167. Final Exams
167. Final Exams
I handed the guide sheet I'd received from Adelia to the group members, then climbed the slope that looked easiest.
"Where are you going?"
"Thought I'd get some fresh air."
Eurasia and Pina came trotting along after me. Silina said she'd drink black tea somewhere quiet, fitting her usual routine, and Gailan headed back to the carriage, saying she'd settle her motion sickness a bit.
Seeing that the exam starts tomorrow morning at six, they seem to expect the other students to arrive sometime tonight.
So those of us who've already arrived can't help but have plenty of time to spare.
"Can I come with you?"
"You're already coming along."
"Hehe, still, I asked out of courtesy."
Beside Eurasia, who was beaming, Pina was grinning too.
[The air here is wonderful!]
"The Anketin Mountains do have good air."
Though for a spirit, it would be dreadful.
The Anketin Mountains. The entrance is at least tolerable, but the deeper you go, the thicker the Demonic Energy becomes.
And it isn't ordinary Demonic Energy. It's the Demonic Energy of Gluttony, a Legion Commander—the purest Demonic Energy there is.
The Demonic Energy of Gulaka, which blanketed the entire mountain range in the battle four hundred years ago, still hasn't faded.
Of course, I didn't explain that. Sparkle would obviously tell Pina even if I said nothing, and there were too many ears around us.
Adelia Baros.
She seems to be talking with the professors far off for now, but the uneasy feeling I'm getting suggests she's watching this area with those damn "eyes" of hers.
No, I'm certain.
Since my Upper Dantian opened and I can now feel another person's Intent a bit more clearly, I can guarantee it.
Whether she's watching to protect the students or has impure intentions, I don't know.
Adelia Baros.
Her true motives remain unknowable.
"Where are you going to get some fresh air?"
"Who knows? I figure I'll just go wherever I feel like."
"Aww..."
"Aww...?"
Without stopping, I looked back at Eurasia. A mischievous smile hung on her face.
"You're going somewhere high to check whether Stella's coming along well, aren't you?"
"...No?"
"Hmhm... A lie. I know all the habits you have when you lie, my lady."
"What... habits? I don't have habits like that. How good do you think I am at lying?"
Eurasia's slender finger poked my eyebrow.
"There it is?"
"When you lie, my lady, your right eyebrow lifts. The corners of your mouth go stiff, and the tone of your voice drops just a tiny, tiny bit."
Is that really true? I don't know.
Maybe during combat, but I don't pay attention to my usual expressions or mannerisms.
"...Don't lie."
"I don't lie to you when you ask me something. But you lie to me often, my lady."
"Eurasia, you... have gotten awfully cheeky lately."
I gently pulled Eurasia's hand down and gave her a full glare. At that, Eurasia flashed a coquettish smile and giggled.
"If you say you dislike it, my lady, I'll act like I used to."
"Cheeky and impertinent."
"Heehee."
I clicked my tongue and turned my gaze away.
There, Pina was watching us with sparkling eyes.
"...And why do you have that look in your eyes?"
[You two seem extremely close!]
"Of course we're close."
Honestly, it's gone past close—by now we're like family.
We lived in the same house—well, where we slept and lived was different, but either way, we spent about six years in the same place.
In fact, for five of those six years, I might have spent more time with Eurasia than with Mom, Dad, or Sara, who used to be my personal attendant.
Every single day, we sparred together, ate together, maintained our weapons together, and took naps together.
Sometimes I listened to Eurasia's worries, celebrated her birthdays, congratulated her every time her Tier rose, and received congratulations in return.
Six years might not sound long, but we'd packed a lot into them.
So now we've reached a point where it feels natural for her to be at my side.
The same was true of the comrades I'd fought beside four hundred years ago. Over nearly twenty years, we'd relied on one another and made it through battlefields where a single wrong move could mean death.
So.
If anything, it's more, never less.
Well... four hundred years is a long time, so those bastards might be different from me, but for me, who died once and came back, those memories are still vivid and intense.
"...How close are you?"
While I was sinking into pointless sentiment, Eurasia's cautious voice reached me.
But, how close are we?
"What are you trying to accomplish by asking me that?"
"I, I... like, I think we're really, super close, but you might not feel that way..."
"I also... that, really super... no, uh... yeah. I think the same as you, so don't ask pointless things."
"Really? Hehe... Then I'll think we're just a tiny bit closer than you do."
"Suit yourself."
If we got even closer than family, what would that make us?
The question crossed my mind, but I didn't dwell on it.
With this kind of conversation, if you think too deeply, your insides start itching and it gets weird.
[That's amazing and enviable!]
"What's so amazing and enviable?"
Why did this suddenly turn into such a cringey conversation?
I don't know, but I grumbled quietly and kept walking.
"You and I are plenty close too."
Because Pina knows about my Past Life.
