Chapter 55: Is it funny that I ranked last?

A few days ago.

As the date for the Starsea Magic Academy’s entrance exam drew near, the Charlotte family began to busy themselves with preparations.

Fortunately, Mom Rhynes, being a veteran Archwitch, knew exactly what was needed for the entrance process.

While everyone was busy in an orderly fashion, a crystal ball suddenly appeared in the living room.

“What is this…”

Charlotte, who was the first to spot the crystal ball, looked confused.

“Isn’t this a magic testing crystal ball? Why is it here?” Rhynes, who followed her, also didn’t know why this object had suddenly appeared in her home.

But before long, Roland, who was rushing to get dressed after overslept, ran over and explained.

“Oh, that’s a valuable piece of merchandise our merchant guild is about to transport to the royal capital. I have to hurry and take it to the guild.”

“I see. Well, since the crystal ball is here, why don’t we have Charlotte test her magic power now?”

Rhynes decided on the spot, which put Roland, who was in a hurry to get to work, in a difficult position.

“My dear, don’t you want to know how powerful our daughter is?”

“No, I don’t mean that.” Left with no choice, Roland reluctantly allowed Rhynes’s use of company property for private matters. “Be careful, both of you! That crystal ball is very expensive!”

“Alright, your father has permitted us to use it. Charlotte, gently touch it with your right hand.”

“Yes, Mom Rhynes!”

Encouraged by Mom Rhynes, Charlotte raised her right hand and gently placed it on the surface of the crystal ball.

A dazzling light flashed from inside the crystal ball, causing Rhynes’s eyes to widen in shock.

“Wow! Charlotte’s Magic Rank is the highest SSS Rank! As expected of my daughter!”

“Is that very powerful?”

“Of course it is! Even your Master Chloe only scored an unremarkable Rank S when she was tested!”

“Rank S is considered unremarkable? What kind of monsters were in my Master’s class?”

“Are you finished with the test? If you are, I’ll take it to the guild!” Roland, who was clueless about magic, urged them.

“Alright, alright, dear, you go on!”

However, the moment Charlotte took her hand off the crystal ball, a strange sound came from inside it.

“Hmm? What was that sound?”

As everyone looked down at the crystal ball, a long crack had already appeared on its surface, and the crack was rapidly expanding.

In the blink of an eye, the crystal ball shattered on the spot, its pieces scattering everywhere. Charlotte, standing nearby, was utterly startled.

“Ah— Why did this crystal ball break? I didn’t do anything!”

“The crystal ball!” Roland immediately wailed, clutching his head. This was an extremely important piece of merchandise. If it didn’t arrive at its destination intact, his guild would have to pay a very expensive breach of contract penalty.

He shot a pleading look at Rhynes.

Fortunately, he had a witch for a wife. Whenever his goods ran into trouble, Rhynes could always use magic to help him out.

This time should be no different.

If Rhynes couldn’t restore the crystal ball, he would…

Fortunately, Rhynes quickly pulled out her wand. After chanting a few spells softly, the shattered pieces on the floor reassembled, as if time had reversed, restoring the crystal ball to its original state.

“That’s great!” Roland sighed in relief.

However, the words Rhynes spoke next made his heart leap back into his throat.

“I’m sorry, dear. I might have to disappoint you this time. This crystal ball is special because it’s specifically designed to test magic power. It has very complex magic circuits inside. My magic can only restore its physical form. Restoring the magic circuits inside requires some rare materials, which is something I can’t do right now.”

“Eh? Does that mean…”

“Even if you transport it intact, you’re still going to have to pay the penalty.”

“Eek!” Roland’s face filled with horror.

“Well! I do know a very capable instructor. It might not be too late if you go to him now and ask him to fix the magic circuits inside!”

Rhynes replied with a smile. Hearing this, Roland’s anxiety eased slightly.

“Really?”

After settling Roland, Charlotte asked, confused.

“Mom Rhynes? Why did the crystal ball suddenly shatter?”

“That’s probably because, Charlotte, your magic power far exceeded the crystal ball’s measurable limit. Such immense power is unprecedented! When you go to take the entrance exam in a few days, you must hold back! If you accidentally blow up their most precious crystal ball, your Dad Roland will have an even bigger headache!”

