Solria, Edge of Middle District, 7th Squad Barracks (Edward POV)

“Who are you!?” (Edward)

In front of me stood an intruder, frozen as the edge of my sword pressed close to the base of his neck. Bright, noontime sunlight reflected off the metal blade in my hands as I channeled mana through my body, chantlessly activating my body strengthening magic. My vision sharpened and I instantly felt lighter as mana coursed from my core through to the tips of my fingers.

My eyes shifted, and a quick glance let me look over the intruder again. His average looking outfit, no, his disguise made him seem like a harmless civilian, but in contrast, the look on his face told me he was definitely a dangerous individual. I made eye contact once again to see a fake, lifeless smile plastered on the intruder’s face, and despite his efforts, it was quite obvious that under that fake smile he was quite angry.

Thoughts about what to do next ran through my head like lightning, but in the end, it all circled back to one thing.

I should apprehend the intruder first.

“This is private property of the 7th Squad Knights.” (Edward)

My eyes sharpened and I glared intensely at the intruder, making sure there were no sudden movements from him while adjusting my footing a bit so it would be easier for me to immediately get into a stance. After all, if he really was an assassin, then it was likely he had some kind of hidden weapon or spell.

“Yes, I’m well aware.” (Intruder)

“How did you get in here?” (Edward)

“How did I get in? Simple. One of you idiots left the gate open.” (Intruder)

I took a quick glance at the open gate behind him before shifting my line of sight back onto him.

Huh? Left the gate open? What kind of fool does he take me for?

I opened my mouth to say something when suddenly his arm holding Captain Aria’s lunchbox moved outwards towards me.

“Look, I’m just-” (Intruder)

A hidden weapon!?

I kicked against the ground with my leg, taking a step forward as I smoothly shifted into a proper stance before counterattacking the intruder. Mana flowed through the blade of my sword as I activated【Mana Edge】. It swung inward, flying straight towards his arm while a hazy white light covered my blade, but right before my sword made contact, his arm disappeared in a blur. The intruder stepped back while simultaneously retracting his arm out of the way at an incredible speed to dodge my swing.

As my right arm completed the arc of my swing, my legs shifted and carried that momentum by spinning around before rushing forward to close the distance. A diagonally downward swing from my right side sliced towards the intruder, but once again his body blurred as he took half a step out of the way, just barely dodging the swing.

Tsk. He’s fast, huh? I’ll have to get serious then! I can’t let him escape!

My left leg stomped forward to chase after the intruder as he leaped back a few feet. As the arc of my swing ended, I reversed the momentum to make another wide, horizontal swing at him while simultaneously channeling light-element mana into my sword. A yellow glow replaced the hazy white light covering my sword and a blade of light-element mana emerged from the tip of my sword while I swung. After activating my sword technique, I immediately dashed forward again, following right behind my sword technique as it flew towards the intruder, who yelled at me.

“Oi! Are you crazy!?” (Intruder)

The intruder jumped upwards into the air to avoid my sword technique while the edge of my sword shot towards him in the air.

Even more light-element mana surged through my sword as I activated a Novarel-style sword technique. The yellow glow covering my blade solidified into a razor-sharp edge and I put strength into my legs as I lunged forward with my full body weight into a diagonal upwards swing. In an instant, my sword was just inches away from the intruder while he was still mid-air.

I’d like to see you try and dodge now! Take this!

I was sure I about to slice straight through him or at least wound him severely, but unfortunately, it seemed that in my rush to try and land a hit, I had the misconception that he would only dodge.

His hand shot out again, however, this time, it moved toward my sword. It made contact with the flat of my blade and a violent impact resonated through the sword into my arms as the intruder knocked my blade out of the way.

What!?

My sword flew wildly in a different direction and I clenched the handle of my sword a little harder to stop the shaking in my hands before immediately shifting the momentum into another wide horizontal swing, but it was too late. The intruder had already reached the ground, and a step to the side put him just barely out of the range of my swing. I took another step closer to chase after him again before making another swing at his legs while he continued to yell at me.

