The school bell rang eight times. Students and staff disappeared into the side corridors, and suddenly, Lord Lockefeldt's special class was all alone, stranded in the middle of the lobby, like a lone island in a sea of stone floor.

Casa and the others were waiting for their professor. The door to the courtyard was wide open, and they could see the grass swaying with the wind—a wind that they couldn't feel. It taunted them, somehow amplifying the stickiness on their skin.

Curse the stupid architects! Have an appreciation for adequate ventilation, would you!

"S-Sometimes the wind blows not in favor of the strong, after all…"

Lilian Magilian was wearing another set of her "regal combat gear" consisting of a cardigan capable of deflecting most blows, pants that reinforced her leg strength, and boots that amplified the force of her kicks. Her outfit was trimmed in red and gold, glittering in places like stars that could be seen in daylight—as expected of the royalty of the Imperium.

Naturally, she was sweating like crazy in it.

Magic fibers weren't exactly known for breathability. Casa and the others came in much more comfortable wear. Even Zanderfon and Miki, Family members both, didn't fret about such a thing as wearing commoner sweatpants.

Rather, sweatpants were among the few articles of commoner clothing being regarded as passable fashion by the elite. Being drenched in sweat was a scandal in and of itself, after all. It's just that Lilian was much too high of standing for anyone to say anything about it, and even if they did, she didn't look like she'd take it as a joke.

"Ehh, who comes to school in full body armor anyway…" Casa remarked in earshot of Lilian. The latter thought it a provocation, but Casa's eyes were gentle. She couldn't possibly axe kick such a girl into the ground. Of course, she didn't know that such a girl could actually evade such an attack quite easily…

Meanwhile, XML shifted nervously, completely thinking that Casa had exposed him. Seeing Lilian take offense, however, he relaxed.

"Riiight? It's so hot today! Who would even think about lugging along the whole kitchen just for a short trip…" Larissa remarked. Arnor double-checked his hiking pack, which carried about 80 kilograms of No, really, it's important—yeah, this one too! gear.

Ruan was rehearsing his lines. Anyone who saw him might think he was about to confess to someone, but really, he was just summoning the courage to talk to his own sister. Truth be told, the Aptitude Test was the first time he had seen her in two years.

"Thank you all for waiting."

Lord Lockefeldt appeared before the class. He had come in a well-worn outfit from his adventurer days. He looked like a well-meaning B-rank veteran who would advise his juniors with a smile—Don't get cocky, okay? then he'd pat them in the back. Then, he would later settle down in his 40's with a friendly wife, possibly the popular and friendly seamstress, after finally deciding to retire, and the local guild bidding him farewell and a good, long life.

Well, that was what actually almost happened. Almost.

"Master, what's that?" Zanderfon asked.

"Provisions."

"For a month?!"

Lord Lockefeldt tugged along an extra large trolley filled to the brim with food and water rations, along with creature comforts like tea and pillows.

"Rest assured, these are all only in case of emergency."

"In what sort of emergency would pillows be useful…"

"Remember this, son of Calculis—pursue knowledge greedily, for you will never know what will come of use."

"What's that even have to do with—"

"This pillow in particular saved my skin once, in the opening days of the first opening of the Ozarhiy Labyrinth…"

"Wait, wasn't that 120 years ago—"

"Oh, how time flies…"

While he rambled on, Miki started poking around the stuff overflowing out of Lord Lockefeldt's trolley. Indeed, the pillow's fluffiness could tempt many to a dreamworld, or even cushion an otherwise-fatal blow. Miki kept poking around, until—

"Ah, please don't do that."

Lord Lockefeldt's eyes were gentle, but in his mind…

—What an interesting magic!

He had seen through her motives. Miki skipped away like a surprised cat that was caught trying to push a glass of water off the edge of a table.

"Speaking of which—everyone, please gather around."

Lord Lockefeldt prepared a table—pulling it out of his trolley, of course. He laid upon it a set of nine cards, each one a perfect 4-by-6 inches. His students looked on in mild interest, though some felt the hype coming on.

