I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Hunters’ Prep School 

The school was small. The building she took to be the schoolhouse was a tiny, one-story shack. The building that served as the dormitory was a similarly humble affair, housing both b oys and girls. The only other building appeared to house an indoor training ground. Such was the sort of school that catered to only about forty students, all in the same class. 

Mile had no interest in standing out, but at the same time, she didn’t want the guild master to lose face. Her goal was to stay somewhere near fifth from the top of her class. 

After Mile finished registering, she proceeded to her assigned room to find a four-person dorm with two bunk beds. Since the school was funded by the country’s tax money, they didn’t have the luxury of providing individual rooms. 

Still, for now, the room was empty, for it seemed that Mile was the first to arrive. She pondered which bed she ought to claim for herself. With her past education in Japanese courtesy, she could not escape the inclination ingrained in her to hold back and let others have the best ones. 

I’ll probably be the youngest and the smallest, so maybe I should pick a top bunk… 

Thus, though there were a lot of advantages to sleeping on the bottom of a bunk bed, but Mile selected one of the two top bunks. 

The room had one cabinet, divided into four sections. Apparently, this was meant for them all to share. Other than that, there was only one small lockbox, but since Mile could keep her valuables in the loot box, it wasn’t of much interest to her. So again, she selected the most inconvenient spot. 

In these lands, ceding an advantage one could grab for oneself was something only an idiot would do, but to Mile, this was no real concern. 

“I guess I don’t need to spend much time unpacking.” 

Here, she had no intention of hiding the fact that she had storage skills. In fact, the guild master had written this very information in the referral section of her entry application form, so it would be pointless to try to conceal it. Therefore, it was fine if her standard luggage appeared to be hidden away with storage magic. Even if some of it were actually secured in her loot box instead. 

Thus, as she didn’t really need the cabinet, she figured that the other three could share the space amongst themselves. 

Besides the beds, the cabinet, and the lockbox, the room was completely empty. There was nothing else—not even desks or chairs. At this school, there was no spare money to devote to housing. Any time that students had to loiter around in their rooms was time best spent on the practice grounds. The rooms were really just a place for changing clothes and sleeping. That was the sum of things. 

Mile was sitting around staring into space and killing time until lunch, when there was a knock on the door. 

“Come in!” Mile replied. 

The girl who opened the door was tall, about five foot seven inches, with golden hair and a stern, imposing face. She was probably around seventeen or eighteen years old and looked almost boyish. Immediately, Mile could tell that she was also the sort of person who would be popular with the other girls. 

“Oh, a roommate! Let’s have a great six months together!” The girl grinned and held out her right hand. Mile smiled and returned the gesture. She got the feeling she would get along with this girl. 

“Pleased to meet you. The name’s Mavis. I’m a knight. I’ll spare you the details until the rest arrive. Which bed are you in?” 

“Oh—this one, up here.” 

“Hmm…” 

Mile worried Mavis might think she was an idiot, but instead the girl just patted her gently on the head. 

“You’re a good kid…” 

They would definitely get along! Mile was certain of it. 

“I’m kinda big,” Mavis said, “so I hope you don’t mind if I take the bottom here.” 

Mavis hoisted her luggage onto the bed beneath Mile, and the two of them chatted until there came another knock. 

“Come on in!” Mile replied. 

This time, when the door opened, two girls stood outside in the hallway. 

The first was a kind, absent-minded looking girl around thirteen or fourteen, with brown hair. The second was a tough-looking redhead of around twelve. 

“More roommates, yeah? Hey there, I’m Mavis!” 

“And I’m Mile. Pleased to meet you all!” 

“Reina. Nice to meet you.” The red-headed girl strutted into the room. She glanced at both the beds and then tossed her bags onto the bottom bunk of the vacant one—surely a more typical way of doing things, Mile thought. The early bird gets the worm and all that. 

“I’m Pauline. It’s good to meet you.” The meeker of the two girls gently placed her bags on the top bunk, without a hint of disdain for the girl who had beaten her to the punch. 

There was no real need for the students to arrive until the day before the entrance ceremony, but it was no coincidence that all four occupants of this room had arrived early in the morning, three whole days before the start of the term. That night would be the first night that they could sleep there at the school, and it was also the first day that their free meals would be provided, starting with lunch. In short, none of them had money to spare. 

Of course, this was not true of Mile, who now had funds of her own. Even so, she had wanted to arrive early merely to familiarize herself with the school and the surrounding area. However, wanting to fit into with the other girls, she didn’t mention this. At the very least, she had learned to read the room a little better since her days at Eckland Academy. 

Soon, lunchtime rolled around, and they all headed to the dining hall with plans to do proper introductions after the meal. 

Although it was only the first day of registration, a great number of other students had arrived early as well; nearly half of this year’s class of forty crowded the dining hall. At this point, all of the previous term’s students had graduated and gone, so everyone present was a new recruit. 

The boys were gobbling food as though they hadn’t eaten in days, and though the girls were nowhere near so crude, it was clear they had good appetites. As no one had grown close enough for friendly chatter, everyone ate in silence. 

After lunch, Mile and company returned to their room to make introductions. 

“How about we introduce ourselves in the order we arrived?” 

Mavis’s suggestion put Mile first. 

“I’m Mile. I’m twelve years old. I’m a magic user and an F-rank hunter.” 

“Is that all?” asked Reina, the redhead. “Anything else you want to say? Like your magical specialty, or your hometown, or your family, or…?” 

At her prompting, Mile had no choice but to continue. “Um, let’s see. I can use storage magic—I don’t have any use for my spot in the cabinet, so the rest of you can go ahead and use it. I dabble in swordplay just a little bit, for self-protection. And as for my family, even speaking about them is a sort of unpleasant matter, so please forgive me for refraining…” 

“………” 

There was a long silence. 

“Wait a minute—” Reina suddenly interjected. 

“Something is weird about this. If you can use storage magic, you should be a C-rank already! What are you doing here?! Besides, it takes energy to maintain, doesn’t it? How can you be using that in place of a cabinet?!” 

“Huh…?” 

