Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Placement Exam (6)
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'…They must've looked into each and every one.'
I thought to myself.
An action that might give some people the chills.
But I wasn't particularly surprised.
Lily pulling something like this was something I'd more or less expected.
In [Stella Academia], too, once her affinity reached a certain level, she showed a slight tendency toward obsession.
There wasn't a reaction like searching out practical combat matches in the game, but this seemed roughly in the same vein.
It was proof that the affinity-building was going smoothly, so there was no need to worry much.
And the bold statement.
Obsessive gloomy loner beauty? Not bad.
In fact, Lily's flustered, mentally crumbling look was pretty cute.
I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
“Eek…!”
But it seemed that chuckle was interpreted entirely differently by her.
Her already pale face grew even whiter.
“S-Sorry! I know you're upset that someone like me dared to sneak a peek at your match, Junior Jeron! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'll die…!”
As if she were a bomb, she started digging into the ground on her own again, showing signs of turning dark.
Whoa, this is a bit dangerous.
“No, Senior. It didn't bother me at all, so it's fine.”
So, I calmly soothed her.
“In fact, I'm grateful that you watched my match.”
It truly didn't matter at all.
It wasn't a problem at all that Lily knew about my black magic.
To get the [Shadow Cloak] anyway, I had to reveal my abilities to her directly or indirectly.
It was just that the timing had come a little sooner.
“R-Really…?”
Lily lifted her head slightly.
“Yes. Really. So you don't have to make that face.”
“Y-Yes….”
After barely healing Lily's menhera meltdown like that, she seemed to regain some composure.
Her trembling lips parted as she spoke.
“…Junior Jeron's black magic was truly excellent. The purity and stability of the barrier…. It was more perfect than any black magic I've ever seen. Did you learn it separately?”
“Ah. Black magic is just a hobby.”
I dropped the same hobby line I'd used on Ciel.
“R-Really…?! Black magic at such a perfect level as a hobby…? Are you, by any chance, a genius……?”
Lily couldn't hide her shock.
Yeah.
That's the normal reaction.
'Phew, I was a little worried she wouldn't be surprised like Ciel.'
Lily was a black magic genius too, but fortunately, she reacted within the bounds of common sense.
I sighed in relief and checked the system window that popped up in front of me.
[It's a slothful remark!]
[Sloth +40!]
'Nice.'
It went up twice as much as when I said it to Ciel.
A smile crept onto my face.
***
'…Junior Jeron seems really kind.'
Instead of answering, Lily stared blankly at Jeron, who smiled softly at her.
She'd thought he'd definitely be upset.
Not only had she snuck a peek at his match, but she'd presumptuously acted like she knew him.
She'd meant to keep it a secret that she'd looked up Junior Jeron's match….
In her anxious desire to say something—anything—to him, she'd impulsively blurted it out.
'Ugh, I was rude last time too, and now again today….'
For some reason, she kept messing up in front of Junior Jeron.
A normal person would have been extremely annoyed or treated her like she didn't exist and ignored her.
But he thanked her instead.
Without a hint of displeasure on his face.
And that.
His original magic skills seemed outstanding too, but to wield such perfect black magic on top of that.
And that as a mere 'hobby'….
She was impressed by Jeron's skills as well.
'Ah. But if his black magic skills are that outstanding….'
Suddenly, the advice he'd given her a few days ago came to mind.
'Suppress poison with poison.'
'…That really wasn't something he read in a book. He gave me that advice on purpose.'
It had been a guess before, but now it was almost certain.
Junior was a 1st Year in the Magic Department.
But from what she'd seen in the match, his understanding of black magic might be far deeper than hers.
He'd pretended to read a novel just to drop a hint for her, who was struggling with her research.
'Junior Jeron, for someone like me….'
Lily felt a strange tickling sensation in her chest.
***
After that, I became one with the sofa, reading novels or sleeping to rack up sloth.
Weekends were originally holidays, so sloth didn't build up much.
But right now was the practical combat placement period.
Unusually, the holiday was only Saturday, and Sunday had another match.
