Reflection After the Exam

When Team 277 emerged from the maze, there were already hundreds of examinees at the exit.

Clearly, Larkspur and his companions didn't find the exit particularly quickly.

Although Tudingui had used her full abilities, their location was simply too poor—after venturing into several nodes, they were quite far from the actual exit, so even if they rushed as fast as they could, it still took them nearly an hour to reach the exit.

Larkspur had no particular thoughts about this result. After all, compared to the tens of thousands of test takers, being among the top few hundred to find the maze exit was already quite good. Adding the bonus points Team 277 earned within the maze, their final total score ranked third, which was remarkably excellent. In fact, considering Larkspur's desire to keep a low profile, this result was almost too good to be true.

However, Tudingui did not seem to be entirely satisfied with the result.

Although she didn't outwardly reveal much emotion, Larkspur noticed the slight urgency she showed when exploring the exit, and the disappointment she felt when she learned that she was already ranked outside the top 100 in the queue to leave the exit.

"It's only the first round of practical assessment, so this can already be considered a good start, right?"

Taking advantage of Tudingui's break, Larkspur casually remarked, "If we perform consistently and achieve good rankings in the next few assessments, it's not impossible for us to win first place, is it?"

"Hmm? Ah."

Realizing that the Larkspur was speaking to him, Tudingui paused for a few seconds before softly replying, "Sorry, did I make my disappointment too obvious?"

Larkspur hadn't expected her to be so direct.

"... No, at least the Foxtail Grass probably didn't notice."

After thinking for a moment, she decided not to keep hiding it any longer. "I didn't really sense any 'disappointment' from you, but logically I felt that you might not be so satisfied with this result."

"Yes, I am somewhat dissatisfied."

Perhaps because she had expended a lot of magic in the maze, Tudingui had already deactivated her transformation. She took off her coat and held it in her arms, stating bluntly, "I would rather be number one."

"That's easy to tell."

Larkspur nodded. "And what you want, senior, isn't first place in a particular assessment, but first place in this year's assessment, right?"

"...Of course." Tudingui hesitated slightly, "In fact, I have to be number one."

This explanation sounds like something you'd hear in a class when a top student cries because they didn't get a perfect score on a test.

"You have very high standards for yourself."

Larkspur paused for a moment, then said, "But with so many people participating in this assessment, there must be many outstanding candidates. Having the mindset of 'only wanting to be number one' will make things very difficult for you."

"I know."

Tudingui, clutching his coat, nodded. "That's why I think if we can do better in the first assessment, our chances of getting first place overall will be much greater."

"Ha." Faced with this self-torturing level of self-discipline and logic, Larkspur could utter was this exclamation.

"I'm sorry." Hearing Larkspur's sigh, Tudingui apologized softly.

Why the sudden apology?

"These are all my own requirements for myself, but since we are now a small team, we will more or less affect you in the next few projects," Tudingui said earnestly.

"In that case, shouldn't I apologize to you, senior?"

Larkspur looked completely bewildered. "After all, I've already made it clear from the start that I'm not some kind of powerful magical girl. If you were to team up with me, it certainly wouldn't be of much help in your goal of 'competing for first place'."

"But if it weren't for being on my team, a normal candidate would only need to get a 'pass' grade."

Tudingui clearly believed in his own logic. "And in order to achieve my own goals, I might semi-coercely push you all forward in the upcoming projects."

How exactly was this child raised?

Surprisingly, Larkspur began to feel that Tudingui was also quite a troublesome child.

She had no doubt that if it were her own daughter, who single-handedly led the entire team to first place in the maze exploration and then achieved third place in the overall assessment, she would be incredibly proud of herself, thinking, "You should all thank me and praise me."

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the vast majority of people would have a similar mindset in such situations.

On the other hand, Tudingui, who clearly did the most work and made the most contributions in the team, is now apologizing to his teammates, feeling that not getting first place means he didn't do enough?

"I want to get good grades, senior Tudingui."

Controlling her facial expression, Larkspur said as calmly as possible, "And as far as I know, Senior Foxtail Grass probably thinks the same way. So you don't need to feel that 'wanting to be number one' is just wishful thinking on your part. If possible, we all hope that's the case."

Of course, this is a lie.

In fact, Larkspur herself did not want to be number one at all. Rather, she was exactly the kind of person that Tudingui had mentioned earlier, who "only wanted to get a passing grade."

What she's saying now is entirely based on the assumption that a magical girl like Gentian truly exists, and how a newcomer like her would feel when participating in the assessment.

It would be strange if a rookie magical girl taking the exam for the first time didn't want to get a good score.

"However, even if we wanted a high score, without you being assigned to our team, Senior Foxtail Grass and I probably wouldn't have been able to achieve such good results. So, you are actually the hero of our team right now."

Larkspur tried her best to embody the role of "Gentian" and said to Tudingui in a very serious tone, "In my opinion, you have done a very good job, and it is quite remarkable. Senior Tudingui, I am very grateful to you."

"... Thank you for saying that."

The encouragement from his "junior" probably did make Tudingui a little happier, and a hint of joy appeared on his serene expression. "Yes, I should actually thank you too, Gentian. Although I don't know why, I feel that you said a lot of things that were very valuable to me today, including now, I've learned a lot."

"It's just some snippets of knowledge I've picked up from others. If it's of any use to you, senior, that would be wonderful."

Larkspur responded modestly, "I hope you can cheer up, senior. After all, our team's ranking in the next few assessments depends entirely on you."

For a moment, the atmosphere between the two became quite harmonious. If the teachers of the Silver Gallery were to see such a polite and respectful conversation, they would probably be listed as a typical case of "Magical Girl Squad Workplace Etiquette".

"Yes, I will."

Tudingui smiled slightly, "Instead, please leave it to me."

"That's truly reassuring," Larkspur replied with a polite smile.

"However, Gentian."

"What's wrong, senior?"

"Well, although it might be a somewhat abrupt request, or you could say it's just my personal preference, but..."

For some reason, Tudingui suddenly became somewhat shy, and then, rather hesitantly, said:

"If possible, could you please stop calling me 'senior' and start calling me 'older sister' instead?"