The final fourth day of the Survival Island evaluation.
The exam would end at exactly noon.
And now—
Only one hour remained.
Having successfully entered the Mansion earlier, Camibarez was currently standing near the entrance while anxiously staring outside.
"You're really that worried?"
Hearing the voice, Camibarez turned her head.
Meilyn, who had a towel draped over her head as if she had just finished drying her hair, lowered the glass of fruit juice in her hand before giving a small smile.
"Oh… thank you."
"Don't worry too much," Meilyn said while sitting down beside Camibarez and taking another sip of her drink.
"They're not the type to just fail and disappear somewhere. Those monsters will definitely arrive on time."
"…I guess so."
Entry into the Mansion granted a fixed reward of 200 points.
For students aiming at least for the middle rankings or higher, entering this place was practically mandatory.
After all, there was almost no reason not to.
Unlike the harsh jungle outside, the mansion itself was designated as a non-combat zone where students could freely rest and use its facilities.
Out in the forest, students had spent days chewing on poorly cooked monster meat and bitter roots.
But inside the mansion—
Luxurious meals, desserts, hot showers, soft beds, and countless entertainment facilities awaited them instead.
Of course, not everyone inside the mansion was simply resting peacefully.
Some students had chosen to remain outside and target those attempting to enter at the last moment.
The later someone entered the Mansion, the higher the chance that they had already accumulated a massive amount of points through hunting monsters and beasts.
Naturally, while such students were dangerous competitors, defeating them also meant obtaining an enormous amount of points in return.
Because of that, the students who entered the mansion earlier gradually formed an "alliance" among themselves and established a defensive perimeter around the estate.
And in practice—
The security became so tight that most latecomers no longer even dared to approach.
"Alright, alright. Can everyone focus for a moment?"
The one currently leading this large-scale Mansion Alliance was Elisa Celin, Special Entry No.7 of Class E.
As always, she wore her oversized admiral-style coat draped over her shoulders above her school uniform.
"There's exactly one hour left until the evaluation ends," Elisa continued calmly. "I want everyone to head outside and help defend the mansion."
"If every student who has gathered large amounts of points manages to enter safely, we'll inevitably fall behind in the rankings."
Elisa was the daughter of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Dresden.
Not only that, her personality closely resembled her father's.
A natural politician.
Earlier during this evaluation, she had already become famous for occupying the western bridge and extracting points from passing students.
"It's for the sake of all our grades," Elisa said persuasively. "I would appreciate everyone's cooperation."
Her voice carried confidence and authority.
By skillfully appealing to both their sense of unity and urgency, Elisa gradually succeeded in gathering more and more students into the Mansion Alliance.
Elisa turned her head and looked toward Meilyn.
"I think you would be a huge help if you joined the defense team."
Meilyn snorted lightly.
"I'm not interested."
"That's unexpected," Elisa replied calmly. "I thought you and I were similar types of people."
"Don't you like this kind of approach? Last time, even when I begged the Vice President to let me see the exam paper, you ignored me until the very end while talking about 'mutual benefits' and all that."
Meilyn chuckled at those words.
"You're still holding a grudge over that? You're more narrow-minded than I thought."
For a brief moment, Elisa's facial muscles twitched slightly.
Still, her composed expression quickly returned.
"I can understand your perspective," Elisa said coldly. "Getting something for free. A selfish mindset where only your own interests matter."
At those words, the atmosphere around them immediately became colder.
Some of the students standing near Elisa even began glaring openly at Meilyn.
Meanwhile, Camibarez looked back and forth between the two in confusion.
But Meilyn merely smiled casually.
"The problem is that you're too self-centered," she replied. "People aren't your pawns, you know? Don't assume everyone will obediently follow your orders."
"..."
Elisa bit her lip slightly before turning around. The sleeves of her admiral-style coat fluttered behind her as she walked away.
"I'll remember this."
Soon after, several students followed after her like escorts as she left the mansion.
"A-Are you okay, Meilyn? There was no need to provoke someone like that…!" Camibarez asked worriedly.
Meilyn rested her chin against one hand and replied casually,
"It's fine. She's the type who only understands things when people say it directly to her face."
Then Meilyn lazily shifted her gaze toward the mansion entrance.
Camibarez also instinctively looked in the same direction.
"…Ah!"
Suddenly, Camibarez sprang to her feet.
"What's wrong, Cami?" Meilyn asked.
"Simon and Knox are coming!"
"Really?! Where?!"
The moment those words came out—
The atmosphere outside the mansion instantly became noisy as well.
"Get ready!"
"To your positions!"
Voices rang out everywhere as students hurriedly moved into formation.
Meanwhile, Elisa stood near the front while holding a magic megaphone, actively directing the Mansion Alliance herself.
"…Ah…!"
Finally, the approaching figures came into Meilyn's view as well.
Walking down from a distant hill were Simon and Knox.
However—
The group composition felt incredibly strange.
Lorain was walking calmly between the two of them.
And beside Knox, on the opposite side—
Was someone Meilyn absolutely did not expect to see with them.
