The Top Student's Oath
"Ah, no... I'll take it off..."
It was that time of year when the wind still carried a chill, yet the sunlight was already asserting its presence, announcing the arrival of a new season. Marie was packing her things.
Thanks to the boss covering her deposit, she had managed to secure this tiny one-room flat—and now it was time to say goodbye to it as well.
"Th-thank you for everything until now..."
"So you're leaving, are you? Said you got into the Academy, right?"
"Y-yes..."
She returned the key to the landlord who had looked after her for the past two years and exchanged parting words.
"My, my, what a remarkable student you are! I always saw your light on late into the night and wondered what you were up to—turns out you were studying!"
"Th-that's right..."
"Keep living just as bravely at the Academy. Oh, and this isn't much, but I packed you some side dishes. Filled it with the ones you always liked, so eat up~"
"Th-thank you so much!"
The landlord offered her kind words and pressed a gift into her hands. Feeling a warm glow in one corner of her heart, Marie stepped out of the building with both arms full of luggage.
"Take care, Marie!"
"We'll miss you~"
"The factory's gonna go under without you!"
The street in front of her place was packed with factory workers who had come to see her off. The women hugged her tight and voiced their regret; the men clapped her on the shoulder and wished her well for the road ahead.
"Th-thank you, everyone!"
As Marie wiped her tears and offered her thanks, the boss approached and handed her something.
"Marie, take this too."
"Wh-what is it...?"
He slipped a small handbag and a white envelope into the front pocket of her bag.
"That handbag's got the magic tools you used to work with, and the envelope... well, it's nothing special. The kids and I all chipped in a little spending money for you."
"Th-thank you, Boss..."
Marie's eyes grew red again as she bowed deeply to them all.
"Don't you forget us!!"
"Don't let them push you around at the Academy!"
"Stomp those noble brats' noses flat!"
"Come visit sometimes!"
Her hands were heavy with luggage, yet the factory workers' cheers made her steps light as she set off toward the Academy.
Following the directions she had received by text, Marie arrived at E-dong Dormitory. Because it was the very day of the Academy entrance ceremony, the entrance was already bustling even in the early morning. Some people weren't wearing uniforms, so it seemed servants who had only come to drop off luggage were mixed in among them.
"S-sorry... e-excuse me, coming through..."
Clutching her bags with both arms, Marie somehow pushed through the crowd and made her way toward the management office.
"U-um... I'm here to move in today..."
"Name...?"
"M-Marie..."
"Key's... here... Make sure you... read the guidebook..."
The staff member who processed her move-in and handed over the key looked utterly drained, eyes unfocused with exhaustion.
A-a zombie...!
Marie vowed then and there that after graduation she would never, ever work at the Academy.
After that she huffed and puffed her way up the stairs to her room on the top floor.
W-wow, what an amazing room...!
E-dong was the lowest-grade dormitory, yet to Marie—who until yesterday had lived in a cramped one-room flat—it felt like a hotel.
N-nobody's here...?
E-dong was a two-person room, so she had braced herself for a roommate the moment she opened the door. No presence could be felt inside. Stepping in and looking around, she found only luggage piled high between the two beds set side by side.
I-I'd better be careful...
Marie picked her way carefully so as not to brush against any of the bags and headed for the bed assigned to her.
It's so soft and fluffy...!
She set her things down and was savoring the mattress when—
Brrring—
She had been thinking she ought to finish unpacking in the time left before the ceremony when her terminal suddenly rang with a clamor. It was the first call she had ever received since buying the device, so she answered in a state of high tension.
"H-hello...?"
"Is this Marie's number?"
"Y-yes... it is."
"Ah! Thank goodness. I'm a teaching assistant from the Magic Combat Department... Where are you right now?"
"Huh? Th-the dormitory..."
"Hah!? Why are you still at the dorm!? Get to the main auditorium right now!"
"Eh? Ah, y-yes, sir!"
The call cut off abruptly, leaving Marie staring blankly, unable to grasp the situation for a moment.
Wh-where even is the main auditorium...?
The guidebook the staff had given her swam into her panicked, trembling vision. Fortunately it contained a map showing the locations of the Academy's facilities.
