Day of the Entrance Exam (2)

"Princess, how about having a meal before you go?"

"Sounds good! Ehehe."

After leaving the Duke Hall where the practical exam was held, Princess Snow White let out a forced laugh in response to Merlin Astrea's invitation for a meal.

It was all water under the bridge now. White decided to enjoy some delicious food at the academy's cafeteria and then return.

Sure, it's better to forget this damned reality and enjoy the meal. Everything will be taken care of by my future self, after all.

As she passed by the many examinees that gathered around the Duke Hall…

Suddenly, Merlin noticed four examinees. They were all around White's age and were at different parts of the campus.

Merlin quickly scanned them.

"…"

In the Astrea family, there was something that Sword Saint Gerald Astrea emphasized when Merlin joined the Imperial Knights.

'Cultivate the habit of constantly observing and analyzing your surroundings. This way, you can prevent half of all crises.'

The reason the four examinees caught Merlin's attention was because each of them had specific markings on their bodies.

From Orphin Hall's written exam to Duke Hall's practical exam, constantly accompanying White and closely observing the candidates led to a realization.

Merlin, with her sharp vision, scrutinized those markings. They were all trump symbols.

They noticed Merlin's gaze but deliberately pretended they didn't. Merlin, realizing this, turned her eyes forward again.

'These guys do not seem to care whether Princess White is here or not, '

White was the princess of this empire. Every examinee showed special feelings towards her.

But the four examinees with the trump symbols showed no particular emotion towards the Princess, the Priestess, or the Saintess.

Whoever they were, Merlin couldn't help but have an ominous feeling from them.

"By the way, for a place where demons have appeared numerous times, it's quite intact. Honestly, I imagined ruins before coming here. And I thought there would be big banners hung saying 'Our Academy is Operating Fine' or something like that…"

"Of course not, princess."

After responding briefly to White's words, Merlin paid careful attention to the four with the trump symbols.

***

"Lady Miya!!"

The personal escort wizard ran frantically across the campus.

Miya the priestess had disappeared, leaving only a fox fire behind.

It was a spell that created a temporary clone that would dissipate over time. Miya had already left for another place long ago.

"Sob, Lady Miya!! Where have you gone again!!"

It was time to return to the carriage guarded by Horan's escorts, but where had the priestess disappeared to?

The personal escort wizard searched for Priestess Miya while sobbing. If anything happened to Miya, it would be her head on the line.

* * *

At the corner of the butterfly garden,

I leaned against a zelkova tree and bloomed a [Frostfire] in my right hand.

Today was the entrance exam day for new students, so I wasn't able to use the training ground. Thus, I decided to train at the corner of the butterfly garden, just like before.

However, I needed to check if there were any problems, so I was observing the academy with [Clairvoyance].

'The main and supporting characters are fine.'

The Pure White Princess, Snow White von Kairos Eifelto.

Insignificant but somewhat sane. The core main character of Year 2 of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱. To prevent a bad ending, I must get involved with this person no matter what.

The Priestess of the Red Lotus, Miya.

I didn't particularly like her sociopathic, and discriminatory personality. Note that the absence of a surname was due to religious reasons, that one shouldn't attach the meaning of being born to a human from the 'Divine Maiden'.

The Agent of the Lord, Bianca Entourage.

Her, well… I really don't want to get involved unless it's absolutely necessary.

It seems that the other supporting characters I have welcomed have all successfully passed the entrance exam without any issues.

As expected, there was one significant deviation that did not betray my expectations.

"Paladins…"

The mid-bosses of the 「Alice Subjugation」.

The top knights among Alice Carroll's trump forces; the four Paladins.

They had come to take the Märchen Academy entrance exam.

It was a scene completely different from the scenario in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ that I knew.

'I expected this.'

I didn't panic. I had already anticipated such variables.

The game scenario I knew was just a factor to consider, like a lottery prediction number. It was only natural to consider all sorts of variables.

Alice was in a state where she had to cautiously find and assassinate the Black Monster. Moreover, being the student council president, she was well aware of the academic schedule for the next semester.

