A few days after contracting with Toa, Absolute was taking the entrance exam for the Royal Academy, where he would soon be enrolled.
His subordinates from the 【Ark House】 had arrived at the venue ahead of him, so it was just us now. They took seats around him as if surrounding him, with Chris taking the lead in organizing things.
“As for what's next, there will be exams in magic, close combat, and written tests. Based on the results, you'll be divided into classes from A to D. I don't think there will be a problem for you, Absolute-sama, but we've already informed everyone under our umbrella to avoid dragging you down with low scores. This year, Prince Michael, the Descendant of the Hero, and even the Saint-sama will be enrolling. I don't think we'll be interacting with them much, but if something happens, it will damage Absolute-sama's reputation. Please, everyone, be careful. Finally, Absolute-sama, anything from you?”
Everyone nodded in agreement to Chris's words. Absolute didn't have anything in particular to say.
“Do your best. That is all.”
“““Yes, sir!”””
Their spirited voices echoed through the venue. Soon after, other examinees began to trickle in.
Among them were heroines from the original story.
“Absolute-sama, that person in the nun's habit seems to be the Saint-sama. She has a rather mysterious aura about her.”
Chris was captivated by the Saint.
So that's one of the heroines, Saint Elizabeth, huh…
Saint Elizabeth held the highest position within the church and was a priestess who used the skill 【Regeneration】, a higher version of healing magic.
In the original story, she repeatedly healed the Hero, who had sustained fatal injuries in his battle with Absolute, before sending him back to the front lines. With her beauty and the skill 【Agitation】, she was a key player behind the scenes, constantly boosting the soldiers' morale.
Saint Elizabeth… Her danger level is on par with the Hero. Plus, she rarely leaves the church, so she should be quite ignorant of the world. I have to do something before she falls for the Hero's way of thinking.
While Absolute was deep in thought, Alicia Mirai, the Hero's fiancée and also a heroine, entered the venue next.
“Absolute-sama, that's Alicia-sama, the Hero-sama's fiancée. It seems the Hero-sama isn't with her?”
Alicia Mirai.
The young lady of the 【Mirai House】, the Hero's fiancée, and also his childhood friend. In the original story, she was often seen being dragged around by the rampaging Hero, but she was also the one who kept the Hero, who was unfamiliar with the noble world, in check. Her combat style mainly consisted of long-range magic attacks and her unique magic, 【Magic Bullet】.
(Alicia will probably have a hard time at the academy, being constantly dragged around by the Hero…)
While feeling sympathy for Alicia, Absolute answered Chris's question from earlier.
“Chris. The Hero is exempt from taking the academy entrance exam, so he won't be here today. The Hero will be entering through a recommendation from the royal family. Although he's a commoner, the Hero is treated as a quasi-noble. Ah, it looks like the exam is about to start. Return to your seats.”
Cutting off the conversation, the examiner entered the venue and the written exam began. Since he had already covered the material taught at the academy, he was able to finish the written exam without any problems.
The problem was the mock battle between examinees. In this exam, their movements, as well as their magic and swordsmanship skills, would be assessed.
The exam would continue until either a combatant was thrown out of the arena, or the examiner stopped the match. Opponents were basically chosen at random, but there was a tendency for those with similar ranks to be matched up.
Absolute watched the matches of other people until his turn came. Right now, his friend Lady Cruel's match was taking place, and he was watching it with Chris.
“Lady Cruel has become incredibly strong since receiving magical guidance from Absolute-sama. Look, she's overwhelming her opponent!”
Lady Cruel's opponent was a swordsman who was trying to close the distance with her, but the icicles released by Lady Cruel's 【Ice Magic】 skills attacked her opponent.
The swordsman deflected them with his sword, but the constantly released icicles gradually began to hit him, and in the end, he was overwhelmed by Lady Cruel's attacks and was thrown out of the arena, ending the match.
“Well, that's the natural result for Lady Cruel.”
Lady Cruel finished the match and headed towards Absolute with a smile.
“Absolute-sama! Did you see my performance!”
Lady Cruel moved her face closer and asked Absolute.
“Yes, you've become stronger.”
It wasn’t flattery. He thought she had become much stronger since the first time they met. About level 30 or so. In this world, that would be considered quite strong.
