Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The exams at Partes Academy were held twice a year.

From their purpose to their principles, they differed entirely from those of other existing academies.

The objective of these exams was tendency analysis—and the reinforcement of education regarding specialized talents.

For instance, even if a student failed a subject, it wasn’t viewed as a failure, but rather as a simple lack of talent in that specific field.

If a student was judged to have an outstanding talent for elemental magic, they would be assigned to ‘Elemental Spirit’—one of the eight schools that comprised Partes—to focus on their studies.

Of course, rankings were determined for the subjects taken, but there was no need to place great importance on them.

However, since the majority of top-tier students grew to become masters who left their names across the Lachman Continent, no one could truly let go of their desire to be the top of their class.

Furthermore, because scholarship benefits were granted only to those in the top five…

Students from commoner backgrounds had no choice but to devote themselves even more fervently to their studies.

The reason Lily aimed for the top tier fell into the latter category.

Her full name was Liliana Avetist.

She certainly possessed a noble surname.

But now, only the bloodline barely remained; her family had fallen long ago.

Her father was making a living as a merchant running a general store.

She had personally chosen to sever ties with him.

Desperate to reclaim the prestige of their former nobility, her father had proceeded with marriage arrangements to send Liliana as a concubine to a certain local lord.

Having caught wind of this fact beforehand, Liliana threw everything away and ran away from home.

Who would ever want to marry a pot-bellied man thirty years older than themselves?

The lord had simply been dazzled by Lily’s beauty and acted out of greed.

Grind!

Lily grimaced, her teeth still gritting at the mere memory of it.

At any rate, using that incident as a turning point, she dreamed of rising in the world through her own skills rather than her looks.

‘To live like that, I have to produce the result of being number one.’

With firm resolve, she stepped into the square of Partes Academy.

Once the grading was finished, bulletins listing the rankings would be posted here, in a place often called the ‘Battleground.’

The usual hubbub filled the air.

As always, the square was crowded with students.

‘What is it?’

However, unlike usual, Lily sensed a strange air of upheaval among them and tilted her head in confusion.

Normally, most people would be mocking her, saying, ‘The Second Princess has arrived again,’ or comforting her, saying, ‘That’s too bad.’

Right now, they were either pinching their cheeks as if they were in a dream or muttering, ‘Who on earth is this guy?’

“Li, Lily.”

Her best friend, Eri, who happened to be there, was also wearing a bewildered expression.

“What’s going on?”

“T-that.”

“You can just say I’ve been demoted to Third Princess. Why are you stuttering so much?”

The male students passing nearby glanced at Lily mockingly before moving on.

“?!”

Whoosh!

Realizing the meaning behind their words, Lily quickly pushed through the crowd to check the bulletin.

「1st Place, Deses-poir, Free School Choice

1st Place, Kalliant Stark, Free School Choice

3rd Place, Liliana Avetist, Assigned School: Lux Lunae」

A surge of emotion hit her!

The moment she looked at the bulletin, she was overwhelmed by indignation and despair.

…Why?

I worked so hard.

…Why isn’t it working for me?

Why has another monster been added to the list?

Who exactly is this man?

Lily threw questions one after another in her mind.

Strangely, however, no one in front of the bulletin was mentioning Kalliant.

It was odd.

To her knowledge, this was the first time in the history of Partes Academy that co-first place winners had been produced.

No, she would have known if someone had ever achieved such grades before.

‘I shouldn’t be like this, I shouldn’t be like this.’

Her mind was a mess due to jealousy, but she barely managed to pull herself together.

Right then.

Thud, thud.

For some reason, the sound of one person’s footsteps echoed strangely loud.

The murmuring grew.

It wasn’t just Lily who heard it; the crowd split down the middle, making way for someone.

Glancing behind her, she saw the boy she had seen in the exam hall.

With a blunt expression, his crimson hair and eyes were not easily forgotten.

“…Kalliant.”

Lily found she could learn this man’s name quite easily.

He glanced at her.

He didn’t care at all about the attention from his surroundings and looked at Lily, who had called him in a small voice.

“If you called me, you should say something.”

His voice was solemn and low, unlike a boy’s.

Though she had called him impulsively, Lily was flustered because she didn’t have any particular reason.

In her heart, she wanted to act out and yell, ‘You cheated…!’, but she knew that was nothing more than ugly jealousy.

She swallowed her personal feelings and opened her mouth.

“T-that, which school are you going to join?”

It was a question she had barely managed to think of.

But once she asked it, curiosity surged on its own.

Presumably, the transfer student Eri mentioned was undoubtedly this man.

It would be stranger not to be curious when someone causes such a stir the moment they arrive.

For reference, 1st place was a very honorable position at Partes.

Receiving an excellent evaluation in all subjects meant one was versatile.

If professors were to hastily evaluate such a brilliant talent and accidentally place them in the wrong school, it could lead to a disaster that breaks their potential…

Therefore, the 1st place winner is given the privilege of choosing their own school.

Upon hearing her words, Khal scratched the back of his head and asked with a sullen expression.

“…What is that?”

Whoosh!

A sudden chilly wind blew as if nature itself were reacting to his absurd answer.

“…”

Lily, whose vision was obscured by her fluttering black hair, looked at him with unfocused eyes, wondering, ‘What is this guy?’

Silence instantly descended on the surroundings.

* * *

‘Since I’ve already asked the question, I have to hear this man’s answer.’

Having made up her mind, Lily borrowed an empty classroom, made Khal sit at a desk, and began scribbling on the chalkboard with chalk.

Tap, tap, tap.

Despite her agitated writing, her handwriting was very elegant and pleasant to look at.

