chapter4 · 068-ep68

Episode 68: The Aptitude Test Ends

My spar with Kujō-san was over.

Even as I canceled Battle Armor Form and headed back to where I'd stood before, I could feel quite a few eyes on me.

Well, of course.

The two arms extending from Kujō-san's back had both vanished right after I touched them.

I'd stare too if it were the other way around.

But what else was I supposed to do?

I really hadn't wanted to get hit by them.

"Himuro."

"Yes?"

I turned at Kujō-san's voice.

"Sorry I pushed you so hard."

"Huh?"

"We were the ones asking for help, but I got a little too carried away."

Kujō-san dipped his head.

No, wait.

That actually made things awkward for me.

"It's fine. I just wanted to land a hit on you after a while too."

"I see."

"Yes."

"Even so, I'm glad you showed me. Thank you."

With that, Kujō-san returned to Saeki-san and the others.

I went back to the participants.

"Good work, Ren-kun!"

Rio-senpai was the first to call out to me.

"Thank you."

"Man, that was impressive. Kujō-san looked like he was actually having fun partway through."

"That's what stood out to you?"

"Of course. I've hardly ever seen him make that face during a spar."

Apparently, Rio-senpai had paid more attention to Kujō-san's reaction than the fight itself.

Personally, I'd been too busy dealing with the sudden increase in attacks to notice.

"And that last bit was amazing too. Both arms vanished, right?"

"Well... there was a lot going on."

"Can you make something like that vanish just because 'there was a lot going on'?"

"I don't totally understand it yet myself."

"Ohh~"

He looked incredibly curious.

But Rio-senpai didn't press me any further.

"Himura-kun."

This time Mibu came up to me.

"Good work."

"Thanks."

"That was impressive."

"Oh, thanks."

"You were really stubborn, too."

"Hey, 'stubborn'? Come on, the way you put it."

Just when I thought she'd complimented me, she tacked on something weird.

"I think refusing to give up to that extent is one of your strengths, Himura-kun."

"You couldn't find anything else to praise!?"

"I thought that was plenty of praise."

Mibu tilted her head a little.

"How are you the one looking like you have a problem with this!?"

"I'm not."

"You are."

She absolutely was.

How had I complained only to wind up looking like the weird one here?

"All right, next."

At Saeki-san's voice, we turned our attention forward.

The other participants took their aptitude tests in turn.

Nobody spent as long facing Kujō-san as I had. Each person went for only a few minutes.

And several instructors handled the matches, not just Saeki-san.

Mibu's turn was impressive too.

I knew from the expedition that her magic was powerful, but each blast still looked like it would hurt like hell.

And whenever the instructor closed in, she backed away. As soon as she had distance, she fired again.

Switching between fire and ice, at that.

She'd fought alongside Rio-senpai and the others before, so I hadn't paid much attention, but she could move this well on her own too.

I definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of that.

When it was Nanami-san's turn, they even changed the test itself a little.

"Gokō's in a support Job, so we'll give her a vanguard. We'll be assessing her support for them as well."

"Yes."

As Saeki-san explained, another instructor stepped in as the vanguard.

Huh.

They even tailored the test for support Jobs.

...I'm technically an Enchanter too, you know.

Hell, until yesterday I was a regular Enchanter.

Couldn't I have had a test like that?

Well, I'd gotten obsessed with landing a hit on Kujō-san myself partway through, so it was a bit late to complain.

Nanami-san enchanted the instructor playing vanguard while keeping her distance from the opponent.

When the vanguard came under attack, she changed the enchant. When she herself was targeted, she used one on herself instead.

She showed absolutely no sign of buffing herself from the start and charging in to punch someone, like I did.

Yep.

That was probably what a normal Enchanter looked like.

Seeing it again really drove home how weird the direction of my evolution was.

There were plenty of other Jobs and Skills I hadn't seen before.

One person fought with two short daggers.

Another used a bow made of Magic, fighting while keeping their distance from the instructor.

There really were all sorts.

Even among them, though, Rio-senpai stood out the most.

Actually.

'Stood out' didn't begin to cover it.

He was straight-up pushing the instructor back.

The other participants all struggled against the instructors to some degree.

I'd lost to Saeki-san, and Kujō-san went without saying.

But Rio-senpai was different.

He stayed on the attack from the start, and the instructor clearly spent more time defending than anything else.

Partway through, it even looked like the instructor changed how they fought. Rio-senpai still had the upper hand.

I couldn't tell who was testing whom anymore.

Rio-senpai had told me before that he was a Swordsman.

He had, but...

Were normal Swordsmen really this strong?

In the end, the spar ended without the instructor ever managing to push him back.

No, come on.

