“We seem to have arrived.”
“Ah, yeah.”
“Are you tired? Should I have dinner prepared right away?”
“Yeah. I’ll head down after I clean up.”
Elaine stood there spacing out until Maria’s voice snapped her back to reality.
Though by sheer physical activity it had been a relatively light day compared to her usual training routines, Elaine inexplicably felt more exhausted than normal.
“312 points…”
The number that had been circling Elaine’s mind since earlier was the root of her fatigue: 312, the score that a commoner named Ryu had achieved during today’s test.
When they announced the exam involved “Golem Hits,” Elaine had struggled not to visibly beam with excitement. This was one of the toughest sections of the Academy entrance exams, but she regularly practiced against far more advanced automatons at home than the ones used here.
While she wasn’t overly obsessed with ranking first, Elaine had given her all and scored an impressive 177 points, privately assuming she’d taken the top spot.
But 177 was far from enough to claim first place—not when Ryu, a dark-haired commoner, had scored an astonishing 312 points.
“Just how…”
Not only was she unable to ask Ryu how he’d managed such a feat, but her frustration only deepened when she realized she hadn’t even gotten the chance to inquire about his technique.
“Uh… huh? Where am I? Excuse me, this seems like the wrong stop.”
Maria, already out of the carriage, looked around confused and yelled at the driver as Elaine stepped out behind her.
Instead of arriving at the intended destination, they had stopped at the edge of a forest. Already in a complicated headspace from the day’s events, Elaine could do little else but frown at this unexpected detour.
“Hey! What’s going on here?!”
“This is ridiculous. I was nervous when you said you were substitute driver!”
Maria shouted loudly at the driver, but the man either didn’t hear or ignored her, instead continuing to shout emptily into the dark woods.
‘What is going on…?’
With an instinctual sense of unease, Elaine shifted her hand to the hilt of the sword strapped at her waist.
Keeping her senses as sharp as possible, she prepared to draw her weapon when—
“Yeeeeek!”
“S-Slippery hilt!”
“A-A young lady?”
‘What was that sound?’
Elaine hadn’t missed the strange cry that had pierced the silence. Despite hearing no other movements, a male voice had suddenly cried out nearby before abruptly cutting off. Even upon pulling her sword, Elaine detected no other presence besides Maria and the driver.
“Eh… are we found out?”
“Huh?”
“Ugh!”
While Elaine had dismissed the driver as unimportant, now the man made an unexpected move—yanking a dagger from his coat and leaping at Maria!
It happened too fast for Elaine to react.
The dagger was headed straight for Maria’s neck, and just as Maria instinctively closed her eyes—
KWAAAANG!
“KIEEEEEK!”
The mysterious attacker—or rather, the driver—was abruptly slammed to the ground by something falling from above, making a rather clumsy and comical crash.
“What… what just happened?!”
“Phew! That was close!”
SHLING!
“Who are you?”
Whereas Maria was still bewildered by the chaos, Elaine immediately approached the fallen driver with her sword drawn, addressing whoever had landed on top of him.
A figure sat cross-legged on the driver, legs lazily akimbo.
Though this person had obviously saved Maria, Elaine sensed something fishy about the entire scenario.
“Ah, haven’t we met before?”
“…Huh?”
“Does the name ring a bell? Ryu.”
“Oh?”
Upon hearing the voice, Elaine instantly recognized who this figure was—Ryu, the commoner who had astonished everyone with his unprecedented score of 300+ points during the entrance exam’s golem-hit section.
“What are you doing here…?”
“Hmm… Oh! Do you know him, miss?”
“Obviously not.”
WHAM!
“KIIIIEEEK!”
As Elaine lowered her sword, Ryu also rose from his seated position, at which point another odd cry emanated from the figure pinned beneath him.
“So, I sort of stumbled upon some bad guys. They’re probably up to no good, but I’m a proud guy, so it kinda gets to me when others are scheming.”
“…What?”
“Anyway, I kept one alive for questioning. Just interrogate him and you’ll be set.”
“Hmm…”
Though confused by his explanation, for reasons she couldn’t explain, Elaine nodded absentmindedly at Ryu’s words.
