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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Valerie collapsed, nearly incapacitated.
Thud.
Gone was the proud figure, propelled by the wind element.
Charlotte quietly looked down at Valerie’s crumpled form.
I won.
The outcome of the Proof had been uncertain.
But finally, Charlotte had defeated Valerie and proven her victory.
‘This feels… strange…’
Charlotte formed an awkward smile.
Try as she might to make it natural, a lifetime of rarely smiling made it difficult.
Sunlight poured down on Charlotte as she slowly walked towards the finish line.
Even the heavens seemed to bless her.
They blessed Charlotte, who had triumphed over Valerie, who had magnificently triumphed over herself.
Fwoosh—!
The moment she crossed the finish line, Charlotte Forte’s face and name appeared on the electronic scoreboard.
The commentator’s words drove the point home.
“Charlotte Forte! Charlotte Forte of the failing class, takes first place!”
A roar of cheers erupted.
The sound was deafening, which made Charlotte’s head spin.
She stood at the finish line, quietly looking around.
And what she saw was…
Her classmates from the failing class, running towards her, cheering louder than anyone.
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“Charlooootte!”
“Charlotte! Charlotte! Charlotte won!”
Before Charlotte could fully grasp her victory, her failing classmates swarmed her.
She could at least defend herself against Valerie’s attacks.
This, however, was an unstoppable force, and Charlotte was swept away by it.
Of course, Isabel was the most enthusiastic.
“Wow~ I knew you could do it, Charlotte! I knew it!”
Isabel hugged Charlotte like a doll, tears streaming down her face.
‘Is this just her usual dramatics?’
Charlotte thought, looking around with a dazed expression.
But it seemed Isabel wasn’t the only one; everyone appeared to be fighting back tears.
“Everyone… why are you crying?”
At Charlotte’s words, everyone finally burst into tears.
“Charlooootte… sniffle…”
They all understood.
They knew Charlotte always stayed the latest at the training grounds, how she had struggled to study even when she was staggering, how she had even skipped meals.
They hadn’t been able to speak to her then, but they had all witnessed her hard work.
Seeing her return victorious, they couldn’t hold back their tears.
“Don’t cry, everyone. Why are you crying?”
But Charlotte’s words only seemed to stimulate their tear ducts further.
Michelle, of course, didn’t shed any tears.
But she did offer a smile.
“Why don’t you look in a mirror? You have no idea what you look like.”
“What I look like…? Oh, hold on.”
Charlotte looked around.
But all she could see were her failing classmates.
Michelle, unable to watch any longer, snapped her fingers and conjured a mirror.
“I look… awful.”
These were Charlotte’s first words after seeing her reflection.
Her eyepatch had burned away, and tears of blood streamed from her exposed eye.
And it wasn’t just her eye that looked like a patient’s.
Her bangs were singed, and a faint smell of burning emanated from her body.
“Ah… Right, right. I’ll use healing magic. Healing magic.”
Charlotte passively submitted to Isabel’s touch.
Feeling the warm mana flowing into her body, Charlotte smiled faintly.
“Thank you, everyone.”
She stood there, looking a mess.
But strangely, no one treated her like a failure.
She had always tried so hard not to appear inadequate, to seem capable, yet she had always been ignored.
Now, she wasn’t trying at all, and everyone was acknowledging her.
She was deeply moved.
“Yes… Thank you, really.”
Now that the tension had dissipated, the overload began to hit her body.
But even this felt like a trophy of victory, and Charlotte was happy.
I don’t care how much my body hurts.
She had proven something she thought she would never be able to prove.
And she was experiencing emotions she thought she would never feel.
So, for now, that was enough.
“You’re being silly… Move. You think your little bit of healing magic is going to fix that? You can save the fussing for when Charlotte isn’t around.”
“Ah, Michelle?”
Michelle whisked Charlotte away from Isabel, who had been healing her.
“We need to go to the infirmary. Obviously.”
Her demeanor was still overbearing and assertive, but the failing class students sensed a subtle shift in her.
Very slight.
Truly subtle, but Michelle’s expression seemed brighter.
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Pandemonium had broken loose amongst the faculty.
This wasn’t just about Charlotte’s growth.
It was also the moment that proved Adrian’s unorthodox teaching methods had finally surpassed those of the advanced classes.
“My, my… The failing class is quite impressive. Congratulations. Professor Adrian must have instructed them well.”
The faculty members, who had been fawning over the advanced class professor just moments ago, were now trying to ingratiate themselves with Adrian.
“Not at all.” Adrian said, shaking his head.
“I merely acknowledged the students’ talents. I don’t possess any special abilities.”
Implicit in his words was a subtle jab at the other professors who had left such talented students to languish.
The expressions of the listening professors became slightly strained.
But it was Headmistress Violet who broke the tension.
“I admit it.”
At her words, all the professors turned to Violet, who had approached them unnoticed.
She seamlessly joined the conversation.
“These are remarkable students, and the greatest blame for leaving them in the failing class lies with me.”
Disconcerted looks spread across the professors’ faces.
It was rare to see Violet so serious, and even rarer to hear her take responsibility for a mistake.
“Now that the failing class has proven itself, we can no longer call it that. I will promote it to a regular class and meet with each student individually to help them cultivate their talents.”
“Thank you.” was all they could say.
Charlotte’s efforts had even moved the Headmistress, who was usually driven by money and strict about social status.
Hearing her say this made Adrian feel grateful to Charlotte once more.
Why did the text change from bold to normal at the end???