Crossed Paths
The dull theory lecture finally ended, and just as I was about to stretch, thinking lunchtime had at last arrived, our Class A homeroom teacher, Professor Merlin, stepped forward to the podium and showed her face for the first time in quite a while.
"All right, everyone, attention. I'll be briefing you on the group assignment for the upcoming midterm practical exam. And today, I'll be assigning those groups right away."
Professor Merlin.
She taught basic magicology and hailed from the Elix family, one of the five great ducal houses.
She was only from a branch line, not the main bloodline, or so I'd heard—but a noble was still a noble.
Because her lectures focused mainly on magic, a student with my abysmal magical talent rarely had any reason to deal with her. Still, she occasionally appeared like this whenever there was an announcement for the entire class.
So it finally came.
The midterms—the practical exam that would follow the written tests.
If I was going to stop that day's attack without my master, I needed to prepare thoroughly.
Who's going to end up in our group?
In the game, these group assignments had always been random, and no amount of clever tricks could ever change them.
So whether I got tangled up with someone or not, I decided to just accept it with an easy heart.
Professor Merlin consulted the roster and began calling out the groups in order.
"…Victoria, Raphael, Group A…"
But then—
"…Hey."
I furrowed my brow and spoke to the presence sitting right beside me, staring intently at my face.
"Could you give me a little space? It wouldn't look good for your precious Saintess-candidate image to be hanging around with someone like me, would it?"
At some point Rina had claimed the seat next to mine and was now gazing at me with a bright, sunny smile.
"Oh my, what a cold thing to say."
Rina paid no mind whatsoever and instead leaned even closer toward me.
"Of course it's fine! Rather, Yeon, you're a person of special interest I need to keep a close eye on. You require my constant surveillance."
Ever since the day I had cooperated with Elise's research, Rina had truly begun sticking to me like glue.
During class, during breaks—even while eating.
I had ignored it at first, but I was reaching my limit.
Whether it was that Luck ability of hers or something else, no matter how hard I tried to avoid her I always ended up running into her, and it was driving me insane.
"…Next, Group F is…"
Professor Merlin's voice rang through the classroom once more.
I waited for my name to be called and desperately hoped I would land in any group other than that bothersome Saintess candidate's—but somehow an ominous premonition refused to fade.
"…Group H will be Camilla, Yeon, Rea, Clara, and Rina. These five form one team."
"……."
For a moment I doubted my own ears.
What?
What did that professor just say?
"Wow! Yeon! We're in the same group! Isn't that wonderful?"
Beside me Rina cheered like a child and shook my arm.
Genuine delight shone clearly across her face.
But I had no room to share her joy.
What kind of combination was this?
No—does this even make sense for balance?
Clara Laurentia.
That girl had been a member of Camilla's faction, the ones who had harassed me last time.
She came from a minor noble house whose name I'd only ever heard in passing, and her grades had been thoroughly average as far as I remembered.
Fine—her I could accept.
But then…
Camilla Medici, openly regarded as the next heir of the Medici duchy.
A prodigy even by academy standards, and a Librarian to boot.
Her presence alone was already enough to shatter any sense of balance in our group.
And on top of that, Rina the Saintess candidate? She possessed divine power and the fraudulent unique ability called Luck. She was still only a candidate, true, but her potential could not be ignored.
And Rea.
Despite her commoner origins, this girl consistently ranked at the very top and received a full scholarship—a student with a bright future.
Outstanding in both theory and practice.
Camilla, Rina, Rea. Those three alone already made our group the ultimate dream team.
I'm going to lose my mind. For the balance to even barely work, the last member would have to be the absolute bottom of the entire school…
With four members already that dazzling, who on earth was the final—
Ah…
In that instant everything became clear.
Of course.
The one student in Class A who, despite every privilege and powerful backing, always hovered at the very bottom of the overall rankings—a headache to the professors and a pariah among the students.
Class A's undisputed last place.
That was me.
"Wow, I'm so glad! To be in the same group as you! We must really be fated!"
Rina clung to my arm and bounced with pure delight.
My favorite character from the game I used to love.