“Don’t you ‘huh’ me!” 

As Reina continued to shout, Mile just tilted her head. 

“Um, well, the rank thing was a guild mistake,” Mile said. “The guild master sent me here in order to correct it. And I don’t know—is that really true about storage magic needing to be maintained?” 

“Y-you…” Reina trailed off. 

“Well, I guess I’m next up!” Mavis offered, only a little nervously. 

Being able to read the room truly was an amazing skill. 

“Now that Mile’s spilled the beans for us, let me be frank as well. We’ll be together a good while, so you’re going to get to know me sooner or later. 

“I’m Mavis von Austien, seventeen years old. I’m a knight, no magic. 

“My family has all been knights for generations, and my three older brothers all became knights too. I wanted to be a knight, just like them, but my brothers and parents were super opposed to it, so I ran away from home. So, now, I just go by Mavis, no surname. Hope we can get along!” 

Whoa… 

As Mavis spoke, the nickname “Rascal” popped into Mile’s head—but that was a name for a raccoon, wasn’t it? Perhaps she was thinking of something else. 

“N-next up’s me, then! Reina, fifteen years old! They call me ‘Crimson Reina,’ and my specialty’s attack magic. Let me just be clear now that the ‘Crimson’ part has nothing to do with my hair! I have no family…” 

At these last words, Reina looked down, despondent, but unlike Mile, it seemed as though she wouldn’t necessarily mind talking about her family. 

The other girls all asked the same question. “Fifteen?” 

“What?! You got something to say about it?!” 

Reina was very short for a fifteen-year-old, no taller than 156 centimeters. If she were Japanese, she would be just around the right height for her age, but for the people of this country, who were similar to Caucasians on Earth, she was about 5 centimeters shy of the average height for a girl of fifteen—closer to the height of a twelve-year-old. 

Mile was also short for her age, so she was thankful when the conversation moved on. 

“I guess that leaves me, then… I’m Pauline, I’m fourteen. I’m the love child of the head of the Beckett Company, a mid-sized mercantile operation.” 

Whaaaaaaaat?! The other girls exchanged surprised looks. 

“My existence is a nuisance to my father, but I’m a genius at healing magic, so he sent me here to try and polish my skills so that I’d be a useful gift to a noble or important merchant.” 

Stop iiiit!!! 

“After I graduate from here, I’ll probably end up with some middle-aged man—” 

“AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR INTRODUCTIONS,” the other three cut in. 

Truly, these were roommates who would get along well. 

*** 

For the next three days, the four girls passed their time chatting in their room and strolling about the capital together. Since none of them had very much money, they only did things that were free. 

When they did go shopping, however, there was a problem beyond just money: because their room was very small, they couldn’t buy much of anything besides a few changes of clothing and small, consumable goods. 

Each of them had very different personalities, but somehow, they all seemed to complement each other. It was clear that they would be very good roommates. 

For some reason or other, Mile found herself growing particularly fond of Reina, and she often noticed the other girl standing by her side. When Mile brought it up, Mavis was kind enough to offer an explanation. 

“Well, it’s probably because, you know, the way your figure—no, never mind, it’s nothing.” 

“Wait, what?!” 

Mile demanded that Mavis continue. As polite as she normally was, she had grown comfortable enough now to speak to her new roommates without reservations. 

The truth was that when Reina stood next to Mile, she looked much older. She was noticeably taller than twelve-year-old Mile and more developed in other ways, too. 

Since Reina always seemed concerned about her youthful appearance, it was only natural that she’d want to accentuate the contrast between them—which meant staying close to Mile’s side. For Mile, at twelve, being only a little bit smaller than a fifteen-year-old wasn’t so bad either. 

Mavis was seventeen, so she wasn’t even part of the equation. It was Pauline who gave Reina reason to worry. She was a hair taller than the average girl of fourteen, which meant she was taller than Reina. Worst of all though, was the fact that her breasts were much more developed than average, surpassing even Mavis’s. 

“Grngh…” Mile cast a glare at Pauline’s bust just as Reina returned from the washroom. 

“Well, let’s get going!” 

The waiting was over. It was the day of the Hunters’ Prep School entrance ceremony. 

*** 

The ceremony was drab. 

Since the vast majority of the students came from poverty, their families couldn’t possibly attend. 

While the entrance ceremony at Eckland Academy had been nothing special in comparison to that of the much more prestigious Ardleigh, the school still catered to the offspring of nobles and successful merchants, meaning that they had to keep up appearances. Here, the entrance ceremony felt like not much more than an introductory assembly for the students and teachers alone. 

Suffice it to say, while a proper three-year boarding school and an accelerated six-month hunters’ prep school were both “schools,” it was like comparing a four-year university to a driving school; in other words, it was not a worthwhile comparison. Even the difference in the size of the student body was noticeable to Mile. 

And, of course, the school had no uniforms. Everyone wore their own clothes. Still, as they were attending an entrance ceremony, the students had all worn their hunting equipment rather than standard garb, which gave them the appearance of rookie hunters. 

The student body for this term consisted of forty people, the same as always, and there was only one class. In fact, the school was still in something of a trial run, so its scope was very small, much more like a mission school than a true academy. 

“Welcome! I am Principal Elbert!” A man of around fifty greeted them from the platform. He didn’t look like a principal so much as a retired hunter. 

“I’ve lived as a hunter since I was six years old, up until about six years ago, when I retired and took charge of this place.” 

No wonder, then, that he looked like a retired hunter. He was one! 

And at any rate, a school of only forty students couldn’t have much need for a principal. 

They might as well call it a “Hunter Training Center” or a “Hunter Boot Camp,” Mile thought. 

“The aim of this place is to cram you full of all the knowledge you’d normally gain from the successes and failures of many years in the span of just six months. That way, you can be promoted to a D or C-rank immediately after you graduate! You understand what that means, right?” 

Elbert looked out at the students’ faces. 

“That’s right! This place is tough! And anyone who can’t keep up gets the boot! Having someone happily graduate and then kick the bucket a few days later—or worse, drag all their party members down in the mud? That’s not what we want. So, we don’t let it happen! If don’t think you can stick with it, then you can turn in your resignation now!” 

