Chapter 11:  How about the losing side get down on their knees and apologize?

“Flan?”

The boy named Louis seemed to be recalling something for a moment.

His messy silver hair even looked incredibly charming to any man.

"Ah, right."

It seemed he remembered now. He extended his hand toward me with a friendly smile.

"I've heard a lot about you from Hailey. Nice to meet you."

Although I was not particularly fond of physical contact, I quietly shook his hand in response.

Because surprisingly there was no trace of malice in his smile.

As I was about to quickly leave after the handshake, Hailey approached me instead.

"Where did the book you always carried around go?"

Did I have something like that? Hailey continued the conversation on her own.

“A basic magic book.”

“I threw it away.”

Upon hearing that, Hailey burst into laughter. The gesture of covering her mouth didn't look very pleasant.

"So you finally gave up? That's not like Flan~ You always showed such determination."

I turned around without hesitation.

There was neither reason nor time to respond to each and every comment. A magician was a being who explains and proves things with magic.

"Oh, Flan! You're here after all!"

But before I could leave, there was another student calling out my name.

Becky, who shouted my name loudly at the entrance of the store, came running over.

"Oh... I thought you might be here. I'm glad I found you."

Becky, who had come closer, caught her breath. She barely wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.

"What's the matter?"

“Well, um... about what you mentioned earlier... huh? Did I disturb your conversation? Sorry...”

Becky’s eyes looked bewildered as she continued to speak while gasping for breath.

But as she glanced at Louis and Hailey, she immediately fidgeted with the sleeves of her own clothes.

"It's nothing. What's the matter?"

"Oh, well... it's about the rotation rate you taught me earlier. I have something to say about that..."

But then, Hailey suddenly interjected.

"Taught you?"

Hailey narrowed her eyes as if she did understand Becky's words and asked.

“Who taught whom?”

“Ugh, huh? Flan. To me.”

"Flan taught magic to someone?"

Hailey's eyes widened as if she had heard something unbelievable. She squinted her eyes and scrutinized Becky.

"Who is it?"

Although Hailey directed the question toward me, Becky quickly spoke up.

“Me, Becky.”

"I'm Hailey Lumian. What's your last name?"

“Just… Becky.”

Becky lowered her gaze silently, feeling depressed.

Hailey's gaze continued to scrutinize Becky without stopping. She soon noticed the Trivia clenched in Becky's hand.

"Oh, that's the same Trivia as Flan's."

"The same as Flan's...? My Trivia?"

Becky's gaze shifted toward my hand.

“Uh… That’s right.”

"You didn't know? That's strange. Why would Flan choose the same one?"

“I don’t know.”

As if embarrassed, Becky fiddled with her Trivia. Hailey laughed openly at Becky.

"You should have known. Why do you think he bought the same one as you? It's not a difficult story."

Hailey, who had been alternating her gaze between me and Becky, chuckled as if she had realized something after a while.

"Well, have fun playing together, you two."

With those words, Hailey disappeared with Louis.

Becky murmured, scratching her head for a moment in embarrassment. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something important, she turned her head to me.

"Oh, right. Flan! That talk about the rotation rate..."

“Do it yourself.”

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Ignoring Becky, I left. I needed some personal time.

◈◈◈

Time flowed like water, but Flan still had no intention of returning home.

‘Having a place to return to isn’t always a good thing.’

Flan thought of Scarlett, the female knight staying at the mansion, and narrowed his brows at the same time.

He had no intention of staying in a space that entangled him. Flan willingly chose a cold park bench over the plush bed in the mansion.

『The History of Magic』, 『The Beginning of Mana』

All he had was just some books.

While it was possible to manipulate the surroundings using magic, Flan didn't bother doing so. He needed to conserve his mana until the test.

In the first place, Flan was used to starvation and cold. The previous world hailed him as a genius precisely because he was unyielding to such factors.

The park with only darkness was bleak, but the area around him was not so.

The act of homelessness seemed like performance art. Even the moonlight enjoyed flowing down Flan's angular face.

Just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep.

“!”