This meant that she would need an ally who could freely move within the academy, fulfill academic schedules, and interact with existing students, and at the same time, could be controlled like a limb and was also powerful…

Indeed, nothing else came to mind except the Paladins.

'Don't they feel guilty lying about their age?'

I wasn't one to talk, but it was apparent that they had crossed a line by lying about their appearance and age. The age gap between us was significant, spanning several decades.

For reference, the Paladins were human. Even if I had poured stats into [Vs. Human Combat Power], I wasn't too sure if I could achieve the specs to defeat them by force by the time of 「Alice Subjugation」.

Initially, you had to max out [Vs. Demon Combat Power] to get the most out of [Hunter]. Without hitting a stat of 100 in [Vs. Human Combat Power], it would be too much to expect any dramatic effect.

Moreover, I had to prepare for fights against heavenly beings, so I couldn't solely focus on [Anti-Human Combat].

Once the four Paladins teamed up with Alice, it became risky to monitor them carelessly because of Cheshire, who could track [Clairvoyance].

Using [Clairvoyance] to monitor the academy today was the right choice.

I stopped using [Clairvoyance], clenched my fist, and extinguished the [Frostfire].

All that was left was to figure out how to deal with Alice, who had brought the Paladins with her.

'I need to think of a countermeasure…'

"Hey, there's something I'd like to ask."

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, a gentle voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned my head towards the sound.

With red cat-eye makeup, a beautiful girl with black jade-colored hair was looking at me.

It was the priestess, Miya.

[Miya] Lv: 155

Race: Human

Elements: Fire

Danger: X

Psychology: [Considers you a somewhat good-looking insect.]

'Why is she here?'

I was surprised for a moment.

Miya's familiar, the nine-tailed fox, might have sensed my [Clairvoyance], but it didn't have the ability to track it the way the Lightning Sovereign or Cheshire did. That was why I was just leisurely watching earlier…

My eyes naturally drifted to the right index fingernail of Miya, where the nine-tailed fox would be, then quickly shifted back to her face. It was better to avoid drawing the fox's attention as much as possible.

"Where is this place?"

'Ah, right, she's bad with directions.'

Her characteristics came to mind. Now I didn't even wonder why her personal escort wizard was left behind.

In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, Priestess Miya often slipped away from her personal escort wizard and wandered around alone. It wouldn't be a problem if she was good at finding her way, but she often got lost, which was a constant headache for her personal escort wizard.

Her psychology wasn't off either. She considered those weaker than herself to be insects and didn't pay them any attention.

This was much more dramatic than Lisetta's habit of not listening to weaker individuals. At least Lisetta didn't consider them pigs.

Anyway,

Since I was using [Clairvoyance] until a moment ago, I must have been emitting mana, and she must have felt it. She would have realized that I was much weaker than her.

"This is the butterfly garden. Did you get lost?"

I put on a kind smile. I didn't really want to use honorifics with her, given that she was a priestess from the Eastern Nation. Everyone has their pride.

So I decided to pretend I didn't know who she was.

After all, I could just use the excuse of being an uneducated, poor commoner who only studied for the entrance exams after leaving my hometown.

"…You're a senior, right? Who are you to speak informally to me?"

This brat…

As expected, there was no trace of manners.

Fortunately, my expression didn't falter. I just smiled as if I was slightly troubled.

"You spoke informally first."

"Oh ho, that makes sense. I forgot that this is an academy. There must be customs unique to this place."

Sigh.

"And why am I your senior?"

"I'm going to be admitted here. It's a done deal, so it's not a problem, right?"

There are many problems with what you're saying, idiot.

Still, she was right to be confident about her admission. In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, she was the top seat of the first year's in Year 2.

"More importantly, this isn't the time to talk with you. I felt the gaze of my prince…"

"My prince?"

"The Nameless Hero. Surely he was watching over me…!"

"Ah, the Black Monster. How do you know abou-?"

"You pig."

Priestess Miya looked at me with contempt and there was a rapid change of attitude. Her gentle eyes narrowed, and her voice which had a hint of cuteness became authoritative in an instant.

