Hard Work Will Never Betray Me (WN)

“Young people, gather up!”

As we were looking back on our achievements of the past year like that, Marie- gave the order. We, who had been in training, gathered at her side.

“Now, I have something important to talk to you about here today.”

She began to speak with an air of air of importance.

“Today is one year since you started your training. One year ago on this very day, Eberhard, Lily, and Iris came here after crossing through the Demon Forest.”

“I can’t believe that much time has already passed.”

“It was an exciting time. That means I am already 14 years old.”

“Yes. And a person of Iris’s age will celebrate their 15th birthday in a few months.”

　When Marie said this, Oscar muttered

‘That means you’re taking an exam.”

‘That’s how it is.”

I see, now I understand why Marie called out to me at this point in my life. The people who are one generation older than me.

　Incidentally, Hemrut and Lieselotte, who are two years older than me, Claudia, who is three years older, Gilbert, who is four years older, and Leon, who is five years older than me, are already students at the four graduate academies in the imperial capital. They had come here for training as special exchange students. The reason for this is that the government has ordered them to come here and do their training.

　And Leon, who was a third-year student at the Imperial Academy of Magic when he began his training, is a fourth-year student this year. He will graduate at the same time as Iris and the other students enter the academy. I felt a little sorry that he would not be able to spend his last year at the academy, but for Leon, who came from a family of blacksmiths and had no connections or contacts among the elites of the Imperial Army, this training was like a piece of good luck that just fell from the sky. He was not at all disappointed; in fact, he seemed happy about it.

But that aside. The fact that Marie started this conversation with us here means that this long training session is coming to an end. And I am referring to Marie-san. I am sure she will give us some kind of challenge, although it is not a final examination.

“Now, as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, …… I’m going to ask you to put your best effort in this year’s training and fight in a winner-takes-all tournament!　In doing so, I’ll be placing a “spiritual holy area” boundary, which is one of the most taxing types of technology available to me. You will fight with people of similar abilities, learn how well you can fight now, and learn the skills of your peers. That is the final challenge that I will give you.”

“A real fight. ……”

　The place was abuzz.

　But that is nothing strange. We are still in the process of training. If something goes wrong, no matter it we are under Marie’s supervision, our lives will be in danger. If there is a difference in ability between us, as there was when Johan and I and Christophe and I fought, there is not much danger of such a thing happening, but if our abilities are very close, there is a very high possibility of a mistake happening.

　The “spiritual sanctuary” of non-attribute boundary spell is a hard burden even for Marie. Within that barrier , any kind of physical damage is converted into mental damage, so there is no need to worry about killing the opponent unless there is a great deal of damage. It is often said that “raw tactics can result in serious injury,” but within the boundaries of this spell , we can fight with genuine seriousness.

　Naturally, I can use all of the non-attribute spells that I can use, having inherited it. However, that spell is unusually difficult and requires a great deal of preparation. It is not a spell that can be used easily. It is only when there is great significance in the final ordeal, as in this case, that it is the right time to use it.

“The groupings are totally random. You have to be able to deal with any enemy that comes along .. Oh, and Eberhad. …… Oh, and Eberhard. Can you help me with the boundary preparations?’

‘What?　It takes up a lot of magic power!”

It will recover soon anyway, so help me out. Otherwise, it would be impossible for me alone to keep up the boundaries for the entire tournament.

“Well, I feel that something is not quite right. ……”

It’s not fair that I’m the only one who has to bear the burden before the match.

But if I think that Marie values me that much, I can’t help but agree to it.

Thus, we decided to have a tournament to put the results of our training to the test.