14. This Is the Finance Department: Despair Arc

Time rewinds slightly, back to the day of the final exam.

Chloe was breaking through the Sea of Trees the Druid had conjured, and she was tearing through it fast.

[Jade Shackles]

Clang!

She was doing it in a very coercive and violent manner, too.

'Not as big a deal as I expected. The monsters aren't much either.'

'Of course not. If that were a real basilisk swarm, you'd already be dead.'

'...Even with Jade Shackles answering my every whim now, you'd say that?'

'Don't underestimate monsters. If you're serious about comparing strength, you basically have to inflate a monster's Rank by about half to get close. You do realize the Holy Kingdom wasn't destroyed by one Mountain King for nothing, right?'

'Infuriatingly knowledgeable as usual. Did you go to the western wilderness of the Empire in the future or something?'

'You already know what my answer's going to be, don't you?'

'I know. Yeah, I know.'

Since the present Chloe was, in effect, questioning the future Chloe, it was little different from asking and answering herself.

She knew perfectly well that her future self wouldn't give her an answer—citing the risks of assimilating future knowledge and consciousness—so Chloe scowled, thoroughly fed up.

She was definitely a future version of herself, and yet she was so damn irritating. Maybe her future self grated on her so much precisely because it was herself.

Having quickly demolished the dirt-clump basilisk swarm, Chloe glanced around.

'First place... probably? That regressor bitch might be there in the martial arts field, but at least in the magic field.'

'Who knows.'

'You do.'

'Why are you looking away? You know perfectly well, don't you?'

BOOM!!!!

A thunderous blast. Heat surged in like a gale. The effect was unmistakably high-rank fire magic.

But that sound, that wind—

It was blowing from up ahead of Chloe.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you'd be this slow."

"...Amatrius."

"When you see someone, you really ought to address them by their proper name, don't you think? Chloe Pisti."

Step.

Someone walked forward through the storm of flames. That silhouette had clearly overtaken Chloe.

Even though Chloe had freely wielded [Jade Shackles] to race through the Sea of Trees faster than anyone else—

Someone, Amatrius Delphia Beatrice, stood ahead of Chloe.

"Princess, you don't look well. Does overcoming that chronic illness of yours still leave you in such a state?"

"I'm not the least bit ashamed. It's a prescription someone extraordinarily capable gave me personally."

"...Capable?"

"Yes. A truly remarkable person. Someone I absolutely must make mine."

The Beatrice who had overtaken Chloe did not look to be in good shape. Much like during their last duel, Beatrice was drawing mana from a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠household artifact solely for its large mana capacity in order to use magic.

Ordinarily, bringing an artifact into the final exam was prohibited, but she wasn't using the artifact directly. And more to the point, if artifacts were forbidden outright, then Beatrice's chronic illness would prevent her from using magic at all.

So after much deliberation, the Chief Examination Officer had authorized bringing the artifact. The essence of an academy is education, not competition or equality. If Beatrice could learn magic and grow through this method, then the academy would naturally permit it.

There were restrictions, of course—use it only for mana supply, submit a report on artifact utilization after the exam—but the result stood before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her.

Beatrice in first place, Chloe in second.

And more than that.

'One month—no, two months? She caught up to me in that short a time.'

'Shut up.'

'While her illness plagued her, she only studied theory. So she reached that level in barely two months after actually using real magic. Isn't it awe-inspiring?'

'I said, be quiet.'

'I told you, didn't I? That's what talent means. In front of that princess, we become utterly ordinary, nothing more.'

Until now, Beatrice, afflicted by her chronic illness, had never properly used magic. She had only desperately mastered theory.

Even that desperate grip on theory had only been possible because her talent had been acknowledged by Chloe's master, the Archmage. Without that, the Delphia Kingdom would have forced her to abandon magic long ago.

Uncontrollable magic is no different from terrorism or summoning magic. That was why Chloe had held onto a certain hope even after Beatrice overcame her illness.

Actual combat and theory are different. Beatrice, who had learned magic only through theory and would have to build up her magical senses from scratch, would need a long time to catch up to Chloe. Meanwhile, Chloe would advance even faster with the help of Future Chloe.

But Future Chloe had sneered at that notion.

And the result stood before her eyes.

"Besides, I'm growing more accustomed to this as well. Mana exhaustion is surprisingly manageable."

"......"

Just as Chloe had snidely registered at first glance, Beatrice was exhausted. She was clearly on the verge of collapse, breath ragged, limbs trembling.

But despite that, she stood upright. Her breathing was harsh but steady; her limbs quivered but didn't falter.

She was plainly far more acclimated than she had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been during their duel. In fact, she looked like someone who was simply a little tired.

All of it, a shard of talent. The magical talent personally acknowledged by Chloe's master.

──If only your talent had been even half of that child's...

The words of her revered master resurfaced. A remark the Empire's Magic Tower Lord, an 8th Rank Archmage, had once muttered.

Chloe had never been able to forget that single sentence. That was why she had never stopped watching Beatrice in this academy, never stopped being wary of her.

And now, what had become of it?

Just as Future Chloe had sneered. Just as her master had said.

Beatrice was flaunting a talent that Chloe dared not approach.

......And yet, there was something Chloe still couldn't understand.

"But Princess, you're remarkably fast."

"Hm?"

"I enhanced myself with mana and ran too, you know... did you sprint at full speed? With a body on the verge of collapse, that must have been exhausting."

It was true.

Chloe had given it literally everything. No matter how superb Beatrice's talent was, that talent was strictly in magic. She couldn't surpass Chloe, who had repeatedly trained her physical body as well.

And physical enhancement through mana is heavily influenced by one's base physical specs. The fact that Beatrice was still ahead of her left Chloe with only one possible conclusion.

