A Battle of Wills (1)
"Haaah..."
"Lady Aidrin, why are you sighing like that? Did something bad happen?"
"..."
Aidrin scowled with all her might, looking back and forth between his chest and her own. The number 17 was written on both.
"Hmm..." Sillon stared blankly at the number 17, then snapped his fingers with an "Ah!"
"Do you happen to dislike the number 17? Do you consider it an unlucky number, perhaps?"
"Yes. Starting today, 17 is officially going to be the most unlucky, irritating number in my book."
"Well, still, it's the grateful number that bound you and me together, Lady Aidrin. Shall we try not to hate it too much?"
"It's because it's the number that bound you and me together, you idiot?!"
Argh!!! Aidrin ruffled her thick, orange hair with both hands.
"Oh, so fluffy."
"What is this? A group exam? I've never heard of such a thing! No, the group exam itself isn't the problem. But why, of all people, do I have to be grouped with him?"
"Lady Aidrin. Just in case, I must ask—do you happen to possess multiple personalities? Or perhaps you have a twin? I'm quite confused as to whether you are the same person who just promised to help me adjust to academy life."
"You dummy! That and this are completely different stories!"
"Oh, they are different? My, the Academy is indeed a difficult place. If it wouldn't be too rude, may I ask how exactly they differ?"
"I said I'd help you adjust to the Academy, I never said I'd help you pass the exams! This exam is incredibly important to me too!"
Aidrin paced restlessly, looking as if her carefully laid plans had crumbled to dust. Sillon watched her quietly, the corners of his mouth curving into a mischievous arc.
"But, Lady Aidrin. I, Sillon, am actually not such a bad partner to navigate the exam with, you know?"
"What?"
"After all, didn't I record a score quite similar to yours in the second exam, Lady Aidrin?"
Hearing this, Aidrin's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
"Hey! There you go again with that nonsense—how on earth are our scores similar?! I placed third, and you placed sixth! My score is on a level that should group me with Lord Drin and Lady Kasha, not you!"
"Hmm~ But..." Sillon stared at Aidrin, letting his voice trail off.
"Ah, never mind. Wow! That is truly amazing. To think you placed third—no, third place right after those two."
"Hey! You were just about to say that their records were in the one-minute range while mine was in the three-minute range, so how could I possibly group myself with them, weren't you?!"
"Good heavens, Lady Aidrin. How did you know?! I was indeed about to say that those two placed first and second overall, while you placed third in our specific group, so how could the three of you be grouped together. Did you perhaps read my mind?!"
"Uuuurgh...!" Aidrin trembled with rage as she glared at Sillon.
"Oops~" He slyly averted his gaze and smoothly changed the subject. "Ah! By the way—"
"What is your goal for this exam, Lady Aidrin? For someone of your caliber, passing must already be a given, so surely you are aiming for greater heights. Ah, could you perhaps be aiming for top of the class, just like me?!"
At that, Aidrin let out a hollow laugh. "Ha!" She shook her head, her eyes deadpan as she spoke.
"Sillon. Sillon, which is synonymous with idiot?"
"Oh, my. I had no idea my name carried such a profound meaning...! This is the first I've heard of it. Yes, Lady Aidrin. You called?"
"Top of the class? I am not a fool who doesn't know her place and runs around like a headless chicken like you."
"Hmm, you lack ambition."
"Ambition, my foot."
"No, Lady Aidrin. Just think about it. Look, imagine the entrance ceremony." Sillon raised his index finger, beginning his explanation with an incredibly serious face, but Aidrin cut him off.
"'At the entrance ceremony, when they're about to announce the top student, everyone will be waiting to hear Lord Drin or Lady Kasha's name. Imagine how thrilling it would be if my name was called instead!' Is that what you were going to say?"
"Wait, how did you—?!" Sillon recoiled in shock.
"Do you have any idea how many times you've spouted that nonsense since we met?"
"Oh... To possess such insight and not aim for first place... What a waste...!"
"In the first place, you're probably the only idiot in the Swordsmanship Department spouting delusions under the guise of 'ambition' about beating Lord Drin and Lady Kasha for first place. The top two spots are practically theirs already, without a shadow of a doubt."
"Hmm... Then what rank are you aiming for, Lady Aidrin?"
"Me? Well, for now, around the top thirty? That's what I'm aiming for."
"Oh... Around the top thirty..." Aidrin studied Sillon's reaction, and her brow furrowed deeply.
"What's with that reaction?"
"Ah, I think it's wonderful. Out of all these people, to aim for the top thirty...! Give or take!"
"No. No, it isn't. The face you just made was definitely not the face of someone who thinks that's wonderful."
