Chapter 52
Chapter 53
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Hero vs Final Boss (1)
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I let out a hollow laugh despite myself as I checked on Ruena.
More precisely—
on the wooden sword she was holding.
It was literally in half.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't quite in half.
Everything except the hilt and a bit above it had vanished.
Even the cut surface of the wooden sword was so smooth,
it looked like someone had deliberately sliced it clean through rather than it breaking.
'Her skill is impressive too...'
I scanned around Ruena.
The other half was nowhere to be seen.
Not even fragments of the wooden sword remained.
As if part of the sword had evaporated.
Or maybe...
like always at the mansion, it had flown off into the distance and embedded itself somewhere far away.
'...Yeah, I let my guard down too soon.'
It wasn't something to think optimistically about.
I should have considered how scatterbrained Ruena Eliad could be.
But—
this wasn't something I could fix even if I imagined the worst.
In this situation, all I could do was
falsify the test results or pretend it never happened.
'As if that'll work.'
I looked back at the disastrous test site.
The special target dummy in front of Ruena...
had apparently flown off with the sword—it was nowhere to be seen.
'We're totally screwed.'
At that moment—
a voice directly contradicted my thoughts.
"She... she pulverized that...?"
"Shattered it to pieces?"
"Whoa..., she turned it into dust?"
The murmurs from the surrounding students.
I turned my gaze to the scoreboard right next to Ruena.
That scoreboard
measured how many special magic targets had been sliced.
The targets—
varied in attributes like hardness or toughness,
speed of appearance, and so on,
with difficulty increasing by stage.
There were 15 stages of special targets in total.
But...
the scoreboard only recorded up to stage 7.
That meant
Ruena had destroyed a stage 7 magic target.
The moment I realized that, a sigh escaped me automatically.
Out of dismay at Ruena's blunder.
And out of disbelief at the sheer absurdity of her mistake.
'This is ridiculous.'
I surely wasn't the only one thinking that.
As proof—
cheers big and small erupted from around us.
Most of the cheers were in awe of House Eliad's prowess.
"Whoa, insane."
"How did she smash that?"
"As expected of Eliad..."
It was only natural for the students to be so impressed.
Stage 7
appeared slowly but was extremely tough.
With high hardness and toughness, it was usually impossible to damage with a wooden sword.
In fact, stage 7 targets served as gatekeepers.
Even skilled examinees
struggled to scratch them.
Thus—
it was where most applicants faltered,
and earning points required commensurate power or skill.
'And Ruena... obliterated it.'
This...
should I be happy or sad?
Demonstrating the might of the Eliad name was undoubtedly a point of pride.
A definite impact.
A sight that would imprint on anyone who saw it.
Proof was that every eye here was fixed on it.
'Until now... everyone had been focused on Marian.'
I glanced at Marian.
The girl, who had been smug just moments ago,
was now glaring at Ruena with a frozen expression, as if she were a monster.
Perhaps because all the attention she had been soaking up had been stolen.
I smirked as I peered into Marian's inner thoughts.
「What... what the hell is that? She's way stronger than last round?! What's going on? I swear in the previous round, she barely scraped by!」
Her baffling intentions were a puzzle to ponder calmly after the exam...
But one thing was clear: even Marian was shocked by Ruena's power.
In a way, it was a reversal of fortunes.
A flashy debut for Ruena as an Eliad.
However—
this was just the impression in people's eyes,
a mere show with no bearing on the entrance exam results.
'In reality... the evaluators' expressions aren't all that pleased.'
Ruena's displayed strength was certainly not to be ignored.
But...
from the professors' perspective, it bordered on a failing grade.
Our swordsmanship instructor back at the mansion always said the same thing whenever he saw Ruena send her sword flying—
"True strength lies in controlling your power at will."
Their expressions made it obvious the professors shared that view.
Which meant this would likely be seen not as proof of power, but of immaturity.
