Everyone basking in the afterglow of victory, sharing the joy.
Not that I was particularly expecting a neat ending like that, but I hadn't foreseen our first conversation kicking off with an argument.
"...I believe I told you that was my prey."
With a barbed tone, yet still wearing a fearless smile, Mercedes sheathed her long blade. She had mentioned it during the fight too, but in short, she'd clearly wanted to bring down that bird all on her own.
"Hey, after being saved, you've got some nerve talking like that."
"To butt in uninvited and then have the gall to complain about my attitude."
At Mercedes's retort—delivered without even meeting his eyes—Garry's straight, pitch-black hair bristled just a fraction.
"You little..."
"Garry. How's that injury?"
"Huh?"
"Near the end, an attack grazed you, didn't it?"
"A-Ah... this? Nah, it's no big deal."
The surface of his upper arm was scorched.
I'd only caught a brief glimpse earlier, but it was likely an injury sustained when the beast went on its rampage.
At best, all I could do was staunch the bleeding.
It was better to leave this to a specialist.
"Filiestra-san."
"Yes?"
"You mentioned you're skilled with medical magic—can you heal this?"
"Yeah. Leave it to me."
When asked, Filiestra gave a concise nod of agreement, emitting a faint light from both hands as she held them over Garry's arm.
"...Must be tough, huh?"
Filiestra-san murmured softly, meant only for my ears. Right after that, the wound on Garry's arm was completely healed, leaving no trace behind.
"There, all better now."
"Thanks... my bad."
Garry wore an awkward expression.
Considering the way he'd acted at the very beginning, I suppose it made sense he'd feel self-conscious.
"If anyone else is hurt, please don't hesitate to speak up."
The three who had arrived later had no noticeable injuries.
As for Mercedes, her clothes weren't even soiled.
"Anyway, now that we've grouped up, let's all head over together from here on out."
"Sounds good. It's just a short walk away."
"I am in full agreement!"
First Amae-san, followed energetically by Luluck, voiced their assent.
Not that I was overly relying on her, but regrouping with Amae-san was a huge relief. I'd have to thank her properly once things settled down.
"You're fine with that too, right, Mercedes?"
"...Yes, of course. The mood for a race has dissipated, after all. Yes, I shall keep my promise."
Though her expression remained cool and aloof, the sheer rejection from earlier was gone.
Since she had claimed that anyone wanting to be buddy-buddy should try catching up, she intended to honor that word.
"The only one missing now is Gerald, right?"
"If it is that man you speak of, he has already gone ahead."
"Is that so?" I asked Mercedes.
Pressing for details, it turned out she had apparently spotted someone resembling him during her battle with the giant bird. He had likely chosen not to participate in the fight and pressed on instead.
"Indeed. Therefore, let us make haste. It would not do to be late."
"...I might not be one to talk, but you've got some nerve saying that after being the one who threw everything into chaos in the first place."
Garry grumbled with a dissatisfied scowl.
For now, let's take Mercedes at her word.
If he wasn't at our destination, we could simply report it to Miss Blanchard upon arrival and go look for him.
"...You."
Just as we were about to set off together, Mercedes spoke up, keeping her voice at a volume only I could catch.
"I just recalled. Back during the exam, you were the sole examinee who arrived late, were you not?"
I nodded silently.
"Where did you obtain that sword?"
"..."
"Why did you not finish it off immediately?"
"Finish what?"
"You could have brought it down if you had truly wished to, could you not?"
"Not really. I just figured cooperating with Garry was the surer bet."
When I gave a noncommittal reply, Mercedes wore a look as if seeing right through me and let out a knowing chuckle. "Ufufu." It was only a brief exchange, but I had gotten a rough grasp of her personality. Unlike Garry, who was straightforward at his core, she was a difficult one to handle.
"Well, no matter. I shall leave the escorting to you, then."
◇
Upon reaching our destination at the entrance to Al-An National Park, Gerald was waiting, standing firm with his legs braced wide apart.
