The Best Assassin, Incarnated into a Different World's Aristocrat

Chapter 32: Assassin Catch A Sight of Hero

Ten minutes before the end of the break time, the results of the written test were posted.

Anyway, after the break, the next exam begins. It's only now that I can see the progress I'm making.

[Oh, Lugh-sama. There are two pieces of paper with test results posted on them.] (Talt)

[Seem like servant's result has to be posted separately.] (Lugh)

A noble can bring up to one servant, and if that servant has magical powers, he/she can be in the same class as his/her lord and take classes if he/she wishes.

Nonetheless, there are no more than ten servants who possess magical power in here.

When dividing into classes, results showed that each was given a division, not including the servants.

[I did it, I did it. I'm the best in the servant division! Also, on the right is written (6th place). What does that mean? Phew, I'm so relieved I didn't embarrass Lugh-sama.] (Talt)

[Sixth place is the overall ranking. That's a good result to be proud of. You could easily aim an S-Class.] (Lugh)

[That's amazing. I had a feeling that I could handle it well, but I might have lost. I want to see the results too, but I can't see anything at all...] (Dia)

The crowds prevent Dia from getting close to the standings, so she jumps up to take a peek behind her, but it's tough on her due to her short height.

[Dia, let me give you a hand.] (Lugh)

[Kya] (Dia)

I piggyback on her. Dia made an uncharacteristically cute noise.

[Thanks, but it's a little embarrassing and I'm a big sister. Such a childish thing.] (Dia)

[You're my sister now, so it's okay.] (Lugh)

Yes, Dia is a sister, even though it is a false family register.

So, as a brother, I do this much. And Dia's thigh feel great. It was smooth and warm.

Gohon, no. I didn't do it with that kind of ulterior motive.

[Do you see the rankings?] (Lugh)

[Yeah, I can see it. Well, Lugh gets first place. Oh, no, no, there are two people in first place. That guy back there, that sly guy, he also gets number one.] (Dia)

... I see, Neusch is not just a man with a mouth.

I expected to get full marks as long as there were no errors in the history book itself.

If so, Neusch also scored full marks, or close to it.

[I am in third place. Ugh, that's frustrating. I was secretly trying to win the first place.] (Dia)

[No, it's more than enough. Practical exam are about magic and body arts. Dia would be able to score a lot of points with your magic, and your swordsmanship skills aren't bad either. It's enough to get you to S-Class.] (Lugh)

[If it's magic, no one can beat me. It's a little dubious if it's against Lugh.] (Dia)

Dia's chanting and magic manipulation are in the realm of art.

I can win on simple power, but I don't feel like I can win her on detailed control.

[Come to think of it, how are the results for the hero-sama? You can see it from here.] (Lugh)

[I don't know his name, so I don't know.] (Dia)

[No, I know. It is Epona. Epona Rhiannon.] (Lugh)

After hearing that hero had appeared, I did a lot of research.

And it turns out that the hero doesn't have power moment he born, but just awakened recently.

Just an ordinary person has suddenly been reborn as a hero.

Epona Rhiannon, like Tuathe Dé, was come from a Baron family.

In addition, he was a dropout who was born without magical power despite being an aristocrat, and Baron Rhiannon's family was having a hard time having children other than Epona.

In addition, Epona Rhiannon has a lot of mystery to him.

Although he is definitely a man in his family register, the more I examine him, the more I suspect that he is a woman.

Thus, as long as I don't see in person, I don't know which is which.

[Epona, Epona. Oh, there he is. 8th from the last] (Dia)

[......Thank you. I think I understand roughly.] (Lugh)

I put down Dia.

It seems that this time, the brave man has no signs of being highly educated.

That means he must not have any magic training.

Basically, I can assume that he is just a muscle-brain.

[I thought a hero would be amazing, but it's not really.] (Dia)

[After all, it's what he has accumulated in his life so far. It's not enough to be born with abilities that are out of the norm. However, he is only 14 years old. It's going to grow.] (Lugh)

That's why the school is here.

[Um, Lugh-sama. I've been feeling like I'm being stared at by the people around me.] (Talt)

[It can't be helped considering rank that you got] (Lugh)

The sons and daughters of famous aristocrats are paying attention to us.

Neusch and I are tied for first place, and he's from a duke family, so it's not surprising that he has a good record, but it's also strange that we as a baron family can get such a good record.

In other words, they can't be convinced that they have lost to the lower aristocracy because of the education they have received and their smartness.

But some people didn't seem to care about such things.

[I thought I took first place by far, but I never thought you'd be so close to me. After all, you're as capable as I thought you'd be.] (Neusch Geffis)

Neusch, a beautiful blond boy, is familiarly embracing his shoulder.

[Let's both of us work hard in the second half.] (Lugh)

[Of course. I'm aiming to get first place in the entrance exam after all. I would not lose...Let's me remind you first. I won't forgive if you take easy just because of me being from duke family. Getting rank because of family’s status is bad taste after all.] (Neusch Geffis)

[I understand. I will also give my best shot] (Lugh)

I'm not lying when I say I'll do my best. That is, within the limits of the power that can be shown.

