I finished cleaning up after my training session with Leo.
Since it was the weekend and I had plenty of time, we'd trained for a while.
'It's... 6 o'clock now.'
I could skip dinner and just study until midnight. I grabbed the necklace cord and pulled out the pendant.
"Lucas."
Leo called out to me as I was about to leave the training grounds.
"You know midterms are tomorrow, right? Do well on the test, and let's meet here again next week."
"Why are you cheering me on when I might beat you?"
"Beat me if you can...."
Leo chuckled.
That relaxed reaction had a reason.
He had never fallen below second place in our class.
And... even if I got perfect scores in every subject except one, reaching the top ranks was impossible. Leo knew that too.
In the practical magic subject, I could only get a total of 30 points: the basic attendance score plus the points from the alternative assignment. It was fortunate I'd gotten a sick leave processed; otherwise, I wouldn't have even gotten that attendance score.
I didn't have any desire to be in the top ranks anyway.
I just needed the minimum improvement necessary to flip my image.
'Any more investment than that would be unnecessary.'
A complete waste of time.
I returned to the dorm, pushed aside the pile of practice papers Pi had stacked on my desk—who knew when he'd arrived—and opened my textbook.
I'd already finished the core material. Since differentiation could come from obscure details, it was time for a final thorough read-through to check for any parts I hadn't fully memorized.
'I never thought I'd be doing this tedious schoolwork at my age....'
Fortunately, I only had three subjects' worth to do today. Suppressing the urge to smash my face into the book, I began skimming through the textbook. Pi, who had been pushed aside, chewed on a piece of paper and asked,
"Lucas, if you don't want to do it, wanna go rock climbing?"
"No."
What kind of suggestion was that...?
I ignored Pi's comment and focused on studying.
After studying for a long while, I took Pi up to the rooftop to get some air.
'Everyone's just talking about midterms.'
Every student I passed on the way was talking about the exams. With college admissions on the line, everyone was bound to be sensitive.
Of course, pointless class pride was also at stake for the students here. Since this was our department's dorm, I occasionally overheard conversations about class rankings among our year's students.
"Lucas."
Narque's eyes widened with delight as he tapped my back.
He seemed to have come up to the rooftop first. The friends behind him wore awkward expressions and slowly backed away.
"You come up here too! First time meeting you here. How's the studying going?"
"So-so. You?"
"Going well. Haha, my friends expect too much from me. They'll all be disappointed if I don't make it into the special class."
"You'll make it."
If you were at that level, you wouldn't have been selected for the exchange. They only picked students considered prodigies from each school.
Narque laughed at my answer and then asked me,
"What about you? It'd be great if you and Leo both made it to the special class."
"Well, you know my grades, right? I was 48th in the last exam."
"You shouldn't think about that time. So, do you think you'll make it?"
Persistent guy.
I didn't bother answering, just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
"We'll see."
And so, the day of the midterms arrived.
The professor who entered as the proctor distributed the test papers.
"The exam time is 60 minutes. Write your name on the distributed test paper and answer sheet and wait for one minute. The moment magic activation is detected, the entire exam attempt will be invalidated."
It was the tedious standard announcement. Well, actually, the last part was somewhat new.
At the bell signaling the start of the exam, I lifted my hands from my knees and picked up my pen.
* * *
"Ah, I'm going crazy. What if I fail again this time?"
"Hey, the ranking announcement is in 2 minutes!"
"Hurry inside! Come out to the lounge later and tell me."
Friday evening, the day the last exam ended.
The dorm was noisy with the impending grade announcement. I came down from the rooftop and entered my room.
'Midnight is almost here.'
The grade announcement happens today, the same day the exams end.
Of course, it's the ranking before any grade corrections, but changes at this stage are almost nonexistent.
I took out the grade record sheet issued at enrollment.
At midnight, the magic linked by the school would inscribe itself on it.
I slowly examined it from the front, stopping my hand at the ranking record section on the last page. The rankings from previous terms were listed.
[1st Year Fall Semester Midterms] [50/50] [100/100]
[1st Year Fall Semester Finals] [50/50] [99/99]
[1st Year Spring Semester Midterms] [49/49] [100/100]
[1st Year Spring Semester Finals] [48/49] [98/99]
'Pathetic.'
