The entrance exam was certainly as hard as it was rumored. The Magic Academy is the best magic school in the country for those above the age of 18. So for students who would like to attend, they have a significantly low chance of getting in, at about 1/300.
However, after everything, Sam managed to pass the entrance examination of the school, albeit it was a really close call. By the end of it, the young man was nothing more than a walking corpse. His low affinity and small mana pool really worked their best during those last few months. But they also burned him out much more than average.
It was all worth it to him, though, even with the constant headache because of low affinity or the unconsciousness because of depleted mana. Not a single second of his whole training was wasted if it meant that he could be by her side.
After the exam, everyone had the luxury to rest for a while.
Using this valuable period, Sam tried to return to his daily activities, which would be serving Marie until the letter of acceptance arrived.
It was then that Sam decided to steel his nerves in order to finally confess his innermost feelings to his love.
Just that things did not really go as planned.
Whenever Sam decided to invite Marie out for something, she would decline. No reason was given to the guy. Marie herself just did not want to go anywhere with him. In her mind, even when Hero had gone back to the capital where he lived, talking to him through the phone and facetime would still be countless times better than going out with Sam. The Hero was cute, funny. Sometimes he lacked common sense in a weird way, like he was from another world, which Marie found incredibly attractive. He spoke in a very casual way for someone in his position and was always chivalrous and polite. In short, Hero behaved completely different from what boys her age would do. It felt like he was a lot older than her.
She felt protected. She was interested in him.
That, was the nail in the coffin.
Marie was already gone. She was out of Sam's reach from the moment she met Hero.
The poor soul did not know that. He did feel something was off at first, but he never knew what was going on. If no reasons were given to him, Sam would just find a way to defend Marie in his head. He automatically filled in the void of solutions to answer his own questions as to why Marie stopped hanging out with him.
He was stupid. Sam was so very dumb.
Still, he wanted to confess. Sam wanted to be with her no matter what.
The young man remembered their oath together and intended to keep it for as long as he lived.
He would like Marie to know how he truly felt like, how all these years he had been truly happy just to be beside her.
How he thought what their future would be like together.
How he would say 'I do' at the altar.
How he would like to live under the same roof as her.
It would have been much easier for Sam to send a message saying 'I have been in love with you for a very long time.' But the young man thought that such a thing was insincere to his love.
He would rather do it the traditional way that many men have done before him.
What I really needed was a chance, he thought to himself like that.
She was just busy, he thought.
However, that situation between the two continued for a few months, even until after Sam went to the capital to start his new life at the Magic Academy. Nevertheless, he wanted to get his feelings across, and Marie still did not want to see him because she was spending time with someone else.
Days went by, and worries began to grow inside of the young man's heart. He wanted to know if she was doing fine since they were not seeing each other every day anymore. Once they got into the Academy, the courses changed drastically. Sam was hardly able to see Marie, not to mention talk to her.
At one point, he started following her whenever he could so that he could find the chance he had been waiting for.
They lived on different campuses, and obviously, Marie kept her room number to herself and Hero only. This was why every morning, Sam would stand at the school gate 1 hour before class, and he would wait until the sun has gone down every evening.
Sam needed to make sure she was okay.
With that, Marie's little secret was bound to be found out sooner or later.
In front of the Goddess's altar, Sam saw his love confessing her thoughts to Hero.
It ended up with a kiss between the two people while Sam watched them in nothing but static.
There was nothing in him at that moment. No pain, no grief, not even hatred. Just static.
His eyes lost their focus, but the image was forever burned into the deepest part of him. Had he been more vigilant, would the outcome be different? He could not even think of such an idea. What of his future with her, what of his perfect wedding in mind,... They all shattered in a blink of an eye.
Sam's mind was blank and his knees were weak. The young man was not able to stand.
He just sat there. Lifelessly.
Until the two separated their lips with a clear line of saliva, Sam was still watching.
Nothing could be heard from them as he was staying too far away, but he was sure that it was something similar to "I love you" or similar to it.