0. The Entrance Examination
“Um, excuse me, Vice Principal?”
“Yes?”
“Is there any way I could get out of giving the speech?”
As I hurried along after Vice-Principal Jang Mi-na, I asked her desperately. But she seemed far too busy to even hear me. With a single flick of her wrist, students who had failed floated up into the air and drifted along overhead, while the chairs and decorations that had formed the labyrinth's walls dissolved back into nothing. Watching all that, I understood—
Right. No matter how earnestly I begged, to her it would only sound like one student whining.
So I gave up and resolved instead to mobilize everything I'd accumulated from years of reading academic papers. If I… if I just tried hard enough, I could surely write a decent speech even now. Yes. A door opens for those who truly want it! So if I genuinely, desperately thought about the content of the speech right this second—
“Oh.”
“…Yes?”
“Just so you know, the speech was already prepared by the faculty.”
“…Oh.”
“So if you'd like, you can just read it as-is. Or you could tweak it a little, I suppose.”
“…Thank you.”
Of course. I knew this teacher would have a mischievous streak. She'd almost certainly been pretending not to hear so she could savor watching me beg. No—not almost certainly. She was definitely savoring it. Making me walk for several minutes before dropping that little tidbit? She was downright vicious.
“And this here is the real auditorium.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Whenever the academy has an announcement for everyone, we'll gather here, so make sure to remember how to get to it.”
“Y-yes, ma'am.”
I glanced around, trying to commit the route to memory. When the Vice Principal herself told me to memorize it, memorize it I would. But as I was busy doing exactly that, I noticed Jang Mi-na giggling to herself. I stared blankly for a moment, then asked slowly:
“…Would this, by any chance, also be a prank or a joke?”
“Every academy student is issued a smartwatch, you see.”
“…That smartwatch has a map function.”
“Of course it does. Ah, you're just too cute, what am I going to do with you…”
“…”
I slowly made the face of someone about to cry. But that only seemed to amuse Jang Mi-na all the more. So I summoned every skill I'd honed back in my days as a lab specimen and put on a perfectly blank expression. Only then did her attention to me finally slacken.
As we walked on toward the auditorium, I kept surveying our surroundings. Really, I was just curious what had become of the other students. Invisible Man surely wouldn't have let anyone get seriously hurt, but… I couldn't help worrying that someone might have been injured badly.
“Oh, by the way, all the eliminated students came away with nothing more than minor injuries.”
“…What?”
“Which means, effectively, the entire student body will be watching your speech.”
“…”
“And by now the students who lost consciousness will have woken up and taken their seats, so… assuming there are no problems, I imagine they'll all be cheering you on!”
“…”
I did my best not to grimace, working to keep my face calm. That teacher was, without question, trying to bury me under the weight of expectations. Now, another student might have been able to laugh off a situation like this. But ever since my specimen days, I'd despised being the center of anyone's attention.
…I did briefly wonder whether I should have just let her win. But I dismissed the thought almost as soon as it formed. I wanted to win. That's why I'd bitten down on that painkiller and won anyway—why I hadn't cared one bit about how hard the medication would hit me. So I let out a sigh and resolved not to regret it.
…No, on second thought, I might regret it a little.
“Now, student, you need to come this way.”
“…What?”
“Mm, mm. Your clothes don't look too rumpled, and nothing else seems out of order.”
“…”
“The principal should be finishing his address right about now.”
“Then…”
“Yes. In a little while, you go out, deliver your speech, and come straight back.”
“…Is it really all right for things to be this slapdash?”
“Haha. Sometimes the best things start with improvisation.”
“…”
Jang Mi-na simply refused to listen to a word I said. No wonder they called her an Archmage—she seemed eccentric and utterly self-centered. Naturally, having come this far, there was no way out. I took a few deep breaths backstage and studied myself in the mirror that had been set out for me. Fortunately, there wasn't much sign that I'd just fought Invisible Man. Just as she'd said—nothing out of place.
Truthfully, this might even turn out to be a good experience. Being swept into a speech at the last minute wasn't ideal, but trying something new couldn't hurt. So I breathed deeply once more, took the sheet of paper she handed me, and asked:
“H-how much time is left?”
“The principal is famous for his very, very long speeches.”
“…”
Which meant it could end early, or it could drag on forever. Instead of asking her anything else, I focused on memorizing the speech. Thankfully, it didn't contain much difficult vocabulary—the important points were written out plainly and concisely. They'd clearly gone out of their way to accommodate a student. After all, whoever defeated the Villain would have only a short time to speak, so they couldn't afford to use complicated language or—
Hold on.
