As the sun began to set, the sky glowed orange, fading into the deepening blue of night in the east.
"Argh! It's already too late..." a weary Franchesca groaned, clutching her hair in frustration. She had been fighting Crowbell without rest for hours.
"You should give up now, Von Themys. You cannot win against me—at least not alone," Crowbell said coldly, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Still, there's some praise to be had. Not even second-years could hold out this long against me. Then again, I've been restraining myself far too much for this test."
Hearing that, Franchesca spat blood and clicked her tongue. Her plans to spend time with Alen were ruined, all thanks to the teacher.
"You passed. Now, scram." Crowbell tossed the badge toward her.
It clattered and bounced across the rocky ground, finally settling at her feet. She stared at it in confusion.
"Don't look so surprised. Examiners have different methods. It's impossible for any of you brats to snatch this badge, so I decided to give it to whoever challenged me the best."
As the teacher turned and began to leave, Franchesca huffed and reluctantly accepted the handout.
"As for that classmate of yours you like so much—he should be in the southeast. Though, he may have already lost the badge and moved on. I don't know, nor do I care," the black-haired teacher said, walking away at a calm pace.
"Hmph!" Franchesca pouted and trudged off in the direction he'd indicated. No matter how exhausted she was, she still wanted to see Alen.
As she stared running in Alen's direction, Franchesca's mind became filled with thoughts of Alen having been approached by other girls.
The thought made her frown even harder, hating the image of Alen being taken advantage of by some peasant woman.
What she didn't know, is that, aside from her and only one single girl in the entire academy, no other girl held any feelings for Alen other than "He's weird".
---
"Everything ready?" Prince Theo asked his partner.
"One more minute."
"We don't have a minute—we need to act now!"
The two had already mapped the northern area of the island: the monsters roaming there, the plants and fruits they could use, and the teacher's position and route.
The plan was simple. Too weak to win in a direct fight, they had designed a scheme that required almost no fighting from them at all.
"It's ready!"
"Good. You spread it to the right, I'll cover the left."
"[Scent Trail]."
A tier-one wind spell that imprints a chosen scent, leaving a trail behind for others to follow.
Both cast it—Julius on mushrooms and grass stained with monster blood, and Elizabeth on a bundle of fruits they had gathered. Then they ran in opposite directions, letting the scents spread and lure the monsters. Soon enough, predators began following the trails in search of the source.
"Blow them all away."
"[Gust]."
"Blow them all away."
"[Gust]."
Theo chanted and cast again, helping the odors carry farther since, unlike Elizabeth, he lacked wings to grant him mobility.
But they had underestimated the reaction. They expected only the Dire Bear or the Bloodhorn. Instead, multiple monsters joined the chase, including those two. The forest of dead trees shook as a stampede formed.
"There he is! Gods, that's a lot more than I wanted!" Theo shouted, glancing back.
A Bloodhorn charged at him, red horns lowered, ready to gore him. He barely outran it, saved only by the uneven terrain and the dead trees slowing the beast's momentum.
The teacher stood in an open clearing—no cover, no warning. Perfect for a surprise ambush.
Yes, Theo and Elizabeth's plan was to lure monsters into fighting the teacher while they stole the badge. Risky, but carefully crafted: they had chosen monsters that were vicious toward each other, guaranteeing chaos.
"What the—" the teacher muttered as the ground trembled, realizing too late it wasn't an earthquake but a monster stampede.
"Teacher! If you want to live, jump with me!" Elizabeth shouted as she burst from the side, monsters swarming behind her.
"Relentless winds unseen, yet touching all—grant me the blessing of leaping into the sky with strength beyond my own!"
"[Hi-Jump]."
Wind swirled around Theo's legs, coiling with power.
The teacher, caught between two raging waves of monsters, had no choice but to comply.
Elizabeth seized his arm and strained to lift him skyward, her wings trembling under the burden. Theo launched himself diagonally upward, soaring above the treetops.
As he reached peak height, he collided paths with Elizabeth and the teacher. With precision of practicing an entire afternoon, Theo snatched the badge from the man's chest and pushed himself forward.
"I got it, Bato!" he shouted as gravity claimed him.
"Nice one, Prince!" Elizabeth called back through gritted teeth, struggling to keep aloft with the teacher's weight.
Below, monsters clashed violently, the forest floor running red as the strongest fought for dominance.
Elizabeth veered toward Theo's falling path as planned.
Wind howled past his face as panic seized him. His eyes squeezed shut as he stammered the incantation:
"[Feather Fall]!"
His plummet slowed. Relief flooded him, and tears stung his eyes.
