04. What About My Height?
04. What About My Height?
I didn't get to ask his name, but it couldn't be him.
The protagonist's name was Hayden Parker, a masculine name.
That cute girl couldn't possibly have a name like that.
That couldn't be. Or maybe she had attended the entrance ceremony after all.
The protagonist had to exist.
If the main story had started, this academy was scheduled to face a full-scale invasion by demons, and only the protagonist could overcome it.
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After the entrance ceremony ended, the students split into two groups.
One group consisted of students who had passed the entrance exam, and the other of students admitted via recommendation letters.
The recommendation students hadn't been judged on skill or anything else—they'd been admitted solely on the strength of a letter—so now they were to undergo a minimal exam to gauge their abilities.
Having nearly lost my mind from waiting endlessly outside for the protagonist, Hayden Parker, I casually slipped into the crowd of students pouring out after the ceremony.
"You... ended up skipping, huh?"
As soon as I blended into the crowd, Liber, his face deeply creased in a frown, grabbed the hem of my uniform.
He seemed angry that I'd said I'd go in late but then didn't go in at all.
"Maybe I was inside and you just didn't see me?"
"Don't even bother, I could list off everyone who was in the auditorium."
"The person I was waiting for didn't show up in the end."
"Are they actually a student? The only empty seat at today's ceremony was yours, you know."
No one but me had been absent?
That couldn't be. That shouldn't be.
That meant that girl really was Hayden Parker.
"Hey, what's it to you if I didn't attend? Aren't we strangers?"
"We're freshmen together. Skipping a group activity right from the start— I'm going to keep an eye on you from now on."
Liber, a complete stranger until today, thoroughly stuck his nose in and then vanished ahead.
Was he always like this?
That didn't match the impression I'd gotten from the novel.
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I finished the written test quickly and arrived at the practical exam hall.
Since more than half the freshmen had come in via recommendation, the exam hall was packed with people waiting, but fortunately the practical test didn't take long, so the line shrank rapidly.
I glanced around just in case, but I didn't see the red-haired girl who'd been late.
Not being visible now meant she'd gotten in through the exam, not a recommendation.
Hayden Parker had also been admitted through the exam.
The information at hand wasn't inspiring any hopeful thoughts.
I was waiting for my turn with a sinking heart when...
-Kugugung...!
A tremor shook the ground as if an earthquake had struck.
Then a chorus of admiration spread among the freshmen who had witnessed something.
"Whoa, the golem got smashed to pieces!!"
"So they really can break."
"Isn't that S-rank level?"
"As expected of the Russell Family successor. That strike is the famous Rock Strike..."
Apparently someone had smashed the exam golem to pieces.
The exam hall door opened, and the freshman who had shattered the practice golem in one blow walked into the waiting room.
She was an extremely large woman.
Her height easily surpassed 180 centimeters, and her build was so sturdy it was visible even through her clothes.
Long, curly black hair puffed out like a lion's mane, making her appear even more massive, and her light green eyes gleamed coldly.
Carrying a thick two-handed sword as if it were a one-handed blade, she strode in with the valor of a lion bearing a black mane.
She was the very image of a warrior woman.
I wondered who she was, and it turned out to be someone I knew.
Lucia Russell, the eldest daughter of the Russell Family, whose crest was a boulder. Like Atlas Titan, she was a person of interest fated to be seduced by a demon and become a villain.
Chronologically, there shouldn't be any problems yet.
Getting involved now wouldn't do me any good, so I decided not to acknowledge her and just let it pass.
-Next, Number 114.
My turn was immediately next.
Lucia, walking toward the waiting room exit, and I, walking toward the exam hall entrance, passed by each other.
Lucia's eyes briefly scanned my body.
"... So small."
She muttered it very quietly, but my ears caught it clearly.
"Hey, what did you just say?"
When I came to my senses, my hand was gripping her wrist.
Thinking about it later, I shouldn't have done that.
But my actions were faster than my thoughts.
Lucia Russell's face, now with her wrist caught, was filled no longer with confidence but with bewilderment.
—————————————-
Ever since she was little, she had loved things that were small and cute.
She liked the splendid, straight blonde hair in picture books, and she liked dresses with abundant frills and ornaments.
But she couldn't become that.
'I'm not beautiful...'
Her hair, curly like seaweed that wouldn't straighten no matter what, was ink-black, and her body grew increasingly burly, leaving her farther and farther from cute things.
So she simply adored and loved cute, beautiful... small things.
But she wasn't even allowed to love those things.
She had to inherit her family's swordsmanship.
As a woman, she was only needed when it was time to bear a child. From childhood, she had been raised thoroughly as a man.
Instead of cute dolls, rigid toy soldiers. Instead of fluffy dresses, sturdy leather armor. Instead of elegant dancing, the family's secret swordsmanship.
When the time came to enroll in the academy, she was truly happy.
Enrolling meant moving into the dormitory. If she left home and had her own room, she could collect as many small, cute things as she wanted without her parents' interference.
After finishing both the ceremony and the exam without incident, she felt the attention of those around her.
'I must be pretty strong.'
At home, there were far more people stronger than her, so she hadn't known.
It would be nice to make friends with many people... but when she actually saw real peers right in front of her, her lips wouldn't easily part.
-Next, Number 114.
And then she discovered him.
He was a halfling of the most ideal appearance.
Honestly, it was love at first sight.
Splendid blonde hair, a cute and handsome face that still retained a youthful impression.