To enter the school, everyone present had overcome fierce competition. They carried their families’ hopes on their shoulders. No one was prepared to give up so easily. At least at that moment point, there were no quitters present. 

Following Elbert’s address, the other instructors were introduced, and then the students were dismissed. The small details would be covered later, in the classroom. 

*** 

As they waited for their instructor to arrive, the students chattered in small groups. Roommates, who had already grown close, talked amongst one another. 

“I mean, it’s pretty obvious,” said Reina. 

The other three nodded. 

She was referring to the principal’s remarks. Everyone there had been perfectly aware of the school’s reputation when they enrolled. There was no point in blabbering on about it. 

After a short while, the door at the front of the room opened, and their instructor entered. It was Elbert, the principal himself. 

“I’m your chief instructor. We don’t have a particularly large budget, so you can think of me as your principal-cum-chief instructor-cum-weaponry trainer. Besides me, there’re the three others I introduced. And other than that, it’s just the cooks who make your meals and the school maintenance staff. 

“Our curriculum here is focused on practical education, but there’s a classroom portion of your studies, too. If you don’t know how to identify medicinal herbs or tell different monsters apart, you’re dead meat. And if you don’t know how to properly address a noble you’re escorting, you’re going to end up starting a fight that will end either with you getting cut down or put on a list of criminals. You have to study up.” 

His words were curt, but no one could argue with the truth of them. 

Elbert began writing on the board as he continued speaking. 

Total Students : 40 Boys: 27 Girls: 13 

Sword Users Boys: 13 Girls: 3 

Spear Users Boys: 4 

Archers Boys: 4 Girls: 2 

Magic Users Boys: 6 Girls: 8 

Girls’ Team A 5 Members 2 Magic, 1 Sword, 2 Bow 

Girls’ Team B 4 Members 3 Magic, 1 Sword 

Girls’ Team C 4 Members 3 Magic, 1 Sword 

Boys’ Team 1 5 Members 1 Magic, 3 Sword, 1 Bow 

Boys’ Team 2 5 Members 1 Magic, 2 Sword, 1 Bow, 1 Spear 

Boys’ Team 3 5 Members 1 Magic, 2 Sword, 1 Bow, 1 Spear 

Boys’ Team 4 4 Members 1 Magic, 2 Sword, 1 Spear 

Boys’ Team 5 4 Members 1 Magic, 2 Sword, 1 Spear 

Boys’ Team 6 4 Members 1 Magic, 2 Sword, 1 Bow 

“This class is divided into parties by gender and grouped based on your professions. Teams A through C are the girls’ teams, and Teams 1 through 6 are the boys’. I’m sure some of you may have noticed already, but these party divisions are the same as your room assignments. So you’re bound together until graduation, like it or not. 

“If there’s someone you don’t get on with, it’s your responsibility to tough it out. That’s part of your training. After all, you’re not always going to end up liking your party members after graduation, either. 

“Now, there aren’t many all-girl parties out there in the real world, but here at school, we don’t have the time to be breaking up any lovers’ spats or dealing with unexpected babies. It’s easier to teach you all separately. 

“But that’s just for while you’re here. After you graduate, you can form your own mixed-gender parties if you want to. That’s how it usually works, after all.” 

At that point, Mile felt that Elbert had been a bit too frank, but he simply continued his explanation. 

Seating in the classroom was divided up by profession, so it was easy for the instructors to know at a glance which groups would most benefit from what information. Still, when hunters were out in the field, there was the possibility that they would have to take up the arms of a fallen comrade or a bested enemy, so it was crucial that every hunter trained with equipment that was outside of his or her wheelhouse. In the future, this would help them work better with other members of their party. Of course, it was critical to know the strengths and weaknesses of one’s enemies, so joint sessions with students of other professions were also part of their training course. 

Finally, it was time for the students to introduce themselves to one another. 

“I don’t expect you all to memorize everybody the first time around,” Elbert said. “This is just to get a feel for the sorts of folks who are in your class. We’ll start from the right side. Give us your name, age, occupation, specialization, and rank, at the very least. You don’t have to stop there, though. Feel free to let your peers know what kind of person you are.” 

In spite of his encouragement, almost no one gave more than the bare minimum. 

Few students were interested in filling a bunch of strangers in on their private affairs, their strengths, or their weaknesses. Even Mavis, Reina, and Pauline gave introductions much briefer than those they had offered back in the dormitory. 

Finally, it came time for Mile to introduce herself. “I’m Mile. I’m twelve years old and a magic user. There’s no type of magic that I’m especially bad at. I can use storage magic, and I dabble just a little in swords. I’m an F-rank.” 

Unlike Reina, no one here expressed puzzlement at Mile’s knowledge of storage magic. No matter how impressive the skill was, it was not particularly difficult to imagine why someone would have judged it too dangerous to send an inexperienced twelve-year-old out into the field. Instead, they would have sent her here to learn a few things, first. That was also, one could assume, why she was still an F-rank. 

Indeed, in the wake of Mile’s introduction, the students were whispering amongst themselves for an entirely different reason: recruitment, whether they could get to know her before graduation and cajole her into one of their parties. 

She was a good-looking, reliable-seeming girl who could use storage—as well as other—magic, and she was even handy with a sword. 

If a girl like that wasn’t someone you wanted on your side, then who else would be? 

For Mile, another difficult time was about to begin. 

*** 

“All right! Time for our first-ever party meeting,” Reina announced that evening after dinner, when they returned to their room. 

The three others stared blankly. 

“Don’t you guys get it? Something terrible’s happened! We need to talk about this!” 

“What’s so terrible?” Mile asked, unconcerned. 

“You! Did you not see it?!” Reina shouted back. “How they were all staring at you?!” 

“Huh? Am I really all that fascinating?” 

“No!!! Weeell, it’s not that you aren’t interesting, but everyone’s after that storage magic of yours! Before you know what’s what, they’re going to start coming after you to join their parties! And if we don’t do something, it’s going to be a disaster. Besides, you’re already my…” 

“Hmm?” 

