“Sitoster, Hiroster, Kaister has already answered a lot of questions. This has become an interrogation, and we should give him a break. I’m sure he has his reasons, but he’s not obligated to tell us if he doesn’t want to.”
Phew. Having Drugo around is handy during these situations.
“Well said, Drugo,” Luna says with a smile. “Everyone has their own share of secrets they don’t want other people to know about.”
“That is true. I know I have mine,” Sitos says.
“Yeh. Sorry ‘bout that, Kai.”
“It’s all good,” I respond. Now is a good time to change the topic. “So, our victory in the competition’s guaranteed. I don’t know about you guys, but I want a couch!”
“I will get us training weights.”
“I’m gonna get me a new weapon. I don’t like trainin’ with a wooden sword. A hammer sounds nice.”
“Hiro, that’s so selfish. You should pick something that’ll benefit the team. Hmm… I think I’m gonna ask for additional cooking tools.”
“I’ll get us a freezer or refrigerator. You can’t go wrong with more space,” Drugo says.
“What do you want, Marin?” Luna asks.
“Some leisure books…to read.”
“I think having some books to read would be nice,” Luna says.
“Yeah! Good thinkin’, Marin! Ask for some adult books. I wanna take a look!”
Marin blushes and slaps Hiro across the face.
“Ow! What’d ya do that for? Think ‘bout the team! Kai, Sitos, and Drugo are with me on this one, right?” Hiro asks, grinning.
I grimace. Don’t drag us down with you. I’m curious but know that would be going against of what’s allowed. I shake my head and respond, “No.”
“Do not lump me in with you.”
“Sorry, Hiroster.”
Hiro is still smiling widely. “Okay, fine, I’ll request the adult books myself!”
Luna kicks Hiro from behind, knocking him down. “What did I just say?! Pick something to benefit the team! No one else wants to see those books, right?”
We all shake our heads. Even if I wanted to, why do I want to get beaten up? Luna probably wouldn’t allow us to look at vulgar books to begin with.
Hiro stands up and sighs. “Fine. How ‘bout a punchin’ bag? Sometimes I get so mad, I wanna punch somethin’, ya know?”
“You have no idea…” Sitos says.
I smile skeptically. I feel the same way.
“Kai, do you want to spar?” Sitos asks.
“Sure. I guess we’ll split here,” I say.
“Wait a minute,” Luna says. “You received a lower score than me on the test, right, Sitos?”
“Oh…yes.”
“Well, since you lost, I want you to help train Hiro and Drugo from now on.”
“What?” Sitos interjects and frowns.
“You asked for the bet and agreed to it, right? You aren’t gonna back out now, right?”
“I will do it… Come over to the training room with us, Hiro and Drugo.”
“Kai, what do you wanna ask of us?” Luna asks.
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you guys know when I think of something.”
“What about you, Hiro?” Luna asks.
“Huh?” Hiro interjects.
“You beat Sitos and Drugo.”
Hiro suddenly laughs and then says, “I was waitin’ for someone ta say somethin’ ‘bout that! Sitos! Ya have ta call me Hiro the Great until we graduate!”
Sitos widens his eyes and pushes his hands into the sides of his head.
“C’mon, don’t be shy. Say it.”
“Hiro the Great. Let us go train…”
“Haha! Good one! Drugo, I’ll think of somethin’ for ya later.”
“Okay.”
“Marin, it’s your turn,” Luna says.
“Umm… Drugo, can you…help us wash the dirty dishes?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“Perfect!” Luna exclaims. “Don’t worry about breakfast cleanup, but do help us after lunch and dinners.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Got it.”
“Hiro… I’ll save that one,” Marin says.
“Uhh okay,” Hiro says.
With those matters taken care of, Luna and Marin split from us. The day passes quickly, and it’s soon the moment Moria will announce the test results!
A room that’s usually chatty turns silent the moment I walk down the steps. Everyone turns their head away from me. Heh. No one will dare make fun of me again.
Four of the five guys that owe me an apology are waiting for me in front of the class. The kid who gave me a half-assed apology isn’t here.
One of them steps forward and says, “Kai, I’m really sorry for saying you were an idiot. I was wrong to assume your intelligence based on the results of a stupid Mana test. I’ll never judge someone by their appearance again. Will you forgive me?”
I smirk. “Sure, but don’t forget to do the other requirement.”
“O-okay…” he says and lowers his head as he walks to his seat.
The next one steps up. “I’m really, really, really, really sorry, Kai. I shouldn’t have called you an imbecile when you’re the genius. You were right. I’m the real imbecile for not realizing it. I’ll take responsibility and run around naked after class. I’m sorry, again.”
“Alright, next,” I say.
The second one walks away while the third boy steps up and immediately kneels with his head lowered. “I’m sorry for makin’ fun of ya every chance I got since the first day of class. I know ya musta felt embarrassed. I only know how it feels now, and I’m sorry for makin’ ya feel that way. And I know I don’t have a right to ask ya ta forgive me and write off the other task, but I’m really self-conscious about my body. Please, I’ll do anything else ta make it up ta ya.”
“Hmm…” I interject. It feels like he’s a little more sincere than the last two, and he’s a bit chubby, so I get his concern. That’s no reason to let him off that easy, though. “Fine, but if you don’t do what you agreed to, you have to loudly announce your name and that you’re an imbecile at the beginning of every class until we graduate starting today.”
He raises his head and stands up. “Thanks, Kai! You’re the best!”
“Su-sure…” I reply, smiling skeptically. I think he’s overreacting…
He runs back to his seat and only one kid remains.
