"Alright, let's go with that. No objections?"

"We can always discuss further once we meet up, after all."

The mood roughly coalesced around Lucen's proposal.

"…"

Esabel, who had not said a single word so far and had only quietly sipped her tea, smiled faintly to herself.

What a mess.

Compared to the snakes she'd met in the capital, these ones were still terrible at hiding their thoughts. Just looking at their eyes, it was plain they were furiously spinning schemes behind the scenes. An alliance formed this loosely was bound to collapse. Taking down Class A was fine, but what came after? In the end, no one knew when they'd have to turn their blades on each other. They had no choice but to think only of stabbing one another in the back.

"Hmm…"

A glint rose in Esabel's ruby-gem eyes.

Warm early-summer sunlight announced the morning.

As the evaluation's start time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠drew near, Leon led Class A toward the Tower of Illusions. Around them, cadets from other classes who had arrived early waited with tense expressions.

Today was the day of the group field battle that would crown the evaluation. A battle in which all ten classes gathered as one could rightly be called the highlight of the assessment. Beyond each class's strategy, tactics, and teamwork, it would evaluate every individual's skill and judgment in actual combat. It was the highest-scoring event, and the one that drew the most attention. No wonder the cadets were putting extra force into themselves today.

Hmm. These bastards…

Leon narrowed his eyes and surveyed the faces of the other classes. Something fishy had been hanging in the air for a while now. In particular, the glances flicking toward Class A were far from ordinary. A sneer settled on Leon's face.

It's obvious what you're thinking.

At ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠best, they'd made some prior agreement to hit Class A first. Of course—he'd fully accounted for that possibility. It was the price you paid the moment Class A started running away with the lead.

Wooooong!

As he was briefly lost in thought, Tower No. 1 began releasing mana with a deep roar. The mana condensed at the top of the towering structure, then shot off in one direction, radiating a brilliant multicolored glow.

Ziiiiing!

The light merged with another beam flying in from the south, forming a thick line in midair. Tower No. 1, on the eastern side of the academy grounds, had connected with Tower No. 4 to the south. This time, unlike before, a large number of people needed to use the towers at once. Getting all two hundred fifty people into a single field was far beyond what one tower alone could handle.

"The evaluation will now begin! Everyone, please enter!"

An instructor announced the start from in front of the tower entrance.

"…"

Before going in, Leon met eyes once with every cadet in Class A.

"…"

"…"

"…"

They all wore unnecessarily solemn faces, like soldiers heading off to war. Leon let out a short snort of laughter and started walking. The blue sky wrapped around his shoulders.

Flash!

Class A's cadets arrived ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in a basin terrain of blue grass spread beneath a clear sky. Their only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠armament was a single weapon each. They wore basic athletic uniforms, but a red rectangular mark was drawn on the left side of the chest to distinguish teams. The other classes had been assigned rectangles of different colors.

"Gather up, everyone."

Leon waved a large map and rulebook as he called the cadets together. The map and rulebook had appeared in their hands the moment they transferred into the field.

Shrrrk!

When Leon spread the map wide on the ground, the cadets clustered around and craned their heads in. The field being used this time was called Eledor—roughly 1.5 times the size of the city of Elaim, a place mixing various terrains: mountains, plains, rivers, forests, swamps, and more.

"Alright, I'm going to read the rules, so pay attention. Don't come asking me again later for no reason."

Leon lifted the rulebook and began reading the rules in a voice laced with mana.

A kind of occupation war—seize zones, obtain equipment, kill opponents. The evaluation ranking would be determined by score.

"Everyone get that?"

The cadets focused their eyes on Leon and nodded. Their gazes said, hurry up and give us the plan. They'd never gone wrong following his word, so the attitude came naturally.

A devilish smile painted itself across Leon's face.

"So, the plan is…"