I sighed again as I looked at the scoreboard.
'Even giving her the best possible score, top ranks are impossible now.'
Mistakes weren't tolerated in this exam.
Even unavoidable errors counted as lack of skill.
Whether the sword flew away or broke, it was the student's fault.
In other words, Ruena's magic target test was over.
Only her score up to stage 7 would count, and the rest would remain blank.
"Ruena Eliad, your test is complete. Please wait at the back until the sparring matches are assigned."
"Yes."
Ruena politely bowed to the evaluators and came back.
My own test was still a ways off.
I quickly went to her side and pinched the back of her hand.
"Ow!"
"You really... come here for a sec."
I dragged Ruena to a quiet corner of the test site.
There were still some people around,
but it was secluded enough to escape most gazes.
"Turn around slowly."
"Huh? Why?"
"To check if you're okay."
Attempting stage 7 often led to fractures or injuries.
Ruena was sturdy, but...
even Eliads could get hurt.
I turned her this way and that, meticulously checking for injuries.
'She botched this exam, so she needs to be in top condition for the rest without any mistakes.'
Fortunately, she seemed fine.
Poking her here and there only elicited her usual "Eeng" whine.
No screams of pain, so nothing to worry about.
I inwardly relaxed and stopped spinning her around.
Then—
Ruena smirked, lifting the corner of her mouth as she leaned in close.
"Why, again."
"Hehe, you were worried?"
"Of course. The moment something happens to you, my job's on the line."
"You were worried about me? Or your job?!"
I nodded without hesitation, and Ruena's face crumpled into a pout as she looked down.
Her cheeks puffed out visibly even with her head bowed.
A clear sign she was super sulky.
One of those endlessly amusing sights I never tired of.
Enough to draw a silly smile every time.
I poked her puffy cheek with my index finger.
"Kidding."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. About 10%?"
"So most of it was serious!"
She looked genuinely hurt, pursing her lips and stomping the ground with her toes.
I chuckled and stepped closer to Ruena.
To hide her un-Eliad-like behavior.
And to ask how she'd made such an absurd mistake.
Exaggerating a bit, we were almost pressed together.
In that position, I leaned my head toward her ear.
"So. How'd you manage that this time?"
"......I was too nervous."
"And?"
"I thought I had to nail it, so I put all my strength into it and... whoops."
Quintessential Ruena reasoning.
I reached down and pinched the back of her hand again.
"Ow!"
"You really... Instructor Hector nags you every time to control your strength!"
"I-I always keep it in mind!"
"Someone who keeps it in mind doesn't cause accidents like that?!"
At my scolding, Ruena puffed her cheeks again, protesting innocently.
"B-But I was super nervous! Exams require giving your all!"
"Your 'all' looks an awful lot like 'disaster' no matter how I see it."
"Ugh, Celen, you can be so harsh sometimes. Disaster is too much..."
"Fine. Not disaster—catastrophe level."
"That's even worse!"
I shrugged at her protests.
Her cheeks puffed even more.
Not very intimidating, honestly.
Ruena Eliad was ridiculously straightforward.
Proof: a gentle stroke on the back of her hand—the one I'd been pinching—and her cheeks deflated right away.
"Hehe..."
"So simple."
"Only for you, Celen."
"Sure, sure."
I replied curtly and checked the electronic boards set up around the test site.
My turn...
wasn't far off.
I gave the back of Ruena's hand a light pat.
"It's soon. I'll be back."
"Yeah, I'll watch. Do great, Celen."
"Yeah, yeah."
Leaving her cheer behind, I got back in the waiting line.
My thought was,
'I should've teased Ruena's mistake more.'
To end up in the same class as Marian Lavelin, I needed a lower score than usual.
'I'll probably get teased back instead.'
I could already picture Ruena's mischievous grin.
"Next, Celen Noir."
"Yes."
I wiped the smile from my face and walked toward the evaluators.