The exam hadn’t even started yet, and Chrome was running on fumes. If I’d been a soldier, I’d have saluted him.
Once the royals were gone, he mopped his brow.
“Lord…I never…”
“Deep breaths, Chrome! Passion!” Shouma cried, rolling cameras.
Chrome glared at him. “Please don’t do anything to disrupt the proceedings, Shouma.”
“I’ll do my best to respect that passionate workaholic soul of yours!”
These two had history…but before they could speak further, a stir ran through the square.
“Mm? What’s going on?”
“……Look.” Phyllo pointed to an extra-large recruit swaggering around, glaring at other candidates. Oh, and a smaller boy was shrinking away from him.
Chrome awkwardly scratched his neck.
“There’s always someone who’s gotta try and act intimidating. Given the focus on individual strength, it’s not all that surprising.”
This seemed to jog Riho’s memories. “Oh, right… Allan did the same shit.”
“He wasn’t trying to intimidate anyone else,” Selen said. “He just had it in for me. Meanwhile, I was so overjoyed to find Sir Lloyd again, I forgot such trifles.”
Her brain is excessively flexible, I think— Perhaps I should have my father examine her to see if he learns anything of value.
“Oh, Sir Lloyd…just the memory of that joy is so fulfilling, I could go four, five meals without food!”
Maybe what my father would discover would risk humanity evolving in the wrong direction. Best he stay far away from her. He should leave her brain a black box and spare the species.
As they talked, the scene in the square was getting worse. It looked like a fight was about to break out.
“Passion’s all good, but this ain’t. They’re all wound up before the exam.”
That wasn’t Shouma’s problem, so he just glanced at Chrome, clearly suggesting he step in.
“I could stop them for you, Chrome— We don’t squash this, it could affect the outcome.” Merthophan had served as an instructor here for a while and had run these exams—he saw the dangers.
“……Chastising is our job.”
“Jeez, I just wanna make money.”
“Emergency action required!”
The soldiers were all putting their work faces on.
But Chrome waved them off. “Don’t be hasty.”
“Since when are you the voice of reason, Chrome? Panicking is your main role!”
“Rude! I don’t spend all my time at the mercy of events.”
Shrugging his broad shoulders, he pointed across the square.
“He’s here. It’ll be fine.”
We followed his finger—and saw a gentle boy in a starched uniform, not a wrinkle to be seen.
He’d grown tall enough now that “boy” no longer felt quite right. He now had the dignity required of a leader.
Instructor Lloyd was on the job.
A new stir ran through the crowd—possibly even a buzz.
“L-Lloyd!” “That’s Lloyd Belladonna?!” “He’s really here!”
The ugly tension vanished. Candidates who’d been ready to throw down all lowered their fists.
Just showing his face changed everything; that’s who Lloyd was. It wasn’t about confidence. His feet took him where he should go before he’d even sighted his goal.
Of course, if I said that to his face, he’d act all modest.
“But that’s what’s so good about him.”
Whoops. I’d said that out loud.
“Oh, sorry, coming through. Good luck, everyone!” Lloyd cut through the square, reporting in to Chrome. No arrogance, just his trademark niceness. “Instructor Chrome, the exam’s ready to begin.”
“Well done, Lloyd.”
“Thanks… Gosh, everyone’s here.”
He looked faintly surprised. His newfound authority failed to diminish the cute factor, and that contrast really did it for me. He was really unparalleled.
“We ain’t slackin’,” Riho said, grinning. “We’re on patrol, watching for any troublemaking. And they’re—”
“……They say they’re here to witness your big day, Master.”
“Such shameful behavior, Sir Lloyd,” said Selen. “All your days are big days! Everyone knows that.”
No clue what made her so sure she was rising above this fray, but that’s Selen for you.
“Mwa-ha-ha! A most muscular pose to commemorate your Big ☆ Day, young Lloyd!”
“I brought you a celebratory daikon! Ready to dance whenever!”
That was a dancing daikon? And why is Nexamic trying to summon a muscle beam?
“Merthophan and Nexamic, you’ve got passion, but this ain’t that scene,” said Shouma. Even he was turning on them here. Never a dull moment with these guys.
I fixed my bangs, addressing Lloyd. “It’s been too long, Lloyd.”
“Same, Asako. Here for research?”
“Yes! I want to make sure I get it all written down. This is your first day as a teacher! How can I miss that?”
I’d taken a step too close—Riho and Phyllo each grabbed an arm, pulling me away.
“Down, girl.”
“……Safe distance.”
Let gooo! Even handshake event staff give you longer than that!
“Ah-ha-ha…” Lloyd was scratching his cheek awkwardly. He was adorable!
Marie couldn’t stand being left out of this and came stalking back from the stands. “Heyyy! Good luck, Lloyd! I’m not giving up yet!”
