[316] One Third (2)
Shirone recounted what had happened in Kazra.
He left out the part about Armin at Amy's request, but even so there was far too much to tell. He'd argued with a king, become friends with Wuorin, the empress's daughter, fought high-ranking officials of the magic department, and demonstrated Ataraxia in front of the highest nobles.
His friends listened with slack jaws. It was a scale so absurd it was hard to believe an eighteen-year-old had gone through it all. He had been to the royal palace.
"So you got stabbed? You really almost died."
Shirone lifted his garment to show the wound. The stitched scar was clear.
Iruki asked, worried, "Is your head okay? That must have been quite a shock."
"Fortunately, a few days' rest helped a lot. My stomach still aches, though. Oh, and I brought the artifact. Come to my room later. I'll show you."
"Whoa! Seriously? Weapons are banned on campus. You, getting stabbed and all, got super brave, huh?"
Shirone waved a tired hand. "No — I didn't want to, but there were circumstances."
Armand, whose pride had been wounded by being shoved into a corner, harassed Shirone every night with psychic waves. With Shirone needing all the rest he could get, he had no choice but to promise to bring the artifact along. Like most magic swords, Armand's temperament seemed rather finicky.
"Then let's go see it now. I want to see it right away! Diamond Armor! Precision control!" Armand's admirer crowed.
"Later. I have somewhere to go now."
"Huh? Where are you going?" Iruki poked Nade in the side. "It's the graduation exam. You've gotta spend the last night with your lover."
Shirone shook his head firmly. "No. Amy came all the way to Kazra to help me. I want to go and cheer her on in person."
"Of course you do. Anyway, hurry. The steel gate closes at sunset. Tell her I said good luck."
Shirone checked the time and flinched. "Oh? Has it gotten that late already? I'll be right back. See you later."
Leaving the training ground, Shirone headed for the graduating class building.
He hadn't searched for Amy right away because echoes of the incarnations were still drifting beyond the veil of his consciousness. Among them, a scene in which he confessed jealousy toward Amy would ambush his mind and make him want to crawl into a hole.
If he'd tried to talk right after the incident, this awkwardness wouldn't exist, but circumstances didn't allow it. After collapsing like he'd fainted on the carriage, Shirone had been taken home, while Amy returned to school to prepare for the graduation exam without a moment's rest.
"Haah, this is bad. How am I supposed to face Amy?" Shirone shook his head to dispel the thought.
Amy had come all the way to Kazra before a major exam. Without her, he probably wouldn't have made it through the day at the Magic Academy in a sound state of mind.
"All right, don't think about anything for now. Amy passing comes first."
She had entered at twelve, and tomorrow she would reap six years of effort. Her current graduating-class rank was a remarkable fourth—an astonishing rise in only half a year.
"In the end, I won't be able to keep that promise, huh? Well, it doesn't matter." Shirone had promised to catch up with Amy, but she had reached those top ranks through ceaseless effort. If she graduated, he'd concede his defeat gladly.
Passing through the steel gate that marked the graduating class, he saw a few seniors walking among the flowerbeds.
Nobody paid Shirone any mind. Not today. Their thoughts were all about tomorrow.
Some focused on calming their minds, others thought it better to relax. A cluster huddled around a campfire chatting—those were the ones easing their tension.
Many familiar seniors were among them, and Amy and Seriel were mixed in with the group.
"Oh, isn't that Shirone?" "Hey? It really is."
Shirone approached with a stiff expression. He hadn't expected Amy to be with the other seniors.
"Hello..." Seriel ran over and grabbed Shirone's face. "Waaah! Shirone's here! What are you doing here? Did you come to cheer me on?"
Buried in Seriel's chest, Shirone felt his cheeks flush. But when he felt her trembling body, he realized she wasn't joking. He could hear her heart pounding rapidly.
So this was the graduating class.
Everyone here had devoted their lives to becoming mages. If they passed tomorrow, they would become the mages they'd dreamed of.
The odds were one in three.
When considered as someone else's problem, that seemed fairly high. But placing yourself in the situation meant that twenty people would have to endure another brutal year of competition.
At that thought, Seriel no longer felt embarrassed.
Shirone hugged her with all his strength. Everyone had worked so hard. He couldn't imagine anyone here failing. Above all, he hoped she would pass.
"Do your best, senpai. I'll be cheering for you too."
"Thanks, Shirone."
Only then did Shirone look at Seriel's face. Fear and excitement coexisted there. Even the expression of someone on the verge of tears seemed noble. He knew how much effort she had put in to get here.
Shirone turned to Amy.
Unlike Seriel, there was neither nervousness nor excitement on her face. Everything was prepared. Six years of growth seemed perfectly synchronized for tomorrow.
He felt glad and grateful. Had she shown even a little wavering, he would have been tormented by guilt over taking her to Kazra.
