Fortunately, due to the kidnapping incident, the Bandun family now strictly forbade her from acting alone after leaving school. Basically, as soon as she stepped out of the school gates, she would be dragged into a carriage by the Banduns' servants, saving Shulim the headache of trying to figure out how to shake her off every day after school.
“Shulim, do you have any plans for the school break?”
“Hmm, well... training?”
“Eh—! That's so boring. Why don't you come play at my house?”
“...”
The current Fran left Shulim somewhat at a loss for how to deal with her, and Semilis had never taught her how to handle this kind of situation either.
She even felt that the old Fran, who had always looked like she was annoyed with everyone, was actually easier to handle.
“Wow, those two are sticking together like glue again!”
“Yeah, they're clinging to each other like clingy bugs~!”
Just then, voices whispering in discussion came from behind them.
“Who? Who is talking nonsense behind my back!” Fran spun around and bellowed angrily.
Indeed, from the looks of it, Fran's personality hadn't actually changed; it was only her attitude toward Shulim that had changed.
“Whoa, so fierce! If she catches us, we'll get slaughtered. Let's run~!”
There were several boys jeering over there.
Fran was absolutely furious.
“What did you idiots just say?!”
Being called idiots by Fran, a few of the boys also grew displeased.
“What's with her, calling us idiots when she's the one who's a total tagalong...”
“Huh—?!”
Fran crossed her arms and prepared to go over for a physical debate.
Shulim quickly intervened to stop her. “Fran, don't be impulsive. Killing people is bad. At least don't do it at school, or you'll get caught.”
“...”
The scene instantly fell dead silent.
Fran stared at Shulim with a face full of shock.
Huh? Killing? Me? I just wanted to teach them a lesson, though?
The boys opposite them were even more dumbfounded.
Wait, what? We just joked around a bit, and we're going to get killed? And what do you mean 'at least don't do it at school'? Does that mean it's fine outside...
Terrifying! These two girls are terrifying!
“Ahem! Sorry, they were just joking around. Please forgive them.” Ander, who was walking behind the jeering boys, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
The boys also hurriedly apologized in sheer panic.
“We're sorry, we were just joking! Please don't take it to heart!”
“I apologize to you! Please don't kill me!”
“Sorry...”
Looking at the boys apologizing to her, and then looking at Shulim, who acted as if nothing had happened, Fran didn't know how to react for a moment.
Huh? Did I ever say I was going to kill them? Why is everyone acting like I'm some sort of dangerous person?
“...Fi-Fine, don't let there be a next time!”
Having received their reprieve, the boys felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty and immediately slunk away.
“Hmph!”
Fran snorted at their retreating backs, then glanced sideways at Ander, who had stepped up for them.
“Ander, you really like sticking your nose in other people's business. It clearly had nothing to do with you, yet you still helped those guys.”
Ander smiled and shook his head. “Well, we're acquaintances, after all. If I can help, I might as well. More importantly, class is about to start~.”
...
In magic class, Collette looked at the crowd with a beaming smile.
“Class, do you know what day it is today?”
“Yes!”
A chaotic chorus of answers rose from the crowd, some sounding confident while others were filled with anxiety.
“Since everyone is looking forward to it so much, let the final exams begin~!”
“Ughhh—!”
No matter how much they lamented, the final exams were held as scheduled.
First was the magic theory exam, which took place in the classroom just like regular academic subjects.
Once all the written tests were finished, it was time for the practical exam.
The practical exam required testing the students' results from learning magic.
Collette had dragged a table out from somewhere, setting it up quite professionally on the school field.
A circle had also been drawn on the field.
“Alright, students, please come up one by one according to the drawing order~! Your teacher will score you based on your performance~!”
Soon, a girl stepped forward as the first candidate. Standing inside the drawn circle, she attempted to cast the magic she had been studying for half a year. Perhaps due to nervousness, she tried several times in succession but failed to activate it.
“No need to be nervous~. Just cast it like you normally do,” Collette encouraged.
The girl grew slightly less nervous. After trying two more times, she chanted, “【ᛣᛏᚠᚷᛜᛣᛃᛗᛡᛁᚾᛗᛚᚪᛜᛈᛒᚱᚪ】”
“Breeze!”
A light breeze emanated from her palm.
“I-I did it! I succeeded!” the girl immediately squealed with joy.
Collette nodded with a smile. “Excellent, well done. You may step down now. Next student, please.”
“Understood, Teacher Collette!”
The success of the first student brought a great deal of confidence to those behind her, and the next few students all successfully cast their magic.
However, as the test went on, not everyone succeeded.
Some were still unable to cast any spells.
Yet Collette did not judge these students as failing right away.
She would award appropriate points based on their ability to stir magic elements, then offer encouragement. After all, being able to manipulate magic elements meant that mastering magic was only a matter of time.
Finally, Collette announced the rankings for the practical exam to everyone.
Unsurprisingly, Shulim, Fran, and Ander took the top three spots. No one was surprised by this, since the gap in progress between these three and the rest of the class was monumental.
However, if there was any surprise, it was that Fran had not taken second place; instead, she had been overtaken by Ander, leaving her in third.
Logically, it made sense that Fran, who had private tutors and had started learning magic early on, couldn't surpass Shulim, a multi-elemental mage. However, losing to the commoner Ander was somewhat unexpected.
Yet no matter what others thought, Shulim was not surprised in the slightest.
Although Ander's educational conditions were far inferior to Fran's, his parents were adventurers. Setting aside the time before he began studying magic, now that he was learning it, his parents had definitely taken him out to experience real combat.
Magic, as Semilis had said before, had to be honed through real combat.
Practicing magic repeatedly in a safe place might make your spellcasting feel fast and proficient, but that was just a false illusion. Magic that could be stably utilized under various situations was what could truly be considered mastered.
Using magic to fight humans and monsters was a process of turning that false illusion into one's actual ability.
Fran had clearly not experienced that process. Therefore, Shulim had no doubt that if they were to fight using magic, Fran would definitely lose to Ander.
And Teacher Collette had likely realized this as well, which was probably why Ander's grades were superior...
...
“Well then, class, see you next term~! Students who weren't able to cast magic, please don't be discouraged either. You can continue to work hard next term~!”
Following Collette's announcement of the end of the school day, the school instantly became noisy again.
Quite a few people crowded directly around Ander, asking him for advice.
“Ander, how did you make progress so quickly? Is there some secret method?”
In the beginning, Ander's magic had been inferior to Fran's, but now he had surpassed her. Naturally, everyone assumed he had some secret technique. Those who had not yet learned to cast magic were especially eager to find out.
Ander was a little put on the spot, but he still shared his situation with everyone. “I was just taken by my parents to fight some monsters, and before I knew it, my magic improved.”
“For real?! Ander, you're already able to fight monsters?!”
“So cool! I haven't even seen a monster before!”
“What are monsters like? What kind of monsters have you defeated, Ander? Tell us about it?”
“Ha, it's not as amazing as you guys make it sound. It's just some magic spiders, goblins, slimes, and the like...”
The clamor of the classroom gradually faded away behind her.
Just as she was about to leave the school gates, Shulim was called out to by Collette.
Rate on N.U.