Arc 22: Final Exams (2)

Aten and Quinier drew closer together, keeping watch on the golems clambering up around them.

["Hehe, you've fallen right into your teacher's trap! Not that you could have avoided it!"]

Binkis seemed to be in a very good mood. It was probably much like a child playing with an expensive new robot for the first time. In fact, there was hardly any difference.

Standing back-to-back with Aten, Quinier shouted to Frondier.

"Frondier! Are these the golems you fought?"

"They look a little different. They're probably an improved version. Some of them have weapons other than spears, too."

Neither of the two had fought a golem before, but one glance told them this would not be easy. Quinier had heard that the golems incorporated Atzier's techniques. If that was true, they would be formidable opponents.

["Hehe, you see, with this Atzier Mk. 2, I focused not only on Atzier's signature techniques, but also on the fundamental principles of his spearmanship—"]

CRUNCH!

But then a brutal sound rang out, as though cutting through their tension.

Right in front of Frondier, a sword was embedded in the head of the golem carrying Edwin. Though plain and unadorned, the sword had an air of antique elegance, of an older way of doing things.

'That sword...!'

Quinier's eyes widened. She knew that sword. It had drawn every eye at a gathering of prominent nobles.

'It's Gram!'

How did Frondier have Gram? She had been too busy watching the surrounding golems to see him draw it clearly, but there was no mistaking the Gram now lodged in the golem's head.

'The head of the Roach family gave Gram to Frondier?'

As far as Quinier knew, Frondier was the Roach family's unwanted son. She had heard that Ampere, the family head, devoted all his efforts to Atzier alone. Had that information been false? Had he been paying attention to Frondier as well?

Frondier dragged the embedded sword diagonally with a ripping sound. As he forced it free, it tore the golem's face beyond recognition.

["Hey! Frondier! What do you think you're—"]

Before Binkis could finish, Frondier's sword struck again, taking the golem's head clean off. He caught Edwin, who had dutifully remained atop it even as he slowly tipped over.

"You could just land on your feet, you know."

"I'm a hostage."

Was this honesty another manifestation of his character? With a wry smile, Frondier entrusted Edwin to Quinier.

"The hostage's safety comes first. Aten, Quinier, please take him somewhere safe."

"What about you?"

"Once we've rescued the victim, we have to deal with the monsters."

Quinier gave him a dubious look.

"... By yourself?"

"Yes. That's our best option."

["Hey! Who said I'd let you leave?!"]

Binkis's voice rang out again from a nearby golem. Apparently, when one broke, the connection transferred to another.

The “Gram” in Frondier's hand liquefied and streamed down. He made no attempt to hide it. Quinier stared blankly at the sight.

She had seen that liquid before, too. It was what the fake Mistilteinn had actually been made of. What had he called it? A metal with “viscoelasticity”?

"I'm no match for any of the teachers, but..."

Frondier had grown considerably, but there was no doubt he still fell short of Constel's teachers.

Binkis, however, was an exception. With Binkis's focus on summoning and golem creation, Frondier could hold his own. He knew the attack patterns of almost every monster, after all.

"If I play this right, I can be Professor Binkis's natural enemy. So go."

"... All right."

Quinier was not entirely convinced, but she and Aten began moving away with Edwin. Of course, she would never have left Frondier behind in a real battle, but their opponent was a teacher.

Surely Binkis wouldn't kill him?

["I said, who told you I'd let you leave?!"]

Two golems blocked their path. Quinier raised her fan. If Frondier kept most of the golems occupied, she should be able to force her way through with her skills.

"Menosorpo."

But apparently, even that was unnecessary.

The moment Frondier uttered something, two spears formed in midair before Aten and Quinier. With crunching impacts, they pierced the golems through the head and the heart. That was all it took. Both golems crumpled anticlimactically.

"... Wh-what is this—"

"Go."

Frondier's single word was gentle, but firm.

Still bewildered, Quinier and Aten nodded, then ran off with Edwin.

["You've gotten pretty cheeky, Frondier. You used to keep as quiet as a mouse in class. Whatever happened to the 'Human Sloth'?"]

Cheeky.

He certainly was. This was not the Frondier they had known before.

Weaving, the starting point of every means of attack he possessed. Black River, the source that gave those creations substance. Even Menosorpo. Unlike before, Frondier was showing them openly.

... What would being disowned mean for “Frondier de Roach”?

There was no need to think about it. It meant more than failing to improve his abilities. It meant being eliminated from the race. His chances of protecting this world would approach zero, and the only outcome would be humanity's gruesome end, slaughtered by monsters.

In other words, a “decent result” in this practical was not an option he could entertain.

That was why he said,

"Please understand."

Frondier materialized four short swords around himself. Suspended on all four sides, the blades spun like tops. Anyone could see that touching them would not end well—not even for the golems Binkis was so proud of.

