Chapter 41

EP.41 End-of-Semester Evaluation (5)

The two daughters of the Astraeang family chose different paths.

The eldest followed in the footsteps of her father, the Sword Saint, Gerald Astraeang, and chose the path of a knight.

The younger admired her mother, the genius mage, Historia Astraeang, and chose the path of a mage.

However, despite their different paths, the ironclad rule imposed by Gerald Astraeang was the same for both sisters.

"Be the best wherever you are." He believed it was strange not to be the best if they had inherited both the talent of a swordsman and a mage.

As a result, the sisters enrolled in the prestigious Merchen Academy, the top academy on the continent.

The eldest consistently held the top position in the Knight Department and passed the Royal Knight Corps entrance exam.

The younger entered the Mage Department as the second-best this year.

She wasn't the top.

She wasn't the best.

But the younger sister nodded, believing that with her talent, "If I work hard, I can do it," and devoted herself to magic training and studies, convinced that her efforts would surely make her the top.

And yet, despite her hard work,

The gap between her and the top remained unbridgeable, no matter how hard she tried.

Lucy and Kaya stood in the garden filled with blue roses, staring at the scoreboard for a while.

The person they cherished had overtaken the top students and secured the first place.

Kaya's eyes sparkled with admiration, exclaiming, "As expected, Sir Isaac!"

Lucy, on the other hand, couldn't close her mouth in shock.

Isaac had obtained five Fel Cards and immediately claimed the top spot.

Ciel Carnedas, who lost five Fel Cards, dropped to second place.

However, Ciel hadn't been eliminated. If she had, her name would have disappeared from the rankings.

The meaning was clear: Isaac and Ciel Carnedas had moved together.

After making this judgment, Lucy smiled faintly, like the moonlight in the middle of the night, and whispered softly,

"Isaac, you have a plan, don't you?"

The two felt a sense of satisfaction and lowered their heads.

They returned to reality. Now they had to fight the enemy in front of them.

"Hmm."

Thanks to Isaac, Kaya felt refreshed. She took a deep breath to compose herself and glared at Lucy with a cold gaze.

From now on, Kaya decided to focus only on herself.

Although her competitive spirit had flared up over Isaac's issue for a moment, getting excited in front of a strong opponent would only make the already difficult battle even harder.

She calmly adjusted her fighting spirit to an appropriate level.

"Lucy Eltania, I've always wanted to fight you."

Second place. Since coming to Merchen Academy, Kaya had never left the second position.

She wanted to catch up to the top. However, the gap was so wide that it gradually eroded her self-esteem like a mouse in a pantry, and it made her feel inferior.

No matter how hard she tried, she only got further away from the top, as if swimming in an endless, vast sea.

Kaya looked down and murmured with sincere determination,

"From the beginning, I decided to surpass you as the second-best."

Even if others praised her for being second, the only thing Kaya saw was the back of Lucy.

"I will surpass you. I've been working hard for that. So, this fight is mine…!"

"…?"

Kaya's determined voice faded away. It was from the moment she saw Lucy's puzzled expression.

Lucy tilted her head calmly, as if hearing this for the first time.

A foreboding thought flashed through Kaya's mind.

Lucy's indifferent response swallowed Kaya whole.

"I didn't know you were second…."

To Kaya, the second-best in the Astraeang family, Lucy Eltania was someone she had to catch up to. Lucy had always firmly held the top position in front of her.

Kaya had run diligently, with Lucy's back always in her sight.

But to Lucy, the top, Kaya being second or anything else was not even a speck of interest.

During the magic power measurement, Professor Fernando's announcement of the results had gone unheard. Lucy had never even glanced at the posted grades in the Orphin Hall.

After all, she would be the strongest and have the highest grades. There was no need to pay attention.

Now, Lucy only wanted to knock Kaya down and go to Isaac.

Kaya tightly gripped her wand and poured magic power into it, her mouth tightly shut.

……

The blue rose garden was drenched as if a sudden downpour had just occurred.

The magnificent light of the sunset seemed dim. Just sitting and watching made my throat feel tight.

Kaya's damp, dark green hair and school uniform wouldn't dry easily.

