Friend

Figures.

The next day, back at the dormitory.

Just as I'd expected, Wolf Sword Calzack refused to lend me its power. Of course it did. I didn't have what it took to wield a legendary blade like that.

If the sword had a will of its own, it was probably pretty confused right about now. The human who'd picked it up had clearly been a Swordmaster-class fighter — and now that same guy was a pathetic Sword User.

For now, I'll only use it when I'm in Swordmaster mode. Might as well put it away.

An ordinary sword couldn't handle the full mana output of my Swordmaster state. That was why I'd always held back, keeping my mana at a level the blade could endure. But Wolf Sword Calzack should be able to take a much higher output. Just thinking about it got me excited.

I stowed the sword away, promising myself I'd come back to it later.

I should start prepping for the next test, too.

Griffin Knight Academy's periodic weeding-out of the weak was already right around the corner.

…Training intensity: times one hundred.

Maybe it was because I'd gotten my hands on the Wolf Sword, but my motivation was blazing. It felt just like snagging rare high-level gear early in a game and suddenly grinding like crazy just so you could equip it sooner.

So I headed to the training grounds and threw myself into practice.

Several hours later.

"Uuurgh…"

I had to crawl back to the dorm. I'd overdone it…

A few days later.

Deep violet hair cascaded down in soft waves. Pink eyes stayed fixed on a cafeteria tray. Violet Blackgarden — dark mage and necromancer — sat alone, poking at strands of pasta one by one.

The first-year dining hall at the knight academy was fairly crowded with students eating the school meal. And yet, around Violet, there was an unnatural emptiness — as if an invisible barrier kept everyone at bay.

"Over there… that's her. The dark mage."

"Ugh, let's go somewhere else…"

The hushed conversation of passing students drove into Violet's chest like a dagger. She nearly gasped from the pain of it.

I should've just eaten outside…

Violet sat there, quietly miserable. The pasta was delicious, but a bitter taste lingered in her mouth all the same.

At the start of the term, Violet had been optimistic. She'd imagined herself making friends and actually enjoying life at the knight academy. After all, hadn't she already built something like friendship(?) through teamwork with the weakest student, Ron, and the barbarian, Turak? That alone had been a miraculous achievement.

But after that…

"Hic…"

Nothing. Absolutely nothing had happened!

Until now, she'd accepted her loneliness as a given, so the feeling wasn't entirely unfamiliar. But Violet had already tasted the sweet possibility of having friends — and the whiplash from that brief hope was devastating.

A hollow smile touched her lips as she lowered her gaze. Her pink eyes seemed to darken to the color of the deep sea, mirroring the weight of her emotions.

I was the one who read too much into it. Haha… how ridiculous, thinking something that small could turn into a real connection…. I forced my way into those two's friendship all on my own, didn't I? Yeah. That's all it was. And who would even like a dark mage? I was being so presumptuous. Besides, I'm boring. Right. Nobody would want me as a friend. Of course not. How could they? Who would ever want to get close to someone like me?

This, too, must be my fate.

She hadn't even managed to find the mysterious powerhouse who'd slain the demon during the train incident. Truly, nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever went her way.

She was in the middle of berating herself when—

"Oh, hey."

"!"

The voice she'd been longing to hear made Violet's head jerk up. Wide-eyed, she looked across the table — and there he was, setting down his tray as he took the seat opposite her. Light brown hair. The weakest student at Griffin Knight Academy. Ron Hazley.

Huh? Why is he…?

Why was he talking to her?

Violet's mouth had fallen open, and she couldn't quite manage to close it.

"You're Violet, right? I've heard your name."

"Ah, y-yes…! Hello…! Um, that is…"

"Ron Hazley. You helped me out during the long-distance run the other day."

"Ah, yes. Hazley…. I already knew your name, too."

She'd turned the name Ron Hazley over in her mind hundreds of times, so forgetting it was impossible — but that was something she absolutely could not say out loud.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"You're already sitting…."

"Yeah, I wasn't actually planning on waiting for permission."

"Pardon…?"

"Let's eat together."

"……!"

An easy, guileless smile sat on Ron's face — no wariness, no ulterior motive in sight. In that instant, a rush of bewilderment and emotion flooded Violet's chest. She barely managed to hold down the corners of her mouth as they tried to lift, and she looked away from his eyes.

"I-I… don't mind…."