The numbers in the first column were Lucas's ranking in Magic Department Class 2, and the numbers in the second column were his ranking in the entire Magic Department.
Except for the most recent exam, he had recorded dead last every time.
A bell tolled from the distant clock tower.
2nd Year Fall Semester Midterms.
Vivid blue letters began to write themselves below the last ranking.
I swallowed and clenched my fist.
The blue ink seeped into the paper at a rapid speed.
[2nd Year Fall Semester Midterms]
Upon reaching the end of one column, the ink paused for a moment, then instantly spread sideways.
I frowned, staring at the paper.
*Tap*—The movement stopped, and the paper dried completely.
[2nd Year Fall Semester Midterms] [6/50] [10/100]
'...Hah.'
It was over.
6th in the class, 10th in the entire Magic Department.
This was satisfactory. I didn't want more or less; I wanted exactly this level.
I flipped the paper forward to check the scores by subject.
'As expected.'
The Basic Magic Practice subject stood alone with 30 points.
Seven out of ten subjects were 100 points.
The remaining two subjects were 97 and 95 points respectively.
'Average 92.2 points.'
Considering I was 6th in Class 2 and 10th overall... that meant only four guys in Class 1 were ahead of me.
'Class 1 got pushed back a bit this time.'
I wondered what their class average was.
Not that I felt anything about it.
It was something only the students cared about; I held no particular feelings toward Class 1.
'Anyway...'
The first exam here was over.
With a feeling that was both relaxed and somewhat complicated, I lay down on the bed.
From now on, many things would change.
From trivial matters to my own safety.
This news would undoubtedly reach my brother's ears, and he would take action.
Unlike the comfortable period until now—aside from the annoying reactions from those around me—what would happen from here on was unpredictable.
Then, a light flashed atop the pile of shredded paper on the desk. Pi, who had appeared out of thin air, hopped over and ran to the bed.
"Lucas!"
"It's been a week. Does Narque want to know my rank?"
"Yeah!"
"Tell him I'm not telling."
I laughed and sent Pi back to Narque.
Pi, who returned to the room, appeared before me again in less than a minute.
"He asked why?!"
"To mess with him."
"He said if you said that, it must be a lie~!"
"Good insight."
I answered briefly and sent Pi back to Narque's room.
* * *
"What's our class average?!"
"32 people have reported so far, it's 57.1."
"Hey guys, hurry up and write it down! Can't we even do this? It's not hard. You don't even have to write your name, just write your score on the paper!"
There's always that kind of guy.
On Monday, the week after exams ended, I let out a dry laugh at the loud urging that greeted me as soon as I entered the classroom.
They wouldn't ask me anyway. They probably just estimated my score and included it in the calculation.
Suddenly curious, I spoke to the guy.
"Let me see the paper."
"..."
Even though I hadn't used a harsh tone, just my normal speaking voice, the classroom fell silent in an instant.
The student who had been shouting loudly just moments ago awkwardly turned his head toward his friends, then bit his lower lip slightly and handed me the paper.
I didn't need to look at it for long. From the top, two obvious zeros were written, clearly belonging to specific individuals.
One belonged to the long-term absentee. There was one person who hadn't properly attended school since the end of first year. And the other one was...
'Me, of course.'
I could only laugh.
Did they not even include the alternative assignment points?
Well, it's not like these guys would know about other people's alternative assignment scores.
With a gentle smile meant as consolation for the suddenly awkward atmosphere, I handed the paper back to him.
"You calculated it as zero points?"
"...Your score?"
"Whose else would I be asking about?"
"Uh, I wrote it like that... but last year you were... no, never mind. Just tell me what it is and I'll write it down properly."
"Forget it. Just leave it as is."
At my words, he carefully took the edge of the paper, gave me a sidelong glance, and moved far away.
Then, someone burst through the classroom door.
"Hey, I asked the professor! Our average is 59.1!"
"What?! And Class 1?"
"Should I go spy?"
"Yeah, I'll go too."
The frozen atmosphere came back to life. The students started talking noisily among themselves.
"So how many from our class are going to the special class?"