"You're late."
With arms crossed, Gerald simply lingered there without doing anything in particular.
Much like with Mercedes, it wasn't as if I had been terribly worried, but a weight lifted from my shoulders nonetheless. Since everyone had arrived at the destination, my duty was temporarily complete, even if I couldn't call it a flawless execution.
"My, what an exceptionally prompt arrival."
"Yeah. Thanks to someone out there clearing away the nuisance beasts, I was able to focus entirely on traveling."
To Mercedes's sarcasm, Gerald returned an equally haughty grin.
"Which means I took first place. Meltzelia. Do you have anything to say?"
"Congratulations."
With a composed face, Mercedes looked completely away into the distance.
In the end, were these two the only ones who cared about the race right down to the finish?
Come to think of it, there was no sign of Miss Blanchard, who had said she would go ahead and wait for us.
I decided to ask Gerald.
"Gerald. Where's Miss Blanchard?"
"Right here."
The voice came from behind us.
Whirling around, I saw Miss Blanchard already standing there facing the group, looking as listless as ever.
The entrance to the National Park was a fairly open clearing, yet none of us had sensed her presence until the moment she spoke. Judging by the cautious looks spreading across several classmates' faces, they felt the exact same way.
"Everyone got here super fast. Excellent."
"I mean, Teacher, if there were gonna be beasts swarming all over the place, you could've told us beforehand."
"Yeah. I'll explain including that part."
Smoothly brushing past Amae-san's question, Miss Blanchard took a seat on a nearby rock.
"Umm... I'm sure you've all figured it out by now, but this field trip doubled as an aptitude assessment for everyone. The magical beasts along the way were arranged by Magias."
"My? Was that truly the case?!"
"Luluck-chan, you're funny. Everyone, please learn from Luluck-chan's sense of hum—wait, seriously? Well, whatever. At any rate, reaching the goal this quickly while exterminating almost every single beast is pretty rare, even for the Imperial Faculty. Well done."
Clap, clap.
As Miss Blanchard clapped her hands half-heartedly, Mercedes placed a hand to her chin and asked,
"And our evaluations?"
"Everyone arrived properly, so all of you have the aptitude."
"What about individual assessments? You were observing us the entire time, were you not?"
"...Well, if you wanna hear it, I guess I can."
"I would very much like to hear it."
Looking thoroughly bothered, Miss Blanchard lightly rubbed the side of her head with a fingertip.
I knew she had been watching us, but having my actions judged face-to-face still made me nervous.
"Let's see, first is Brendan-kun."
"Yes."
"I can understand your urge to rush after the unexpected start, but originally, you should have set off with the remaining four."
...Well, that was true.
"However, making a steady recovery from there and trying to fulfill the role of escort despite being unused to it is worthy of praise.
Keeping track of time even after encountering beasts, and constantly verifying everyone's position and condition was good too.
Your legs are fast. Your support is precise. You're strong. Especially that smelting technique when helping that old lady—that was insane. I have high hopes for your future as the representative."
It had been nagging at me, but I really should have stuck with Amae-san and the others. Regrouping with Garry had just been a fortunate outcome. In the first place, I should have stopped Mercedes the moment she proposed a race, but I hadn't been able to come down hard on classmates I was going to be dealing with from here on.
"Mercedes-chan. Both your mobility and combat prowess leave nothing to be desired. Almost defeating that large magical beast single-handedly was worthy of a master of the Hinoe Ittou-ryu."
Seeing her equipped with a single-edged rapier had made me wonder, but she really was from the Hinoe school. No wonder she was so formidable.
"Naturally."
"However, please refrain from acting on your own during group activities. Also, watch your words and actions that deliberately disrupt coordination. It's precisely because you have real skill that you should cooperate with those around you. And make sure to listen to your teacher, okay?"
Mercedes abruptly looked away, turning a cold shoulder.