In fact, only a short time had passed, but to Kaya, who was sprawled out leaning against the blue roses, it felt like an eternity.

She lost.

Lucy's water magic was so heavy that Kaya's wind magic was no match for it.

After a few exchanges, Lucy left, as if she had just stepped on a bug, thinking Kaya was no longer capable of fighting.

Kaya, with no strength in her legs, could only lie there, staring blankly at the distant sky.

She seemed to have narrowly avoided elimination. If she had been eliminated, a signal would have appeared on her bracelet, and the exam supervisors would have come to fetch her.

"Ugh…."

Her ribs felt broken. A sharp sensation came from her insides, as if something had ruptured.

"…Hiss."

Kaya wiped her eyes with her soaked collar, feeling lucky that Lucy was a water mage.

* * *

We need to pass the end-of-semester evaluation quickly and prepare for the Brain Deity Elimination Battle.

Ciel and I were heading to the submission point.

Ciel, holding the pillow I gave her in both arms, walked briskly. I wanted to run, but running was like poison to her, so I was grateful for her brisk pace.

The number of students attacking us had increased dramatically compared to before, probably because I was now in first place.

But they all fell easily with just a gesture or a spell from Ciel.

"Sure, now that a D-class student is in first place, a lot of clueless pests are coming at us."

They were all threatening enemies to me, but to Ciel, they seemed like mere nuisances.

"…Stop."

「Flame Pillar (Fire Attribute, ★4)」

Whoosh──!!

A threatening pillar of flame suddenly rose in front of us.

If Ciel hadn't blocked it, we would have been grilled.

The [Flame Pillar] quickly turned into red powder and disappeared. It seemed the spell was used to stop us, not to harm us.

Ciel traced the source of the spell with her eyes. I also turned my head in the direction she was looking.

The sky was gradually turning a vivid shade of sunset. On the roof of a nearby abandoned building, a female student was perched dangerously on the railing, staring at us.

Her pink short hair, slightly longer than her shoulders, was fluttering in the wind.

Her long, pale legs were visible under her school uniform skirt.

She had a crimson magic circle ready in front of her outstretched right hand, poised to cast a spell at any moment.

One of the top students in the A-class, Keridna Whiteclaw.

[ Keridna Whiteclaw ]

Lv: 90

Race: Human

Attribute: Fire, Wind

Danger Level: Low

Psychology: [She hopes to break your spirit by belittling you.]

Keridna Whiteclaw has an exceptionally high [Elemental Efficiency].

The higher the [Elemental Efficiency], the less magic power is consumed per spell, and the range of the spell increases, as well as the success rate of combined attacks. Among the first-year students in the Mage Department, no one can match her in [Elemental Efficiency].

As a result, Keridna can create more variables in battle than any other first-year, making her one of the most feared opponents.

Keridna was grinning wickedly, like a villain saying, "Now you're finished."

She then opened her mouth with a wicked smile.

"────!"

…I couldn't hear her.

She seemed to be shouting loudly, but her voice was drowned out by the evening breeze.

"Can you hear what she's saying?"

I asked Ciel. She shook her head.

"────!"

Keridna was dramatically gesturing and shouting, as if performing a play.

It would have been polite to respond, but unfortunately, I couldn't understand a word she was saying.

I didn't want to waste time on meaningless things.

As Ciel and I turned to move forward, Keridna Whiteclaw began shouting loudly, looking flustered. Of course, it was hard to understand what she was saying.

At that moment,

「Whirlwind (Wind Attribute, ★4)」

"……!!"

A threatening whirlwind poured down from above.

Sensing the presence, I quickly kicked off the ground, hugging Ciel and rolling to the side.

Whoosh──!!

When the whirlwind hit the ground, a fierce wind spread in all directions.

I rolled on the ground, still holding the small Ciel.

"Are you okay?"

Ciel, who was hugging the pillow and glaring at me with half-open eyes, replied with a sharp voice, as if I annoyed her. She showed no signs of being affected by the recent attack.

I helped Ciel up and stood up with her. Then, a vain, blonde noble appeared in my sight.

He was standing on the roof of a nearby shed, looking down at us with a haughty smile.

