My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 130

“Why does the magic class even have a practical exam? It just ends up with us using magic in front of the teachers.”

“There’s gotta be a reason for it.”

“Hmm…”

Honestly, I didn’t quite understand. Of all things, the exam for a magic subject is just to demonstrate a spell?

It wasn’t set in stone, and since we can choose the spell to showcase freely, it made even less sense.

Plus, there weren’t any clear criteria stated.

“Lady Nordal suggested we prepare together for the practical exam…”

I wondered if we really had to.

First years tended to focus more on the written exams, since the practical ones weren’t that hard anyway.

“What would you like us to do, Lady Nordal? Most of the exams aren’t that difficult.”

“Well, it would be best if Lady Leonhardt demonstrated the magic she’ll show during the exam.”

“Uh, what?”

“I think it would be most effective for Lady Leonhardt, who has shown impressive magic both during the placement exam and in regular classes, to give a demonstration.”

“Um… is that so? But I don’t think a demonstration would have a strong impact…”

“It will!”

“…Alright then.”

I didn’t quite get it myself, but since Ivana Nordal said so, I decided to go along with it.

After all, it was her idea to bring it up first, so going along with her seemed like a good choice.

“Hmm… But honestly, there’s not really much to show for a demonstration. It’s just some basic magic…”

For now, I was preparing a basic spell within the club room.

Since I couldn’t just use dangerous or large-scale magic inside, I went with something simpler.

At the same time, I was imagining a magic circle for a basic spell that was relatively difficult.

“Of course, the type of magic showcased in the exam is important, but I think the quality of the spell is crucial.”

I spoke to the first-year members who were watching me prepare my magic.

[Basic Magic: Mana Ball]

It was a really simple type of magic, just gathering mana into a sphere.

Unlike spells with elemental properties like fireball or water ball, it was purely about collecting mana.

“The mana ball I just created is as clean as possible. The color of the mana is very pure, and the shape is perfectly round, right?”

“That’s true. It looks really pretty!”

“Even Ella thinks so, right?”

Ella chimed in while watching, saying it indeed looked good.

The appearance of the mana ball really was decent.

Of course, if I threw the mana ball I currently held at someone, it would definitely hurt.

That’s because it was an offensive spell after all.

I had used this spell quite a bit in exams and classes, and it wouldn’t be easy to say it had low power.

“Remember how the mana ball looks now. I’m going to cast it again.”

After retrieving the mana ball in my hand, I recast the spell.

This time, unlike before, I roughly sketched the magic circle in my mind and didn’t concentrate on the amount of mana.

“How about this mana ball?”

“That one looks really bad!”

“The mana ball… um… it’s wobbling, is that okay? Isn’t it going to burst?”

“It could burst, but not yet.”

“…Huh?”

I showed everyone the sloppily made mana ball.

As Grace and Ella said, it wobbling and having an unstable shape was very obvious to everyone.

If I had put in more mana, it could’ve very well burst on the spot like I mentioned to Ella.

Of course, since I used less mana, that wouldn’t happen.

“The difference between the previous mana ball and this one is obviously the quality.”

The perfect sphere of the first mana ball was pure and consistent, while the current one felt unstable and different.

“It’s a test to cast a basic spell, but ultimately, what’s most important in the exam is the level of quality. Everyone will be casting basic spells, and most of the first-years are of similar skill and age.”

I was simply stating how the quality of magic is what really matters.

While presenting a mana ball like the first one might be slightly challenging, fundamentally, the quality of magic took precedence.

Magic that lacks quality can malfunction and fail to deliver its effect properly.

“When choosing a spell, I think personal judgment will go well, but I believe it’s more important to focus on achieving higher quality than simply challenging yourself with difficulty.”

Unlike the written exam, I really didn’t have much to teach about the practical.

I couldn’t really teach anything groundbreaking about simple basic magic.

“Hmm… I don’t think I have anything more to say regarding the magic exam.”

With that, I concluded the discussion about the practical exam.

I actually didn’t have much else to say.

“Um… Lady Nordal, is this enough? How about everyone else…?”

“It is quite helpful. Honestly, I was thinking of doing a flashier spell at first.”

“Well, that’s alright, right? Being flashy won’t make you lose points.”

“But I decided to go with something familiar instead.”

“That’s good too.”

I smiled in response to Ella’s remark.

I was relieved to see that they were starting to understand what I explained.

Honestly, first-years likely thought about the practical exam in various ways, much like Ella did since it was their first.

“Lady Nordal, is there anything else you need? There isn’t much left to discuss about the magic experiments.”

“Hmm…”

“Why?”

“Could you show us another basic spell?”

“Um… of course, that’s no problem.”

Saying so, I demonstrated another basic spell.

I’m not really sure why they wanted to see basic magic, but since Ivana asked, I went ahead with it.

Ivana Nordal was watching my magic very closely.

I wasn’t sure why she was focusing so much on basic magic, but there it was.

*

After the academy classes ended, I spent time helping club members with written and practical preparation.

Before I knew it, the day of the academy exams arrived.

It was just the first day, but still?

“Hmm… The first period is Mana Studies, and the second is Imperial Arts…”

Looking at the exam schedule, I was sure of one thing.

Today was a day to just answer for ten minutes and then go back to sleep.

I had originally thought to do nothing and mess around, but… somehow, I ended up studying with the club members.

I really hadn’t intended to study for the exams at all.

“Well, it’s a good thing.”

Regardless of whether I attended the academy classes or not, I knew a lot, but reviewing it once more was another story.

For me, with the goal of changing dormitory rooms, it was great news.

“Hey Ella, are you confident?”

“Of course! What do you think I am?”

“Hmm… well…”

“Why aren’t you answering?!”

I deliberately didn’t respond to Ella’s question.

Honestly, my answer to her question was… she was just plain pretty and cute.

Plus, I wasn’t worried at all about her exam.

Rather, my worries were…

“Hmm…”

Grace, who was sitting quite a distance away from me and Ella.

I had less worry compared to before, but I still couldn’t help but worry about Grace.

“She’ll do fine.”

“What do you mean? Me?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Why did you stop talking?”

Anyway, I was passing the morning before the exam chatting with Ella.

I didn’t need to worry at all about Ella, Karen, or Ivana Nordal, but I still worried about Grace’s exam.

Through this exam study, we had grown a bit closer; perhaps our relationship improved a bit?

At first, Grace would blush and act awkwardly just by looking at me, but recently that feeling had subsided, making it more comfortable.

-Creak…

Then the exam time arrived, and I took the test in hand, casually glancing at the questions.

The Mana Studies test was just as I predicted.

It dealt with content from basic to intermediate-level spells, things I had learned a long time ago… those were things I had already learned from Ashley ages ago.

Probably, I had learned it all back when I started lessons with Ashley less than a year earlier.

“Hmm.”

Nothing special.

I began solving the questions casually.

Since they were mostly questions I already knew, there was hardly anything I could get wrong.

-Crack, crack.

As I solved one question after another, I discreetly glanced toward Grace without letting the examiners catch me.

I glanced at Ella sitting next to me, but she was just solving her exam normally.

“…….”

I kept watching Grace discreetly, and one thing struck me.

“Um…”

Even though we had studied together for about two to three weeks, and Grace typically performed above average, why did she look so nervous?

Please don’t let this be the first exam ruin everything… If the first exam goes poorly, her mental state might break…

Instead of worrying about everyone else, my focus turned entirely to Grace in this situation.

I had to check on Grace right after the exam was over.