“Wait! Stop! I’m not an enemy!” (Intruder)

Streaks of light from the mana coating my sword formed into afterimages of the arcs of my swings as I lashed out several times with a familiar chain of attacks I must have practiced at least a thousand times before. My mastery of Novarel-style swordsmanship was on full display as I gradually sped up with every attack, seamlessly bending the momentum from each swing into a new one at a different angle. However, I wasn’t the only one who sped up.

A step forward into a straight thrust, a spin followed by a wide horizontal slash, an almost instant shift back into a downward cleave, none of it even touched his clothes. No matter what angle I swung, thrust, or slashed at the intruder from, my sword either just didn’t connect at all or was knocked away just enough to barely miss him, and even with my enhanced kinetic vision, there were a few times where the intruder’s movements were just a blur.

It was like he was dancing around my blade.

“Just listen to me for a second, damn it!” (Intruder)

The intruder cried out for me to stop, but I ignored his request as I pumped more mana into my body strengthening magic.

I have to be faster! One hit! One hit is all I need!

A frenzied surge of mana spread through my body, my kinetic vision sharpened to its limit, and a split-second later, the ground beneath me cracked a bit as I instantly shot forward with a yell to make one last swing at the intruder’s right side.

“Uwoohhhh!” (Edward)

Then he moved.

The intruder threw Captain Aria’s lunchbox straight up towards the sky before stepping closer, past my sword to grab my arm. He kicked forward at a low angle, sweeping my legs while he pulled me inward to break my balance, and before I could even react, my sword had left my hands as I was thrown into the air behind the intruder.

Crap!

I grit my teeth, held my arm out towards him, and started a short chant to fire a second-circle light spell at him while I was still upside down in mid-air.

“【Brilliant Arrow】!” (Edward)

Two magic circles appeared in front of my open palm, rotating in opposite directions as an arrow made of light-element mana emerged and shot towards the intruder’s back. I flipped around to land upright on my legs before immediately looking back up at the intruder, but instead of an injured intruder, what met my eyes was an instantaneous flash of steel. The intruder spun around to face me, and a single swing from my own sword easily shattered the arrow of light into particles of mana. I started to get up again to try and cast another spell at the intruder when suddenly he shifted forward. The ground beneath his legs cracked before a small burst of wind made my hair rustle as my sword was held at my throat. A sharp pair of golden eyes pierced through me and I froze as a chill ran down my spine while his cold voice rang out.

“Have you calmed down now?” (Intruder)

Solria, Edge of Middle District, 7th Squad Barracks (Kyle POV)

“Have you calmed down now?” (Kyle)

A moment passed as I stood there holding a 7th Squad Knight’s own blade up to his throat before letting out a sigh, dropping my death glare, and stabbing the sword into the ground in front of him as I facepalmed.

Well, it seems like the idiot looking for a fight in front of me finally stopped, all it took was an immediate threat to his life. I try to do something nice for once, and of course, the first person I meet is the one guy who’s way too eager to let his sword taste blood! He wouldn’t even stop to listen to me for a second! All I wanted to do was drop off Aria’s lunch quickly and leave! I didn’t even have mine yet!... Wait... Why do I feel like I’m forgetting about something… Ah.

Aria’s lunch!

I immediately turned around in a panic to face where I just came from to see a lunchbox a few feet above the ground and strength poured into my legs as I dove forward to catch the lunchbox. Luckily, I managed to barely just save it in time as I pounced forward and grabbed it in mid-air before hugging it close so I could break the impact from the fall with my body. After rolling on the ground for a bit, I finally came to a stop and my limbs flopped over to my side as I laid there on the ground with a perfectly safe lunchbox sitting on top of my chest.

… Why is it that every time I come to the 7th Squad barracks, I immediately get attacked?...

A moment passed as the knight and I both sat there frozen in silence before suddenly I heard the sound of a door being slammed open followed by Lillian’s voice.

“Edward! We heard screaming! What’s wrong!?” (Lillian)

Lillian burst out into the front yard of the 7th Squad barracks followed shortly by Alain and another woman. She was dressed in the 7th Squad uniform too and long, sky-blue colored hair along with a pair of similarly colored eyes contrasted against the white of her uniform.