Despite asking for the evaluation herself, she really was a difficult woman.
"Gerald-kun and Garry-kun get roughly the same feedback. You three, this wasn't actually a race, you know.
That said, although Garry-kun's attitude was terrible, his decision to turn back midway to help that old woman was wonderful. I also highly evaluate your powerful unique magic."
Mercedes was the one who cut in there.
"Is emotional sentimentalism unrelated to achieving the objective truly necessary for an evaluation?"
"Accomplishing the objective on top of helping someone is what makes it commendable. Being able to use your spare capacity for others is something I judged to be Garry-kun's strength."
She actually made a really good point.
Garry looked somewhat pleased as well.
"...Right."
"Also, Gerald-kun, while your abilities are exceptionally high, if your classmate is fighting a massive bird, don't just walk past—help them out."
"The woman over there was the one who proposed the race. I merely adhered to that premise."
"Yeah, well, that's true, but... you know, how should I put it......... You guys are exhausting."
Looking like she had a headache, Miss Blanchard pressed a quill pen against her temple and continued.
"Amae-chan."
"Heeere."
"Organizing the rear group and safely guiding the two until regrouping earns high marks. Your follow-up support for Brendan-kun was also precise. You excel in cooperativeness. Your combat capability is sufficiently high-tier as well."
"Thank you very much."
Amae-san expressed her gratitude impassively, wearing her usual slightly sleepy expression.
"Luluck-chan."
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!"
"Transporting the rear group safely using advanced flight magic was just what I'd expect from someone of a witch lineage. We can anticipate steady performance from you. Your offensive capability is also extremely high. Other than that, well... try to make your judgment calls a bit more precise."
"Ohohoho! I am honored!"
"Lastly, Filiestra-chan."
"Yes."
"You gave the impression of always calmly assessing what you could do. Even against the large beast, you fired the necessary spell at the exact right moment. You also seemed to understand that if you went down, there would be no one left to heal the others. You didn't make flashy moves this time, but in the long run, I believe your abilities make you the most valuable asset here."
"Thank you very much."
Filiestra-san bowed respectfully.
Contrary to her lazy appearance, her evaluations of everyone were remarkably thorough. In the first place, monitoring all of us required tremendous mobility. It meant she had to have traversed the same path back and forth multiple times while we were scattered. Or perhaps she could use magic to observe a wide area visually.
Either way, it was skill on par with a high-ranking mage.
"Umm, as you can see from this, classes in the Imperial Archmage Faculty are crazy dangerous. Things like this happen frequently during lessons, and you'll often be exposed to public scrutiny. In emergencies, you might even be tasked with crucial missions, which comes with real responsibility."
While a few wore indifferent expressions, everyone clearly understood that the atmosphere had grown tense with Miss Blanchard's single remark.
"Especially in recent years, with the rise of armed criminal organizations and the like, we're in a situation where we honestly don't know what might happen during your time here. That's why we had you take this test to confirm whether you can keep up with the classes. Please weigh today's events against the highest standard of educational environment and abundant research funds."
A hush fell over the area.
This time, there was no trace of humor in her voice. I felt like this was the first time today I had seen Miss Blanchard look so completely composed, yet thoroughly serious.
"With that in mind, if anyone wishes to transfer to another faculty, please speak up right now. I won't force you. If you want to lead a safe school life, right now is your last chance."
No one opened their mouth.
Mercedes wore a fearless smile, Gerald remained silent with his arms crossed, Garry stood unmoving with a serious gaze, Amae-san had a sleepy look, Luluck beamed brightly, and Filiestra stared quietly forward.
"Nobody, huh? Well, there never is."
At Miss Blanchard's confirmation, it suddenly dawned on me.
"Then, allow me to say it once more."
This, in itself, had been the entrance ceremony for the Imperial Archmage Faculty.
"Welcome to the Magias Imperial Archmage Faculty. I warmly welcome you all on your admission."