The bell sounded to signal the end of the break and the instructor came again to announce the start of the second half.

◇

The afternoon practical exam was also halfway through.

First, it's a magic test.

A person declares his or her best attribute magic, and is scored by chanting and casting the three predetermined types of magic.

The four scoring criteria are the amount of magic released, the conversion rate of magic released, chanting speed, and magic accuracy.

I suppressed my magic and chanted with a magic power that was only within the range of common sense and extremely excellent.

The result of that is second place.

[Mm-hmm. No one can beat me in magic.] (Dia)

Someone who get first place is smirking beside me.

[Impressive as ever. I fell in love with the beautiful chanting.] (Dia)

[I'm more concerned about the magic conversion. No matter how many times I look at it, I don't know how I can convert it with that much effort.] (Lugh)

It is converting magic power into spell without wasting any magic.

It's an extremely important technique. So, I've been trying to do a lot of trial and error myself, but I can't win against Dia.

In the case of an ordinary magician, the standard is 70%, and I'm around 90%. But in Dia's case, it's always 90%.

This isn't just a matter of getting more fuel and more magic. Accuracy is increased because there are no adverse effects from magic that is not fully converted.

The conversion rate between me and Dia is only five minutes different, but that five minutes difference is huge.

[I’m in 5th place...Even though I get thought a lot by Lugh-sama.] (Talt)

Talt appears to be dropping her shoulders.

By the way, the people above Talt are Neusch and Hero Epona.

Seeing Neusch's chant convinced me that he was a hard worker.

There's definitely he has a top-notch mentor, there's sense in him. But that alone won't work that much magic like this.

It takes an effort to the point of getting bloody.

He's a quirky guy who likes to show off. However, there is a definite effort behind it.

And what surprise me is Epona.

That was a mess. Magic conversion efficiency is poor. At best, it is below the general level of 50-60%. Chanting is also slow. The accuracy is also poor.

However, the amount of magic released is too far outside the standard, and that alone has surpassed Neusch and Talt in overall results.

[Hey, Dia. Can you believe it? How does the basic magic of the fire attribute, [Flame Ball], become like that?] (Lugh)

[Yeah, I don't want to believe it either. It's ridiculous, it's terrible magic. I wonder what would have happened if he had trained properly and chanted with a normal level of skill.] (Dia)

[Flaming ball]. As its name implies, it is a magic that produces a ball of fire the size of a fist.

It flies fluffily and slowly, to the extent that it burns the surface skin if it is hit.

But the [fireball] that hero threw was different.

It was like a bullet, which were as hot as a compressed sun, shot out at a speed that exceeded the sound of a sound, turning everything in their path into cinders and disappearing into the far distance.

...... That's it for beginner magic. Probably not just a simple amount of magic, but there might be also a skill to enhance magic.

I shudder to think of fighting against him.

The least he can do is chant poorly, and even a beginner's magic takes tens of seconds to chant.

It is also a weakness that will disappear if he learn it at this school.

Being shown something like this made me want to kill him now.

◇

And physical arts exam has come.

First, various measurements are taken.

Muscle strength, instantaneous power, jumping power, endurance, reflexes, etc.

Such things will be measured.

The one who shine in this place is Talt.

At first glance, these measurements seem to be a mere competition for superiority or inferiority of physical ability, but in the case of a person with magical power, the skill of strengthening physical ability through magic becomes more important.

It is better to change the strength of each part so that it is linked to the movement of the body than to strengthen the entire body with magic.

But it's an advanced technique, and there are only a limited number of people who can do it.

From what I've seen, the only students who can do it are me, Talt and Neusch.

Dia is still in learning state.

However, as if to ridicule such technique, hero showed off his overwhelming performance with his poor strengthening magic and took first place in every category.

I don't feel like I can win at all. The comparison itself is wrong.

That guy is truly a monster.

No, even the word "monster" is lukewarm.

Those who left behind a hero after getting a pitiable point in his writing have already returned and are now clinging to Epona cheerfully.

The only thing that bothers me is that Epona looks like she's having a hard time breathing.

He has a make-believe smile on his face, but it looks painful.

Apparently, he is not good at socializing.

And I calculated that this would be the catalyst for us to become friends.

◇

Finally, I reached to final exam.

The last exam is a real battle. It looks at magic and physical abilities and their overall skills.

Actually, current active knights will come and have a match with the students.

Their weapons are taken off sharpness, and in addition, they have a wizard by their side who specializes in strengthening self-healing through magic, and a doctor.

......Of course, there's no way they could beat an active knight.

The important thing is not the win or lose, but the content of the match, and that's what is evaluated.

The arena of the Knight Academy is large, with six rings lined up in a row.

Talt, who had the fastest turn to fight, moved to the waiting room and I'm watching alone with Dia.

[There seem to be a lot of amazing people out there.] (Dia)

[Yes, that's right. It's good to see the power of same year student early on.] (Lugh)

...... Tauthe Dé isn't the only one who focuses on education.

There is a family that has produced knights from generation to generation. A family that has built its position solely on military merit, such a family raises its children as weapons of war from an early age.