At my words, Pina tilted her head.
Then, after a moment—whether she'd fully understood me or Sparkle had explained it to her—
her eyes sparkled and she smiled the brightest smile in the world.
*****
We'd climbed to a reasonably high spot.
I could still feel Adelia's gaze. I didn't know whether I could relax about it or should stay on guard, but for now I widened my view.
An open landscape filled my eyes.
How much would I have to focus to see?
The average arrival time seemed to be tonight, so I wondered if I'd come up too early.
I quickly dropped that thought.
"Aha."
Far off, I could see her all too clearly.
She was showing off, radiating violet Mana as if announcing to the world, "Here I am."
A navy-haired girl with a triumphant expression, floating a huge load of luggage through the air with magic.
Our piss... hmm...
Anyway, Stella.
Judging by her moving lips, she seemed to be grumbling at her group members while taking all the credit.
And the students following behind her—all four were commoners. No nobles mixed in.
I knew Stella wasn't close with other nobles. The reason... well. She never told me, so I don't know for sure, but I can roughly guess.
I didn't bother meddling in that.
It wasn't like anyone was harming Stella, and Stella herself seemed to think it was more comfortable this way.
Well, it would be ridiculous for me to butt into things going on between kids anyway.
"Can you see her?"
"Yeah. I can..."
I stopped mid-answer and shut my mouth.
At that, Eurasia giggled.
"See. You were lying earlier, weren't you?"
"...Be quiet."
I rubbed my tired eyes and spun around.
"Let's head down. We should eat too."
I'd seen that she was coming along well, so that was enough.
Well, if they're willing to dump us in the mountains like this, the professors will probably be watching the students with their eyes blazing.
"So, is Stella coming along well?"
"Yeah. She was floating the luggage along with magic."
"Luggage? Didn't Professor Adelia say earlier that all the luggage gets stolen?"
"Looks like she held onto it tooth and nail. There isn't much."
She'd left her own luggage with me and protected the others' luggage. It might not have been Stella who protected it, but seeing her preening expression as she took full credit, it was definitely Stella who protected it.
"Stella seems really kind."
As if she'd had the same thought as me, Eurasia smiled warmly.
[That's right! No matter how frustrating and foolish I am, Stella never once gets annoyed and teaches me until I understand!]
Pina too... no, lately Pina is always bright.
"She's an idiot. A fool."
"Hii...?"
Pina looked shocked.
Beside her, Eurasia laughed quietly.
"She means kind and selfless."
[Is that so?]
"Yeah. My lady gets embarrassed easily, so she can't say it honestly."
[I see. Is it because you and Eliarnes are really super close that you can tell, Eurasia?]
"Yeah. I can interpret everything my lady says."
"...Stop saying weird things."
"Ow!"
I flicked Eurasia on the forehead.
She could have dodged, but she didn't. Eurasia is always like this.
But.
I don't dislike it.
Eurasia probably knows I feel that way. That's why she acts like this.
Cheeky, impertinent, and thoroughly sly.
[How about trying the lunch I packed myself for today's meal? I brought traditional Beastkin food!]
"Oh my? Pina, you made it yourself?"
[Yes!]
It's not a picnic, so what's with the packed lunch?
It was so absurd I let out a hollow laugh.
But I was curious about the menu.
Traditional Beastkin food. I'm quite fond of it.
"If it's traditional Beastkin food, then that... what's it called. Is there also meat rolled up in something like leaves?"
Pina nodded her head enthusiastically.
[Of course there is!]
"Tsk... The cypress aroma is really important for that. Are you sure you did it well?"
[You can look forward to it! I had the best skills in my family!]
Pina doesn't have parents.
So... this isn't some, what do kids call it these days, crack about her parents. She genuinely has no parents. By "family," she meant the people she'd met at a Beastkin orphanage... somewhere like that.
"If Pina says that much, it must be delicious."
Smacking my lips, I quickened my pace.
Behind me followed the bright Pina and Eurasia, who wore a peculiar smile.
"My lady."
"Hm?"
"If, just if, okay?"
"Yeah."
"If I weren't at your side today, like Stella... then, would you come looking for me the same way?"
"Why would I need to look for you?"
"...Huh? Why? Do you think I'd come along fine on my own? You wouldn't even worry...?"
I poked the cheek of Eurasia, whose lips had drooped glumly.
"I'm going to keep you at my side always, so there's no need to go looking for you like this."
"...Huh?"
"Why, don't you like it? You want to be apart from me?"
"Ah, uh... uuh... No..."
Eurasia shook her head.
At the same time, a cool breeze blew. Eurasia's radiant golden hair fluttered in the wind. I tidied her disheveled hair for her.
"Me too."
Then I likewise tucked my own wind-tossed hair behind my ear and smiled softly.
Between the two of us, Pina blushed and clapped her hands rapidly.