The Sacred Flame doubled in size.
It certainly draws every eye.
My gaze swept the Sacred Flame and the vision stones floating nearby.
'And the interest level just went up too.'
A broadcast of children changing a flame's color could never be entertaining.
Which is probably why the Dormitory Selection Rite was moving along briskly.
And in the middle of it, a sudden anomaly!
'Deliberate?'
The truth is, from a god's point of view, the Inquisition Bureau being shunned while it fights demons could hardly be welcome.
It would have known I was going to choose the Inquisition Bureau.
This looked like something staged on purpose to concentrate attention.
A moment of bewilderment is enough. If the stage is set, use it.
I immediately breathed attribute-converted holy power into the enlarged Sacred Flame.
The white Sacred Flame stained gradually red, starting from the center.
“Whoaaaargh!”
CLATTER-BANG—!
A shriek and a commotion came from the left side of the auditorium.
'What is that?'
I turned my head and met the eyes of a hollow-eyed man staring this way as though his own were about to pop out.
'Did he bite his tongue?'
-No no, Lian. They say that person is a professor!
'A professor?'
-They say he's in charge of Zerotil!
??
The man who let out that bizarre scream is going to be my professor?
'...Did I choose the wrong track?'
But the Sacred Flame was already glowing red.
“C-Condemnation?”
“It's Zerotil?”
“Good heavens.”
As the enormous Sacred Flame stained wholly red and blazed away, the murmuring grew louder.
While I was shrugging, the priest managing the Sacred Flame beside me asked with a sour look.
“Student Lian Ludersk. Zerotil Hall, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“...Yes. Confirmed.”
Leaving that still-dazed face behind.
I returned to my place.
***
“......”
“No way.”
“Zerotil, really?”
“Whoaaaargh! A rookie! A rookie is coming to our Zerotil!”
“Whooaaaa!”
The head professor in charge of Zerotil Hall.
Rahil Runstia lost all dignity and leapt about, locked in an embrace with his own assistant.
'What use is dignity?'
'The Inquisition Bureau never had any dignity to begin with!'
The professors of the other halls stood slack-jawed.
The children's shock was a bird's foot's worth of blood compared to the shock the professors took!
To lose a rookie to Zerotil, of all places!
'Losing a rookie to another hall, for the first time in three years. And to Zerotil.'
The shock was greatest for the head professor in charge of Belladen Hall, the Paladin Order's.
Belladen, which for three years had taken every rookie, all of them born with the Holy Aura talent!
But this year alone, for the first time, a rookie with Holy Aura had refused Belladen.
'A shame.'
The shock lasted only a moment.
He had to feel a great regret.
Because Lian's potential had felt overwhelming.
Potential that made the rookies of the past three years look ordinary!
'An angel descended, didn't it.'
Naturally, he had watched the Baptism Rite broadcast too.
The scene of an angel descending mid-rite to bestow a blessing had been genuinely shocking.
Not even the Saint had had that happen.
And now the Sacred Flame was blazing up large, as though welcoming him.
'A shame. But from third year, transfer to another hall becomes possible.'
The first three years after enrollment are an adjustment period.
A period giving the children time to consider their track fully and confirm whether it suits their aptitude.
Since experiencing it can reveal a mismatch with one's aptitude, they are given a chance to change.
Moving is not easy.
Because transferring to another occupational group requires passing a difficult examination!
'But for that child it will be easy.'
In which case.
'In three years I must see to it that he can choose Belladen.'
He settled on his strategy.
Meanwhile.
“Lian Ludersk chose Zerotil?”
“Zerotil? Where was Zerotil again?”
“The Inquisition Bureau!”
“Ehh—”
“That Baptism Rite rookie is going to the Inquisition Bureau?”
Those watching the Osten Academy Dormitory Selection Rite broadcast could not hide their bewilderment.
“He looked so delicate. Will he survive well over there?”