Leaving her luggage exactly where it was, Marie bolted outside.
Compared to the other buildings the main auditorium was conspicuously huge, so she found it easily. Racing inside, she saw people busily setting out chairs.
D-don't tell me I already missed the entrance ceremony...?
Anxiety prickling, she checked the time—still a full hour before the ceremony began.
"Ah! You there—Marie, right!?"
"Y-yes!"
"Haa... thank goodness you aren't late... Come over here, quick!"
Following the voice that called her, Marie headed toward the front of the hall. There stood a student who looked every bit as haggard as the dormitory staff.
"U-um, who are you...?"
"I'm the teaching assistant who just called you."
"Wh-what did you need me for...?"
For an instant Marie remembered the endless hazing and forced assemblies of her back-alley days and her whole body began to tremble.
"Huh? Marie, didn't you get the notice that you're giving the entrance oath?"
"I-I'm giving the entrance oath...?"
"Of course? You're the top scorer on this year's entrance exam."
"Y-yes!?"
Hearing the news for the first time, Marie jumped clean off the floor. Her hat nearly flew off; she hastily clamped both hands over her head and stared at the assistant.
"Did you really not get the notice...?"
"N-no..."
"Aargh, those admissions office bastards never do anything right... Why do the research students always have to clean up after their screw-ups!"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"No—why are you apologizing! The ones getting paid to do nothing are the ones at fault..."
After venting alone for a while the assistant finally calmed down, let out a sigh, and began to explain.
"Looks like the notice never reached you properly. Marie, you're the top student among this year's freshmen."
"M-me? Th-that can't be..."
"Come on, how can the person herself not know..."
The assistant thought for a moment, then grabbed another research student who was moving chairs.
"Hey! Hailey! This year's top freshman is Marie, right?"
"Yeah, the kid who solved the anti-perfect-score problem~"
A research student wearing cracked glasses set down the chair she was carrying and walked over to Marie.
"You're the top student?"
"Y-yes... I-I guess so..."
"Hah, so the little monster who made Department Head Richard grab the back of his neck is this tiny kid..."
"Wh-what do you mean by that...?"
"Haha! You'll find out once the semester starts! Anyway, good luck with the oath~"
Leaving only those cryptic words, the research student went back to moving chairs.
"Anyway, that's why the top students from each year have to give the oath. Marie, you don't sit down here—you sit up on the stage."
"A-all right..."
"Here's the script; memorize it before we start... And, uh, that hat probably has to come off for the auditorium. Mind giving it to me?"
"Ah, um..."
When Marie clutched her hat with both hands and fidgeted, the assistant looked puzzled.
"Are you wearing it to hide a scar or something? If that's the case I'll go ask a professor whether you can keep it on for the ceremony."
"Ah, no... I-I'll take it off..."
Marie removed the hat. Between the cascading white hair a pair of horns came into view.
"Hah! A half-demon...?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"No—why are you apologizing! Don't make me out to be a racist! I'm the one who messed up!"
"I-it's fine..."
Having nearly become a racist on the spot, the assistant hurriedly waved both arms and apologized. After a moment of thought he carefully spoke again.
"Um... Marie. Most people at the Academy don't look down on half-demons, you know...?"
"Y-yes..."
"Haa... But of all people, Professor Joruel of our Magic Combat Department is one of the few who isn't in that majority..."
"I-I'll be careful..."
"And of all people, Professor Joruel is the one scheduled to supervise the entrance oath in a little while..."
"Wh-what do I do...?"
"Ugh..."
The assistant clutched his head in agony. The middle manager's sorrow was palpable.
"S-shall we steel ourselves and endure the ordeal together...?"
"I-I don't want to be top student anymore..."
"As if lowly students like us get to decide that!"
The assistant's scream-like cry echoed through the auditorium.
Unfortunately for Marie, while she was looking over the oath the assistant vanished without a trace. Alone and trembling with anxiety, she sat in a corner of the hall. As she diligently studied the script, a person's shadow fell across the paper.
"So you're the top student?"
"Y-yes..."
When Marie raised her head, a middle-aged professor of sturdy build stood before her. A massive frame that called a bear to mind, a great scar cutting across his face. His fierce features made Marie unable even to meet his eyes properly.