“Um, Teacher?”
“Yes?”
“…What happens if the student who defeated the Villain gets injured badly enough that they can't give the speech?”
“Then I'd give the speech in their place, wouldn't I? It doesn't matter who delivers it, really.”
“…Oh.”
“Is something the matter?”
“…No.”
I fought down the urge to hurl the paper right back at her. Which meant—this speech had never actually needed to be mine in the first place. And the way she'd added that it didn't matter who gave it… if I'd refused, she would absolutely have taken the stage herself. This whole thing was obviously just one of her twisted little hobbies. No wonder she'd been so cavalier about the arrangements. I should have seen through it ages ago.
But there was no running away now that I'd come this far. Ignoring the sly smile spreading across her face, I steeled my resolve. Since it had come to this, I would deliver the greatest speech of my life and flatten her smug little nose.
Fortunately, the principal's address turned out to be impressively long. I had time not only to memorize the speech completely, but to revise parts of it along the way. With the ballpoint pen Jang Mi-na had given me, I marked up the text, pouring everything I had into it. When the moment finally came, I returned the speech—word for word burned into my memory—and stepped out.
…I honestly don't remember much after that.
One thing was certain: I had delivered an impassioned address. If I had to count my blessings, the only one I could name was that I hadn't said anything that would land me in trouble. In any case, when I came back to my senses, I was seated in the auditorium's chairs while the entrance ceremony carried on around me.
Jang Mi-na was on stage explaining the purpose of the entrance examination, and… well, as long as a student didn't score an outright failing grade in the practical exam, admission was all but guaranteed. The academy, she said, was a place to polish raw gems—not a place to cast them aside heartlessly.
And she was right. The academy existed precisely so that unrefined students could learn and grow. The written exam had already been hell; if the practical exam had been equally merciless, there would have been nothing but outrage.
…That said, everything was fine except for one thing: I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the students around me kept staring. I was quite sure I hadn't given any particularly notable speech. All I'd done was say we should all work hard toward our goals here at the academy. That much qualified as an unremarkable speech, surely.
…The only reason I'd delivered it so fervently was that I'd gotten worked up.
In any case, the stares were uncomfortable enough that I flashed a fierce scowl for a moment. The gazes promptly thinned out. With that settled, I could relax and focus on Jang Mi-na's address—though, of course, there wasn't much substance to it. She merely told us to refer to the paperwork we'd be receiving for the details. Most of it was a rundown of Busan International Academy's achievements and the standard, ordinary high school entrance ceremony fare: you who have been admitted are all exceptional talents, and so on.
Then something mildly interesting finally came up.
“All right, everyone. I'm sure you're getting curious about your class assignments, aren't you?”
I prayed, with everything I had, to be placed in the same class as Siwoo and Sia. Those two were—honestly—hilarious. Time spent with them was guaranteed never to be dull. But that wasn't something I could decide for myself. So, scanning my surroundings and hoping things would work out, I—
“…Huh.”
Only then did I realize that there were familiar faces all around me. Siwoo and Sia, plus the mouse beastman girl and the dog beastman girl who'd been knocked out before I ever fought Invisible Man. Somehow or other, we'd ended up seated in a ring around me.
I hurriedly twisted my expression back into something fierce. I didn't want them catching on that I actually cared about these students. It would be… well, a little embarrassing, wouldn't it? So I kept up my scowl and stayed glued to my chair. Then, following Jang Mi-na's lead, I pulled out my phone to check the class assignments. This was probably the last item on the entrance ceremony's agenda—after this, everyone would head to their classes. Questions about dormitory living and the like were to be handled online, apparently. So all I had to do now was glance at my class assignment, then go strike up a conversation with Siwoo and Sia.
I slowly pulled up the academy's website and checked the results. Class 1-2. That appeared to be my class.
Then I spent a moment observing everyone else's reactions.
“Oppa, what class are you in? I'm in 2.”
“Huh. I'm in 2 too.”
“Ugh. The thought of staring at your face for a whole year, even at the academy, makes me dizzy.”
“You want to die?”
“Should I take my rank insignia off first?”
…Siwoo and Sia were still bickering, but it was clear they'd both landed in Class 1-2. Carried along by momentum, I checked the mouse beastman girl and the dog beastman girl's assignments as well. As it happened, both of them were in 1-2 too.
So I'd have to call it good luck. On the very first day of school, I'd already gained four familiar faces.