Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Class Placement Exam (End)

The exam continued smoothly.

Naturally, Yuri, who had been waiting without taking the exam yet, was called in the final group.

“You’ll take first place, won’t you?”

Looking at the other nine, Yuri taking first place seemed almost certain, but since I had already taken first place myself, I decided to put on airs for no reason.

“Obviously.”

Yuri answered my joke like that, straightened her uniform, and stepped forward to take the exam.

“This is bad. It’s fun.”

The conversation with her, far more vivid than the conversations I had with Yuri in the game, was incredibly enjoyable.

The exam began as Yuri’s figure disappeared into the illusion magic.

The power of sulking Yuri’s fire magic was truly tremendous.

Flames mercilessly surged over the students’ bodies, and one by one, they disappeared.

Seeing the students turn to ash as the fire magic mingled with them made it feel all the more cruel.

As I looked at the screen completely covered in crimson flames, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“...Did I tease her for nothing?”

Because she had been treating me so well, I had forgotten.

On the screen, Yuri soon burned away the last opponent before her eyes and wore a fierce smile.

That figure, without a doubt, was none other than “Yuri Clementine.”

A familiar yet unfamiliar side of her.

Because the attitude she had shown me until now was so different, I kept forgetting.

That she possessed anger so deep it bordered on cruelty.

The exam quickly ended with an obvious result.

Yuri, who had easily seized first place, came to me in one stride and spoke bluntly with a prim face.

“I got first place.”

“Haha... Somehow I could hear the flames crackling all the way over here.”

I scratched my cheek and replied.

“Then the two of us will probably be in the same class, won’t we?”

“...Well, it’s not as if I took first place specifically for that, but I suppose we will be in the same class.”

Even after pouring out fire magic so refreshingly, as if blowing away stress, Yuri’s mood did not seem to have cleared. She glanced at me from the corner of her eye and spoke for no reason.

“...Yuri did tend to sulk for a long time once she started.”

It seemed best to hand her the strawberry milk she liked later.

Because there had been an affection system for characters, I remembered quite a few things about what the characters liked and disliked, especially when it came to food. That was fortunate.

“The class placement exam for all participants has concluded.”

The instructor in charge of today’s proceedings was bringing the exam to a close in a loud voice.

“The results of the placement exam will be announced through the bulletin board inside the academy one day from now, so students should return to their dormitories. Everyone worked hard. Once again, congratulations on your admission to Innocence Academy.”

With that, the placement exam, which could be called long if one wished and short if one wished, came to an end.

The students left the exam hall, each talking with their friends about the results to come.

Here and there, there were groups pointing at me and exchanging a few words.

“I’m drawing attention.”

It had not been intentional, but in the long run, it was not a bad thing. As long as one did not become famous for something bad, fame was always a benefit.

Above all, my name should have been firmly imprinted on the major characters as well.

I had stepped onto the starting line well.

***

Bathed in warm sunlight, Yuri was sitting on a bench waiting for me.

“You waited a long time, didn’t you?”

I approached Yuri and held out the strawberry milk.

“I waited to see what you were going to do. Is this milk?”

Yuri’s puzzled red eyes grew round.

“I tried some when I was passing by last time, and it tasted quite good.”

Since Yuri had only just arrived at the academy, she probably had not tried this yet.

Later, she would become a regular customer of this shop on her own, but I was introducing it to her in advance to earn her favor.

“I hope this eases her sulking a little.”

“...Wow.”

After taking a sip of the strawberry milk, Yuri let out an exclamation. Then, after a moment, she cleared her throat and asked me with a somewhat serious face.

“Ahem. Where do they sell this? Surely... you won’t say you don’t know again this time, will you?”

“There’s a shop near the academy’s main building...”

I sat beside Yuri and was about to continue explaining the shop.

Someone, who I did not know had approached, called out to us.

To be precise, he was addressing me.

“Student Zeto. The instructors are looking for Student Zeto.”

It was the instructor who had been in charge of the exam earlier.

The instructors were looking for me?

“If it is all right with you, could you follow me for a moment?”

It was a sudden summons from the instructors.

I stood up and looked back and forth between the instructor and Yuri, and Yuri nodded as if she was fine.

“...Understood.”

After hearing my answer, the instructor went ahead to guide the way, and I followed behind him.

Why were the instructors looking for me?

Somehow, things I had never experienced in the game kept happening.

The instructor’s footsteps stopped at the exam supervision room located on the second floor of the exam hall.

The exam was already over, so I could not understand why they were still here.

—Knock, knock.

“I have brought Student Zeto.”

“Come in.”

With permission to enter, the door opened.

The moment I entered the room after the instructor, an indescribable pressure settled over me.

“Why is the atmosphere so terrifying?”

There were many people there who had held considerable weight among the instructors.

Among them, there was one person who was not an instructor, but that person was probably originally set to be watching this placement exam as well.

Since they were the instructors for this year, I would become involved with them often in the game too.

But none of them opened their mouths, simply observing me in silence.

“...I heard you were looking for me.”

So I spoke first.

No matter how much I looked back on my actions, I had not committed any particular crime.

“We watched Student Zeto’s exam well. It was very impressive. The reason we called you here is none other than...”

Kaliman began.

“You. How did you do it?”

Reina cut off Kaliman’s words and suddenly jumped in.

Kaliman glared sharply at Reina, but she must have been used to it, because she paid him no mind.

“...What are you referring to?”

I knew what she was talking about.

But I had no choice but to feign ignorance.

Whether that would work on them was uncertain, though.

It was then.