Despite his short stature, his body had good proportions without being chubby.
It was like a doll painstakingly crafted by an artisan.
The typical chubby appearance of halflings was her type too, but she had never seen a living being walking around with such an unreal appearance before.
A halfling of such miraculous beauty was walking around—was this a dream?
She didn't know his name, but since he'd entered with a recommendation letter, he was definitely a scion of some famous family.
She'd been right to come to the academy.
He was walking this way. It seemed he was taking the exam right after her.
She didn't know who he was, but she wanted to befriend that halfling.
But she couldn't think of anything to say, so her lips wouldn't part.
Because she'd done nothing but swordsmanship training, she'd never really talked to friends her own age.
While she hesitated, he passed by her side.
She decided to give up on greeting him now. There would be another chance.
Seeing him up close, he was even more reverently cute and small... she liked him so much.
'... So small.'
She hadn't managed to say she wanted to be friends, but the words she was murmuring to herself had slipped out of her mouth without meaning to.
"What did you just say?"
And the halfling who'd been passing by seized her wrist.
She tried to shake him off at the sudden touch.
'I can't move?'
She couldn't shake him off.
As if it were fixed in place, no matter how much strength she used, her wrist wouldn't budge.
"Hey, say it again. What about my height?"
He asked her in a voice that was clearly angry.
It seemed her thought about his smallness had slipped out and struck a nerve.
But his angry face was cute too.
The feeling of his small hand on her wrist was also incredibly reverent.
She had to... apologize, but she was flustered and still couldn't find the words.
No, how was she supposed to start a conversation in the first place?
"What's that, is he picking a fight?"
"Why isn't she shaking him off?"
"Fight, fight!"
"Phew~ A breeze would blow him away!"
"Maybe she's going easy on him because the little guy might fly away?"
People around them were looking this way again.
It wasn't that she was going easy. She couldn't move an inch.
How could such a small body generate strength like this? It even inspired awe.
At someone's comment about him being tiny, his expression turned even more ferocious.
'I... I just wanted to be friends...'
"Ah... no, I... I just..."
As several gazes focused on her, her mind went blank.
-Isn't Number 114 here?
"Tch, I have to take the test first... I'll deal with you later."
At the call that arrived like a savior, he released her wrist and entered the exam hall.
Her wrist had swollen red in the shape of his hand.
After the test ended... she absolutely had to apologize.
—————————————-
Entering the exam hall, I swung the ordinary long sword around with a woosh.
The fact that a long sword—only slightly longer than an average man's upper body—was as long as a two-handed sword for me brought back what I'd just heard, souring my mood even further.
'... So small...'
I recalled the incident from moments before.
I didn't need to react that badly.
But the anger had come out as a spinal reflex.
Having lived over ten years in this stumpy body, what I'd become most sensitive to was other people's gazes.
At home, during my apprentice knight days, everywhere—that look, the murmuring, the revulsion crawling up from my toes like tiny insects—was unbearable.
"Still, I held back well."
Though I'd snapped and grabbed her wrist, I'd done well to hold back.
If it had been the old days, my fist would've flown the moment I heard those words.
The fact that the opponent was who she was probably helped me hold back too.
Lucia Russell's past hadn't been happy either, just like Atlas's.
I did need to reflect.
There was no need to get tangled up right now, no need to draw attention, and I'd snapped for nothing.
But I wasn't going to apologize first.
The other party had made the offensive remark first.
Hoo... Fine, I needed to calm down. Let's stick to the original plan: appropriately press the golem's switch to disable it and score somewhere between A and B.
The exam hall was a circular arena reminiscent of a colosseum.
If my memory was right, the golem used in the entrance exam was definitely a PG-17—tough, but a typical sandbag with slow and weak attacks.
Across from me, the massive Practice Golem Type-17, identification number PG-17, modeled after a human, appeared.
A golem is a type of monster formed by various inorganic materials clustering around a core, moving autonomously.
They can form naturally but can also be artificially manufactured. In that case, they become extremely convenient magical creatures that faithfully follow their creator's commands.
The exam golem had two arms and two legs attached to its body, making it a bipedal form similar to a human, but its arms were long like an ape's, reaching down to its knees.
Unlike naturally occurring golems, which have inorganic matter haphazardly stuck on, its smoothly polished black-brown body looked like a wooden puppet.
The PG-17 was a general-purpose practice golem frequently used even in knight orders, especially against apprentice knights.
The PG series boasted a long history as practice golems. Among them, the most notable feature of the PG-17 was its protruding 'courtesy sensor' on top of its round head.
This sensor, introduced from the 17 model, had the function of analyzing the target's movements and adjusting its own movements so that it would dodge attacks when appropriate and only land hits that wouldn't cause major injuries. Once activated, you could have a refreshing practice session and later check the recorded level.
Indeed, it was the absolutely essential golem for this kind of skill assessment test.
Before starting, while doing warm-up exercises, I examined the golem's appearance and noticed something strange.
I'd beaten on it plenty during my own apprentice knight days and remembered exactly how it looked, but something was slightly different.
"Was its head always that pointy?"
The heads of the PG series were all round, hemispherical shapes. Strangely, the golem that had appeared before me had hair that rose to a conical point.
"...Isn't that not a PG-17?"
-Then, the test begins!
-Jiiiiiiing!!!!
The moment the signal to start echoed, the golem fired a beam from its eyes.