[610] The Five Great Prestigious Schools (3)
"Yeah. Hi."
Nade returned the greeting.
This time there was no flinch, but that only seemed to push Sabina away more.
"What happened?"
True to her nature, she asked bluntly. Nade only offered a bitter smile.
He wanted to be honest—he knew Sabina's feelings—but the wound honesty would open would surely become poison in the graduation exam.
"I want you to graduate."
He meant it.
She had been one of the few people who accepted him as he really was.
Realizing Nade's consideration, Sabina turned away sullenly. Pandora, who had been watching, threw out a comment.
"Lucky you. You even have time to worry about boys in a situation like this."
Before the latter half of the senior year began, Pandora had gone to Alones' headquarters, the perfume maker, to learn Mael's secret techniques for scent magic.
Like Pisho of insect magic, it wasn't a discipline that scored well in evaluations, but specialization points after graduation would be high—so her prospects were practically secured.
"Don't get cocky just because you rank high. In society, air mages are a dime a dozen."
Azelio Pandora (final graduating rank: 19th).
Major: Scent Magic, Alones line.
Notes: Mael's handpicked disciple.
The boost from the Scramble Royal that had placed her firmly in Class Two was a psychological relief.
Sabina remembered how she'd hassled Pandora back in the advanced class and stepped forward.
"W-what are you doing?"
Pandora bristled, but Sabina carefully reached out and straightened her crooked lapel.
"Yeah. You've worked hard too. When we're out in the world, let's go shopping together."
When she first transferred to Alpheas School of Magic, she'd been offended at the idea of competing with provincial students. But after a year of the brutal senior-year grind, life at the royal academy felt long gone.
"This is my alma mater now."
Pandora watched Sabina walk away and murmured softly.
"Make sure you pass. You did your best."
No one in the senior class was lazy.
"Heh. She's not a bad kid."
Sabina flashed a playful smile as she left, and the bell tolled five in the morning.
Head teacher Colli arrived at the assembly point leading three huge wagons.
"We'll take the wagons to the Magic Association's Creas branch. Mind your manners inside the wagons, and board quickly—there's no time to waste."
Thirty students split into groups of ten and climbed aboard.
Shirone, Iruki, and Nade took the first wagon; Dorothy sat at the far end.
"Ugh."
When Iruki glanced around, Shirone and Nade slipped into their seats.
Of all people, Dorothy had to be there.
He hadn't heard the details, but Iruki and Dorothy had clearly dated—and split exactly thirteen minutes later.
The reason was simply that they weren't strongly attracted to each other: practical Iruki versus four-dimensional Dorothy, who wanted something beyond the ordinary. A few words were enough to reach the proper compromise.
"You okay?"
Surprisingly, Iruki spoke first.
"Yeah. It was rough, but I'm a bit better now."
"If I hurt you, I'm sorry. But what matters for us is the graduation exam."
"Right. We can get through it. Don't let it weigh on you—focus on the exam."
Nade stared in disbelief.
"...Are you two doing this on purpose right now?"
To him, a thirteen-minute relationship and breakup was absurd, but the two seemed sincere and looked away from each other.
Both Iruki and Dorothy were—unusual.
Taylor Dorothy (final graduating rank: 13th).
Major: Jonar manipulation line.
Notes: Uses the mental-sharing system Mimesis. Unique input pattern for manipulation, maximizing versatility.
If the mood in the first wagon was awkward, the atmosphere in the third wagon was taut enough to snap with murderous intent.
At one end, Fermi sat reading a book; at the opposite end, Laiken—the Electric Monster—was baiting him.
After being betrayed by Istas's upper ranks, Laiken had killed the child Yolga had been trying to protect, and Fermi had pursued him until the upper ranks vanished.
Fermi had been gravely injured at the time, so no large confrontation occurred—but even if they had clashed, Fermi would have been the one to die.
"Hey, Fermi."
Fermi looked up.
"Do you know why I didn't kill you back then?"
Fermi raised one corner of his mouth as if amused.
"Because you can always die in the graduation exam. You know that, right? No one's held responsible for deaths that happen during the graduation exam."
They were on their way to the Magic Association to sign precisely that acknowledgement.
"In short, you're already as good as dead. So close the book and pray, maybe? You don't have much life left."
Gunjo Laiken (final graduating rank: 3rd).
Major: Electric magic, shock line.
Notes: Son of Gunjo Vedium, the Black Line's deadliest hitman. Master-level movement technique: Spark magic.
Fermi closed his book.
"Laiken, do you love me?"
"What are you talking about?"
Laiken's face twisted fiercely.
"Hate and love have similarities. Both throw all their feelings into something. I started to feel disgusted by hating you."
"...."
"So I thought. What's the greatest revenge I can do to someone I hate? Erase them. Not pretend indifference—actually erase them. Just as hate and love resemble each other, revenge and forgiveness seem to share traits. So I—"
Fermi opened his book again and looked away.
"I don't care what you do."
"You bastard...!"
Laiken sprang up, and Hershi reached out to hold him back.
"Hold it. This is psychological warfare too."
Was it really?
He couldn't say for sure, but because it was Fermi, confusion spread.