He suddenly felt a suspicious presence and instinctively twisted his body.

"Huh?!"

Then, a faint scream followed. Flan raised his head and examined the identity of the presence.

A girl was clutching her buttocks as if she had fallen.

'Did she try to sit down on me?' Flan was dumbfounded.

No matter how dark the surrounding was, the moonlight was enough to show him at least. If she had a normal mind, she wouldn't have missed Flan.

“Whaaa~ Are you a human? It’s strange~ I didn’t feel any presence at all… “

The smell of alcohol was coming from the woman and her appearance was staggering.

Her eyes were also unfocused.

As soon as Flan sensed it, he realized that the girl was unable to think rationally.

“Why can’t I feel your presence? Are you a master? Have you reached a level where you can hide your presence?!"

Flan shook his head quietly. 'Master' was a word that underestimated him too much.

As Flan was trying to change his sleeping position while biting his tongue, something followed closely behind. It was the drunk girl.

Even after moving the bench two or three times, it was still the same. Unable to bear it any longer, Flan spoke up.

“Why the hell are you doing this? What business could you have with a homeless boy?"

However, the girl extended her index finger and pointed at the book『The History of Magic』in Flan's hand.

"...That's the History of Magic! Aren't you a magician?"

It was only then that Flan took a closer look at the other person.

Sky-blue hair that fell slightly below the shoulders, a slanted fringe neatly arranged, and navy blue eyes.

Everything was exceptionally classy for a drunkard. Even Flan, who was sensitive to beauty, felt that she had a beautiful appearance.

She pushed her index finger closer to Flan.

“That’s right~! You’re a magician! It’s a book from the Merhen Academy library!”

"So what?"

“Agora Board!”

She exclaimed, making a loud sound. Flan felt the urge to punch someone for the first time in a while.
“Agora board! The Agora Board! You don’t know Agora Board!”

She flopped down on her floor. A lot of dirt clung to her white skirt.

It was an embarrassing angle where her underwear could be seen, so Flan sighed and turned his head away.

“… What is the problem.”

“They solved it… Someone solved my problem… “

Flan inwardly marveled. To think that such a drunkard was the author of the Agora board.

Meanwhile, she continued with tears in her eyes.

"Not only did they deceive me, but they completely took advantage of me! They played with me! How could they do that? Who do they think I am!"

“…… “

"I won't just stand by quietly. I will never just stand by! Huhuhu..."

Leaving the girl who started sobbing behind, Flan quietly moved his footsteps.

'I can't sleep well in this park.'

◈◈◈

Finally, the time for the test arrived.

In the end, Flan, who found another park and slept there, was seated in the large, fan-shaped lecture hall.

Despite feeling sleepy, he held back his yawns.

No matter how tired he was, Flan believed that opening his mouth and yawning was too unrefined.

However, unlike Flan, for whom drowsiness was the only concern, all the other students in the lecture hall were burning with a common topic.

"Did you see the Agora Board?"

"Of course I did!"

Agora Board, Agora Board, Agora Board...

"It was a problem set by Trixie, and I understood it immediately. Now that I think about it, why didn't anyone expect it to be from Trixie?"

"Have you seen what's written on the Agora Board right now? It's amazing."

Agora Board here, Agora Board there. Just when Flan was about to feel disinterested.

“Hey! Flan!”

Someone poked Flan's side, and when he turned his head, he saw Becky with her wide red eyes.

"No! It's not about rotational velocity! Look at this!"

Becky sat next to him and opened her Trivia.

There were various bulletin boards, but Becky found the page of the popular board.

Then, with her index finger, she pointed directly to the topmost post, which was blazing like fire.

[ Provocation should come with a name. How about the losing side get down on their knees and apologize? Trixie von Fritz. ]

That was all the content of the post. Flan didn't think much about it.

“What is this?”

Becky narrowed the distance between them even more. Putting her mouth close to his ear, she began whispering very softly.

"It's the current content written on the Agora Board. Hey, it's a relief that we solved it anonymously! The question was set by Trixie!"

“Who is that?”

