The day after the examination ended.
The passion of the guild members had yet to dissipate. Their conversations centered entirely on the results of the past two days, with phrases like "I shouldn't have done that then" or "If only I'd known to do it this way" echoing through the hall.
Near the request board today, a new wooden board had been placed, displaying the Score Rankings for the collective guild examination.
The "Four Little Ones" stood in a row, each clutching a cup of Meow-Meow Milk Tea, their eyes scanning the list back and forth.
On the list, Chris's name was ranked tenth in the guild.
Her score was 85, which was exactly the passing line for a B-Class Wizard.
As for Darwin and Erza, their final scores were only 72 and 73, placing them as C-Class Wizards.
Of course, coming in last among the four was still Makarov; his final score was only 61, putting him at the very bottom of the C-Class.
"So..."
"In this duel of yours, Darwin lost again!"
Makarov looked at the scores on the list and sighed.
Due to their parents' relationship, he had known the siblings Darwin and Chris since childhood, and their relationship was quite good.
But for one, boys of this age generally prefer playing with other boys, so they were naturally closer. Secondly, the number of times Darwin had lost to Chris was simply too high—his record was tragic. Thus, Makarov really hoped his "good brother" could win just once.
Unfortunately, Chris was simply too strong; even with his full support, Darwin was no match for her.
In fact, there were several times in the past during the siblings' duels where Makarov had tried to help Darwin, but all he got in return was a beating from Chris and teasing from the guild uncles about how "two boys combined can't beat one girl."
Consequently, Makarov had no choice but to painfully abandon his brother and let him fulfill his "solitary courage."
"Isn't that obvious!"
"When have you ever seen me lose to him?"
Chris's tone was quite calm, as if she were stating a perfectly normal fact: "On the other hand, you need to work hard. Your score this time was too low..."
Hearing this, Makarov lowered his head in shame, pondering for two seconds: "Actually, I..."
"...only got a 73!"
73??
But my score was 61!
It took Makarov two seconds to react: "Oh, you were talking about Erza?!"
Erza was also stunned: "Wait, were you talking about me?!"
"Of course it was you!"
Chris nodded firmly: "In my opinion, your strength is more than this. You should have gotten a higher score!"
"By the way, Makarov, did you have something to say just now?"
Makarov: "...No!"
"Sigh, I can actually understand how you feel. Scoring only 61, just a tiny bit away from dropping to D-Class—you must be very frustrated, right?"
"Not really!"
Makarov pouted: "I'm well aware that I can't compare to the three of you geniuses!"
"Besides, I don't really have any grand dreams. My dad and mom don't have very high expectations for me either, so being ordinary like I am now is perfectly fine!"
Behind them, an uncle who happened to be walking by heard the children's conversation and nearly tripped.
What a bunch of insufferable brats!
Being promoted to C-Class wizards at the age of eight or nine—and they call that ordinary?!
The uncle stared at the four little ones with a resentful gaze for about ten seconds, then let out a heavy sigh and turned to leave.
"The world of adults looks so exhausting..."
Erza had already noticed the movement behind them. Watching the uncle walk away, she silently took a sip of her milk tea.
"Yo—shi!"
"Now that I've had some milk tea, I'm feeling motivated!"
Darwin also drained his milk tea in one gulp. After tossing the plastic cup into a nearby trash can and wiping his mouth, he shouted loudly.
"Chris, I'll count this as your win, but I'll catch up very soon!"
"Just you wait, I'll definitely beat you next time!!"
A child's mood comes and goes quickly.
With a cup of milk tea down, all his troubles were forgotten.
"Fine, fine, fine..."
Chris spread her hands helplessly: "Go ahead and work as hard as you like. I'll be waiting for your challenge anytime."
She had heard similar words from Darwin countless times; she was already desensitized.
"In that case, for our next duel, let's see who can complete a mission first!"
Chris raised an eyebrow: "A race to see who finishes a mission faster? Interesting!"
Darwin was overjoyed: "Then it's settled—"
"However!"
Before he could finish, Chris cut him off ruthlessly.
"I am a B-Class wizard now, so I can take B-Class missions. You are only a C-Class wizard, so the highest you can take are C-Class missions."
"A duel like that wouldn't be fair at all, would it?"
Ah...
It really was like that...
Darwin was suddenly speechless, furrowing his brow in annoyance.
After a long while, Darwin suddenly let out an "Ah!" and shouted.
"What is it?"
"Did you think of a fairer way to duel?"
"Not really, I just thought of something else."
Darwin shook his head: "Chris, can you lend me some money?"
Chris: "..."
Your train of thought is way too jumpy.
One second you're talking about a duel, and the next you're asking for a loan?
What an idiot!
"What do you need money for?"
"To buy a Magic Phone!"
Chris was taken aback: "Didn't you just buy one a few days ago?"
Darwin was silent for two seconds, stammering: "That one... uh... I accidentally lost it during the exam the day before yesterday."
Liar!
As one of the people closest to him, Chris could tell at a glance that Darwin was lying.
"If it's lost, we can ask Dad to use the tracking function to find it!"
"Eh?!"
Darwin froze, then scrambled to cover: "Um... well... I misspoke just now. It wasn't lost, it broke! During the fight with Uncle Precht, he accidentally smashed it!"
Chris still didn't believe him and sneered: "The magic shops all have warranties. If it's broken, you can take it back to them for after-sales service!"
Darwin: "..."
"Okay, I'll tell the truth. I gave that phone away!"
Gave it away?
Chris immediately looked at Erza.
In her mind, Erza was the only person in all of Magnolia to whom Darwin would give such a gift.
Feeling Chris's gaze, Erza instantly understood her meaning and shook her head.
If it wasn't for Erza, who could it be?!
Wait!
You gave your own stuff away, and now you're asking me for money to buy a new one?
Chris was immediately displeased: "Who did you give it to?"
Beside her, Erza also grew wary, narrowing her eyes as she approached Darwin: "Yeah, Darwin, who did you give it to? It couldn't be some little girl from another family, could it?!"
Huh?
Why does the air suddenly feel so cold?