Kays Translations

Chapter 16: Riding test

I told the stable master the horse’s name and she was brought to me, where I quickly installed the riding equipment.

I said to her, “Please do as we’ve practiced,” and mounted the horse I had borrowed from the school.

Thanks to the fact that I had been practicing every day for the past week, I was able to get ready quite smoothly.

I’m getting pretty nervous, as are the expectations of the people around me. I wonder if I’ll be able to do it right.

Just before the show, my anxiety shot through the roof and I scrunched up my expression.

Perhaps sensing the rider’s anxiety, the white horse glanced back at me.

“Is everything all right?” I relax my shoulders for a moment at the questioning look in her eyes.

I can’t be anxious. I’ll do the best I can. Above all, it would be a waste of her effort, who has been practicing with me for a week at ──── I have to do my best for her, who has adapted to my messed up test preparation.

“It’s going to be okay. Let’s work together.”

When I smiled at her, the white horse neighed as if to say, “Of course”.

Once again, I was prepared to enter the race track with her and stand in the starting position.

I was no longer anxious or hesitant at all.

“Charlotte-san, are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m always ready.”

Smiling, I squeeze the reins of my horse and look firmly ahead.

The students around me were expecting too much from me, but I didn’t care anymore.

We’ll just do what we practiced and give it our best. I don’t want anything more than that.

“Now then, we are going to conduct the riding test for Charlotte Luna Meyers ──── in position, yah ……!”

The sound of a gong rang out with a clang and I rushed off with the white horse with great vigor.

Gripping the reins tightly so as not to be swept off my feet, I sped up rapidly.

We easily leaped over the obstacle, which was about the height of an adult man’s waist.

Ohhhh! I quickly make a lap around the course amidst the cheers of the people around me.

Finally the second lap. …… I guess it’s time to start preparing for the magic circle. During the buildup, the horse loses control, but she’s smart enough to handle it. She should be fine, except when it comes to jumping over obstacles.

I took hold of the reins again, exhaled a breath of air and pointed my right hand upward.

I drew a magic circle on my palm, which I had created through trial and error, with a thread of magic from my fingertips.

“Eh? Charlotte-san is drawing a magic circle while riding a horse?”

“What? No way! How dexterous is she!?”

“I know she’s confident, but if she’s not carefully, she’ll fall off her horse. …… More importantly, what kind of magic circle is Mistress Charlotte working on?”

“I don’t know. I can’t see much from here.”

The students, staring at my hand as if they were devouring it, frowned, saying, ‘That’s quite a complicated technique’.

I ignore the stares that pierce my surroundings as I leap over the obstacle, building a magic circle.

I finally complete the magic circle, repeating short breaths of ‘haa…haa’.

Looking down at the magic circle, which should be called the fruit of my sweat and effort, I relaxed my cheeks.

At any rate, now we are all set. All I have to do now is to watch the timing and activate it. As for the scoring criteria, that’s already taken care of.

With the purple-glowing magic circle in my hand, I ran across the racetrack and jumped over the last obstacle of the second lap …… or rather, the last obstacle of the riding test.

Finally, as we approach the fateful third lap, I deploy a test-prep magic circle in front of me.

The magic circle, imbued with a large amount of magical power, glimmered and created a semi-transparent boundary …… or slope from a flat area a few meters ahead to the obstacle at the very front. Beyond that is a new path about a meter high, also made of barriers.

This way, I don’t have to jump over every single obstacle. Just run straight. But there is still one thing missing. That is ────.

“ ──── Soil!”

As soon as I said that, another magic built into the magic circle was activated, giving further changes to the easy road.

Dirt as fine as sand was poured into the barrier, fulfilling the condition of ‘running on the ground’.

Frankly, it was just a quibble, but anything was fine as long as it wasn’t against the rules.

“Hey! Is that okay?”

“It’s not against the rules and I don’t think it’s a big deal. Well, I do think it’s a little cunning.”

“I admire Charlotte-san’s ideas and energy, but frankly, isn’t that a waste of talent?”

“Indeed.”

I let out a giggle at the feedback flying in from all over the place and head straight for the completed easy road.

I ran up the relatively gentle slope and pushed forward on the new road created in the air.

Exhausted already at this point, I gripped the reins of my horse, whimpering.

I frowned at the large amount of sweat beading on my forehead and vowed to take a shower as soon as I got back home.

“Hmmm…? What’s that? What!??”

One of the students surrounding the racetrack seemed to raise his voice as if in a hurry and pointed behind me.

The other students, startled by his loud voice, moved their faces to follow his gaze and …… exclaimed.

I was surprised to see that the easy road I had passed through had already been demolished and cleaned up────

“Oh, hey …… am I looking at this wrong? The dirt created by Charlotte-san’s magic that’s been collected in the corner of the racetrack……”

“Don’t worry. Your eyes are normal. I see it too.”

“I’m glad you’re thinking about the rest of us and cleaning up properly, but this is ……”

“I finally understand why the procedure was so complicated. That’s what happens when you even add a cleanup function.”

The students looked at me with indescribable expressions, half in admiration and half in dismay.

While a delicate atmosphere pervades the place, the soil of the easy road is collected in one place by wind magic. The translucent barriers used as a substitute for the foundation also disappeared when they finished their task.

After confirming that the magic circle was working properly, I looked ahead once again. The goal was almost there.

I ran down the easy road downhill and headed in a straight line toward the goal. And ──── I managed to complete the third lap in one piece.

“Haa.. haa…… I can’t do this anymore……”

I wipe away the sweat, feeling mildly dizzy as I reach my physical and muscular limits.

As I was completely out of breath, Nigel-sensei, the test director, climbed over the racetrack fence in front of me.

He smiled at me as he walked toward me, not seeming particularly alarmed.

“It was a very interesting race, Charlotte-san. I didn’t think you’d poke holes in the rules in such a way. This has been a good morning for me.”

Squinting with amusement, Nigel-sensei reaches up between the horse’s eyebrows and pats it lightly.

“You did well, too,” he told the horse, the corners of his mouth loosely upturned.

“You’re not breaking any rules, so I’m going to give you a pass on this one. I will give you a perfect score according to the scoring criteria we decided beforehand. However, from the next time on, it will be forbidden to create a new road. Is that clear?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

At Nigel-sensei’s request for my consent, I took a breath and nodded.

Most of the students agreed with my decision to allow it only this time, saying, ‘Well, it’s not against the rules, is it? We’ve had cases like this …… before, or rather quibbles, so everyone wasn’t too surprised.

It’s kind of hard to get banned next time, but if I can get past this for now, that’s all that matters. I don’t have high hopes.

“I’ll bring this horse back on my way to the grounds. So, you can rest now, Charlotte-san. You’ll get heat stroke if you don’t.”

I thanked Nigel-sensei for reminding me not to overdo it and got off my horse.

I put my hand on my burning cheek and chuckled, “I guess I should hydrate before taking a shower”. I was too lazy to support my dizzy body with magic, but I began to build a magic circle for the transition.

“I’m going to take my leave now. You may miss me, the incarnation of beauty, but I wish you well in your tests.”

Nigel-sensei jumped on the horse with an air of familiarity, waved to his students and turned himself around.

As he left, he whispered to me, “Take care of yourself,” and I relaxed my cheeks as I activated the magic circle for the transfer.

Wrapped in a dazzling light, I was instantly transported to my room in the dormitory.

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