'She overdid it.'

'...Hm.'

'She clearly pushed herself too hard to crush me after that last duel. If she used that much mana, then I could maybe... overtake her.'

Not a certainty—just a possibility. But Chloe couldn't bear even that.

She had striven desperately, practiced, trained. She could not accept that over ten years of effort and sweat equaled two months of a genius's time.

Could not accept—

"Ah, it seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding."

"What...?"

"I overtook you using teleportation magic. You can use it too, can't you? Were you perhaps holding back on purpose?"

"What?"

Teleportation magic. A spell of the same 5th Rank as [Jade Shackles], and the magic that mages of 5th Rank and above prioritize learning above all else.

Simply mastering teleportation magic makes one a treasured liaison for the royal family and earns one enviable treatment from noble houses. It's only natural—you're far faster than most knights, and as long as you recover your mana, you can keep moving. Economical.

But it isn't a magic everyone can learn just because they want to. Teleportation magic, by its nature, is fiendishly tricky.

And Chloe was in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the process of learning it. Over a month ago, while plagued by strange dreams, she had once used teleportation to reach a building rooftop and glare at the Chairwoman.

But that didn't prove she could use teleportation freely. On the contrary, teleportation was a magic Chloe avoided.

It consumed too much mana and was so inefficient that, no matter how she tried, she reached her limit after a few short-distance jumps. For breaking through a Sea of Trees like this, using mana for physical enhancement was far more efficient.

However.

"You learned... teleportation magic?"

"Want to see?"

[Teleport]

The exhausted-looking Beatrice, as if it were second nature, drew mana from the artifact in her hand and vanished.

In one bound, the teleported Beatrice stood behind Chloe.

[Teleport]

"You saw?"

"......"

And then she teleported right back to her original position.

No delay worth mentioning, the spell itself flowing like water. Clear proof that she had mastered teleportation magic.

Far more than Chloe had.

'She learned teleportation? Already? In two months—no, even less?'

'...'

'That's impossible. It took me months to learn. Even now I can't use it that fluidly.'

'Chloe.'

'It's a lie. It has to be the artifact's ability. Whatever—whatever, that's what it is.'

'That's talent.'

'Shut up! I said that's what it is!'

She had words she wanted to scream. That it was all a lie, that it was nothing but a trick.

But her mouth wouldn't open. The fury only simmered inside, and the sense of inferiority slowly piled up. She could only chew on her lip in silence.

In the end, she couldn't say a single word, because she had witnessed overwhelming talent with her own eyes.

And because Chloe herself couldn't deny it.

"No words? What's the matter—suddenly parched? Was my fire magic a little too intense earlier?"

"......"

"In any case, I'll be going ahead. I need first place in this final exam to secure the scholarship. It'll be a considerable sum... he'll be pleased, won't he?"

"...What?"

"Later, then."

After that, Chloe could only stare at the spot where Beatrice had teleported away.

......Because she had no confidence she could chase after her with the same teleportation magic.

*

And so time returns to the present.

The final exam ended just like that. It was interrupted by the terrorist attack, but along with Risha Claudia and Kaern Deste from the martial arts field, Beatrice had been one of the few students to successfully break through the Sea of Trees before the interruption.

Chloe, as a fully-fledged 5th Rank, had also broken through before the interruption—but in the end, she placed merely second in the magic field.

After confronting the reality of second place and Beatrice's talent,

Chloe walked slowly down the street.

'So that's why you said that?'

'Yes.'

'That the real genius is that woman, and that all we have is spite?'

To be honest, Chloe herself was a genius. She might be called merely a "prodigy" when measured against talents gathered from across the Empire, but the very fact that she had competed against them and ultimately won vouched for Chloe's talent.

But prodigy this, genius that—all of it was meaningless.

Because in front of Beatrice, every talent faded anyway.

'I decided not to tell you about the future. But I can tell you this much.'

'...Try me.'

'Amatrius Delphia Beatrice eventually ascends to the 8th Rank.'

'...'

'She reaches the same level as our master.'

Words she couldn't accept, yet a corner of her heart accepted them all the same.

Talent that had learned teleportation magic in just two months. Talent that had already made her the equal of Chloe, a 5th Rank mage. If she honed that talent for months, for years—

She'd reach 6th Rank before even graduating. She might even graduate at the 7th Rank.

And then, after graduation, with the backing of the Delphia Kingdom—

She would eventually reach the 8th Rank. For a lesser nation like Delphia, each individual asymmetric power of the 8th Rank was vital. Even more so if that individual was a member of the royal family.

Chloe had despaired at the words her future self delivered.

But—

'Still, if you ask whether I envy that—not one bit.'

'...What? You don't envy the 8th Rank?'

'I used to long for it. The 8th Rank itself. If I reached the 8th Rank, I'd be able to protect Adam far more perfectly... but if it means becoming that kind of 8th Rank, I refuse.'

'Huh?'

'This is all I'll tell you. Don't try to dig for more.'

Something about those ominous words made Chloe want to urgently press her future self—

But a voice suddenly reached her ears, and her head snapped around.

There—

"Come take a look at the new apples! Fresh apples!"

"Student? Could you deliver this? The lady on Third Street asked for it."

"Yes! I'm on it!"

It was Beatrice, smiling brightly and working in a fruit shop,

clad not in her usual lecture-hall attire but in work clothes utterly beneath her station.

Chloe had heard rumors that Beatrice had taken a personal job, but after focusing solely on her training with Adam lately, this was the first time she'd seen it with her own eyes.

Beatrice pushed back her sweat-dampened blonde hair, her work clothes somehow emphasizing her absurdly large chest, and stepped forward from the fruit shop with a smile.

"Oh?"

"...Ah."

Just like that.

The two female students met face-to-face.