Editing Failing Witch:Volume3 Episode1 (section)

===Part 6===

The first section of the exam was Admiration.

That subject was all about extracting magical lessons from old folklore and children’s stories and then applying them to real witchcraft. The subject naturally required a lot of literary knowledge.

In other words, it was all about memorization and reading comprehension.

(What’s the magical lesson of Red Riding Hood? Don’t go out alone, don’t trust people even if they claim to be family, modern technology can conquer the age of beasts – there are a lot of them.)

Melehe Superlative thought quietly to herself while facing her answer sheet.

In literature, there wasn’t always a single answer. The trick was to identify the specific answer the problem was asking for.

In this case, it was asking for the magical lesson needed to create a talisman to ward off evil, so the part where the hunter slayed the wolf was the correct choice.

After easily passing that problem, the Rank A elite frowned a bit.

(Dammit, that pervy tutor’s quiz actually helped.)

“?”

Instructor Antoi was walking by as an examiner and gave Melehe a puzzled look.

Melehe moved on to the next problem.

Working through the long list of written problems was a lot like self-hypnosis. Each time she solved one of the difficult problems, her fully-activated mind actually seemed to empty out. She unintentionally ended up facing her own inner self. Which was why she became conscious of an oddity her subconscious had picked up on.

Something wasn’t right.

Not about the exam questions. This was a memory from shortly before the Lughnasadh exam began.

(That’s right.)



''Chloe, the mourning clothes girl who was chatting with a few other girls, noticed Yagoro’s eyes on her. For some reason, she cheerfully blew him a kiss.



Melehe had seen that same scene from within the exam room.

The blown kiss wasn’t the problem. …Well, it actually did bother her a lot for some reason, but that wasn’t the main issue here.

(''She was chatting with a few other girls''?)

Chloe was supposed to be even more of a lone wolf than Melehe.

She might give you a friendly smile, but she didn’t actually befriend or get to know anyone. Out on the streets, Melehe would have written it off as Chloe being polite or providing lip service, but what exam student had the time to spare on that sort of excess just before a written exam?

(Don’t tell me…)

Chloe studied on her own rather than relying on a prep school or tutor.

Nevertheless, that mysterious elite had managed to outdo her rivals and earn an A Rank on the official practice exam.

But now she had friends? A secret connection with others?

(Don’t tell me.)

“''Teacher.''”

An odd voice filled the silent exam site.

It acted as the beginning of an accusation.

However, this accusation came from Chloe Sharprain herself.

She was pointing directly to her side.

At the next desk over.

Where Dorothea Rockpool sat.

“''She is cheating.''”