“A skill test?”
It was Robald who spoke up after hearing the explanation in the faculty office.
Jane nodded.
“Yes, we’re going to conduct a skill test for the new students who entered Constel this time. You guys have been selected for that test.”
Even as she explains, Jane’s face is filled with worry. The point of her concern is clear. The students who heard the explanation also have similar questions.
“We didn’t have to do that when we were freshmen, did we?”
Aster’s question. Jane sighs as if she deeply agrees.
“Exactly…”
“Is it being implemented from this year?”
At Jane’s words, the students who were called understand what she means. Senior Ellen must have some kind of ulterior motive, right?
“Aster, isn’t that your sister? Did she say anything?”
“Well, my sister doesn’t talk much, and I can’t tell what she’s thinking from her expressions or demeanor.”
Aster answers with a troubled expression.
He said it jokingly, as if it were just her personality, but in fact, Ellen’s poker face is closer to her mindset as a swordsman than her personality.
Ellen’s swordsmanship, which makes it impossible to know how she will attack until the moment she swings her sword, has permeated her daily life.
As a result, her younger brother, Aster, has to deal with Ellen’s actions that seem to come out of nowhere, like throwing a water-filled cup horizontally without spilling a drop or throwing a kitchen knife in a straight line as if handing it to him.
Thanks to this, his reaction speed and agility are improving day by day. Whether that’s a good thing or not is debatable.
“What should we do?”
“Hmm, what should I say… We’ll give you instructions later, so there are various things, but in a word…”
Jane looks up at the ceiling of the faculty office for a moment, thinking, then tilts her head.
“…Make them feel the difference in power?”
“Why the question mark?”
“Personally, I’m worried about students doing this kind of test among themselves. Seniors might try to show off their strength, and juniors might push themselves too hard to win against their seniors, which increases the likelihood of injuries. That’s why we carefully selected students from each class.”
In other words, seniors who don’t need to show off their strength and whose skills are so overwhelming that juniors can’t possibly win against them.
That’s how they carefully selected these individuals.
“…Excuse me.”
At that moment, one person raises their hand.
It’s Frondier.
“Why was I chosen?”
“…”
“…”
At Frondier’s question, the other students and Jane look at him with cold eyes.
Aster sighs.
“Then who else would they choose besides you?”
“Huh?”
Robald says with a confident face.
“Frondier, that act doesn’t work anymore.”
“Huh?”
Elodie smiles faintly.
“Pretending to be weak, you must have worked hard, but we’ve seen through it.”
“Huh?”
Aten says with a serious expression.
“The thing to be careful about with Mr. Frondier is power control. Make sure you don’t accidentally hurt the freshmen. Okay?”
“What?”
Frondier’s weakling cosplay no longer works.
Of course, they don’t know the full extent of Frondier’s power. All they’ve seen is his behavior within Constel.
But at the very least, he has enough skill to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Aten, in particular, knows a little better than the others. She saw Mjölnir and participated in the Tyburn’s barrier battle.
‘This is troublesome. At this rate, they might find out everything.’
Frondier thinks about his remaining options and contemplates ‘power control’ for a moment.
* * *
“Ugh, what the heck. Why didn’t they call me?”
Sybil grumbles.
Just hearing the names of the people being called, you can immediately tell what kind of list it is.
But Sybil Forte herself is not on the list. Even though Frondier is.
Actually, this is natural. Sybil is a possessor of immense talent, but it hasn’t blossomed yet. Or rather, she’s delaying her own growth.
She is fundamentally optimistic and cheerful, so she doesn’t have much passion for self-training. Her ability growth shines in crisis situations.
In the game, various main events, including raids, torment the students of Constel, highlighting Sybil’s talent. This is also why gamers first fall for Sybil.
However, here, Frondier often nips any potential incidents in the bud beforehand, which has become a factor in delaying Sybil’s growth.
As a result, this is a better situation for Sybil than in the game, but for now, she falls slightly short compared to the individuals who were called.
“Selena must be upset too, right? You are so strong.”
Sybil talks to Selena, who is sitting in the classroom.
Sybil recognized Selena’s strength at a glance. In fact, she felt something unusual about her from her gait, but after seeing her take various tests within Constel, she was convinced.
“I haven’t been at Constel for long.”
As she says, Selena has only recently enrolled, so from Constel’s perspective, there’s not enough data on her. That’s why she was excluded from the list.
“But aren’t you going? It’s after school.”
Sybil tilts her head. Selena is supposed to be Frondier’s escort, but usually, you wouldn’t even notice.
They don’t stick close together, and they don’t talk much.
Selena can protect Frondier at any time using teleportation if he’s in danger, but of course, Sybil wouldn’t know that.
“Ah, I have a… an appointment.”
“An appointment? With whom?”
“Ah, Frondier-nim said he would come back here from the faculty office.”
At those words, Sybil blinks her large eyes for a moment. Soon, a mischievous glint appears in her eyes as she smiles playfully.
“What? Is it a date? Selena, are you going on a date with Frondier?”
Selena blinks at Sybil’s words. She thinks for a moment. What is a date? And what am I doing now? Does what I’m about to do with Frondier fall under the category of “date”?
After pondering carefully, Selena says,
“…Well, something like that, yes.”
A single phrase muttered after deep thought.
Sybil, who was smiling playfully, freezes.
“…What?”