"…Why is Serene with them?!"
Meilyn immediately stood up.
No, Lorain being there was one thing.
But Serene?
And somehow, the four of them even looked… close.
Especially Serene, who was openly acting friendly toward Knox and Simon.
Though honestly, calling it "friendly" felt inaccurate.
It looked more like Serene's one-sided courtship.
Seeing that sight instantly made Meilyn's stomach twist uncomfortably.
Just as Meilyn was silently boiling with irritation—
"Wait a minute! I have a proposal for you guys!"
Elisa's amplified voice rang out through the magic megaphone.
Naturally, the "you guys" she referred to included the four of them.
"We have no intention of fighting you," Elisa announced loudly. "Instead, we're willing to let you enter peacefully."
Standing on the mansion balcony, Elisa directed her sharp gaze toward the approaching group.
Elisa, standing atop the mansion balcony, directed her gaze past the four of them.
"Could you help deal with those people first?"
Hearing that, Knox and the others turned around as well.
At some point, more and more students had begun gathering behind them.
The moment the students lurking around the area noticed the appearance of powerful individuals like Knox's group, they immediately started swarming over.
Their numbers had already exceeded fifty people.
"Wow~"
Knox casually glanced backward.
Seeing the crowd that had gathered in the distance, he couldn't help but grin.
"Looks like we have a lot of fans~"
"Should I start charging for tickets?"
The students behind them immediately flinched.
Lorain showed little reaction, as if it did not matter to her at all.
Meanwhile, Serene merely stared forward calmly.
"That's ridiculous."
Whoosh!
Elisa suddenly lowered her head in shock.
A feather shot past the place where her head had been just moments ago.
"Who exactly do you think you're giving orders to?" Serene asked coldly.
A chilling smile appeared on her face.
Elisa frowned slightly.
As expected, there was no way she could simply let that slide.
"…Good."
Supported by several nearby students, Elisa slowly stood upright before snapping her fingers sharply.
Whoom! Whoom! Whoom! Whoom! Whoom!
Five massive subspaces suddenly opened high in the sky.
Moments later, five enormous sailing ships emerged from within them.
The ships looked ancient and battered, as if they had been dragged out after sinking in the middle of a violent storm.
The hulls were old and rusted.
The sails were torn full of holes.
And above all—
Every single ship floated in the air.
"W-Woah…!"
"It's Elisa's ghost fleet!"
Elisa was a somewhat special aspiring commander.
She possessed the ability to control ghost ships powered by spirits and jet-black energy.
Soon after, the cannons of the floating ships slowly rotated.
Their muzzles aimed directly at Knox's group in front, along with the crowd of students gathered behind them.
Elisa smiled coldly.
"Anyone who attempts to enter the mansion will be eliminated."
"I, Elisa Celin, guarantee that all points obtained from defeated students will be distributed fairly among everyone participating in the defense."
The moment those words fell—
Loud cheers erupted throughout the mansion area.
"To think she can launch an entire fleet into the sky…"
"Seriously, this is on a completely different level!"
Meanwhile, despite the chaotic atmosphere around them, Serene merely yawned elegantly while stretching her arms lazily.
Lorain kept her eyes lowered, still looking completely uninterested.
As for Knox—
He casually took another bite from the apple in his hand while watching the scene unfold as if he were simply enjoying entertainment from afar.
Meanwhile, Simon relaxed his shoulders slightly before asking,
"So, what are you going to do?"
Knox shrugged lightly.
"Well, I could probably shoot down those ghost ships in one go, crush their morale completely, and then leisurely walk inside."
He glanced toward the large crowd gathered behind them.
"But if I do that, the people behind us would also end up entering together. Do you really want that?"
Lorain and Serene clearly did not care much about their own rankings.
But Simon was different.
Among the students behind them, there were probably several people who currently possessed more points than Simon himself.
Thinking about that, Simon chuckled softly.
"Well, if we cared about avoiding attention, we would've accepted Elisa's proposal earlier."
Then Simon glanced sideways toward Serene.
"Though technically, Serene was the one who started the fight."
"Hehe~"
"Well," Knox said casually, "I guess the conclusion is that it doesn't really matter."
After saying that, he slowly stepped forward.
"Ahem… ahh…"
Using magic to amplify his voice, Knox spoke loudly enough for the entire area to hear.
"Before anything else, let me ask one thing first."
He pointed casually toward the floating ghost fleet in the sky.
"Even if I destroy your ghost ships or whatever those things are, you won't ask me for compensation afterward, right?"
————————————
Character Voicelines·Elisa: About Her Nickname
Elisa: No matter what, I refuse to accept that nickname! Stop calling me that!
Elisa: Besides, where did that "Blonde Loser Tsundere" nickname even come from?!
Elisa: I'm not blonde!
Knox: So you didn't deny the "loser tsundere" part? ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
Elisa: T-That's not the point! ヽ(`д´;)/
Knox: Then which part is the problem?
Elisa: The blonde part!
Knox: I see. So the loser tsundere part is accurate.
Elisa: IT'S NOT! ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