Entrance Exam (1)
In the meeting room, where all the Academy professors had gathered, a man’s voice rang out clear and sharp.
“I oppose that girl’s admission.”
The speaker was Ressanti, a professor who was edging toward middle age. The one he addressed was Headmaster Scathach.
“Oppose it, do you? And your reason?”
“Because, quite frankly, it’s absurd. A nameless orphan happened to be born with a mana circuit and an affinity for magic. Fine, let’s say that much. It isn’t as if there have never been such cases.”
He let out a long sigh.
“But you know as well as I do, Headmaster, that the threshold of the Academy cannot be crossed by something as trivial as coincidence or mutation.”
He raised a hand, his pale skin making the veins beneath it stand out.
“The purest and noblest blood. Those who have inherited the most valuable talents, each and every one already great and accomplished mages in their own right. Only such people should ever be students of the Academy. In fact, only those children can even dream of crossing this lofty threshold.”
“I saw the student myself, and I say she is more than qualified to be admitted.”
“Headmaster, with all due respect, you are human. No one can be perfect.”
“So you’re saying that this time, I’m the one who is wrong.”
“Please understand that I mean no disrespect to you whatsoever.”
After a brief pause, Professor Ressanti added, “And I hope you won’t be too disappointed about losing the chance to add Miss Chinsi-Eogrin’s record to the roster. You are quite capable, so if another vacancy opens up in a few years, I’m sure you may become a professor then.”
Melitt, attending the meeting as a prospective professor, immediately understood his true intent.
So this man wants to make his own disciple into a professor.
Once someone became a professor, they were rarely ever dismissed unless they caused a truly catastrophic scandal or became hopelessly incompetent.
And since the number of students stayed fairly constant, the only way to hire a new professor was to wait for an opening—that is, to wait for an existing professor to retire or die.
Opposing Ellie is only a means to an end. He probably doesn’t care about her one way or the other.
What he truly wanted was to erase Melitt’s achievements so she would never become a professor, and to fill that position with someone of his own choosing.
If there’s a disciple of Professor Ressanti’s worth promoting… it’s that woman, isn’t it?
At the thought of that obnoxious subordinate’s face, a faint bitterness rose in Melitt’s throat.
The headmaster sighed.
“Be careful not to speak too hastily.”
“Wouldn’t you be the one acting hastily, Headmaster? To simply glance at an unknown child and take her in as a student—”
“Frad Ressanti.”
The voice was cold.
And razor-sharp.
“If you dare wag that tongue carelessly in front of me again, then I’ll take it as a challenge to a duel of magic.”
“Tch….”
Ressanti’s body stiffened.
“However.”
Scathach went on in a calm voice.
“There is some merit to your point. It is true that the threshold of the Academy is high, and it is also true that if I were to admit her on my say-so alone, there would be confusion for a time.”
“T-that’s—”
“So perhaps it would not be a bad idea to hold an event where everyone can see her ability for themselves. Chinsi-Eogrin, what do you think?”
Melitt’s eyes widened slightly. Starry blue eyes, framed by hair white as Ellie’s true form, flashed through her mind.
But then—
“…Yes.”
She remembered the way Ellie had concealed her identity.
“I think that would be a good idea as well.”
After all, Ellie had already taken precautions so that her true colors wouldn’t be revealed when she used magic at the Academy. Asking her to show a little of her skill wouldn’t expose her identity.
“Since Chinsi-Eogrin says so as well, there seems to be no further problem. Then let us verify Miss Ellie’s ability before the professors—”
“If that’s the case,”
Ressanti said,
“how about we verify her through a Three-Fold Comparison?”
“...Why insist on that old method? The younger ones like Chinsi-Eogrin may not even know what it is.”
In fact, several people, Melitt included, exchanged looks because they had no idea what he meant.
“If she wants into the Academy, she ought to be able to defeat an already qualified student through a Three-Fold Comparison. That is not a line I can easily yield.”
It was a transparent excuse.
If he were at least proposing someone from the Academy’s lowest tier as Ellie’s opponent, it might have made sense.
“Then I recommend Dane Edwick as the opponent.”
Dane Edwick was one of the most promising students among the new intake.
Melitt cursed inwardly.
What an ugly man.
In a single move, Ressanti was trying to secure two advantages.
Even if his opponent was merely a “nameless, worthless orphan,” he planned to give Edwick the Duke’s son a chance to show off in front of everyone. Of course, the true purpose was to curry personal favor with the ducal house.
He would remove the obstacle and, at the same time, buy the goodwill of a powerful family.
It was a level of cunning that made it hard to believe he had come up with it in an instant.
“...Ressanti. Since you’ve gone that far, I take it you’re prepared for the consequences?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”
“Very well. I’ll accept the condition you proposed. Miss Ellie’s admission will be contingent on her winning a Three-Fold Comparison against student Dane Edwick.”
“A rational decision. Thank you for your understanding.”
“However, in case Edwick should lose—”
Scathach’s voice remained even.
“You ought to prepare yourself to lose your study as well.”
“Thank you for the advice. If it seems necessary, I will do just that.”
