01x08 - Selection

[bunniefuu]

Right then, Alto Goldfield.

Would you like to join the Executive Committee of the Student Council?

You want ME to join the Council?

Yes. I presume it's something you'd be interested in as well.

Is it just so you can keep a closer eye on me?

If that's how you'd like to see it, sure.

You ARE harboring a demon within the walls of our academy.

But I truly do want you on our Council.

You dueled Chris, one of the top five most powerful mages at this institution.

Your familiar may be a demon, but even so, she is a formidable opponent.

Then there's this most recent incident.

Where Chris got hurt...

We still don't know what motivates the perpetrators.

If you assert that your familiar acts with no ill intentions,

then would you not be interested in using your powers to protect the Academy?

Black or white? Tangled up, they turn gray

Everything always seems so ambiguous

I walk by your side as you smile, helpless

Admiration clear as day

Shining out across the endless distance

Cast a spell on this pitiful situation with an Abracada-Boo

There's a loneliness hidden beneath the darkness in your eyes

I wish I could embrace it with a gentle song

Even the whole world starts to shout it's all a lie,

As long as you are as you are

I'll sweep through with a glimmering wind and scream out the truth

Even if the whole world yells out that it's a sin,

Even if I'm all on my own

I want to keep learning to understand you

I'm on your side, I'll protect you

{\pos( . , . )}SELECTION

You're joining the Student Council?!

Yeah.

Why? How?! What happened for them to invite you on?!

I-I'm not entirely sure myself, but the President herself wants me there.

I can't tell them what the REAL reason is…

Please tell everyone we saw you had potential and invited you to join.

Well, you did b*at Chris in a duel. With that in mind, it only seems natural you'd be invited.

We've NEVER had a second-year student on the council before, either!

R-really?

Really! You should be proud of yourself!

Well, this came out of the blue. I was worried for a bit, there, but…

Hey, I'm happy for you!

Huh?

You've always wanted to move up.

You're incredible, Alto.

Th-thanks.

All right! I won't let you get too far ahead of me!

I'm gonna make sure I get a better score than you on the Bronze exam!

Why the long face?

Huh?

Oh, I just… People ended up finding out what you are,

and I feel like the Student Council forced us into this new position…

Eh, even if they're spying on you, they won't be on you twenty-four seven.

And I don't care that they know what I am.

But I want you to be careful around the Council.

That girl gives me a bad vibe… like she's not really human.

You mean the President? I mean, she was kinda scary…

Remember how I shook my head when she repeated her question?

You were in real danger then.

Same with that last invitation.

If you'd turned her down, she might've taken off your head.

O-oh, come on! She wouldn't have gone that far!

True, maybe taking off your head's a stretch.

But she's definitely not normal.

Still, the President aside, yesterday was an eye-opener.

If I'd been stronger, I might've been able to protect you better.

I might've kept your identity a secret, too.

If things like that keep happening, eventually, we won't be able to lie to everyone anymore.

And if that happens, then you'll be in danger.

I want to get stronger.

Strong enough to keep you safe.

D-don't get the wrong idea! I didn't mean that in a weird way! I just…

Why not? That doesn't bother me.

Huh? But, Vermeil…

I was really happy to hear it.

In that case, though, I'm going to have to help you get much stronger.

Huh?

Whoa, hey!

What're you...?

I can't hear you.

You want to keep me safe, right?

W-well yeah, but… this has nothing to do with that!

Quiet, you! No one who lets me win can keep me safe!

I gotta... I gotta get stronger!

Vermeil is a demon.

Finally… at long last, I've found it.

Vermeil might be a demon, but she's not a BAD demon!

The world's greatest scourge, is she?

That's right. I'm gonna get even stronger than I am now.

So no matter what happens, I can keep Vermeil safe.

Vermeil, just you watch.

I'll be stronger than the Council members one day.

No, I'll be the strongest person in the entire world!

Setting aside how I got there, I'm on the Student Council now.

I'll learn everything I can from them.

I'll work hard so one day, I can say with pride that I'm Vermeil's master!

Pardon me!

Oh.

Huh?

ALTOOOO GOOOOOLDFIELD!

Madame President!

I must object to having this shameless boy join our illustrious Council!

We made a mistake in forgetting to lock the door. This situation isn't his fault.

You mustn't be so lax, Madame President!

This is hardly reason for reprimand, nor reason to be distressed.

What?!

A…

A man has seen our nearly-naked figures before our wedding days!

Goodness, Jessica. You're more demure and traditional than I expected.

Huh?! Am... am I the weird one here?! I can't be!

Moving right along…

Let me present you with the reason I've gathered you all here today.

I want you all to examine this.

What is it?

A magical element used by the mage I fought.

However, it's only one part of a much larger whole.

I've never seen this kind of magic before.

You said it was a simple paper golem, yes?

Still, though…

From the investigation performed by the Ortigia Police's appraisal specialists,

this form of magic matched nothing recorded before in the Bank of Magicks.

An unrecorded form of magic…

Within that single piece of paper lies a magic formula more complex than fathomable.

Not even the Gold Square appraisal specialists could decipher it.

Then that means…

No…

"Those who plunge into the abyss of knowledge and craft new forms of magic..."

"Those whose discoveries revolutionize our world..."

"Unto those few do we bequeath a title deserving of the nation's utmost respect:"

Our enemy may be a Platinum Square.

This sucks!