“N-never mind! Anyway, listen: You’re going to start getting swarmed by men who aren’t interested in you yourself, but in your storage magic! We need to do something about this!” 

“What are you talking about?” 

At Mile’s amazement, Mavis and Pauline sighed deeply. 

“Listen, most everyone who goes to this school is fifteen and older. People who join a guild as proper hunters at the age of ten can become a D-rank hunter in just a few years, even if they start at F-rank. And once they’re a D-rank, they can start taking on real jobs, so there’s no need to come to a place like this. No one’s going to be sending any young people out on a mission to fight a high-ranking monster. 

“However, none of the people here were able to join the guild at age ten. And even if they did join the guild later, the students here were also deemed to have potential. The higher-ups sent them to school so they could move more quickly through the ranks. 

“Obviously, Mile, you fall outside that rule, because you’re so young. There’s no mistaking that you’re here because of your storage magic.” 

Reina continued. “Most of the people here are already adults. Sure, some of them are only looking for future party members, but some of them are also looking for love. Someone like you, whose storage magic gives her great earning potential, who seems easy to control, and who is, dare I say, pretty cute… You’re just too delectable of a prize. Do you see what I’m saying?” 

“Um.” Mile hung her head, crestfallen. 

“Basically, if you get any party invitations from here on out, just tell them, ‘I already promised I’d be with my roommates.’ And, if anyone tries to ask you on a date, tell them, ‘I’m not interested right now. I want to focus on my training.’ Got it?!” 

“Y-yes, ma’am!” 

Seeing Mile’s startled, immediate reply and Reina’s obvious satisfaction, Mavis and Pauline understood. 

So, it’s like that. 

Yes, it was most definitely “like that.” 

“Oh, that’s right,” said Mavis. “We need to pick a leader.” 

Immediately, the three girls all pointed… 

At Mavis. 

She was the oldest and the tallest, imposing, but also appealing and sincere. 

The others were—of course—made up of the short-tempered Reina, mild-mannered Pauline, and Mile, who always seemed a step behind the rest of them. 

In other words, Mavis was the obvious choice. 

*** 

The following day, the morning was occupied by classroom studies. 

Practical training would take place on the grounds in the afternoon. 

“All right, the gang’s all here. Before we start our normal training, we need to confirm all of your current ability levels. Let’s go ahead and see each of your combat abilities, one at a time. Break out of your parties, and sort yourselves by occupation.” 

As directed by Elbert, the students rearranged themselves into groups by combat class. 

The other three instructors were also present. The first was Huey, in charge of short swords, throwing knives, and archery. The second was Neville, a magic instructor, with a particular specialty in combat magic. And the third was Jilda, another magic instructor, in charge of utility and healing spells. Each of them was a former hunter. 

Though they all had their own specialties to take charge of, they were by no means unskilled in the other disciplines, and when one had their hands full, the others could pitch in. 

As things stood, the sword users and archers were mostly boys, and the number of female spear users was exactly zero. On the other hand, the magic users were mostly girls. 

Considering physical ability, it was unsurprising that most of the students in the former professions were male. Even boys who could use some measure of combat magic were likely to choose the sword as their main skill. Moreover, a majority of applicants to the school were boys, anyway. 

Still, though there were far fewer girls than boys in the student body, there were many more female magic users, likely for the same reasons discussed above. 

All the students were wearing their own armor, but as weapons would be provided, no one had brought their own. 

Even in a mock battle, if one used a real sword, there was risk of injury, and so, the students dressed accordingly. This was a blessing for Mile, who in spite of always looking rather like a swordsman, didn’t look out of place with the other magic users. 

They could be called sorcerers, yes, but there was not a robe in sight. Rather, everyone wore the same light leather armor, or if they couldn’t afford that, thick, plain clothes, meaning that Mile did not stand out in her boots and leather breast plate. 

It was only in her choice of equipment that Mile was exceptional. Other magic users carried staves, rods, or other blunt weaponry, but Mile stuck with her trusty sword. A magic user’s life depended on their spell-casting and magic. Therefore, they were usually loathe to carry weapons that required extra attention or special skills. The same went for anything that might get stuck in an opponent’s armor, making escape difficult. 

As a result, they were inclined to the aforementioned forms of weaponry: light and well-balanced bludgeoning tools that required little thought to use, not meant for felling an enemy but merely for swinging about to protect oneself, should someone draw too near. 

However, such things were of no concern to Mile. Additionally, it was much easier to fell an enemy with a sword or spear than with a staff or rod—and that was what counted. 

For the same purpose, Mile also considered keeping a slingshot on hand. Of course, a simple slingshot wouldn’t make full use of Mile’s abilities, but in fact, that might be a good thing. Even if she were excited or panicked, the string could only be pulled so far, so there was no risk of making an error that would allow her power to get out of hand and cause a mishap. Besides, if something did happen, it would be easy to play it off. 

Bows were a bother, since one had to walk around with one’s arrows prepared, and that just wasn’t an option. Slingshot pellets were much less cumbersome, and one could always substitute them with pebbles in a pinch—and pebbles could easily be refined into proper spheres. If she were on sandy soil, she would be able to gather iron sand as raw material. Besides, as far as accuracy, she could rely on her nanobuddies to provide some course correction, so that wouldn’t be too much of an issue. 

No matter how one looked at it, slingshots beat bows, hands down. 

*** 

“Begin!” 

While Mile sat pondering these considerations, the duels between the sword users had begun. 

Naturally, the students were using wooden swords. The school wasn’t horrible enough to let a bunch of beginners use metal swords for training. Nevertheless, the duels were completely different from those at Eckland Academy, though Mile wasn’t too surprised by this. These students were elite hunter candidates, most of them fifteen and up. Their technique and power were in a whole different class compared to her former schoolmates. 

After a splendid volley between the first pair, one of the two swung his sword to finally catch the other in the side, and the match concluded. 