“No, you… Don’t you know Trixie?”

Becky gave a puzzled look and looked around.

Becky made a bewildered expression and looked around. Then, as if finding something, she busily tapped Flan's arm.

"Hey, hey, Flan. Look over there. Look."

As Flan followed Becky's gaze and turned his head, a very familiar figure came into view.

Blue hair, as if containing the sea, slightly slanted bangs, deep navy blue eyes.

Flan saw a glimpse of himself in that girl.

An attitude full of self-confidence and a stiffly raised head, as if it would not bow no matter what.

… But no matter how much he thought about it, she was the same girl from the park last night. The one who was drunk and mumbling.

"No matter what happens, we shouldn't show hostility towards Trixie...! Let's take the secret of us solving the Agora Board question to the grave! Okay?"

“Why? What's the big deal?”

Flan simply couldn't understand. Why shouldn't they show hostility? Ah, because they provoked her?

"Hey, don't say that loud! Her family name is Fritz!"

When Becky started getting heated up.

“Everyone pay attention.”

With the sudden voice of Professor Violet, the surrounding scenery began to change.

The fan-shaped lecture hall suddenly vanished without a trace.

The flow of mana surged like a torrent, and the vision of the freshmen turned white in an instant.

“!”

In the newly brightened view, what was revealed was a blue meadow.

Green grass filled the ground, blue sky—nothing else. It was simply vast.

While the freshmen exclaimed in succession, Flan quietly identified the magic.

‘A large-scale illusion, perhaps?’

It was not easy to cast an illusion on multiple people. So he nodded in approval.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the meadow, Violet was sitting at a long rectangular desk.

Beside the desk, there was a pot placed, but its purpose couldn't be determined yet.

Violet's dark circles seemed to have deepened from fatigue. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and began to speak.

“Everybody must have gathered.”

The freshmen responded in unison, raising their voices.

"From now on, if you talk about something unrelated to the test, you'll be deducted points, so keep that in mind."

Once again, the freshmen replied loudly, but Violet waved her hand.

"Don't answer aloud. It hurts my ears. Just understand."

The freshmen gasped, their mouths closed. It was a fortunate outcome for Flan, who hadn't been answering from the beginning.

Violet stood up and continued speaking.

"The test. You should take the test today."

The freshmen weren't particularly shocked by those words. After all, thanks to Trivia, they had prepared in their own ways.

But Violet's story wasn't over yet.

"...Originally, I would have asked you to demonstrate your most confident magic. But I saw something unpleasant and changed my mind."

Violet floated a piece of paper in the air with a flick of her wrist.

"There's a story that Violet's first test is always the same, a bit of an unpleasant rumor."

The freshmen collectively held their breath. They didn't know who it was, but they wanted to grab the informant by the collar.

"Today's test will be different. If I showcase one magic, all of you will try to replicate it."

The students' mouths gaped open. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck the dry sky.

"You mean we have to replicate the showcased magic...?"

"What else is there to do if you have nothing else?"

"...From today on, there's no respect for seniors."

One person grumbled their dissatisfaction, and it instantly spread into a loud uproar.

Violet tapped the desk with her palm, making a thumping sound.

"What did you hear? If you say anything unnecessary, you'll be deducted points."

As soon as Violet said that, two more chairs appeared next to Audrey.

“A total of three professors will be watching. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you based on how I feel.”

As the two professors appeared, they naturally took their seats.

Two more professors appeared and sat down naturally.

One of them was Audrey, dressed in a sophisticated suit, while the other was a male professor with a mischievous expression.
“The order will be determined by drawing lots. How old are you… There shouldn't be anyone chatting during the test."

As Violet snapped her fingers, the pot started to bubble and boil.

Suddenly, with a popping sound, a frog was spat out.

Violet tightly gripped the frog that landed on her palm, and it spat out a business card.

The expression on Violet's face, holding the business card in one hand, was subtle.

The students who had been watching also unknowingly swallowed their saliva.

The test itself was important, but in such situations, the order of appearance was also significant.

“First, Hailey Lumian.”

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