Three pairs of eyes vigilantly scanned across the yard to assess the situation, and I don’t know about the bloodthirsty idiot over there who I assume is Edward, but there wasn’t much fight left in me. A moment passed by as I locked eyes with Lillian, Alain, and the blue-haired knight before the distressed looks on Lillian and Alain’s faces transformed into confusion.

“Eh? Ky?” (Lillian)

“Oh, Ky, is that you?” (Alain)

I lifted Aria’s lunchbox off my chest and slowly got up before patting my clothes off as I let out a tired sigh.

“Yeah, it’s me…” (Kyle)

“Wait! Do you guys who the intruder is!?” (Edward)

“I was trying to tell you this whole time! I’m not an intruder!” (Kyle)

I turned around to yell at Edward who had also gotten back up, picked up his sword, and was now pointing it toward me again.

“Uh... What happened?” (Alain)

Alain stared back and forth between us as I turned to him to explain when Edward’s voice cut me off.

“So-” (Kyle)

“Alain, I found this suspicious person trespassing a few minutes ago! He was standing near the front door, and when I interrogated him about how he got in, he lied about the gate being open!” (Edward)

“I’m telling you! The gate really was open! You’re the one who immediately put a sword to my throat when I tried to say hello and explain myself!” (Kyle)

“Lies! The gate’s been locked since this morning! I was the last one to use it, and I distinctly remember locking it!” (Edward)

“Ah, I see. So it looks like you really won’t listen unless I beat it into you, huh?” (Kyle)

I stepped forward while cracking my knuckles and Edward grit his teeth before taking a stance again when Lillian got in between us and waved her arms around frantically with an embarrassed look on her face to stop us.

“W-Wait, you two! Stop!... Umm, Edward, I think Ky’s telling the truth… I, uh, may have gone out earlier because I forgot something at home, and, uh, well, I guess I forgot to lock the gate when I came back… Hehe...” (Lillian)

Edward was at a loss for words as he lowered his sword while Lillian laughed dryly and twiddled her fingers with a sheepish smile on her face, and a rejuvenating sense of satisfaction filled my heart when I saw Edward turn to me with a resentful look on his face while crossing his arms.

“Fine! Maybe I was wrong about the gate, but it doesn’t change the fact that he was sneaking around! And look, he even has Captain Aria’s missing lunchbox!” (Edward)

Edward turned to Lillian while pointing to Aria’s lunchbox in my hand as everyone turned to me.

“Oh, right. Thanks for reminding me. Here, Lillian. I just came over to drop this off, so give this to Aria.” (Kyle)

“Eh?” (Lillian)

After turning to Lillian, I plunked Aria’s lunchbox down in her hands as Edward yelled out for Lillian to stop.

“Lillian, careful! That food might be poisoned! Quick, just help me capture the intruder first!” (Edward)

Edward picked up his sword again, but Alain immediately ran over to hold him back as Lillian tried to convince him to calm down.

“W-Wait! Edward, calm down! He’s not a suspicious person or trying to poison Captain Aria!” (Lillian)

“Not suspicious? Why is he hiding his mana signature then?” (Edward)

“He’s not hiding his mana signature, he doesn’t have one! He’s manaless! And anyway, he’s Captain Aria’s friend who usually makes her lunch! Why would he try to poison her!?” (Alain)

“M-Manaless!? Impossible!... W-Wait, but that means I-!” (Edward)

Edward stared at me in shock as an embarrassed fluster spread through his face before I saw another head pop into my field of vision from my side.

A pair of eyes scanned over me as the blue-haired knight from earlier pulled out a small notepad and a pen before circling around me with a curious look on her face like she was inspecting something.

“Umm… Can I help you miss?...” (Kyle)

I stared at her with an awkward smile, but only the sound of her pen scratching against paper answered me as she scribbled in her notepad.

“Hmm…”

A few moments passed as she circled me one last time before stopping in front of me, crossing her arms, and nodding to herself.

