The magic squad something-something test AKA Four Knights Match─a magic battle involving two teams of four players─is the main event of the schoolwide something-something exam. They’re all long names.
That’s what Char and I are gonna be entering.
But the teams will be selected carefully in a random lottery. Needless to say, the time, the date, and the draft coordinator are all top-secret information that only a few instructors and the headmistress know about.
With that being said!
I’ve spent the last few days sending countless surveillance barriers all over the academy campus to gather information.
After learning the time and place of the lottery, I’ve decided to head over there. Which is where I am right now.
I conceal myself with a camouflage barrier and wait around for about fifteen minutes.
“Mwahaha! My muscles! Are tingling!”
An obnoxious beefcake walks in. It’s the martial arts professor. He strikes a pose in his tank top, showing off his toned biceps. He’s carrying two metal boxes, one in each hand.
An elderly teacher follows. “The first-year students are very promising.” I think he’s the guy who teaches the advanced shooting class. He’s cradling a metal box with both hands.
Another teacher walks in. “We’ve got three new star students who transferred in at the last minute. I’m disappointed that Alexei Guberg won’t be partaking in the exams, but it looks like I’ll still be able to obtain some valuable data from the event.”
This woman─the youngest and also seemingly the bossiest of the bunch─is Ora AKA Oratoria Belkam, I think.
And I believe she’s trying to appropriate the exam for her own personal gain.
She’s also carrying a metal box under her arm.
I knew who the draft coordinators were gonna be beforehand, but sheesh, they’re all quite the characters.
Apparently, three draft coordinators are selected randomly every year out of all the instructors who supervise advanced classes. I’ll bet Professor Tear’s never been selected.
The reason there are three coordinators is to ensure fairness.
One person draws a name and confirms it with the second person. The third person writes it down in the team record. They go around taking turns.
Inside the four metal boxes they brought in are stashes of wooden cards.
Each wooden card is inscribed with the name of the student who signed up for the Four Knights Match.
What the heck?! That means the sorting process for which category you are is already taken care of by some other professors!
…is not what I would say. I came prepared.
A different group of teachers oversaw sorting the students by category. On another day at another location, in fact. They’re really thorough about this.
Luckily, I already had that information, so I’d snuck into the venue after they finalized their selection and stolen the cards with my and Char’s name from the securely locked metal boxes.
For this lottery drawing, I’m going to teleport our cards into the leader pool box and offense player box after the final card is drawn from each of the boxes. This will ensure that Char and I end up on the same team.
“Shall we begin,” announces Professor Belkam.
The drawing process starts.
I watch over them quietly.
The procedure goes along smoothly. Silently, steadily. Once in a while, Professor Tank Top flexes a muscle.
Man, this is boring.
After one of them draws, they double check, triple check with each other. Even when they’re writing down the names in the record, all three of them confirm with one another. They’re taking their sweet time.
I’m getting slee……… Oh no! Was I asleep for a second?
This is taking way too long.
I decide to wrap it up.
All I have to do is sync the timing of when Char’s and my name is drawn from the boxes. I don’t have to wait till the end for that.
Why didn’t I come to that conclusion sooner?
Welp, let’s get this over with─hold up. On second thought, I’d be in trouble if I end up teaming with a complete stranger. Technically, Haruto C will be in trouble, not me. I have to oversee the exam in Shiva Mode.
I use my X-ray vision to see through the box and check the names on the cards.
This box is for the assist pool. Let me see… Mmhmm… Oh? This one’s the mysterious exchange student (younger brother). So he’s an assist type.
I don’t know any of the other names, but I don’t wanna be on the same team as this guy─eh, assists don’t really contribute much, so I guess it doesn’t matter who I get.
Where’s his older sister’s card?
I scan the other boxes and find her name in the offense player’s pool. Written below her name is the phrase “close combat.” To my surprise, she’s a fist-fighting go-getter.
What should I do?
A part of me thinks I should keep an eye on one of the siblings. Since the sister’s getting along with Char, I should put her on our team. It’ll be easier to monitor her that way.
The next team’s drawing is about to begin. I grip Char’s card.
Professor Belkam slips her hand inside the hole at the top of the box. Without missing a beat, I slide Char’s card through the side of the box and into her fingers.
“Hm?”
She seems dubious for a second, but she grasps the card I hand her. The card was camouflaged too, so I also undo that.
“Oh…? Now we’re talking.”
The professor’s monocle gleams.
“Oooh! Charlotte Zenfis, is it? Her sharp-shooter skills surpass those of Alexei Guberg’s. I believe she may be the best─along with Haruto, her brother─since the academy’s started.”
“I agree. Her physical agility, like Haruto’s, is unique, yet refined to the highest grade. From far away or up close, she doesn’t allow an inch for the enemy to slip through.”
“On top of that, her written test scores were the highest in not just her grade, but the entire school. Her proficiency in leadership is the only thing that is unknown, which we’ll soon find out from this schoolwide exam.”
As her big brother, I am chuffed by all the praise Char’s getting.
Next is the lotto drawing for the assist player position.
Not gonna bother with this one.
And finally, it’s time to choose the two offense players.
Professor Tank Top is the one doing the drawing.
While he’s busy doing unnecessary muscle poses, I prepare myself. I remove all the other cards from the box temporarily and stand next to it with my own name card in my hand. I slip it into the box from the side.
His thick, muscular right hand reaches into the box.
“Hm? Hmmmm?”
Dammit, he keeps shuffling his hand around inside the box, making it hard to hand off the card. And he’s getting suspicious since he can’t feel any cards at all.
I’ll throw it in his hand if I have to!
“Oh?”
He instinctively squeezes his hand when I force the card into his palm.
The macho teacher draws his arm out in slo-mo─as if to exaggerate the drama─and peers at the card.
“What’s this?! The moment I grabbed this card it felt like god was playing a trick on me, but who would’ve thought I’d pull this name!”
As usual, his reaction is over the top. He shows his card to the other two instructors.
“Haruto Zenfis?!”
“I figured he’d be in the leader pool…”
They’re super paranoid right now!
But yeah, in reality, I was sorted in the leader pool.
That headmistress didn’t do her job at all!
Grumbling over it now is pointless, though. I’d swiped my card out and tossed someone else from the offense pool in my place.
Silence falls over the three instructors.
The first one to break the silence and calm my nerves is Professor Belkam.
“The sorting was done with the headmistress’s preference in mind, but ultimately, the decision is finalized among the teachers who were selected for the role. If this is what they determined, we must abide without any dispute.”
I like the way you think!
Apparently, these three didn’t have any prior discussions with the sorting coordinators. Their strong commitment to secrecy backfired. It’s a blessing for me, though.
Moving on.
Yulia is selected as the last member. And that’s that for my team.
I’ve no business here now.
Assured of my victory, I let out a peal of laughter─inside my soundproof barrier─and leave the premises.