After the Department of Magic’s practical test ended, the academy was naturally thrown into complete chaos. An incident where a Grade 3 monster evolved in the middle of an exam was the first of its kind since the academy’s founding.
A team was immediately assembled within the academy to investigate the truth of the incident, and an inquiry began. The monsters released into the mountain for the test had been donated by the Empire’s knight order, and they were only brought into the mountain after undergoing thorough inspections by monster researchers.
Of course, while the probability of a monster evolution phenomenon occurring was extremely low, it was not a completely nonexistent occurrence. From that perspective, it was not impossible for such an incident to happen during an exam. However, the current issue was that the structure in place should have made monster evolution impossible from the start.
The donated Grade 3 monsters were fitted with special magical tools. When the circular shackle-type magical tool was attached to a monster, effects such as lowering the monster’s speed and reducing at least thirty percent of the strength it could exert could be observed.
In other words, the academy’s position was that no matter how much potential a monster possessed for evolution, once it wore those shackles, the probability of a monster evolution phenomenon occurring approached nearly zero.
“So, Rona encountered that monster first, correct?”
“Yes.”
Inside the consultation room, Rona nodded with a gloomy expression. Ruite’s worried gaze landed on her.
The moment she had arrived at the academy that morning, Rona had run toward him crying. She kept insisting it was all her fault and repeating apologies so much that calming her down had nearly exhausted him.
Perhaps Harold had noticed that as well, because the very first thing he did upon entering the consultation room was reassure Rona that it was not her fault.
“So then, Ruite, could you explain in detail what the situation was like when the monster evolved?”
Ruite slowly opened his mouth. He had never intended to fight a Grade 3 monster in the first place, so he and Rona had tried to run away together. But even after putting distance between themselves and the monster, it continued chasing them, and he began to feel something was wrong when its speed kept increasing.
After that, the monster’s appearance changed, and he could also feel its magic intensifying, so he concluded that the monster had evolved. When he finished explaining, Harold nodded.
“Haa… first of all, it’s truly a relief that all of you are safe.”
Harold let out repeated sighs of relief while looking at Rona, Ruite, and Chester, who was seated there with them in the consultation room.
However, Ruite was oddly conscious of Chester’s mood. Chester sat crookedly in his chair with an expressionless face, but when it came down to it, Ruite was practically the one who had dragged him into all this.
He had run into Chester while fleeing and had even ordered him around on his own.
His personality’s already like that to begin with, so how annoyed must he be inside after getting dragged into such a troublesome situation because of someone he dislikes?
“Professor, then why exactly did the monster evolution suddenly occur?”
When Chester asked, Harold’s complexion darkened once more.
“We’re still investigating for now… but opinion is leaning toward the possibility that the magical tool suppressing the monster’s power failed to function properly.”
Ruite recalled the moment he first saw the monster. The shackle around its body had definitely seemed to emit a green light. If that was the case, didn’t that mean it had been functioning properly? Or perhaps it had worked at first and then suddenly malfunctioned while chasing him and Rona.
No matter how he thought about it, it had simply been an incredibly unlucky incident.
“Were there no crystal magical tools near that monster?”
“There were. There were, but… later, during the investigation, they found two crystal magical tools broken and lying nearby.”
Harold explained that the crystal magical tools had likely failed to function properly because they were overloaded by the intensified magic released during the monster’s evolution.
“No matter what the reason was, it’s still true that the academy placed all of you in danger. Professor Neo, Professor Laird, myself included—we all feel very sorry toward you.”
An accident capable of threatening students had occurred at an academy that should have prioritized student safety above all else. Apparently, the mountain would remain completely closed for the time being, and entry by unauthorized personnel would be strictly prohibited until the full investigation was complete.
“And Ruite, Chester. We’re especially grateful to the two of you. If not for you, the evolved monster would have rampaged even more, and the damage would have been far worse. The contribution you made by courageously standing against it was enormous.”
Caught off guard by the sudden praise, Ruite awkwardly scratched his head with a laugh. In truth, he had simply been trying to run away too. If he had not happened to run into Chester and think of that flash of inspiration, he would have fled immediately.