“So just to confirm, you’re only Captain Aria’s ‘friend,’ right?”

… Why do I have a bad feeling about this?...

“Y-Yeah.” (Kyle)

The moment I answered her, her eyes lit up with a sparkle and before I could even get another word out she introduced herself.

“Perfect! Nice to meet you then, Sir Ky. My name is Charlotte Linne. Now, this might seem a bit strange to ask, but could you do me a favor and quickly fill out this form for me?” (Charlotte)

Charlotte pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me as she stared at me with an excited smile. After a bit of hesitation, I reached out to received the piece of paper from her, but just as I grasped it, I heard Lillian yell out to interrupt us.

“Wait, Charlotte! Stop!” (Lillian)

I turned to my side and saw Lillian rush towards us with a panicked look on her face before snatching the piece of paper out of my hand and crumpling it up while letting out a sigh of relief.

“Ah! The registration form!” (Charlotte)

Eh? Registration form?

“Charlotte, didn’t Captain Aria tell you to stop with the forms!?” (Lillian)

Lillian scolded Charlotte with an embarrassed look on her face as Charlotte crossed her arms and lowered her head a little to stare at the floor before answering in a serious voice.

“... Heh. Stop? If there’s one thing I’ll never do, it’s stop! Captain Aria could beat me up a hundred times, and I still wouldn’t stop!” (Charlotte)

Charlotte raised her head again, and passionate flames burned in her eyes as she pointed to the sky with a fiery resolve in her voice.

“I can’t stop! Not until I achieve my dream, no, my life’s purpose! I swear on the name, Charlotte Linne, that I will obtain a harem of pretty boys to spoil me rotten or die trying!” (Charlotte)

I stood there at a complete loss for words as Charlotte turned to me with gusto and flipped through her notepad before pointing to me with a proud smile.

“And you meet the requirements to be a harem member, Sir Ky! Being manaless was a pretty big initial loss of points, but you’ve definitely got the looks, and you even cook! Coming all the way out here just to drop off lunch for a friend got you some points in the kindness section too, so you passed the harem member entry evaluation with 82 points out of a possible 100! Not bad for being a manaless! In fact, since you’re manaless, you’d be perfect as the shy, gentle cutie in my harem who wouldn’t hurt a fly! The kind that’s always worrying about me and taking care of me!” (Charlotte)

Charlotte scanned me over again and nodded to herself in approval as Lillian and I both stood there at a loss for words.

“Oh, and don’t worry too much about the morality of the whole harem thing. Her divine holiness, the Goddess of Love, accepts polygamy too as a valid form of marriage. It’s all a-ok as long as it’s with pure intent and all members consent.” (Charlotte)

Charlotte gave me a cutesy smile and a thumbs up before pulling out another piece of paper and holding it out towards me.

“Anyway, since you’re the first harem member, you even get a head start on everyone else! Remember, love is war, and any lead is a good one. So, do both of us a favor, and fill out this marriage registration for me, would you, honey? Here, you can borrow my pen.” (Charlotte)

… Ah, I see. It all makes sense now. I was really wondering what kind of environment could possibly allow an innocent-looking young woman like her to become such a depraved, harem-obsessed weirdo, but turns out she’s just one of Eliza’s followers…

And so, now that I’ve mentioned it, you’re probably curious about Eliza’s followers. Ahem. Well, considering my circumstances back when I was in jail, I wasn’t exactly very involved in Eliza’s religion, but from the little bits I’ve seen for myself, along with some more graphic details from Olivia’s occasional complaint-driven tirades, I have a pretty good idea of what Eliza’s religion is like. Most of Eliza’s shallow followers are just people looking for some good luck with a crush or an unrequited love, but as for her more devout followers... Let’s just say most of them are quite… special in some way or another…

Well, I can’t really say I blame them though. After all, when the big boss herself is too lazy to even try and manage her subordinates, eventually they’re bound to get out of control.

Honestly, the only reason Eliza’s religion still even functions somewhat properly is because Olivia was competent enough to find the few fairly normal people out of Eliza’s devout followers and appoint them as the higher-level priests.

