Amber's Re-Exam Triumph
Amber passed the re-exam.
Just like that, she shuttled back and forth between school and what might as well have been prison for grueling special training sessions, time and again.
"The nation that halted the Dongjenir Empire's advance in 921 and unified all the tribes on the Koral Continent?"
"The Adamant Empire!"
"Good. Correct."
She conquered every subject, cramming in all the studying she'd neglected up until now.
It was something she never could have started alone, but with a reliable senior and kind friends by her side, her progress was nothing short of a lightning advance.
Even after returning home, she reviewed on her own, maximizing her comprehension.
"...Studying hard is great, but don't burn out your brain all of a sudden, okay?"
"That sounds like major shade being thrown my way?"
Sometimes, she got half-hearted worry from her sister.
"Oranges freshly picked this morning from the southern countries. They're supposed to be great for recovery."
"Straight from overseas?!"
Other times, she enjoyed fresh, direct-shipped fruit from fellow executives.
"This region has high summer rainfall concentration, so they build dams to stockpile water."
"Ah, got it."
And sometimes, Ruri—the maid who served Diamond—helped with her studies.
It might seem odd for a magical girl to aid a Silver Unit executive, but Amber was a precious friend of Ruri's mistress, so no one minded.
Days passed like this, buried in books.
"Whoa! Solved it!"
Before she knew it, she'd cracked that brutally tough functions problem.
Finally, the big day dawned.
"What can I say... it's kinda emotional."
Gazing at the rising sun, Jade wore an expression like a parent seeing off their college-entrance-exam kid—utterly incongruous for seeing a re-testing slacker off.
Diamond patted her back, checking on Amber's condition like a doting mom.
"Did you get a good night's sleep? If you feel off, tell the teacher and head to the nurse's office right away. There'll be other chances—"
"You're worse than Mom with the worrying! I'm fine, so just trust me and wait!"
Trust me and wait. She'd bluffed the same way before her last re-exam, but this time it was different.
No empty bravado—this was born of experience, a bold declaration packed with confidence that she'd nail it.
"Alright, I'm off!"
"...Yeah."
With that, Amber headed to class without looking back. It felt awkward getting all that worry from her beloved senior.
Scraaaape—
Entering the special classroom set up for flunkers, just like always, kids in the same boat greeted her one by one.
"Oh, Amber's here."
"Hey~"
Not from her Class A, but thanks to her natural affability, she got along decently with these classmates.
If anything, they were the "not the sharpest tools in the shed, but good-hearted" type.
"Hey, everyone~"
Returning the greetings, she sat, pulled out her self-made notes summarizing key points, and started reviewing.
A few nearby students noticed her unusually focused vibe and gathered around, spotting the notes right away—
"Huh, did you write these, Amber?"
"Super easy to understand... Mind if we peek?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Having already grasped and memorized most of it, Amber felt no anxiety.
If anything, she was itching to take the test and gauge her skills.
"But aren't you just re-testing math? There's language and history too."
"Yeah... I asked the teachers to let me test all subjects."
Strictly speaking, she'd only flunked math. The rest had scraped by, barely.
But since she'd guessed a few right, and studied everything anyway, she figured she'd test it all.
The teachers happily approved their student's bold resolve, letting her check her progress freely.
"...Kinda makes me feel pathetic. We were just chatting about makeup."
"Maybe I should hit up cram school over summer break. Gotta graduate at least."
Scraaaape— Thud!
"Everyone, sit. Put away what you're looking at."
After about 20 minutes, the teacher entered, distributing re-exam papers.
"Begin. 50 minutes per subject. Finish early? Stack it on the desk and go."
The homeroom teacher announced it half-assedly, and the class grabbed pens in unison. Amber calmly flipped through her paper, tackling problems one by one.
"Wonder if Amber's doing okay."
"She worked so hard! She's gotta pass!"
Cafe Eclipse, after a long hiatus.
Diamond and I killed time anxiously awaiting Amber.
We hadn't been around much, so we started cleaning, but staying calm was impossible.
"Speaking of, where's Ruri?"
"Who knows. Maybe she went home for a bit?"
I'd pictured her always shadowing Diamond, antennae out for shady types, but apparently not 24/7.
Makes sense—she's got magical girl duties too.
Not the time to worry about Ruri.
I hid my nerves and kept cleaning, but couldn't stop the faint tremors.
Shakeshakeshake—
"Aargh, seriously! What if Jade's this nervous?!"
Diamond grabbed my shaky hand, chiding my fidgeting like I was hopeless.
That warm touch blew my tension away in an instant.
"You're her senior, right? Then greet her post-exam with pride!"
"Diamond..."
Assuming failure first might insult Amber after her weeks of diligent study.
"Think I've misjudged you a bit till now."
"Misjudged?"
At first, she struck me as a classic greenhouse flower—calling me "coffee chef" and all, full of pride.
But this ordeal showed she's genuinely kind and considerate.
"And with the Brilliant family duties, you must've been swamped, yet you stuck by Amber to the end."
"Of course! Can't just ditch a job once I take it on!"
Noble pride, huh. Doesn't change that she cared for my precious junior.
"Anyway, thanks. For looking after her properly."
I bowed my head, conveying my sincerity.
"Not something to thank me for..."
"I'll take your pant-leg-clinging sobfest as payment to the grave."
"Wha—dragging up ancient history?! I thought you'd forgotten!"
"Wasn't it pretty recent?"
Anyway, time to trust her to the end. She's got good roots, after all.
I shook off stray thoughts, dove into cleaning, checked machines, treated Diamond to dessert—and then—
Jingle!
The door opened. I snapped my gaze to the entrance.
Evening already? Sunset glowed beyond the door, backlighting a girl who stepped in.
"...Amber."
"Huh? Even Diamond's waiting?"
She eyed us with an odd expression. At least she sat the whole exam...
A brief, uneasy silence fell. Diamond pondering what to say?
But Amber grinned and proudly whipped out four exam papers.
"Ta-da!"
Scores: 74, 81, 69, 72.
Plain numbers, maybe average—but compared to old Amber, miraculous.
"Great job! You're through!"
"Aah, you're all making such a fuss!"
Amber scratched her head sheepishly, sounding a tad disappointed.
"Wanted 90s if possible... Guess you can't rush genius overnight."
"Next semester, who knows. Tripling scores in three weeks? That's talent."
Me? I sucked at study smarts—scores dropped sometimes.
For Amber, who turned effort into results? Commendable.
"Hold up! Framing them?!"
"Gonna hang 'em at home."
"...Not exactly frame-worthy, are they?"
"Gonna commemorate it. My precious junior earned these on her own."
Gonna treasure these forever. Might end with me, sans spouse.
"You're a real people-charmer..."
Amber muttered, cheeks flushing. Too quiet to catch—probably cursing me.
"So, what's next? Summer break's still got ages left."
Felt eternal locked in "prison," but hardcore study was just three weeks.
Plenty of vacation left.
"Hmm... Beach! Summer means beach!"
"Beach sounds perfect. Maybe grab swimsuits."
"Then my private island! I'll call everyone—gonna be a blast!"
A day of raucous summer planning after my junior aced her re-exam.
Nothing special, just ordinary—but one I'll never forget.