[619] The Day of Decisive Battle (3)
"How obnoxious."
While everyone else was mesmerized by Arganes, only one woman voiced her displeasure.
Teria, Neid's mother.
"What gives her the right to laugh like that? She married well and lives off her husband's fortune—who does she think she is?"
Her ineffectual husband, Borum, tried to hush her.
"Stop it. Other nobles can hear you."
"Why? Aren't you ashamed? Ugh, what sin did I commit in my past life to end up like this? That woman is practically swimming in money."
Borum's face reddened.
"Behave yourself today. Neid is taking the exam."
"If only my child were talented, we wouldn't be in this mess. And how expensive is the school? If she fails today, I'll put her in some factory…"
"Enough!"
Borum, having reached his limit, shouted. The surrounding nobles glanced over, but Teria—venom through and through—didn't even blink.
"What are you so proud of? Do you think there isn't a man here who earns less than you? If you're going to brag, at least bring home a single coin you've actually earned!"
Borum fell silent.
Whatever he said, nothing good would come from Teria.
"Oh my, looks like a quarrel over there."
Isis, Amy's mother, linked arms with her husband Shakora and said, "They're bound to be sensitive. It's their child's exam day. Just ignore them."
Isis felt tension in her husband's voice.
"Are you all right? You look tense. Worried Amy might fail?"
"If she fails, she fails. Her ability is what it is. I'm just worried—she's the one who'll suffer the most."
The Karmis family's scarlet eyes were a unique talent many envied, but in a situation like this it only seemed to heap unnecessary pressure on his daughter, and it made him uneasy.
"Long time no see, Shakora."
Albino, Iruki's father, approached accompanied by Arganes.
"Yes. How have you been?"
Shakora bowed politely, and Albino turned to Arganes.
"Allow me to introduce—this is Mr. Shakora of the Karmis family, and his wife, Isis."
Arganes dipped his knee with a practiced smile.
"I've heard of your fame. I'm Arganes."
"Hohoho! Of course we know you. You're the most famous actor in the world. Please give me an autograph later!"
Shakora, embarrassed, cleared his throat.
"Sorry. My wife's personality is rather lively."
"Oh no, not at all. I'm a fan too, Ms. Isis. I was so sad when you retired so early."
Albino steered the conversation.
"How is Amy? Does she seem prepared?"
"From what I observed over the break, she's reached the level she aimed for. But results are another matter."
"Haha, modesty becomes you. She is Karmis, after all."
"And Iruki? I hear he's quite promising."
"That one's hopeless. He'll probably exhaust himself doing foolish things and collapse. I came from the capital ready to tease him if he fails."
Arganes puffed his cheeks.
"What do you mean about my son? If he'd at least inherited my looks, he'd be the greatest man alive. The Merkodain bloodline is just too strong."
No one who met Iruki would think of Arganes.
"By the way…"
Albino scanned the crowd.
"Have Shirone's parents arrived yet?"
"Oh, you know Shirone."
"Of course. The only time Iruki speaks to me is when he talks about Shirone. It made me rethink my son's tastes."
"Ah, that's not it. It's a bit awkward to say, but I think my daughter has been watching Shirone."
"My dear, don't spread things you aren't sure of…"
"Hoho, that only makes me more curious. Who is the boy who stole the heart of the youngest Miss of the Karmis family?"
Shakora turned his gaze toward the Ozent family.
"Shirone is a commoner on patronage, I hear. That woman over there is Reyna, the third daughter of the Ozent family."
The four of them spotted Reyna, but they couldn't find anyone who looked like Shirone's parents.
"Oh my! Why are they so late?"
Reyna, stamping her foot in impatience while checking the time, looked up as the Ozent carriage arrived from afar.
When the butler Temuran opened the door, Vincent and Olina stepped out, pale at the sight of the noble crowd. Reyna hurried to meet them.
"Welcome, Father. Thank goodness you're not late."
"Thank you for inviting us. But is it really appropriate for us to be here…?"
"What do you mean? Shirone is taking the graduation exam—you must be here. The participants will be entering soon."
A drowsy voice called from the carriage.
"Oh? We're here already."
Reyna narrowed her eyes and shouted, "Hey! When did you last go fetch our parents and show up like this? You almost made us miss Shirone!"
"The important thing is we're on time. Anyway, spare me the nagging…"
Rian stepped down, a greatsword strapped to his back.
Blue hair, eyes as sharp as blades, a perfectly honed body—just seeing him radiated an overwhelming presence.
'Shirone…'
Rian glanced up at the top of the Colosseum where Shirone's future would be decided.
'He really did it.'
A thrill ran through him—the impossible outcome he'd sworn about when he took his knight's oath had become reality.
"Huh? That young man with the greatsword—isn't he from the Ozent family? Looks like their youngest son, Rian, is here."
"He's called the Mach swordsman. He's getting a lot of attention among swordsmen."
When the nobles recognized Rian, Reyna subtly withdrew the finger she'd been wagging.
"So someone noticed you. You worked hard, huh?"
When she first said she was sending him off to be a squire, it had really felt like sending a younger brother away.
"I don't care about reputation. If it weren't for Shirone's graduation exam, I wouldn't have come home."
"Oh, my! You get spoiled and then you look down on the family!"
