Three weeks had passed since the day we started the emergency meeting to plan McHart's assassination.

It was a period that could be considered long or short, depending on how you looked at it. One thing was certain: within the Academy, those three weeks flew by in the blink of an eye.

This was inevitable since, while we were progressing with the assassination plan, we still had to attend classes at the Academy diligently, just like usual. Balancing the preparations and the rigorous demands of Luminor Academy, notorious for pushing its students to the limit, was a challenging task.

The most important thing, of course, was my own life, so naturally, I had to neglect some of my other classes. The best example of this was the magic swordsmanship class taught by Harold.

Clang.

"Haah, ha… I lost… haah…"

"…Yes, well done."

In my final duel with Harold during the magic swordsmanship class, I ultimately failed to reach the level where I could break through the vision shield with my swordsmanship.

Moreover, I hadn’t managed to defeat any of the four 1.5-section students, and in the final evaluation duel with Harold, I was easily defeated. It was fair to say that I made no significant achievements in swordsmanship this semester.

To be honest, there was no real need for a mage to excel in swordsmanship. If you had reliable frontline fighters, it was obviously wiser to focus solely on magic.

So, this semester, with little time to spare, I concentrated on my major subjects rather than swordsmanship, and as a result, I ended the class with a considerable sense of futility, having spent three hours every week in a course that led to no tangible progress.

"Haah…"

"Don't be too disheartened, Lillis."

"Professor Harold…"

"Growth isn’t something that happens in a short time. Be patient and wait."

"Ah, yes…"

Although Harold's words were unusually gentle for him, they didn't quite reach my heart.

This was partly because one of the students who had been taking Harold's magic swordsmanship class had suddenly broken through the Expert barrier and joined the ranks of the 1-section students.

This was an event that had not occurred in the original storyline, so it caught me off guard. The student’s name didn't even ring a bell, likely indicating they were a mere extra in the game, not even a supporting character.

Yet, that student had suddenly become the fifth member to join the 1-section, following the Hero, Ethan, Natalie, and Karaham.

It was probably due to Harold's teaching. Harold was not only skilled at customizing swordsmanship training for each student but also specialized in nurturing their growth.

He had even trained Ethan, who used dual swords, to become the second-in-command of the Swordsmanship Department. It wasn’t surprising that someone with potential would bloom under Harold’s guidance.

But witnessing that, I couldn't help but feel disheartened, especially since I was the main character of Luminor Academy.

No matter how different our majors were, Lillis should have had the advantage in innate abilities as a character, yet I still couldn't even break the vision shield with a sword, while others were rapidly catching up to Ethan.

Even though I had the advantage of being able to attend Harold's swordsmanship classes during the break, my progress was slow, which made the situation even more frustrating.

"Lillis, what are your plans for the magic swordsmanship class next semester?"

"Pardon?"

"I hope you'll attend the class again next semester. Even though swordsmanship isn’t your major, given what you've achieved so far, I believe you'll soon accomplish something significant with the sword."

"Thank you for saying so, Professor Harold, but you don’t need to go out of your way to comfort me."

"I'm not comforting you; I'm genuinely saying what I think."

"Yes…"

…Maybe I should trust the words of a Sword Master at least once more.

To be honest, I had been considering stopping my swordsmanship lessons altogether, thinking I had learned all I could with a dagger.

However, since magic swordsmanship was a shared major with Ethan, I was planning to continue the class next semester anyway. If I was going to continue, it wouldn't hurt to put in more effort until then.

After all, being proficient with a self-defense weapon like a dagger could never hurt. In a world like this, being able to handle a dagger could be the difference between life and death in a tight situation.

"And, I don’t particularly care whether you excel in swordsmanship or magic, as long as you maintain a good relationship with Ethan. If that's what's bothering you, there’s no need to worry."

"…Excuse me?"

"Just keep a good relationship with Ethan. Even after graduation, if you wish."

Why is he suddenly bringing up Ethan? Is he implying that I should focus on my duties as his personal maid and not worry about this?

Harold probably didn’t know that Ethan and I were in a relationship, so he likely didn’t mean anything by it.

And so, I wrapped up the magic swordsmanship class for the first semester with a B grade, feeling more than a bit confused by Harold’s mysterious words.

At least the good news was that I performed well in most of the required courses for the Magic Department. Unlike swordsmanship, I had no trouble understanding the material, so it was expected that my grades would reflect that.

And so, it was time for the final evaluation of the first semester, which had returned this year just like last year.

As with the previous year, the combat department would determine the final exam score through a series of evaluation matches between students at the end of the first semester.

This final exam was an opportunity for all students to make up for any shortcomings in their grades, so everyone took it seriously. Naturally, there was a lot of curiosity about which opponents the top students in each department would choose.

In reality, most students were silently praying, "Please don't let them pick me," except for the top five.

Currently, the top student in the Magic Department was, without question, Agnes.

Even though I hadn’t been neglecting my magic classes, the gap between us was insurmountable. Despite scoring well in last year's evaluation match and hunting festival, the final evaluation still reflected the massive difference between us.

Agnes had an almost absurd level of intelligence, effortlessly acing any test in her primary subjects, which made catching up nearly impossible.

Although she often appeared clumsy and awkward in non-magical fields, when it came to magic, not even my knowledge from my previous life and Lillis' inherent abilities could match her.

Despite the gap between first and second place, I was barely maintaining my position as the runner-up in the Magic Department.

According to Agnes' character in the game, it was only natural that she would use her privilege as the top student to challenge the second-place student—me—to a duel, using the evaluation match as an excuse to showcase her magic. Normally, I should have been her opponent.

In fact, I had even considered adjusting my grades to fall to third place to avoid her. Last year, Isolbe had tried to show off from the second-place spot, only to get completely crushed in the evaluation match and drop down to around tenth place.

However, there was no longer a reason for me to lower my grades to avoid Agnes, so I continued holding onto the second-place spot. This change was, of course, due to the dramatic improvement in my relationship with Agnes—something I could never have predicted last year.

We had grown closer ever since I helped her contract the fire spirit she had longed for, which resolved her biggest concern and brought us together. Throughout the semester, we attended several major classes together, and now, we were close enough to call each other best friends.

In other words, at some point, I had become irreplaceable in Agnes' heart. I had likely secured the position of her second-best friend after Seraphine. …Although it was a bit embarrassing to say that myself.

Unless Agnes wanted to ruin our relationship, it made sense for her to choose someone ranked below me for the duel this time.

…And yet, here we were, in a situation that defied all expectations.

"……."

"……."

Agnes and I stood on the evaluation match stage, glaring at each other.

Despite everyone assuming that we, being so close, wouldn't point swords and spells at each other during the evaluation match, Agnes had chosen me as her opponent for the first semester's final evaluation.

To explain how this situation came to be, we would have to go back about a week.