"Why are you so interested when you're not going?"
"No, you lack foresight. This is all about prestige."
"Yulia and Leo are definitely going, and Narque will probably go too, right? Narque! What's your rank?"
"I'm not telling."
Narque glanced my way, made a mischievous face, and parroted my line.
Then, one student's eyes sparkled as he shouted.
"Guys, I...! I think I can make it in this time too!"
'Hmm?'
It was the student I'd stopped to ask for directions before.
His name was... Melvin, I think.
"What's your rank?"
"9th overall...!"
"Wow, you barely squeezed in."
"Congratulations! That's already four from our class for the special class? Not many people have arrived yet, right? We just need five more?"
I rested my chin on my hand and listened to their conversation.
I'd heard the pointless story that in the first exam, it was 6 from our class and 4 from theirs, and from then on, it reversed to 3:7 and 4:6.
'...I think instead of competing with Class 1, you should be competing with your friends who are also aiming for the special class.'
I quickly gave up on the thought.
At this level... it really was because they only divided us into two classes.
Then, the guys who had gone to the next class came running back and shouted.
"Hey, guys! 58.4!"
"What, the next class's average?"
"Yeah."
The students cheered over something incredibly trivial.
Turning my head, I could spot about four or five other students who seemed to share my line of thought.
Still, they couldn't beat the forty others. The classroom continued buzzing with grade talk.
"I heard Class 1 already has four special class students too? But they still have about thirteen people who haven't arrived yet."
"What? There's 7 minutes until morning assembly? Look at how irresponsible they are."
"What if someone among them is in the top 10 of the department?"
"..."
One student chuckled, then stiffened upon realizing Class 1 actually had more potential candidates left than we did.
Fortunately, during that time, another student from our class who had placed within the top 10 of the department appeared, preventing the atmosphere from sinking and reviving it.
"Five from us? Please let Class 1 lose like this...."
"No, get a grip. We shouldn't be competing with the next class; we should be competing with the kids from our own class who are going to the special class."
"Everyone from our class is here now, and there aren't any more. Give up. Just being even is something, right?"
The students each threw in their comments.
A sensible comment was heard in the middle, but it was quickly buried because it didn't suit the students' tastes.
Then, the professor opened the door and entered.
The students hurriedly found their seats, and only then did the classroom quiet down.
"You all seem curious about the results. I thought the research lab would explode since this morning. You're second years now; you shouldn't still be acting like first years. I don't need to say much more, right?"
"Yes."
"If you continue to act like this, I will deduct attitude points."
The professor laid down the law and opened the file he had brought.
"Your individual grade record sheets were distributed at enrollment. Since the rankings were announced at midnight, I assume you've all checked and come."
The professor flipped through the grade record sheet and then pulled a thin envelope from the file.
"I'll start by distributing the special class admission consent forms. Students whose names are called, please come forward and receive them. Yulia, Leonard."
The professor called the names without even looking at the writing on the envelopes.
Since they were the students who always competed for 1st and 2nd in the class, there was no need to double-check now. The applause was deafening.
It wasn't until the third turn that the professor lifted his glasses to read the name.
"Narque."
Narque high-fived his friends and went forward. As before, his classmates clapped and congratulated him.
"Thank you."
"It's only been a month since you came to the Empire, but I'm pleased you've adjusted well. Next, Hildegard."
After various greetings, he took the envelope and returned.
"Melvin."
At that, Melvin scrambled up from his seat and rushed forward.
"This is your first time entering the special class, isn't it? Your hard work is noticeable. Congratulations."
"Th-thank you...! I'll work hard!"
"I'll look forward to it."
The professor raised the corners of his mouth softly.
How passionate. I let out a dry laugh at the student's overwhelmed tone.
His emotions were so transparent; the applause, which had been dying down, grew loud again.
"And finally..."
As Melvin returned to his seat, the professor opened his mouth to say something but then rummaged through the desk. The professor overturned the file and pulled out the last remaining envelope. A few students who saw this widened their eyes.
"What, there's one more?"
"Isn't there no one else here who could make it...?"
The professor silently raised one eyebrow, checked the grade record sheet, and called the name.
"Lucas."
—-----------
T/N:
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