"No matter how hard the royal family pushed, to let a half-demon into the Academy... the higher-ups must have lost their minds. Don't you agree?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"The Academy was founded to train people who can stop a demon invasion."
Marie realized at once that this man who had begun spewing abuse the moment he saw her was the Professor Joruel the assistant had mentioned.
"Hah, what kind of confidence makes you walk around flaunting those hideous horns? Thirty years ago I would have ripped them out of your head right here."
"I-I was wrong..."
"Tsk— After the Great Invasion ended, live every day grateful to His Majesty the King for not exterminating the half-demons."
"Th-thank you..."
Professor Joruel, who had been glaring fiercely, snatched the oath script from Marie's hands.
"I gave you plenty of time. You've memorized it all, I trust?"
"Uh, th-that is..."
Not even ten minutes had passed since Marie received the script. Two large sheets of paper were far too much to memorize in that short span.
Moreover the assistant had told her she would not have to recite from memory. Professor Joruel was making an absurd demand of her.
Having endured far more unreasonable treatment in the back alleys, Marie offered no resistance and simply began reading the oath as ordered.
"T-today, in this place, we take our first step upon the path of learning—"
The longer Marie's recitation continued, the harder Professor Joruel's expression grew. He had been certain she could not possibly have memorized it. The oath was never meant to be memorized in the first place.
Yet Marie's extraordinary mind had already, in that brief interval, locked the entire text into her head.
"—Th-that is all..."
"..."
Professor Joruel was momentarily speechless at the sight of Marie who had recited the oath to the end. While he was astonished by her prodigious memory, a chill of fear also ran down his spine.
This is why those with demon blood must be watched carefully. That unnatural mental speed and mana sensitivity... how many people have been sacrificed to that power!
Phantom pain flared in the left arm he had lost during the Great Invasion. He quickly collected himself and looked down at Marie with cold eyes.
"Do you intend to stand there trembling like that during the actual ceremony as well? The kingdom's honor will hit rock bottom in front of the key figures from other nations."
"I-I'll do it properly..."
"Hah, you can't even answer straight and you claim you'll do it properly. From now on you will keep repeating it until you stop shaking."
H-how...
Professor Joruel's sharp gaze made Marie stammer worse than usual. Her heart began pounding so madly that her head swam—when suddenly:
"Well now, who do we have here? If it isn't Professor Joruel."
"Department Head Richard... it has been a long time."
"Haha! We saw each other at the graduation ceremony—how is that a long time! Anyway, good to see you."
Professor Joruel's gaze shifted to the mathematics department head who had walked out from the back of the hall. Only then could Marie finally steady her racing breath.
"Hm? Is this one a new student?"
"Yes... the student who will give the entrance oath this year."
"What!"
Department Head Richard strode straight over to Marie.
"So you're that Marie!"
"Y-yes..."
Seeing her still trembling and unable to raise her head even at the department head's words, Professor Joruel tossed out a displeased remark.
"Hah, Marie. What kind of attitude is that toward the department head? Greet him properly."
"H-hello, Department Head..."
Professor Joruel, still full of complaints about Marie's manner, was about to criticize her again.
"Haha! Must be nerves from the entrance ceremony. I'm fine with it, Professor Joruel."
"Even so, Department Head..."
"Haha! Why are you like this? I said I'm fine."
Department Head Richard simply laughed it off as if it were nothing.
"More importantly, Marie. I heard you scored a perfect mark in mathematics this time..."
"I-is that so..."
"Haha, no need for modesty. You even solved the final problem I poured my heart into—splendid work!"
"Th-thank you..."
"Might I ask under whom you studied?"
"I-I taught myself..."
At Marie's words Department Head Richard's eyes went round.
"Then how on earth did you solve that problem!"
"W-well... a long time ago... I once read a paper called Considerations on the Fifth Pierre Prime... so I found the composite number and solved it..."
At that, Department Head Richard burst into disbelieving laughter.
"Haha! To think you actually read that paper. It would have been quite a heavy lift for a student just entering the Academy!"
"P-Pierre primes are related to the construction of regular polygons, so they're useful when drawing magic circuits... I-it was helpful..."
"Do you happen to know who wrote that paper?"
