[397] Rapidly Changing Situation (1)
The medics' shouts tangled together, but the students couldn't hear them. Aider's mangled form on the stretcher spoke more eloquently than a hundred words.
The words of the first person who'd thrown down the gauntlet at Shirone were the height of misery. Among the students who had been weighing Shirone against Fermi, a seed of fear was already sprouting.
Because Aider had been removed from the field, the Screamer team was disqualified from the hill capture, but Shirone's expression was sour.
No matter how sweet the efficiency of evil, humans have a fondness for good and a desire to do it.
He wanted to believe that.
But Aider activated the AT algorithm at the last moment.
No lightning struck from the sky, no giant hand descended to snatch him away.
Are humans truly infinitely free? Or is this, too, only a tiny part of some vast system beyond perception?
"Victory goes to Shirone's team. 20 points awarded. Hill capture evaluation concluded."
Shirone walked over to his friends and, placing a hand on Maya's shoulder—she still trembled with fear—apologized.
"I'm sorry. For dragging you into such a brutal fight because of us."
"I'm fine. I'm more worried about you."
Shirone was the sort of person cold and decisive enough to remove Aider completely from the graduating class roster.
But that was an insight that drove straight toward a goal by the shortest route, not toughness born of feeling.
'This must be hard for you, Shirone…'
In truth, he didn't want to fight anyone. All suffering begins there.
A choice that is easy for someone can become the most complicated problem in the world for Shirone.
Aider received emergency treatment outside the combat arena.
When a medic shouted after checking for a heartbeat, someone nearby bolted off.
Lycan, the Electric Monster, having seen that much, glanced back at Fermi and said, "Aider pulled it off. He really scraped at Shirone's insides."
Fermi shook his head.
"If he were someone who acted only on emotion, we could toy with him easily. He's just an extreme type; Shirone is the same sort of breed as me."
"On the contrary, emotion strengthened his composure. If they hadn't crushed Aider, there'd be a second, a third Aider. He calculated it was better to nip the bud preemptively."
"In any case, the strategy worked. We saw all of Shirone's techniques. From now on, we just collect spells that counter his types and strike back. Wasn't that the plan from the start?"
"Of course, but…"
Fermi rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.
When twenty points are at stake in an overall evaluation, anyone will give their all. But it's human nature to want to save something like a laser-guidance algorithm for later.
From that angle, Aider exactly fulfilled the bargain. Still, what was this discordant feeling nagging at him?
"All right."
Lycan turned back to Fermi.
"He was hiding something? No—he wasn't hiding anything from the start. Radiant Light, Scattershot Movement, Laser Guidance Algorithm. Even if it hadn't been Aider, he would have played those cards whenever necessary. So why was I mistaken? Because Shirone's growth rate is far faster than others'."
There were already three techniques Shirone couldn't have used before entering the graduating class.
Even if they knew everything Shirone could do now, they couldn't predict how much he'd evolve by the graduation exam.
"In just three months he picked up two intermediate spells and one advanced spell. In terms of speed, it's almost comparable to the power boosts I can buy through my funding."
Fermi spoke to his companions without looking back.
"Consider it a special bargain."
"Huh?"
"Tell all customers they get twenty percent off. And from now on, only buy advanced spells. Stock up whatever you can before the graduation exam."
Sona's Hershi approached with a sullen face.
"But Fermi, then this year's profits—"
"What did I say?"
Hershi's face drained under Fermi's piercing gaze. As much as Fermi bent rules, as a perfect manager he was just as fearsome.
"If you don't eliminate small variables now, they'll become unmanageable when they actually happen."
Hershi said it plainly, and Fermi turned away coldly.
"Do it."
"Ah—okay."
When Fermi left the hall, the remaining four glanced at each other before following.
The area around the arena remained noisy. Some students were desperately trying to restrain the Screamer.
They disliked meddling in others' affairs, but if they left it be, Aider might die.
"Let go! You bastard, I'll kill you! Stop that!"
"Screamer! Calm down! Aider's badly hurt! If you hit him he'll really die!"
There weren't many places left to strike on someone with full-body fractures, but with Screamer's temperament, nothing could be taken for granted.
"I'm striking to kill! How dare he overturn the plan I designed?"
He'd caused the team's disqualification with an unauthorized tactic. And since he'd colluded with Fermi, a man sensitive to back-alley loyalties couldn't help losing his head.
"Argh! This is infuriating!"
Screamer kicked the ground and flung dirt at Aider. A medic who'd had enough glared murderously and wagged a finger.
"You! Stay at least ten meters away from the patient! Or I'll report you to a teacher!"
"Ugh! Damn it!"
Regaining his senses, Screamer shook off the students' hands and turned away. There was nothing he could do now, but once Aider recovered, Aider should be prepared to end up half-dead.
Screamer walked to the water cooler, opened the cap, and gulped. When Shirone's group approached, he pointed with the finger holding the canteen and said, "Don't get cocky just because you won. If it hadn't been for Aider, the outcome would've been uncertain."
Nade scoffed.
"What a joke! It was our match anyway. And didn't you promise? That you'd apologize to Maya?"
Screamer ground his teeth. He'd said something, so he had to apologize, but the words wouldn't come easily.
There was unfairness in it. How could anyone expect to win a match while dragging a walking wreck like Aider?
"Tch! Apology, my foot. Here, drink."
