Today was the day the Mage Examination results were announced.
Just like during the Knight Examination, the venue was taut with the anticipation and anxiety of examinees waiting to learn their fate. For some reason, though, quite a few gazes in the crowd seemed directed straight at me...
"Ah, Leon-san!"
Silver hair swaying as she ran over, Char greeted me with a delighted smile.
"Char. Long time no see."
"Yes. It has been a while, Leon-san."
"The results are finally going up. Still, I've been feeling an unusual number of stares since earlier..."
"That is because rumors about you have been spreading, Leon-san."
"...Rumors?"
I tilted my head, puzzled.
"After all, you completely overwhelmed and defeated this genius right here. Even if I say so myself, I am the daughter of a Mage Duke and a genius mage hailed as a once-in-a-century prodigy, you know? You achieved a total victory against someone like me. It would be impossible for rumors not to spread. Your name has already begun circulating throughout the magical world, Leon-san."
I had sensed an air of refined dignity in her demeanor similar to Leticia's, but as expected, Char really was the daughter of a ducal house.
Even so, to think my name had already begun spreading across the magical world... Had I done something far more outrageous than I'd realized...?
Belatedly, an uneasy feeling began to stir deep in my chest.
"—Were you just thinking about another woman?"
"Huh? N-No, of course not!"
"Fufu. Is that so?"
"Yeah..."
She's terrifying! What kind of intuition is that?!
I had thought Char was a soft-spoken, gentle person, but there was something chilling about her eyes...
"Regardless, the way you were back then was truly... Ah, just thinking back on it makes me swoon."
Char's pale blue eyes melted with heat, and a faint flush rose to her fair cheeks. It was an enraptured expression, as if she were savoring a sweet memory all over again.
"Just how beautiful, how magnificent that magic was! Ah—my heart races just remembering it. The layered spell formulas had not a single flaw, and the five fireballs danced through the air as though possessing a will of their own... Precise, elegant, and utterly overwhelming. That was nothing short of a work of art! I have never seen magic as beautiful as yours, Leon-san!"
"I-Is that so?"
Char's eyes shone with a brilliant, intense gleam.
"Yes! I had always been alone... 'A solitary genius' sounds nice, but in reality, it simply meant no one could understand me, and no one could ever keep up with me. No matter how much I honed my magic, the thirst in my heart was never satisfied."
Clasping her hands over her chest, Char spoke as though gripped by a fever.
"However, the moment I laid eyes on your magic, everything changed. For the first time, I encountered something beyond my comprehension. I want to see more, I want to know more, and someday, I want to catch up—the moment I thought that, the thirst and loneliness that had tormented me for so long vanished into thin air."
Her pale blue eyes stared straight into mine.
"I was frightened. It was terrifying. It was the first time I had ever trembled to the depths of my soul upon witnessing someone else's talent. But every time that terror sent shivers racing up my spine, my heart pounded uncontrollably... and I truly felt that I was alive. If I can be by your side, Leon-san, I am certain I will be able to—"
"..."
Confronted by Char's flushed cheeks and feverish gaze, I was completely at a loss for words.
U-Ugh...
No, but I really have to tell her...
"Char."
"Yes. What is it?"
"I'm not going to join the Mage Order. So I can't stay by your side."
"Eh—"
In an instant, the joy drained from Char's face. Her eyes went wide, and the color rapidly receded from her pale cheeks.
"T-That can't be... Why?"
Letting out a faint, trembling whisper, Char closed the distance between us. Then, with shaking hands, she tightly gripped my sleeve.
"No... I finally found someone. Someone walking far ahead of me. Someone who could make me forget my loneliness. And yet, you are saying we already have to part ways...?"
Her tearful eyes looked up at me imploringly.
"Please, Leon-san. Reconsider this...!"
"—I'm sorry. I want to become an adventurer. Rigid organizations don't suit my personality, and living freely is a much better fit for me."
"In that case, I will become an adventurer as well!"
"No, you have your family's circumstances, so you have to join the Mage Order, right? I don't really understand how nobility works, but as the daughter of a ducal house, you can't just decide your own path purely on a whim, can you?"
"T-That is..."
Char dejectedly lowered her head.
There was nothing that could be done about it.
I was an orphan raised in the countryside, while she was the daughter of a ducal house. From the very beginning, the paths we walked were entirely different.
"Leon-san..."
Eventually, Char gently lifted her face.
Her moist, pale eyes looked at me as if pleading. Her fair cheeks were faintly flushed, and the fingertips she held clasped in front of her chest in prayer trembled slightly. Perhaps because of that posture, her ample bust seemed strangely accentuated.
"Won't you join the Mage Order together with me...?"
Faced with such an utterly adorable plea, I caught my breath in spite of myself. If asked with a face like that, anyone would nod in agreement. Even so, this was the one thing I couldn't compromise on.
"...I'm sorry, Char. I want to become an adventurer."
When I somehow managed to squeeze those words out, Char looked down once more.
"...I see."
"Yeah."
"...Tch."
Hm? Just now, she clearly...
"Did you just click your tongue—"
"I did no such thing, you know?"
"No, but—"
"I did no such thing. After all, I am a lady."
"A-Ah... I see."
She smiled sweetly, but her eyes carried an overwhelming pressure that brooked no argument.
Before I realized it, the examinee numbers of the passing applicants had been posted across the board all at once. As the crowd surged forward, we made our way over as well. This time too, my number was at the top left—the position reserved for the top scorer.
"...As expected, you passed at the very top, Leon-san. Congratulations."
"Thanks. You passed too, right, Char?"
"Yes. However, for the first time in my life, I missed the top spot."
Even as she said that, Char looked somehow pleased.
"How strange. I should be frustrated, yet I feel far happier than that. After all, I have finally found someone I truly want to pursue."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Yes! Even if our paths diverge, I will still drop by the Adventurer Guild from time to time. I will definitely come see you, Leon-san. Fufu."
Looking at Char smiling happily, Leticia's words flashed through my mind. She had mentioned that she would occasionally drop by the Adventurer Guild, too.
...This is bad.
I have to prevent those two from running into each other at all costs.
If they start talking about where they met me, the Knight Examination and the Mage Examination will connect. I absolutely could not let anyone discover that I held national licenses as both a knight and a mage.
"Y-You don't really have to go that far, do you? You're going to be busy from now on anyway, Char."
"...Sniff, sniff."
"Eh?"
Char leaned in until our noses were practically touching and sniffed my chest.
"W-What are you doing?"
"You smell like another woman, Leon-san..."
Char slowly raised her head.
Even though a smile played on her lips, every trace of light had completely vanished from her eyes.
"I think you're just imagining things...?"
"...Is that so."
Leaving behind those strangely loaded words, Char finally stepped away from me.
"Well then, I shall be taking my leave."
"A-Ah, yeah..."
"Leon-san."
Just as she turned on her heel, Char suddenly paused.
Looking back over her shoulder, her face bore her usual lovely smile.
"We will definitely meet again, won't we?"
"Yeah. See you, Char."
"Yes!"
Silver hair swaying behind her, Char melted into the crowd with light, brisk footsteps. Watching her back disappear, I let out a deep sigh.
Yeah... this is seriously bad.
I must never let Leticia and Char find out that I hold two national licenses. Well, I'll probably manage somehow. Concealing my face during quests or something—there are plenty of ways to handle it.
At the time, I was thinking optimistically.
However, just how naive that assumption was, was something I would learn the hard way before long.