There had been a time when a single illustration of her, a single short line of dialogue, could set my heart racing.
And now that same girl was right beside me, overjoyed simply because we had been placed in the same group.
This should have been…
A happy, moving situation…
…So why does it piss me off so much?
I let out a long sigh and glared at Rina, who was still hopping around in excitement.
"Hey."
"Yes, Yeon?"
"You… you didn't use that unique ability of yours, did you? Just so you could end up in the same group as me."
Even under my suspicious stare, Rina showed not the slightest fluster.
If anything, her expression grew even more amused as she shrugged.
"Who knows? This ability isn't something I can control just because I want to. Maybe it really is the will of the gods! That we were meant to be together!"
That sly answer.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Rina's unique ability, Luck.
"No matter the situation, it always steers events toward the best possible outcome for its wielder"—that fraudulent power was common knowledge to almost everyone in Tera.
Especially in the Holy Kingdom, where they loudly proclaimed it "a blessing bestowed by the gods upon their specially beloved Saintess."
Even little children looked up to her ability with envy.
They say she received this power because she's a Saintess beloved by the gods of the Holy Kingdom, or something like that.
It was laughable.
The very "gods" of the Holy Kingdom that they so reverently worshipped had long since perished, leaving behind only their names and the remnants of their authority.
Of course the common folk and lesser nobles had no idea, but the upper echelons knew the truth.
Yet they remained silent.
Because the only force in present-day Tera that could truly stand against Contamination was the benevolent authority wielded by the Saintesses of the Holy Kingdom.
Whatever the true source of that power, they needed something that could hold back the monsters and the Contamination right now—so everyone tacitly agreed to look the other way.
In any case, the Holy Kingdom made very effective use of Rina's unique ability as a propaganda tool.
Wherever she went, miracles occurred and impossible problems resolved themselves—all of it packaged as "divine protection."
And people believed it.
That blind faith was precisely the real reason the Saintesses of the Holy Kingdom could wield their "benevolent authority."
Just like…
…me.
I was lost in thought when a soft, warm sensation suddenly pressed against my side.
I turned my head and found that Rina had already linked her arm tightly through mine.
…!
Something soft and warm brushed against my forearm.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
I jerked my arm free in a fluster.
I could feel my face burning hot.
Rina seemed to find my reaction amusing; she smiled sweetly and teased me.
"Your face… it's all red… Yeon."
When she clung to me so aggressively with that expression, it really was enough to drive a person mad.
It wasn't that I hated Rina doing this.
She was my favorite character, and everything about her—looks, personality—came close to my ideal type.
That was exactly why I didn't want to get involved with her.
I didn't want to say anything that would hurt her…
Benevolent authority was also an 11th-level power.
Saintesses who used that kind of force had very short lifespans.
The current Saintess herself did not have much time left.
Even though she was only in her early thirties…
I didn't want Rina to become a Saintess.
Once I had resolved every tragedy caused by Contamination, I would…
drag her down from that seat.
In the end, I had no choice but to put on the villainess mask once more if I wanted to push Rina away.
"Rina…"
"Yes?"
She still looked up at me with that bright, sunny expression.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced out the words I had prepared.
"No matter how much I like girls, there's no way I'd ever fall for a bitch like—"
"Stop…!"
Her low, icy voice froze the air inside the classroom in an instant.
I carefully opened my eyes.
All of Rina's gentleness had vanished; she was glaring at me with a cold, furious expression.
Those eyes were like shards of sharp glass, and I couldn't help flinching.
But the look did not last long.
She soon let out a sigh and smoothed her features.
Then, in a weak voice, she said,
"…It's so obvious you're lying that I'll let it slide just this once."
Her tone was as soft as usual, yet…
somewhere it sounded exhausted.
And the next moment, large tears began to well up in her big eyes.
"Please… please never say anything like that again."
"……."
I couldn't speak.
In the face of her tears, every harsh word I had prepared lost all its strength.
I hesitated for a long time.
If I didn't push her away now, someday she would be hurt far more deeply because of me.
But…
"…Fine."
In the end, I answered in a very small voice.