Episode 17 – Paper Birds (3)

Paper Birds (3)

—♬♪♩♪♩♬.

At precisely 1 p.m., the bell rang, signaling the end of the first period at the College Board.

I was in the Endex Correction.

Of course, I was empty-handed. I no longer had the mana to summon the  「SZX-9500」, and I didn’t even feel like catching it anymore.

“Haah.”

I yawned and leisurely returned to the Clemen Hall.

-“You’ve caught one of the seven most difficult ones. Congratulations! What’s your name?”

Inside Clemen Hall, it seemed that the scoring was already underway.

-“Elise Petra.”

A name that flowed particularly clearly from beyond the door.

A voice that you could recognize just by the tone.

Damn woman.

I opened the door to Clemen Hall.

“Next!”

“Gerkhen Kal Doon.”

Gerkhen. With an icy face, he showed his paper bird to Asillen.

I quietly sat in the very back.

“A sparrow~! You’ve caught this little one very well! You also get a bonus CP of 1.5 points!”

Asillen, who had scored Gerkhen, quickly turned to look at me.

“Name?”

I answered briefly.

“Shion Ascal.”

Asillen flicked her head and scanned me up and down.

“No bird, I suppose?”

“Yes.”

Shing-!

A line drawn on the scoring paper.

It seemed I was the last, as Asillen returned to the podium.

“There are a total of 33 seniors who didn’t catch a paper bird, which is……”

She paused for a moment, then swept her gaze over the empty-handed ones, including me. The others also glanced this way. Their expressions were filled with mockery, or relief.

“That’s quite understandable!”

What does she mean by ‘understandable’?

“Well, I’ll distribute the answer sheets now~”

She threw a bunch of answer sheets. The scattered sheets rearranged themselves in mid-air and landed in front of everyone’s desks.

“Then, from now, 1:10 p.m. to 3 p.m.! Observe the paper bird and write the magic formula on the answer sheet!”

* * *

Scribble- Scribble-

The sound of pen tips etching on the answer sheets. Occasional sighs and silence. Unconsciously scratching their heads or touching the back of their necks, massaging their eyeballs.

A typical exam scene, but there’s one difference.

“……It’s noisy.”

I glanced at Elise.

No one knows which paper bird’s magic formula she is observing and describing right now. They can’t see it. Because she has a mana curtain around her.

That too is a magic formula. Cast by Elise herself.

And not only her.

Each of them is hiding their answer sheets and paper birds in the best way possible, preventing any ‘peeking’ or ‘cheating’.

In fact, the 32 who failed to secure a paper bird are eagerly seeking a chance for a comeback.

“Hmm.”

On the other hand, I’m relaxed.

Of course, because I don’t have a paper bird in my hands right now. I have no intention of stealing or peeking.

Therefore, I can screw over ‘one’ person. I can sprinkle a bit of spicy chili powder.

I hope that ‘one’ who will get a taste of that chili powder is Elise…….

I picked up my pen. First, I wrote [Shion Ascal] in the name field of the answer sheet.

Even without a paper bird, an answer can be written. That’s the most important clue for this assignment.

-However, if you submit the same paper bird’s magic formula, only the one with higher completeness will be scored.

If more than one answer sheet is submitted for the same bird, only the more perfect answer is scored.

Moreover, the score that can be obtained in the second period is even greater than that of the first period.

You’re behind.

I opened my notepad with a small smile.

[91 / 100]

■ Diary

■ Memory

└Perion

└Heart

└Latinel I

└Paper Sparrow

Capacity history within the last 24 hours: +6

The magic formula of the paper sparrow is already remembered in the 「Notepad」.

So, what I have to do is simple.

Just copy and paste this memory onto the answer sheet.

[——Load]

I clenched the pen and recalled the memory. Then my fingers wriggled on their own.

With a swift stroke, as if drawing a line at random. But the result engraved on the answer sheet was the magic formula of the sparrow, without a bit of error or hesitation.

The correct answer that SZX-9500 observed most accurately was drawn by borrowing my hand from the memory of the 「Notepad」.

“Done.”

Dozens of circles and triangles inscribed in them, magic formula. Countless lines connecting the formula (式) to the magic formula (術式). Even the cunningly hidden rune letters at the edges of such a pure magic formula.

Complete.

I got up. I walked to the desk at the front and handed in my answer sheet.

“Shion Ascal. I will submit.”

Then, the seniors who were focusing on the paper bird briefly focused on me.

Of course, it’s only for a moment. After checking my face, they sneered and poured all their nerves back into the paper bird.

“Ah, yes. Congratulations on the gold medal. Just leave it.”

The person in charge, Asillen, even went so far as to not even lift his head and just kept using his smartphone.

I laid the answer sheet on the desk and went outside.

* * *

3:10 PM.

The point at which Wednesday’s college board has already ended.

In the hallway outside the Clemons Hall, Elise is looking at the reviews of today’s college board on her smartphone.

——「 View all posts 」——

： Paper bird, damn it, I’m going to tear it apart as soon as I get home

： Review of this assignment……

： Thoughts when angry or sad

—————————————

It’s a student community called ‘Rbit’.

Since the college board is conducted not only in Endex but also in other magic schools, the atmosphere of the community can roughly infer the difficulty.

—————————

： [Deminol T] The overall difficulty of this year’s college board is determined by the assignments of the first week.

： [Getel T] Short analysis of today’s assignment. Difficulty ↑

—————————

It seems that not only the community, but also the instructors on the admissions board think this college board is quite difficult.

It’s a very good signal for the top tier like herself. The harder it is, the more discrimination will intensify.

“Ah, my eyes hurt like hell. Elise. Have you finished everything?”

Then Kain asked. His eyes were bloodshot like a ghost’s.

