Strongest Hypnosis Charmer vs Demoness

The ''Obedience'' Girl vs the Corpse-Inviting Bird

The first stage of the First-Class Mage Exam will be conducted through parties. Therefore, I had no choice but to leave Aura and head to my party members.

To be honest, I find it a bit bothersome to have to get along with new people.

I'm not as earnestly concerned about redemption or atonement as Aura is. Well, I do have my own thoughts on it... but perhaps it's more accurate to say I can't be as serious about it as Aura.

Of course, I want to help people within my capabilities, and I'll do what I can. In the villages and towns I've visited so far, I've helped defeat monsters disrupting trade and cooperated when physical labor was needed. But... dedicating all of my free time to that... hmm.

I've had various concerns, and I even consulted with that man about whether I should be more serious, but he said, "It's fine for everyone to be different. Everyone has their own sins to bear and their own way of atonement." So, right now, I'm thinking it's okay to help people within the limits of what I want to do. Pushing myself beyond that might just lead to burnout.

With that said, while I admire Aura for her tireless efforts to help people through research and listening to their stories, my days are spent fooling around with that man.

So... in that sense, I find the party battle format for this exam a bit troublesome, to be honest.

Apart from that man and Aura, I don't really enjoy interacting with people much. I prefer studying magic alone, exploring ways of fighting, or just slacking around eating apples rather than doing something with others. So, forming an impromptu party and getting along with strangers, especially for something like this exam... yeah.

Moreover, this exam is a means to achieve the mid-level goal of "entering the northern highlands" for the overarching goal of "defeating the Demon Macht to help as many people as possible." It can't be helped, but it's too indirect, and it's not really sparking my motivation.

...However, things that need to be done must be done. Aura will probably pass the exam even without me, but... well, I also want to pass and be praised by that man. For that sake, I suppose I'll have to work hard even on things I'm not particularly interested in.

* * *

Now, the party I ended up joining is the 17th Party.

Passing mana through the bracelet on my left arm, there are two other reactions within the venue. As I started walking towards one of them, the other reaction also started moving in that direction. The remaining reaction calmly awaited us.

After a while, as I approached the magical reaction, what I saw was...

"Mm, well met. I am Edel, Second-Class Mage."

A young girl who looked to be in her early teens but speaks in an antiquated manner, quite a mismatch for a mage.

"My name is Dünste."

Few words but sporting a glorious mustache, he was an older mage.

...These two are my party members, huh?

Well, I have to make sure not to cause any trouble.

"Um, I'm Linie, a Fifth-Class Mage... Nice to meet you."

* * *

Edel speaks in a somewhat pompous manner, while Dünste rarely opens his mouth except when necessary.

Honestly, I was initially worried about whether I could have proper communication with these two...

"Let's first confirm what each of us can do. Of course, there's no need to divulge detailed information about our magic or weaknesses. From the second-stage exam onward, we may find ourselves in adversarial positions. I mainly specialize in mental magic. When it comes to mental manipulation in interpersonal interactions, there are few who can match me. By making eye contact and speaking, if you fulfill these two conditions, even with some shortage of mana, mental interference is possible. However, it's naturally tailored for interpersonal use. In battles against monsters or demons, the basics will be left to you two."