༺ Exam D-Day ༻
The lab without Professor Hasfeldt was silence itself.
Without the witch here at this hour, it was unusual yet blissfully freeing at the same time. I wished that this freedom lasted forever.
To manage my condition for tomorrow, I should be sleeping early today. Yet thinking about how tomorrow would decide everything, it was hard to fall asleep.
It was some time after the sun had set. Plagued by light insomnia, I trudged out of the shed. With the stars lighting up the sky and the arc lamps illuminating the school grounds, the atmosphere was quite romantic.
Normally, you could catch a glimpse of couples in the area showing off as they confessed to one another….
But that wasn’t very fun. This place was also used for breaking up with someone so if timed right, I could see it happen on the way back from work. In a world where there wasn’t much stimulating entertainment, many people were invested in watching the breakups of others.
Well, that was a thing.
Anyway, I had my reasons for coming out here even though it was near midnight instead of sleeping. It was to calculate the best route for tomorrow’s exam.
[Special Theory : Euler-Lagrange Calculus of Variations Theory]
… Why was this necessary just to measure time? It wasn’t like I was some metal ball rolling down an inclined plane1The Euler-Lagrange equation is used to derive the equation of motion of an object going down an inclined plane in this case.
The test site for the written was at the Louvterre Cultural Center and the practical was going to be held in the large field.
Now, let’s figure this out. What was the fastest way to get to the large field with a detour to the cafeteria immediately after the written test?
I tried various ways while checking the time. Since I knew the place well, I found that I could cover the distance between the starting point and destination within 6 minutes and 30 seconds excluding the time it took to enter and exit the cafeteria.
Anxiety really made a person concerned about things like this, even. Professor Hasfeldt likely had something to do with my change in personality as well.
She’d reject anything that had even the slightest mistake. If only she let go of some of her perfectionism, she’d be more tolerable, I think.
Anyway, I couldn’t bear to be sold to the perverted Prince for 30 000 gold. Not only would there be a delay in my research to get back to my original world, I abhorred the idea of getting between the sheets with a man every night.
So I absolutely needed to pass the test tomorrow.
Without fail.
**
Inside the carriage heading toward northern territories.
“Meri.”
“What.”
Klais surfaced from contemplation and called her friend’s nickname.
“Why would the palace suddenly call us to the north?”
“I have no clue.”
Both Meriga and Klais shook their heads at each other.
The two were a famous pair in the northern front for being competent combat mages. Though they were of different status, they became friends upon enrollment and maintained that friendship until they became professors.
This was the result of Tilette Academy strictly adhering to their policy of maintaining equality for all students during their undergrad years.
Meriga had been a commoner without a family name. When she was young, her parents were killed by beasts and she wandered the marketplace living as a beggar. Although she wasn’t a slave, her life had been just as unfortunate.
Despite that, she tenaciously saved up money and didn’t waste a single cent. Meriga carried proud memories of studying the hell out of the textbooks and worksheets that had been tossed by the students while hiding out in the slums near the Academy.
Klais didn’t experience the same kind of effort Meriga had to make, being born as the heir of the 4th Grand Duchy and growing up without lack. But she made friends with her out of respect for her great fortitude. If the status system had persisted within Tilette Academy, the two couldn’t have become the good friends they were today.
The sleet outside the window was starting to turn into flurries as the carriage continued onwards. Klais spoke again as she watched the fluttering silver flakes.
“Will your eye be okay?”
Her tone was teasing this time.
“It already hurts. The thought of going back there gives me PTSD.”
The last battle Meriga had fought before being discharged took her eye, the work of a Cataclysm. It was a fatal wound for an Earth Mage since they needed to see the entire battlefield unlike the other mages.
That had also been about when Klais realized the limits of Fire Magic. The two got discharged the same day, same hour and both returned to their alma mater to start teaching. It was a matter of course for soldiers who achieved an elite status within the Empire to be appointed as a professor at Tilette to train the successors.
“When do you think we’ll arrive?”
“Don’t know. Maybe another hour.”
The two killed the remaining time by exchanging meaningless banter. They needed to save the mana grass in case of battle so they couldn’t even keep their mouths occupied that way.