“I am honored to receive your praise! I was confident that I could fight in a way that would not disgrace Absolute-sama's name. But when I'm actually praised, I get all flushed. Please do your best too, Absolute-sama!”
Whether it was due to the height difference or if she was doing it on purpose, Lady Cruel looked up at him while speaking.
Her lovely face and petite frame combined to create a somewhat cunning, but not unpleasant, effect.
“…Ah. I will.”
Lady Cruel was inwardly overjoyed by Absolute's words of praise as she sat down next to him and continued the conversation.
“Who will Absolute-sama's opponent be? Someone from the 【Kako Duke House】, or perhaps Alicia-sama from the 【Mirai Marquis House】?”
Chris answered her.
“There's also the possibility of the Saint-sama. Well, however, most of the upper-class noble examinees are young ladies except for the 【Kako House】 and 【Ark House】, so it will inevitably be someone from the 【Kako House】.”
(The Kako House, huh…)
The 【Kako House】 was the group whose leader, Tristan Kako, confronted the nobles under the 【Ark House】, including Chris, at Prince Michael's commemorative party. Rumor has it that he was exceptionally skilled even within the 【Kako House】, but he was considered a maverick.
He didn't appear much in the original story, so it was unknown how he would be involved.
While he was pondering this, Absolute's name was called for the next match.
“Please do your best, Absolute-sama.”
“I wish you the best of luck!”
Receiving Chris and Lady Cruel's cheers, he entered the arena. Absolute waited for his opponent.
The opponent who came in later betrayed Absolute's expectations in a completely unexpected way.
“Saint Elizabeth… and Alicia Mirai, and someone from the 【Kako House】?”
That's right. His opponents were Saint Elizabeth, Alicia Mirai, and Tristan Kako from the 【Kako Duke House】. Alicia, Tristan, and Saint Elizabeth were also surprised by the situation, but Tristan was the first to speak.
“Good day to you, Alicia-san, Saint-sama, and Absolute-san. My name is Tristan Kako. Now, could you explain what this situation is? Examiner-sama?”
The examiner opened his mouth.
“It is true that mock battles are usually conducted one-on-one. However, the Saint-sama specializes in support when it comes to combat, and in this case, the true value of the Saint-sama cannot be evaluated. Therefore, as a special exception, this match will be conducted two-on-two.”
Certainly, this exam would be difficult for a Saint who specializes in support. So, a double battle, huh? I see. But what would the pairings be?
“The pairs will be Absolute Ark and Alicia Mirai. Tristan Kako and the Saint-sama will be the other pair. As for the rules, the match will end when the referee interrupts the match or when both members of a pair leave the arena.”
I see, so I'm paired with Alicia. That's helpful… If I were paired with the Saint, it would end without me being able to see the Saint's power.
Should I have Alicia fight in the first half to see the Saint's power?
As he was thinking this, Alicia spoke to Absolute.
“…It's our first time speaking, isn't it? I'm Alicia Mirai. So, what will our roles be? I can only use magic, so it will be long-range attacks.”
“I see. Then, attack Tristan with magic until he gets within my sword range. You don't have to do anything while I'm fighting Tristan.”
Alicia asked with a puzzled expression.
“Is that okay? I think it would be more certain if I supported you with magic while you're fighting Tristan, since the Saint can't fight?”
Certainly, the method Absolute proposed was to repeat one-on-one fights, with Alicia in the first half and Absolute in the second half. If they crushed Tristan together, there was a high possibility that it would end quickly. But then, they wouldn't be able to see the Saint's support power. That was something they had to avoid.
“Hmph. No matter how much the Saint supports him, Tristan is the only one fighting. It's not a very elegant way to crush him with two people. It would be better to divide the roles for each situation and fight one-on-one.”
In addition to that, Absolute remembered his own end in the original story.
Being killed with tens of thousands of soldiers…
For that reason, Absolute couldn't bring himself to like the method of overwhelming the opponent with numbers.
Alicia was surprised by Absolute's answer.
“…I'm sorry. I misunderstood you. It's certainly not something we, as proud upper-class nobles, should be doing. I understand, I'll follow your method. Let's fight with pride!”
Alicia agreed with Absolute.
“Ah, and don't hit the Saint, okay?”
“Fufu, I know. Now, let's begin.”
