Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Chief
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Heading down, I approached where Lydia was. She, who had been watching with a surprised face, broke into a bright smile and waved her hand.
"Wow...! Aren! That duel was incredible!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes! How on earth did you make the magic disappear like that all of a sudden?"
Lydia, true to form as a mage, was full of curiosity. Especially about magic.
Of course, anyone who had witnessed that duel would naturally be curious, regardless of whether they were a swordsman or a mage.
"Hmm... Curious, are you?"
"Yes!"
"Sorry, but it's a trade secret."
"Ah... Th-then, it's okay if you don't tell me."
Lydia's face fell.
Her sulky expression was pretty cute. What was it like? Like a puppy disappointed in its owner for teasing it with a snack?
It would've been perfect if she were a dog beastkin.
"Just kidding."
"Huh...? Th-then, you can tell me?"
"Hmm... Well, maybe not..."
"Hing..."
Once again, Lydia's face fell. At this point, my brain automatically started imagining dog ears on her head and a tail on her butt.
...I was planning to stop here, but maybe tease her a little more?
"I might be able to tell you...?"
"Really?"
"But it's a trade secret, so it might be tough..."
"H-huh... That's fine..."
"But since we'll be classmates taking lessons together, maybe it's okay...?"
"Really!?"
"Still, if I tell every friend everything, what do I get out of it...?"
"Hing..."
After going back and forth like that for a while, Lydia realized I was teasing her and got upset.
"Hmph! Aren!"
"Are you mad?"
"No? Why would I be?"
She's mad, obviously.
Her mouth said no, but seeing her turn away sharply, there was no mistaking it.
I couldn't resist the temptation and ended up stroking her head. This was only the second time I'd stroked a girl's hair, and it was incredibly soft.
Oh, and the first time was, of course, with Master.
"H-huh?!"
"Ah, sorry, Lydia. I did it without thinking."
Lydia looked up at me with a slightly startled expression.
"Do you not like it? I'll stop if you do."
"I-it's not that I don't like it. It's just... we're friends, so it feels a bit awkward...?"
"Hmm? Is that so? I thought friends could pat each other's heads."
Lies.
What kind of male-female friendship involves stroking each other's hair?
Maybe tussling like tomboys, but not the gentle way I was doing it. One side definitely doesn't see the other as just a friend.
They'd be thinking of them romantically.
But Lydia, a country girl with no real friends, wouldn't know that.
"R-really? Then... um, you can pat it if you want."
I smiled at Lydia, who was looking up at me with curious eyes.
"Sure."
Pat pat.
Ignoring the envious stares piercing me from around us, I patted her head before letting go.
"Hey, Lydia."
"Yes?"
"The thing where I nullified Veronica's magic? That was a spell I learned from my master..."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't magic.
It stemmed from the same power as magic but was Shu Arts, a completely different method.
But I couldn't explain that right now.
"I'll tell you the details later, once we're closer."
"Closer... Got it, Aren."
She quietly gazed at the arena. But soon, she glanced sideways at me.
"Um... Hey, Aren."
"Yes."
"Just in case..."
She hesitated for a long time, dragging out whatever she wanted to say.
"...Those things you said to Veronica before the duel... were they just teasing?"
"Hm."
It was more serious than I expected.
Teasing, huh...
Aren turned the question back on her.
"What do you think, Lydia? Does it seem like teasing?"
"...Logically speaking, it probably was."
"I see."
"But—"
She looked up at me with serious eyes.
"For some reason, it felt like you meant it. W-we haven't known each other long, but... my intuition told me so. Was I wrong?"
"No. You got it right."
It was all sincere from start to finish.
Nothing wasn't sincere.
Suddenly, she glanced around cautiously.
"Th-then, that part about me being able to become a fine woman... that was sincere too?"
This time, even I had to pause. Lydia's ears were red, her eyes shaking.
She was probably pushing through her embarrassment to ask.
...Maybe I should've been more careful with my words. But I shook my head inwardly.
Say what needs to be said.
Even now.
"Yes. It was sincere."
"H-hic..."
After that, she avoided looking at me. She just kept mumbling to herself, "I see... it was sincere..." over and over.
Aren and Lydia watched other duels in silence for a while before parting ways.
With the duels officially over, the Academy's entrance exam came to a close.
About one in ten applicants passed. In terms of competition ratio, it was roughly 10 to 1.
An ambiguous number that some might see as high, others low... but to the Academy's faculty, it was high.
After all, the Academy was in the Empire.
In a nation where the class system functioned properly, students at the imperial Academy were naturally mostly nobles.
Even accounting for that noble society, the commoner application rate was high.
Anyway.
All that remained was selecting the top and second seats and holding the entrance ceremony.
And now, all the Academy's faculty were gathered in one place.
"Then let's begin the selection."
The Academy president, seated at the head, instructed the faculty to discuss freely.
Of course, "freely" didn't mean a truly free discussion.
Not due to political pressure or anything... but one person's presence dominated this entrance exam.
"The top seat... can only be that commoner Aren."
"We should call him Student Aren now. He passed the entrance exam, after all."
"Ah, yes. That Student Aren."
The faculty's opinions were largely unanimous.
Aren.
"No one made as strong an impact as Student Aren."
"Even with the so-called Golden Generation entering in droves this time... Aren stands out uniquely."
Destroying the mithril measuring device.
Achieving an overwhelming victory over Veronica, a member of the Golden Generation.
And on top of that, the unfamiliar spell Aren used, which even the professors had never seen.
Thus, the faculty's consensus seemed set: top seat to Aren without question.
Until a minority of dissenting professors raised objections.
"Wait, I believe Student Aren needs more verification. It's premature to put him above the other Golden Generation members as top seat."
"...?"
"Professor Lorenben. Are you serious?"
"Yes. The other professors will agree. Right?"
The middle-aged man called Professor Lorenben looked at a few professors, who all nodded.
"Look here. Student Aren still needs verification."
"...I don't understand. What verification does Student Aren need?"
A young woman sitting opposite Professor Lorenben stood up.
"...Professor Sierra. I acknowledge Student Aren is 'slightly' stronger than the other Golden Generation members, but he's a commoner. And didn't you clearly see that unknown spell he used in the duel? Considering his status, we can't rule out the possibility of sorcery."
Sierra let out a disbelieving scoff.
"...Sorcery?"
...Is he serious?
"Professor Lorenben."
"Yes, Professor Sierra."
"Are you cowardly dismissing it as sorcery just because you don't understand it?"
"...How rude."
"The rudeness is coming from Professor Lorenben right now. Isn't it?"
Sierra looked around at the president and other professors.
"Not content with downplaying Student Aren's value by saying he's just 'slightly' stronger than the Golden Generation, now calling it sorcery because you don't know it. You should be ashamed."
Most professors nodded. Though most were nobles with some sense of authority, they weren't the type to deny reality.
But the problem was the faction outside that majority.
The line led by Professor Lorenben.
Just as Sierra's and Lorenben's factions clashed and the atmosphere heated up—
"Enough, everyone."
The president intervened.
The president alternated glances between Sierra and Lorenben.
"I understand both sides. However... in the current situation, making Student Aren the top seat is appropriate."
...
"...Yes, President."
Professor Lorenben ground his teeth. Meanwhile, Sierra flashed a refreshing smile.