“Still, there’s something I’m personally curious about, Ruite.”
“Yes?”
“How exactly did you deal with that monster? According to the investigation, that monster had evolved to Grade 2, and the magical tool restraining its power had failed to function as well. It should have been difficult for students alone to suppress it.”
Professor Neo had been the one to deliver the final blow to the monster, but by then it had already sustained considerable damage.
Perhaps Rona had been curious too, because he could feel her gaze on him.
“At first, I realized my firepower alone wouldn’t be enough, so I was running away… but then I ran into Chester. Since Chester excels in the lightning attribute, I thought he’d be able to increase my firepower.”
“Oh? And then?”
Harold asked with open personal interest and curiosity.
“So while Chester held the monster back, I stepped on Chester’s head and—”
At that moment, an incredibly sharp stare stabbed into the back of his head. When he cautiously turned his head, Chester was glaring at him with a vicious look in his eyes. Apparently, he was still holding a grudge over Ruite stepping all over him and jumping off his body back then.
“I thought if I attacked the monster’s head, we’d somehow be able to subjugate it… well, that’s basically what happened.”
Ruite carefully continued his explanation while avoiding looking toward Chester as much as possible. Harold nodded as though he understood.
“You judged the situation well and acted decisively even in such a frightening situation. Actually, the professors have already discussed something regarding the two of you. For this practical evaluation, we’re planning to award both Ruite and Chester perfect scores.”
“What?”
Ruite’s eyes widened.
“It truly was an unforeseen situation, but regardless, what the two of you managed to suppress was a Grade 2 monster. Even aside from compensation for dragging you into the incident, the two of you fully deserve high scores. Sounds fair, right?”
“Completely fair.”
Ruite grinned at the completely unexpected gift. Chester stared fixedly at Ruite’s smiling face before shaking his head slowly.
Professor Harold also added that the academy was currently discussing compensation they could provide to the students caught up in the incident.
Ruite felt like it did not really matter what the compensation was. There probably was not any reward more satisfying than receiving a perfect score on the exam. In the first place, he had not even suffered any major injuries or damages.
“Alright then, let’s end the consultation here for now. Rona, would you stay behind for a moment?”
“Yes.”
Rona’s expression was still dark. It seemed the series of events had shocked her quite badly emotionally. Wanting to comfort her, Harold sent the other two away first.
After stepping out of the consultation room, Ruite stretched broadly. It was difficult to stop the grin that kept threatening to spread across his face.
“Why do you keep grinning like that?”
Perhaps noticing it, Chester spoke bluntly.
“What do you mean why? I got a perfect score on the practical exam, so of course I’m smiling. Aren’t you happy?”
“I was already close to a perfect score even without that.”
“…Yeah. Must be nice being you.”
As expected of the top student. There was no way he could understand the joy of someone who had only hoped to scrape by with average grades.
“Come to think of it, this feels unfair.”
“Hm?”
“Why should I receive the same score as you? That monster was basically suppressed by me alone in the first place.”
“Come on, what kind of logic is that? You should acknowledge my contribution too. If I hadn’t stepped on the top of your head back then and targeted the monster’s head—”
The words spilled out naturally as he spoke, and another glare immediately flew his way. Ruite pressed his lips shut.
Chester lightly brushed back his hair and climbed the stairs leading toward the classroom. Since Ruite’s destination was the same anyway, he naturally followed behind him.
“But Chester.”
At the landing between the turning stairs, Chester stopped walking and turned his head at Ruite’s call.
“Now that I think about it, I guess it really was thanks to you.”
“……”
“The moment I ran into you, I thought it might actually work.”
To some extent, he agreed with the idea that Chester had practically been the one to suppress the monster. Chester had restrained the monster with his magic back then, allowing Ruite to move freely. On top of that, he had perfectly fulfilled the role of a catalyst that amplified Ruite’s firepower.
Ruite curled the corners of his lips upward into a grin. Right then, a breeze slipped through the slightly open window, scattering Ruite’s hair.
At the sight of his brightly revealed face, Chester remained silent and, for a brief moment, could not take his eyes off Ruite’s face.