"Amy, do your best. I'll be cheering hard for you tomorrow."
"Thanks. I'll do my best."
Amy's mind was like a single torrent where stray thoughts had been unified; there was no room for the awkward Kazra scene to surface.
Shirone chatted quietly with the seniors. Student Council President Amira was among them. She had once rallied the student council to stage a sit-in when Shirone was trapped in Miro's spatial prison, but that was now a part of memory.
"Finally, tomorrow this tiresome school life will be over." Most nodded at Amira's remark. No one a day before the exam expected to fail.
Only Sanuel's face looked grim.
Shirone recalled when Sanuel came as Etella's demonstration assistant—a senior who had startled the advanced students with powerful sonic arts. But even he had failed last year's graduation exam; this was his second attempt. According to Alpheas School of Magic statistics, the probability of a student who failed the first exam passing on the second try was fairly low, so his anxiety was natural.
Amira patted Sanuel encouragingly. "Don't worry too much, Sanuel. You worked hard. You barely missed it last time. This time will go well."
"Right, thanks. You too, make sure you pass."
Since they didn't pass alone, rivals could still give each other encouragement—a somewhat human aspect to it.
"Hey? So you all gathered here?" Some well-known seniors walked over.
Richard of Alchemy. Raiken the Electric Monster. Hershi of Sona.
And leading them was Ardino Fermi, ranked number one in Class One.
Fermi, who insisted on wearing suits, looked more like an accountant than a mage. The Ardino family, it was said, were a famous merchant house.
"What's with those long faces? Don't be so tense. I'm taking the graduation exam too, you know. Haha!" Fermi joked, but nobody laughed.
It was a mystery of the Alpheas School of Magic why he, who always monopolized first place in the graduating class, still hadn't graduated. Rumors said there were brokers who bought favorable outcomes on the exam, but nothing had been confirmed.
"Fermi, aren't you being too careless? Keep going like that and you'll be taking the test with underclassmen again next year."
"Haha! I'm just doing my best. Things like this are in the hands of heaven, after all."
Fermi felt someone's gaze and turned. Amy was looking at him with a bold expression.
"Whew, our little miss is all fired up today too. How's your condition?"
"Optimal. You?"
"Me? Well… so-so."
"I hope you take the exam in peak condition. Tomorrow's the day I graduate first in the Magic Academy."
"Hahaha! I really can't beat you. All right then, let's see who wins. Tomorrow we're not classmates, but competitors."
As Fermi and his party moved away, those around the fire watched them warily. Beyond skill, experience counted: each of them had taken the graduation exam at least four times, making them veterans.
To change the subject, Amira spoke up. "Last break I visited the World Climate Organization. It was amazing. There were over a thousand specialized mages."
"Wow, they must have insane clout. I hear the director is more powerful than a national king?"
Weather is a powerful factor controlling human life, food production, and ecosystems. Thus, climate mages in the Red Line are not allowed to use their magic without passing the national exam. Since there are no borders, international agreements are necessary, and the World Climate Organization oversees them.
"You don't have to go to the World Climate Organization to have huge power. A relative of mine works at an astronomical observatory, and even high nobles can't move them."
"But you still have to pass the national exam. Someone I know tried for ten years and finally switched majors."
Amira said boldly, "Hoho! That's why you challenge it. High risk, high return is my motto. If you pass, you can challenge for the highest places a mage can reach."
"Well, I think you can do it. If you get into a top spot, make sure to let me know, okay? Haha!"
Starting with Amira, everyone declared their aspirations.
Seriel had once dreamed of working at a clinic and living an ordinary life, but now she wanted to develop vaccine magic for the World Health Organization to lower the cost of medicines.
Amy still aimed to be a soldier, but after Kazra she had found a new sense of calling.
Hearing her, Shirone thought of Zion. When he'd heard Amy threaten war with Tormia, his blood had boiled—he'd even considered enlisting himself.
Sanuel planned to double major. While rune arts were important, he intended to study abroad to learn mental-attribute magic.
"Ha! Everyone's life is hardcore. All right, let's do our best! Tomorrow we all become mages!"
"Yeah!"
Shirone's chest swelled watching the seniors take the first steps toward their dreams. He sincerely hoped every one of them would pass.
* * *
Morning came.
The Colosseum for the graduation exam thronged with people.
It wasn't mandatory, but the entire student body had signed up to watch, and most parents of the graduating class had come. Scouts from various nations' mage associations and foreign correspondents had also arrived.
Shirone couldn't believe the dignitaries he'd seen only in newspapers were strolling by so casually. It felt less like a Magic Academy exam and more like a political stage.
"The graduation exam is really something," Iruki said nonchalantly.
"It's like this every year. Everyone's extreme about it. I just hope my dad doesn't come."
"Shirone, that person over there—isn't that Amy's father?" Karmis Shakora and his wife Isis stood arm in arm in front of the Colosseum.