Class Placement Test (4)
Clang, KABOOM!
An earsplitting roar ripped through the air.
Fragments of the sword, fluttering like a butterfly one moment, transformed into a raging storm the next.
I muttered under my breath.
"Well, I didn't see that coming."
Standing before the surging wave of steel was a girl with platinum blonde hair.
Charlotte stood frozen in place, seemingly dazed.
Had she lost control so suddenly?
She reached out as if to regain her composure, but it was already too late.
Clang, clang, clang!
And so, the girl chose to shoulder the burden alone.
To protect others from harm.
A shower of swirling flower petals.
Charlotte simply braced for impact.
'…Did she twist the flow like that, pushing herself to her limits, just to protect me?'
To think she'd deflect the attack in such a way.
My plan to lose spectacularly had been foiled.
She was truly an enigma.
One moment she's relentlessly attacking, the next she's risking it all to protect me.
As expected of the unpredictable, four-dimensional girl.
Well… that unpredictability was part of her charm.
'What should I do?'
If I leave her be, she'll be injured.
Even Charlotte was still just a young girl.
This early in the original story, her powers were unstable, and she couldn't fully control her own strength.
A genius still in bloom.
If the attack landed, it would be a minor injury at best.
At worst, she might even end up in the infirmary.
Of course, the priests were always on standby, so she'd heal immediately… but the thought of my favorite character getting hurt didn't sit well with me.
'Damn it.'
But I hesitated to help her directly.
What I stood to lose was too great.
I'd been living as an invisible extra. [T/N: Yeah we all know how invisible you were…]
I'd been hiding my strength, playing the role of the weak. If I suddenly revealed my true capabilities to save Charlotte, everyone would be suspicious.
The students couldn't see through the barrier.
But the faculty were different.
They were watching everything unfold.
For a moment, I considered using the remaining power of my magical tool to completely obscure the view, but it was beyond my current output.
I had to make a choice.
Save Charlotte for a moment's satisfaction.
Or leave her to get hurt for the sake of my future stability.
'What to do…'
In a fleeting moment, less than five seconds…
Countless thoughts raced through my mind.
As I stood paralyzed, unable to make a rash decision… I was pushed forward by a single phrase.
"…That's going to hurt."
A simple murmur, devoid of any tremor.
The platinum-haired girl, who had been standing calmly, closed her eyelids. As if drifting off to a peaceful sleep.
I let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha."
Seeing her like that, how could I not help her?
This had been a foolish dilemma from the start.
Hadn't I entered the academy to watch over these children?
I wanted to be their supporter, their ally, and here I was, trying to shirk my responsibility.
"I need to reevaluate my priorities."
Snap!
I snapped my fingers.
Following the crisp sound, my vision blinked.
The next moment.
I was standing behind Charlotte.
She stood there, seemingly without a thought of defending herself.
"Excuse me for a moment."
I gently wrapped my arms around her.
Pulling her slender form into my embrace, I gathered 'Lies' in my other hand.
Shhhhwooom!
The air around us was torn apart by the sound.
I pointed my finger, imbued with just the right amount of force, towards the approaching tsunami of blades.
A fleeting smile touched my lips.
Let my words be veiled in darkness.
Let my actions be bathed in light.
The world's youngest undertaker.
I am the agent of the stars, a tooth caught in the gears of fate.
"Shatter."
I whispered.
And then.
KABOOM!
The cascading shards of steel shattered into a million pieces.
Like a dam bursting under immense pressure, the surrounding scenery fractured and crumbled.
The sturdy barrier gave way.
The ash-grey garden dissolved into dust.
It was a scene that resembled a beautiful, nonexistent destruction.
'Did I overdo it a bit?'
I brushed off the thought with feigned composure.
I tried to control my strength, but with the barrier already unstable, it seemed it couldn't withstand the backlash and shattered along with the attack.
"Whew."
As I took a moment to catch my breath, I felt a stirring in my arms.
The platinum-blonde girl, still nestled against me.
Her clear blue eyes gazed up at me.
A look of utter bewilderment.
"······?"
"Are you alright?"
I asked softly, checking her for any injuries.
Thankfully, she seemed unharmed.
A sigh of relief escaped me.
Charlotte still seemed disoriented, as if struggling to grasp the situation.
She simply stared blankly. I decided to tease her a little, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Well, well… I suppose you owe me one now?"
"······."
"Hehehe."
A playful grin spread across my face.
I held Charlotte close until the last vestiges of the barrier crumbled away.
***
"I forfeit."
