Chapter 701
Chapter 701
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 701
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Trial
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The first to move, the moment Leo finished speaking, was Milia, who had placed first in the Knight Department's entrance exam.
Snap-!
Milia immediately ran into the bushes and hid herself.
“Whaaaah!”
“What in the world is happening!”
Milia’s action served as a signal, and the startled first-years began to scatter quickly.
Fwing-!
Just then, Milia, who had hidden first in the bushes, fired an arrow toward a first-year magic student.
“Whaaaah?!”
The first-year magic student hastily threw himself to the ground to dodge the arrow.
“Isn’t attacking right now against the rules?!”
As the magic student pushed himself up and protested, Leo grinned.
“I just told you, didn’t I? The fight starts now.”
“B-But…!”
The first-year magic student was dumbfounded, and the expressions in the other first-years’ eyes began to change.
“Everyone, think of this as a real battle. If an attack is severe enough to cause a major injury, we’ll intervene.”
As Leo finished his words, the first-years drew their weapons in unison.
Watching them, Chloe spoke up.
“Even if you get hurt, I’ll use healing magic on you. So don’t worry and fight!”
“Sob! Senior Chloe!”
“I think Senior Chloe is the kindest of all the third-year seniors!”
“I’m so happy to be in the Magic Department!”
The first-year magic students wore expressions of deep emotion.
Hearing Chloe’s words, Leo looked puzzled.
“Are you planning to use that new healing magic you’ve been researching?”
“Yep.”
“Didn’t you say that one causes the injured person extreme pain?”
“Yep. But it’s very effective, isn’t it?”
Chloe clenched her fist, her eyes sparkling.
“I tweaked the formula a bit recently. So I managed to boost its effectiveness.”
“And the pain increased too?”
“Yep.”
Chloe took a notebook from her pocket and began scribbling down formulas.
“I needed to test how much more effective it’s become, and how much more painful. This is perfect timing.”
Leo shook his head as he watched Chloe, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
“You’ve really become a full-fledged mage.”
“Huh? I was always a mage, though?”
Chloe’s current demeanor reminded him of Luna.
‘That girl Luna’s eyes would sparkle just like that whenever she was about to conduct a magic experiment.’
Leo clicked his tongue, recalling how Luna had tried to use him as a test subject.
“Senior Leo. What should we be doing?”
Luke approached and asked. Leo sat down on a nearby rock and replied.
“The third-years will handle the preparations for the orc settlement attack. You second-years, keep an eye on the first-years and intervene if a fight looks like it might cause serious injury.”
This was, after all, a mock battle to see how well the first-years could respond to a sudden crisis.
Even if they could be healed, it was best to prevent major injuries beforehand.
“Understood.”
Luke nodded and relayed Leo’s words to his classmates.
Hearing this, the second-years entered the forest to observe the first-years.
“Wow. That kid Luke. He’s really grown into his role, hasn’t he?”
Karl came over to Leo’s side, impressed.
“He’s like a real year representative now.”
“He is. Well, whether he can keep that position depends entirely on him.”
“True. I heard Juen is dead set on it. Heh~ I wonder if Juen will be the next second-year representative?”
Karl grinned.
It was then.
Chloe, who had been writing in her notebook, looked up.
“What’s wrong?”
“No. I might be mistaken, but.”
When Leo asked with a curious look, Chloe made a perplexed expression.
“I was just wondering… if it’s going to snow.”
“Snow? In spring?”
Karl looked incredulous.
It might be possible in the northern part of the continent.
But while spring nights in the central region were quite chilly, it was never cold enough for snow.
At Chloe’s words, Leo looked up at the sky.
The sky, where the sun was setting, was perfectly clear.
Chloe also stared intently at the sky before shaking her head.
“I guess I must have been mistaken.”
***
Milia, the first to hide in the forest, concealed her presence.
‘This is perfect for me.’
Although she was the top student in the Knight Department, Milia was a little different from the typical knight student.
The students of the Knight Department had always been a group that valued honor.
Considering most students who entered Lumerne were from knightly families, it was to be expected.
Coming from a knightly family meant they were bound to prioritize chivalry.
It wasn't that she disliked it.
In fact, she found it noble.
The problem was their attitude toward her.
‘They look down on me.’
Milia was in the Knight Department, but she was no knight.
Born into a merchant family, she had a natural talent for the bow from a young age.
Her talent for Aura had naturally blossomed as well.
But she was less a knight and more a hunter.
She set traps to catch her targets and strived to secure advantageous positions.
In that process, she employed methods that knights might consider somewhat cowardly.
She didn't go so far as to use any means necessary.
But she would do anything for victory.
Like a true merchant, she prioritized efficiency and calculated gains and losses, a tendency that naturally showed in her combat style.
As a result, Milia had always been looked down upon by her knight-aspirant peers.
And all those aspirants were nobles.
As the heir to a major merchant family, Milia had encountered many children of nobility since she was young.
Not all nobles were like that, but from Milia’s perspective, most of the noble children were fools who acted high and mighty simply because of their family name, despite having no ability of their own.
Truly capable and clear-headed nobles were a minority.
Milia knew it couldn’t be helped, but that was why she didn’t particularly like nobles.