Time to change Constel's perception of “Frondier,” just a little. He did not have to show his true full strength—only enough to make them think he had.

"I've gotten a little tired of that nickname."

* * *

While Frondier sent Aten and Quinier away and faced Binkis alone, a very different situation was unfolding for Aster's team.

'... Where's the person playing the victim?'

Aster watched Jane's position from concealment. Thanks to Elodie, they had located the teacher playing the monster, but the student playing the victim was nowhere in sight. Jane stood still, looking around with a relaxed expression.

'I need to attack.'

Aster made up his mind.

If this were real, he would have spotted a monster that had not yet noticed him. The right move was to surround it immediately and eliminate it. Even if the victim somewhere nearby ended up being taken hostage, Aster would be faster at this distance.

Elodie and Theo had taken up separate positions around Jane. They had already agreed that Aster would lead the charge.

'All right. It's so flashy I'll have to give up on staying hidden, though.'

Divine Power Release

Lord of Light and Justice

Baldur

Aster charged the instant he released his Divine Power. Wreathed in white light, he ran like a lion.

But then—

"Stop, Aster."

The voice was not Jane's. It came from his right. Of course, a few words were not enough to stop Aster. Still, he glanced aside to see who had spouted them.

And Aster stopped.

"... What is this?"

He asked out of genuine disbelief.

Atzier stood before him. Jane alone would have made this a difficult mission, but now Atzier, too?

Worse, Atzier had Theo caught in his arms. In an instant, Aster's teammate had become a hostage.

"What's the matter?"

Atzier spoke with impassive eyes.

"There's just one more monster."

Listening to Atzier, Aster could only think that was utter bullshit.

* * *

"So this was all planned from the start?"

"That's right. The teachers know exactly where every team is."

Eden Hamerlot had asked the question, and Elin answered. Since Eden had taken her on as an intern, the two had developed something like a master-and-student relationship and had been spending their time together.

"So the teachers are deliberately stationed close to their assigned teams. The teacher each team would find hardest to fight plays the 'monster.' In other words, every team is facing its own 'hypothetical natural enemy.'"

"So that's why the alarms all sound at once. To make the first-year teams naturally spread out."

"Right. Well, the practical is a competition anyway, so the first-years aren't likely to suddenly form an alliance. They'll deal with the closest alarm first, then move straight on to the next one. That's probably what they were thinking."

"... But in reality, they can't complete even a single mission."

Listening to Elin's explanation, Eden was impressed, but he also marveled at Constel's ruthlessness. They made it seem as though the teams that responded to the most alarms would score highest, only to give the students tasks they could not possibly complete.

In other words, the students were effectively meant to fail this practical. Teaching them “failure” had been the aim all along.

"How do you know all this?"

"Because they did it to me last year."

"So you failed the mission you were given for your practical, too?"

"No one succeeded. The whole point was to make it impossible."

Elin remained calm as she spoke. Seeing this, Eden asked,

"Doesn't that frustrate you? The teachers deceived their students and forced them to lose."

"But it made me stronger."

He saw. So this was the kind of person Elin Evans was. She credited Constel for making her stronger, but the greatest force behind her growth had probably been Elin herself.

Then a curious question occurred to Eden.

"Does that mean the upperclassmen recruited onto the first-year teams know about this, too?"

"Yes. The recruited upperclassmen and the ones playing hostages all know. The only ones who don't are the first-years who are about to taste defeat."

"... That's cruel."

"Still, the upperclassmen will do everything they can to help the first-years. As you said, many of them are frustrated about what happened back then. To them, 'recruitment' is another word for 'revenge.'"

They were simply forbidden from revealing that the missions were designed for the first-years to lose. As long as they observed that rule, the upperclassmen could help as much as they liked.

"So that's also why Atzier is working with Jane against Aster's team."

"Yes. Of course, Professor Jane could probably manage alone. But as you said, those two have the potential to pull off something unexpected, so they prepared one more person."

Hence, Atzier and Jane as a team. At this point, it went beyond any notion of difficulty. Eden gave a wry smile.

"That extra person looks far too powerful for you to put it so casually."

"The goal is to make the students despair, after all."

Just as she said, things were not looking good for Aster's team on the screen. Atzier had ambushed Theo and taken him hostage, and the presence of a hostage cut Elodie's combat effectiveness in half. Even Aster would struggle to face Atzier and Jane alone. And Atzier had a hostage, no less.

"In short, they decided that was how much they needed to invest to make certain Aster failed."

"Indeed. But because of that, there's something Constel's teachers have overlooked."

"Overlooked?"

"Among those first-years, there's still one student hiding his abilities, isn't there?"

"... Ah."

The two focused on the screen. For now, its coverage was concentrated on the confrontation between Aster and Atzier.

But somewhere beyond its view, there was an “upset” the teachers had not anticipated—one greater even than Aster and Elodie teaming up.