Selaine High School is a small educational institution that gathers students from commoner backgrounds. It’s a place that teaches the most basic things to those who haven’t even received a basic education course.
Since it literally only teaches the basics, the students’ level isn’t very high. Their future prospects are also quite dismal.
Students graduating from Selaine manage to find jobs somewhere with the basic and practical magic they learned there.
Knights? Or perhaps professors at the Academy? Such glamorous dreams are impossible here. It’s more of a stepping stone where you go to do your share in some pretty average place rather than a place that helps students bloom their talents.
And only a few outstanding students from there get the qualifications to enter the Imperial Academy.
Of course, the process is so tough that most have long given up.
It wasn’t a position that could be earned through effort. You needed talent to enter the prestigious Imperial Academy.
Do you really think it’s easy to graduate from a nameless, shabby high school and then enter the continent’s top educational institution?
There were only a few rare cases in Selaine’s history.
But this time was different. There were two students with enough talent to make waves.
“Once again, excellent results, Rena. At this rate, you’ll definitely get into the Imperial Academy.”
Rena extinguished the flame that had clung to her hand after burning a wooden doll.
It was a doll made for measurements, so its magic resistance was high. Now, it had turned into a handful of ash.
This was an exceptional achievement, already surpassing what could be taught at Selaine.
Similarly, there was another student who had also outgrown the school’s standards.
Though she didn’t turn any dolls to ash, Wendy, who was in the same grade, showed outstanding abilities in individual combat.
Without allowing a single attack, she overwhelmed her opponents with her massive mana pool.
Wendy aimed her Ice Sword at the fallen opponent. She wasn’t a merciful person, so it was a silent signal to surrender before bloodshed.
“I-I concede.”
Accepting the surrender, Wendy sheathed her sword.
There were teachers who evaluated her comprehensively.
Wendy was also excellent enough to aim for admission to the Imperial Academy.
She excelled in every area. While she was slightly lacking in firepower compared to Rena, her overall assessment was just a hair higher than Rena’s.
There were already two students who had outgrown the school. Therefore, there was a common topic of discussion at Selaine High School.
So, who would win if the two fought?
This wasn’t just a light-hearted topic among students. It was significant enough to catch the attention of the teachers.
There was a restriction on entering the Imperial Academy from Selaine High School. Only one student from each grade could go. One of them had to fail.
“You should drop out, Wendy. I have my reasons to rise.”
Rena had siblings to support. The paths available after graduating Selaine weren’t high-paying jobs.
She needed to gather a substantial amount of money as soon as possible; there was no time to be stuck here.
“Not everyone’s without family, you know?”
But Wendy wasn’t without her own story.
While she didn’t have family like Rena, she too had the desire to rise higher.
In the end, one of them would have to wait a year. Thus, the two ascended to the dueling arena.
The winner would rise, while the loser would remain stagnant. It was that kind of duel.
“…”
“…”
Of course, that day, the duel did not conclude.
The arena was covered in flames and ice.
*
There was good news.
The principal, feeling regretful about the two talented students fighting over a single spot, worked to increase the admissions slots to two.
In the end, both of them got to enter the Imperial Academy. There was no longer a reason for them to fight.
Only after this happened did the two open their hearts to each other. Though they had fought so fiercely, countless duels had forged a bond of fondness over time.
Moreover, now that there was no reason to fight, they treated each other with ease.
They had many similarities after all.
Both were commoners and had developed their talents in a school so small that one could hardly hear its name.
Perhaps because they had grown up being treated similarly within the school, their personalities matched well too.
Since they were already in the same position, they understood how each other felt.
“I’m glad we can enter together.”
“Yeah.”
They felt relieved that they wouldn’t have to compete and spill blood.
In a sense, they both reigned as kings without distinguishing superiority.
Thanks to that, the two were now like a terrifying presence within the school. Two individuals who were scary enough as one were now walking around together.
It would be accurate to express that there was no one who dared to oppose them.
“Hey, don’t block the path, get lost. You insignificant beings.”
Wendy had a savage personality. That’s what Rena felt as she walked alongside her.
“Wendy. Even so, this is…”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
But she didn’t particularly stop her.
The more Wendy acted up, the more Rena’s position in the school rose simultaneously.
To be honest, she had become almost addicted to the thrill of making everyone lower their heads just by walking down the path.
Rena was influenced by the environment and the atmosphere.
Not only the same-age students but even the teachers couldn’t treat her carelessly.
She knew it was wrong, yet she became intoxicated by that treachery.
Before long, Rena began to resemble Wendy. And it only worsened over time.
“If you have complaints, then prove it with your skills. Don’t speak without guts.”
Eventually, she found herself looking so much like Wendy in the mirror that it was almost indistinguishable.
And then.
The prelude to tragedy came much faster than she expected. It could be a punishment for the two who had not acted well up to that point.
Selaine is an educational institution that teaches penniless commoners for free. Hence, it’s not uncommon to take in minors with unclear origins or abandoned individuals.
Today was no exception.
The principal of Selaine brought in a girl. A girl who looked like she had been picked up from a slum.
According to the teacher who brought her in, she supposedly had no family or home.
Her name was Celine.
Originally nameless, she was named after the school that took her in for her very own sake.
Her unwashed green hair looked frizzy, and her black eyes were dull. If there were such a thing as an emotionless doll, it would probably look just like her.
“Sit in the empty seat, Celine.”
“…”
In a classroom filled with densely packed students, an empty seat was likely to be avoided by the other students.
It was next to Rena.
As the dirt-covered girl sat beside her, Rena grimaced.
Dust fell from her hair, and a foul smell emanated from her unwashed body.
Their first meeting left much to be desired.
*
Celine adapted to school life more quickly than expected. Actually, she showed no indication of disliking anything.
Like someone who had lost everything, moving like a doll with nothing inside.
She just moved according to what others told her to do.
What her backstory was, no one knew. Perhaps no one would ever know.
Celine hardly spoke unless there was a very special reason.
Of course, Celine’s extraordinary traits didn’t end with her first impression.
Having survived in a forsaken village, she was like a living combat weapon.
“Ugh?!”
When she had been learning magic for over two weeks, she defeated Wendy, who was deemed the strongest at Selaine High School.
Generally, those with outstanding talent are called geniuses, and those even above them are called prodigies.
Then what do we call Celine, who obliterated the prodigy Wendy?
It was a question that suddenly crossed my mind.
“…”
She took one cold look at the fallen Wendy before leaving the scene.
Rena, who had been witnessing that moment, couldn’t find her voice for some time either.
If she had been the one facing Celine, she likely would’ve suffered the same fate as Wendy.
Celine was above both of them in every aspect.
The gap between overwhelming talent couldn’t be bridged. It wasn’t a gap that could be surpassed through effort.
Thus, both of them came to know the feeling of inferiority for the first time in their lives.
They tasted the bitterness of defeat for the first time and felt the vastness of the world with their bodies.
However, the problem stemming from Celine wasn’t simply limited to that. It was therefore the seed of misfortune and tragedy.
Only two can enter the Imperial Academy from Selaine High School.
Three cannot. It was tough enough to increase what was originally one spot to two.
The principal, obsessed with achievements, would undoubtedly push to send the exceptionally talented Celine to the Academy, which would once again narrow the remaining spot down to just one.
In the end, one of them would need to determine superiority once more.
It was a moment when their relationship became quite complicated.