The other matches that followed were close matches, as well. Indeed, all the students were all close in age, each of them a first-class candidate chosen from his or her district, meaning there were only subtle differences in their abilities. 

Mile watched their bouts closely, analyzing everyone’s levels. She was a studious girl, after all, and could do anything she put her mind to especially when she combined her diligence with practical experience… 

There was an uneven number of male sword users, so the final boy was paired with a girl. That girl was Mavis. 

Typically, men were thought to be stronger, but Mavis, the oldest and tallest of the girls, closed the gap easily and secured a splendid victory. The boy, having lost, looked momentarily disappointed, but then congratulated Mavis with a smile. 

For a moment, his gaze looked distant in a way that reminded Mile of a certain eleven-year-old brat, but he soon collected himself, and offered Mavis a firm handshake. 

They really are adults , Mile thought. 

*** 

The duels between the female sword users followed, after which, Mile assumed, would come the spear users, but just then… 

“Oi, Mile. You said you could use a sword, yeah? Let’s see what you’ve got.” 

“Huh?!” Mile started at Elbert’s unexpected command. 

Unbeknownst to the other students, Mile had enrolled in the school without being tested, thanks to the recommendation of the regional guild master. As the principal and chief instructor, Elbert, of course, was aware of this. Since Mile did have storage magic, it was clear that the guild master’s referral had been legitimate. However, his recommendation had also stated that Mile’s swordsmanship was “on par with a C-rank hunter,” and Elbert was curious to test her skills. 

I…can’t really refuse, can I? Mile thought. I have to do this. She had, after all, been analyzing everyone’s levels as they fought, in case of such an event. It will be fine. It will be fine… 

As Mile steeled herself, Elbert selected her opponent. When he asked for volunteers, nearly all of them raised their hands, so he selected one of the weaker-seeming boys who had fought earlier. 

Why , Mile wondered, does everyone want to fight me?! Was it some kind of conspiracy? Were they picking on her because she was young? 

In truth, however, they’d all raised their hands with the intent of sidling up to her later to ask how she was doing, saying something like, “Sorry about earlier. Why don’t we get together later and talk about the practice match? I’ll even bring some tea and cookies.” 

“Begin!” 

The match kicked off with Elbert’s signal, and as Mile blocked the young man’s flurry of attacks, he blocked hers in return, their exchange proceeding nicely. Finally, one of the young man’s blows caught Mile on the side, and the match was over. 

She was an intelligent girl, after all. 

“……” 

Though the match had ended, Elbert continued to stare silently, deep in thought. After a short while, he called to the boy who Mavis had fought earlier, and the two of them stepped aside to talk. 

As they spoke, the male student flared up suddenly, as though he were angry at Elbert. After that, their mysterious conversation continued, the young man nodding reluctantly as though there was something he didn’t quite understand, and finally, the two returned to the rest of the students. 

“All right, Mile. Round two!” 

“Huhhhhh?!?!” 

This time, Mile wasn’t the only one to shout her surprise. 

“Begin!” 

And a second match began. 

The young man appeared as unhappy about this as Mile. He was being forced to fight a tiny girl who had just lost to a boy who was not even close to his ability level. To make matters worse, she was a mage—and on top of that, though he had lost to a young woman before, Mavis was at least a sword user, and she was strong. That defeat would linger with him, no doubt, but at least for now, he could accept it. 

However, the fight he’d just been flung into was unacceptable. Even if he were to win, it would be an unsatisfying victory, without honor, pride, or prestige. It left a bad taste in his mouth. Still, this was part of their lessons, a practice mandated by their instructor. He had no choice but to do as he was told. 

The match began and quickly grew fierce, leaving Mile flustered. 

Why is he only aiming for the places where I don’t have armor?!?! 

Every attack was directed at her arms, neck, or the joints in her armor, all places where it would definitely hurt to take a blow at full strength. She’d be lucky to make it out of this with only bruises. She kept on blocking as though her life depended on it, and after things continued like this for a while, finally, she got her chance. 

That one’s headed straight for my armor. 

Just as with the first match, the bout was concluded with a blow to the side. 

Thwap! 

Mile was relieved. But when she looked up, she saw that the boy before her was staring agog—but at Elbert, not her. 

Mile followed his gaze and saw that Elbert was grinning like a madman. 

Huh? Wha…? 

It had been a set-up. 

However, it was not until later that Mile would realize this. 

*** 

After the spear and bow users finished their matches, it was at last the magic users’ turn to compete. Unlike with the sword and spear users, the archers and mages were not to fight one another directly. Naturally, firing at one another would have been incredibly dangerous. So instead, they compared their rate and speed of fire, their accuracy, and their power when attacking a distant target. 

One by one in order, they released their attack spells. 

Fireballs, water spheres, fire arrows, ice arrows, rock arrows, infernos, explosions… 

They varied in size, speed, and power, but once again, were leagues above anything Mile had seen at Eckland. There were few students there who had even been capable of combat magic to begin with. 

The most shocking performance, however, was Reina’s. 

“Blaze, O flames of Hell! Reduce them to ash and bone!” 

A surging, wild crimson flame swirled and hit its mark, incinerating the target. 

“Amazing!” Mile whispered. 

Reina turned to her triumphantly. 

So that’s why she’s called “Crimson Reina,” Mile thought. Still, it doesn’t seem like her magical strength is all that high, and I didn’t think she conjured anything particularly special… 

For some reason, that was as far as Mile was able to understand Reina’s magic, and she didn’t try to analyze it further. She got the sense that doing so would just wear her out. It was a wise assumption on her part. 

IT IS BECAUSE SHE IS PASSIONATE. 

“Eep!” 

Mile shrieked at the sudden whisper in her ear, causing several of her classmates to look her way, perplexed. She attempted to play it off as though nothing had happened, continuing to watch as the other students performed their magic. 

D-don’t scare me like that! 

OUR APOLOGIES. IT SEEMED THAT YOU WERE SEEKING INFORMATION. 

I was just thinking!! But, well, since I’ve got you here, I guess I may as well ask. What do you mean by “passionate”? 

