A trial game between students took place at the Marieles Academy.
　The female explorer, who was tasked with being the judge, received her reward from the school and returned to the inn after wandering around town for a while.

　Waiting for nightfall, she entered her favorite tavern across the street from the inn, and as usual, she occupied one of the tables near the counter.

'Yo. You're early today.

　A woman sips her second glass of wine and turns back to the owner of the voice.

　A man is there.
　She saw a man wearing thin leather armor with a sword at his waist.

''Good evening,''

　Throwing the usual greeting at the man she knows, the woman continues as if to excuse herself.

'You're not early or anything, I wasn't going out to work today. You didn't bother to find a seat after it was crowded, did you?

'Oh, well, was today that school business we were talking about before?'

　A man who knows what's going on returns the look of approval and sits in front of the woman across the table.
　Apparently, they intend to have dinner together.

　It's also a familiar relationship with the man and a fellow explorer who is not comfortable with the idea.
　There is no reason for the woman to be offended, even if she were to sit with you without refusal.

Yes. I was called in as a referee for a trial run.

　When I ordered barley wine and stewed food for the waiter who came to ask for my order, the man put his own question straight to the surface.

You're not the only one," he said.　Even the gratuity wouldn't be much.

'I wasn't keen on it at first either ....... I couldn't say no after being asked so enthusiastically.

　It wasn't the school that asked the woman to act as a referee for the trial run.
　It was a girl who was a classmate of the student who was actually going to perform the trial run.

　At first, the woman had intended to refuse.

　It was only natural. If it was a request from the school or a third party, it was a request from the side of the person who would be conducting the trial run.
　The woman, who thought that she was probably asking for a judgment that was convenient for them, coldly rejected the request with an emotionless expression on her face.

　She didn't like the idea of trying to take advantage of the game from behind the scenes, instead of just squaring off their power fairly and squarely.
　He didn't yell at her because the other party was still a girl, but he couldn't help but feel a cold stare directed at her face.

　However, upon closer inspection, it seems that this was a woman's evil guess.
　It is said that what the girl wants from the woman is "a fair judge who will not be pointed back by anyone.

　It seems that the opponent the girl's friend is fighting is the son of the county's family, and she wants to take the initiative and recommend a judge to the school who won't support either side before they send in a judge who is under the breath of the opponent.

　It is true that it is difficult to have a fair match between the nobleman's children and the commoner's children who will be testing the waters.
　Unlike commoners, the nobles have power and financial resources, and they may use them as tangible and intangible weapons inside and outside the testing grounds.

　And even more so if the commoner side's strength is greater than the girl's, as she says.
　It is possible that a judge who unilaterally favors the aristocrat side will control the trial.
　The girl who is worried about that is not wrong.

　That's why the girl asked the woman to take on the role of referee.

　It is true that the woman has no intention of taking advantage of the fact that the examiner is a nobleman. If she had that kind of personality, she would have an easier time of it.
　In addition, women are reasonably well known as skilled searchers.
　If a woman was the judge, there would be few people who would come after her and accuse her of being a bad influence.
　The woman is slightly moved by the fact that the referee had not asked her to be the judge, but had gone out of her way to find a woman for her friend and ask her to judge fairly.

　The girl, who introduced herself as Viscountess Eleanor, bowed to the woman, who had begun to think about taking on the role of judge while remaining silent.

　The woman was surprised by this.

　Even though she was a noblewoman without a title, she was still one of the edges of a nobleman.
　On the other hand, the social status of searchers is low.

　It's a good idea to call it a meritocracy, but in reality it's the bottom of society where the majority of them are predators, just like mercenaries.
　They are often accused of being "spoiled".
　Most noblemen despise explorers, and it is common for them to be shunned by the townspeople if they are not good enough.

　If a person is as accomplished and famous as a woman, she will be respected, but even so, she will be far from being an equal.
　A young girl bowed to such a seeker and asked for a favor with civility.

　Moreover, the content of the request is 'a fair judge who will not be pointed back by anyone'.
　The only compensation is the regular amount paid by the school. It's a small amount of money in terms of revenue.

　But on the contrary, that's all.

　This is not a reason for a woman to refuse.
　If this is not the case, the woman will be out of luck.

　They were going to stay in the capital for a while to rest their spirits.
　I agreed to the girl's request, thinking it would be good to return to basics by watching the students fight.

''You seem to be in a pretty good mood for that, don't you?

　The woman's words, which could be taken as a reluctant undertaking, are met with a natural question by the man.

'Do you have that look on your face?　...... well, because it was a bit interesting for a test run between students.

Is it interesting?

　It's a good idea to have a good time with your friends.