“Who knows. He must be going because he's confident, no?”
“Judging by the way he cleared the labyrinth at the Baptism Rite, he has spirit, doesn't he?”
Among those watching the live broadcast were seniors of Zerotil Hall as well.
“Wow! Whoa! Our first junior!”
“The quota gets filled either way.”
“That's not a real junior! You have to choose Zerotil first to be a real junior!”
Was the day finally coming when they would be treated as proper seniors!
Zerotil's upper years shouted at the broadcast in their hall.
There were various opinions, but in common.
“He chose it because of his mother.”
“It must be because of Lilliad Ludersk.”
“Thank you for looking after your juniors! Great senior!”
It never occurred to anyone that Lian had chosen Zerotil himself.
***
“He really did choose Zerotil.”
“Heheheh. Lian has never changed a decision, has he.”
“Why are you so pleased about it?”
“Look at Lumiel. The other kids' eyes are about to pop out.”
Indeed.
Everyone was aghast at Lian for not choosing Belladen despite having the Holy Aura specialty talent.
“If he's going to use it like that, give the talent to me!”
“Wow, Condemnation? Is this real.”
“They say it's the first proper first-choice in nearly seven years.”
The children around were spilling complaints and jeers.
“Boooo!”
Zerotil's unpopularity beggared imagination.
To go so far as to jeer.
“Ugh, what a savage reaction.”
I shook my head as I returned to my place.
But with this, Zerotil Hall's honor rose a little.
'Since the only person to enter so far is a rookie.'
“I-I'm going up!”
“Mm! Go get them!”
Now it was Corin's turn.
Corin would choose Zerotil too, so the mood should improve a bit.
When Corin, standing before the platform likewise, stained the Sacred Flame red, another bizarre scream rang out.
After a little more time, the selection rite ended entirely.
What surprised me was that besides Corin and me, two more had chosen Zerotil.
'And they were second and third at the Baptism Rite.'
Second-place Lionel Rondoa and third-place Viera Tribel.
I didn't know who the third was, but the second I knew clearly.
'Wasn't he the son of the Paladin Order's Supreme Commander.'
House Rondoa is a distinguished paladin house that has produced outstanding paladins for generations!
At first I thought he'd lost his mind.
'Stealing my thunder.'
Tch.
Certainly, a Baptism Rite rookie choosing Zerotil had less news value than the Paladin Supreme Commander's son choosing Zerotil.
'Looking over earlier, the fellow who seemed to be Belladen Hall's professor was collapsing.'
That is how shocking a choice it was.
“We shall now proceed with the individual tests.”
The individual tests.
A procedure that measures each person's capability and confirms whether they are qualified to enter their hall.
The test results are converted to points, and hall admission is decided from the top ranks down.
“Each test is conducted in the field the individual is confident in.”
For holy magic, the completeness of the magic.
For combat, the depth of the martial technique.
For healing, confirmation of life force.
The key point within that was how holy power had been utilized.
Tension hung among the children. Two of us alone were relaxed.
“Corin, we'd pass doing this any old way.”
“M-mm!”
Thanks to the total number of applicants to Zerotil Hall being four.
“Lian. What are you going to do your test with?”
“It has to be what I'm best at. So this.”
I twisted slightly to show my beloved steel pipe slung across my back.
“What about Lumiel and Adrian?”
“Holy magic, obviously.”
“I'm doing the shield!”
Lumiel had kept honing holy magic, and Adrian had taken up a shield on my recommendation.
'But is that fellow going to be all right?'
Worried, I ask casually.
“Hey, Lumiel. Are you doing it with ice magic?”
“Obviously. It's what I'm best at, isn't it?”
'It isn't.'
Only he insists it, and only he believes it.
Whether he thinks ice is cool. He stuck to it come hell or high water.
'The matchup doesn't suit him.'
That was how it looked to me.
When I hinted about fire magic, I was refused flat out.
'The fire spirits like Lumiel quite a lot, though.'
