11. Why Such A Proposal.

Alpha Class.

The core division of Irasion Academy—the collective name for its highest tier.

The privileges it conferred were too numerous to list, and the vast majority of graduates who left any lasting mark on the world were Alpha Class alumni.

"… Me?"

And just now, Elline—one of those very Alpha Class students—had extended an invitation.

'Would you consider coming up to Alpha Class?'

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I'd like you to."

"…"

There she goes again, speaking in that language of hers that's impossible to parse.

"You know how it works, Elline. Even if I wanted to move up, wanting it isn't enough."

With great privilege comes great responsibility, after all.

Alpha Class operated on a strict merit system. You might manage to slip in through some workaround once, but if your grades didn't hold up the next time around, you were dropped immediately. It was a merciless arrangement.

On top of that, the sheer volume of coursework and assignments was staggering—there were students who'd made it into Alpha Class only to throw up their hands and tumble back down to Beta.

In short: it was brutally hard.

And getting in to begin with required clearing a bar of almost absurd difficulty.

"How would I even get in? I'm terrible at studying."

A self-deprecating laugh slipped out.

This time, Elline really did seem to be reaching for clouds.

"Was that… what you've been building up to since yesterday?"

I smiled it off as nothing and began unfolding the chessboard.

I lined the pieces up in a row and, as I always did, set her pieces out in front of her as well.

"What if it's not that you can't?"

"… Hm?"

I'd been placing a knight when I looked up at her. Her face was as expressionless as ever, but her gaze moved over me as though she were reading every line.

"What if you're not bad at studying—what if you just don't?"

Her eyes didn't waver.

She was asking in earnest, waiting for a real answer.

"…"

Right. Elline had always been like this.

No jokes. No throwaway remarks. She asked for the truth.

*I keep forgetting.*

…

So I suppose I owe her a real answer.

I set the knight down with a quiet click.

"I can't do it."

"…"

Elline's eyes seemed to shift, just barely—but her hand was still holding mine.

"I'm bad at studying, Elline. The moment I open a book I'm already sick of it. I zone out during lectures. I can't remember a thing that was covered, and all I think about is hanging out with people. Studying and I just don't fit. That's why I can't do it."

Plainly. But directly.

Meeting her gaze, I gave her a clear answer.

About the kind of person I am.

"… I'm not sure why you're telling me all this, but even if I started now, it would be too much."

Too much, and then some.

"So that conversation… I think it's going to be difficult."

It was subtle.

I felt the grip of her hand around mine tighten.

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"You're not bad at studying, Rutess. You just don't."

…

It was the first time.

The first time Elline's words had cut like a blade.

"… What?"

Her grip tightened further.

"Rutess, you can do it if you try."

…

Me?

… No. That can't be right.

She's mistaken.

"Elline."

"Yes."

"… Don't tell me this is because of chess."

Even granting that chess and magic share similar principles and logic, chess is still a game. Being good at chess didn't automatically make you good at magic, and the reverse was equally true.

I was the example of the former. Elline was the example of the latter.

"Rutess."

"Elline… right now I'm… I'm… sorry. Honestly, I don't really know what to say."

A surge of emotion began pressing in at the edges.

I didn't know why it was rising, but I had to push it back down.

"Being good at chess and being good at studying are different things—you know that. I've spent two years in Beta Class. I've never come close to Alpha. It's just… a lack of talent."

That's right. I have no talent.

I'd heard it until it was carved into my bones. Heard it until I was deaf to anything else.

*Stay close to your brother and behave. Don't get any foolish ideas.*

*Everything is already decided. Just follow along.*

My life was already mapped out.

All I had to do was walk the path laid before me.

From the moment I was born, my purpose was to help my brother manage the domain. Nothing more.

Whether I studied hard and earned good marks, or made it into Alpha Class—none of it was worth the effort it would cost me.

*Just come back with a diploma.*

*Wouldn't it be nice to have one academy graduate in the family?*

That was the reason my family had sent me here.

"… Don't make that judgment for me."