Then came the second day. Anna arrived early in the morning. Beside her stood her new friends: Miit, the candidate who had ranked just behind her the previous day; Ranpo, the one who had asked for her help; as well as a few girls and boys she had assisted.
Miit:
— "You're quite the early bird, Anna."
Anna:
— "I feel good about yesterday's exam, so I'm a little overmotivated."
— "May I ask about your strategy for today's test? I believe I'm good at mathematics and physics, but one never knows," says a boy admiring Anna.
And quite obviously, he is trying to impress her with his charm. Though, Anna is still far too young to think about romance.
— "Ah… I don't really believe I'm better at anything in particular. So I'll probably start with the subjects I understand best… if there even is something I truly master. Then I'll spend time on the difficult parts if time allows it."
— "That is perfectly reasonable logic," Ranpo affirms.
Then Ash finally joins the conversation.
— "You are quite well surrounded, Miss Anna. Good morning, everyone."
The commoner students all blush at Ash's overwhelming beauty. They answer him with bright smiles, trembling hands, and frozen expressions.
Ash continues walking among them.
— "Your work yesterday was remarkable, Miss Anna. I do not think discussing it here would be appropriate. What would you think of joining me for tea after the exams?"
— "I don't think we need to go that far."
— "Please, I insist."
— "Alright then."
— "In that case, I shall leave you to it, and I wish all of you good luck for the remainder of the exams."
— "Thank you, Sir Ash. I wish you the same for today's examination."
Ash bows before Anna before finally departing, leaving her with the others.
— "What a handsome young man. And I think he's interested in you, Anna," says Ranpo.
Then she pauses before attempting to tempt Anna further.
— "Though apparently, the eldest daughter of Duchess De Rush is here."
And Miit adds:
— "According to the rowers, she doesn't have the typical Rush features. She's blonde. They also said she looks very young. You sound like the perfect match for that description. It's you, isn't it?"
Anna sighs.
— "…Yes. It is true, Anna admits timidly. I didn't want it to become widely known, but it seems that's already hopeless."
Ranpo and her friends pause in realization.
— "To think that our governor's daughter has been watching over us this whole time," says Ranpo.
— "Please, Ranpo, don't exaggerate. I'm just a girl participating in the competition," Anna replies.
But before she can realize what is happening, Ranpo bows before her, followed by Miit, Flamn, and all the others.
— "Lady Anna Fort De Rush, you may count on me for the rest of the competition."
— "I, Miit, daughter of Sara of Monchad, swear to do the same."
— "As do I…"
…
Anna is bewildered. And then she notices the attention gathering around them, something she deeply dislikes. She quickly hurries toward the subjects and begs them to rise.
— "Please, raise your heads."
And the girls and boys obey her.
— "You are my dear friends. You are free to act however you wish. Alright?"
The girls say nothing. They simply smile foolishly. It is obvious they have absolutely no intention of obeying that order.
To them, Anna represents an opportunity to change their lives… but perhaps also an opportunity to radically transform the situation in the eastern part of the Empire.
Because although the academy does its best to bring the different classes closer together, hatred still reigns across the campus. A royal remains a royal; a commoner remains a commoner; a countess remains a countess…
Why? Because the nobles finance the academy, quite simply. And the class hierarchy exists to maintain the nation's stability. That is why the strong continue endlessly crushing the weak in order to gain influence, monopolize power, and ensure that things never change — or rather, that everything always shifts in their favor.
And yet their selfishness is not entirely without justification. The nobles are highly educated people. They sacrificed their existence for the welfare of the nation, while the commoners may enjoy quiet lives as craftsmen and farmers. Conversely, some nobles abuse their authority to enrich themselves and expand their power in service of their own ambitions. In such cases, it is the people who suffer.
That is why Miit, Ranpo, and Flamn believe they made the best possible choice in choosing Anna as the noble they would follow.
Anna is a gem.
They believe Anna is intelligent enough to rival anyone, yet still young enough — at least for now — to remain innocent and humble. Those very qualities are what allowed her to sympathize with them. Not to mention her title as future Duchess and the power tied to it. In short, these young commoner girls wish to monopolize Anna's future.
But although they do not underestimate her in the slightest, they still do not realize that they hold absolutely no influence over Anna. Because Anna is simply an existence far beyond anything they have ever known until now.
Enough chatter.
The second day's examination, as you may already suspect, is Magic Geometry — one of the most difficult subjects of all.
