One day, a week after the entrance examination, an envelope addressed to Luna arrives.
The sender is the Saint Academy. What is inside is, naturally, notification of her results.
“Fuhhh……”
Luna holds the envelope to her chest, exhales deeply, and settles herself.
Carlo, Trebas, and Ro have all gathered in the dining room and are waiting with grave expressions.
“Alright, I’m opening it.”
“G-go ahead, good luck!”
“It’ll be fine, I know it’ll be fine!”
Luna steels herself and breaks the seal. What comes out is——
“……I……passed.”
A genuine certificate of acceptance, stamped with the Saint Academy’s official seal.
In an instant, a burst of joy goes up.
“Congratulations, Luna! Getting into the Saint Academy——that’s truly remarkable!”
“You might truly and genuinely be the Saint’s reincarnation, you know!”
Carlo and Trebas beam from ear to ear and lavish praise on their beloved daughter as if they can’t do it enough——
“Congratulations on your acceptance, Luna-sama.”
——and Ro says this with a modest round of applause.
“Th-thank you all!”
Luna is happily looking over the certificate of acceptance when she notices something.
“……Support Division?”
On close inspection, the certificate reads Accepted (Support Division).
“Ah, ah……well, how to put that, it’s, er……right?”
“Um, yes, how would one describe it, that is……right?”
Carlo and Trebas are awkward and stilted, and Ro, unable to watch, clears her throat.
“The Saint Academy operates as a two-division system: the Saint Division and the Support Division. The placement is simple and clear-cut: the top one hundred scorers on the entrance examination, deemed to have potential as saints, are placed in the Saint Division; the bottom one hundred, deemed to have no such potential, are placed in the Support Division.”
“So in other words, I’m……an alternate with no potential as a saint?”
“Stated simply, that is the case.”
“……Oh, I see……”
Luna murmurs and grips the certificate tightly.
Seeing their beloved daughter look sad, Carlo and Trebas——
“Y-you have absolutely no reason to feel down! Getting into the Saint Academy at all is truly, truly an incredible achievement……!”
“That’s right! You should hold your head high and go to school with confidence!”
——do their best to reassure her, desperately trying not to let her feel low. But……
“——Yes!”
“[Both]: ……Huh?”
Far from looking low, she throws a triumphant fist in the air.
(No potential as a saint——to think such a wonderful division existed, and that I ended up there by accident. How lucky can I be!)
Living her life as a student with a brand new identity. Broadening her knowledge of this era. All while occupying a position that has been deemed to have no saint potential.
For Luna, the Support Division is, in the most literal sense, the ‘best possible place.’
“W-well, as long as Luna is happy, we’re happy too.”
“Luna, go have a wonderful school life.”
“Yes, thank you so much!”
Afterward, the Spedio household holds a grand celebration party, and many of the territory’s people come together to congratulate Luna on her acceptance.
A week later. Today is finally the Saint Academy’s entrance ceremony.
Having put on the Saint Academy’s uniform, Luna checks her appearance in the standing mirror in her room.
White shirt, red-accented blazer on top; simple black skirt on the bottom.
As an aside——the uniforms for the Saint Division and the Support Division are essentially the same design. The only difference is the breast pocket: it either has the holy cross symbol or it doesn’t.
(The clothes in this era are so much cuter than they were three hundred years ago)
Dressed in her new look, Luna moves to the living room where Carlo and Trebas are waiting——and finds Carlo in floods of tears while Trebas tries to calm him down.
“Uwuuu……Luna, Lunaaa……don’t leave me behind……”
“Really, dear……today is a happy occasion, please don’t cry so much. You’ll worry Luna.”
“Y-you’re right……alright, I’m going to stop crying!”
“Very good.”
The Saint Academy runs on a full boarding system, meaning Luna will now primarily be living in the dormitory and only returning to the Spedio household on the occasional day off or long holiday.
“——Well then, I’m off!”
“Take good care of yourself!”
“Come home every now and then, dear.”
“Have a wonderful time, Luna-sama.”
Seen off by Carlo, Trebas, and Ro, Luna boards a carriage loaded with the minimum necessities of life and heads for the Saint Academy.
Arriving at the Saint Academy, Luna goes to her dormitory room and begins carrying in the wooden boxes of her belongings.
“Heave-ho……is that all of them, I think?”
The dormitory rooms are shared as a rule, with students living together with others in the same year.
(My roommate doesn’t seem to be here yet……I wonder what kind of person they are. It would be nice if we could get along well enough to go out somewhere together)
She is thinking along those lines as she goes about unpacking when she spots something odd inside one of the wooden boxes.
