Aster and Elodie were calm. There was no reason not to be.

"So, the mission is to quickly respond to an 'alarm' somewhere in the field?"

"There will be a teacher acting as the 'demon' and an upperclassman acting as the 'victim' at the place where the alarm goes off."

The two talked about the outline of the final exam. The content was definitely close to an abridged version of the pro mission.

Unlike the midterm, the field looked like a city center.

Frames in the shape of all sorts of buildings filled the field, and the view was narrow wherever you looked because of the buildings blocking the way.

"But if it's like this, all the teams will head there when the alarm goes off. How do they decide the ranking? First-come, first-served?"

"Well. There's no choice but to try-"

That's when it happened.

Wae-ae-aeng- A loud sound that anyone would hear as an alarm rang out throughout the field. That much was expected.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA———!!

“It’s so loud…!”

The alarm could be heard from all sides. Aster’s brow furrowed at the sporadic noise.

They hadn’t even gotten to the order of who goes first, but there wasn’t just one alarm bell in the first place.

Out of all these countless noises, where’s the closest one…

Wind Magic Formula 3

Float, Swift, Zoom

Lookout

While Aster listened closely to the noises, Elodie cast a spell and flew up high into the air.

Elodie flew 30m above the ground in an instant and looked around.

The fact that an alarm is ringing means that an incident has occurred. There might be a change if we look with our own eyes.

In addition, Elodie could freely see faraway places by adding the ‘Zoom’ function.

“──I found it.”

Elodie spotted a teacher in the middle of the range. It was Jane. The upperclassman who was the victim wasn’t visible, but within this field, a teacher is definitely an enemy.

Elodie descended back to the ground.

And she pointed towards the direction where she found Jane, and Aster pointed to the same spot at the same time.

“…How did you know?”

He answered as if it was obvious when she asked him.

“I could hear it.”

…Is this guy a monster?

Elodie was thinking about Aster the same way people think about Elodie.

* * *

I ran as soon as the alarm rang.

I ‘already’ know where the closest alarm is. But if I moved in advance, that would be too suspicious, so I just waited until the alarm rang.

However, what I found when I arrived was a little different from what I remembered.

“…Whew.”

Quinie burst out laughing at the sight.

“Hey, why are you here? Kuhahaha.”

“…Is it something to laugh about?”

The man in front of him asked grumpily while looking at Quinie, who was still laughing.

"It's been a while. Edwin."

Edwin von Behetorio was the victim.

"I've been rolled around everywhere due to the golem incident, and this is my last activity."

"Did you do community service or something?"

"Well, something like that, similar kind but a bit different in intensity."

It wasn't just a bit different. He must have gone through a lot.

Still, there were no casualties, and since Binkis managed to smooth over the theft of the golem, that must have been the end of it.

Then Edwin saw me.

"Hello, Frondier."

"Hello."

"How have you been? Have you become stronger than when I last saw you?"

"Um, yes. So-so."

Edwin smiled at my response.

"That's good to hear."

His face was clear and unshadowed.

Quinie asked.

"So, where is the 'monster role' teacher?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that. I'm just a victim. It's part of the setup that I got scared and panicked."

"Is that a setting only you have?"

"No. All 'victims' in this field can't disclose any information about the final exam content, and they can't move on their own."

Quite troublesome.

Quinie hummed, pulling at her lips and looking around.

There must be a teacher hiding somewhere nearby, but it's impossible to find.

Quinie's magical detection is of a considerable level, even she can't notice indicates that the teacher has a high level of magic control.

"…Now that I think about it, there was Teacher Azier."

Quinie doesn't have proper information about Azier either. It's not that there's a lack of information, but there's too much exaggerated information to discern the truth.

"Frondier. Could the hiding teacher be Azier?"

"…I don't think so."

"Really? How do you know?"

"It's not that I'm certain it's not Azier, but rather, I've figured out who the 'monster role' teacher in this area is."

"Really?"

Quinie asked again, and Frondier nodded. However, his expression didn't look good.

It seemed that whoever the teacher was, they were not welcome.

"Then shall we start the rescue operation? Nothing will begin if we just stay like this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, well."

Frondier gave a positive response again, but his expression said otherwise.

As if sighing, Frondier slowly walked towards Edwin and reached out his hand.

Edwin quietly looked at the extended hand.

"Are you really okay? Frondier."

"I'm not okay."

"…I see. Especially for you."

Edwin smirked bitterly. He then grasped Frondier's offered hand.

Suddenly,

With a loud crash and rumble,

Walls and floors broke apart, revealing massive bodies.

The same happened with the floor where Edwin was. From the cracked floor, something huge burst out, lifting Edwin on its head and crawled to the surface.

Giant rock pieces and dust fell, and what appeared was a golem.

Seeing the all-too-familiar shape, Frondier's eyes grew colder.

An unexpectedly cheerful voice came from the golem's mouth.

[Hello! It's Teacher Binkis!]

Yes, of course.

Frondier surveyed his surroundings. Golems, identical to the one carrying Edwin, popped out from all directions.

Quinie hadn't noticed them because they were in a state of immobility.

A golem that doesn't move doesn't have any magical power.

[We've gathered data based on the records of the previous incident and Edwin's testimony to improve the golem! It's the Azier Mk. 2!]

"Azier Mk. 2..."

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