My eye twitched a bit as my expression slowly morphed into a dazed smile before I tore the marriage registration that Charlotte handed me into pieces, but unfortunately it seemed like all my rejection did was get Charlotte even more fired up.

“Oh? Playing hard to get, honey? Well, that’s fine with me! After all, it wouldn’t be much fun if you just gave in immediately!” (Charlotte)

The passionate flames in Charlotte’s eyes burned a little brighter as she immediately pulled out another three registration forms before Lillian grabbed her to try and restrain her while she started yelling at the sky about how she was going to gather a harem again.

“Wait! How many forms do you have!?” (Lillian)

A moment passed as I watched the spectacle before Alain and Edward ran over. Edward looked like he was still a little on edge as he stared at me with a frown on his face, but Alain stood there for a second before turning to me with a sigh and apologizing for Charlotte’s behavior.

“... She did it again, didn’t she? Sorry, Ky. Charlotte can be a bit... weird sometimes.” (Alain)

You’re one to talk, you damn sis-con! With your weirdo level, you probably worship Eliza too!

“She did the same thing to me, Edward, and even the rookie too when we all first met, and well, as you can see, she gets pretty fanatical about it, so her first impressions usually aren’t the best... I sort of pity her though. She’s pretty hell-bent on the whole harem thing, and while her divine holiness may accept polygamy too, I personally believe that a pure love is something you should dedicate to one person. Love that’s split between several people will never be as strong as love that’s completely dedicated to one person.” (Alain)

… Why did I have to be right?…

I let out an internal sigh as passionate flames that were eerily similar to Charlotte’s lit up in Alain’s eyes before he reached into his uniform jacket to pull out a picture of Lucy and hold it up to the sky.

“Just look at my little angel, Lucy! My love for her is completely pure and at least ten times as strong!” (Alain)

… See? What did I tell you about Eliza’s devout followers?...

Alain joined Charlotte in passionately yelling at the sky as I walked over to Edward with a pitying smile while he stared at me with a cautious look on his face. An awkward moment passed by as he flinched a bit when I patted him on the shoulder while the occasional quip about how perfect Lucy was or how a certain someone would collect every pretty boy in the Empire for her harem echoed out from the two idiots yelling at the sky in the background.

“Edward, right?” (Kyle)

The cautious look on Edward’s face turned into confusion as he hesitantly replied.

“... Yes.” (Edward)

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened before, but I really was just here to drop off a lunchbox. And well, considering that I’ve already accomplished my task along with the... unfortunate current circumstances, I’ve decided that it would be best if I just left, so I’ll be leaving this mess to you, buddy. Thanks!” (Kyle)

A light chuckle left my mouth as I turned around and walked quickly towards the front gate before I heard Edward’s distressed voice behind me.

“Eh. What!?” (Edward)

The sound of footsteps and more yelling echoed out behind me as I immediately shuffled towards the gate even quicker.

“Wait! Come back, honey! You didn’t fill out the registration yet!” (Charlotte)

“Charlotte, stop!” (Lillian)

“Uwooh! Lucy!” (Alain)

“For the last time! I’m not joining your damn harem!” (Kyle)

I yelled back at Charlotte as I broke into a mad dash and ran into the street before making my way back to the Royal Academy.

Solria, Edge of Middle District, 7th Squad Barracks (Aria POV)

How did I forget it at home!?

I cried out internally as I sat there with a red face in front of the door to my office while hiding from everyone.

A few minutes ago, I heard the faint sound of yelling from the front gate, so I ran over to the lobby to see what was going on, but when I made it there, I heard Ky’s voice outside and w-well…

I leaned against the door to my office as memories of what happened earlier this morning ran through my head and I unconsciously started to twiddle with my hair while the blush slowly spread across my cheeks.

… I-I froze up, then panicked a bit, peeked through the window, and saw him hand over my lunchbox to Lillian. After that, I ran back to my office to hide until now...

A soft sigh left my mouth as I hugged my knees before whispering to myself in embarrassment.

