Just then, the notification sound calling for the next person rang.

Dier snapped out of his brief contemplation.

“...They're calling us in.”

“They're telling us to come in.”

“Lead the way.”

“No, why me?”

The team members hesitated to step forward.

There were two doors in front of them. Coincidentally, both were empty, so they could go through either one.

They didn't know who was waiting inside each door. Aster and Elodie. One of them was inside the left door, and the other was inside the right door.

Thump.

Then Dier stepped forward.

From the moment he started this skill test, he had dreamed of meeting Aster.

He had hoped to see Constel's top prospect, whose future was bright with talent and skill, and receive some kind of inspiration. A strong admiration had led him to Constel.

However, things were a bit different now.

Whether the person beyond the door was Aster or Elodie wasn't that important to him now.

Now, he would just clear the fifth stage with his team. Whoever the opponent was, if he did his best, the results would follow.

“Alright, let's pass the fifth stage too!”

Dier shouted loudly.

* * *

Thud.

The fifth stage, the final hurdle of the skill test.

The person they met was Elodie de Inies Rishae.

“Good work.”

Elodie looked down at Dier's team and spoke calmly.

“Good work, sen...ior...”

Dier tried to answer politely even though he was sprawled out on the floor, but the words wouldn't come out properly.

It was a complete defeat. He clearly realized the difference in skill.

The fifth stage test was simple. A time limit of 5 minutes. Within that time, the team had to touch Elodie's head or torso. Elodie's clothes were enchanted with detection magic, so if they touched them, a loud sound would automatically go off.

But no one could even touch a single hair on Elodie's head. They didn't even reach her torso, let alone her fingers.

‘But still.’

Even in the midst of this crushing defeat, Dier felt a strange sense of exhilaration rising within him.

“I'm glad.”

That exhilaration flowed out as a voice.

“As expected, Constel is strong!”

Everyone heard that voice. The team members, who had been staring at Dier blankly for a moment, soon slumped their shoulders and sighed.

“That's why we lost, you idiot.”

“We lost so cleanly that I'm speechless.”

Elodie glanced around at the team members who were talking like that.

By the time they reached this point, many teams had internal conflicts and struggles despite having individual skills, but this team seemed to have blended together quite well.

Elodie first walked over to Pielott.

“Pielott von Ribanche.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Using Aura is commendable, but you shouldn't move based on momentum. Especially when moving as a team, if you make sudden actions, your teammates will become anxious.”

“...Yes.”

“When you train at your family's place, you haven't been secretly using Aura to get through things easily, have you?”

“Ugh.”

“Slacking off is not my concern, but when you slack off, your slacking skills improve. You should be careful about that.”

Pielott nodded. In the face of such an overwhelming difference, he couldn't even make a peep.

Close combat was fundamentally the domain of swordsmen. For a mage, this room wasn't that spacious. Yet, Elodie's movements were unshakeable.

“And Roxy.”

“Yes!”

Elodie pointed out each member's shortcomings and areas for improvement.

Her extensive knowledge and insight in both magic and combat allowed her to accurately pinpoint their problems, and her explanations were easy to understand.

Everyone who listened nodded in admiration. This was why she was placed in the fifth stage, and the same went for Aster.

“And, Dier.”

“...Yes.”

Elodie approached Dier, who was still out of breath.

“You have a good head on your shoulders. And you like to fight with your head.”

“... .”

Dier couldn't answer and kept his mouth shut.

Actually, being called 'smart' wasn't a pleasant thing for Dier.

He knew his own weaknesses well. His eyes were good, but his body couldn't react to what his eyes saw.

He was good at hiding his presence, but even when he reached his target, he lacked the one blow to tear through a monster's tough hide.

The fact that he used his head was the result of someone with nothing trying to somehow move forward, and it meant nothing more than that he had nothing else.

“Why do you think you lost?”

“...Because Senior is strong?”

“Lies.”

“... .”

“You can answer better than that.”

Elodie crouched down and got closer to Dier's eyes. Dier raised his sprawled body. He lowered his gaze and said,

“...I like rock-paper-scissors fights.”

“Heeh.”

“Rock-paper-scissors is obviously a game of probability, but no one throws only rock forever. If they did, they wouldn't be able to win against anyone. Why is that?”

“Because everyone would know that they only throw rock.”

Dier nodded at Elodie's answer.

“Then it's not a game of probability anymore. I like to read the opponent's psychology in the process of knowing their information and tendencies beforehand, and fight like that. But there are cases where that kind of fight itself doesn't work.”

Rock-paper-scissors, of course, only works within the rules of rock-paper-scissors.

“If the opponent's scissors beat not only my scissors but also my rock, how would I fight? That's why I lost. My strongest card can't beat Senior Elodie's weakest card.”

Elodie listened to Dier's words and looked into his eyes for a moment.

...Yeah, as expected.

This kid is different from Frondier.

“You're a bit more kind.”

“Yes?”

“You seem like the kindest among the kids who use their heads.”

What was this? Was this a compliment?

“But you're wrong. That's not why you lost.”

“It's not?”

“Since you just brought up the rock-paper-scissors example, let me tell you, there's one more condition for winning in rock-paper-scissors. Do you know what it is?”

Dier tilted his head at Elodie's words. Was there such a method?

“The opponent not throwing anything.”

“...Yes?”

“No matter how strong the opponent's rock-paper-scissors are, what's the point if they don't throw anything? If they don't throw, they obviously lose, and if they throw late, it's a foul.”

“Ah, no, but they usually throw something, right? Naturally.”

“Ahahaha. That's because it's rock-paper-scissors.”

“...Ah.”

Dier let out a sound as if he had realized something.

Elodie narrowed her eyes and smiled.

─He had seen that smile before.

“Hiding the cards you have, faking numbers, exaggerating or downplaying effects. Acting like I'm the weakest person in the world, then bluffing like I'm invincible. Sometimes actually doing those things to intimidate the opponent. If you really want to play rock-paper-scissors, you have to do that.”

He had seen that smile before.

There was a sense of déjà vu in this way of speaking.

That's why Dier knew.

“...Senior.”

“Yes?”

“That's not your story, is it?”

At those words, Elodie's eyes widened slightly. Soon, a smile lingered in her eyes.

“It was you guys. The ones who passed the second stage on the far left.”

“Yes?”

“You met Frondier, right?”

“...Yes.”

“You passed the test, but did you feel like you won?”

“... .”

Dier shook his head.

Khukh, Elodie laughed mischievously. Dier was surprised by that sight.

“As expected, you're different from Frondier. He keeps everything to himself and his words and actions are completely different. He's so sly.”

“...Ah.”

“Will you learn that too?”

“If it helps me become stronger, yes.”

At those words, Elodie's hand stroked Dier's head. Dier's face flushed with embarrassment and bewilderment.

“I don't recommend imitating Frondier.”

“Is, is that so?”

Dier asked back. Elodie, answering him, said with a slightly sad face,

“It's not the way a person should go.”