Some of them were comparable to current knights.

[Lugh, will Talt going be okay?] (Dia)

[I'm sure she'll be fine. You know, she is pretty strong in spite of she looks like that.] (Lugh)

Talt who equipped spears surpassed even the current knights.

Tauthe Dé’s skills, and skills that I learnt before reincarnation is taught into her after all.

And that Talt appears on ring.

She already took out spear that usually hidden in her skirt.

Facing the knight...no matter what, the knight bowed his head before the match started.

It's just not a pre-match tradition, but it's pure gratitude.

Talt is bewildered and flustered. Then, after the knight had told her something, Talt's face turned bright red, and then she was desperately trying to beg something.

Something was going on, and area hall was buzzing.

But they started the match without incident, and Talt came out victorious.

Not expecting the servant girl to win, all eyes turned to Talt.

The fact that such a thing happened before the match, and that she was a servant and a woman, caused some to make a fuss about it, but those people were nothing to be concerned about.

The ones who can fight reasonably well will know their abilities by looking at Talt's spear, and those who don't know are not worth putting in sight.

TaIt comes back and I ask what happened before match. Incidentally, Dia headed to the waiting room as her turn is approaching.

[You know, there was a time when you were gaining actual experience on the battlefield, wasn't there? That's when he thanked me for saving his life.] (Talt)

[... You meaning at that time] (Lugh)

When Talt was in Murteu, I took issue with her lack of real-world combat experience, so I gave her some real-world combat experience on the battlefield for a time.

[Yes. I wasn't expecting to meet the man I fought alongside at the time, so I was surprised.] (Talt)

[And then he was asking for something, but what was it?] (Lugh)

[I was called by two names, which is embarrassing on the battlefield, and he told me that he wanted to appeal to the instructors about my achievements and my two names, so I asked him not to do that. You know, I'm too embarrassed to be called two names.] (Talt)

[I'd be curious to hear when you say like that.] (Lugh)

[...... Lugh-sama. You better not tell about this to anyone... it is【Lighting Speed Battle Madien】... such name like this, I don’t want to get call in front of everyone] (Talt)

【Lighting Speed Battle Madien】was it? Certainly, it fit Talt's fighting style.

Super speed with advanced physical enhancement techniques and acceleration by wind.

Not only that, but her flexible body and excellent reflexes allow her to use her own body without becoming monotonous, even at that speed range.

Indeed, it can be said that she is a war maiden of lightning speed.

... However, there is also a weakness. Talt is still growing period, and at the moment she can perform her technique at the very limit of her speed, but she is still getting faster.

At this rate, her dynamic vision would not be able to keep up with her own speed. In time, I may have to give her Tauthe Dé’s eye.

[Come to think of it, when is Lugh-sama's match?　I've been looking forward to seeing it.] (Talt)

[Mine's the last one, so you'll have time. More importantly, Dia's match is about to begin. We need to cheer her on.] (Lugh)

[Please tell me immediately!] (Talt)

Dia began to strike with her sword.

However, I feel inferior.

The match was decided after about five minutes, and although they fought well, she has lost.

Dia has received some sort of combat training at her parents' house, but it's mainly magic. It's only recently that I've started teaching serious melee combat, but it's still in the basic stages.

[That was close.] (Talt)

[It's enough to get you there. I'm sure you'll get good marks for that one, and I don't think you can ask for much more than that at this level.] (Lugh)

We give a round of applause. Dia gave it her best shot.

Dia leaves the ring. And the one who came to after her is Epona.

His opponent is Knight Commander.

He is the apex man among the knights. It's not just the job title, it's the skill. Such a man is fully equipped with full mail.

That armor, it's not just ordinary armor. It uses the ultra-rare metal mithril. It has a strength and hardness that cannot be compared to iron armor.

Nice decision. If it was his class and he didn't have superlative equipment, he was at high risk of being killed, even if he was using a blade that does not have sharpness.

Then, a match begins.

Just when you thought Epona had disappeared and appeared in front of the Knight Commander, she froze in a sword striking pose and even the Knight Commander disappeared. Delayedly, there is a roar.

A second roar could be heard as I searched for the Commander of the Knights' whereabouts.

Epona's sword strike a knight in shining armor is slammed a few meters into the audience seat in its straight line.

A closer look in Epona's direction revealed pieces of shattered mithril scattered around him.

... Does this mean he cut mithril with sword?

Hero is dangerous. I thought I understood that.

I never thought it will be to this extent.

Even I can’t see what happened with Tauthe Dé’s eye.

In other words, if it was me standing there, I would have suffered the same end as the Commander of the Knights.

In addition, hero is inexperienced. Therefore, he is still be going to strong.

[He is inferior than Setan] (Dai)

I'll admit it. This hero is inferior to Setan at the moment.

But in less than a year, he will become more than that monster.

I need to get stronger, and I don't think I can even do the assassination at the rate I'm going now.

I renew my determination.

Then my turn comes and I go down to a ring.

I was going to lose after showing a decent fight, but I got a little heated.

Let's see if I can work a little harder to calm these hot flashes.