With Charlotte's declaration, the match came to an end.
Perhaps still feeling the aftereffects of the mental manipulation, she swayed slightly on her feet.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
-What? She forfeited out of nowhere?
-Does that mean the phony actually won?
-No way.
-Her Highness had the upper hand… What in the world happened inside the barrier?
-I can't believe Her Highness lost to that incompetent…
The students hadn't seen what transpired within the barrier.
All they remembered was me struggling to keep up before Charlotte deployed her domain.
Their bewildered reactions were only natural.
I had anticipated a crushing defeat.
Yet, the outcome was the complete opposite.
No wonder they were showering me with questions.
-How did he do it?
-Honestly, his swordsmanship wasn't bad at all. He seemed quite skilled…
-But still, to defeat Her Highness?
-Do you think Her Highness went easy on him?
Ignoring the students' confused chatter…
I focused on the girl standing before me.
"······."
"······."
Charlotte stared back at me.
Silence stretched between us, unbroken by words.
It was Charlotte who finally spoke.
"I knew it. It's you."
She muttered, her voice laced with certainty.
Lost in thought for a moment, she lifted her gaze to meet mine once more.
"Hey."
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"Why did you save me? You could have just let it be."
"Well…"
I shrugged nonchalantly.
I pretended to ponder her question, though I already had a clear answer.
I reached out and poked her cheek with my finger.
Her skin was soft to the touch.
Charlotte tilted her head in confusion.
"······?"
Her eyes were so innocent and pure.
Her clear pupils reflected my own image.
A soft smile tugged at my lips.
"I simply… didn't want to see you get hurt."
This time, there was no falsehood in my words. It was the honest truth.
"Does that answer your question?"
"I don't know."
"That's unfortunate."
"Yeah."
Her voice was curt and emotionless.
Yet, even her bluntness brought me joy.
My smile widened, tinged with my usual unsettling aura.
My unique trait was such a nuisance sometimes. It made it difficult to express genuine happiness…
As I sighed internally, lamenting my predicament…
"Your smile is pretty."
An unexpected compliment reached my ears.
The speaker was none other than the Little Prince.
Taken aback by her words, I stammered, my mind swarming with question marks.
"······Are you referring to me, Your Highness?"
"Yes."
"What part of it?"
"It's a pure color. That's why it's pretty."
Pure color? What did that even mean?
As I stared at her with a puzzled expression, a faint smile graced her lips.
"I think I'll keep an eye on you."
"Hmm?"
"I don't know if you're a good person or a bad person yet. So, yeah. I'm going to observe you."
"You're reserving judgment, then?"
"Something like that."
This was rather unexpected.
I had assumed she'd be wary of me, especially after witnessing my unsettling power.
Instead, Charlotte seemed intrigued.
Was she eccentric? Or simply innocent?
I couldn't say for sure, but… her reaction was characteristic of the 'Little Prince' I remembered.
"Are you a bad person?"
"What do you think?"
"I don't know."
"Your Highness has kept a mysterious insight. Probably nine out of ten people would have said I'm a bad person."
"Just because it's one out of ten doesn't mean it's always wrong."
"You are absolutely right."
As we exchanged these simple words, an announcement echoed through the arena, signaling the end of the exam.
《The seventh exam has now concluded.》
《Students are to follow the instructions of the faculty and exit the arena.》
"It seems this is where we part ways."
"Yeah."
"Until next time."
"See you."
We turned away from each other, each retracing our steps towards our respective entrances, as if our brief exchange had never happened.
《Charlotte de Little von Staufen has forfeited. The winner is Judas Snakus.》
And so, the fourth part of the class placement exams came to an end.
***
Meanwhile, in the faculty waiting room…
The spacious room was filled with instructors and staff, all gathered for the evaluation of the class placement exams.
Despite the importance of this event, a palpable air of commotion filled the room.
"What in the world did I just see?"
"Rewind that footage! There must be some kind of error!"
"······Unbelievable."
"That level of magic… from a student?"
The professors stared at the screens, their faces etched with astonishment.
The magical devices replayed a scene from the seventh exam on a loop.
《Shatter.》
A boy with half-lidded eyes muttered an incantation.
In the next instant, the sturdy steel garden was reduced to rubble.
As they witnessed the barrier crumble so effortlessly, the professors couldn't help but gasp in shock.
"What… in the world was that?"
One professor whispered, his voice laced with disbelief.
The faculty members stared at the screen, their eyes fixated on the blonde-haired boy with the unsettling smile.
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