"Sorry, I got confused. I thought that... no, never mind. Tell me, would you like to join our group?"
I could only see her nose and soft pink lips peeking out from under her hood, but even then, I could tell she was a woman. It wasn't hard to notice — her figure gave her away, though... it's kind of embarrassing to admit that.
She seemed too shy to answer. In fact, now that I looked at her more closely, I felt a bit guilty for having grabbed her wrist so abruptly. She was a girl… maybe I scared her.
"I'd like to join. I'm the only one left without a group, though… I'm not as strong as you guys," she murmured, barely raising her voice.
"That doesn't matter. I'm sure you'll be of help."
"…Okay. If I can help… then it's fine."
I didn't need to guide her by the hand anymore. This time, she began walking on her own, timid steps right behind me.
When we arrived with the others, I noticed that neither Valentina nor Marie asked any questions. They probably understood we had no other choice.
"I-I hope we can get along!" she suddenly said, lowering her head in an awkward and slightly misplaced bow.
She was a lot more nervous than I expected. Valentina and Marie exchanged glances, surprised by her behavior.
Marie, trying to ease the tension, gave her a gentle smile.
"You don't have to bow. We're all the same age here, so don't worry."
"Y-Yes… thank you…"
The atmosphere grew a bit awkward due to how nervous she looked. In fact… now that I think about it, I don't even know how many points she got in the magic evaluation.
"Alright, now that everyone is in a group, I'll explain the rules," announced the professor, drawing all eyes toward him.
"This will be the second and final evaluation. It's a relay race. That's why I grouped you into teams of four. Each person will run five hundred meters, and pass the team's baton to the next runner at the hand-off point."
He pointed to a scorched rock, still smoking from the impact of his previous attack.
"It's not just about speed. You'll also have to defend your baton from the other teams. The first three teams to reach the end will earn bonus points."
He paused briefly, then added in a serious tone:
"These points will be important later on. They might boost your overall grade during the school year."
We all nodded almost in unison, ready to begin.
Now we had to decide the running order. The problem was… where should we place her?
I figured it was best to have her run the final stretch. That way, she could adjust her pace based on how things went beforehand. Of course, that meant I would have to cover the second half.
We couldn't afford to lose.
I gathered the group and explained the plan: Valentina would start, Marie would go second, I'd go third… and Reena would close the race.
…Reena?
That's when I realized I didn't even know her name.
"Sorry, I should've asked earlier… What's your name?"
"Oh… right. Sorry for not saying it sooner. My name is Reena Cromwell. I'm sorry, I should've introduced myself at the beginning."
As she spoke, she nervously fidgeted with her fingers, unable to hold eye contact.
"Thanks for telling us. The girl on your left is Marie Withe. To your right is Valentina Grey. And I'm Garieth Kael. I hope we can all get along."
I tried to make her feel more comfortable with a few words of encouragement, but we still had to finalize everyone's role. Time was running out.
When the professor gave the signal, we all took our positions. There were about ten runners per lap—we had to place in the top three to earn extra points.
The instructor raised his right hand. Valentina took a deep breath, like she was reciting a concentration spell.
As he lowered his arm, everyone burst forward at full speed. We were allowed to zigzag through the forest between the trees, and that's exactly what Valentina did. Beside her, a boy from Worder's team ducked branches while shooting bursts of water to clear his path.
That trick gave him a slight edge… but Valentina kept accelerating, pulling ahead.
In a whisper, she told me, "Leave it to me. I'll go as fast as I can."
I watched her disappear among the trees with feline grace, dodging the branches like it was part of a routine training session.
When she reached Marie, Marie handed her the baton with a confident smile.
"It's your turn, Reena! You've got this!"
Reena launched forward with such energy I thought she'd break the record. But this wasn't an ordinary race—her speed and movements were awkward, shaky with each step. Slowly, the other runners began to catch up.
Suddenly, an explosion rang out—Reena tripped and fell. Behind her, Worder Ronny reappeared, moving with unstoppable force, showing the clear difference between them.
Reena whimpered, covering her head with her arms, defeated on the ground.
"Come on, Reena Cromwell! You can do it! Only 351 meters left!"
I cheered her on with all my strength. Hearing my voice, Reena wiped her tears with one swift motion and, with a roar of will, got back on her feet. She started running again, each step more determined than the last.
When she finally reached me, her breathing was ragged and her legs were trembling. We were now several meters behind second place.
"That's it… Go on, Kael. I don't think I can keep going," she panted, handing me the baton.
"It's okay. I've got this. Thank you for your effort," I whispered, reaching out to take it.
Then I began my leg of the race. Fatigue weighed down every muscle, but I didn't care—I had to give it everything. I cut through the forest, boosted by streams of air and thin curtains of water barely visible, yet forcefully pushing me forward.
I passed one runner, then another, until I reached third place. The clock was ticking, and my heart was pounding at full speed.
(If I don't go faster, this won't be enough…)
With one final push, I doubled my speed and overtook the third runner. Now I was right behind second place… but the remaining stretch was too short. In the end, I crossed the finish line in third.
We'd made the cut. That was what truly mattered. The effort and speed had been worth every drop of sweat.
As expected, Worder Ronny's team came in first, no questions asked. Now all that was left was to wait for the final evaluation.
I just hope our performance earns us a good score…