I'm exhausted!

Huh? Hey, it's Kohakumiya!

{\pos( . , )}PLATINUM

SQUARE

KOHAKUMIYA

"OF THE WAVES"

Hello, Iolite.

Did you get the stuff I got for you?

Could you get a move on? It was a real chore, y'know.

That's besides the point, Iolite.

You've again broken the paper doll I gave you to communicate with me, haven't you?

Man, I always forget how huge you are! Glad I made the trip out.

Are you listening?

At any rate, you took a while.

It was such a pain! That old high priest was so stubborn! He just wouldn't give in!

He didn't have to be so annoying!

The high priest…

You mean Haesval of the Gilded Tower?

He's the most skilled caster of divine magic amongst the Platinum Squares!

However did you get him to agree?

I k*lled him.

How else?

Meh, it is what it is! Good luck with those demon parts, now!

What's next?

First, I gotta change. Then we can head out again.

After all,

we gotta go pick up the bits that SOMEONE forgot to take with them.

I'm such a busy little bee!

What is this place?

A girl is crying. Who is she?

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I know. She's…

Huh? Where…?

Hello.

What do you feel for her?

Huh? Who's 'her'?

A woman? Who is she?

There are two paths before you.

One is righteous and serves to benefit all of mankind, the path of justice.

One is selfish and serves to benefit her and only her, the path of destruction.

Oh, I understand. The girl she's speaking about must be…

What…

…do you feel for her?

What was that?

Goodness, you're still at it?

Vermeil!

You've been doing this every night. Tonight, you should try to sleep early, all right?

I-I know, but the Bronze exam is almost here, and I'm nervous.

True, but half the student body will pass this exam, yes? That's a piece of cake for you.

I'd be more confident if it were just a written exam, but there's a practical part, too.

And the Council members are pressuring me to do well, too...

The incident is important, but you should focus on your Bronze exam.

It's about that time, huh?

Second-year Alto, surely you wouldn't fail your exam after b*ating me, yes?

So I've gotta pass, no matter what…

You're naked! Put some clothes on!

If you're worried about the practical exam, then you shouldn't be stuck at your desk.

Hey!

You're gonna use me for the exam, right?

Then I'm gonna need lots of mana.

But…

She's draining me…

C'mon, now you.

You were going to stay up late anyways, weren't you?

I'll suck it out of you, and you suck it out of me.

Let's get that practice in, all right?

All right, I have my pen, I have my notebook…

And some textbooks, too, just in case…

This is... the book Vermeil was sealed in.

Feels like so long ago that I couldn't summon a familiar and was about to repeat the grade…

Nope, still can't read it.

Oh, yeah, a mage sealed her in that book, right? I wonder who they were...

Alto, don't you have to get going soon?

Huh? It's already this late?!

It's finally time for the Bronze exam! Let's give it our best sh*t!

Yay!

Y-yeah.

Hey! Liven up, now!

S-sorry, I didn't sleep well…

I swear! Taking care of yourself is an important skill, so get it together!

R-right.

I've got lots of mana now, and my heart's working fine.

Maybe I was right to take Vermeil up on her advice.

We're in Building A, right?

We should be.

It would've been so much easier if they'd just let us take it at the Academy…

Apprentice mages from all over the nation will be coming to take the Bronze exam!

They picked a neutral place so no one has an advantage!

Hey, look at them.

Those uniforms are Ortigia.

Oh, them.

They're from Ortigia.

Why do I feel like we stand out?

Our school is extremely competitive.

percent of our students pass, but at other schools, only percent may pass.

Ortigia is also the only school that requires Bronze to advance to Fourth Year.

Wow. That makes the Bronze exam feel like a way bigger deal.

Y-yeah.

And with that in mind, Marx… I'm surprised you got in here.

But of course I did, because I have a secret w*apon!

Well, in either case, don't go getting careless on the exam!

All right! I'm pumped!

And we're starting off with the practical exam…

A-all right! I'm gonna pass!

That's the spirit!

There's a lot of people here, and I heard this is only one of ten sites for the practical.

Yeah.

But what's everyone murmuring about?

There's something inside that crystal… a flame?

All right, everyone here?

I'm only going to explain this once, so listen up!

It's him!

You know him, Cheryl?

That's Colonel Pharanx of the Royal Mage Corps.

He's the "demonic" mage specially selected for Special Ops.

I can't believe he's our proctor…

This year's practical exercise is all about mana provision!

This giant crystal can measure the amount and quality of your mana!

But don't think it's just a boring old measurement device!

We're testing your ability to supply mana to an entity through a physical barrier

by having you supply mana through the crystal to this amorphous flame!

As such, you'll pour as much mana as you can into the contained flame!

The amount you're able to provide will determine your score!

Wh-what?

That sounds kinda easy.

So we just need to fill the crystal with mana, right?

All right, let's start with Student # !

No... there's no way this is going to be THAT easy.

Does it get easier with time for the immortal?

If I was born normal, if I become normal, can I stay close?

With the children, we link our arms

Make a circle and sing a song

Knowing there was no chair for me all along

You locked me into the dark, I'm your preserved flower

The world is too slow to understand

Not all blossoms spark, And spikes may be sharp

They only want to see the beautiful parts

Sitting in a shower of scarlet rain

It all used to be ours, I'm counting the hours

Hours that stood between us like a river

Once I crawled through the water

All I ever knew have become distant past