Really, it was incredibly dull.
**
“We’re here. This is the northern camp.”
The horseman who had been driving the golem poked in through the curtains. With their conversation cut, the two shifted themselves and stepped out into the snowy plains.
It had been a while since the last time they stepped into deep snow. The smell of acrid smoke and blood radiating from this place was something that couldn’t be forgotten no matter how much time had passed.
“Are we not being taken to the frontlines?”
From what Klais knew, the frontlines were at least another hundred kilometers from here. Yet the horseman stopped the carriage midway.
For a reason.
“The Commander asked me to show you this quickly.”
“That’s….”
“My goodness. What is that?”
It was about another 200 kilometers to the frontlines. But even from this distance, a certain tower made itself known.
A steel tower pierced through the clouds into the sky; they couldn’t see where it ended. There was no such thing at the time when Klais and Meriga had completed their duties as War Mages and became professors at the Academy.
“It’s an unidentified tower that appeared a little while ago. All the Calamities come out of there. The Commander suspects that a Cataclysm is nesting at the top of that tower.”
Cataclysms. A word referring to the closest followers of the Demon King who had been sealed away in the past.
They were such monsters that a single Cataclysm was capable of rattling the whole front. Whenever there was a glimpse of them in the frontlines, the Empire would declare a national emergency.
“Then isn’t this a big deal? Why wasn’t this reported to the capital!”
“The Emperor has already been informed of this. He kept it from the public so as to not upset the masses.”
“This is definitely not the situation for an embargo…. It’s only 300 kilometers to the capital from here!”
The appearance of a Cataclysmic beast in the frontlines meant that the capital could be wiped out in a day.
They wouldn’t be able to stop a Cataclysm with the current Flame Magic Klais possessed. Even Heerlein’s army of golems crumbled into dust in the face of one. She could dare say that because she had already experienced it.
How could they ever forget the giant ironclad airship that had appeared the day they passed the first line of defense together?
“His Majesty requested an investigation of the tower. Please take a look at the outside for now and advise us on how to handle it.”
Thankfully, it wasn’t an order to go inside and fight. If they caused a disturbance where a Cataclysm was nesting and provoked the hornet out of its hive, then that would be the end of the Empire. They needed to exercise utmost caution and discretion when preparing for offense.
Klais and Meriga each nodded and continued on to the frontlines. When they got out of the carriage, they were met by someone with a three-star.
It was the third commander of the army, Lieutenant-general Cains. He was a familiar face to both of them.
“Well, it’s good to see you both after all this time. Welcome.”
The two professors saluted the man and identified themselves as if on cue.
“Colonel Klais Hasfeldt, reporting for the duty of investigating the tower under the Empire’s orders.”
“Colonel Meriga Heerlein, reporting for the same assignment, sir.”
“That’s fine, no need for formalities. So, Heerlein. How’s your right eye?”
“Hurts like a bitch from being here, sir.”
“Haven’t changed a bit, have you? But I’m afraid there’s no time to catch up. It’s about the hour that the beasts start attacking. Apologies for the rush since you’ve only arrived but you’ll have to come with me.”
They were immediately supplied with military gear and scrolls, and some of them were ones that Klais’ assistant had fabricated herself. Indeed, they were far superior in efficacy and quality compared to the other products.
The three arrived at a hill. An ashy plateau stretched before their eyes, burnt to the point that not a single blade of grass could grow. The tower was just beyond there vomiting a mass of beasts.
All of them were high-level or Calamities. They would need to make a way through them to get close enough for investigation.
“Don’t overdo it if you don’t want to lose the other eye.”
Meriga simply chuckled at Klais’ warning. She didn’t listen, not that she ever did. What was so funny?
“Sorry, sorry. I was just remembering old times.”
“Like what?”
“Nothing important. Ah, come to think of it, the examinations back at the Academy should be finished by now.”
“Stop jabbering and concentrate on the enemy. You haven’t lost your touch, I assume?”
“Of course.”
Klais drew her staff, and Heerlein pulled out a scroll as tall as her.
The number of beasts in the front was roughly 200 000. And any War Mage knew that even an army this big was only the beginning.
This was going to be a long battle.