“……Huh? Did I pack this……?”
What she sees is a basket with a white cloth draped over it.
“What is this, did Ro secretly tuck in something for me?”
She removes the cloth and checks inside, and there——
“Mrrrrr……?”
——is a drowsy-looking Tama, curled up into a ball.
“Wha, hey, Tama!?”
“Waf!”
“Shh, be quiet!”
“Kyuun.”
“Honestly, how did you sneak in……? Actually, before that——is it even allowed to keep a pet here?”
She checks the dormitory rules in a hurry——
“……Oh, it’s fine.”
——and to her surprise, the rules clearly state ‘pets permitted.’
This, incidentally, is because the information that ‘the Saint was fond of animals’ had been passed down to the present day.
“For now, wait here! Stay! Okay?”
“Waf.”
“Good girl, good girl. Make sure you be a nice well-behaved girl until I get back, alright?”
Luna says this and leaves for the entrance ceremony venue.
The Saint Academy’s three hundredth entrance ceremony.
Recent entrance ceremonies in the Kingdom of Elgia have all been kept brief, and it is not customary for the families of new students to attend.
Behind this is a sensitivity particular to the age——so that no student would have to face their entrance ceremony alone because demons had killed their parents.
Opening remarks. The principal’s address. A speech from the new student representative. Singing of the school anthem. The ceremony proceeds without incident and is over before she knows it.
The first-year students file out of the Grand Hall, check the class assignments posted on the notice board, and make their way to their respective classrooms.
(Let’s see, Luna Spedio, Luna Spedio, Luna Spedio……there it is)
Finding her own name in the Class 1-C column, Luna follows the flow of students toward the classroom.
She pulls open the wooden door with a rattle——and finds an unbelievable person inside.
(Oh, that can’t be——Sarko-san!?)
It is Sarko, also known as Sarl Ko Layton, who had built the status coalition at the soirée the other day.
And what’s more, she is already surrounded by what appear to be multiple followers.
Not one day into school, and she is already demonstrating extraordinary leadership.
She must simply be a born alpha by nature.
(To think we’d be at the same school, and even in the same class……)
Luna’s guard goes up strongly against Sarko.
The two of them had been kidnapped by Howard at the soirée the other day, and had been face to face there.
Luna had activated and driven Howard off after Sarko had lost consciousness, so the chances of her saint identity being exposed are low——but not ‘zero.’
She might have heard about it from Alicia afterward, or might have been dimly conscious at the time.
And above all——someone as ordinary as herself cannot survive the brutal status wars of Mount Status.
(I’ll try to keep my distance from Sarko-san……)
Luna makes herself small and edges along the corner of the room, slipping away from the status coalition.
The next instant, a sharp gaze flies in from far across the room.
“My……? That plain-looking girl, where have I seen her……”
She has been caught in Sarko’s vast surveillance network.
(S-as expected of Sarko-san, what an intensely territorial person……)
Luna pretends she hasn’t noticed a thing and hurries to her seat.
Having somehow escaped to neutral ground, she breathes a sigh of relief.
(Now then……these are the classmates I’ll be spending a year with. Is there anyone who looks like they might want to be friends?)
She glances casually around the classroom and notices a certain wrongness.
(……Hmm?)
For some reason, several groups have already formed.
(H-huh, that’s strange……. Today is the entrance ceremony, right? Everyone is meeting for the first time, aren’t they……?)
Contrary to Luna’s hopeful assumption, nearly everyone here already knows each other.
To be accepted into the Saint Academy, a student needs the time to study Saintology, the funds to visit the Saint’s historical sites, and the environment to develop their magical ability——those who meet these demanding conditions are inevitably limited.
Specifically: wealthy young ladies from noble families. More precisely: daughters of great noble houses with bases near the capital.
And the world of nobles is thinly but broadly interconnected.
Ties through parents, ties through commerce, ties through school——everyone has some kind of interest relationship with everyone else somewhere.
Indeed, the students around Luna are all daughters of great noble houses, and they each know one another to a reasonable degree.
(Wh-what do I do. I’ve heard it’s all about the running start in these situations, but everyone already seems so friendly with each other……)
As Luna fidgets with anxiety, a familiar voice reaches her ears.
“——Luna, your collar is crooked.”
“Oh, sorry, thanks……wait, Ro!?”
Turning around, she finds Ro Steincrow——her lady’s maid.
