"I don't accept this. I don't want to be paired with her. I demand a redraw," the student said.

  "There will be no redraw, Ray Clemence. This drawing was conducted fairly and honestly, so what right do you have to refuse this drawing just because you were paired with an Elf? I've already mentioned the academy's rule of 'don't discriminate against others,' right? But you casually said, 'Elves are disgusting,' while I was still here. It seems you must be punished for that,"

  "After this lesson is over, please come with me to the faculty and staff building. And even if you protest, your partner in this exam will not change. If you continue to protest, you will be expelled from this second exam and will not earn any points," Mr. Alan said.

  "Tch," Ray said.

  "Hmmm, so his name is Ray Clemence. From his behavior, he seems like a nobleman, even though he doesn't hold a high position," I thought.

  -

  The pairing drawing was complete. Charles was paired with a female student named Lotta Ertz.

  "It's a pleasure to be paired with you, prince. Please help me," said Lotta.

  "Please help me too, you don't have to be so formal. Just call me by my name," said Charles.

  Meanwhile, Chloe was paired with a male student named Mauro Alves.

  "It's an honor to be paired with you, Princess. Please help me," said Mauro.

  "Yes, I need your help too," said Chloe.

  Enzo also got a partner from another student he hadn't met before. And Kotaro, he's paired with Lily for this exam. Meanwhile, I was paired with a girl named Julie Harder.

  "I never thought I'd be paired with the strongest student in this class. Please help me, Rid," said Julie.

  "Yes, please help me too," I said.

  It seemed the other female students were looking at Julie with envy.

  "Since you've each been assigned a partner, you can practice together for the second exam. I'll explain the details of the rules for the second exam when it begins next Sunday. And since it's time to go home, we'll end our lesson for today. See you tomorrow," said Mr. Alan.

  "Practicing with partners, huh? It seems quite difficult for Leandra, considering she's been assigned a partner like that," I thought.

  -

  The next morning.

  I was training Irene, Leandra, and Lily at the first-year training ground as usual. But suddenly, we had an unexpected visitor.

  "Good morning, everyone," said Julie.

  "Julie? Why are you here?" I asked.

  "Well, I've heard that you and Princess Irene often practice here in the morning. So I wanted to come here to practice, after all, we'll be paired for the exam. But I didn't expect Leandra and Lily to be here too," said Julie.

  "Well, they're here to practice too. Judging by your casual address of Leandra and Lily, you seem close to them," I said.

  "Well, that doesn't mean we are close, but I've chatted with them both before, and even with Princess Irene," Julie said.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The three of them nodded in agreement.

  "I see, so you're here to practice together too, huh?" I asked.

  "Yes, I'd like to practice together too, if you don't mind," Julie said.

  "I don't mind, but..." I said.

  "I wouldn't mind if she practiced with us," Irene said.

  "Me too," Leandra and Lily said.

  "...Okay, if you don't mind, you can practice with us from now on," I said.

  "Thank you, everyone," Julie said.

  Then Julie joined us in practicing.

  -

  I observed Julie as she practiced. She was a bow user with electric magic. Since we'll be paired up for the second exam, she'll be a great support for me, as she uses a bow for long-range attacks, while I'll be the one doing the melee. I taught her some techniques that might be useful. Although she struggled to learn them at first, she gradually got the hang of them.

  "Even though you're paired with me, you're still practicing diligently, huh? If my partner were someone else, I don't think she'd practice as diligently as I do, assuming I can complete this exam on my own without her help," I said.

  "I feel the same way. I feel like you can complete this exam without my help. But I want to be of some use as your partner, even if my role is minimal," Julie said.

  "I see, that's a good idea. Even if the help you're giving seems small to you, it could be very useful for the person you're helping," I said.

  Then I approached Leandra and Lily to train them. Meanwhile, Julie approached Irene to chat.

  "Princess Irene, I want to apologize," Julie said.

  "Apologize about what?" Irene asked.

  "Well, I'm sorry that I'm Rid's partner. I was afraid you'd be jealous seeing me as Rid's partner in this exam," Julie said.

  "It's okay. This is just an exam, after all," Irene said.

  "I see. Thank you for your understanding, Princess Irene," Julie said.

  "Yes," Irene said.

  Then we all continued practicing until we were finished. After finishing, we chatted for a while in the training area.

  "It seems difficult for you, Leandra, to find a partner like that," Julie said.

  "Yes, you're right," Leandra said.

  "Master Alan said we should train with our partners to improve our chemistry. But it seems like your partner doesn't want to train with you. Let alone train, he doesn't even want to be close to you. He's very arrogant, even though he's only a low-ranking noble," Julie said.

  "Yes, you're right, but never mind. Maybe I just didn't have much luck in this exam," Leandra said.

  "Don't talk like that, Lea," Lily said.

  "Lily's right. You can still complete this second exam on your own if your partner isn't reliable," I said.

  "Completing this exam alone? That doesn't seem possible," Leandra said.

  "Of course it's possible. The person you are now is different from the person you were before. Don't you feel the difference in your strength before and after my training?" I asked.

  "Hmm, well, I feel like I've gotten a little stronger. But only a little," Leandra said.

  "It's okay, the important thing is that you've gotten stronger. If you're confident in your strength, winning without your partner's help isn't difficult," I said.

  "Hmm, okay, I'll try later if my partner really isn't reliable," Leandra said.

  -

  Then it was afternoon at the academy.

  Since the second exam was a week away, the academy only took place on the training grounds, with no theory lessons in class. Since we were at the training grounds, we started practicing with our respective partners. I practiced with Julie to improve our chemistry. I noticed the other students practicing, including Leandra. And sure enough, Leandra's current partner, Ray, didn't want to practice with her.

  "Stay away from me, practice on your own. We may be paired up for this exam, but I can pass this exam on my own without your help," Ray said.

  Leandra remained silent as she listened to Ray.

  "He's really a jerk," Julie said.

  "Leave him alone, he'll regret not practicing with Leandra," I said.

  Then I looked around again. Charles and Lotta seemed to be practicing together too. From what I could see, Lotta was a sword user like Charles, but she used earth magic. Chloe was also practicing with her partner, Mauro. Mauro uses a spear like Noa, but he uses a different elemental magic, using water. Kotaro also appears to be practicing with Lily. Meanwhile, Noa is also practicing with Irene. But Noa seems nervous while practicing with Irene.

  "Are you okay? You look uncomfortable," Irene asked.

  "I-I'm fine, Ice Princ-ah, I mean Princess I-Irene," Noa said.

  "I see. If you're okay, let's continue practicing," Irene said.

  "O-okay," Noa said.

  I continued to stare at the two of them practicing together.

  "At the celebration party after completing the first exam, he also seemed nervous after learning that Irene was attending. And now he seems even more nervous knowing that Irene is his exam partner. But this is a good opportunity to overcome your nervousness around Irene, Noa. If you keep interacting with Irene, you'll be able to interact with her normally. Just like you did with Charles, Chloe, and Lillian," I said.

  Then I practiced again with Julie.

  -

  A week passed, and today, the second exam began.

  - Continued