+ The previous day's test, graded out of 60, carries a coefficient of 2 for girls and 3 for boys. In other words, the scores are multiplied by 2 for girls and by 3 for boys.
+ Magic Geometry, however, graded out of 40, carries a coefficient of 3 for girls and only 1 for boys.
The coefficients indicate how important each examination is considered for the two genders. In this world, men fulfill more diplomatic roles than warrior ones. And while a man may excel in magical theory and calculations, without magna, Magic Geometry remains more of a general field of knowledge than a true specialization for men.
Unlike the previous exam, this one is highly individual. Mathematical and physical problems involving circles dominate the subjects, and each candidate must solve them alone.
Anna follows her own advice. She begins with the problems she masters before moving toward those that might trouble her. Except… there is nothing truly difficult for Anna here.
The first question focuses on the materialization of magna through circles. It is the very foundation of Magic Geometry. Just like incantations, circles also serve as molds that shape magna into physical form.
Yes, these were precisely the details Anna and Rias needed in order to theorize magic without incantations.
So the demonstration is not difficult.
The second question concerns storage magic, indispensable for storing magic inside scrolls or weapons — practical during expeditions and even in everyday life. Such magic is also especially important for healing.
There are three ways to store magic: the path of writing, the path of breathing, and the path of incantation.
When magna is breathed into an object, it never truly remains there permanently. However, certain formulas allow it to be trapped within specific elements. The easiest medium is parchment, while the most difficult are crystals. And recently, living beings as well — though only the handful of people who witnessed Anna's abilities know that for now.
For the breathing method, one simply prepares the circles in advance, then breathes magna into them to activate the structure. It is the most basic method, though limited to women, who possess magna.
The incantation method uses spoken incantations as keys to activate the circle. Extremely practical. Even without magna, one only needs to know the correct incantation-key to trigger the circle.
The writing method is the most practical of all, and what people truly mean when they speak of "magic storage." Circle engineers came up with the idea of removing one symbol from a circle — a symbol called the "key." One only needs to write this key in order to activate the circle.
This principle is common knowledge, though the keys themselves may vary infinitely from one formula to another. The possibilities are limitless so long as one is talented in mathematics and physics. One can even corrupt or alter the original magic depending on the chosen key.
Here, the problem asks candidates to open a circle using a written key.
A purely mathematical and physical problem. Essentially Anna's daily routine for the past two years.
So that one passes as well.
Then comes the final problem: creating a summoning circle.
The ultimate stage of Magic Geometry.
Creating an entire being through mathematics and magna is no easy task. One must combine creativity, knowledge, and logic. It is through this final problem that the greatest students distinguish themselves — and conversely, because of this problem, nobody has ever achieved a perfect score on this examination.
The best students summon dragons, phoenixes, golems, Leviathans…
Up until now, no wind-element user has ever successfully summoned anything remarkable, and everyone simply forgives them for it. The element is still considered a weak link.
Even Anna does not know what to summon. She and Rias have never truly explored the subject of summoning. Of course, she could summon a golem or a Leviathan, but she wishes to avoid suspicion.
So she has to create something new.
Of course, she could have simply relied on the first two questions to pass the examination. But Anna is innocent. She still genuinely believes she risks failure if she does not give absolutely everything she has.
Among the Rush family — and almost everywhere else in the Empire — every single day is treated as an ordeal. Make even one mistake, and failure awaits you.
That is the sort of maxim Anna carries in her mind, unaware that she has already surpassed normal standards entirely.
So even though she finished her work long before everyone else, she still forces herself to think about that cursed summoning problem.
An hour passes, and Anna continues replaying phoenix equations and messenger-bird formulas — one of the rare summons associated with the wind element.
She glances around her.
Sheyes and Kristal leave early as usual. They look at Anna with disdain. They are clearly disappointed by the level of competition. And their gazes truly pierce Anna's heart. She returns to her work with even more anxiety.
Dijiid is preparing to leave as well. She had heard Anna praised by her aunt, Majiid the Unyielding, the most powerful woman in the Empire. She merely looks at Anna, though without much judgment.
"Come on, Anna. Don't tell me you're really going to summon some pathetic messenger bird. You're better than that.
At the very least, you'd better prove yourself during the final trial. Otherwise, I'll crush you myself."
And once again, Anna exhausts every last second allotted before finally handing in her papers.