The Subjugation Exam
We arrived before Oberta Village.
In the distance, a silhouette that looked like a wyvern came into view.
At first I mistook it for a crow.
“They are far smaller specimens than I expected, I must say.”
“No big deal. They’re just ridiculously fast, so you have to catch them clean.”
Kairin spoke while lightly loosening up her body.
Charles crossed his arms with an easy air as well.
“They’re only about the size of an adult man. No need to fret overmuch!”
“Phew… Do you think I’ll manage…?”
Marie said, tense.
Now that we were actually here, the nerves must have hit her.
“Do not worry. We practiced so very much, did we not?”
“Hahaha! Excellent! Shall we be off, my comrades!”
Charles took the lead.
The village had been completely overrun by wyverns.
Buildings and facilities lay utterly destroyed.
The people had of course all evacuated; not a soul remained, and only the cries of wyverns filled the air.
“Right then—let us declare war!”
Charles fired a burst of flame from the tip of his glove.
One of the circling wyverns took the hit and was instantly reduced to black ash, vanishing completely.
Kiiiii!
One wyvern reacted, and in a chain reaction the rest came diving toward us.
Kairin swept her hand downward in a great arc, and a massive bolt of lightning struck the lead wyvern squarely in the head.
KRA-KOOM!
Steadying her stance, Kairin turned toward me.
“Your turn now!”
“Splendid! Marie, we begin!”
“Yes!”
Several wyverns began spewing flames.
I leapt straight in and blocked them with Scarlet.
The fire was weaker than the butler’s.
This much is nothing!
Behind me as I held the flames at bay, Marie seized the surrounding boulders and hurled them at the wyverns.
Thwack-thwack!
The strikes landed true on vital points—more than enough to bring the creatures down.
“Ei!”
Marie instantly raised a wall of rock to intercept the next wave of fire.
I used that wall as a springboard, vaulting into the air and spinning once.
Carrying that momentum, I charged and cleanly severed the neck of an oncoming wyvern.
Slash!
Driving Scarlet hard into the earth to land, I immediately swatted aside the flames streaking toward Marie.
Just as she prepared to control the rocks once more, wyverns began closing in from every direction.
“!”
“Hmm. Growing dangerous. I should step in—”
“No. Watch a little longer.”
Charles made to move, but Kairin held him back.
We were now locked in a standoff with the wyverns.
“Wh-what do we do, Franc?”
“This is the moment to use it!”
I raised my voice in a great shout.
Dominate Roar
“Marie!!!”
I had been fretting over how exactly to voice the roar and settled on her name.
“Eeh!”
Marie was startled—and with good reason. The sheer force of the cry sent every wyvern that had encircled us plummeting to the ground.
“Excellent, Marie! Duck for just a moment, if you please!”
“Y-yes!”
I poured every ounce of strength into both hands gripping Scarlet.
Crimson aura wrapped my entire body and the blade alike.
“Hup!”
I swung Scarlet in one great, sweeping arc.
The red aura became sword energy and slaughtered the grounded wyverns in a single stroke.
“Hoo~”
“See that? That’s the young lady’s true skill.”
Charles murmured in admiration; Kairin looked relieved.
Slicing up wyverns with a greatsword is ridiculously fun. Come on, more of you!
“Come at me further, you monsters!”
Yet the remaining wyverns suddenly wheeled about one by one and flew off into the distance.
“Huh?”
“The wyverns… they’re simply leaving.”
Had they been frightened? Somehow it felt more as though something had called them away.
Tsk. What a shame.
In any case—was the subjugation exam finished now?
Kairin and Charles walked over to us.
Charles clapped his hands.
“Full marks on the subjugation exam! You agree, Kairin?”
Kairin answered with a faint smile.
“Need I even say it?”
Utterly satisfying result!
“Ohhoho~ A splendid success, Marie!”
“Hehe, yes!”
Scarlet absorbed something from the fallen wyverns.
Your power has grown a little stronger.
Skill acquired from Wyvern: New Skill — Strike
“Hmm? What was that just now?”
Charles asked me with a puzzled look.
“Dunno. Either she doesn’t know herself, or she just won’t say.”
Kairin gave a little shrug of her shoulders.
“It is a sword I picked up in a cave. I myself have no idea.”
I can admit that much. I really don’t know!
“Hmm. In any case, well done! Let us return.”
“Yes!”
And so the subjugation exam concluded successfully.
Now all that remained was to wait for the results.
“I beseech Thee… I beseech Thee…”
On my way to the breakfast table that morning, I found Lucien earnestly praying toward some unseen point.
I had no idea how many days he had been at it.
“Papa, good morning~”
“I beseech Thee… I beseech Thee…”
“…….”
Ah. Today is the day the entrance exam results come out.
I myself had been terribly nervous the moment the tests ended, yet fretting would not change the outcome.
Still…! I am nervous!
