“But all that stuff about my backdoor admission was a lie. I passed the official admissions exam to get in here. It’s just that, since I can’t use any attack magic, I had to take a special version of it.”
“Oh, so that’s what happened.”
Apparently, the headmaster hadn’t come up with the Special Admissions Exam specifically for me. Rather, a prospective student in a similar boat had required it in the past.
So I hadn’t entered the academy through a backdoor admission, but the thing was that after I passed the Special Admissions Exam, the headmaster had left an unbelievable comment: “I never thought someone could actually pass that one.” No one had passed that test until I came along. At the time, I’d wondered why in the world he would design a test like that, but I supposed it was just an indication of how rare it was for someone to only possess white mana and still be accepted into this academy.
Thus, as the sole person who had passed the exam, I’d caught the headmaster’s attention, and he’d seemed to view me as some sort of oddity. Then, after telling me that I could approach the Demon Queen in the underground prison without any ill effect, he’d foisted the job of caretaker onto me. Now that I think about it, a lot sure has happened, I thought, gazing into the distance, but Miss Sumire’s voice pulled me back to reality.
“In any case, those people really annoyed me! I never want to go to the student council room ever again!”
“Is that so?” I didn’t think she could get away with that, but I shot her a small smile anyway. I thought that was the end of the conversation. However, I noticed her looking at me as if she had more to say. “Miss Sumire?”
After a moment, she said, “By the way, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Oh, okay?” I could take a guess at her question.
“What’s your relationship with the student council president? Miss Sara, I believe?”
Yeah, I figured. Everyone in Lykeion Magic Academy knew that Sara, the student council president, was abnormally familiar in her interactions with me.
“Um, if it’s difficult to talk about, then you don’t have to tell me!” Miss Sumire added.
“It’s all right. It’s not a very interesting story, though,” I said. I proceeded to tell her all about my relationship with Sara.
We’d first met about a year ago, when we’d both only just enrolled in the academy. I was a Swordfighter who couldn’t attack my enemies. Meanwhile, Sara was a Sister who had trouble using healing magic. We’d both had our fair share of troubles. In my case, though, I excelled in a single ability, whereas Sara possessed talent she had difficulty using. She didn’t know the first thing about healing magic, though she had gone through some serious training in the Cardia Halidom.
That being said, no one in their right mind would have wanted to form a party with a Sister who couldn’t heal, so it had fallen to me to team up with her. We were a party for about half a year. Sara was in charge of offense even though she was a Sister, while I played support even though I was a Swordfighter. It was an unorthodox arrangement, for sure, but we’d still managed to reach the 9th Level of Babel.
“And as time passed, Sara awoke to her true talent. Now, her job is Paladin. Not only can she use healing magic, but she can also wield a holy sword. She’s one of the best fighters in the academy.”
“What happened to the party you two formed?”
“Sara transferred from General Education to the Hero Course, and so we decided to disband our party then.”
“Oh, I see.” Miss Sumire’s expression clouded over. She might’ve assumed that she’d asked me an uncomfortable question.
“That’s all in the past now. I think Sara feels bad about disbanding the party, which is why she pays me so much special attention. Honestly, though, she doesn’t have to worry about my feelings or anything.”
“Huh?” Miss Sumire looked surprised at my words.
“What’s wrong?”
“Miss Sara... Um, no, it’s nothing.” She tilted her head to the side and appeared unconvinced by my response, but she said nothing more.
All right, then let’s drop the subject. “You already heard this when we were at the School Affairs Division, but make sure you don’t lose your student ID or handbook. The Lykeion Magic Academy student ID is the most trustworthy piece of ID you can have on the Southern Continent. With it, you can enter most countries, as well as public facilities like the library. You also need that ID if you want to access the Last Dungeon. The handbook has a sleeve for you to put your ID in, so keep them together.”
“Got it! Thank you!”
Miss Sumire nodded at my explanation. All of this information was very important for a student at this school, so I didn’t mind repeating myself. However, something else I’d said seemed to have caught Miss Sumire’s interest.
“The Last Dungeon is that really big tower in the middle of the city, right?” she asked, pointing over at Babel, which was visible even from the school.
The tower was so gargantuan that when you were standing close to it, it looked like a wall that extended beyond the clouds. It was the largest dungeon on the Southern Continent.
“Yeah, if you’re attending Lykeion, then exploring the Last Dungeon counts as part of the curriculum. I’ll teach you about it bit by bit.” Granted, I can only take her up to the 9th Level. I’m sure it’s fine, though. Miss Sumire only just arrived in this world, so she won’t be going into the Last Dungeon anytime soon.
“I’d like to go in there!”
“Huh?” I hadn’t expected that response at all.
“I came into this world through the Last Dungeon, didn’t I?”