He couldn't seriously have barely any Achievements.

And he couldn't have not evolved into a Unique Job.

Right?

Even I'd evolved.

Rio-senpai had been much stronger than me from the start, and the government knew his name. I couldn't imagine he hadn't accomplished anything.

...I'll ask him quietly later.

The tests continued in that fashion, and everyone finished more quickly than I'd expected.

"That concludes today's aptitude assessment."

Saeki-san stepped forward at the end.

"At present, we consider most of today's participants suitable. However, that isn't a formal decision here and now."

Most.

All right.

I'd like to think I was included.

If I'd gone that far against Kujō-san only to be judged unsuitable, I'd cry.

"For minors, as we explained, we'll need to speak with your guardians and get their consent. If you're found suitable, we'd like to arrange a meeting to explain things to them ourselves. Please keep that in mind."

Mom and Dad, huh.

Of course.

No matter how much I wanted to do it, they were talking about having a high schooler respond to crimes committed by Awakeners. It wasn't something I could settle by talking to them myself.

"We won't contact them out of the blue, of course. When you get home, just let them know this is being discussed first."

"Understood."

Five hundred thousand yen a month would definitely shock them.

But before that, I'd have to tell them what the job actually involved.

...I had a feeling the conversation would stop right there.

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice today. And though it was a test, I asked more of some of you than I should have. I'm sorry for that."

Kujō-san dipped his head to us.

"With that said, we'd be grateful for your help. The results will be handled as Saeki just explained. You're dismissed for today."

So that really was the end.

Everyone around me began gathering their things. I was about to get ready to leave too when—

"Ren-kun."

Nanami-san came over.

"Yes?"

"There's something I'd like to talk to you about... is what I was going to say, but..."

Here it came.

I knew there was something.

Our eyes had met before the test.

Was it about how I'd fought Kanzaki alone?

Or what had happened today?

Maybe both.

"You've gotten stronger, Ren-kun."

"...Huh?"

That wasn't what I'd expected her to say at all.

"You're stronger than me now, and you even held your own against Kujō-san to that extent today, didn't you?"

"No, no, I wasn't even close against Kujō-san."

"Still."

Nanami-san smiled a little.

"When we first met, we were both Enchanters, and you seemed like there was still a lot you didn't know. So I thought I needed to teach you all sorts of things."

I remembered.

When we first entered a dungeon together.

Just hearing that she was an Enchanter too had been a huge relief.

And I'd been genuinely happy when she said she'd teach me things.

"But watching you lately, maybe I've been a bit too nosy."

"No, no, no."

I couldn't have that.

"Not at all!"

It came out louder than I'd intended.

Nanami-san's eyes widened a little.

"You'll always be my senpai, Nanami-san. There's still plenty I don't know, and I want you to keep teaching me!"

"...Really?"

"Really."

I didn't have to think about that.

Getting stronger didn't erase everything she'd taught me.

Besides, I'd honestly be sad if Nanami-san told me she didn't have anything left to teach me.

"Then..."

Nanami-san smiled, a little more happily this time.

"Want to train together again sometime?"

"Absolutely!"

An instant answer.

Of course it was.

I could train with Nanami-san again.

What reason did I have to say no?

Naturally, it was because I wanted to learn from a fellow Enchanter.

That part was true.

...Though it wasn't the only reason.

"Okay, okay!"

A bright voice cut in from beside us.

Rio-senpai.

"Ren-kun, let's go eat!"

"That's sudden."

"To celebrate our victory!"

"We haven't even gotten the official results yet."

"They said most of us were suitable. We'll be fine."

That's some confidence.

But after seeing Rio-senpai's test, I couldn't argue about him.

"You're coming too, Iroha-chan, right?"

Rio-senpai called over to Mibu.

"Why have you already decided I'm going?"

"You're not?"

"...I am."

She was going.

Those two really were close, weren't they?

They'd probably deny it themselves, though.

"Um..."

Nanami-san spoke up, sounding a little hesitant.

"Would it be okay if I came too?"

"Of course!"

Rio-senpai answered before I could.

"The more the merrier!"

"Then I think I'll come too."

Nanami-san was coming.

Rio-senpai, Mibu, Nanami-san, and me.

That was kind of an unusual group.

"What should we eat?"

"Barbecue!"

"That was fast."

"You eat meat to celebrate a victory."

"I don't really follow that logic."

"Then what do you want, Iroha-chan?"

"Anything."

"That's the least helpful answer!"

Still talking, the four of us left the training facility.

I'd only come here to take an aptitude test today.

Instead I'd fought Kujō-san, shown him my battle armor, and even used Stagnation at the end.

And now the day would finish with dinner for the four of us.

Well.

Not bad.