"Who do you think you are calling a monster? Truly a foolish man."

"…"

It was the authoritative tone she used as a priestess from the Eastern Nation. She spoke in this tone when she was angry so it became a habit.

"…I apologize for my expression. You seem to really like your 'prince'."

"Hmph, I like him indeed. The strength that wiped out the demons and single-handedly brought down the Floating Island is undeniably captivating. He's not someone to be rudely referred to as a monster."

After I brought down the Floating Island, I heard that followers of the Nameless Hero sprouted up like bamboo after rain.

Originally, the term 'Nameless Hero' was coined to prevent calling the one who saved humanity the 'Black Monster,' so it was obvious what his followers would prefer to call him.

She, too, must have been a follower of the Nameless Hero. When I used [Psychological Insight], it seemed like I had taken a glimpse of the heart of a fan who adored a celebrity.

"Ha, enough. I've unintentionally bestowed upon you the honor of a long conversation with me. If I were to meet a senior for the first time, I would have expected someone like Lady Luce Eltania or the Wizard of the Emerald Fairy. To think such a man would be my first… My luck is poor."

"Is that so…"

Kaya was referred to as the Wizard of the Emerald Fairy. She had earned the nickname from awakening the plant element and continuing the lineage of Sylphia, the Emerald Fairy.

Luce also eventually earned the nickname 'Empress of the Abyss,' but that's a story for later.

At the time, Luce and Kaya were quite famous.

As Märchen Academy became the center of attention, the exploits of its talented individuals, following the Nameless Hero, became the talk of the world.

Most of the examinees who took the entrance exam that day likely idolized them.

"I wish I could see the face of my prince instead of this. Hehe."

Miya, seemingly thrilled just by thinking of the Nameless Hero, closed her innocent-looking eyes, pressed a folded black fan to her cheek, and let out a bashful moan.

She still didn't seem to care about others' judgment…

'…She's doing that on purpose.'

She was probably trying to make it clear that what she was looking for wasn't someone as insignificant as me, but rather the strongest of the strong and the most powerful Nameless Hero.

I realized once again that the phrase 'a flawlessly beautiful doll' suited her perfectly, though her personality was terrible.

Then, Miya looked at me and sighed in annoyance.

"Well then."

She said and walked away.

"Ha, really."

It was unbelievable.

* * *

[Miya.]

"What?"

Beneath a sky that was awash in the vibrant hues of sunset.

After leaving Isaac, priestess Miya walked, deeply pondering about where the Nameless Hero might be.

A mature and mystical female voice resonated in her head.

[Didn't you feel anything when you encountered the boy with silver-blue hair earlier?]

"What's there to feel about an insect?"

[He looked in my direction at first. After that, I felt as though he were deliberately avoiding my gaze.]

Miya's familiar, the nine-tailed fox, was inside her right index fingernail in the form of a faint mana entity.

It was a form difficult to detect with an average mana perception.

"How would such a pig with only that level of mana know your location? Avoiding your gaze on purpose? Must be a coincidence…You're not suggesting that he's my prince, are you?"

Miya glared at her right index fingernail with a fierce look. A tiny blue flame flickered on her nail, showing a red inner light.

"My prince has a cool demeanor, short hair, over 2 meters tall, and bulging muscles – a completely masculine macho man. That's what the witnesses testified. It's a different class from that feeble-looking, soft boy I saw earlier, a totally different class."

[Ah…]

"Ah, my prince. To touch those enormous arm muscles endlessly… or lick them…"

Her voice, which had been subdued, suddenly became coquettish. Miya often lost herself in her own world without context.

The nine-tailed fox did not respond.

Having no experience with men due to her life as a Priestess, Miya had solidified the image of the Nameless Hero through countless fantasies. No matter what was said, her imagination wouldn't be broken unless she personally witnessed the nameless hero.

However, the nine-tailed fox decided to remember the silver-blue-haired boy.

Because the unease it had felt so far had never been unfounded… not even once.