Chapter 45: Before the Competition & Exam

Early that morning.

Will woke up an hour earlier than usual—he needed to get to school early to prepare for his practical exam.

But…

Even though he woke up earlier, Eir had still managed to prepare breakfast for him on time.

On the table were freshly toasted bread, fried eggs, and crispy bacon, all neatly arranged. Today’s breakfast seemed even more elaborate than usual, with the addition of a glass of milk.

“Good morning, Young Master~”

Eir turned to him, her tail wagging enthusiastically, her bright smile greeting him warmly.

“Thanks for this. It’s the weekend, and yet you still got up early to make breakfast.”

Will sat down nervously, carefully cutting the bread, spreading butter on it, and taking a bite.

Soft and warm—Eir’s bread-toasting skills were impeccable.

The bacon, though store-bought, was sliced perfectly.

The eggs were fried to perfection.

And the milk? Just the right temperature—neither too hot nor too cold.

“Mm…”

Will noticed Eir staring at him.

“W-What’s wrong?”

“Young Master, is this how you’re going to eat breakfast?”

“H-How else should I eat it?”

Will’s hand holding the fork trembled slightly. The Hysterm family didn’t emphasize strict dining etiquette, but he began wondering if he had done something wrong.

“Isn’t today your practical exam?”

“Yeah.”

“Young Master, you’ve been so busy lately. Every night, you’ve been helping Miss Leah in her lab. You haven’t even had time to drink my tea, let alone train, right?”

Eir’s tone carried a hint of jealousy as she spoke.

“Uh… well, yeah, but the practical exam was supposed to be done weeks ago. I’ve already practiced for it.”

“But…”

Eir hesitated, pointing to the now-empty breakfast plate Will had just finished.

“At times like this, doesn’t Young Master usually pull out some blood-red jam, a black-red drink, or some weird-smelling biscuits, eat them without flinching, and then tell me they’ll be useful for some exam or another?!”

Will paused.

“Uh… well, I don’t need any of that this time. I can pass the practical exam as I am. The earlier swordsmanship and physical tests were just about technique, and the magic duel… it’s only Felix. I can handle him in my normal state.”

He thought about it. Maybe he had been acting too normal.

Then again, there really wasn’t anything he needed to prepare.

If he needed to “power up” just to beat Felix, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?

“Young Master, you’re acting too normal. It’s scaring me.”

“…What kind of person do you think I am normally…”

Will sighed, then had an idea.

“Alright, give me some bandages.”

“Huh? Is your hand injury acting up again?” Eir immediately moved to inspect Will’s right hand. “No, it looks perfectly healed.”

Indeed, the ointment S had sent had worked wonders. Will had removed the bandages by Wednesday that week.

“Let’s just say… it’s for a little surprise for my opponent.”

Will casually wrapped a thin layer of bandage around his right hand. It was more decorative than functional, a subtle hint of intimidation.

“Hmm… oh, right. Isn’t today also Leah’s research competition?”

“Yeah, the timing clash is a bit awkward… Once I’m done here, I’ll head over to celebrate her victory. With her skills, as long as she didn’t stay up all night worrying, she’ll be fine.”

—

Rewind two hours earlier, to the start of the Eighth Fire and Flame Magic Research Competition.

Leah, who hadn’t slept at all the previous night, was loading her research equipment onto a cart.

“Will’s not coming… Will’s not coming… Will’s not coming… Will’s not coming…”

“Ahhh, I shouldn’t be thinking about this! I shouldn’t have been thinking about it while lying in bed last night!”

“But… he’s not coming today…”

—Though her sleeplessness wasn’t due to nerves.

“Stop thinking about it. It’s just one sleepless night. I’ve gone several nights without sleep before and been fine. Plus, I’ve got the Blood-Red Mint to keep me going. No problem.”

Leah gave herself a pep talk, handed the cart over to the competition staff for registration and transport, and headed to the venue.

Because fire and flame magic are often used for forging tools and have strong offensive capabilities, these competitions attracted many outsiders hoping to discover useful new magic. The pre-dawn venue was bustling despite the darkness.

Leah sat nervously backstage, waiting for her turn.

Cheers and shouts occasionally erupted from the front—oh, and even the occasional explosion.

In its eight years, this competition had seen its fair share of accidents.

Oh, but the biggest accident? That was Leah last year. Her Warmth Amidst the Elements had completely failed, covering the entire venue in white goo. That fiasco had made her the butt of jokes among her colleagues and even earned her teasing from the vice principal.

“Number 5, good! Next up, Number 6, the Spinning Fire Wheel!”

The announcer called out. Leah glanced at her number—10. Each participant’s demonstration and explanation took a while, so she still had time to mentally prepare.

If Will were here, he’d probably make a few snarky comments about the magic on stage. Over the past few days, Leah had noticed that his understanding of magic was quite sharp, especially when it came to reagent quantities—a rare talent in the research world.

In reality, much of academic research was fluff. Few projects ever saw practical application, and most were just for publishing papers with meaningless innovations.

With the Blood-Red Mint among her tools, Leah’s heartbeat started racing again.

Thump, thump, thump.

She looked up at the grand prize displayed prominently backstage, encased in a theft-proof cover—the book Frozen Ice Array.

Initially, she had entered the competition for that book.

But…

Over the past few days, winning the book had become less important. Her attachment to the book, a gift from her mother to the school, had waned.

She just wanted to win the competition, to prove she was stronger than she had been a year ago, to prove she could recreate her mother’s magic, and to make his eyes…

Wait…

Whose eyes?

What was she thinking?

As her thoughts spiraled into chaos, the sound of a cane striking the ground snapped her out of it. An elderly voice came from behind—

“Leah, there you are. I knew you’d make it. Using that magic your teacher loved so much for the competition again this year?”

Vice Principal Mary stood behind her, leaning on her cane, her expression kind.

“Yes. After all, my mother’s magic is simple enough to warm a house and powerful enough to enhance forging limits—it’s perfect for this competition.”

“But it seems a bit unfortunate. That boy who’s been following you around these past few days doesn’t seem to be here today.”

Why did she always hit the nail on the head?!

And she wasn’t even a lightning magic specialist!