"V-Viscount Obis... isn't it?"
"Haha! Obis is my family name."
"D-don't tell me you wrote it, Professor!?"
"Not me—my father wrote it. I never imagined a student would have read that old paper. When my father wrote it—"
Department Head Richard's proud stories about his parents continued. Caught up in the enthusiastic talk, even Professor Joruel could no longer pick a fight over the oath. Marie, too, found her tension melting away once conversation turned to a field she loved.
"—And that is how I came to follow my father onto the path of scholarship. I've gone on far too long about myself. That oath is something everyone just reads from the paper anyway, so rest a bit."
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Good. Congratulations on being top student, Marie. If you have any interest in the mathematics department, come straight to the department head's office."
"A-all right!"
Richard's encouragement kindled a spark of passion in Marie's chest. Professor Joruel looked displeased at the sight, yet as more professors gradually gathered he could no longer press her further.
Just then a vacant seat caught Professor Joruel's eye.
"Professor Richard, is the Magic Department Head not attending?"
"Ah... that person..."
Professor Richard paused for a moment.
"Has gone off to wage a noble battle to protect the Academy..."
"I-I'm not sure I follow..."
"One must never try to understand Department Head Carol's comings and goings..."
"...Understood."
He had learned a piece of an old professor's wisdom.
The entrance ceremony, having passed through major introductions and club presentations, was at last drawing toward its close.
"We will now have the freshman oath. Students, please rise from your seats. The representative, please come forward."
The master of ceremonies was the mustachioed professor Marie had seen at the interview. Just as he had emphasized aesthetics then, he was conducting the entrance ceremony with smooth precision.
"The top freshman will give the oath as representative."
Having finished the set lines, the mustachioed professor glanced toward Marie standing at the front of the hall.
Marie was trembling more violently than she ever had in her life. Her heart was racing so fast it actually hurt.
Th-there are too many people...!
She had not felt it while sitting in the back, but standing at the front of the auditorium made it unmistakable. Receiving the gazes of thousands at once felt like being crushed by some invisible, enormous physical force.
"Look at that on her head...!"
"A half-demon at the Academy..."
The whispers of those who had spotted Marie's horns reached her ears. Hearing them only made her shrink further into herself.
"Ah, uh..."
As Marie stood holding the oath script and stammering, something suddenly caught her eye. A head of golden hair more radiant than anyone else's was sparkling in the very front row. Familiar red eyes met hers.
—Marie, fighting!
Charlotte mouthed the encouragement. Bolstered by the courage, Marie raised one hand and cried out.
"I-I swear!"
Though her hand shook violently, her mouth never stopped moving. She stumbled over a few words, yet she reached the final sentence without incident.
"—To bear responsibility for power, and to advance endlessly before the truth, I s-swear."
She finished the oath, yet no sound came. When she lifted her trembling eyes from the script she saw only students staring blankly around the auditorium.
A-as I thought, because I'm a half-demon no one is reacting...?
Moisture began to well in Marie's eyes.
Clap, clap, clap—
Just as she hung her head, a quiet round of applause reached her. Looking that way she saw a familiar head of soda-colored hair. Unlike the other students who simply sat still, Luna was offering praise for Marie's courage.
"Haa... the capital's cliquishness is really childish."
Luna voiced her dissatisfaction to those around her while clapping.
Clap—
Clap, clap—
Clap, clap, clap—!
Only then did others begin to follow Luna's lead and join in the applause.
"Marie is so cute!!"
Charlotte even shouted cheers at the top of her lungs.
"...The representative may return to her seat."
Following the mustachioed professor's instruction, Marie returned and pressed a hand to her chest in relief.
I-I finished it well!
"Tsk— The ceremony isn't over yet, so mind your behavior."
"Y-yes..."
Watching Marie clench a fist in private delight, Professor Joruel clicked his tongue and scolded her. Even under his unpleasant gaze Marie was so full of pride that she no longer trembled.
"Next we will have a word of admonition from the Headmaster."
A man with a slightly receding hairline walked to the front of the hall. Contrary to Marie's expectation of a long, boring speech, he finished surprisingly quickly.
"Haha, today we have a special guest, so I shall end my remarks here."
