Kyle was nowhere to be seen.
It was not good news when the person I needed to be most wary of was nowhere in sight.
“Hey, buddy. Come out already. This isn’t fun.”
I called out toward the direction where Kyle was likely hiding.
No answer came back.
The atmosphere had suddenly turned into something out of a horror movie.
“Tsk.”
If I ignored him and allowed even a single blow to land, the situation would become complicated.
To make matters worse, there were Department of Martial Arts students coming toward me through the flames.
“You’re making me spend money again.”
I ran. The direction did not matter. Kyle would react as soon as I moved anyway.
I immediately sensed someone chasing after me.
I tossed the pill I had just bought into my mouth.
A stimulant that temporarily heightened the senses.
It felt as though every movement around me was brushing against my skin.
The smell of burning and the light of the flames were so intense that they hurt.
Unlike my enhanced senses, my body’s movements had not changed, which was frustrating.
That was not what I needed to focus on.
Footsteps came from every direction.
Among them, I had to find Kyle’s.
The heaviest, and the fastest.
“That way.”
The tip of a sword shot in from the right side of my vision.
Before I could even confirm Kyle’s figure with my eyes, my body was already moving.
The sword wrapped in Sword Aura narrowly passed before my neck.
Looks like he really does intend to kill me, that damn bastard.
“Die...!!”
“Calm down. This is a mock battle. It’s not a real war, you know?”
I tried to reason with him, but Kyle would not listen.
“Anyway....”
The stimulant’s effect was running out. The lethargy that came with its side effects began to creep in.
“You remember these guys, right?”
Wing Frogs leaped out from beneath my sleeves.
Kyle’s eyes widened. With the surroundings already engulfed in flames, adding the Wing Frogs’ oil would surely cause something terrible.
“Don’t come any closer! Unless you all want to get roasted, that is!”
I shouted while holding one Wing Frog like a hostage.
Meanwhile, the Wing Frogs spread out around us as though they did not have a care in the world.
The Department of Martial Arts students who had been creeping closer from behind stopped.
“You...!”
Kyle gritted his teeth.
A taut tension filled the air.
“I didn’t want to take it this far, either.”
Every single Wing Frog was money.
Just how many were there?
“If this many explode, you won’t come out unscathed, either...!”
“Of course I won’t.”
With all that oil and poison, it would be chaos.
The Fireproof Cloak could not block flames indefinitely. I would be poisoned, and if I took physical damage on top of the heat, I would be in danger as well.
“Quit while you’re ahead and surrender.”
“You told me not to surrender earlier.”
First one thing, then another. He was doing whatever he pleased.
“Are you planning to stake your life on a mock battle?!”
“Who was the one trying to kill someone in a mock battle?”
As we argued, time passed.
The stimulant’s side effects grew stronger. Drowsiness washed over me.
“Ugh...?!”
In the brief moment I lost focus, the Wing Frog slipped out of my hand.
“Ha...!!”
Kyle’s eyes lit up.
Just as he was about to swing his sword, certain of victory.
I saw a bird made of ice.
Compared to the flames covering the forest, it was a small figure. Yet the flames around the bird’s path weakened and died away.
Among the first-years, there was only one person who could use magic of that level.
“You could’ve come a little sooner.”
I was really going to make her pay dearly for this debt.
“Everyone, attack! Water Magic and Ice Magic only!”
Lucia came into view, leading the Department of Magic students as they ran from the front.
Judging by the state of her clothes and hair, she had clearly already gone through at least one fierce battle.
Chunks of ice rained down. Water surged up.
The mages advanced, devouring the fire that covered the forest.
“Dammit, they’re already...!”
I had thought our friends were late, but Kyle seemed to have expected them even later than this.
No matter how airheaded the Department of Magic students were, he was underestimating them too much.
Of course, they had arrived in time thanks to Lucia.
“I’ve got to kill this bastard at least...!”
Kyle gritted his teeth and raised his sword.
Now he had given up on victory entirely and was trying to attack me.
What in the world had made him like this?
“Sorry, but my role ends here.”
There was no reason to keep fighting. There was even less reason to die.
I directed the Wing Frogs I had spread out to charge at Kyle’s face all at once. The Wing Frogs alone could not hurt Kyle, but they were enough to block his vision for a moment.
Having lost their commander, the remaining students became unsure whether they should help Kyle or attack me.
“See you next time.”
Thanks to that, I was given more than enough time to withdraw.
I passed through the idiots who were flinching around in a daze.
Even with an enemy escaping right before their eyes, none of them could properly swing their swords even once.
That was probably natural for ten-year-olds with no real combat experience.
“I’ll leave the rear to you.”
When I spoke to Lucia as she ran past me, she nodded.
“I need to refrain from using stimulants from now on. Ugh.”
My strength was draining away. There were certainly medicines with better effects and fewer side effects, but their prices were no joke.
The medicine I had used this time had only cost five gold coins.
If the duration and effect doubled, the price would increase more than twentyfold.
Once side effects were taken into account, it could easily become a hundred times more expensive.
If I ever ended up in a situation where I had to rely on medicine that costly, would it not be easier to just give up?
If I kept spending money on things I could not recover, I would go bankrupt before graduation.
As always, money was the problem. I had to make money. I had to survive.
I leaned against a half-burned tree and took in the sight of the battlefield.
Already in disarray because of the flames, the Department of Martial Arts students collapsed under the barrage of magic without offering any meaningful response.