“So… um…”
“Excuse me, but hold on a moment!”
“Hm?”
“There’s something I want to ask.”
As if attempting to conclude the conversation, Ryu had turned to leave, but Elaine called out urgently.
While curious about how Ryu had subdued their captor, she had dozens of questions about him. But foremost on Elaine’s mind was an inquiry that had persisted since the beginning of the ceremony, when she’d sat beside Ryu but never dared to ask.
“Heheh, ask away! Feel free!”
Ryu, leaning back casually with his arms crossed, appeared unsurprisingly pleased to be questioned.
Elaine sheathed her sword and posed her inquiry:
“Um… how exactly did you manage to score over 300 points?”
“Huh?”
“That’s… regarding the entrance exam. The golem-hit section. Judging from your sudden appearance, you must be a wizard, right? I overheard from other students that you took the test unarmed, but… using no magic, how is it even possible to break 300 points purely through martial arts?”
At Elaine’s question, Ryu froze in place for just a moment, staring at her with an expression that mixed bewilderment and amusement.
“…”
Quest Completed: Bonding Fate (1-2). Reward granted.
“Hohoo…” Ryu hummed softly, clearly pleased with himself as a notification hovered invisibly before his eyes.
The achievement of completing quests was more satisfying than he’d anticipated. This kind of thrill explained why so many people immersed themselves in RPGs, toiling endlessly over enigmatic tasks.
After surviving the tortuous speech at the graduation ceremony, Ryu found himself facing a brand-new quest just as the ceremony concluded—an eerie presence lurking near the Academy’s perimeters. Though startled by the sudden notification, he accepted the quest without hesitation.
It seemed there was an attempt to “kidnap” someone nearby. While Ryu couldn’t confirm whether the perpetrators were with the Black Shadow Guild or another organization, the prospect of someone attempting abduction under his nose didn’t sit well with him, especially when the target was Elaine St. Claire—the girl who’d been sitting beside him through the ceremony.
Through a combination of luck and quick reflexes, he had managed to thwart the attempted kidnapping of Elaine St. Claire in the nick of time.
“You’re an unusual one.”
Elaine St. Claire wasn’t exactly what Ryu had expected. Amidst such tense, life-or-d*ath circumstances, her first query wasn’t about her own safety—it was about how he had managed to score over 300 points.
Even as Ryu insisted that he had simply “made it happen,” Elaine, unsatisfied by his answers, pressed further: Did he rely on magic? If not, had he used swordplay? Could he at least share a hint about his method?
As their conversation circled endlessly on this one topic, Elaine’s servants eventually arrived, identifying the driver as a member of the “Black Crows.” Realizing the gravity of the situation, Elaine finally thanked Ryu before heading home.
Ryu declined her offer for a ride, not seeing the point when he could just snap his fingers and return home faster.
With the St. Claire carriage disappearing into the horizon, Ryu closed his eyes and exhaled, ready to make his own swift return.
SWOOSH
“Hey, you’re a St. Claire?”
Returning to the familiar aroma of his office, Ryu opened his eyes to find Eddi staring blankly at him.
“Ugh! What the—!”
“Shouldn’t I be the one surprised?”
“What? What is this?”
“Paperwork.”
While Ryu had been startled by his sudden appearance, Eddi showed no reaction, calmly handing him a stack of documents as if this was an everyday occurrence. For once, she wasn’t in her usual suit but had opted for a casual outfit.
“How was the Academy exam?”
“Heh. Of course, first place.”
“Ah, top-ranked admission, is it?”
“Honestly, it sort of happened.”
“Did I not advise you staying under the radar?”
“Sometimes, it’s necessary. Besides, standing out only lasts until the initial excitement dies down.”
“…Hmm. True enough. Now, can you look at this?”
“Ugh, what is it now…”
Though he’d guessed from its prominence in his office that the paperwork must contain significant information, Ryu had stubbornly avoided dealing with it all day.
“It might even be considered good news…”
“Hm?”
Indeed, the contents of the paperwork weren’t overly taxing on the mind. Eddi’s tone had been right—it could be perceived as good news.
