The First Match - 3
Adrian.
Except for his appearance that could be observed with the naked eye, Charlotte knew nothing about him.
She hadn't even spent a full day facing the man.
It had been a day since she witnessed his aristocratic behavior, his self-assured confidence, and his piercing eyes that seemed to see through the soul.
However, it felt as if she had learned under him for a very long time. He was giving Charlotte such a strong impression.
“Did you understand?”
His tone was warm, though not particularly cool, yet Charlotte couldn't answer easily.
Among the five conditions he had set for her, was there something harsh? Was there something that required high-level magic? Was there something that a mage should possess?
No. Nothing.
Just the condition that she attend the academy well and return home safely.
Perhaps he was subtly encouraging her to give up on being a mage.
A mage is one who draws answers from mana. One who walks in search of truth.
The premise that one must find an answer no matter what variables are given does not change. However, in six hours and four minutes, during that long time, hadn't she not found any answer?
She had just been immersed in illusions.
The illusion and misunderstanding that when one grows up, one naturally becomes an adult, and when one is an adult, one naturally becomes strong, and by then one can defeat demons and avenge one's parents.
He might be breaking that illusion right now.
“Ah...”
She couldn't win the match, and now she couldn't even answer his easy questions.
Charlotte simply lowered her head once more.
It had been planned, and perhaps she vaguely knew that this would be the case.
She had grown up without her parents' touch from an early age. She had failed spectacularly in the level measurement.
If it weren't for the recommendation letter her parents had left, she wouldn't have been able to enter this academy. There would be an enormous gap in skill between Charlotte and the other students.
Among the upper-grade students, the number with demon hunting experience was extremely rare.
To transcend the talent and effort they had accumulated just with hatred, looking at it now, it was a thought befitting a frog in a well.
“I understand....”
The girl felt the tears she had been desperately denying come flowing again.
She had faced her own incompetence today, which she had tried to deny all along. She couldn't even muster the abstract ambition that somehow it would work out.
“Um, um...”
She called out to him as he turned.
Charlotte's shoulders trembled.
She had clearly faced her own incompetence. She just wanted to ask once more to accept this defeat.
It was the feeling of an executioner who wished the guillotine would fall soon.
“I... I can't catch demons, right.”
“Of course.”
Adrian answered. His voice had become cold again.
“Fundamentally, all magic output is weak.”
The cold reality slapped Charlotte.
“Also, it's not fast to activate. No one will leave their back to you.”
It hurts.
Each truth he spat out was too painful for Charlotte.
Now she even wished it would hurt more. Then she might be able to quit magic without regret...
“Emotions come first, and if it doesn't turn out as intended, you cry. You don't even have the basic aptitude of a mage.”
No. Wishing for it to hurt more was perhaps a word said without knowing oneself.
His words hurt. So painfully that she couldn't endure it.
“However, even if you are a mage with no basics.”
He took a step towards Charlotte who had lowered her head.
“An annoying kid whose emotions come first, even if it's a level that suits the term failure.”
One step.
He took another step.
“Even if you really face a demon.”
The last step.
Now the distance was too close to approach further. Charlotte stopped rubbing her eyes with her sleeve and lifted her head.
He was still calm. The coldness he had desperately needed for Charlotte was there for him.
“...If you survive, there is a chance.”
There is a chance.
What does that one word mean.
Something frozen inside melted, and tears flowed even more incessantly.
“Do you remember the five conditions?”
It was too much to wipe. The girl, with resolve, nodded her head vigorously.
Emotions surged, and it was hard to speak.
“F, first... From now on, attend classes faithfully....”
“You, who are the most lacking among everyone, must study the hardest among everyone. You must participate in lectures faithfully.”
Instead of wiping tears, Charlotte clenched her fists to the point of digging her nails.
Now she's crying desperately while showing a shameful face. Yet it didn't hurt.
It was truly strange. She had been so cold, so scolded, yet something was blooming somewhere in her heart.
So, Charlotte continued with her clumsy pronunciation.
“Second... Before ten at night... return home...”
“No leisure is allowed for you. Return home early to review and take appropriate sleep.”
Now her nose was flowing too. Sniffling while wiping tears and nose, she continued reciting.
“Third... If you face a demon... run away...”
“Realize your weakness now. Just survive. Extend the given opportunity by even one minute.”
“Fourth... Don't fight with other students...”
“Discard the foolishness of trying to do it with your own strength. Maintain a good relationship with your friends as much as possible.”
Now only one condition remains.
The last fifth.
“Hic, ugh! Hwaaaaaang....”
But now tears are pouring out to the point where she can't even speak. The surging emotions made her breathing ragged, not allowing Charlotte to compose her words.
In the end, instead of making a sound with her mouth, she drew a horizontal line in the air with the tip of her finger.
That stroke he told her not to forget.
In any sense, it was a stroke that Charlotte could never forget. She would remember this stroke for the rest of her life.
The professor nodded quietly.
“Well remembered, Charlotte.”
He lowered his knee and bent his waist. Then something descended above Charlotte's head.
“If you follow these five things.”
The morning air had cooled.
But it wasn't cold; it was Adrian's palm.
“...You will surely fulfill your wishes.”
After this short encouragement, Adrian quickly turned around.
However, he was still next to her. His voice was still lingering in Charlotte's ear.
“Hic... heup.. snip!”
Charlotte somehow suppressed her tears. She adjusted her breathing.
Because there was something she wanted to say before he disappeared.
“Um, um... I will become...!!!!!!”
Even with the girl's shout, Adrian didn't stop.
But he must have heard it. He must have listened. So Charlotte continued shouting.
“Never... I will never forget today's defeat! I will really... really become strong! That too, enormously!!!”
“You didn't lose.”
You won instead. Twenty-one times.
Leaving behind words that couldn't be understood to the end.
He left.
* * *
No matter how you look at it, the next day comes.
After the orientation, it was time to enter lectures again.
The students who didn't appear in the lecture hall at the time must have roughly heard what the orientation was about.
“There were four people in the original work.”
The F-class professor in the original work was just an old man who was only interested in receiving his salary. Only four students had attended classes until the end.
Excluding the protagonist, there were only three others.
The materials of those three had already been organized. Since they are named characters, I must watch them carefully like the protagonist.
“For the next week, Charlotte is safe.”
Was this a gift for Charlotte who had overcome twenty-one hardships?
Fortunately, there was no bad ending directed at the protagonist Charlotte for the next week.
“I need to pay attention to those around her this week.”
Well, it wouldn't be that difficult.
After all, more than half of the students would feel the wall and not want to enter lectures. Some wouldn't come to the lecture hall because they didn't like my attitude.
Caring for everyone is a really heartwarming story, but such a thing won't happen.
If I take care of only what I can definitely take care of, more than half will go. I'll do that. Without excessive greed.
I opened the door to the lecture hall.
“Welcome...”
I was startled without realizing it.
It was such a fleeting moment that no student noticed it particularly, but the important thing was that there was something that made me stop.
“......All.”
I finished my words naturally, and I saw an unexpected sight.
Sixty-four people. The capacity of the F-class.
The scene where they were all seated in their seats without a single one missing.