Dressed in the Saint Academy’s uniform, her hair styled in a fashionable wave, speaking without formality.
“H-hold on, what’s going on!? Why are you here, Ro!? And that uniform——you’re in the Saint Division!?”
Luna fires questions with wide blinking eyes. Ro turns down the volume of her voice so as not to be overheard.
“I have been instructed by Lord Carlo and Lady Trebas to serve as your escort, Luna-sama. And please rest assured, I was accepted into the Saint Academy through entirely proper channels.”
“I-I see……”
Carlo and Trebas are ferociously doting parents, and Ro is extremely capable.
As a footnote——the Saint Academy has approximately two hundred students per year, organized into five classes from A through E, with forty students per class.
Each class is divided evenly, with twenty students from the Saint Division and twenty from the Support Division.
“But still, I’m glad. Having Ro in the same class makes it much less daunting.”
“I’m honored. As it happens, our dormitory room assignment is also the same.”
“Really? That’s wonderful! What an incredible coincidence!”
“Yes. Though for this one……I used slightly irregular means.”
“What irregular means, what did you do!?”
While the two of them are talking, the front door of the classroom opens and a male instructor from the Saint Academy enters.
Taking his place at the podium, he clears his throat with a small cough and begins a brief self-introduction.
“——How do you do. I am Jurall Serpent. I serve as homeroom teacher of Class 1-C, and as a full-time lecturer at the Saint Academy primarily responsible for pharmacology. I look forward to working with you all.”
Jurall Serpent, age forty.
Height one hundred and ninety centimeters, slender build.
Jet-black hair extending to the shoulders, heavy and sharp eyes, pale skin without a hint of a tan——something about him gives the impression of a snake.
Dressed in a jet-black robe, he is one of the most forbidding-looking teachers at the Saint Academy.
“Hmm……there is a bit of time before second period begins.”
The Saint Academy’s annual curriculum is extraordinarily dense: even today, the day of the entrance ceremony, classes are scheduled from the second period onward.
“As a chance, let us use this time for introductions. Begin with attendance number one, in order.”
At Jurall’s instruction, the students of Class 1-C go through their self-introductions.
Each says their name and a hobby, gives a brief bow, and passes the turn to the next person.
Being a class full of young ladies from noble families, everyone’s introduction is polished and graceful, and Luna manages hers without incident.
“For the next year, you will all be competing with one another in this small classroom. Give each other proper stimulation and strive to come a little closer to what the Saint would have been. It is my hope that the Saint herself may be among you. ——Now then, let us move on to the matter of classes.”
Jurall says this and gives instructions to the students.
“The next class will be held separately for the Saint Division and the Support Division. Saint Division students are to proceed to the training grounds; Support Division students are to move with me to Laboratory Three.”
He gives a small clap of his hands and the students begin shuffling out.
“Well then, Ro——I’m in the Support Division, so I’ll see you later.”
“Yes.”
And so Support Division Luna heads to Laboratory Three, while Saint Division Ro heads to the training grounds.
The Support Division students who have moved to Laboratory Three take their seats in attendance number order.
A little while later, the second-period chime rings and Jurall steps up to the podium.
“We will now begin pharmacology. As stated in the syllabus, this course covers the synthesis of a wide range of medicines——potions, paralytic agents, antidotes, hemostatics, and more. And what you will be making today, right away, is a ‘Low-Grade Potion.'”
He pauses for a breath and continues.
“Talented as you all are, the method of making a Low-Grade Potion is surely already known to you. However, one must never neglect the fundamentals in any discipline. As this is our first class, I intend to begin by teaching you just how important the basics are in pharmacology.”
Saying this, Jurall picks up the materials already prepared on the podium and begins making a Low-Grade Potion.
“First, pour purified water into the test tube, then steep an appropriate amount of herb. Once the active components have sufficiently infused, channel your own magical energy in slowly and carefully. Needless to say, the magical energy channeled in at this step must of course be of the holy attribute.”
He works through the process with practiced hands and completes a Low-Grade Potion in no time at all.
“——Now, what do you make of this?”
The potion placed on the podium was of a quality that bordered on frightening.
“It’s stunning……. Not a single impurity or cloudiness anywhere. That is truly a perfect Low-Grade Potion……”
“And that speed! Each step was unbelievably quick and yet so precise!”
“As expected of a full-time lecturer at the Saint Academy……”
Words of astonishment and admiration pour forth from the Support Division students, and Jurall nods with satisfaction.
“The herbs and purified water needed for Low-Grade Potion synthesis are prepared at the table in the front row——take what you need. ——Each of you, move to a suitable location and begin.”