****

Having already experienced accidentally shattering a crystal ball, Charlotte consciously reduced the magical output from her palm by half during this test.

But the result was that the crystal ball still shattered. It didn’t even have time to emit a glow. Charlotte couldn’t help but wonder, ‘How old is this antique crystal ball anyway?’

The surrounding witches were all thrown into a panic, utterly flustered when the crystal ball suddenly exploded into fragments.

“Why did the crystal ball suddenly explode?”

“This crystal ball has been passed down for five hundred years!”

“If the Academy Head finds out, won’t we all be ruined?”

Just as everyone was at a loss, a silver-haired, short-haired witch descended from the second floor.

“Instructor Mashiro!” One of the witches, as if clutching at a lifeline, immediately sought help from the silver-haired witch.

Charlotte’s gaze also fell upon the silver-haired witch.

She was a remarkably beautiful girl with an outstanding presence. Her expression was completely impassive, like an iceberg, and her eyes were as sharp as an arctic storm. She radiated no hint of timidity.

Her mere appearance silenced everyone. She seemed to be a key figure with a lot of authority in the Starsea Magic Academy.

For some reason, Charlotte saw a familiar shadow in the silver-haired witch.

Sister Shiro, the one who had almost killed her with a single spell two years ago.

Charlotte shook her head.

‘No, it can’t be that coincidental. Their hair colors are different!’

After walking down the stairs, Mashiro looked at the shattered crystal fragments on the floor. Without even frowning, she pulled out her wand and softly chanted a few spells. Instantly, the fragments gathered together, and in less than two seconds, a brand new crystal ball was completely restored.

“Miss Miyo, I’ll leave the rest to you.” Mashiro said unemotionally to the empty air in front of her.

“Oh! Leave it to me!” A voice from the empty air replied in kind.

Then, in the next second, a red-haired girl with a very unique style of dress emerged from the shadow in front of Mashiro.

“Eh?” Everyone present, including Charlotte and Elsa, looked surprised.

‘Someone was actually hiding in that corner! Where did this sneaky person come from?’

Miyo squatted down and carefully examined the crystal ball that Mashiro had just restored to its original form.

“As you mentioned before, the magic circuits inside are quite badly damaged! It looks like it suffered a powerful, instantaneous seventeen-part split. It will probably take me a while.”

Saying this, Miyo extended her black right hand, preparing to start the repairs.

That right hand didn’t look like it was wearing a black glove.

Charlotte stood nearby, silently observing Miyo’s actions.

Then, she saw Miyo snap off her right middle finger and pull out a screwdriver-like tool from the broken finger.

“Oh?” Seeing this, little Charlotte was slightly startled.

‘Is that right hand actually a prosthetic limb?’

After pulling a small repair tool out of her right middle finger, Miyo seemed to sense the strange looks from the crowd and looked up at Mashiro.

“Why don’t you all proceed with the next test? I might be busy here for a long time!”

“That works. I’ll leave this crystal ball to you, then! Nina, you stay and assist Miss Miyo. The rest of you follow me to the next testing hall.”

“Yes!” The other witches responded in unison.

“Um,” before Charlotte could speak, Elsa, who was not far away, spoke first. “So, what was her exam score?”

“Hmm?” Mashiro’s gaze fell upon the light blue-haired little princess behind her.

The witch next to her quietly informed Mashiro.

“Her name is Elsa York. She was the only one in this Magic Power test with a Magic Rank of SS.”

“Is that so? That’s quite a shame.”

“Eh?” Elsa didn’t understand what Mashiro meant.

“Charlotte’s Magic Rank is SSS.”

“Eh?” This time, it was the record-keeping witch’s turn to look stunned. “Instructor Mashiro, did you say that correctly? This child is Rank SSS?”

“Otherwise, the crystal ball wouldn’t have shattered so easily.”

Although it was hard to believe, they had no choice but to trust Instructor Mashiro’s judgment.

The witch next to her immediately filled in SSS as Charlotte’s exam score.

Only then did Charlotte realize that this woman named Mashiro seemed to have known from the beginning that she would shatter the crystal ball and had arranged for a repair technician to be waiting here.

No wonder her name had been placed last on the list. Neither the spelling nor the pronunciation of her name would ever put her last.