Reyna kicked Rian in the thigh, but it was like kicking a stone.
"Ow! Are you wearing armor under your pants?"
Rian looked at her with mild contempt.
"When will you grow up? Tone it down, or who will take you along with that attitude?"
Tears pricked Reyna's eyes as she rubbed her foot.
'Now he wants to beat me with strength. So unfair.'
The days of tugging his little ear and bossing him around felt over.
"So you'll leave again after the graduation?"
"I have to. My life starts now."
"You're very busy. Where will you go this time?"
"Of course…"
Rian glanced toward the school and smiled.
"Where Shirone goes."
* * *
A loud bell echoed down the dormitory corridor.
"The graduation exam is about to begin. Participants, please proceed to the Colosseum."
Huuuu!
Shirone, sitting cross-legged, snapped his eyes open.
He had stayed up all night, but his mind was the clearest it had been all year.
Both consciously and unconsciously he'd been preparing for this day; his resolve had peaked.
'It's starting!'
Shirone sprang up as if he would never return and strode into the corridor.
He was that resolute.
Students poured out from every direction at the same time.
Iruki and Neid passed by and nodded to Shirone.
Friends he wouldn't trade the world for—but for now, no chatting.
"Here come the graduating seniors!"
Parents eager to bask in their children's glory swarmed the Colosseum.
"Mother, Shirone is over there."
"Sniffle!"
Olina burst into tears at the sight of her son, leaving Reyna even more flustered.
"Mother, why are you crying? The exam hasn't even started."
"I don't know… it's just tears…"
It was a feeling too complex to explain.
"Try to hold them a bit longer. Shirone can't lose heart."
Olina hurriedly wiped her eyes and pressed her lips together.
'Mother. Father.'
Shirone looked toward the south gate where his family waited.
'Reyna, and…'
There stood Rian, reliably guarding them.
'You're back.'
With a mind free of distractions, Shirone performed only factual assessments.
He turned his face coldly and entered the Colosseum; Rian lifted one corner of his mouth.
"You're well prepared."
Reyna felt the same.
When Shirone had been humiliated in the Kazra Kingdom he had seemed childish, but the look he'd just given was no different from the formal, professional gaze of mages she met in society.
"Parents attending the viewing, please enter through the east gate! Advanced-class students, use the west gate!"
Following the usher's instruction, the crowd in front of the Colosseum flooded inside in an instant.
Participants who reached the waiting room eased their tension in their own ways; not a word was spoken.
"Huuuuu."
Shirone fastened the bracelet No. 2000 the staff had given him, took a deep breath, and waited for the signal.
"It's been a while since I've used No. 2000."
The large Colosseum, built to Red Line standards, had state-of-the-art No. 2000 devices installed with a 100 percent sync rate.
The magic power coefficient delivered a precise mental shock—no different from real combat.
They used the No. 2000 system because it let them quantify participants' states, minimized physical injury when deadly magic was exchanged, and, above all, ensured spectator safety.
"You will enter the Colosseum in ten minutes."
At the usher's words, an unfamiliar kind of excitement churned in Shirone's gut.
Ten minutes passed at the fastest speed of his life, and the gate to the Colosseum opened.
'Let's go.'
Shirone, number 27, was toward the back of the line, but the roar that greeted the lead made it feel like another world.
"Everyone give them a round of applause! These are the proud students of Alpheas School of Magic!"
Waaaaa!
It was like a rainstorm of sound.
Under the sun the air shimmered gold, and the countless figures in the stands blurred into one mass.
"All rise!"
As the students lined up, Principal Alpheas mounted the podium.
"I salute all of you who have reached this point."
While the opening remarks continued, Shirone scanned the audience.
Advanced students and parents sat on one side; teachers on the opposite; scouts from across the world occupied an isolated VIP section.
'So this is the graduation exam.'
The six evaluated disciplines were one-on-one combat, special move, high-ground capture, magic-power management, tactics and strategy, and extreme endurance survival—special move and magic-power management being non-combat, the other four combat.
The four-to-two split showed the Red Line placed slightly more weight on combat ability when evaluating mages.
After Olivia finished her explanation, the final event—the oath—began.
"One! We are children of reason! One! We do not give up under any circumstance!"
Caught up in the peak of excitement, Shirone couldn't even hear his own voice.
"Finally! Finally!"
Memories from the time he scaled the Alpheas school wall at twelve down to today flashed before him.
"From now, the graduation exam will begin!"
Thirty students took positions along the inner wall of the Colosseum at fifteen-meter intervals.
A gigantic hologram that covered the sky engraved the six disciplines on a roulette, and the central spinner began to whirl.
The moment a discipline was chosen, the No. 2000 would activate. Shirone, at the fastest speed he'd ever managed, opened his sequence and prepared to enter the Spirit Zone.
"One-on-one combat. Special move. High-ground capture…"
He tracked the disciplines with his eyes until the pointer finally stopped.
"Waaaaaa!"
The roar shook the Colosseum, and as if a switch had been flipped, every participant's eyes—Shirone's included—burned with the look of predators.
'It's begun!'
Alpheas School of Magic graduation exam, first evaluation item.
Extreme Endurance Survival (Enemy Annihilation).