Screamer handed the water as if to end it there. But the response was unexpected.
Maya, still shaken by trauma, flinched and her shoulders trembled. A deep sigh escaped Screamer.
'She's terrified over a few hits. How does she expect to become a mage like that…'
Maya had no talent for magic. No—beyond talent, her mindset itself wasn't that of a mage.
People's personalities are a hundred different shades, and in reality what matters is who pushes through.
Her face was swollen, her eyes like a frightened rabbit's, her hands folded like a penitent—each thing grated on him.
"Maya, you…"
Just don't become a mage.
Screamer swallowed the next words. It was her life and her choice, after all.
Still, looking at her not as a future mage but as a yelping dog that'd been bitten, he felt a little pity for her stunned state.
"Yeah, sorry."
He scowled and pressed the canteen into Maya's hands.
"Sorry for calling your singing pig-squealing. You actually sing well—work hard at it. No need to worry about Aider. As soon as he's back I'll send him straight to the hospital again."
"Screamer…"
To Maya, Screamer was a difficult person—always angry, inexplicably in the same group so that just meeting his eyes made her heart race. Hearing an apology from him unlocked all the grief she'd held in, and tears spilled.
"Ugh, I really can't stand this. Fine, you apologized—happy? I'm out."
Screamer shook his head, grabbed another bottle, and left the training ground.
* * *
Two weeks after the hill-capture evaluation, on a holiday.
Shirone, Nade, and Iruki, flowers in hand, headed to the advanced class. They had heard that Shiina, who'd won an award at the royal palace for her thesis, had been promoted to Certified Rank Five.
In the Tormia Kingdom's schools under the crown, outside the Royal School of Magic there was no school where a Certified Rank Five mage worked as an ordinary teacher—so it was a great honor for Alpheas School of Magic.
"But is it okay for us to go? Graduating-class students don't go out past the steel doors much. It might make the underclassmen uncomfortable."
"We still have to offer our congratulations. She took a lot of care at the presentation, too."
As they walked into the advanced-class building, every student in the hallway widened their eyes.
A graduating-class senior—someone rarely seen—had appeared. Three of them.
"Wow! It's Shirone-senpai!"
"It's Iruki-senpai and Nade-senpai too!"
Students poured out of classrooms and the corridor filled in an instant.
Seeing the bright-eyed juniors, Shirone recalled the old memory of being shocked by Sanuel's ultrasonic demonstration.
'Right, I was like that too.'
Now, facing opponents of Sanuel's caliber every day, that seemed unimaginable.
Perhaps for that reason, juniors he'd shared classes with only a few months ago looked much younger than before.
"Good day, senior! I'm Oern, Class Four's most promising student!"
A fresh-faced boy stepped out of the crowd and bowed.
Shirone tilted his head—he'd never seen him in integrated classes until last year.
"Oern?"
"Yes. I enrolled this semester. You probably don't know me."
"Ah, a transfer student."
Oern gave a slight smile and shook his head.
"No, I started magic late too. I'm in a case similar to yours, Shirone-senpai."
Only then did Shirone look Oern over properly. If a student entered and was immediately placed in Class Four, he'd made a very impressive mark on the entrance test.
'Huh?'
Feeling a sudden dangerous vibe, Shirone instinctively entered his Spirit Zone. Oern's Spirit Zone pierced his chest like a sharp spear.
'Hmm, so that's it.'
A promising student in the advanced class couldn't have missed hearing anecdotes about Shirone.
Above all, Shirone's followers Mark and Maria were fixtures here, which must have influenced things. Aider's removal from the graduating class would also have had an effect. Depending on graduation schedules, there was even a chance someone in Class Four could skip ahead, so their ambition was understandable.
'What do you think? At this rate you'll have to admit I'm superior, right?'
Oern knew how strong the graduating class was. But he didn't think his talent fell behind the school's most famous student, Shirone.
Shirone just smiled.
This is why graduating-class students didn't go out past the steel doors. If they had to deal with clueless juniors one by one, they couldn't do anything else.
'He certainly has talent. But…'
Shirone suddenly widened his eyes and glared at Oern.
His Spirit Zone shifted to an offensive stance and two hundred spikes shot toward Oern.
"Eek!"
Oern dropped to the floor, terrified. He braced with a hand behind him and looked up at Shirone, pale.
He'd thought he wouldn't be outmatched in the Spirit Zone, but that offensive shift was on another level.
'Impossible. Mark told me he was defense-type…'
Shirone crouched to meet his eye level.
"You're specialized in offense, aren't you?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
He'd suspected as much. From their brief meeting and Oern's personality, he seemed energetic like Amy.
"Sharpening your mind isn't everything. For offense, speed and reflexes matter. If you keep maintaining the same mental state, you'll become predictable and get used to it quickly."
"I—I see."
Oern stared at Shirone, dazed. The gap was far greater than he'd vaguely imagined.
'So this is the graduating class?'
As Shirone took a step, the students blocking the corridor parted like water.
"That kid's really brazen. Reminds me of Iruki back then."
Nade's remark made Shirone wince as he remembered his first meeting with Iruki.
"No, compared to Iruki he's actually quite humble."
"Confidence scales with ability. In that sense, it's natural that kid's humbler than me."
"Anyway, that boundless self-confidence of his…"
As the three walked toward the end of the corridor, dozens of juniors watched their retreating figures.