It was noon of the fourth day of the exam when Kaito and his party had reached the base of the mountain they had to climb. They took longer due to caring for Alice and Sylvie, who were still recovering from their injuries in the conflict days prior. After treating the two girls, Kaito and Qianlong decided to team up with them and travel together as a group of four. Two days ago, on the second day of the exams, half the examinees had failed the exam and got eliminated one way or another. During the morning of the third day, it was announced that a quarter of the remaining participants were eliminated. As for the announcement from this morning, they were told that another half of their numbers had failed. Furthermore, as if to dishearten those remaining, they had moved on from just crossing out pictures of those that failed. Instead, they decided to broadcast a montage of how exactly participants were being eliminated. Some of the ways they failed made one question how they even managed to survive past the first day, let alone two more.
[How much more do we have to climb?]
A grumpy Qianlong was busy whining while they were climbing the mountain. The cliffside was quite steep and footing was rather poor. To make matters even more difficult, the two boys were literally carrying the weight of two on them as each one was carrying a girl on their backs.
[S...sorry...I...I'm probably too heavy.]
An apologetic and embarrassed Sylvie buried her face in Qianlong's back.
[Relax, he's probably enjoying carrying you right? How lucky, getting to carry us beautiful maidens. Normally you wouldn't be able to get anywhere near us.]
Alice's tone of voice was rather smug for someone who was being helped and not doing anything of benefit, though Kaito wouldn't say this out loud.
[Well we can't see the bottom anymore and the top still seems a bit far away.]
Qianlong grumbled when he heard Kaito's analysis. The two boys really were putting in a lot of effort to help the girls. At first Qianlong was quite excited, but after spending the past two days listening to nothing but Alice complaining, even he was half fed up. She would nitpick at everything, from the way food was prepared to sleeping arrangements. The only reason she even accepted help with treatment is because she was determined to pass the exam no matter the cost.
The group continued their ascent until late at night. They couldn't afford to stop as there was no place for them to rest at all. It would be a waste of energy to hold onto the wall and not move at all given how unstable everything was. The group pressed on, climbing upward towards the summit. Eventually they reached a small cave that was just barely big enough to fit them all. The lot were thankful for the reprieve as they had no opportunity to eat or do anything else other than climb all day. By the time they found the cave it was already around two in the morning. The full moon was shining brightly in the sky as Kaito and the others crawled into the cave.
[Huff huff, that was exhausting. Hey Kaito, what are we going to do about food?]
[Agreed, and I have no idea.]
The two boys were sprawled on the ground of the cave, gasping for air.
[Alice? Maybe we should...um...]
Noticing what Sylvie was about to suggest, Kaito quickly interjected.
[It's fine, you're still recovering. Just let us rest a bit. We'll get started on a quick meal right after.]
[Bu...but...you've already done so much for us.]
Qianlong flashed a smile and thumbs up at her.
[No worries, we can handle it no problem.]
[Just let them do it Sylvie. It's not like we're in any condition to help anyways.]
Though what Alice said was true, the tone of voice she used betrayed her frustration of having to rely on Kaito and Qianlong. The boys rested for about half an hour before they started making a quick meal.
[Let's just whip up a quick snack since it's so late.]
[Fine by me, just take the lead as usual Kaito.]
[What do we have left to use for food anyways?]
Qianlong took a quick look at the reserves they were carrying.
[Let's see, maybe about 3 kilograms of boar meat, 4 bottles of water, and a handful of berries.]
[That's not a lot for 4 people. We're lucky we even found that wild boar yesterday, otherwise we'd be even worse off.]
[You said it. haha]
[S...sorry...it's because you have to take care of us too.]
Sylvie responded meekly at the conversation Qianlong and Kaito were having about resources. Kaito gave her a warm smile.
[Hey we already said not to worry about it. It was our choice to help out. We're almost done anyways. We made good progress.]
[Haha that's true, we're already climbing the mountain. Once we hit the summit we pass right?]
[Right. For now let's get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us.]
After finishing their meal and cleaning up, everyone went to sleep with Kaito keeping watch. It was a peaceful night that passed by without issue, at least for them. In the morning, they all finished off about a third of their remaining boar meat and a bottle of their water. With their meal done, Kaito and Qianlong got the girls on their backs and began their climb once more.
The climb was harder the higher they went up due to the difference in altitude. Through sheer will, the group were able to keep going. They were really lucky that they only had to climb the face of a mountain. If they also had to fight enemies on top of that, in their current state, the struggle would truly be torture. The climb continued until the evening. As soon as it came into sight, Qianlong let out a cry of joy.
[Hey Kaito, I see the summit.]
[That's great. Just one more push.]
With their goal in sight, the momentum of their climbing increased and they bolted towards the top. The sun had only set for about an hour before they made it. As Qianlong placed his palm on the floor of the summit and pulled himself and Sylvie up over it, he had the widest smile on his face. After putting Sylvie down he helped pull Kaito and Alice up. Once everyone was on the summit, they all let out a victory cheer that echoed before they all collapsed on the ground, falling flat on their bottoms.
[Well done you lot.]
The sound of clapping could be heard from the proud Lionel standing behind them.
[You four are the first to make it here as you can see. I wonder just how many more of you will pass. Hey how much time is left?]
Lionel was looking back at what seemed to be a secretary when he asked his question. Even though she was in heels, the secretary only 160 centimetres tall. Her blonde hair was in a bun held together with a flower pin. As for her outfit, It was a formal black suit with a skirt and tie. The only thing out of place for her outfit might be the white cape on her shoulders and the rapier at her hip. Her face was completely concealed behind a featureless white mask. Her earrings were simple pearl earrings. She responded to Lionel in a monotone voice.
[About a day left sir.]
[C'mon no need to be so stiff Syr.]
[We are on duty sir.]
[Wow you're harsh. Relax a bit why don't you.]
[I am afraid that is not appropriate for the current situation sir.]
[Geez. Hm?]
Lionel noticed his audience just staring at his banter with the secretary with an expression showing that they had no idea how to react.
[Oh let me introduce you guys.]
Lionel made a dramatic pose and announced in an excited voice as if showing off the most amazing thing in the world.
[This is my wife Syr. She may be acting all stiff right now but she's really amazing you know? She saved my life on the battlefield countless times. In fact I can recall the time we first met, it was love at first site. I was just starting high school when she transferred in. You have to listen to this, there was this time when we....]
[Ahem.]
The woman let out a cough to signal Lionel to stop, clearly embarrassed and worried what Lionel would continue to say if allowed to keep spilling his guts.
[Ah, my bad. Let's get back on topic. The lot of you have passed the exam. Don't worry about a thing, you made it into Prism Academy.]
Hearing this, Kaito and the others let out a huge sigh of relief. As Lionel was busy showing off his lovely wife, she had been busy inspecting the conditions of Kaito and the others. Noticing the way Alice and Sylvie were treated, she inquired..
[Who was it that dressed your wounds?]
[It was Kaito!]
Qianlong was boasting while wrapping his arm around Kaito's shoulders.
[I see. Excellent work. It is surprising you performed to this degree while caring for others. Some of the herbs you used to treat them are also rather difficult to locate and utilize. Who taught you how to find and use them?]
[Now now, let's just get them fixed up while we wait for the other students to arrive. Can I leave it to you Syr?]
[Yes. There are no problems. I will assemble a team immediately.]
[Haha sure thanks. Now then once again, congratulations on passing the entrance exam of Prism Academy.]