The Orc’s surface was roasted golden brown, but it was still holding on.
It seemed that some Department of Martial Arts students had charged the Orc while the flames were being put out, but they had failed to hunt it.
“Checkmate.”
Kyle tore the Wing Frogs away and rushed forward, but Lucia’s strike was faster.
The Orc, which had already sustained considerable injuries, was killed instantly when an ice spear Lucia launched pierced its neck.
Cheers from my fellow students rang out.
With this, the mock battle was over.
“Living as a student isn’t easy, either.”
Now it was time to settle the accounts.
Just what kind of profit and loss had this mock battle brought me?
***
“The Department of Magic has won.”
The teacher arrived not long after the Orc’s breathing stopped, apparently having watched from nearby.
“I cannot accept this! You set the forest on fire!”
Kyle protested.
Why could this guy never accept the result gracefully?
The teacher had the final say.
I was a little curious about how the teacher would judge it as well.
The difficulty of my academy life would depend on how my use of various methods was received.
“Fire attacks have historically been a strategy commonly used in war. It cannot be called cheating.”
The teacher dismissed Kyle’s objection outright.
“Wouldn’t mages be placed at too great a disadvantage if Fire Magic were restricted merely to prevent forest fires?”
It was a reasonable point.
Among the elemental magic used by mages, Fire Magic was one of the more popular types.
Everyone would know one or two Fire Magic spells, so imposing restrictions because of the environment would not be balanced.
“Right. Mages were already at a disadvantage from the moment a march was included.”
I added a comment from the side.
We had won, but it had been close because of my peers’ snail-like pace.
From the start, it was a structure that made it difficult for the Department of Magic, which lacked physical training, to win.
“You have two reincarnators on your side! We were at a greater disadvantage!”
Kyle angrily pointed at Lucia and me.
If we started picking apart every detail, the argument would never end.
I did not think this school ever intended to create perfect balance.
It was similar to balancing a game.
There would be students expelled from the academy with every test, but creating a perfectly fair environment every time would be incredibly complicated, and unforeseen variables could upset the balance.
Rather than that, leaving room for interpretation and making both sides argue that they were disadvantaged was a far more efficient approach than an ostensibly fair system.
Just like now.
“Starting a fire is not the only problem! That guy brings in external items and uses them, does he not?! That is cheating!”
Even after one objection had been rejected, Kyle continued to protest without giving up.
“It is my understanding that Lawrence’s Shop is a Privilege. Am I mistaken? Privileges may be used at any time during academy activities.”
This teacher was no pushover.
I was grateful that he was taking my side now, but people who insisted on principles and rules were the kind I was likely to clash with in the future. I did not want to keep him nearby.
As though he would not listen to Kyle any longer, the teacher turned and spoke.
“I will now announce the mock battle’s evaluation results.”
The results already? That was quick.
“I will grant five Bonus Points to every member of the victorious Department of Magic. And....”
The teacher continued, flipping through papers as though he had recorded the events of the mock battle.
“Kyle. You were the first to reach the Orc, and you performed well enough to lead the battle to the verge of victory. I will award you five individual Bonus Points.”
At the words individual Bonus Points, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Kyle’s mouth.
I had thought the points were a consolation prize for the ace on the losing side, but Lucia received individual points as well.
“Miss Lucia commanded the main force and led the mock battle to victory. Ten individual Bonus Points.”
Then naturally, I could expect an even greater score, right?
“Lawrence bought time alone at a moment of crisis and delayed defeat. Twenty individual Bonus Points.”
Just as expected.
Including the victory points, that made twenty-five points.
I had not received any grades yet, so I did not have a clear sense of how much influence those points would have.
Still, there was nothing bad about being able to get even a few steps ahead.
“Good work.”
Having finished announcing the results, the teacher immediately left.
“Is this a team battle or an individual one?”
There was only a five-point difference between victory and defeat.
Kyle had lost, but in the end, he received the same number of points as the Department of Magic.
Lucia received twice as many additional points, and I received four times as many.
Individual performance seemed to matter more than victory or defeat.
In any case, the victorious Department of Magic was in a festive mood.
In the midst of it all, a rather noteworthy scene was unfolding.
“...Oh.”
There was a girl tightly hugging Lucia around the neck and rubbing her face against her, while boys praised Lucia with raised thumbs, saying that she really was a reincarnator.
At the center of them all was Lucia, smiling brightly despite her embarrassment.
Everyone was happy.
There was no need to throw cold water on the moment.
But.... It still felt unfair.
I had things to say, too.
I quietly slipped into the crowd of my festive peers.
“Hey, don’t you all have something to say to me?”
Poke, poke.
I pointed at myself with a playful smile.
“Uh, um. Right. Good work.”
“...You did well. Impressive.”
My peers reluctantly nodded.
...Right. I was not expecting the same passionate cheers Lucia had received, but considering the hostility they had always shown me, this was quite a remarkable change.
From an enemy they would not even associate with, I had become an ally they did not like but acknowledged nonetheless.
For now, this was enough.
That was enough of that.
I pushed through the students and whispered into Lucia’s ear.
“And, Lucia.”
“...?”
“You should talk with me for a moment, shouldn’t you?”
“....”
Lucia, who had been puzzled, understood what I meant and bit her lip.
Regardless, I continued.
“How much do you think you owe me today?”
Heh heh heh. This time when I got to calculate the money I was going to collect was my favorite.