“Good. That concludes today’s meeting. You may all withdraw.”
.
.
.
That night, in Ellie’s dormitory room.
Since there was nowhere fit to receive guests, Melitt sat beside Ellie on the bed and relayed the day’s discussion. Ellie burst out laughing.
“So that’s what happened?”
“This is hardly the time to laugh….”
“Sorry. It’s just such a strange coincidence. So his name was Dane.”
“What?”
“The thing is, I had a bit of a scene with that Dane Edwick fellow earlier today.”
“W-what…?”
As Ellie calmly explained what had happened, Melitt had no choice but to be shocked all over again.
“N-no, th-that’s….”
“It worked out nicely, actually.”
Ellie smiled and hugged her pillow.
“He was going to clash with me sooner or later anyway, so all that happened was the clash came a little early. And once there’s already friction, it’s even better if I can break him in front of a crowd.”
“…That kind of…”
Whenever Melitt spoke with Ellie, she frequently felt that she was in the presence of something “unusual,” and this time was no different.
There were geniuses who stood out from a young age in every field under the sun.
Every field, that is, except society.
The human psyche, each individual’s role within a community, the organically interlocking relationships between its members, what needed to be done and what had to be ordered, the division of roles, politics, conflict management, compromise.
It was a skill that could only be mastered by someone who possessed both a grand, strategic perspective and an eye capable of reading each person’s delicate emotions one by one.
This was not a field where a young prodigy could simply appear. You couldn’t study alone and hope to stumble close to the right answer.
Could it be that she’s in the same league as the headmaster?
“You just wondered if I was really fifteen, didn’t you?”
“!?”
This was exactly what she meant by it.
“Don’t worry. I really was born into this world fifteen years ago. I promise it’s the truth.”
Then, as if something had occurred to her—
“At times like this, am I supposed to swear in the name of magic?”
“W-well, it wouldn’t be wrong, but you only use that for truly solemn occasions….”
“Oh, I see? I almost made myself look ridiculous by using it carelessly. That would’ve been dangerous.”
She scratched her cheek, looking genuinely embarrassed, and for a moment she was every bit the awkward adolescent girl.
“Anyway… if Melitt becomes a professor, I’ll be sad that I won’t be able to attend your classes.”
It was the sort of remark made by someone who had already taken it for granted that Melitt would become a professor—that she would, naturally, win that Three-Fold Comparison.
“Huh? Why?”
But then, Melitt felt the same way, so the conversation kept flowing.
“Because I’m the one you personally selected, aren’t I? If I were to take your classes, of course people would start accusing you of favoritism and unfairness.”
“W-well….”
That was true enough, but usually people wanted favoritism, not scrupulous fairness—didn’t they?
And yet the difference between Ellie and a merely diligent, rule-bound person was this:
“If there’s even a blemish like that attached to me, then no matter how good my grades are, no one will truly recognize them. I’d rather get an A+ from someone like that professor who tried to drive me out today. Then nobody could complain.”
She was different from someone who was willing to endure loss just to be kind.
That said, did Ellie possess some larger, ruthless, ends-justify-the-means streak that didn’t care about good or evil?
No.
Melitt could say that with certainty, even though they had only known each other for a few days.
“Still, there’s an upside if I can’t take your classes. It means I can ask you for more private help, doesn’t it?”
“Huh? Private help? With what?”
“Well, lots of things will come up. When people ask who my guardian is, you’re the closest thing I have to one, right?”
“That’s….”
Is that so?
If anything, strictly speaking, Headmaster Scathach—who controlled things like living expenses and allowance—seemed more like a guardian. But Ellie didn’t appear to see it that way.
“Yeah. So all sorts of things are bound to happen.”
She added playfully, “Take care of me, Mom Melitt?”
“…I’m not old enough to have a daughter your age.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-one.”
“Th—”
Ellie’s eyes drifted to Melitt’s chest, then to the dark circles beneath her eyes.
“S-sorry….”
“The fact that you apologized so sincerely somehow makes it worse.”
“Aunt Melitt?”
“…Wouldn’t ‘older sister’ be the most natural?”
In a large family, six years between sisters was nothing. So Melitt was making a perfectly reasonable suggestion.
“Th-the word sister is a little….”
“…I’m going to be hurt.”
“No, I didn’t mean Melitt looks old or anything—wait, no, I’m really sorry, don’t actually be hurt, that’s not what I meant, I mean, what I’m trying to say is….”
For once, Ellie looked flustered in a way that was completely unlike her.
“I just… have trouble saying it. ‘Older sister’ I can’t really manage.”
Melitt tilted her head.
“Ellie, you’re a girl too.”
Setting aside how formidable and extraordinary she was, Ellie was a pretty, feminine girl. Even her chest, which was still growing splendidly despite her being only fifteen, proved that much.
“Ah, right. Yeah, of course, yes, yes… I mean, I am a girl, obviously… come to think of it, what exactly is this Three-Fold Comparison supposed to test?”
“I heard the explanation from the headmaster too, so—”
Melitt let the obvious subject change slide, though she did wonder if Ellie might have some trauma attached to the word sister.
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