“... I can’t believe I managed to forget my lunchbox... Ky even had to come drop it off…” (Aria)

I stared at the ground in front of me in silence, when suddenly the sound of someone knocking lightly on the door made my heart skip a beat.

“Captain Aria, are you there? We found your lunch.” (Lillian)

Lillian’s bubbly, carefree voice echoed into my office as I immediately got up and dashed over to my desk in a fluster. A muffled bang rang out as I accidentally kicked my desk before sitting down.

“Captain Aria, are you ok?” (Lillian)

“Y-Yes, I’m fine.” (Aria)

I covered the bottom half of my face to hide my blushing and tried desperately to regain my composure as the door opened and Lillian stepped into my office with a concerned face. She placed my lunchbox down on my table and we stared at each other before I averted my eyes and stared down at my lunchbox while clearing my throat awkwardly.

“A-Ahem. W-What’s wrong, Lillian?” (Aria)

I continued to stare at my lunchbox as a moment of silence passed before Lillian’s voice rang out again with a mischievous tone.

“You know, Ky was nice enough to come by and drop it off. In fact, he’s sitting in the lobby right now, so why don’t we all have lunch together. I’ll go get him.” (Lillian)

“W-W-Wait!” (Aria)

My heart almost leaped out of my chest as I immediately raised my head with a burning, red face and reached out to stop her. I was ready to stop her by force if necessary, but instead, what met my line of sight was Lillian giggling.

“Sorry, Captain Aria. Seeing you so flustered was too cute, I couldn’t resist teasing you a bit. Don’t worry, Ky left a little bit ago. I’ll keep everyone busy for now, so just come join us when you’ve calmed down.” (Lillian)

I sat there frozen as Lillian laughed a bit before calling out to me again in a gentle voice as she left the room.

“I don’t know what happened between you and Ky, but I’ll be rooting for you, so go get him, Captain Aria!” (Lillian)

I finally regained control of myself as the sound of the door shutting echoed out and I sat there for a moment before burying my face into my desk with a whimper.

“... augh…” (Aria)

How am I supposed to calm down after that!?

Royal Academy, Room 207 (Kyle POV)

A relaxed sigh left my mouth as I stared out the window wistfully at the academy grounds with a satisfied smile on my face. Class was about to end in a few minutes, and I was sitting in my classroom surrounded by… well, mostly normal people. But even if they’re not the most normal, the important thing is none of them worship Eliza.

At least I hope none of them do…

“Professor Kyle, we’re done drawing our circles. Can you come check them out.” (Sophie)

“Oh. Let me see.” (Kyle)

Sophie’s voice snapped me back to my senses, and I turned around to see everyone standing by the board with a few alchemy circles in front of them. Sophie’s was perfect as usual, and Reina’s was almost perfect. Halbert and Regnis’ circles were both fine, and judging by the faint chalk smudges around parts of Zane’s circle, it took a few tries, but it looked like he managed to draw a pretty decent circle in the end.

“Alright, looks good to me. Nice job, everyone. If this was a test, you all would’ve passed with no problem.” (Kyle)

I was about to dismiss the class when Mari walked over and pulled on my sleeve to get my attention.

“Oh, speaking of which, Ky, when are you going to be giving them their first exam. I think the deadline for grades for the first half of this semester is coming up soon.” (Mari)

“Eh? Wait, I have to hand in grades?” (Kyle)

“Eh?” (Mari)

Mari and I stared at each other in confusion for a bit before she started to berate me.

“Wait. Didn’t Professor Balrum give you a grade book at the beginning of the semester?” (Mari)

“Grade book?... Oh. I remember now.” (Kyle)

I reached into my satchel and rummaged through it for a bit before pulling out a notebook with the Royal Academy’s seal on it.

“This thing, right?” (Kyle)

“Yes!” (Mari)

“Eh, do I really have to hand in grades? It kind of seems like a pain in the butt...” (Kyle)

“What do mean ‘do I really have to hand in grades?’ Of course you do! You’re a professor, aren’t you!?” (Mari)

“Urgh. Fine, I guess everyone gets a 100 then.” (Kyle)

I pulled a pen out of my bag, flipped to a random page in the grade book and was about to write in a few perfect scores when Mari grabbed my arm to stop me with an angry look on her face.

