"Ugh... Ugh... Finally caught you."
Frondier gasped for breath.
Azier quietly observed the spear tip aimed at his throat.
Azier thought for a moment. With his own power, he had means to overcome this situation. If he had used his full strength from the start, he wouldn't have been pushed this far.
However, he was merely playing the role of a 'monster' for this test. Knowing it was a test, Frondier and the other students had also stopped.
If he were truly a monster, would he have a way to overcome this situation? Or prevent it from happening in the first place?
After some thought.
"I've lost."
Azier admitted. His face, acknowledging defeat, seemed rather refreshed.
Azier quietly observed the four spears floating in the air. It was a miraculous technique. To think that spears could be formed out of thin air, and in the void at that.
"Frondier. Is this your technique?"
"*Gasp*, Ugh... Yes. It is."
Frondier's breathing was still rough, as if he hadn't caught his breath yet. Among those present, only Frondier looked this worn out, revealing his lack of stamina.
"Sigh."
Aster released his divine power. The white emitting light disappeared, and he returned to his original form.
"Frondier, what would you have done if I had attacked you just like that?"
"I trusted you wouldn't. I thought unless I deceived you to this extent, I would never have a chance to catch him."
Aster smirked bitterly.
It wasn't exactly a safe plan, but since it worked, he had no complaints.
"Ah! Speaking of which, Elodie..."
With that, Aster turned around.
There stood Jane, triumphantly raising both hands.
"Can you guys please stop her? She won't listen to me even though I said I'd surrender."
Jane was pointing at Elodie. She was reaching out both hands towards Jane.
Elodie had apparently completed a massive mana equation, as mana was swirling around her, and the wristbands she was wearing were emitting light.
"Elodie! It's okay now! It's over!"
"I know! But it's harder to cancel magic midway!"
Elodie gradually lowered her hands as she shouted. Her magic power slowly settled, and a 'swish' sound of air escaping was heard from the gauntlet. Not only was the sound heard, but smokes were also emitted.
Frondier approached and asked, "Elodie, was that Viper Steel?"
"Hmm? Oh, I guess so."
Elodie replied calmly. Frondier had also seen Elodie take Viper Steel from the auction house.
After listening to Elodie's answer, Frondier quietly observed the metal gauntlet that Elodie was wearing.
Her gaze was somehow frightening, so Elodie hid the gauntlet.
"W-what? I'm not going to give it to you even if you look at it like that."
"You don't have to give it to me."
Frondier's answer was a bit strange. What do you mean I don't have to give it to you? Because I'm not going to give it to you.
Elodie suddenly remembered and asked, "Speaking of which, you purchased something strange back then, didn't you?"
"Something strange?"
"You bought the cursed fabric. What did you buy it for?"
At Elodie's question, Frondier responded with an 'ah' and pointed to his necktie.
...Necktie? What's a necktie?
"This. This cursed fabric."
"Eww?"
"Haha, it's cursed."
"Ewwww."
Elodie took a step back with a genuinely disgusted expression.
* * *
Everyone who watched the screen witnessed the scene of Aster's team and Frondier's team winning.
There was a sense of familiarity among those who knew Frondier to some extent around Frondier during the battle, but the audience seats were swept away like a gust of wind by the enormous shock.
"Frondier..."
"How could the human sloth..."
Even though there was a joint attack and an ambush, Frondier had made Azier admit defeat.
That fact was shocking to the students. It was even more shocking than the 'Fireworks.'
However, the ones most surprised among them all weren't the students.
"I'm just saying this in case, don't ask me. I'm surprised too."
"You're not manipulating this?"
"No, I'm not. How would I do that?"
Anger and Malia saw it.
It was only for a moment, but it was clearly 'Gram.'
During the match against Binkis, it wasn't caught on screen. However, joining forces with Aster to fight Azier made this practical exam's biggest match impossible not to be broadcasted.
Enfer instinctively grasped the sheath of his sword at his waist. What lies within is undoubtedly Gram.
The same thing was seen on that screen. Though it vanished like some liquid after a short while.
Malia asked,
"Must be some trick of the eye, right?"
"If that were the case, Azier wouldn't have even tried to block it."
"Given the urgency of the situation, it's likely a misjudgment."
Malia's reasoning seemed plausible. Even Azier could be taken aback in such a chaotic situation, especially one that began with sudden multiple attacks.
And apart from Malia's assumption, there was no other possibility. Enfer still possesses Gram, after all.
However, the look in Azier's eyes when he saw Gram wielded by Frondier made Enfer feel an indescribable chill.
"Anyway, with this, Frondier's top ranking is almost confirmed, right? They resolved their own mission and led other teams to victory as well."
Malia nodded in satisfaction.
There were concerns depending on how the scores were allocated, but no student had shone in this practical exam as much as Frondier had.
Of course, Enfer would deny it─
"That's true."
"…What, really?"
"I also think Frondier deserves the first place. I didn't expect Azier to lose, after all."
Even Enfer admitted that Frondier deserved to be first.
Rather than feeling joy at his too-easy acknowledgment, Malia felt unease first.
