The results of the practical subjects were announced immediately.

To my surprise, I ranked much higher than I expected: an impressive 23rd place. Considering the rankings were among 1,000 students, this was remarkable.

‘Why?’ I wondered.

The actions I took with Merdi at the end must have been rated much higher than I calculated. Without that, I might have ranked 230th instead of 23rd.

“Lemon!”

“Rose. How did the test go?”

“Good. It was fun. The military officers weren’t as stiff as I thought. And, you know… huh?”

Rose looked me up and down, noticing something despite my clean clothes.

“Where did you get hurt?”

“While dealing with the Razor bees, just a little.”

“Razor bees? What’s that?”

“They’re Grade 2 dangerous aliens. Flying bees that use spears.”

As Rose squinted her eyes, Barton approached and explained.

“Oh, our top student!” I exclaimed.

“It was a close call,” Barton said humbly.

“Still, first place is first place. Tch. I thought I could beat you this time,” Rose said, clearly unhappy.

Barton was first, and Rose was third. Considering the score difference between the top three, the possibility of the results being overturned was very low.

"Hmm... Lemon, you're still weak. But you shouldn’t have gotten hurt this badly."

Rose’s eyes, full of displeasure, pierced through me.

If I left it at that, it would definitely lead to an intense sparring session.

"Haha, let me explain."

"Look, you can see it for yourself."

"...What?"

I didn’t need to explain after all. The wall-mounted display panel was showing a highlight reel of that moment. As expected, it was labeled as a key moment from the practical test in the top left corner.

What am I supposed to do now? My face is all over it.

"Oh, you did quite well. As expected of my disciple," Rose said, clapping her hands.

But her expression soured as it showed the part where I started getting injured due to exhaustion.

"...I want to take back that compliment."

"Haha, but this is still pretty good... at least for me."

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Boom!

Our conversation was abruptly cut off. Even now, watching Merdi unleash her power left me speechless. Such power that even other superhumans would find intimidating. Except for the two people beside me.

"Heh. Impressive," Rose said, briefly displaying a fighting spirit. Just her determination alone cast an aura of intimidation around us. Cadets who were peacefully eating their meals were startled and looked around. Fortunately, the screen changed quickly, and things returned to normal.

"But Lemon, you were with Merdi?"

"Yeah, kind of a forced companionship. Merdi followed me."

"Anyway, it seems you did put in quite an effort. That’s a relief. You didn’t tarnish my reputation as my first disciple."

Right. Rose is the only one who recognizes this. I was so touched I almost cried. Then I remembered that Rose was the one who beat me up the most and composed myself.

"Chomp chomp. Today's menu seems particularly delicious. Eat up, Lemon. It'll help you recover quickly."

"You eat a lot too."

I could only imagine how much Rose, who loves cafeteria food, had been looking forward to this moment. I nodded and started shoveling more food into my mouth than usual. To activate the trait 'Rapid Cell Division' obtained from the lurking worm, I needed sufficient energy for wound healing. The effect was guaranteed. Even with severe external injuries, considering the medical treatment available at the academy, I expected to be fully healed in about three days.

"You're eating well."

"...Ugh!"

I almost spat out my food at the sudden voice. When I looked up, I saw Merdi standing there.

"Merdi!"

"Hello, Rose? You're eating like a pig today, too."

"Do you know how hungry I was? Hurry up and eat something too!"

"I'm fine. I don't have an appetite."

As she said this, she glanced at me. Then she propped her chin up with both hands and fixed her gaze.

"Ahem..."

I wish she'd just tell me if she has a complaint. Don’t make me lose my appetite. Ughh... now, can’t she avert her gaze from me? They say you shouldn’t disturb someone while they’re eating. What did I do wrong?

"Hmm."

She even snorted as if she enjoyed seeing my discomfort. I desperately racked my brain to escape the awkwardness. Luckily, Rose, who had been stuffing her mouth, brought up a new topic.

"Oh! Vacation is coming up soon. Does anyone have plans?"

"I'm planning to visit my family."

"I'll probably just sleep."

"Really? What about you, Lemon?"

Her eyes sparkled. It looked like she was hoping for something. Given Rose’s simple mind, she’s probably thinking of inviting me somewhere. Unfortunately, I have something I must do.

"I have things to take care of."

"Really?"

"I heard your family situation is complicated."

“…That, and there are many tasks I've postponed."

Barton’s words reminded me of the Monarch family. I almost forgot about it. The family situation might be the most pressing issue to resolve. To me, who doesn't particularly feel any familial affection, family matters seem almost like someone else’s problem.

"Aww... I wanted to go on a dojo tour together."

"..."

Rose pouted, expressing her disappointment. But I didn’t feel any regret. A martial arts school is essentially a combat group. Every martial arts school strives to perfect their techniques, and they detest losing. They are incredibly stubborn about their martial arts. Would they just sit back and let someone defeat them? They would do whatever it takes to prevent it.

"Sounds fun. I’ll join too."

"Really? Great!"

But then an unexpected person took Rose’s bait. It was Merdi, who had been quiet until now. I couldn’t understand why a psychic would be interested in a dojo tour.

‘Rose and Merdi together. What chaos.’

Two unpredictable meatheads teaming up. It’s likely to be a total disaster. I briefly prayed for the people who would face them and then focused back on my meal.

***

The remaining practical tests were completed in two days. This semester, I focused mainly on command courses, so the rest were minor. Tests like the practical usage of firearms we learned in class or measuring the growth of our psychic abilities. I managed to score decently in the remaining subjects, so I was confident my overall ranking had improved.

‘72nd place.’

A double-digit rank. Only about three cadets, including myself, saw such a dramatic improvement compared to the midterms.

‘Good. With this…’

The privileges given to high-ranking cadets in the academy are substantial. From priority in using various facilities to being able to request what you need from the administrators, and even monetary rewards. The term "generous" would be an understatement.

‘Let's see. Cadets ranked 50th to 100th are granted leave for up to 3 weeks.’

Tight. Considering this is a futuristic setting with space travel, 3 weeks isn't much. Just visiting Earth, the cradle of humanity, would take a 10-day round trip.