WE WILL EXPLAIN. AS YOU KNOW, WE NANOMACHINES HAVE RANDOMIZED RECEPTION AND SELECTION SETTINGS. BECAUSE OF THIS, THE NUMBER OF NANOMACHINES IN RANGE THAT WILL REACT TO THE ARTICULATION OF A THOUGHT PULSE VARIES. OTHER VARIATIONS ARISE FROM THE CLARITY OF THE IMAGE, WHICH IMPACTS OPERATIVE EFFICIENCY. ALL THIS LEADS TO DIFFERENCES IN MAGICAL RESULTS. 

HOWEVER, FROM TIME TO TIME, A PERSON APPEARS WHO CAN USE MAGIC WITH FAR GREATER POWER THAN OTHERS, DESPITE HAVING NO EXCEPTIONAL SKILL IN STRENGTH, CLARITY, OR IMAGE. THIS IS WHAT WE REFER TO AS “PASSION.” THAT IS TO SAY—HOW TO PUT IT?—THEIR THOUGHT PULSE IS SO POWERFUL THAT EVEN NANOMACHINES WITH LOW SENSITIVITY WILL REACT TO IT. 

Hmm… 

With that brief acknowledgement, Mile put an end to the conversation, not really knowing whether she understood the nanomachines’ explanation or not. It was her turn to perform magic. 

Things are going okay so far , Mile thought, so it should be acceptable to use fairly strong magic. She wanted to try to stay at around fifth place in the class ranking. Thus, considering the number of students, being the second-best magician wasn’t unreasonable. I should just perform something a little bit weaker than what Reina did… 

With that in mind, Mile decided to try using the same spell as her roommate but with just about eighty percent of the output. 

“Blaze, O flames of Hell! Reduce them to ash and bone!” 

Just as when Reina performed it, a swirling crimson blaze arose, surrounding the target and reducing it to ash. 

“Wh…?” 

The others were a little bit surprised to see Mile using a spell as powerful as Reina’s, and so soon after her. However, as Mile could use storage magic, it wasn’t particularly shocking that she would be skilled in other areas of magic as well. 

There was one person who simply could not accept this, however. 

“Mile, I need to speak with you later.” Reina glared at her harshly, and the hairs on the back of Mile’s neck stood on end. 

“Wh-why…?” 

After Mile, several more students showed off their attack magic, followed by those with utility magic. Healing magic would be covered at some other time, as there was no one there who was injured, meaning that there would have been no way to perform any demonstrations. 

Luckily, this was not a problem. There was no one whose only ability was healing magic, so all the students were able to show their skills off using some type of magic or other. 

*** 

After the practical training was over, the students were dismissed from the grounds for the day. Reina still seemed agitated, so Mile kept her distance, shuffling behind the other students on the way to the dining hall in the hopes of keeping a low profile. 

“Miss Mile!” 

“Eek!” Mile shrieked and tensed as someone approached from behind and clapped her suddenly on the shoulder. 

“Oh, I’m sorry…” 

Mile turned around to find the male student she had faced in the second-round practice bout standing behind her. 

“Sorry to frighten you—and sorry about the fight earlier. To be honest, it was all on the teacher’s orders… Even if he told me to, though, it was still wrong of me to try and hit the parts of you that were unprotected. I’m really sorry!” 

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s all right! In a battle, it makes the most sense to aim for an enemy’s weak points—and if the teacher said so, then you didn’t really have much choice, did you?” 

“Thank you so much for saying so.” 

With that, he departed. Mile was impressed. “Man, adults really are different…” 

The moment she turned to keep moving toward the dining hall, she was halted by another male voice. 

“Sorry about earlier, Miley!” 

This time, she turned to find the student she had faced in the first-round battle. 

“Were you hurt? Why don’t we get together after dinner and talk about the practice match? I have a bunch of pointers I can give you!” 

His nostrils flared on his smarmy, grinning face. 

Mile, who could smell his ulterior motive a mile away, was unamused. “Sorry, I have a party meeting after dinner. In any case, I am a magic user, not a swordsman, so it’s only natural that I would have a lot of flaws in my sword technique. If I have the time to be polishing my sword skills beyond last-ditch self-defense, I think it would be better spent honing my magic—since that’s my main discipline…” 

“O-oh, uh, but…” 

“Excuse me.” Before the boy could come up with a snappy comeback, Mile walked away as briskly as she could. 

It seemed that among mature adult men, there were still plenty of bad apples. 

*** 

As always, dinner was eaten with her four roommates, i.e., her party, in the dining hall. Mile peeked timidly at Reina now and then, but she appeared not to notice and ate her meal normally. Mile was glad to be granted a momentary respite. 

However, as soon as the four returned to their room… 

“Commencing party meeting number two!” Mavis said. 

“Mile! What was that about?!” Reina shouted. 

“Huh? What? Was what about?” 

“Don’t play dumb! That spell that you used! What was the meaning of that?!” 

Mile recoiled in the face of Reina’s ire. 

Mavis and Pauline just sat quietly, watching the events unfold. 

“Um, well, I just used a normal fire spell, the same as you…” 

“I see… The same as me, hmm? You simply plagiarized ‘Crimson Hellfire,’ the Crimson Reina’s signature, original spell, as a little ‘normal fire spell,’ did you?!” 

“Wha…?!” 

After some extended and persistent questioning by Reina, Mile finally buckled. She told Reina everything. 

Well, not exactly everything. But she devised a cover story that was close enough to the truth. 

*** 

“So, you’re saying that the minister who was after your power shook hands with the demon king, and the prince helped guide you to safety…?” 

“Yes! I really thought I was going to die!” 

“YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT?! YOU COMPLETE IDIOT!!” 

“Wh… How did you know…?” 

“I’ve read that novel, too!!!” 

“Waah!!” 

Reina grabbed Mile’s hands. 

This time, she confessed for real. 

“So what you’re saying is that you hate to get special treatment, and you didn’t want everyone to heap it on you just because of your magical powers and storage skill? And that you ran away from home because you would have been killed, due to issues with your family’s line of succession?” 