“Look, I apologize for being an ass this whole time and making fun of you. But to my defense, being scared of carrots is ridiculous. You can’t blame me for assuming that you were a one of a kind special idiot, but I’m sorry.”
“You call that a heartfelt apology?”
“I’m not too good at the whole apology thing. Can you hit me instead? Doing the nude streak isn’t that hard.”
“Uh, okay,” I say. He puffs his chest out and puts his hands behind his back. I take a few steps toward him while stretching my right arm, though that’s only for appearance because he’s overlooked one crucial thing. There’s some open space between his legs. He closes his eyes as I throw a right feint. This gives me the opportunity to kick him between the legs with enough force to lift him up slightly.
“Ahhhhh!” he shrieks. Not a sound I expected from someone like him. He covers his crotch with both hands and rolls on the ground. “Argh! That was cheap!”
I laugh. “We’ll call that even on the apology.”
“Good morning, everyone,” Moria says while walking down the steps.
I take my seat.
“Once I have announced all the results…” Moria says and stops as he notices the guy on the ground. “What are you doing on the floor?” Moria asks.
“No-nothing…” the boy groans and stands up while still grasping onto his jewels. He limps back to his seat.
“Okay… Once I have announced all the—“
“My name is Rune, and I’m an imbecile!” Rune exclaims suddenly.
“Pfff…” I interject and then laugh. It was funnier than I imagined.
The whole room bursts out cackling.
“Thank you, Rune… Do we have any other interruptions?” Moria asks and then pauses for five seconds. “Once I have announced all the results, those of you who passed may continue with the specific magic category class of your choice. The three groups who failed will need to stay for remedial classes.”
I chuckle. Three groups failed? I can’t believe these kids. They have the gall to make fun of me, but they’re the dumb ones. If someone like Hiro could pass the practical test, what would it take to be a failure?
“Now for the competition, I will begin announcing the winners starting with the two runner-ups. Third place goes to Aisha’s group with an average score of 108! Your team will receive three pieces of new furniture! And second place goes to Rune’s group with an average score of 110! You lot will receive six pieces of new furniture!”
Cheers resound from the left side of the room.
Oh, turns out that Rune guy’s a group leader. His group scored 2nd place, that’s not bad. Not as good as our 150, though! Grinning, I bounce my legs up and down. We’re up next!
“Ahem…and first place…” Moria says with little energy. He glances over to me and sighs without saying anything.
What’s the holdup?
Nearly half a minute passes before he continues, “The group who will be taking home the grand prize…the keys to the first large room 1A is…”
I jump from my seat and run over to Moria with my right hand held out.
He pauses for several seconds, seemingly waiting for me to stand in front of him. Strangely, he looks away from me and continues, “Hina’s group with an average score of 115!”
Huh…? The room goes quiet. No cheers. No words. Not even a squeak. Did I hear that correctly? I ask, “Moria, you said Luna’s group, right?”
He sighs and then responds, “I am afraid not…”
“No matter how you look at it, we are the winners!” Sitos exclaims. “There is a mistake! We scored an average of 150!”
Three groups failed. It can’t be…
“Yes…you did. However, while the theory exam scores do not count toward the average, all members must pass that portion, or your score is void. Unfortunately…there was someone who did not pass.”
I bite my lip, feeling the blood inside me boiling. With a process of elimination, I turn to Hiro, who has sunken deep into his seat. “Hiro…? What?!”
“Uhh…sorry guys. I thought everyone only needed ta pass the practical test for the competition…”
Hiro the Great, Hiro the Great, Hiro the Great! God! How can someone be so stupid? “Moria, what score do you need to pass?”
“70 points or higher.”
“And what score did Hiro receive?” I ask.
“That is…classified.”
“It’s okay, Teacher. Tell everyone what I received. I wanna know too.”
“If you insist... Your score was 36 points.”
I exclaim, “How’d you score that low?!”
“I dunno. I coulda sworn I got at least 50 points.”
I run over to Hiro and then grab the collar of his shirt. “You bastard! You’re the one who told me not to drag you down! What do you have to say for yourself?”
He mutters, “I’m sorry…”
I shove him back into his seat and say, “Sorry isn’t gonna cut it.”
“Now, now, Kaister. What’s done is done. It was partially our blunder for not realizing how clueless he was,” Drugo says.
“How can we know if he doesn’t speak up? He’s the one who suggested we do the review session too! He told us he was good,” I say and then point at him. “You know what. I know what I want you to do for the bet. Leave the team.”
“Kai, I understand you’re upset, but that’s going too far. Take that back and apologize to Hiro right now,” Luna says with a glower. She stares at me with her arms on her hips.
I cross my arms and turn my head away, frowning.
“Why does he have to apologize?” Sitos asks. “I do not blame him. Hiro the Great is fucking retarded. We are better off without him.”
“Sitos, you’re not helping the situation. How can you say that about our friend?”
“What situation? The one caused by Hiro the Great? He did this by failing. How are you not mad at all?”
“Well, I’m disappointed too! But, like Drugo said, it’s our negligence for not making sure he was prepared.”
“Friends, I think you should calm down.”
“Huh? When is it our responsibility to know every little thing he needs? He even said that he knew everything. Why do you not reprimand him instead for lying?”
“Your attitude has been getting on my nerves lately. Why do you have to be like this?”
“Well, I—“
“Guys!” Hiro exclaims and stands up. “It’s cool. I get it. I’m too dumb for ya. I don’t mind leavin’ if Kai doesn’t want me here.”
At least he’s self-aware. If he really leaves willingly, that’s good for us.