Maybe because of that—like exam season—sloth was accumulating bit by bit.
Lily took care not to disturb me like that but would occasionally bring up small talk.
She definitely seemed much more open to me than when we first met.
After rolling around on the clubroom sofa for a while like that, I started to get hungry.
“…Munch munch.”
I pulled a piece of sliced bread from my Subspace Pocket (Rare) and popped it in my mouth.
“J-Junior… w-wait a second!”
As I did, Lily, who was taking a break, freaked out.
“Th-That's not a proper meal…?!”
“Yeah? It is, though.”
I answered nonchalantly.
“N-No! You can't eat like that! It'll ruin your health!”
She said with an almost teary face.
Then she told me to wait a moment and hurriedly ran to the corner of the clubroom where the simple kitchen was.
Clatter. Bubble bubble.
Soon, a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen.
“U-Um… sorry to keep you waiting. It's nothing special, but I tried my best.”
Not long after, she carefully set a steaming hot bowl of stew in front of me.
'…No weird ingredients in this, right?'
It was an event not in the game, so I eyed Lily's stew a bit tensely.
But one spoonful proved it surprisingly normal—and tasty.
No, beyond normal; it was deeper and richer than anything sold at the academy cafeteria.
Her cooking skills were pretty good.
Maybe because cooking, like black magic research, required precise ingredient ratios?
“It's delicious.”
As I finished the stew with relish, Lily's face brightened even more.
The affinity-building was going way better than expected.
At this rate, the Shadow Cloak event should come up soon.
And so the peaceful holiday ended.
The practical combat placement week began again.
“Match end, Jeron Airgia wins!”
“…Whoa. He ended it in seconds again.”
“His opponents can't even hold out.”
“How strong is he exactly…?”
'Yawn.'
I yawned lazily as I stepped down from the arena.
Ding!
[You slothfully won in practical combat!]
[Main Quest: The Start of Ranks (6/7)]
[Yawn Ceremony]
[Sloth +50!]
'Easy.'
I was winning streak after streak, truly unstoppable.
Sunday's opponent, Magic Department. 2-second cut.
Monday's opponent, Special Department. 4-second cut.
Tuesday's opponent, Assassination Department. 3-second cut.
Wednesday's opponent, Black Magic Department. 1-second cut.
Thursday's opponent, Swordsmanship Department. 2-second cut.
Total record: 6 wins, 0 losses.
Total fight time: under 1 minute.
I'd racked up a pretty brutal record.
Maybe meeting A-Rank Victor early had used up my bad luck.
After that, I'd only faced average extra cadets.
I was completely different from when I'd first done practical combat with Kaiser.
Back then, I'd beaten Kaiser with gimmicks; my actual skill couldn't beat anyone in the academy….
Now, even fighting straightforwardly, mid-to-lower tier cadets were easy.
Sure, they'd analyzed my style and prepared countermeasures, but….
'Can you feel the difference in power? This is legendary-grade skill, human.'
Unfortunately, their efforts crumbled before overwhelming skill tiers.
Most cadets couldn't withstand [Magic Sword Slash], let alone [Hack and Slash], so it was only natural.
Now, only the final placement exam match remained.
[Level: 30]
[Sloth: 2500]
Thanks to steadily building sloth, my level and sloth had grown significantly.
'Good. Just win the last match cleanly, and the placement exam is perfectly done.'
Friday morning.
To check the final matchups, the classroom front bulletin board was swarmed with cadets from morning.
To keep up the sloth concept, I propped my chin on my hand with a bored expression, ignoring the commotion entirely.
Then Yuria and Artel approached me.
They'd been doing well in practical combat too.
Yuria had 4 wins, 2 losses; Artel 5 wins, 1 loss.
“Jeron. But your final opponent won't be easy.”
Yet Yuria's voice carried thick worry.
“Oh? Who is it?”
“It's…”
As Yuria trailed off, Artel beside her answered instead.
Her voice sounded a bit tense this time too.
“…The Saintess, Justina.”
“?”
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
'What? Justina?'
The Saintess—one of the 1st Year top ranks—was my final opponent?