[ Tristan Humphrey ]

Lv: 77

Race: Human

Attribute: Wind

Danger Level: Low

Psychology: [He wants to brutally eliminate you.]

"Ha! A D-class commoner, that's what I expected! Were you clinging to an A-class student? Living off others, how pathetic!"

Tristan Humphrey laughed heartily, 'Kukukukuk─!', then coughed awkwardly.

I had no time to pay attention to him. I quickly tried to move forward with Ciel.

Soon, the ground shook, and another spell hit Ciel and me.

「Rock Wall (Rock Attribute, ★4)」

"……!!"

A solid wall of rock rose powerfully from the ground, trying to trap Ciel and me.

The wall stretched high into the sky, a thick, heavy barrier.

"Ciel."

"I know."

I pressed my fingers together and began to condense ice mana between my hands.

At the same time, Ciel manifested three blue magic circles toward the rock wall.

── 「Ice Burst (Ice Attribute, ★5)」

── 「Hydro Cannon (Water Attribute, ★5)」

Boom───!!

Pangpangpangpangpangpang───!!

The ice explosion I caused created cracks in the rock wall.

Through the cracks, Ciel's magic circles shot water with the force of a cannon.

Crash──!

The [Rock Wall] collapsed. Rock and ice fragments scattered in the air.

A dust storm filled with moisture swept through, and we prepared for battle within it.

As the dust slowly cleared,

The situation looked quite hopeless.

Not only Tristan, but about a dozen students, presumably his subordinates, were surrounding us.

There were also twin girls who had appeared out of nowhere, a long-haired boy emitting a sinister aura and chuckling, and a short, talented mage. All of them were top students in the B-class.

The A-class female student, Keridna Whiteclaw, who was still on the rooftop, was staring at us like a predator eyeing its prey.

And then,

"I love battles."

A husky female voice came from the clearing dust.

The owner of the voice was a girl with orange hair, holding a wooden bat with a yellow gemstone embedded in it on her shoulder.

Ciel could cover Keridna Whiteclaw, but if 'that girl' joined, we would really be in trouble.

As the dust completely cleared,

'That girl' appeared, blocking our path.

"I was waiting for this battlefield to ripen, and I was planning to destroy everything."

The orange-haired girl, holding the wooden bat, was dressed in a school uniform that revealed her wide hips and legs. Her hand not holding the bat was in her pocket, and her attitude was rebellious.

Her long hair was tied up, hanging like a ponytail.

Her white shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a black tank top-like undergarment and smooth abs.

'I wanted to end this before it got to this point.'

I bit my lip. The situation was heading in the worst direction I had anticipated.

In the original <Merchen's Magic Knight> end-of-semester evaluation scenario without Lucy's massacre, the most dangerous character was undoubtedly this orange-haired girl.

She would enjoy her time, eating prepared meat and drinking, and then join the battle in the second half of the evaluation.

The difficulty, which had increased due to Ciel's sudden appearance in the middle and late stages, skyrocketed to a crazy level because this orange-haired girl would indiscriminately eliminate students.

The reason was simply that she enjoyed battles.

"Hey, you! Isn't this fun? Ahh?!"

The orange-haired girl, Keridna Whiteclaw, a delinquent in the A-class, grinned and shouted.

Ciel, standing next to me, pointed at Rejeta with a poker face. It was an astonishingly shameless move.

Soon, Lucy's cold gaze pierced the enemies beyond Ciel and me.

It was an unexpected turn of events for me.

"Isaac…?"

A soft, moonlight-like voice came from behind me. Hearing it, I understood the entire situation.

Ciel and I turned our heads. A graceful female student stood a distance away.

Her rose-gold hair and the butterfly-like ribbons on either side of her head reflected the sunset.

Her face, usually gentle and smiling at me, was now in deep shadow due to the backlight.

"……!"

The rose-gold-haired girl gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

I could feel her blue ocean-like eyes scrutinizing me in detail.

Only then did I realize how bad I looked. It seemed I had been rolling around somewhere. It was all Ciel's fault.

The powerful mana emanating from Lucy pressed down on the air heavily. The deep killing intent she emitted made me shiver.

"Who did this to you…?"