When the headmaster returned to his place, a man walked out from the rear of the auditorium.
Th-the same color as Charlotte!
He possessed the same brightly shining golden hair and red eyes as Charlotte. Students and parents alike immediately recognized a direct royal and began to murmur.
"It's the First Prince!"
"Hah! Someone who barely even attends parties—why is he here...?"
"Don't tell me he came all the way to the Academy because of Princess Charlotte?"
S-so he's Charlotte's older brother...
He seemed about to walk straight to the front, yet for a moment he turned his head and fixed a steady gaze on Marie.
Wh-what... scary...
Being stared at head-on by the man who would become the next king froze Marie solid. Fortunately he said nothing further and simply continued walking to the front of the hall.
"Greetings, underclassmen. I am Sharon Gaia, who graduated from this Academy four years ago."
Clap, clap, clap, clap—!!
Applause poured down that could not even be compared to what Marie had received after her oath. This time even the parents rose to their feet and clapped.
Once the applause had subsided to a reasonable level, Sharon stretched a simple message—study hard according to your majors, find your aptitude, the environment is already prepared so train yourselves diligently—into a full twenty minutes.
Marie nearly fell asleep but pinched her thigh and desperately held on.
"—Finally, I will end with just one very important point."
That "finally" was already the third time. Why on earth was the prince more long-winded than the headmaster at Gaia Academy? An impure thought flickered through her mind.
"My grandfather, the great King Shamael, rose up together with many nations during the Great Invasion and drove back the demons."
At the word "demons" Marie reflexively shrank into herself.
D-don't tell me the way he looked at me meant he was watching me...?
The hateful stares that had once been cast at her simply for being a half-demon flashed through her memory. Whether Marie trembled or not, Sharon's words continued.
"Because of the Great Invasion the land was laid waste and the population greatly reduced. Even thirty years later the damage remains."
"Yet King Shamael did not lay that sin upon the half-demons. They too were victims of the war, and they were citizens of our kingdom."
Sharon changed the gentle tone he had been using. Putting force into his voice, he called out to the students.
"I ask this of you. Stop discriminating against half-demons any longer and lend your strength to restoring the land. Accept them and bring them to stand on the side of humanity."
With that, Sharon finished his speech and withdrew from the stage.
After the ceremony ended, Marie was collared by the mustachioed professor.
"I suppose I should call you Student Marie now rather than applicant."
"Th-thank you for accepting me."
"To hide such a beautiful circuit with phase separation—frankly I was so annoyed I wanted to fail you."
"I-I'm sorry."
"But if that too is the aesthetic Marie holds, then as an educator I can only guide her onto the proper path."
"Th-thank you."
When Marie bowed her head, the mustachioed professor stepped closer and asked in a low voice,
"By the way, Marie. Did you not receive instructions that even if no one says anything after the oath you are to return to your seat?"
"Y-yes? I-I never heard anything like that..."
"Hah, so that was it..."
The mustachioed professor explained the proper sequence of the oath to Marie. Once she heard it all, the correct procedure was to finish the oath and immediately return to one's seat and sit down.
The reason the students had merely stared blankly at Marie after the oath was not because they were snubbing a half-demon; they had simply been puzzled by her strange behavior.
In other words, it was Luna—a provincial noble who had never once seen an Academy entrance ceremony—who had done something conspicuous; everyone else had been normal.
"P-Professor Joruel never told me that!"
"So that was why Professor Joruel volunteered to supervise Marie's oath rehearsal..."
"Th-that's so mean..."
The mustachioed professor stroked the tip of his mustache and sank into thought for a moment. Emerging from his musings, he patted Marie on the shoulder.
"I am sorry to say this to you, Marie, but please do not hate him too much."
"A-all right..."
"Haha, you say 'all right' while puffing your cheeks like that?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Just teasing. Simply understand that he has his own circumstances. Though if Department Head Carol learns of this, she will not let it pass quietly..."
Come to think of it, the Magic Department Head who had once confiscated Marie's magic board had been nowhere to be seen at the entrance ceremony. Feeling curious, Marie asked the mustachioed professor directly.
"W-why didn't Department Head Carol come today...?"
"Ah, about the department head..."