I spoke to Sebastian, who was walking with me.
“Papa appears terribly busy.”
“Yes. No doubt because the young lady’s examination results are to be announced today.”
“Hmm~ Will prayer truly change anything?”
Sebastian adjusted his glasses as he answered.
“Even so, I believe it is an act that carries the head of the house’s sincere wishes for the young lady.”
“If it is the young lady, she will certainly pass. That is my analysis.”
Sally chimed in as well.
“Should she fail to pass, I shall go and lodge a protest myself.”
“No, there is truly no need for that.”
They all put on a show of composure, yet they were clearly nervous too.
They must be fretting over the thought of me looking crushed if I failed.
In truth, I was the most anxious of all—because I was entering the academy precisely to avoid the route of ruin.
According to the settings, only three hundred students are admitted each year.
This year’s applicants numbered well over three thousand.
We had to break through nearly ten-to-one odds.
Of course the adventurer’s license granted bonus points… yet my practical and magical scores were near failing. If I lost even a single point under equal conditions, it would be over.
Still, the system was remarkably honest.
That the child of the Albert family—who managed the nation’s finances—had taken the entrance exam, and that rankings were determined solely by ability, struck me as rather marvelous.
When I finally sat at the table, I had no appetite.
Marie barely touched a single spoonful either.
Her face looked more haggard than usual.
“Marie, are you all right?”
“Yes… I simply could not sleep.”
Come to think of it—if Marie fails to enter the academy, she would never have the chance to join hands with the demonkin and fall, would she?
The thought crossed my mind, yet if I simply declared, “Marie will become the Demon King!” or “You must not ally with the demonkin!” no one would ever believe me…
I had to block that route naturally.
And if she failed the academy entrance, she might well fall by some other path instead.
We rode the carriage to Saint-Criat.
The results would be posted on the main gate of Saint-Criat Academy.
To prevent any foul play in admissions, the board was written by hand rather than by magic.
Gazing at the scenery along the road to Saint-Criat, Marie spoke as though confessing.
“Truthfully… I was afraid we might not be able to enter together.”
She clasped both hands tightly and continued.
“And if it had not been for you, Franc, I never would have come this far.”
Everything had happened because of Marie, for Marie’s sake—yet without her, I never would have reached this point either.
“Hehe. The same is true for me.”
“Eh?”
I took both of Marie’s hands in mine.
I spoke the words I most wanted her to keep.
I will stop the route of ruin no matter what it takes.
So Marie, you…
“No matter what may come, never give up. That is my request of you.”
“…!”
Marie’s trembling hands grew still.
Then she answered with a bright smile.
“Yes…!”
Before the main gate of Saint-Criat Academy.
The place thronged with people come to see the results.
Some cheered; others turned away in quiet despair.
I forced my way through the crowd and scanned the board for my name, eyes narrowed.
Francoise… Francoise…
Looking closer, I saw the names were ranked in order.
I read carefully downward from the top.
…Huh?
Why could I not find my name—Francoise?
Cold sweat ran down my back.
Did my grand magic trick get exposed that day? Even with an adventurer’s license?
Idle thoughts spun through my head until they were about to burst—then at last I found it.
299th — Marie Robert de Saint-Victor
300th — Francoise Albert de Valois
Found it!
“Marie!”
I turned toward her with pure joy.
Marie must have found her own name at the same moment; our eyes met at once.
“We passed! We passed, I say~!”
“Hehe, yes! We passed!”
Sebastian and Sally, who had accompanied us, set off fireworks they had apparently prepared in advance.
Bang! Pop!
“Congratulations, young lady.”
“This day shall be engraved forever in the history of House Albert.”
We clasped hands and jumped for joy.
“Looks like you made it. Congrats.”
A familiar voice drifted from a short distance away. It was Kairin.
“Commoner!”
“I am not a commoner!”
Kairin muttered as though embarrassed.
“Ahem. Anyway… you both worked hard…”
“Hehe, thank you~”
Kairin’s gaze fell on Marie and me holding hands; she made a faintly uncomfortable face.
“Could the two of you maybe let go of each other’s hands?”
“Ehh~ And why ever should we? These soft, squishy hands?”
“F-Franc!”
Marie’s face turned bright red.
Adorable. So adorable.
“Hahaha! As expected of my juniors!”
Charles strode over boldly and offered his congratulations.
“Ohhoho~ This much is only natural, I assure you.”
“I’ve prepared a truly spectacular proposal, so look forward to it!”
Oh? What sort of proposal might that be?
“Very well, Senior?”
“!!”
Charles flinched, then burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahahaha! Then I’ll see you at the entrance ceremony, junior!”
Good. This is only the beginning.
In Crimson Memoria it was said that only Saint-Criat Academy existed, yet the concrete details of the academy were known only to my friend.
I would use this chance to carefully observe what houses and what factions were present.