“Yes…” Though Mile had adjusted some of the details, each element of this story was true, so it was far more convincing—at least, more so than the romantic epic she had spun before. 

“Well, that I can understand. Most people here have had others try to use them or sell them off for their exceptional abilities, in some way or other. This school doubles as a place to protect those people.” 

With a pained look, Reina finally released Mile’s hands. 

“Anyway, Mile, what was the deal with that guy who stopped you on the way to the dining hall?” Mavis asked. 

“What?!” Reina, who had just let Mile go, grabbed her by the collar now, pulling hard. 

“Wait! Stop! Y-you’re choking meee…” 

After she told them the whole story of the conversations with both of the men, she was finally released again. 

“No surprises there. We better monitor that first one, though—he was probably hiding something. Mavis, if that man ever gets near Mile again, block him!” 

“I’ll see to it…” 

Mavis smiled wryly. Suddenly, another question popped into her head. She turned to Mile. 

“But why would the teacher set you up like that? You’re an aspiring magic user…” 

“Who knows?” 

As Mile hung her head, Mavis asked, nonchalantly, “By the way, Mile, why did you stop guarding on the last blow, in that second match? Especially in that bout, you had no trouble blocking all his quickest attacks, but then you let the last one, which was pretty slow, hit you straight on. Why was that? Did you fall for a feint or something?” 

“……Huh?” 

“Well, I mean, his last attack was a pretty weak one, wasn’t it?” 

At Mavis’s prompting, Mile suddenly remembered what the young man said. 

The teacher’s orders. 

…the parts of you that were unprotected… 

And then, Mavis’s words. 

His last attack was a pretty weak one… 

It had happened again. 

The instructor was testing her mettle and confirming that she lost on purpose. 

“Wh-what’s this all of a sudden?!” Mavis asked in the wake of Mile’s pensive silence. 

Faced with Reina’s hounding, Mile, now quite depressed over her latest realization, decided to spill the beans about her ability with swords, too. After all, now that the teacher knew, it was only a matter of time until everyone else did, as well. 

At least this way, her friends would hear about it from her first. Thinking about things that way, Mile realized she had no regrets about being found out. 

“Friends,” huh? she thought to herself. And indeed, sitting there beside her, utterly puzzled by the grin suddenly crossing Mile’s face, were her three new friends. 

*** 

The following days were filled with practical training, during both the mornings and afternoons. This was comprised of everything from improving basic fitness levels to studying techniques, methods for attacking different types of monsters, and everything in between. There was individual training as well as practice battles, sometimes even against the teachers themselves. In addition, they had training sessions organized both by discipline and as a full group. Without an awareness of the work performed by those in other professions, they would be unable to forge a strong relationship with their party members. Besides, when participating in real combat as a guard or fighter, comprehending an enemy’s abilities and being able to counter their technique could mean the difference between victory and defeat. 

The female-only parties had a larger proportion of magic users, and therefore lacked power on the front lines. Thus, when it came time for the inter-party practice bouts, they came together with the male parties to swap members temporarily. Still, owing to Mile’s skill as a swordsman and each of the girl’s own individual strengths, Mile’s party could more or less fight on their own… 

Since doing nothing but practical training would have caused the students to burn out, classroom lessons were held occasionally. During these lessons, they learned how to identify medicinal, herbal, and poisonous plants, exploit the weaknesses of different monster types, and take various safety precautions. They also received a general education on such topics as the histories of nearby countries, the makeup of the guild, and in-depth etiquette relating to interactions with nobles. 

Typically, a hunter would learn these sorts of things on the job, taking pointers from more experienced party members or simply copying their techniques. From each, they thus learned to improve themselves through simple trial and error. 

However, learning this way took time, and the potential for slip-ups due to lack of knowledge were many. Because of this, it often took years to grow into a full-fledged hunter, using one’s many failures, repeated year after year, to fill in the gaps in one’s knowledge and experience… Worse than that, however, was the fact that there were many hunters who lost their lives from such failures. 

And so Mile, studious as ever, took these lessons quite seriously, writing everything down in a notebook she carried to class. Though there were many others taking notes just like her, some students, while they did seem to be listening to the lesson, never wrote a word. 

One day back in their dorm room, when a perplexed Mile asked about this very fact, Reina told her, in a somewhat exasperated manner, “It’s because they’re illiterate, dummy.” 

“Huh? But then, how will they read the posted job requests?” 

“They’ll rely on the guild staff to point them to the right ones—or sometimes, you’ll see children hanging around who’ll read things aloud to earn a bit of pocket money.” 

“…” 

In her previous life, Mile had loved reading—without any friends, it was, along with TV and games, one of her only pleasures. She could scarcely imagine being unable to read and write and could only think what an incredible tragedy their inability to read was. 

*** 

“Commencing party meeting number three!” 

This time, when Reina made her announcement, a question slipped out before Mile even had time to think about it. “Um, if Mavis is our leader, how come you’re always the one leading these?” 

“………” 

“Um, sorry! Forget I said anything!” 

“This meeting’s topic is… our next rest day!” Reina continued speaking as though nothing had happened. “As you know, this party is lacking in power, skill, speed, and most importantly, money!” She was speaking in a shout now, her voice painfully loud. “Once we start the monster-hunting portion of our practical training, we’ll be able to started earning money by exchanging monster parts. However, we can’t afford to wait for that!” 

Indeed, Reina had already run out of money—the only times she could eat were during the three daily meals served in the dining hall. Not only that, but she was starting to hit the bottom of her inkwell. 

It was the sort of circumstance one might refer to as being at “the end of one’s rope” or “hitting rock bottom.” 

“Mavis, you and Pauline have no experience as hunters and only just registered as F-ranks after coming here,” Reina went on. “Mile, you have a little bit of experience, but unfortunately you’re still an F-rank. I, however, am an E-rank, which means that I can accept jobs fighting monsters of any rank up to goblins and orcs. 

“If there are extermination requests, we’ll take them. If not, we’ll collect jackalopes and hunt smaller animals. If all goes well, we should be able to get three or four silver each.” 

“Hmm…” Mile said. 