“[Students]: Yes.”
Tasked by Jurall, the students take their herbs and purified water and spread out to their chosen spots, each setting to work on Low-Grade Potion synthesis.
Luna follows suit, picks up the necessary materials, and moves to an open spot.
(Now……here is where it gets tricky)
Luna is skilled at potion-making——no, overskilled.
The magical energy of a saint purifies all things and draws out their properties to the fullest.
Even the murky water of a drainage ditch, passed through a saint’s magical energy, would miraculously become the legendary secret medicine Elixir.
Once, thinking it was a good idea, Luna had mass-produced Elixir and gone around giving it away free of charge to people in need.
But this turned out to be the trigger for a ‘tragedy.’
The news that an all-purpose medicine called Elixir was freely available spread across the world almost immediately.
The balance of supply and demand was completely shattered, and the market price of potions plummeted catastrophically.
This major incident, which threw the pharmaceutical market into total chaos, is recorded in history as the ‘Sacred Medicine War.’
(It must never come out that I can make Elixir……. To avoid repeating the same mistake, I have to be extremely careful here and make a proper Low-Grade Potion……)
She regulates her breathing and begins the potion synthesis.
Purified water into the test tube, appropriate amount of herb added. Once the medicinal components have infused, she channels her magical energy in slowly.
The result——a pale light blooms gently inside the test tube, and a Low-Grade Potion is complete.
(Hmm, hmm……the appearance isn’t bad)
The faintly greenish liquid looks like a cheap product by any measure, from any angle.
(First, let me give it a taste)
She puts the test tube to her lips and tips Prototype Number One into her mouth.
The next instant——
(Th-this is……!?)
Fatigue, stiff shoulders, eyestrain——every conceivable negative status is swept away in an instant.
(……A failure.)
Regrettably, this is an Elixir.
Submitting something like this would cause an unimaginable commotion.
Luna places the failed batch in the wooden test tube rack and immediately sets to work on the next.
After countless attempts and adjustments——the moment finally arrives.
“I-I did it……!”
A murky, sludgy green liquid. A grassy bitterness spreading through the mouth. A modest, faint fatigue-recovery effect. This is a Low-Grade Potion.
The cheap kind you always see at apothecaries.
(I did it, I really did it! That was a tough one for a first try, but this quality should be just fine……!)
Suppressing the urge to jump up and down on the spot, she clenches her fist.
(Now I just stick a label with my name on it……and that should do it)
She pastes a label with her name on the submission potion and sets it in the test tube rack, separate from the failed batches.
With that done, Jurall’s assistant will collect it when the designated time comes.
(I finished a bit early, I’ll make a quick trip to the bathroom)
The moment Luna steps out briefly, a shady figure creeps toward her seat.
“Heh……she’s gone?”
“Do it quickly. If we’re caught, there’ll be hell to pay.”
“Block Jurall-sensei’s line of sight——yes, stand right there.”
Five minutes later——Luna returns from the bathroom to find all her other classmates seated at their own desks.
The podium where Jurall stands has test tubes of potions lined up in a row, and the evaluations are about to begin.
(Mine is……good, it looks like it’s been collected properly)
Among the test tubes lined up on the podium, she can confirm that one of them has a label reading ‘Luna Spedio.’
“Hmm……the time has come. I will now taste each of your potions. The evaluation criteria are liquid purity, recovery effect, and duration. I will assess these three points comprehensively and assign a rank from F through S.”
Having made the criteria clear, Jurall picks up a test tube and checks the label on it.
“This potion is……Elaine Nostario’s.”
“Yes.”
The blue-haired student whose name was called rises smoothly and properly to her feet.
“Hmm……slight cloudiness is present, but the purity is at quite a good level. ——Well. Recovery effect and duration are both sound. I give you a B.”
“Oh, thank you!”
Jurall is an authority in pharmacology, and a ‘B’ from him is a considerably high mark.
Evaluations continue after that……
“This one——hmm, quite cloudy. The recovery effect is thin and the duration unreliable as well. ……E at best, I would say.”
“This one——hmm, poor purity. But the recovery effect and duration are sound. ……D+ would be appropriate.”
“This potion——quite clear, but the recovery effect and duration are lacking. I’ll give it a C-.”
And at last, Luna’s turn arrives.
“Next……this is Luna Spedio’s potion.”
“Yes.”
She responds like the others and rises quickly to her feet——and doubts what she is seeing.
