Greetings, Automata Maid - Chapter 46.1

Let’s rewind time a little.

After Damuel announced the start of the duel, and Christina went after Natalia, Olivia was squaring off against Mathias.

“Just to make sure, you don’t plan on apologizing, do you?”

“Of course not. Classroom A is supposed to house the leaders of the future, who strive to be better everyday. I’ll cleanse it of those unfit of their place, for this kingdom’s future.”

Mathias began to focus his mana.

“Gather frozen pebbles, Ice Shot!”

A flurry of small ice chunks shot out after his chant.

He was only measuring her abilities, so Olivia was able to easily dodge them. But that was not the end of it. There were many more small pebbles of ice floating around him.

It was a simple and basic spell, but just chanting once he had activated it multiple times, while controlling each part individually.

Usually one would need to chant multiple times for multiple activations. Practice allowed one to activate it multiple times in parallel, but controlling each of them individually took even more skill.

That first spell alone showed how skilled Mathias was.

The Seperion Kingdom had grown thanks to its constant research of magic, so it was common for students to have learned magic even before entering the academy. Even more so amongst nobles.

Some had more access to early magic education than others, so to make sure everyone could progress nicely and no one fell behind their peers, the entrance exam measured their skill level and assigned them their classes accordingly. The classroom A was mainly for those with prior experience.

That was also why Olivia’s lack of basic knowledge, and inability of casting basic spells, meant she was not really fit for classroom A.

“Ice Shot!”

Olivia skillfully dodged the constant influx of projectiles. Eventually she decided to go on the offensive as well.

“Err, spurt…spring? forth, Thunder Spark.”

Olivia stammered her chant, but a spark was lit, only for an instant. Just like during the test before, Olivia’s magic blew up before it was cast. That ticked off Mathias even more, making him increase his aggression.

“I knew it, you aren’t meant to be in classroom A if you can’t successfully cast a simple spell!”

All the remaining ice chunks flew towards Olivia at the same time. There were more than ten projectiles shot at once, but none managed to touch Olivia.

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“So you can dodge even that.”

Olivia was unable to activate even the simplest of spells. Mathias’ magic skills were top notch, but Olivia dodged everything. They were essentially in a stalemate, neither side being able to take down the other. Mathias was the first to get fed up with that.

“Frozen pebbles, I grant thee wintry gales.”

Hearing that chant, Damuel strengthened the barrier surrounding the area. That chant belonged to a spell more powerful than those used so far.

“Huh, we can use medium level magic too1?”

Olivia muttered with slight confusion, but she ground her feet and put her fist forward.

“Hail Storm!”

Hail Storm, a medium level Ice Magic spell that shot countless chunks of ice carried inside a powerful gust of wind.

“Well, I’ll do that too then. Sparkling Lightning Discharge!”

Olivia’s fist seemed to flash multiple times, shooting lightning bolts forward which completely consumed the icy tornado that was about to reach her. Everyone was left speechless at that unexpected turn of events. Only Damuel sighed while massaging his temples.

“W-what was that just now…”

Mathias struggled to comprehend what was happening, and Olivia took advantage of that to rush in and attempt to punch him.

He quickly moved out of the way, Olivia’s fist barely missing next to his ear. But she had planned more than one attack. Before Mathias could fix his posture, she punched his unprotected chest.

“Guh!”

He staggered for a moment, letting out a pained moan, but he quickly stood up straight and chanted again.

“Pierce and soar through the frigid nights, edge of ice.”

“Lightning surge, swirl!”

Mathias had already started chanting when Olivia responded.

“Icicle Spear!”

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His chant was complete and he produced a large icicle.

“Thunderstorm!”

But Olivia also finished at the same time, a mass of lightning like a whirlpool spreading from her. The two spells collided, essentially canceling each other out.

“How’s that possible!”

Mathias was utterly confused. But Olivia did not stop, she charged into the white cloud, all that remained from their earlier spells, and went to attack again.

“Shell Fang!”

She punched with all her body-weight, her fist covered in mana and wind magic. Mathias’ body was lifted up the ground and flew back tracing a parable in the air.

“Ghuh!”

Bam!

Mathias painfully tried to pull himself up, but he felt a fist hit his head again, pushing him down onto the ground. He instantly realized the position he was in, and decided to accept the facts.

“I surrender. I lost.”

He quickly told Damuel.

“Mathias and Christina lose. It’s Olivia and Natalia’s victory!”

There was a long delay before the audience reacted. The school year had barely begun and a duel broke out, and no one had anticipated that outcome. Olivia relaxed her fist and stretched her hand out.

“Can you stand?”

“Yeah.”

Mathias took Olivia’s hand to pull himself on his feet, proceeding to dust off his uniform while readjusting his posture.

“I’m sorry I insulted you two like that.”

“Apology accepted.”

Olivia nodded while Mathias bowed to her. At last, the conflict sparked by Olivia’s below optimal performance came to an end. Though there were still loose ends.

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When Mathias raised his head, it was obvious he was displeased. But not because he had lost the duel. While defeat was still hard to accept, he had the decency to admit when he fell short compared to others.

What bothered him was the same issue that had caused the entire conflict.

“Why is it that you’re underperforming so much while being so strong?! I would’ve never said anything if you showed this power during class!”

While the insults to Ophelia had triggered the duel, it had all started because Mathias was dissatisfied with Olivia’s academic results. Most of his suspicions were unfounded, but the underlying truth was that Olivia did not reach the same standards as the other students. He was not the only one who found that odd.

“Hmm, I’m actually curious about that as well.”

“Me too. Could you please explain, Young Lady?”

“Urgh…”

Olivia looked uncomfortable as Damuel and Natalia joined the conversation. Neither of them seemed to find it funny though. Natalia had always thought her duty was to protect Olivia.