"No way!"

"So it is, Miss Ley."

Not just Casa, but Miki and Zanderfon also recognized the cards.

"Index Cards," Lord Lockefeldt explained, "Incidentally, these all point to copies of our official textbook. Of course, you will have to use magic to access that information—Miss Ley, please stop showing off."

Casa had already taken a card and was pumping in an inordinate amount of magic. Her eyes had clouded over, and everyone could tell that she was almost existing in a different world altogether.

In her mind, she could see not only what the item was, but also the shortest way to get there. She had full spatial awareness of the route, down to which parts needed more frequent cleaning. Why's the entire way there so dusty?! Her brows furrowed, and Larissa, ever so attentive, wondered what forbidden knowledge this sage had unconvered.

"Hmph, I could do that too!"

Lilian nabbed a card.

"Princess, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but such cards are sensitive to—"

"AH!"

It deflagrated and turned into ashes that slipped between her fingers.

"…This is okay. I love my students. We all learn from our mistakes."

It's not as if Index Cards were so expensive that they couldn't get a replacement for them. It's just that…

"Princess, royalty you may be, it is below you to be so rude."

"I-I apologize."

She curtsied with shaken grace, avoiding Lord Lockefeldt's gentle glare.

Lord Lockefeldt sighed, before continuing.

"Listen, everyone. Index Cards are simple to use, and require only magic so miniscule that a farmer could operate them. Most of you, however, are simply too powerful at your age, so here is what you will do."

He took a card and handed it to Ruan, who was surprised.

"L-Lord Lockefeldt sir, I can't possibly—"

"Please cast Appraisal-1."

"Ahhh~ hahaha~ easy~"

Appraisal Level 1 was a spell that simply told the caster that whether the object it was cast on really existed. This was utterly useless for most people. Of course, most people didn't deal with magic ninjas.

Ruan cast the spell.

"Well, it's… It's there. What's—"

The Index Card gave off a light glow, and information flooded his mind.

"Woah?!"

Like Casa, he gained a sense of the shortest route to the item, as well as what it looked like—though, that was it for him. This was the intended usage, and Casa was just abnormal.

Lord Lockefeldt distributed the rest of the Index Cards. "Be careful, now," he said, handing the spare ninth to Lilian. She received it with a nervous smile.

This time, nothing went up in flames. The Index Card was strangely warm after casting a simple Appraisal-1, though…

Arnor got his Card and used it without a problem, though he grumbled about why Index Cards couldn't be made a bit sturdier. XML took out a mysterious tablet and placed the Index Card on it. It appeared to work, as he stashed the tablet away, satisfied.

There was a searing light and a cute laugh. "Amazing! Amazing!" Good thing there was no one else in visual range. The entrance guards were used to this by now as well, and had started wearing photoresponsive visors over their helmets.

Things were going swimmingly, until…

Sob, sob.

"M-Miki?!"

Zanderfon rushed to his fiance's side—well, he was right beside her the entire time, so…

…Zanderfon closed the last inch to his fiance's side. Mm, yeah, go explode, you lovey-dovey couple.

Hmph!

"What—Miki, what—"

She turned away again. Nmph!

"Why won't you talk to me!"

Zanderfon cried—he crode. Casa and Larissa spared one glance and could instantly tell via GirlSense that this was clearly a girl thing. While Zanderfon was being a useless fiance, they approached Miki.

"Mikimiki! What's—"

Nmhph!

"What?!"

Larissa failed to pierce the Miki Bubble.

"Mikiii~ we wanna know what's—"

Miki glared straight into Casa's soul. Casa knew that this was no mere warning; it was a declaration.

What that declaration was, though, she couldn't really tell.

In the end, they were all useless.

"Everyone! Prepare to sally forth! If all goes well, we should all be in an eatery above-ground by noon!"

Lord Lockefeldt's declaration drew the attention of Lilian and XML. Above-ground, he said?

Truly, Casa, Larissa, and worst of all, Zanderfon, were all too useless to notice that Miki, the Index Magic specialist, wasn't able to use her Index Card.