“What? Do you have an objection?” 

“N-no, it’s nothing…” Mile was merely surprised at Reina’s enthusiasm at the prospect of earning such a small amount. That was all. 

*** 

That night, Mile lay in bed, thinking about whether or not she should teach her roommates what she knew about magic. 

Even if she were to teach them, she knew she couldn’t do so in the way that she taught Marcela and the others. Her three friends at Eckland had had little magic ability to start with and would never lead a life where they their own mortality would be staked on their magical skill. In other words, even if she taught them a few special tricks, those three would never become wielders who might influence the destinies of many, nor would they do something careless if they ever faced mortal peril. They, she knew, would be able to keep her secret. 

For the students at this school, things were different. Their lives were inextricably linked to their magical skill, and their collective fates rested on the abilities of their party members, not only themselves. If people like that learned how to grow their magical power by an immense degree, they would most certainly share this knowledge with their party members. And when their party dissolved, and they joined another, they would tell those people as well. 

In turn, those people would tell their children—and those children would tell their friends, some of whom would surely be money-grubbers who might open magic schools, or work as tutors for the children of nobles, or sell their expertise to other countries… 

In other words, there was no way that Mile’s special knowledge would remain a secret. 

The other factor to consider was the fact that the people at this school already had significant magical abilities. Their powers of strength, clarity, and image were already far greater than those of other people, meaning that they could use fairly powerful magic. If she were to teach people like that her tricks… 

When she thought about it that way, Mile realized, she simply wouldn’t feel right teaching her roommates the same things she had taught the Wonder Trio. However, she also couldn’t bear the thought of any of them perishing shortly after graduation. And as they were all aiming to be promoted to C-rank when they finished, not D-rank, extra magical abilities would be a great help. 

What to do…? 

Mile fretted over the question until daybreak. 

*** 

“All right girls, let’s get going!” 

It was the following rest day. 

After waking early and rushing through breakfast—all at Reina’s urging—the four girls set out through the capital city to the Hunter’s Guild. 

Naturally, there was a hall even in the capital. 

Because of its location, this hall was a kind of capital of its own, serving as a central place to consolidate the needs of all the individual halls within the country. However, as the Hunters’ Guild was spread across many countries, there was still no single place that could be called the true headquarters, which was advantageous. With no “head” in any particular place, there was thus no head that could be easily crushed—nor could the organization at large be taken over. 

However, in exchange for this security and stability, the guild was slow to mobilize, and once a decision had been fixed in place, it was no small task to alter it. Whenever a big decision needed to be made, it was decided in an inter-country conference. 

It was early in the morning, but the guild hall was already packed. 

Or rather, the hall was packed because it was early in the morning. 

One of the reasons for this was… 

“Hey! They’re from the school!” 

Indeed, it seemed that all the other students, just as short on money as Mile and her friends, had exactly the same idea. 

The F and E-rank boards, in particular, had been ravaged. All the decent jobs that could be finished within a day were long gone. 

“We’re too late…” 

Reina slumped, devastated. 

“W-well, there’s still standing orders and gathering tasks. Right?!” Mile said. 

She perked up a little at her encouragement and went to confirm the prices on the request and materials board. Upon finding that the turn-in rewards for birds and jackalopes were fairly good, her vigor was restored. 

“Well, that’s the capital for you! There are tons of buyers, so at least the price of meat is high. Let’s get a move on!” 

And so, Team C of the twelfth class of the Hunters’ Prep School embarked on their first mission. 

*** 

“This isn’t working…” 

Reina collapsed in a heap, both hands planted on the ground beside her. 

In order to earn four silver apiece, they would, collectively, need to catch at least eight birds or jackalopes—or two foxes. 

If they caught something larger, like a deer, they would only need one, but thus far, no such fortune had visited them. 

It had been three hours now since they had begun hunting and was nearly noon. They had caught only a single jackalope and a single bird. At this rate, they would go home with only one silver each. 

Even if they worked their hardest in the four hours following their lunch break and things continued as they were, at best, they would only net another three catches. For Reina, who was in the most dire straits of all of them, this was a serious problem. 

It seemed she had overlooked something critical. True, the population of the capital was large, but so was the amount of meat all its people consumed—and too the number of fledgling hunters. As a result, the hunting grounds near the city had already been picked clean. 

I had better say something soon , Mile thought, as they sat down for a midday break, taking out their food and unwrapping it. 

Just then, Reina’s gaze landed on Mile’s meal. “Hang on, what is that?!” 

“Huh? It’s just my lunch…” 

The other three were eating stale bread they had collected from the cafeteria and rehydrated with some water, but Mile was eating a roast meat sandwich and drinking black tea, which she had pretended to pull from storage space—though in actuality, it had come from her loot box. 

“How is it still warm?!” Reina asked. In the end, she stole the lion’s share of the sandwich. 

*** 

“Um, there is something I would like to suggest to everyone…” Mile finally said, as the girls rested after their meal, Mile finally spoke. 

Everyone turned to look and Mile continued. “The reason that we haven’t been able to catch anything is partly due to the fact that the prey is simply hard to find, but I also think a part of it is that our magic isn’t accurate enough. We don’t have an archer, so we’re relying on long-range spells…” 

“Hey! Are you saying that I suck?!” Reina sputtered. 

Mile kept speaking in an attempt to pacify the other girl. “Um, I believe I mentioned before that I was skilled in many types of magic, so, well, if you like, I was thinking we could perhaps take a brief break from hunting to study some technique.” 

“Are you saying you’re going to teach us something?” 

“Y-yes, well…” She trailed off, well aware that the idea of being taught by someone younger than her wouldn’t be good for Reina’s ego. Already, Mile regretted bringing it up. 

However… 

“Come to think of it, you’ve been letting me take all the shots,” Mile said. “You haven’t fired off any magic. And sitting around getting frustrated isn’t going to get us anywhere. Maybe we should just have a bit of practice—you know, for a change of pace.” 

In an unexpected turn, Reina agreed with Mile. 

Mile was surprised, but she grinned. 

It was time for their journey to begin.