After that, the two of them fell into ordinary small talk. Where they were from, which classes were the hardest, what kinds of accidents happened during training — all sorts of things. Ron mostly led the conversation, while Violet timidly smiled and offered little responses of agreement.

This is so fun!

If Violet's mood before meeting Ron had been sitting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at negative seventy-five percent, it was now soaring at plus two hundred!

"Violet, you don't usually eat at this hour, do you?"

"No… when there are too many people, I tend to…."

Because so many people avoided her, she deliberately chose times when fewer students were around. Either early or late.

"I have something later today, so I ended up eating now. …Huh?"

Belatedly, Violet felt a flicker of unease. He'd been wondering why she didn't eat in the dining hall at this hour? Which meant…?

"We should've started eating together sooner."

Ron tossed the line out lightly, the way a breeze drifts past without a care. Thunder crashed through Violet's mind.

This…! This situation…!

The corners of her mouth twitched and trembled. It was clear. This was the grand overture to her finally making a friend!

Meanwhile, unlike Violet — who was purely, simply delighted — Ron wore a smile while sinking into deeper thoughts.

Getting close to her is a good idea. And I want to, anyway.

In For Elise, Violet was a necromancer who commanded a formidable undead legion. She'd chosen the path of a magic knight, so for now she was only an apprentice knight — but in terms of raw power alone, even a renowned knight order would have a hard time against her.

Her role in the original story was relatively minor, though, which meant befriending Violet felt far less stressful than getting involved with the major characters whose plot threads could seriously derail things. And conveniently, Ron had a ready-made reason. During the last long-distance run, Violet had helped him — whether out of suspicion or genuine kindness. On top of that, her selfless nature had grown on him, and he didn't want to leave her isolated the way the original story had.

"You said you have something later, right?"

"Yes…."

"See you around!"

"Ah — please take care, Hazley…."

Ron gave her an easy, crinkle-eyed smile and walked off. Violet stared blankly at the spot he'd left behind, then demurely brought both trembling hands up to cover her mouth.

See you… around…?

Her one visible eye went wide, and a sparkling light rose in its depths. As if static electricity were crackling through it, her deep violet hair seemed to lift ever so slightly into the air.

Did I… just make a friend…!?

In all her time at the knight academy, there had never been a moment more moving than this.

"We will now begin the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠subjugation test!"

Test day.

We'd left the academy grounds and arrived at a mountain range — adjacent to Mount Holton, the same place where I'd cleared the gate dungeon before. The students had been divided by starting points and stationed at different positions across the mountain.

Originally, Act 1, Scene 3 of For Elise was supposed to unfold here, and several students were meant to die. But thanks to me already dealing with the root cause, this would proceed as a pure test and nothing more.

The instructor bellowed.

"The top ten students who defeat the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠most golems within the time limit will be awarded merit points! There are especially powerful golems among them as well — take one of those down and you'll receive bonus points!"

Based on what I'd seen in the original, the golems' stats should range from D-grade to about D-plus. And among them were stronger ones at C-minus. The "especially powerful golems" the instructor mentioned were those C-minus ones. No matter what I did, I wouldn't be able to beat those.

"Claiming a target someone else has already abandoned is permitted, but if you cooperate to take one down, none of you will receive credit for the kill! Conduct yourselves strictly as individuals!"

"Yes, sir!!"

"Furthermore, as previously announced, expulsion is on the line in this test! Any student who fails to take down even ten golems will be deemed lacking the bare minimum competence and expelled! Does everyone understand!?"

"Yes, sir!!"

Ten or more of those golems? The bar kept getting higher. Damn weeding-out process. According to the story, they'd keep ramping up the difficulty from here on out. And the ones who survived every cut would eventually become official magic knights of the Empire.

"If you are judged unable to continue the exam, or if you forfeit midway, your kill count will be finalized at that point! Keep that in mind!"

The instructor looked down at his bracelet. A red light blinked on it, then shifted to green with a sharp beep.

"We begin now! All students — move out!!"

Thud-thud-thud!

The students charged into the mountain.

Whoa, look at them go.

Hoo. I slapped both cheeks hard and locked my nerves down tight.

Focus on surviving.

Bring it on. Whatever obstacle comes my way, I'll get past it.

…Because I want to survive like hell.

Let's go.

Steeling my resolve, I charged into the mountain.