"Don't be swayed. If you get drawn into his words, it's over."
Hershi thought.
"The Golden Wheel is disbanded and there's no more collusion. Now we have to focus on taking down Fermi."
He intended to become the next Fermi.
"From now on, I'll control the graduation exam."
Mayer Hershi (final graduating rank: 23rd).
Major: Sound magic, sonar line.
Notes: Superhuman hearing that can detect a creature's heartbeat.
Putting their private affairs aside, the three wagons reached the Magic Association's Creas branch.
They disembarked into a sky just pale with dawn.
"Welcome. This way, please."
An association clerk who'd been waiting led Colli onward.
They marched in two columns down to the fifth basement level, where Oscar stood by an iron door before a teleportation magic circle.
"Before using the teleportation magic circle, I'll give you some precautions."
He would one day be the association head's son-in-law, but the junior staff still handled the early-morning shifts.
"First, the coordinates we'll transfer to are a secure area four kilometers from the capital..."
Nade tuned out Oscar's briefing.
They'd locked eyes briefly when they'd first met here, but keeping it unspoken was better for both.
"He must be unsettled."
Shirone glanced at Nade with concern, but Nade's face betrayed nothing.
"Have a good trip."
Oscar opened the iron door to reveal a massive magic circle—one hundred meters across.
As a military facility, the scale alone hinted at astronomical funding.
"Impressive. An entire company could be transferred at once."
If Dante, the information magic expert, said it, it was probably true.
The circle brightened steadily, and after about five minutes a blinding white light filled everything so completely you couldn't even make out the face of the person next to you.
"Do not move."
With Colli's final warning, the light flashed like an explosion and the entire senior class vanished.
* * *
Krata, Tormia Royal Castle.
The castle, home to hundreds of thousands, was a city in itself. At the western outer gate, the armory bustled with both official and unofficial weapons production.
Liz, manager of the armory's magical component supplies, checked parts lists as she walked the warehouse.
A day like any other.
But the companion who had promised her a future was no longer there.
"Manager. Manager."
A craftsman who'd worked at the armory for thirty years called to Liz.
"Yes? Oh—yes."
"What are you staring off about?"
"Oh, sorry. I just drifted off..."
"No, I'm worried. Did something happen on your break?"
Liz answered honestly.
"My fiancé stood me up."
The wound was at least beginning to scab over.
"Oh my... what a scoundrel."
"He isn't that bad really—"
"No, it's not his personality, it's his eyes. How could he dump someone as beautiful as you? He'll regret it."
The craftsman's wit lifted Liz's spirits a little.
"Go in and rest. The supplier won't come today. I'll handle the warehouse."
"Oh? Why?"
"The square's closed off so they can't transport. Looks like the Magic Association has an event. Some kind of Five Prestigious Schools parade."
The Five Prestigious Schools.
Alpheas School of Magic would be included, then.
"Nade will be there, too."
She'd felt uneasy since the day she'd said harsh things and walked away.
Really, she wanted to see him.
"But what could I do now... I'd just look like some strange woman."
The craftsman watched Liz fidget like a puppy and, from experience, knew what to say in a moment like this.
"Do what you want. I don't know your story, but—"
"Huh?"
"At this age you learn things. It's better to try and regret than never try and regret."
Oddly, the words struck a chord with Liz.
* * *
Alog Central Square.
With Bashka's core institutions concentrated there, the square was enormous, and the eight-lane roads radiating out were all sealed off—causing no small amount of grumbling among citizens and merchants.
Their complaints didn't spiral out of control because, behind it all, they took pride in the kingdom's magical power.
The six-meter platform in the center was carved from a single block of artificial ivory—so intricate and beautiful it felt a shame to discard after a few hours' use.
While the Royal Palace Guard controlled the crowd along the square's perimeter, carriages from across the kingdom began arriving.
As the military band's drumline heightened the tension with a fast beat, the chorus cried out.
"Oris School of Magic!"
Three carriages halted on Road 6 in the central square and thirty seniors in black suits disembarked.
"Kai Night School of Magic!"
"Vermin School of Magic!"
As students gathered toward the barricades, Alpheas School of Magic's carriage stopped on Road 3.
"Alpheas School of Magic!"
"We're here. Let's get off."
The students, who had watched the crowd on the way, looked a little nervous.
"Waaaaaah!"
The cheers that greeted them as they set foot on the ground made their hearts swell.
"This is the place..."
This was one of the kingdom's core centers of magic.
The longing and awe of the crowd—things they hadn't felt at school—seemed to pierce their skin.
"Are they really all mages? They're so young."
"They're about to become mages. I heard only the kingdom's best students were invited."
The students assembled here would one day become mages and enter every field—economics, society, the military, politics, the arts, science—and lead the Tormia Kingdom.
"My heart... feels like it's going to burst."
In the eyes of the people watching future leaders, Mark trembled.
Having only ever mingled with other aspiring mages, the taste of society's gaze drew out a passion he hadn't known he had.
"Clever move, this association president."
Colli nodded, feeling the square's mood.
It was Lupist's plan, and it had worked: imprint the Association's image on elite future staff internally, while externally asserting the Association's primacy in the kingdom.