What she scribbled on the board were the eight schools that made up Partes Academy.

「Elemental Spirit, Lux Solis, Lux Lunae, Biblio Magias.

Glauben, Sceletus, Sparagida.

Onyx Square.」

Tap.

Finishing with a period, Lily looked at Khal with a haughty gaze and spoke.

“Don’t you feel anything seeing them listed like this?”

“…Your handwriting is fancy.”

“…”

Lily’s face flushed as a compliment came from an unexpected place.

“Oh my.”

As Eri, who was watching from behind, let out a sly smile…

“Ahem.”

Lily covered her mouth with her hand, cleared her throat, and began her explanation.

“If you don’t know, fine. Partes aims to produce talent, but basically, the influence of mages is strong. You must approach your studies on the premise of learning the mana cultivation method provided by each school.”

“I know that much.”

In the history of the Lachman Continent, mages had led the development of culture, scholarship, and tactics.

In other words, mages were appropriate talents to be adopted as educators regardless of the era.

Following that, Lily’s explanation began in earnest.

“The first row consists of schools classified by mana attributes. They are the most well-researched and balanced, so most students belong here. Elemental Spirit focuses on elemental magic, Lux Solis on positive mana, and Lux Lunae on negative mana. Biblio Magias deals with void-attribute mana.”

“Not my talent.”

Khal smacked his lips as if it didn’t suit his taste, and Lily coolly resumed the explanation.

“The second row distinguishes those that require special talents among magics. The Glauben school is where you learn divine magic, Sceletus is for black magic, and Sparagida is for summoning magic.”

“Sceletus might fit best, but I’m not really drawn to it. Why is the last one just sitting there all by itself?”

Lily looked at ‘Onyx Square’ with a displeased look and spoke.

“There are no students learning it, so there’s no information. It’s known as a school where a Grand Master from the Eastern Continent researched and passed down a method to refine mana as a science, but that lineage is almost severed. Professor McCally only maintains it theoretically.”

“Why maintain such a useless school?”

“…It’s not useless.”

Lily finished the story with a bitter expression.

“It is the legacy of a Grand Master, after all. Mages don’t acknowledge it, but Her Majesty the Queen maintains that lineage for some reason. Now, which one are you going to choose?”

The explanation was over.

Now it was time for a definite answer.

Slide.

Thud.

However, before she could even hear an answer, the classroom door opened and a group of students flocked toward Khal.

Recognizing their identities instantly, Eri unintentionally began to stutter.

“Why are they from the Sce-Sceletus school…?”

The students who suddenly appeared were wearing badges on their uniform pockets engraved with a crow symbol representing black magic.

“Get out. This is a classroom I borrowed.”

Lily, noticing at a glance that they weren’t approaching with good intentions, quickly blocked their path.

“We just came to talk to the transfer student for a bit, so would you step aside? Third Place.”

Lily, feeling a surge of anger despite herself, was about to raise her voice when…

“Fine. What’s wrong with hearing what they have to say?”

At Khal’s intervention, she stepped aside with an uncomfortable expression.

“Oho, I like you. You know how to take a listening stance. My name is Ariel Rafta.”

The blonde male student who brushed past Lily let out a smirk and…

Bam!

Kicked Khal’s desk with all his might as a threat.

Khal looked at Ariel with a bored expression.

“What do you want to say?”

“Deses-poir is angry because of some guy who’s too good at cheating lately. You should have known your place. You shouldn’t pull such an obvious stunt to try and steal the top spot out of nowhere.”

“Wait! What are you talking about without any evidence!”

When Lily refuted as if it were absurd, Ariel frowned and shouted at Khal.

“Suspicion alone is enough. How can two people get a perfect score on the most difficult exam on the continent?”

“P-perfect score?!”

Lily’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe it.

On the other hand, Khal looked at Ariel with a calm expression and said.

“Wouldn’t it be more likely that the guy named Deses-poir cheated?”

From those words, Lily and Eri’s faces turned pale.

Rumble.

The students of the Sceletus school radiated dark mana.

“Do you know who we are?”

“Not interested. Why don’t you just say what you have to say and leave.”

Kalliant’s eyebrows twitched, as if he were slowly getting angry.

“We follow Deses-poir. And we don’t consider you to be on the same level as Deses-poir. If you don’t want to become our enemy, join Sceletus quietly and follow Deses-poir.”

“Stop being unreasonable and leave.”

“You shut your mouth!”

Ariel shouted at Lily, the veins in his neck bulging.

Lily stepped back, seemingly a bit intimidated by the harsh momentum.

“…”

Khal, who had been watching the scene intently, soon stood up and looked Ariel straight in the eye.

Ariel was a tall man of about two meters; Khal had a much smaller build compared to him.

“Ah… rehabilitation is truly difficult.”

“What are you blabbering about?”

“It’s nothing. But could you say that one more time?”

“The guys who didn’t follow our words here ended up leaving voluntarily, kneeling, or committing suicide. You choose which one to do.”

At Ariel’s words, Khal gave a snort and nodded obediently.

“Ah, certainly. To live a student life from now on, it would be easier to stick with you guys.”

“Now you’re finally making sense.”

“My answer is number four.”

“Number four? I never suggested a number four…”

Crack!

Boom!

The moment Ariel wore a puzzled expression, Khal’s fist slammed into his face, and Ariel was knocked unconscious instantly.

Drip, drip.

The blood gathered on his fist splashed onto the faces of the Sceletus school students.

Flick, flick.

Khal shook off the blood flowing from his fist and twisted one corner of his mouth.

“Number four: You lot get the hell out of this school.”