After weeks of intense training, the five of us — Krisha, Roderick, Yozuke, Lima, and me — had reached the end of the program at last. A letter summoned us to the main lecture room, and the walk there carried a mix of anticipation and dread I don't think any of us fully managed to hide.
Garlock and Marlowe were already waiting, expressions serious, as we took our seats.
"Good morning," Garlock said. "Today, we discuss the final step of this trial. One of you will be granted the title of scholar."
"You already know only one of you will be chosen," Marlowe added.
We exchanged nervous glances and nodded. "Have you already decided who?" I asked.
"Not yet," Garlock said. "We're still reviewing the combat records from each of you. The process needs to be thorough, and fair."
Krisha raised a hand slightly. "Sir Marlowe — truly only one?"
"Only one," Garlock confirmed. "Though if you're not chosen, you may still continue here, provided you can cover your own tuition. The academy doesn't close its doors to you entirely."
"Please don't take it as a mark against you, whatever the outcome," Garlock added, gentler now. "The knowledge you've all gained these two months is genuinely equal to what a scholar receives. The only real difference is who pays for it. Regardless of tomorrow, you've each accomplished something real."
Marlowe nodded his agreement, and the room settled into a heavy, contemplative quiet.
"Despite everything that's happened here," Marlowe continued, "you've all given everything you had. I hope, whatever tomorrow brings, you'll accept it with grace, and without bitterness toward one another."
We nodded, understanding the weight of it.
"Arrive early at the Grand Hall tomorrow," Garlock said. "That's where the decision will be announced. For now — rest, and prepare."
We filed out, minds buzzing with everything left unsaid.
Once the students had gone, Garlock and Marlowe remained behind in the empty hall.
"I've made up my mind," Garlock said quietly. "Kazu is the most deserving."
"I was thinking the same," Marlowe said. "A once-in-a-generation talent, and instrumental in stopping Mizawa besides. His contribution speaks for itself."
Garlock sighed. "I only hope the others don't carry ill feelings over it. This wasn't an easy call to make."
"It rarely is," Marlowe said. "We can only trust our judgment, and hope they come to see the reasoning behind it in time."
That evening, I worked through push-ups in my room, still determined to keep building toward that elusive Rage unlock no matter what tomorrow held. Sweat ran freely, the room quiet except for my own steady breathing.
A soft knock interrupted the rhythm. "Kazu?"
Krisha's voice, uncertain, from the other side of the door. I hadn't noticed her arrive at all.
She stepped in, and I straightened quickly, startled. "Krisha! What are you doing here?"
"I'm scared to sleep alone tonight," she admitted, looking down at the floorboards. "Would it be alright if I stayed a while?"
I understood, without needing her to explain further, exactly what she was still carrying — the silence from her family, the fear she hadn't let herself say out loud. "Of course," I said. "It's our last night here, anyway."
I grabbed a towel to clean up while she waited, and once I'd changed, I offered her a reassuring smile. "Let's get some rest. Early morning tomorrow."
"Thank you, Kazu," she said, settling in, some of the tension finally easing out of her shoulders. "Will you still come jogging with me before the assembly?"
"Of course."
She smiled properly at that and let herself relax, finding some quiet comfort in simply not being alone with her fear for the night.
As the room settled into stillness, my mind drifted back further than I usually let it — to the hard years before this world had pulled me in, to the hunger and the cold and the long stretch of feeling like nobody's. It still felt, some nights, like none of what I had now could possibly be real.
I checked my status out of old habit, mostly to remind myself how far I'd actually come.
[STATUS] Level: 83
Seeing the familiar list laid out — every skill, every level a small monument to the distance I'd traveled — brought a strange mix of pride and disbelief. Even now, some small part of me still felt like that same hungry kid on a cold bench in another world entirely.
Beside me, Krisha stirred, murmuring something in her sleep, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Mama… Papa… please don't leave me…"
The sound of it settled heavy in my chest. Without really deciding to, I wrapped an arm around her, holding her steady while she slept, wanting badly to give her some sense of safety even if she'd never know it came from me.
Morning came, and I was up early as always, Krisha rousing not long after and rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"I'll join you for the jog," she said, still soft with sleep. "Just let me change."
"Take your time," I said, glad she wanted to come at all.
We ran together and returned refreshed, and an hour later, a letter arrived for her, wrapped in shimmering paper stamped with Soradia's seal. She opened it with hands that weren't quite steady, and her father's familiar handwriting filled the page.
Dear Krisha — I know you've heard the terrible news from the capital, but I want you to know we're safe. Nothing happened to us. We miss you more than words can say. Keep doing your best at the academy. — Your dad.
Tears filled her eyes as she read it, relief and love tangled together, and she held the letter tight against her chest for a long moment, silently grateful beyond words.
The Grand Hall filled with an almost unbearable anticipation as the ceremony began, aristocratic students and stern faculty alike gathered to witness the announcement. The five of us stood at the front, waiting.
Garlock stepped forward first. "After careful consideration, we've selected Kazu Gonomiya as the academy's new scholar."
A wave of murmurs swept the hall. I stood frozen, still processing it.
Marlowe took over. "Kazu's mana output is extraordinary, his combat ability well beyond his years. He was instrumental in repelling Mizawa's assault. It's a fitting choice."
Pride and gratitude rose in me all at once — but my eyes caught Roderick's face across the room, and whatever certainty I'd felt a moment earlier gave way to something else entirely. His disappointment was written plain across his features, the weight of a dream slipping away in real time.
I understood exactly what this meant to him. I stepped forward.
"I'm honored," I said, my voice steady despite the flutter in my chest. "But I believe Roderick Hayashi needs this scholarship more than I do. I'd like to give it to him."
The hall went utterly silent. Krisha stared at me, something like awe crossing her face — disbelief, maybe, that I'd give up something this significant without a second thought.
"I've already learned what I needed to about the six affinities," I continued. "This should be his."
Garlock and Marlowe exchanged a look. Garlock stroked his beard, nodding slowly. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. Seems this academy may have already given you everything it can."
"You shouldn't leave empty-handed, though," Marlowe added.
I considered it a moment. "If it's not too much to ask — the master tomes on the six affinities, and the manual on teleportation circles."
Garlock laughed. "If that's truly all you want, it's granted freely. Marlowe?"
"Of course," Marlowe said, smiling. "Take whatever you need for the road ahead."
Roderick ran toward me, pale with disbelief. "Is this real, Kazu?"
"It's real."
"You're actually alright with this? Me, as the scholar?"
"I am," I said, and meant it completely. "I've already gotten so much out of being here. This will mean more to you than it would to me. Besides—" I smiled. "I miss my family back home more than I can say."
The hall erupted into applause, the other candidates joining in as whatever disappointment they'd carried melted into genuine celebration for Roderick. Krisha clapped loudest of all, her eyes shining with something that looked a great deal like pride.
Whatever came next, I knew — standing there in the noise of it — that I'd made the right call.