Playing pranks a great deal is a spirit's nature.
Playing pranks on Lumiel in particular means they took a liking to him.
Which means Lumiel is a person with high affinity for fire.
'His affinity for ice is low. I wonder how it will go.'
The reason he keeps needling is probably that he knows himself it isn't going well.
'Well, surely he won't actually fail?'
He's a Ludersk too.
Lumiel's potential is fairly decent.
Adrian, by contrast, is ordinary.
He hasn't mastered holy power attribute conversion yet, so Enhancement loads onto the shield only intermittently.
'Adrian's odds are about fifty-fifty.'
Because in practice too he kept succeeding exactly half the time.
“Lumiel. Fail and it's Zerotil. You know that?”
“Haa...”
This fellow is cursing me with his expression, isn't he?
'Good hit feedback on him.'
There's a flavor to teasing him.
Up front, various implements were being prepared to measure individual ability.
Each of us lined up at the relevant station and waited our turn.
Adrian and I use arms, so we went to the same place.
Corin for healing and Lumiel for holy magic split off to their own.
Scores can be known almost immediately after the test.
Once the children have been measured to some degree, you can gauge pass or fail by the scores.
“Aagh! I'm ruined...”
Lumiel was ruined.
Not content with the ice spear realized through holy magic coming out lumpy and warped.
It also failed to hold its shape and shattered to pieces in no time.
Wretched enough that you needn't even look at the score!
'To think it would go this badly.'
The holy power attribute conversion worked, which is good, but the stability was far too lacking.
He was probably more nervous, so it went worse.
“Don't worry. You can just come to Zerotil.”
“Are you pouring oil on the fire right now?”
“Well, who told you to do ice magic.”
“I! Am best! At ice!”
Mm, no.
Adrian, by contrast, succeeded exactly half the time, as expected.
“Hahaha! Just like in practice!”
He struck down with the shield and blocked the incoming objects. But the aura of guarding held on the shield for exactly half that number.
Even so, Adrian did better than Lumiel.
Because Adrian displayed the full extent of what he can do.
'Well, he brought it on himself.'
I shrugged and gripped the steel pipe.
It was my turn.
'I've learned attribute conversion.'
I change the holy power I will channel to Condemnation.
The letters inscribed on the steel pipe glowed red.
'Here we go.'
VWOOM—
I swing the staff horizontally at the training dummy.
WHUMP—!
After striking the chest, I bring the staff around behind my back and drop into a crouch.
Crack! Crack-crack!
I strike the legs immediately.
Whirl— THWACK!
Sliding backward, a strike to the flank.
Crack-crack! Crack! Crack-crack-crack!
I took the rear and from there beat the dummy like a thrashing.
Every motion flowed like water.
Body technique nobody would imagine from a seven-year-old!
“Whoaa...”
“Is that movement for real?”
“How on earth is he doing that?”
The waiting children wore dazed expressions.
Of course it's no joke.
'Do you know how hard I worked to optimize for a seven-year-old body.'
It can't compare to my Seo Utak days, but it isn't a level anyone the same age can measure up to.
In an instant the dummy was in tatters.
Ding—
The score displayed was top-tier as well!
'105 points? That's double the average.'
Satisfying.
***
“Hyuuurk!”
Rahil Runstia felt about to faint.
The ability of the Baptism Rite rookie who had chosen Zerotil far exceeded expectations!
'Such, such fortune for the Inquisition Bureau!'
If they raise that child properly, they might just recover the glory of the old days.
“Hkk!”
Tears sprang to his eyes before he knew it.
'But what is that?'
Rahil's eyes went to the pattern inscribed on the steel staff Lian held.
A hue that glowed red because it held the power of Condemnation, then went ssss— and faded.
Something between a scrawl and a drawing, and it was strange.
“!!”
His eyes soon went wide, as though he had realized something.
'That is the — the script of an angel...!'