She found it especially irritating when they belittled the achievements of commoners.
It was in this environment that she heard about a Lumerne student named Karl Thomas.
A commoner student with only average talent who had nonetheless made a name for himself.
Most nobles scoffed at Karl.
But for commoners, Karl was a figure impossible not to be interested in.
Milia was no different.
She naturally found herself rooting for Karl, and she was delighted when she heard the news that he had become a hero.
And when she met him in person.
‘He was so cool.’
Milia’s cheeks flushed as she recalled how Karl had completely overpowered her while saying it wasn’t bad.
‘Though I did reveal my true nature and made a fool of myself back then.’
Milia shook her head, remembering her sadistic tendencies.
‘I just have to make a good impression from now on. Senior Karl is watching!’
Milia’s eyes gleamed as she drew her bowstring.
Fwing-!
An arrow flew into the sky, and a red firework exploded.
Seeing it, the first-year Knight Department students hardened their faces.
Juen, looking down on Milia from a treetop, narrowed her eyes.
“Juen, why are you only watching Milia? She doesn't seem likely to get seriously hurt.”
Just then, Luke, who was passing by, landed on the branch where Juen was hiding and asked with a curious expression.
“That one, she’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“Yeah. My eyes don’t lie. That girl is a dangerous element.”
“She’s a top student, though. She’s kind and takes good care of the students around her.”
Since enrolling, Milia had a very good reputation within the academy.
She was kind to everyone and followed the professors’ instructions well.
A perfect model student, praised by her classmates, her seniors, and the professors alike.
“Compared to you guys, who caused nothing but trouble at the start of your first year, she seems less dangerous.”
“Ah, well, compared to us, of course… Wait. What’s that supposed to mean?”
As Juen’s eyes flashed, Luke scratched his cheek.
“Don’t you remember your first semester of first year?”
“……”
At those words, Juen fell silent.
Back then, Juen, along with Sasha, Haviden, and Aina.
Those four were, quite literally, problem children in every aspect except for their grades.
Aina, who cared for nothing but being acknowledged by Leo.
Juen, Sasha, and Haviden, who were thoroughly incensed at being ignored by Aina.
The four of them would growl at each other and start fights whenever they crossed paths.
Their relationship had improved significantly by the second semester, and they had become friends, but for Luke, who remembered those times, Juen calling the perfectly normal-looking Milia a dangerous element was nothing short of absurd.
After a moment of silence at Luke's words, Juen spoke.
“That’s that! Anyway, she’s dangerous! I heard she was doing a background check on Senior Karl from the very first day. Plus, she’s the heir to a major merchant family. Since Senior Karl is in business, she might use that as an excuse to get close to him. Heh heh. I’ll keep a close eye on her!”
At Juen’s words, Luke scratched his cheek.
“Good luck.”
“Yeah. I will.”
Leaving the glaring Juen behind, Luke headed elsewhere.
***
“This is a bit unexpected.”
Late at night.
Karl stroked his chin as he looked at the eight first-years standing before him.
Looking at Karl, Milia’s eyes sparkled brightly.
‘Ugh, this is intense.’
Karl dropped his hand from his chin and subtly avoided Milia’s gaze.
Meanwhile, Leo looked at Milia and spoke.
“Did you discuss this beforehand?”
“Yes. To some extent.”
Milia nodded.
Of the 100 students, eight remained.
They were all from the Knight Department.
“I had anticipated that the Student Council President would test us from the very first day. So, I considered various scenarios and gave the Knight Department students a heads-up. I told them to avoid fighting amongst themselves as much as possible.”
“You’re all in the same party. Didn’t you think dragging departmental competition into this was wrong? And if only Knight Department students remain, the party’s balance could be thrown off.”
“If you were considering party balance, I believe you would have set quotas for each department from the start. I also concluded that if you were thinking about party harmony, you wouldn't have said that participants would be chosen strictly based on skill from now on, nor would you have made all 100 of us fight. In other words, this means we have to compete endlessly within the party.”
That was why she had launched the red firework right at the beginning.
It was a signal for the Knight Department students to refrain from fighting each other.
As they had discussed beforehand, the Knight Department students first eliminated all the students from other departments before competing amongst themselves to determine the most skilled.
The students who remained were the eight before them now.
At Milia’s words, Leo stroked his chin and said.
“You could have chosen any students you wanted to be in the final eight, couldn’t you?”
“Yes.”
As an archer, Milia could have easily influenced the competition among the knight students.
“Why did you leave these seven?”
Milia glanced at the knight students standing beside her.
“I heard you don’t particularly like nobles?”
Aside from Milia, all of them were from noble families.
They were also students who hadn’t gotten along well with Milia since the start of the year.
“Because they are skilled. Keeping them is more efficient for the party.”
“Hmm.”
Leo let out a small laugh and gestured to Milia.
Milia approached Leo with a curious look.
“Palm.”
Leo stamped a bonus point seal on Milia’s palm.
“We’ll camp here for the night. The orc settlement raid will begin tomorrow morning.”
“Yes!”
“You all worked hard! Time to eat!”
The third-years called over the first and second-years.
“She’s quite something.”
Chloe said with a grin, and Leo nodded.
“She is. Looks like this year’s new students are promising as well.”