Maya went back to quietly practicing her mana manipulation in the corner, thoroughly motivated by our chat.
Suddenly, I felt a presence slide up next to me. A hand reached out to tap my shoulder.
I subtly shifted my weight, stepping half a pace to the right, causing the hand to grasp empty air.
"Whoa! What was that? How did you dodge it without even looking?"
I turned my head.
"Quit it, Martin. What do you want?"
"Nothing much," Martin grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just wanted to ask something."
’Then why are you circling me like a vulture? You can speak from a normal distance, you know.’
Martin, who had been spinning around with an annoyingly big smile, suddenly stopped. He leaned in close, checking to make sure no one was listening, and dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Alex, what about your practical evaluation today? Do you have any plans to survive? Those seniors look like they want to murder you."
"I have a plan," I replied smoothly.
"Oh~ Really? I’m confident too, you know. I mean, I failed, but I learned a lot!"
He was forcefully trying to continue a conversation that clearly wasn’t flowing. He was stalling.
I narrowed my eyes, staring right through him.
"What’s your main point, Martin?"
"Ahaha, the main point, you say? I’m just talking about this and that. Making conversation with my esteemed team leader!"
He was still laughing, but his eyes were darting around nervously. He lowered his voice even more, leaning in so close I could smell the mint leaves he chewed to cover up his anxiety.
"Alex... are you, by any chance, interested in Emily?"
I raised an eyebrow. "...What if I am?"
"Hey, what’s with your defensive tone? I am here for your own good!" Martin held his hands up in surrender.
"What do you mean?"
"Stay away from that girl," Martin warned, his face turning deadly serious. "She is dangerous, man. A total psycho."
"How so?"
"You don’t know? She is an arrogant ice witch! Just because she’s a genius and the Tower Mistress’s daughter, she looks down on everyone. Even the seniors are terrified of her. Last month, before you woke up from your... ’trash’ phase, she literally turned a guy from Class C into an ice statue just because he asked her on a date. He was in the infirmary for a week!"
I had to suppress a laugh. If only he knew who was keeping the ’Ice Queen’ warm during the Expedition.
"Hah. If that’s your concern, then you shouldn’t be worried," I said, patting his shoulder condescendingly. "I know exactly how to melt ice. But I thank you for your concern."
"Hey, no need to thank me! Aren’t we friends?" Martin beamed, clearly buttering me up.
"Of course we are friends," I lied effortlessly.
"So! Won’t you help this good friend out, too?"
Having said that, Martin looked at me, literally licking his lips like a starving dog outside a butcher shop. Apparently, we had finally arrived at the main point.
"You’re banging Maya, aren’t you?"
I froze. My eyes snapped to his.
"Excuse me?"
"Hey, hey, don’t look at me with those scary eyes!" Martin flinched, holding his hands up defensively. "Do you think your actions under the desk in Alchemy class are hidden from everyone? I sit one row behind you! I saw her hand disappear under the table, and your face get all... relaxed."
Shit. Note to self: The back rows of amphitheater classrooms have excellent sightlines. Maya’s little "papaya revenge" under the desk had not gone unnoticed.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "What do you want, Martin? Blackmail?"
"Blackmail? No, no, no!" Martin shook his head vigorously. "Well, you know your good friend is single down here. And... I heard Maya’s friend, Roxy. The cute brunette girl who was arguing with you on the first day? I heard she is also single."
I stared at him blankly. "So?"
"So... can you ask Maya to introduce us? Put in a good word for the guy who saved your life in the forest?"
I looked at him. His large, hopeful, incredibly pathetic eyes were staring up at me, practically begging. If I said no, the idiot might actually blab about Maya and me to the rest of the class, which would complicate my "noble heir" rehabilitation arc.
I let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"Okay, Martin. Fine. I will talk to her."
"Yes! You’re the best, Alex! Best leader ever!"
"Get back in line," I muttered.
Just as Martin skipped away, the heavy double doors of the training ground swung open again.
Professor Leonard marched back in. His face was thunderous. Whatever Cassandra had told him about the transfer student, it had put him in a foul mood.
"Break time is over!" Professor Leonard roared, storming up to the control console. He glared up at the seniors on the observation deck, then down at me.
"Alex Edelhart. Get to the starting line. Now."
I cracked my neck, adjusting my grip on the Essence Spring hidden in my pocket.
"Finally."
I walked out to the front of the shifting maze, my aura changing from relaxed indifference to cold calculation.
"Tell me when you’re ready," Leonard grunted, his hand hovering over the starting rune. "Or can we start right away?"
I simply nodded my head, my eyes fixed not on the red flag at the end of the maze, but on the floating platform above.
Murmurs immediately broke out from the observation deck.
"Why is the first-year behaving like that? Just nodding? No prep casting?" "That is the same kid who acted like he knew everything earlier. Let’s see if he is really something or just talk. I’m going to roast him."
I had no intention of engaging in verbal arguments with extras. Instead of responding, I took a half-step forward and closed my eyes.
’Hoo...’
I refined my breathing and my mana simultaneously.
There was no need to rush. The process leading up to the red flag was framed as a survival test, but the core of any competition was simple: if you could dominate the obstacles and the competitors, victory was absolute.
"He’s being too relaxed. Has he gone crazy?" the slicked-back blonde senior muttered grumpily. "Fire!"
RUMBLE.