The mustachioed professor chose his words carefully for a moment.
"She has gone hunting a bird—a bird with very splendid plumage."
"Wh-what does that mean...?"
"That is all I can tell Student Marie. Anything more would not be good for a student to know."
Leaving only those cryptic words, the mustachioed professor departed.
A bird...?
Marie briefly pictured birds with splendid plumage one by one.
A peacock...?
She decided that hunting peacocks and stuffing them must be in fashion in the kingdom and let the matter drop without much thought.
Utterly drained by the entrance ceremony, Marie trudged down from the auditorium. Behind the hall she had just left stood a figure she had never expected to see.
"Hmm, so you are Marie? Just as Charlotte said, rather small for an Academy student."
"H-hah! Y-Your Highness?"
It was First Prince Sharon, whom she had thought had already left after finishing his address. Marie immediately pressed the crown of her head to the floor in a posture of absolute submission.
Unlike Charlotte, Sharon was a direct royal who would actually inherit the throne. She was meeting the second-highest person in the kingdom—and alone at that.
At Marie's perfect head-bow Sharon reacted with mild discomfort.
"T-today I am merely an older brother who came to see his younger sister, so there is no need to show such formality..."
"H-how could a lowly commoner like me raise my head..."
"Are you aware that the posture you are currently holding is considerably at odds with proper etiquette?"
"H-hah!"
At Sharon's words Marie trembled violently, collapsed onto the ground, dropped to her knees, and slammed her forehead into the floor.
"Wh-why are you doing that?"
"P-please spare me!"
"Why would I kill you?"
"I-I was wrong!"
Only after Sharon forcibly hauled Marie to her feet did the commotion settle.
"I sought you out for no other reason than to make a request."
"Y-yes?"
Marie felt bewildered. That Sharon, who stood in the second-most exalted position in the kingdom, would have a request for a former back-alley waif like her was unbelievable.
"The thing is... Charlotte has taken a liking to you. Would you be willing to become a little closer to her? I am not asking for an extremely intimate friendship. Simply spending time together would be enough..."
"H-how could someone like me be friends with a princess...!"
"Inside the Academy everyone is an equal schoolmate regardless of status, so do not worry."
"E-even so..."
"Please. I truly beg you."
The look in Sharon's eyes as he pleaded even seemed desperate.
"Wh-why are you going this far...!"
"It is all because of Charlotte's tomboyish nature..."
The complaints that followed from Sharon went like this. From childhood Charlotte had possessed uncommon strength and smashed anything that displeased her.
The high-ranking noble children who became her targets developed trauma and no longer approached her.
When she grew a little more mature and met other noble children, they saw only her lofty status and tried to use her; sharp-eyed Charlotte realized it at once and smashed them as well.
"Wh-what exactly did she smash..."
"If it ended with a single mansion that would still have been fortunate..."
In the end not a single friend remained at Charlotte's side, and Sharon, who lived in the same palace, had been reduced to the plaything of a bored Charlotte.
"Th-then Charlotte might smash me to pieces too!"
"Charlotte does not kill people, so do not worry."
"S-so she just doesn't kill them!"
"As expected of the top student—quick on the uptake."
"P-please spare me! I absolutely can't do it!"
"Do not worry. Charlotte does not smash those who approach her with a sincere desire to be friends."
"I-is that true?"
"The fact that I am still alive is the proof. Had I ever tried to use Charlotte politically or harbored ill will, the first in the line of succession right now would be Charlotte..."
"G-good heavens...!"
At Sharon's words Marie suddenly felt one more doubt.
"Th-then if Charlotte finds out you're making this request now, won't she get angry?"
"No money has changed hands, and it is merely an older brother's pure concern for his younger sister, so it should be fine, no?"
"I-I see..."
When Marie looked ready to flee at any moment, Sharon quickly made an offer.
"I cannot give you a friendship fee in cash, but in exchange I will make you one promise."
"A f-friendship fee...?"
"Do you have any thought of becoming a government official later? If you apply, I can arrange this much extra credit..."
The negotiation between Marie and Sharon was sealed. It was a satisfying deal from which both stood to gain a great deal.
"Then I leave it in your hands~"
"Y-yes! I'll do my best!"