It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for," he said, "because I heard that the students were testing each other, and that both of them were magicians, so I thought they were going to shoot each other's magic while standing at the starting point.

　When I opened the door, it was an unexpected development.

　Despite being a sorcerer, the commoner boy rushed straight at his opponent right after the start of the test.
　Moreover, as he ran to close the distance between them, he chanted a magic to blind them and then jumped into their bosom and delivered a direct blow.

　This alone is astonishing, but from there it is a magical zero-range attack without giving the opponent time to counterattack.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

That's certainly interesting. Are you really a student?

　The man's doubts are also natural.

　Certainly there are sorcerers who fight that way among the searchers.
　A mercenary sorcerer who puts himself on the battlefield with a mix of friend and foe would be able to do the same.

''I don't think he's just a student. I got the impression that he was used to fighting, and that was not only a difference in strength, but also a difference in the number of places he had experienced - I think.

　On the other hand, the nobleman's children just stood there and tried to throw powerful magic at him, while the commoner boy treated magic as a tool to be used in battle.

　In fact, he only used 'rock' and 'fireball' and elementary magic.
　But he had successfully combined the power he had, including his body arts, to make one addition to three or more.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of good reasons to be excited about this. At the same time, I got the impression that he had a clear intention in the way he constructed the battle.

　There are a lot of sorcerers who tend to be all about magic, but I didn't expect a boy who goes to the academy to fight like that, even if he is a mercenary or a seeker in the middle of a battle.
　Moreover, when he received his reward, the instructor of the academy told me that he was a first year student who had just enrolled in the academy four months ago.

　Since he was a commoner, it was unlikely that he had been educated before he entered the school.
　He had probably gained some real-world experience before he entered the school.
　There are a few children in the world who grow up with mercenary parents who take them through battle.

'And one more interesting thing - no, I saw a person.

　The woman changes the subject after she finishes telling the story of how the trial technique was settled.

　It was the time when a commoner boy named Kirill had deployed a magical barrier to prevent magic from running amok.
　Since the game was already won then, the woman had tried to break in to protect them both while warning the boys.
　I must ensure the safety of at least the noble boy who has lost his protection. As she was thinking this, the woman's eyes caught something unexpected.

　In the short time that the woman had been blinded by the runaway magic, another magic barrier had been placed on the noble boy alone.
　That barrier, which seemed to have been deployed instantly, was very solid as far as the woman could see.

　A barrier that was deployed between the time the runaway magic materialized and the time the woman moved her eyes to the noble boy.
　There was no way that the one who created it was an ordinary surgeon.

　As the woman looked around the auditorium for the surgeon, she spotted a young man with dark eyes and black hair out of the corner of her eye.

　He looked like a boy, if you could call him a boy.
　He looked almost as old as a student, but his unflappable expression, despite the runaway magic in his eyes, gave him a calmness that was unbecoming of his age.
　He wears a short, strange wisteria-colored robe, and on his forehead is a strand of violet-colored cloth that may be wrapped around his head.

'A young man with dark eyes and black hair?　A short wisteria robe?　That's ......

　He had an idea of what the woman was talking about in terms of appearance.

　The man set the mug in his hand down on the table and leaned forward.

''Yes. Probably the rumored 'sword magic user'.

　The woman says what the man is trying to say.
　Although we have never met, this is the title of a mercenary whose name is now known throughout the capital.
　It's true or not, he is a monster that has defeated the three powerful demons that have plagued the city for years by himself.

Why is such a thing in the school's proving ground?

I don't know. Maybe Count Krassel put it on his son just in case. ...... "I didn't mess with the test itself, and I put up the barrier after the fight, so it's not a violation. "I didn't do anything with the test, and I didn't put up the barrier until after the fight was over, so it's not a violation.

　If she had disregarded the rules and intended to mess with the test, even if she was dealing with the three strongest demon vanquishers, the woman would have condemned her actions with a straight face.

　But fortunately, the Sword and Sorcery Master didn't try the technique itself.
　The reason for deploying the barriers was to ensure the safety of the trialists, and since the matter was settled, the woman who was judging had no objection.

　The woman continues to say - and the woman continues to speak.

'We don't really know if he was the one who deployed the barrier or not, though.

　But the woman had a strange conviction. I'm sure that the person who put up the barrier is definitely a master of sword magic.
　It's not an ordinary skill to be able to penetrate the barrier that separates the spectator's room from the trialists and deploy magic in such a short time.
　Even though there are many sorcerers in the royal capital, there is no such thing as a roaming magician.

　The 'Three Greatest Demon Defeaters' and 'Sword and Magic User', I believe his name is Ardis or something like that.
　I would like to meet and talk with him at least once to find out what he's like, the woman murmured in her mind as she tipped her glass.