(Wh-wait a moment……this can’t be right!?)
The color of the potion in the test tube Jurall is holding is wrong.
That crystal-clear, beautiful green is unmistakable——it is a failed batch.
(Why, how……!? I put my best work in the submission test tube——the murky green sludge potion——I know I did……)
While Luna had been in the bathroom, students who wished to humiliate her had swapped out the finished submission with one of the failed batches——but of course she has no way of knowing that.
As all this is going through her head, Jurall’s evaluation moves forward.
“Ohhh……this is extraordinary purity.”
His eyes go wide and he breathes a sound of admiration. Luna raises her voice to call a stop to proceedings.
“S-sensei! Please wait a moment!”
“What is it, Luna Spedio.”
“Actually, that potion is……um, well, the thing is……it……”
She can hardly say ‘please don’t drink it, it’s an Elixir,’ and a good excuse doesn’t come to her on the spot.
As Luna fumbles and flusters, deliberately theatrical laughter is aimed at her.
“Oh my……look at her making a spectacle of herself. How embarrassing.”
“Oh, don’t be mean. She couldn’t even make a proper Low-Grade Potion, so of course she’d panic. It’s understandable.”
“Heh, and she somehow managed to get into the Saint Academy.”
None other than these girls are the ones who swapped Luna’s potion.
Meanwhile, Jurall, brought to a sudden halt by Luna’s protest, regards her with a puzzled look.
“What on earth is the matter, Luna Spedio. If you have something to say, say it plainly.”
“The thing is, that potion, through a small mishap, kind of ‘elix-ified’ somehow, or, what might be described as a ‘sudden mutation type situation’ kind of……um……”
Luna mumbles something completely incomprehensible, flustered and floundering.
Seeing this, Jurall nods as if he has understood everything.
“I see. You lack confidence?”
“Huh? No, it’s less that I lack confidence and more that I have rather too much……”
While Luna trails off, Jurall, with that intimidating face, produces a stiff sort of smile.
“Hm, do not fret. No one succeeds on their first try. Even the Saint celebrated in legend is said to have made terrible mistakes when she was young.”
“……Yes, I’m sorry……”
A string of great failures flashes through her mind.
His kind words, meant to encourage, deal a serious blow to her mental state.
“A timely lesson for all of you. Remember this well. From time immemorial, we have said, ‘failure is the mother of success.’ Failure is learning, and without failure there can be no success. Feed on the many experiences gained through failure, and taste the fruit called success. This is what proper learning looks like.”
Having delivered this with conviction, Jurall turns eyes full of warmth toward Luna.
“And so, Luna Spedio, there is no need to shrink from failure. Simply make it your nourishment and move forward.”
“Y-yes……thank you very mu——oh!? Sensei, please wait!”
Luna’s desperate plea goes unanswered, and Jurall drains the failed batch in one gulp.
The next instant, his body reacts.
“…………fwoh.”
“[Everyone]: Fwoh?“
“Fwoooooooooooh……! Surging, it’s surging……!”
An overwhelming tide of magical energy bursts from Jurall’s entire body.
“Extraordinary! What recovery effect, and what phenomenal duration! This is a Superior Potion——no, it’s a quality I might mistake for an Elixir!”
“Th-thank you so much……”
Telling him ‘it actually is an Elixir’ being entirely out of the question, she offers her thanks.
“Luna Spedio! Please come to my laboratory after this! I simply must have a discussion with you about potions……!”
“Ah, um, I actually have plans today, so……”
“Hmm, is that so. I seem to have gotten ahead of myself. We shall coordinate a suitable date and time at a later occasion.”
“I’ll……give it my consideration.”
Luna says this while looking in a completely different direction.
Her intent: string it along for three or four days and make the potion discussion disappear entirely.
“But truly……what a truly remarkable potion that was! In all my years of pharmacology, I have never laid eyes on anything like it! Luna Spedio——I give you an A+——no, an S!”
As Jurall delivers this extraordinary mark, looks laden with ill will are aimed at Luna.
“Ugh, how did this happen!? We threw out the submission and put in what looked like a failed batch……!”
“Don’t tell me……she saw through our swap and switched the contents of the submission and the failure beforehand……!?”
“That girl has absolutely no conscience……!”
The three students whose scheme has blown up in their faces glare at Luna with jealousy-maddened eyes——but……
(Ugh, this is the worst……. I stood out in the worst way again……. Who on earth would do something so awful as a swap……)
——the very person they’re looking at is entirely absorbed in her own troubles and doesn’t even notice their stares.