Strongest Noble's Daughter Uses Water Magic Book 2

'F' Not for Failure?!

No one could have ever predicted this. The second-years and beyond students aside, when the first-years heard Class A remained in first rank as they should be, they had hope that- at the very least- Class F would still be at the bottom where they should be, as any commoner and foolish nobles should. Never... did they expect this.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"Class Failure got ranked second? That failure class?!"

"Is this some kind of joke?!"

"And after fooling us all into thinking they were still at the bottom rank? The nerve!"

"Those guys must have used some underhanded trick!"

"Trick? More like they threatened the headmaster somehow!"

Upon that last statement, several students began to send some threatening glares our way. While I understood their suspicions about how we still managed to get ranked high, to accuse us of resorting to those methods? When we also thought we would be placed last? No matter how egotistical and arrogant these people may be, blatantly accusing us of such a thing was a bit much. Especially when they were just mocking us for still possibly being ranked last.

Before things could get out of hand, a heavy pressure was released once more. This time, pressing everyone outside our class down in their seats with their heads down, and shutting them all up.

"Have you all calmed yourselves?" the headmaster spoke, responsible for the forced silence, as holographic videos of my and my classmates' performance in the mock exam. "... Good. Now then, to the many students who believed some sort of trickery was used, there was no such thing. If you can all have your eyes on the video shown to you, you will know then. Class F has gotten to their rank through their own strength. While it is true that they had lost a massive number of points from removing their flags from their pedestals, having multiple enemies infiltrate their base or lack thereof, as well as unknowingly fight their comrades during the second half of the exam, the other actions they took during the exam made up for the loss. Other than managing to defeat their enemies during the second half, some of these students actually managed to team up with others outside their class, protect their peers from the enemies, display a teamwork with one another that was unlike any I have seen in all my time being alive, and even did . Furthermore, there is the action one student took in one battle."

At those words, one video enlarged itself, showing the battle between me and Edward, much to my own surprise. Specifically when I swapped with Mindy to stop my half-brother.

"I don't know if you're the one leading this group of intruders, and I don't care what your reason is in doing this, but someone has to stop you before anyone else gets hurt. Only a fool would let someone like you get away with this."

"And what is 'someone like me' supposed to be? An Anberibca?"

"A frighteningly powerful opponent. One who has to be stopped no matter what. That being said, I may not be able to stop you, but I can at least soften you up for someone who can."

"This student, Levi Caribbean, knew her limits against Professor Anberibca. She knew the difference between them in terms of power. Despite that, she still stood her ground against a powerful foe- not to beat him- to soften him for someone who may be able to defeat him after. More so, she did what she had promised she would do, even if such action would cost her her life. I have seen plenty of people- students and knights alike- act on their own against foes completely out of their league- enemies they had completely underestimated- expecting to win against them without much of a single scratch, or simply act out of emotion. While there were some levelheaded knights who actually properly prepared themselves against their foes, this is the first time I have seen a student already this adept for reality. Had there been fewer hiccups during the mock exam, they would've at least tied with Class A for first."

The auditorium became silent once more, as the video continued its record, showing them all how I- a commoner- fought Edward- some of the strongest noble family- on equal grounds, outsmarted him on a few occasions, and landed a couple of strikes on my half-brother. If there was a moment shown on the video that left them especially speechless, it would have to be when I endured the Flare Body spell. I could still faintly remember how hot the air around Edward was when I so recklessly used my spell against him. Just thinking about it made my head feel light. Still, as I observed the video of the practical one-sided assault, I could not help but notice the expression I had on my face back then.

On one hand, I do remember being so determined to beat down Edward, to the point where the pace of my strikes was gradually speeding up thanks to the recoil of my spell, wanting to do whatever I could to weaken him enough for Mindy or whoever else was in the area at the time to stop him somehow. On the other hand, though... After closely inspecting the expression I had, I was taken aback by the face I truly made back then.

'Rage'... If anyone else was paying attention to my expression rather than my body action in the video, they would notice that I had an enraged look on my face. Even if they did see the expression, they would probably mistake it for determination. But me? As I stared at my expression and recalled back to the battle, my eyes slowly widened at what I saw.

"Is something wrong, Lady Levi?" came Mindy's voice, in a low whisper.

"Y-Yeah... It's fine," I falsely assured her, not taking my eyes away from the show.

I had assumed I had gotten over what the Anberibcas did to me all those years ago, what they kept from me for all those years, but thinking back to the battle, and even seeing it on screen... I guess I was even more affected by their actions than I had thought, to have made that sort of expression.

"Now then, if the representative of Class F can please step forward for their class's monthly budget," the headmaster then called, snapping me out of my thoughts at his words.

's**t, that's right...' I thought. 'We have to choose someone to act as Class President. But who...?'

As I thought that, though, it seems my classmates had already decided who our representative should be.

"Well, you heard him, Leader," Felix spoke, grabbing my attention.

"Huh?"

Next thing I knew, Azalea tossed Sheera another fruit for the shrew crossbreed to instantly devour. As if that was not bad enough, Tem suddenly summoned out a Magic Circle and created a shield with his magic.

"All right. This should be sturdy enough," he told me, handing me the object and increasing my confusion.

"Uh, what? What are you talking about?"

"Enhance: Strength." I shuddered at those two words, having a horrible feeling of what was to come after hearing them. Even more so, when I felt hands on my sides and my body getting lifted up.

"W-Wait. What are you doing?!" I questioned.

"Well, we did give them a good first impression because of you," Dylan spoke that time. "Wouldn't it be too weird for anyone else to be selected as leader?"

"That's right. Besides, we need to leave a lasting impression on these guys. Might as well make it a good one," Leroy more told me than simply reasoned.

Before I could get a word in, Sheera tossed me at full strength, straight towards the stage- towards the headmaster, no less. I practically saw life flash before my eyes from the throw, and from fear of accidentally striking the headmaster, and put up the shield before me. Upon doing so, I suddenly felt the weight of the shield getting heavy, forcing the arm holding it up to drop sooner from the rest. Thankfully, I was not far from the floor, though still had quite a harsh landing. So harsh that once I had landed on my shield, I practically tumbled over it, and sprawled out on the floor in front of the headmaster.

"Ouch... Those jerks..." I muttered out, weakly getting up to my feet.

"Looks like you truly are starting something new here," I heard the headmaster say. Looking up at him, I was slightly surprised to see him giving me a soft smile. "Let's see how far you can go with your class."

Whether he said that as a way to challenge me or a way to display his expectations towards me, I did not know. Regardless of which it was, though, I didn't need him to set expectations for me. For after all, I had long since decided my goal for my time here at the academy.

"Yes, sir!"