"I thought I was done for..." he muttered, wiping them away.
Drifting gently down, he exhaled deeply as his boots touched the ground.
"Prince!" Elizabeth called, descending at last and dropping the teacher to his feet.
"Are you two insane?!" the man barked as they both collapsed to their knees.
"But..." Theo whispered, before springing up to reveal the badge. "We got it!"
"Hah! Perfect execution!" Elizabeth laughed, adjusting her glasses as light flashed across them.
"There's no light! It's night! How are your glasses even shining?!" the teacher snapped. The sun had long since set, yet somehow, they gleamed.
"Anyway... Elizabeth, take it." Theo extended the badge.
"Huh? Why? Only one of us can claim the extra points!"
"I already have more than enough. Besides, you carried him." Theo smiled, urging her to accept.
She cupped her hands and bowed deeply as he dropped the badge into them. "Thank you very much!"
"Don't mention it. As promised, I'll introduce you to my friends."
Her head shot up, eyes sparkling. She seized his shirt with both hands. "Thank you so much, Prince Theo! I'll make sure you never regret it!"
Theo laughed, turning away to hide the sudden blush on his face.
---
What a beautiful, starry night.
Being defeated by Griffa's group had taken a toll on my body, so I decided to stay put—lie on the ground and recover. After all, I have something important to do tomorrow.
"I don't recognize a single constellation..." I muttered, squinting to find a pattern among the stars. Even in my previous world I never cared about constellations; if lucky, maybe I could have pointed one out. Most likely I still wouldn't have known which was which.
"They're just clusters of stars... how does anyone see a lion, an archer, or a bear?" I said aloud, doubtful but appreciative of the clear sky. "Still pretty, though."
"Wh-what did you say?"
Hm? Even lying flat, I tilted my head and saw an upside-down image of the princess of Montanev standing there because of my position.
"Oh — hi, Fran."
"What happened to you, Alen?"
"I lost the fight and had my badge stolen. I guess I wasn't as qualified to be an examiner as Crowbell and Goldenlaw thought. I'm still a student in the same year as everyone else taking the test." I let out a long sigh.
"Who were they? I'll go and kill them all and get your badge back..." Fran said, glaring at my injuries.
"Don't do anything like that, please. Those girls earned the badge by beating me," I shot down the idea.
"Girls?!" She blinked, surprised—and blushing. "Who were they? I'll kill them right now!"
"I told you not to kill them!"
"But I told you not to approach any other girl until I could protect you, so they deserve to die for hurting you!" Her voice was cold and low with anger.
"Wouldn't I be the one who should be—wait, no. No one deserves to die!" I barked.
"Then I'll just beat them until they learn their lesson." She crossed her arms and approached, lips pouting and brows drawn.
I sighed. "Why don't you lie down next to me, Fran. Try to forget about them."
"Huh!? N-next to you!?" Her whole demeanor flipped; she went from fierce to flustered, cheeks reddening.
"Yeah," I said flatly, tapping the space beside me.
"I... uh..." Fran grabbed at her white, fluffy hair and hid her face behind it. She cleared her throat, released her hair, and tried to look confident with a hand on her chest. "O-of course! This princess of Montanev will grant you the honor of—me—sitting next to you." Her bravado crumbled at the end.
She plopped down beside me, sitting and staring away.
"What are you doing? I wanted you to lie next to me, not sit." I chuckled at how she looked from my low angle.
"F-fine..." she whispered, then lay back.
As she lied back on the floor, I did notice her fingers fidgeting between each other while she rested her hands on her chest.
"Isn't it pretty, Fran?"
"Wh-what is...?"
"The sky. I don't get the constellations, but I can appreciate beauty."
"Mh... I... I can teach you about them, if you want." She was unusually shy. Maybe it was because we were so close.
"You know about them?" I asked, surprised.
"Who do you take me for? Of course I do. Studying the stars is for highborns like me—not peasants like..." Her confidence wavered again.
"Like me?" I teased.
"You... you're different..."
"I was raised in the mountains, you know."
"Wha—really!?" She brightened; I nodded.
"Anyways! Theodore Der Botcam is a prince and still a peasant to me! You're the only one I don't consider a peasant." She'd recovered her bravado completely.
"He's our friend. You don't have to use his full name." I mentioned while chuckling at the mention of the prince's full name being said.
He is really embarrassed of his full name after all.
"He's not my friend! You, Alen, are my only friend. Remember, as the sec—first princess of Montanev, I only keep essential relationships. You are one of them!"
"I'm glad," I said, smiling at her.