At the same time Reina was about to speak again, the man in one corner of the room moved.

“Chain.”

He suddenly cast magic at me.

From the magic circle over the palm he extended toward me, chains crawled out and rushed in.

But in the center of those chains, a red circle.

The “weakness” was far too clearly visible.

—Kiiing!

My sword, moving instinctively, touched the weakness, and the flying chains vanished in an instant with a crumbling sound.

“...What is the meaning of this?”

“Edward!”

Reina immediately got angry at Edward.

Edward, who had sent magic flying at me, still showed no change on his face.

“I was speaking fir...!!”

“Chain.”

Edward cut off Reina’s words once again.

It was the same “Chain” as before.

As if déjà vu had occurred, chains of the exact same shape flew toward me.

But they were subtly different.

“The weakness... is hard to see...?”

I tried to find the weakness and break the magic, but the red circle that had been so distinct just now was now extremely small and faint.

I swung my sword, trying somehow to aim for the weakness, but...

—Clang!

—Crack!

In the end, I had no choice but to deflect the chains.

The chains that glanced off my sword slammed into the wall behind me.

That man, Edward Klaus, was still an unreasonable man in the game and in reality alike.

“With this, the hypothesis I made fits.”

Edward said that calmly.

“...Cease your sudden actions. Edward Klaus.”

The old instructor who appeared in the game under the title of veteran instructor warned Edward.

“Hah. Edward, you did that on purpose just now, didn’t you.”

“Of course.”

Reina and Edward exchanged words.

I could not keep up with their conversation.

Hypothesis?

Did they test me?

As I stood frozen, filled with questions, Reina explained.

“Edward’s first ‘Chain’ just now was deliberately made with a very crude structure. Conversely, the second ‘Chain’ was woven very precisely and densely.”

Reina was explaining well, then took one breath and spoke in a meaningful tone.

“You really can see it, can’t you? The structure of magic.”

“...”

When I did not answer Reina’s summary, the other instructors’ questions followed one after another.

“How can you see it? No... how can you feel it?”

“It is an ability called perception.”

A question-and-answer session began unexpectedly.

I squeezed out as quickly as possible a setting about “Zeto”—in other words, about myself.

“Who taught you this ‘perception’?”

“My master.”

“Who is that master?”

“That... I cannot tell you.”

“Hmm.”

Creating a master who did not even exist, I answered as best as I could.

I did not think there was any need to tell them everything.

Didn’t everyone live with at least one secret they wanted to hide?

The instructors did not press further than that either.

That aside, who on earth would become the homeroom instructor of Class A, the class I would enter?

There were a total of three Class A homeroom instructors I had experienced in the game.

The sharp-looking woman over there with brown hair.

Reina.

The man beside her with an unkempt, rough beard.

Kaliman.

Generally, one of these two became Class A’s homeroom instructor.

However, among the instructors, there was the narrow-eyed man who could be considered a hidden character.

Edward.

At this current point in time, he was not an instructor.

However, thanks to his unusual status as the headmaster’s son, Edward also became Class A’s instructor if the conditions were met.

These three were childhood friends who had known one another since they were young, classmates who attended and graduated from the academy together, and comrades who had fought together in the war against demons in the past.

Overflowing with talent in their respective fields, they showed outstanding achievements on the battlefield, and these three were often grouped together on people’s lips and called this.

“The Three of Black Blood.”

It was a name given because they killed countless demons in the war, and the edges of their clothes were always stained with the pitch-black blood unique to demons.

Because of that, in the game, no matter which instructor one met, one would also frequently get involved with the other two.

As for me, I wanted to avoid Edward and Edward alone.

His classes were... far too random.

The instructors spoke among themselves in voices that would not reach me, and finally, it seemed that conversation had come to an end for now.

“Student Zeto? First, regarding Edward’s rude behavior earlier, I apologize on behalf of the instructors. It seems that such an action slipped out because we valued your ability highly, so please understand generously.”

The veteran instructor bowed his head to me with a solemn voice.

“It’s all right. It isn’t as if I suffered any real harm.”

To begin with, “Chain” without any element contained in it was a basic spell and not a very aggressive magic.

I was not injured, and judging by their current attitude, it seemed they had misunderstood things in a favorable direction on their own, so it was truly fine.

“This incident occurred because your ability was far too outstanding, and the instructors could not resolve their questions.”

“Ah...”

He was talking about the dispel, I suppose.

Well, I understood.

Even I, who had played the game for a long time, could not define what I had done.

There was a high chance that even to the instructors, who had experienced countless battlefields and battles, it was an unfamiliar sight.

“It may be too modest to call compensation, but... you did not seem accustomed to handling mana. Take this.”

The veteran instructor held out a bracelet to me.

“This is...”

“If you wear that bracelet, it should help you at least a little in training your mana. I look forward to even more impressive growth.”

“We’re lending it to you, so if you break it, you die...”

Reina threatened me while glaring with fierce eyes.

The bracelet’s name was the “Bracelet Bearing Wishes.”

...It was, amazingly, an Epic-grade item.

“At this level, they really are only lending it.”

For something modest, it was not modest at all.

It seemed to be a bracelet Reina herself wore.

“You may go back now. I am sorry for stealing your rest time.”

I was finally released.

I bowed my head politely to the instructors and was about to leave the room.

“Student Zeto. See you again soon.”

At the voice, I turned back and saw Edward waving brightly.

Surely...

“...No, right?”

I absolutely declined the idea of that guy becoming an instructor.

Now that the game had become reality, that was something that must not happen even more.