A few days later.
The practical test of Constel.
“As you all know, today is the practical test.”
All the first-years were gathered in the field.
After assembling the students, teacher Alex began to speak.
“You are still first-years, but I will tell you this in advance. Once you have safely graduated from Constel, you will become ‘Pros’ and enter all sorts of different occupations. And most of them will be dangerous.”
‘Pro’ referred to any occupation that used combat and magic to make a living.
Soldiers, hunters, court mages, mercenaries, and so on.
Enrolling in Constel meant that one aimed to become a ‘Pro’ upon graduation.
“When you are up against danger, I cannot guarantee that you will always have strong and dependable companions by your side. More often than not, you will have to fight alongside people you do not get along with, people you do not understand, and people who do not cooperate. Sometimes, you will even have to coordinate with people you have just met that day. That is what it means to be a ‘Pro’.”
Alex’s words made everyone tighten their expressions as they nodded.
Satisfied with their response, Alex continued.
“The basic format of the practical test is individual battles, but it is not forbidden to form teams. However, the points you receive will be divided.”
Then Alex held up a phone.
“If you want to form a team, just touch the backs of the phones that were distributed earlier together. That will be counted as forming a team.”
If you were confident in your abilities, you could go solo, otherwise, you could team up.
This practical test also served as an opportunity to objectively assess one’s own skills.
The performance is a 'monster hunt'
A large-scale exam that uses the entire field.
Drones are flying around the field, and the in-charge teacher can see the entire field at a glance through the drones.
The footage taken by the drones can also be seen by the audience.
We in the field can't see the audience, but they must be watching us through the drones from their seats.
The contents of the test are simple.
Catch a monster and retrieve material to prove it, such as horns or ears.
Your score will be added up when you take the materials to the teacher at the end.
This will determine your rank.
Simple and clear.
However, there is a case of dropping out.
In case of giving up in the middle.
In case of losing consciousness.
In case of causing serious injury to another student.
In this case, it's all 0 points. No matter how many monsters you catch, there are no points.
"Now, begin!"
The students moved at Alex's monotonous signal.
Some students ran quickly to secure their places, while others walked around to form teams.
I looked around once.
"Then let's give it a try."
I stretched my body.
Constel values performance over writing.
And for me too, performance is much more burdensome than writing.
Unlike written exams, you can't cheat, and my skills are far behind the other students.
But I have no intention of forming a team.
In fact, it seems advantageous for the weak to form a team, but that's not often the case.
As long as there is no restriction on forming a team, strong students will team up with strong students anyway.
And those teams wipe out all the monsters.
In the meantime, I can catch monsters in my own way.
There is a lot of information that only I know, such as the geography of the field, the types of monsters, and their weaknesses.
I have to make the most of that and catch the monsters diligently.
'I wish the top performers would work hard.'
Sweep them all away.
Anyway, since we're ranking, it would be easier for me to move up in the ranks if they were all cleared out from above.
"First, let's find a place to store the materials."
I stopped as I said that.
I felt something cold.
Very ominous, eerie,
And at the same time, a familiar feeling.
I slowly looked back.
“……Hello.”
Aten was there.
As if it was only natural.
She looked exactly the same as she did when she followed me around for days in the classroom.
She stood there, pale.
"Hello, Frondier."
“……Aten, why are you here today?”
At my words, Aten blinked and said, "Ah," as if she had realized something.
"Of course. I forgot."
And Aten held out her phone.
“If I’m going to follow you anyway, it would be better to form a team."
…….
Haha.
* * *
"Elysia~~ Sale~ Here, here."
Philly waved her hand, showing off herself, while sitting in the audience.
She had a face that was childish for his age.
Elysia and Sale covered their faces with their hands, embarrassed by their mother.
"Mother, you don't have to be like that. No one here knows you."
First Princess Elysia was right.
Philly was surrounded tightly by Imperial Knights at intervals, leaving no gaps.
Trying to remain inconspicuous like this would be futile.
"Hehehe~ You can't help but get excited at moments like these, though? It feels good to go on a picnic with my daughters for the first time in a while."
"...Well, I guess it's not that different."
Elysia and Sale sat down next to her.
Elysia quickly scanned her surroundings.
Here, aside from them, were many famous people in the Empire.
Of course, there were the successful second and third-year students in Constel, as well as renowned Pros, mercenaries, and prestigious nobles from outside.
'Huh?'
And then someone caught Elysia's eye, a tall man sitting in the audience seats.
Roderick Terst.
Elysia's expression turned sour.
'What's that man doing here?'
A fierce political battle was currently taking place in the Imperial Palace.
The main reason was a convenient yet easy-to-exploit excuse: Philly's children were all female.
The Emperor of the Empire had always been male.
No matter how much Philly was the Emperor's legal wife, her opposition claimed that a woman could not succeed to the Emperor's throne.
And at the head of this faction was Roderick Terst.
Roderick was the son of the concubine whom the Emperor had taken after Philly, making him a prince and second in line to Philly's daughters.
With his appearance and ability, he had gained a fair number of followers.
Although from time to time there were not-so-favorable rumors about his character.
'I have a bad feeling about this.'
Unconcerned by Elysia's worries, Philly was absorbed in the huge Wizardview screen in front of her.
Every now and then, the drone would change perspectives, and often Aten would appear on-screen.
"Oh my! Did you see that? Aten's on screen! Wow!"
"Yes, I did."
The one who replied indifferently was the Second Princess, Sale.
Of course, the Princess would be shown on-screen.
It was strange to see Philly acting so innocent and excited.
"...But, Mother."
"Yes?"
"Who is that boy?"
Aten's face appeared often on the screen.
And then, suddenly, Aten offered someone a fist bump.
We already heard the rules of this practical exam.
Offering a fist bump was a gesture of proposing a team-up.
In front of Aten, on the receiving end of the fist bump, was a male student.
Philly noticed him too.
Philly made an 'eum' sound and chuckled, then said,
"Oh, I have no idea!"
She answered cheerfully.