“Real grades. They need real grades.” (Mari)

I let out a sigh and closed the grade book.

“Alright, I guess we’re having an exam next week then.” (Kyle)

“Next week? Wait, don’t we have the next two weeks off? It’s the Empire’s anniversary next week.” (Zane)

“Ah.” (Kyle)

Damn, I forgot. The anniversary of the Empire’s founding is next week, and for some reason, the entire week of the anniversary and the week after are both national holidays… Well, I guess I shouldn’t complain too much since I get the next two weeks off too...

We can have an exam the week after we get back then I guess… Urgh, wait. If I’m remembering right, the annual academy tournament is right after we come back, and I just know Mari’s definitely going to try and make me help her out with the tournament prep...

Wait! The tournament! Can’t I just make that their exam? Yeah, if they make it past the preliminaries, they’ll get a 100 or something like that.

I turned back to Mari with a twinkle in my eyes, hoping that for some reason the stars aligned and everyone was going to randomly enter the tournament.

“Hmm, Mari, since ancient alchemy is meant for combat, would it be ok if I held a more practical exam instead of a written one?” (Kyle)

“Oi, if I find out you hurt a single hair on Reina’s head, I will personally rip you into pieces.” (Mari)

Mari grabbed me by the collar and pulled me close with an angry look on her face to make her point clear.

“C-Calm down! I’m not gonna hurt anyone!” (Kyle)

“What are you going to do then?” (Mari)

“W-Well, we have the academy tournament after we get back from break, right? So I was thinking, how about I just make the tournament their exam? It’ll be a good test to see how well they can utilize ancient alchemy in a practical situation.” (Kyle)

“You’re going to force your class to enter the tournament!?” (Mari)

“Of course not!... But, uh, if they’re all entering already... well, why not?” (Kyle)

I gave Mari a sheepish smile before turning back to the class with a hopeful look on my face.

“Hey, how many of you are going to be entering the academy tournament?” (Kyle)

An awkward silence filled the room for a moment as the look on everyone’s faces slowly turned serious before Halbert raised his hand.

“I will.” (Halbert)

Damn, are none of them except Halbert competing? Come on guys, have a little more drive! This is the obligatory tournament arc that always happens in every magic school! It’s a time-honored tradition that literally everyone has to compete for absolutely no reason!

I was about to let out a sigh and shelve my genius plan for now, when suddenly a new spark of hope lit in my heart as Regnis raised his hand, followed by Sophie.

“I’ll also be entering.” (Regnis)

“Me too.” (Sophie)

Then, before I could even say a word, Reina and Zane joined them.

“Yeah. Count me in.” (Zane)

“I-I’ll be competing!” (Reina)

Mari immediately let go of me with a worried expression on her face and ran over to Reina as soon as she heard Reina say she was entering the tournament.

“Reina, are you sure? You don’t have to enter the tournament just because this idiot wants you to.” (Mari)

“I’m not forcing her to enter! Look, Reina if you don’t want to enter the tournament, it’s ok.” (Kyle)

“Yeah, there’s no need to-” (Mari)

It seemed like Mari was about to continue rambling when Reina turned to her and cut her off as an intense determination swirled around in her eyes.

“I’m sure, Aunt Mari.” (Reina)

All it took was four words to make both Mari and I stop dead in our tracks. In fact, as Reina said those words, I could see the unexpected resolve burning in everyone’s eyes as I sat there frozen for a moment before the corners of my mouth inadvertently curved upwards into a smile.

Heh. I knew I could count on you guys!

A faint sense of pride in my students welled up inside of me as I stood up from my chair and made an announcement to the class.

“Perfect. Then the academy tournament will be your first exam. Make it out of the preliminaries to pass. And with that, class today is dismissed.” (Kyle)

I waved my arm to dismiss the class as I reconfirmed the fervent determination I felt from them.

I can tell you’re all serious about this, so do your best and don’t let me down!