The Former Child Prodigy Vs. Carmilla The Crimson Mage

The magic exam was also being held in the same venue.

A row of targets had been lined up along the wall, and the test was to shoot them with magic from the opposite side of the room.

“Magic Arrow! Magic Arrow! Magic Arrow!”

One after another, the applicants took turns firing three Magic Arrows each.

Magic Arrow was the most basic of the basic spells, one that fired a white arrow. Even I could use it well.

I called out to the middle-aged examiner who was watching them.

“Are three Magic Arrows enough?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“It looks like everyone is just freely firing spells, but how are you evaluating them?”

“There are magical sensors built into the targets. The score is calculated automatically based on where the spell lands and how powerful it is.”

…Before aiming at the targets, the applicants were inserting the examinee cards they had been given into a device beside them. That was probably where the numbers were being read and linked to the results.

“Is it really okay for them to keep firing offensive magic like that?”

“There’s no need to worry. One of our excellent mages has cast protective magic on them. Spells from applicants at this level won’t even make them budge.”

The examiner’s eyes flicked slightly.

At the end of his glance stood a woman in a robe with bright red hair. Her whole body radiated an aura of “incredible mage.”

I see. In that case, there was no problem.

After thanking the examiner, I decided to take the test.

Just like the other applicants were doing, I inserted my examinee card into the nearby device.

Then I pointed my right hand at the target.

“Magic Arrow.”

The instant the white arrow struck the target—

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

With a thunderous roar, the target broke apart.

The applicants around me all stopped what they were doing and looked at me.

…I’d done it again…

I wanted to hold my head in my hands. It had been the same way back in my student days. I used to destroy targets so often in school that my teacher once said, “I’ll just give you full marks, so Ilvis, please don’t do anything…”

That was why I had asked earlier.

Whether the targets would be okay.

Back in my student days, I had felt a little proud about it. Like, Huh, maybe my magic is actually kind of strong?

But this would not do.

A working adult’s job was to “do exactly what they are told.” The task this time was “aim at the target.” It was not “destroy the target.”

To begin with, it was only natural that destroying equipment would get you scolded.

Was there a problem with my control over magical power…?

“Hey, hey, hey, hey! What in the world happened here!?”

The examiner I had been talking to earlier came over to me.

“I fired a Magic Arrow, and it broke.”

“No, I get that, but… wh-what!?”

After clutching his head, the examiner pointed to the next lane over.

“…Hmm, maybe the magical power on the target had been worn down… Sorry, but could you do the test over there?”

“Understood.”

I switched my examinee card to the device in the next lane and once more raised my right hand.

This time, I would weaken the power… and be as careful as possible with control—

“Magic Arrow.”

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

“No, no, no, no, no, no! That makes no sense at all!?”

The examiner shouted.

“How can something like Magic Arrow cause this!?”

…This was bad…

At this rate, I was going to be judged as a man incapable of controlling magic.

To begin with, it seemed the targets were being scored by the sensors built into them, so if I destroyed the targets, no score would be recorded.

At this rate… wasn’t disqualification even possible?

What should I do!?

“If you keep destroying the targets, that will be a problem. I think you’re done here—”

“W-wait a second!”

I sharply cut off the examiner’s words.

“I haven’t fired my third shot yet!”

I really wanted to avoid being disqualified.

At this point, the only thing I could do was stubbornly cling to the fact that I still had my third shot left.

The examiner visibly frowned.

“Uh, no, but if you destroy another one—”

“What’s going on here?”

A voice cut in.

When I turned around, the red-haired woman mage who had been radiating that “incredible mage aura” earlier was standing there.

“Ah, Carmilla-sama!”

The examiner reported the situation to the woman mage, Carmilla.

“Two of the targets have been destroyed, and—I feel like there is something strange about his Magic Arrow. So I was telling him that the test was over, but he keeps insisting that he hasn’t finished his third shot.”

“Hm…”

Carmilla looked at the broken targets, then stared intently at me.

“So you’re the one. The one who broke through my protective magic…”

“I-I’m sorry, Carmilla-sama! I’ll chase this man out right away!”

“N-no, my third shot! My third shot!”

“You’re still saying that! You’re interfering with the exam, so—”

“Well, isn’t it fine?”

The one who interrupted the examiner was Carmilla.

“It’s only one more shot anyway. Why not let him do it?”

“No, but if he destroys another target—”

“Then shall I receive it myself?”

The beautiful red-haired woman looked at me with eyes that seemed to be testing me.

“Wh-what!? No, absolutely not!”

The examiner turned pale.

“If you were injured even by some tiny chance—!”

Still wearing a faint smile, Carmilla slowly turned her eyes toward the examiner.

“Hah! Are you saying that I, Carmilla the Crimson, would be injured?”

“N-no! Th-that’s not what I meant…”

“There isn’t even a one-in-a-hundred-million chance of that, is there?”

With a soft laugh, Carmilla briskly walked over to where the targets had been, then turned around and held out her right hand.

“Hard Protection.”

A perfectly round shield appeared, centered on Carmilla’s right hand.

“There, go ahead whenever you like.”

Crimson or whatever, I was relieved on my end too.

Good, good. At least now I could fire my third Magic Arrow. Carmilla would probably assign some kind of score for it too. This meant I would not be disqualified.

I really was lucky after all!

Passing was already practically guaranteed with the test from Phonic the Meteor Swordsman. Here, I did not need to force out a high score; I just wanted this to end on a good note.

Something like, Well, you’re not bad. Still nowhere near me, of course.

That kind of comment would be enough. Just enough to make me feel like a rookie with some future potential.

This time, I weakened the power, weakened it again—

Made it the absolute minimum—

And pointed my right hand at Carmilla.

Lightly.

Lightly… lightly, okay?

“Magic Arrow.”

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

With a thunderous roar, Carmilla was blown away and slammed into the wall behind her.

“Carmillllla-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaama!?”

The examiner’s anguished scream echoed throughout the venue.