Chapter 1: The Day Before the Exam
In the magical city of Äußerst, there lies the Northern Branch of the Continental Magic Association. It is home to an elite group of mages, led by none other than Serie—a great mage from the age of myth. These mages engage in various activities, sometimes traveling to distant lands for subjugation or escort missions, and at other times conducting certification exams for aspiring mages.
However, not everyone stationed there is a mage.
Take, for instance, a woman named Uff.
She is an ordinary person working as a receptionist for the Northern Branch. Her primary duty is attending to visitors, but she is also entrusted with managing supplies, facilities, and handling simple paperwork. Though she is excellent at her job, her presence is so faint that people rarely remember her name, often referring to her simply as “the glasses lady at the reception.” She doesn’t mind, though. It doesn’t hinder her work.
Today, as always, Uff was working diligently.
“An examinee, I assume? Do you hold a certification of Fifth-Class Mage or higher?”
The spacious entrance of the Northern Branch, reminiscent of a theater or an art museum, had been crowded since morning. These were the people who had come to take the First-Class Mage Selection Exam held tomorrow. Since registration must be completed at this desk, a long line had already formed. While the procedure itself wasn’t complicated, Uff was handling it alone, making it a quite frantic morning.
As she processed the line with business-like efficiency, she noticed a commotion coming from the back.
“Hey, Lawine! Don’t cut in line!”
“It’s your fault for looking away, Kanne.”
“It was only for a second! I was just wondering if any of our friends were here…”
“Heh. You actually had friends other than me?”
“I do! Besides, Lawine, you don’t have any friends other than me—ow, ow, ow! Don’t pull there!”
They were bickering. Seeing girls who looked so young coming to take the selection exam for First-Class Mage—the absolute pinnacle of the craft—gave Uff a strange, surreal feeling.
As she found herself glancing over at them, a raspy, intimidating voice called out to her.
“Are you listening? Where do I sign?”
The man currently at the desk was glaring at her. He had sharp sanpaku eyes and an exceptionally villainous face. He looked like the type who had killed a person or two.
“M-my apologies. Please sign this document.”
Flustered, she handed him the pledge. The man skimmed it quickly and signed with the provided pen. His name appeared to be Wirbel.
After finishing the paperwork, Wirbel stared intently at Uff. She braced herself, wondering if a complaint was coming.
“Hey, if you’re tired, take a break. The line is still long, after all.”
He was surprisingly kind. I shouldn’t judge people by their looks, Uff reflected as she turned to the next person.
In stark contrast to Wirbel, the next person was a tiny girl. She looked even younger than the two bickering girls in the back. She was dressed like a noble lady.
“Are you an examinee?”
“Indeed. My qualifications are quite in order. I am a Second-Class Mage, you see.”
She spoke like an old man. Furthermore, she was a Second-Class Mage. Though she looked like a child, she might actually be much older. Truly, one should never judge by appearances.
She signed her name as Edel and left the counter.
Next came a woman with a very mature aura. She fit Uff’s mental image of a “mage” perfectly. Feeling a strange sense of relief, Uff proceeded with the paperwork until the woman spoke up with a dead-serious expression.
“That person just now… she referred to herself using ‘washi,’ didn’t she?”
“Pardon?”
“Even though she’s so tiny.”
“…Is there something wrong with that?”
“I just thought… that’s a pretty good too,”
There are a lot of strange people this year, Uff thought.
The morning reception ended, and Uff went on her noon break.
She decided to eat out in the city.
Leaving the Northern Branch, she walked down the main street. As expected of a city famous for magic, there were many magic-related shops. To her right, grimoires were being sold at bargain prices; to her left, staves crafted by renowned artisans were proudly on display.
Uff entered her favorite tavern tucked away in an alley. She didn’t drink, of course; the food here was simply delicious and reasonably priced. It was a “hidden gem,” yet the place was packed. She had forgotten how crowded the city gets during the selection exams.
Luckily, a seat opened up, and she sat down.
She ordered her usual sandwich and waited. Glancing around idly, she saw mages everywhere. There were also a few people who appeared to be warriors or clerics—likely visiting Äußerst as a party. Despite it being midday, a drunken adventurer was loudly recounting his heroic deeds.
Looking toward the entrance, she saw a new customer walk in. He was a man with a stiff, formal atmosphere and hair neatly parted on the side.
It was Genau, a First-Class Mage.
His eyes met Uff’s.
The tavern was full, with no other seats available. Since she technically knew him, she figured she should be polite. Uff gave a small nod and gestured for him to sit at her table. Genau hesitated for a moment but then sat down opposite her, somewhat reservedly.
“You’ve saved me. You are… from the reception desk.”
“I am Uff.”
“My apologies. I shall remember it.”
Genau ordered his meal.
Without much conversation, they waited for their food. Feeling the silence was a bit awkward, Uff struck up a conversation.
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“Genau-sama, you are serving as a proctor for tomorrow’s selection exam, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of exam will it be this year?”
Genau narrowed his eyes slightly.
Seeing that reaction, Uff immediately regretted the topic. There might be examinees in this very tavern; if they overheard, the exam contents would be leaked. That would be a scandal for the Continental Magic Association.
Just as she was about to retract the question, Genau answered in a lowered voice.
“I cannot be specific, but it is designed with interpersonal combat in mind. Unlike the exams for Second or Third-Class, a more practical level of ability is required.”
Grateful that he answered, Uff wanted to end the topic quickly. And yet, one detail bothered her, prompting another question.
“You’re going to make the examinees fight each other?”
“That is correct.”
Uff thought back to the mages lined up at the reception.
There were girls younger than her, and elderly men who radiated the aura of veterans. There were also those who carried a clearly dangerous air.
The First-Class Mage Selection Exam is brutal, and casualties are expected as a matter of course. Imagining the examinees killing one another made her feel depressed.
“You seem to have opinions on the matter.”
He had hit the nail on the head.
“No, it’s not that…”
“Even for the First-Class exam, the examinees are a mixed bag of gems and stones. As you know, anyone Fifth-Class or higher can apply. Among them are those who lack the skill but gamble on a slim chance, motivated only by the ‘privilege’.”
The privilege of becoming a First-Class Mage: the right to receive any single spell they desire from Serie, who has mastered almost every spell in human history. Depending on the spell received, one could gain enough wealth to live in luxury forever, or even cure an incurable disease.
“To weed out the commoners blinded by self-interest, the exam must be harsh. What the Continental Magic Association needs are ‘gems’—mages prepared for death. And an excellent mage must be capable of casting others aside to achieve their goal.”
Genau spoke matter-of-factly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It was a world far removed from Uff’s. There was a time when she dreamed of being a mage, but she quickly recognized her own lack of talent and chose her current path. If she hadn’t given up on that dream, she surely would have been among those “cast aside.”
“Why do you seek such powerful mages? It’s already been eighty years since the Demon King was defeated.”
“And has the world become peaceful because of it?”
“…No.”
“To build and maintain peace, someone has to get their hands dirty. That role should be filled by heartless, battle-hungry scoundrels. Like myself.”
The food arrived.
Uff picked up her sandwich, and Genau set his knife into a roast wild rabbit. It was a quiet meal. Because the surroundings were so lively, their table felt strangely isolated.
“Are all the other First-Class Mages like that too?”
“Like what?”
“Heartless… showing no mercy in casting others aside… are they all that kind of mage?”
“…Who knows.”
Genau took a bite of the thick-cut roast.
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