To Lain Florencia, who believed herself to be more brilliant than any other without any doubt, Ririi Freinberg was a thorn in her side.
She would not forget. Ever since Ririi destroyed that coral crystal, her name became synonymous with magic in the eyes of her class.
Lain wanted that position more than she could bear, and it severely irritated her how Ririi herself seemed to not be thankful for it at all.
Slowly, her mind became consumed with thoughts about how to get back at her, and ironically, that led to a drastic improvement in her magic skills.
She even figured she could have destroyed the coral crystal too at this point, and snuck into the training room (although she was not at her best that particular day and failed to break it).
And so, Lain continued to mutter and be annoyed day after day, until the day she was waiting for finally came.
◆
“All right, next week we are going to do the practical test that will decide your grades for the first semester. We are going to the forest again.”
Esmeralda’s words roused the classroom, as they had homeroom in the morning.
“Uoooooooooh!”
“Yes! We’re going outside the capital!”
“Miss Esmeralda, can we take Bouncy?”
The playful first year class celebrated as though they were planning a picnic. Did they not hear the word test? Did they not understand the meaning of the word? Did they simply not care?
In the rowdy classroom, one person, Lain, closed her eyes and nodded slightly.
(The time has finally come… The time to defeat Ririi and make everyone acknowledge me.)
She slept only the bare minimum, and read as many magic books as time permitted.
About two months had passed since that humiliating day, and Lain felt pride in the fact that she worked as hard as she could.
If she were to lose to Ririi again, all the confidence and pride she had built up inside her would come crashing down.
(Practical test… Probably against slime. I’m pretty sure that’s all that forest has. I need to look up what kind of magic they’re weak against when I get home.)
Lain immediately started to work out a plan to face the test. Slime were not something she would have to worry about at this point, but there was a chance that the rug could be pulled out from under her, depending on how exactly that test would be executed.
That care to be able to overcome any possibility was a quality more important than any other in battle.
Lain was convinced that were this an actual battle with lives on the line and not practice, she would definitely be standing tall at the end.
“Now now, I am not done talking. I need to explain the test.”
Esmeralda stood up, and wrote the rules of the test on the blackboard.
Test matter: Slime hunting
Grading method: Number and kind
(Hum… Is it just about how many slime we can take down? Aren’t they all the same?)
Lain’s chest filled with confidence, as the test was exactly what she expected. There was no doubt she would stand at the top.
…However…
Format: Competition between teams of two
(Teams of two…? But I can win on my own…)
Lain glared at the blackboard and Esmeralda with a bitter expression on her face.
To Lain, who thought no one in her class could match her brilliance, teaming up with someone else could only mean dragging her down.
But then… Esmeralda said something that would disappoint her even further.
“As for the teams… You can team with the person sitting next to you.”
(You’re joking!?)
Lain reflexively turned to the side.
There, sat the person she wanted to defeat the most, Ririi Freinberg.
She was not listening to Esmeralda at all, instead feeding berries to her pet Bouncy.
“…Hn?”
Ririi felt eyes on her and raised her head. She looked around… And noticed Lain looking at her.
Her first thought was that Lain wanted to feed Bouncy too, so she brought it out from the desk. It stretched, and settled in Ririi’s hands.
“Wanna touch it too, Lain?”
“No thanks!”
Lain took Ririi’s lack of concern to mean she was putting on airs and showing she did not care about tests, and looked away after responding with a rough tone.
At this point, everything Ririi did rubbed her the wrong way.
“Ah. Lain’s looking forward to the test!”
“…”
Ririi smiled broadly. She had no idea the person she was speaking to would be her partner on said test.
(…What is it with this baby…!?)
Lain felt negative emotions swirling inside her, like wondering if Ririi saw her as an opponent at all.
That doubt would grow into a big flame… That would burn Lain in the near future.
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