"...Then what kind of face was it?"
"A face barely holding back the words, 'Huh? That's it?'"
Sillon recoiled in shock once more. "Do you perhaps possess the ability to read minds...?!"
"No, what I need right now is the ability to make you disappear. And as luck would have it, I happen to have that ability right here." Aidrin raised her fist and stared at it intently.
"Lady Aidrin, please show mercy. My 'Huh?' and 'That's it?' were merely meant to suggest that the top thirty is far too low a rank for someone of your stature."
"Haaah..." Talking to this man felt like having her life force drained in real-time. Aidrin sighed, utterly exhausted.
"Sillon. Sillon, which means idiot."
"Yes, Lady Aidrin. The epitome of beauty, mercy, tolerance, and—"
"Shut up. I think you've tasted a bit of high altitude and completely lost your grip on reality. The people who will take the top ranks at this entrance ceremony live in a completely different world from us. The sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be. Do you understand?"
It was the calm, yet melancholy demeanor unique to those who had faced the wall of reality and conformed to it. Sillon looked at Aidrin with a profound gaze, then flashed an even more meaningful smile.
"You underestimate yourself far too much. In my eyes, Lady Aidrin, you possess more than enough talent to stand in the exact same place as them."
"Good grief. As if you know anything." Aidrin shook her head, yet she couldn't help but burst into a helpless laugh at Sillon's absolute certainty. Who else would ever tell her that she had the talent to rival Drin and Kasha? Only a fool like this man could say such a thing.
"Well, now that I think about it, you do have a bit of a point."
"Aha, exactly! Shall we go ahead and aim for first place, leaving Lord Drin and Lady Kasha in the dust?"
"Not that, you dummy! I meant that you aren't the absolute worst choice for a teammate!"
The third exam was a three-person group test. Even including Sillon, they still had one more spot to fill.
"If our remaining teammate happens to be Lady Kasha or Lord Drin... then taking first place in the third exam might not be entirely impossible..."
"Lady Aidrin. With all due respect, isn't that a bit too shameless? To want Lord Drin or Lady Kasha on top of having me."
"S-Shut up! Hey! More importantly, you've been speaking incredibly casually to me for a while now! Didn't I tell you to watch your manners?!" Caught red-handed, her face flushed crimson as she snapped at him.
"A-And besides! What's so weird about that?! I bet everyone else is thinking the exact same thing!" It was just as Aidrin said.
"Does anyone know Lord Drin's number?!"
"Where is Lady Kasha?"
"Lord Drin is over there?!"
"Check their numbers first!"
The waiting room was currently in utter chaos. Every single participant was crying out for Kasha and Drin with one heart and mind. Please! Let me be in the same group as those two!
"Well, even if we don't know the exact details of the exam, being grouped with either of them guarantees we won't fail."
"E-Exactly! See? I'm not the weird one!"
"But, Lady Aidrin, think about it. What if we beat the group those two are in—"
"Oh, shut up! Just follow me!"
"Where are we going?"
"We need to find our third teammate."
Aidrin and Sillon swept along with the massive crowd moving through the waiting room.
"From what I can see, it looks like you're searching for those two rather than our actual teammate."
"Fine, yes! I want to get grouped with them and breeze through this exam! Got a problem with that?!"
"Of course not! I completely agree!"
"Seriously..."
How long had this pair with completely contrasting expressions been drifting along with the crowd? Soon, they spotted a particularly dense gathering of participants. Surely, either Drin or Kasha was at the center of it.
"They must be over there!" Just as Aidrin grabbed Sillon's sleeve to pull him toward the crowd—
"You. Hold on a moment." Someone called out to Sillon.
Aidrin stopped as well and looked toward the source of the voice. It was a group of over ten noble participants—a crowd that could easily be described as a faction.
At the center of the faction stood a young woman in ornate armor, Adela. She swept her gaze up and down Sillon before turning to the giant of a man standing beside her—Melchen.
"Is this the one?"
The moment Aidrin saw Melchen's imposing, massive frame, she remembered that he had been in the same group as them during the second exam.
"Yes, that's the bastard."
Hearing Melchen's reply, Adela jerked her chin at Sillon and spoke in a commanding tone.
"You there. Stand so I can see your number clearly."
"Hmm? Ah! You must be curious about my number. Here it is."
As Sillon obediently stood at attention to show his number 'clearly,' snickers erupted from the crowd. Adela also covered her mouth, giggling softly. It was a laugh dripping with contempt.
"My, what an obedient fellow. Quite different from what I've heard. I suppose one could say he knows his place."
"..."
At this blatant treatment of Sillon as an inferior, a mere plaything, Aidrin's face twisted in anger.