The two pairs faced each other and waited for the referee's signal.
“Begin!”
At the start of the match, Tristan rushed forward.
“Fireball.”
Alicia's magic attacked Tristan, but Tristan showed no sign of dodging. That's when the Saint moved.
“《Protect》『Increased Defense』, 《Regene Healing》『Automatic Recovery Magic』”
The Saint used enhancement magic to support Tristan. What was also troublesome was Tristan's fighting spirit, which allowed him to fearlessly approach Alicia's magic.
(Is he using the Saint's skill, 【Agitation】, to eliminate his fear? As I thought, she's dangerous.)
Humans have a stop put on their brains by fear, but that skill removes that stopper. By using 【Agitation】, it was possible to make people take dangerous actions while disregarding the risks.
“What is that guy?! He's coming at me while taking magic hits!”
No.
Tristan wasn't advancing while taking magic hits, but cutting them down with his sword.
(Swordsmanship that can cut down magic, or is it a skill? Impressive. If he grows, he'll become Absolute's nemesis, with his magic-specialized stats.)
Alicia used magic continuously, but Tristan didn't stop.
He was almost within Absolute's range.
“…It's about time. Switch.”
Absolute drew his sword and slashed at Tristan.
The two swords clashed.
Tristan spoke to Absolute.
“Oh, so it's finally Absolute-san's turn? I've heard rumors about you, that you're very talented? I'm getting excited. Now, let's slash each other!”
Tristan's sharp and fast longsword.
It was obvious that he wasn't at a level to be contained in a student. Come to think of it, he hadn't swung his sword at Alicia even once. Does that mean there's that much of a difference between Tristan and Alicia?
(Vertical, horizontal, vertical, feint a thrust and change the blade to attack from below. He's doing a lot of things. Is he dabbling in various schools instead of sticking to a fixed style?)
While parrying Tristan's attacks, which came from all directions, Absolute analyzed him.
“Amazing, amazing! To be able to fight me this far, how wonderful. Today is our anniversary.”
(What anniversary is that?! I hate people who are particular about anniversaries the most.)
Tristan's fierce attacks continued, but due to the Saint's skill 【Agitation】, his sharp swordsmanship began to cloud over.
Absolute continued to analyze the Saint and Tristan while parrying at random.
“By the way, why aren't you attacking with Alicia-san? You might be able to defeat me if you two worked together?”
“Even with the Saint's support, you're the only one fighting, right? Two against one isn't an elegant way to fight.”
When he answered that, Tristan made a blank face for a moment, but when he understood the meaning, he showed a ferocious smile.
“Ahahahahahaha! You're the best after all. But please, don't use that as a reason for your defeat!”
Tristan raised his gear and attacked, but Absolute responded with ease. The two continued to fight for a while. Feeling impatient with the stalemate, the Saint moved.
“Tristan-sama, I'll support you! 《Saint's Blessing》”
The Saint cast more support magic on Tristan. Tristan's speed and power increased.
But such enhancements were ineffective against Absolute, who had a level difference. Absolute had mostly finished observing the Saint's enhancement magic.
So far, only his speed and power have increased, and nothing else has changed much. Tristan can't keep up with the enhanced speed. Well, it can't be helped since it's their first tag team.
(Even so, the body enhancement magic isn't that great, but if it could be used on a large number of people, it would be troublesome. And that skill to eliminate fear…)
Absolute raised the danger level of Saint Elizabeth.
The power of Saint Elizabeth, which functioned in group battles, could eventually reach him. That's what he recognized.
“Let's end this.”
Having seen most of his power, Absolute decided to finish it. He deflected Tristan's sword, which was slashing at him, at the speed of light, kicked him in the stomach, and sent him out of the arena.
“Gu…”
“Your swordsmanship was impressive, but it lacked a bit of refinement. Let's have a real one-on-one match at the academy next time.”
He said as he looked down at Tristan, who was out of the arena.
“Haha, if I'm being shown mercy like this, I'm still not good enough. I give up.”
“Whatever you say.”
After saying that to Tristan, who was out of the arena, he turned towards the Saint.
The only one left was the Saint.
Then, the Saint raised both hands to indicate her surrender.
“That's enough! The winner is the Ark and Mirai pair.”
With the referee's decision, the match ended.
