The afternoon came quickly.
At that moment, the setting sun over the magical city of Äußerst cast a warm orange glow through the floor-to-ceiling windows, stretching in from the distant lakeside and spilling into the absurdly spacious living room of the carriage.
The living room was livelier than usual.
That was because, besides the four regulars—Annie, Frieren, Fern, and Elaina—there were two guests now: Kanne and Lawine, who had arrived half an hour earlier.
The two young mages had teamed up with Frieren in the first round of the exam, then been rescued by Annie and Elaina during yesterday's second round. Now they sat somewhat stiffly on the comfortable velvet sofa, carefully holding the fragrant flower tea Fern had brought them.
"Thank you..."
Kanne murmured her thanks as Fern refilled her cup.
"Sorry for the trouble, Fern."
Lawine spoke softly, too.
After exchanging courtesies and chatting casually for a while over two cups of tea, Kanne and Lawine finally prepared to explain why they had come—to get down to business.
"Here's the situation."
"We found out some inside information about the third round of the exam, so..."
"After thinking it over, we decided we should tell you ahead of time, so you'd all be prepared."
Kanne took a sip of her flower tea, then looked at Annie and Elaina before speaking.
Since Annie and Elaina had rescued them in the previous round, the two had come straight here as soon as they got the information. They figured it would be good to let Annie and the others know a day early.
"That's right!"
"From what we heard through our families and some of our seniors, the format for the third round seems to have been decided."
"The Magic Association won't announce it until tomorrow afternoon, and the exam starts the