“I couldn’t finish it all, damn it’s so freaking tiny.”

“It’s okay. You did well in the first period. Even if you only get two points in the second period, it’s enough.”

Given that the difficulty is quite high, being in the safe zone with about 80% of the maximum would be enough.

The maximum CP given for this task is 5.5 points when combined for the first and second periods. Therefore, surpassing 4.4 points is the boundary for the top tier.

“Oh really? That’s a relief.”

Kain chuckled, patting his chest.

Bang bang——!

-You fucking asshole!

Suddenly, there was a shout and a commotion. Elise also turned to look in that direction.

-What a shitty guy! It’s your fault for getting robbed, and you’re freaking out.

-Don’t fuck with me, you bitch. You fought and threw up like a fucking child!

Two seniors were fighting. At first, they were exchanging punches, then one charged and knocked the other down.

Elise watched with interest.

Watching fights was a hobby of hers.

-Fuck you!

-Get off me, asshole, before I kill you!

Although it lacked the finesse of the UMFC (Ultimate Mana-Fighting Championship), there was some fun to be had in watching these lower-class fights.

Because they were so brutal and petty.

“Elly, what happens to the if your Secret Friend fails?”

Suddenly, Layla asked with a worried face. Asher answered instead.

“When you write a withdrawal form, they ask who you think the Secret Friend is. Why, is your Secret Friend one of those fighting?”

“No, it’s not! Why are you assuming!”

Layla yelled angrily.

“If it’s not, it’s not. Why get so defensive.”

“You idiot!!”

“Ah, why again-”

“Shh.”

Elise cut off their conversation.

“Can you guys definitely score over 4.4 points on this task?”

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

Asher smiled. Kain also chuckled and nodded his head.

On the other hand, Layla, with a dissatisfied face, rested her chin on Elise’s shoulder.

“Elly, when are you going to stop helping Asher and Kain~ I did everything by myself.”

Elise raised an eyebrow.

“Sharing brings joy, doesn’t it?”

She knew. If she shared her talent now, it would return as a greater power in the distant future. The value of Kain and AEsher comes not from them as individuals, but from their ‘family’.

“Wow… should I cry?”

Asher pretended to wipe away a tear.

“Stop being disgusting. You don’t need to be grateful. After all, today’s task was tailored for me, wasn’t it?”

Elise Petra. Her innate spectrum is ‘mana itself’.

Mana control, coordination, agility, response, resonance, sensitivity, affinity, all her agility is perfect and innate.

A prodigy.

Elise has learned dozens of mana formulas, and has even invented a few of her own.

Therefore, in terms of ‘magic’ and ‘mana’ in general, Elise herself is confident that her ability to understand, assemble, and comprehend formulas is superior to even Gerkhen, Soliette, and most active members.

“Well, I’ll go first.”

She turned around.

“Huh? Where are you going? We were about to pop some champagne.”

Kain asked. Layla also grabbed Elise’s wrist.

“I want to go too!”

Elise replied curtly.

“The library.”

“Right now?”

At Elise’s words, the trio’s faces turned sour. Layla quietly released her clenched wrist.

Elise, on the other hand, asked back.

“For review and recap. What about you guys?”

Today’s assignment was relatively difficult.

It involved infusing magic into one’s eyes to track the trail of a paper bird, following its path, capturing the bird, and then observing the magic formula that composed the paper bird until one’s eyes were about to burst…

It was a grueling task that took a full seven hours.

“Uh… okay. Take care.”

“Hmm. Go. See you tomorrow.”

Asher and Kain bid their farewells while backing away.

“Oh, I almost forgot. I had a promise…”

Layla also made an excuse about a promise and pulled out her smartphone.

“Do as you please.”

Elise left the Clemen Hall alone.

She sent a text to the college consultant while walking through the Endex correction.

[I’ll get a perfect score on the second assignment too.]

The reply came back quickly.

[JR: Confirmed. Were there any particular issues?]

[Issues?]

[JR: Yes. Any characters you feel threatened by, or would like to threaten. I can investigate at any time.]

“Particular issues…”

Today’s college board was smooth, but there was definitely something unsettling.

Shion Ascal.

Why did he give me the paper bird?

No, how did he find that paper bird with a D- grade?

Not only that, but everything else is questionable.

Challenging the college board with a D- grade, showing off his rationality, suddenly acting like a different person, not being intimidated by Kain and Asher…

While contemplating, she arrived at the library.

[Nothing like that. Except for the two you know.]

Elise sent a reply to the consultant.

He’s not worth worrying about anyway.

A bug that doesn’t even deserve to be called ‘trash’. A worm crawling on the ground. No, an amoeba that can’t even be a worm. A single-celled organism. A planarian.

That’s Shion Ascal.

Elise opened the library door, filled with contempt in her heart. She went up to the third floor, reserved for seniors.

“…?”

Elise, who was standing at the entrance without thinking, widened her eyes slightly.

The reading room reserved for seniors.

There was one person in that place, which was still empty at the beginning of the semester.

It was surprising enough that there was someone there, but the identity of that person was even more surprising.

He was a failing student.

To be precise, a man who would fail tomorrow.

The gold medalist who left just 15 minutes after the start of the second period.

Shion Ascal.

That trash, bug, worm, amoeba, single-celled organism, planarian was sitting at a desk.

What… is he studying?

Without realizing it, Elise glanced at his book.

[For Mages, Middle School-Level Magic Comprehension]

A textbook of middle school level, which not only showed a significant drop in level, but also cast doubt on his intelligence.

“…”

Unbelievable.

Elise’s eyes cooled down. An inexplicable disgust and hostility welled up. It was the sentiment of a Homo sapiens confronting an ape.