She had her skirts hoisted high, but this just made her look positively thuggish.
“Oh, Marie.”
“Go, Lloyd! Your dream’s come true! One day you’ll be king—”
“Leave your delusions out of this, Marie.”
I’d never agreed with Selen more. She was the last person that should be offering that advice, but we chose to let it pass here.
“My dream…” He thought about that for a moment, then nodded. Glancing around the square, he added, “I didn’t know my left from my right when I arrived. I’ve only made it this far because you were all there for me. Even Marie.”
“Sir Lloyd…”
Isn’t it nice how he always has a kind word for everyone?
“I was a wimp with no confidence, but you let me gain the experience I needed. On the exam day, I remember sitting right over there, my heart beating a mile a minute.”
“Heh-heh, that’s right. You started talking to me, and then Selen and Allan got involved…”
“Yes, though he’s gone so far away.”
Let’s not talk about him like he’s dead; he’s just gone with Renge so she can have her kid back home.
“So much time has passed! I never imagined I’d see my mother again,” Marie said.
“……I only found my mother because of you, Master. And that dumb dandy dad.” Phyllo smiled slightly. I felt a pang of pity for Sardin, but…her words were not without love.
“You freed me from the cursed belt and let me reconcile with my father, too!” Selen was blissfully unaware of her father’s current state of mind.
“Rol and I… We’re doing okay.” Riho wasn’t about to gush, but she was clearly happy with how that had turned out.
“I only awakened to the joy of the farm because of you, Lloyd! The Agriculture ☆ Joy Dance!”
“Mwa-ha! Double biceps and hamstrings!”
“This is a passionate scene; don’t make it weird. It’s hard to edit you out.”
These three never took a hint.
But Lloyd just beamed happily. “I’m rooting for you, Marie!”
“L-Lloyd…!”
She blushed. But—
“I know they randomly made you a princess out of nowhere, but you’ve got this!”
“Hurp!”
Lloyd meant no harm, but his words scored a critical hit on Marie’s spirit. She simply could not believe he still didn’t get that she really was a princess.
“S-still…all this time, and he doesn’t know?!”
She collapsed, and Riho and Selen started pushing her back to the stands.
“Okay, you’re underfoot. Sit yerself down.”
“Rinko is howling with laughter.”
Marie was regressing to her toddler phase. “Don’t wanna! I wanna be with everyone! I’m done being a princess!”
“Where’s this coming from? Why are all those frustrations suddenly pouring out?”
“There’s no point in booze if I can’t drink it whenever I want!”
“……Then stop drinking.”
“That solves nothing!”
What would solve this?
Was she just feeling left out and pouting about it?
But letting the princess have a tantrum in public would be a bad influence on the exam candidates, so she was dragged away.
At last, the exam got underway.
“Um, okay, everyone! Let’s do this!”
“““Thank you, sir!”””
Lloyd was up in front of the crowd, looking a bit nervous.
He was a legend in his own time, so the crowd looked pretty nervous, too.
Clnk clnk clnk—
They were wheeling in large training dummies covered in metal plates and boxes filled with all manner of weaponry.
The dummies were too heavy to lift alone—if they fell on you, you’d be in bad shape. Some candidates looked intimidated, while others were getting even more fired up. You could tell a lot about them by their reactions.
“Takes you back, right, Merthophan?” said Riho.
“Mm, I had no clue who Lloyd was and felt like there was a monster in our midst.”
“I could tell how strong he was, and I went running to you for intel.”
“And I had none.”
“You got your answer now?”
“We all do. He’s the future of Azami.”
“Heh-heh-heh, true enough.”
Riho and Merthophan were laughing and reminiscing.
“Yes, yes, enough of that!” Selen barked. “Get to work! Burn Sir Lloyd’s heroic visage into your eyes while ensuring no lowlifes interfere with his work.”
“……Roger that.”
Astoundingly, Selen took her job seriously. Perhaps giving her responsibility reformed her?
“Take whichever weapons you’re best with and strike these dummies,” said Lloyd. “We’re observing how you move. If you can smash them to bits, go right ahead.”
No one could tell if he was joking or not.
With that, the exam got underway. One candidate after another took a run at the dummies.
Among them was the timid-looking candidate from earlier. He was holding a weapon…but not moving.
The previous incident must have robbed him of his nerve…or perhaps seeing so many people more proficient than him had taken the wind out of his sails. He seemed unlikely to even take a turn.
The crowd around was starting to notice—and some of them were snickering.
But Lloyd wasn’t about to stand for that.
“Are you okay?” he asked him.
“I’m fine,” the boy said, his voice breaking.
Maybe he looked up to Lloyd— His knees were shaking.