"Rank ten—Monica."

"Woah!"

The students couldn’t hide their amazement. The most surprised among them was Monica herself.

Her mouth hung open, as if she couldn’t believe it.

"I-I’m ranked... tenth?"

She covered her mouth in shock and confusion. At first, she had thought she would rank somewhere around twenty or in the mid-teens.

Who would’ve thought she’d get tenth place?

"Congratulations, Monica," Merlin said softly. "You did it."

His words snapped Monica out of her daze. She stared at Merlin blankly, and before she knew it, tears began to well up at the corners of her eyes.

"Mhmm! Thank you, Merlin." She wiped her tears and smiled sweetly. "It’s all thanks to your help."

If it weren’t for Merlin teaching her, there was no way she could have reached tenth place.

Merlin patted her head and reassured her, "It’s not just because of me, but also because of your own effort. You’ve worked hard."

Monica lowered her head, her smile widening.

The other girls congratulated her as well, filling the back row with a warm, touching atmosphere.

Celestia shifted her gaze away and turned back to the paper in her hand.

"Ninth place—Liora."

"Woah!"

The others quickly turned to Liora in admiration.

Liora smiled brightly. Although it wasn’t the top five, it was more than enough for her.

"Rank eight—Luvis."

"Wow! Luvis, you’re ranked eighth!"

A few boys sitting near Luvis turned to look at him in admiration.

Luvis forced a stiff smile. Earlier, he had confidently claimed that he was sure of his abilities.

He had also believed his rank would be at least in the top five.

But reality told a different story—he was ranked eighth.

Shame and frustration gnawed at him. Merlin’s name still hadn’t been called, which meant that boy had ranked higher than him.

He turned toward Merlin, his expression a mix of frustration and resentment.

"Rank seven—Caelith."

"Rank six—Crystal."

"Rank five—Nysera."

Those three names once again sent the class into a frenzy. Caelith could be seen in the third row, Crystal in the fourth row, and Nysera in the back row.

Their gazes were filled with admiration—and a hint of jealousy. Ranks seven through five received 20,000 contribution points and a week’s worth of free meal tickets.

Compared to the contribution points, it was the free meal tickets that made the other students most envious.

A week’s worth meant they could save up to a thousand contribution points.

"Fourth place—Catrine."

"Third place—Luna."

The students immediately turned their attention to the two beautiful girls.

"Wow! You two got fourth and third place! That’s amazing!" Margaret clapped her hands, unable to contain her admiration.

Luna rolled her eyes. "No need to praise me like that. You’re in second place. That’s higher than me."

As much as she tried to accept it, there was no denying that Margaret had outperformed her on this exam.

"Second place?" Margaret snorted. "I’m definitely getting first place!"

Catrine looked at her calmly and asked, "Don’t you realize? Brother Merlin’s name hasn’t been called yet."

The smile on Margaret’s face froze. She suddenly remembered that Merlin’s name still hadn’t been mentioned.

"Could it be..." Her eyes widened as she turned toward Celestia on the podium, a hint of fear creeping into her expression.

"Second place—Margaret."

"And first place—Merlin Clay! Oh, right, Merlin’s score was perfect. Just as expected from the top student—you didn’t disappoint!"

Celestia looked at Merlin with admiration.

Clap!

Everyone except Luvis and Margaret began clapping, gazing at Merlin in awe.

Merlin stretched his body and said calmly, "Thank you for the praise, Professor."

Celestia smiled and nodded.

"By the way, the rewards will be distributed tomorrow. You can check your student ID cards."

After saying that, Celestia folded the paper in her hand and walked away.

Since the exam was over, there was nothing left to do. In other words, today marked the beginning of a seven-day vacation.

After Celestia left, the students finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew! That was so stressful! I thought I’d have to retake it. Luckily, that didn’t happen."

"You’re right. Hehehe... vacation has started! Let’s go out and have some fun!"

The students quickly stood up and left the classroom. Studying and exams were truly exhausting, to the point where it felt like their brains were on fire.

Fortunately, it was all over. They could finally enjoy their seven-day break and relax.

Merlin stood up and said casually, "Let’s have lunch first. After that, we’ll prepare for tomorrow’s trip."

The others nodded in agreement, except for Margaret. Her face remained blank and dazed.

Merlin glanced at her and gently caressed her cheek.

"What’s wrong? Are you still having trouble accepting reality?" he asked playfully.

Margaret snapped out of her reverie and took a step back. She pointed at Merlin with a trembling hand.

"Y-You... how did you manage to get first place?" she asked sadly, as if she were on the verge of tears.

She had been absolutely certain her score would be higher and her rank above his.

But reality proved otherwise—she had taken second place.

It made no sense to her at all, especially since she had studied carefully the night before.

On top of that, she had received proper training in the past from renowned mentors.

So why had Merlin still managed to outperform her?

Luna, Catrine, Liora, and Monica looked at her with pity.

They already knew this would happen. However, they had deliberately not told her, not wanting to dampen Margaret’s competitive spirit toward Merlin.

"Why, you ask? Hmm..." Merlin stroked his chin. "Maybe this is what they call talent?"

Margaret: "..."

His answer felt like a hammer shattering what little confidence she had left.

"Alright, no need to look so down. But don’t forget the bet, okay?"

Margaret took a deep breath. Reluctance and frustration still lingered within her.

But she suppressed her emotions and replied irritably, "I understand..."

***

"What’s wrong with her?"

Nivis carried a tray and placed several dishes on the table, her gaze briefly landing on Margaret, who looked sad and depressed.

Luna picked up a spiced chicken skewer and took a bite.

"She made a bet with Merlin and ended up losing. It’s really sad, isn’t it?"

Nivis nodded. "It is sad."

Margaret: "..."

Margaret picked up a roasted drumstick and bit into it angrily.

"I was careless. You girls set me up on purpose, didn’t you?" she asked suspiciously, her gaze sweeping across Luna, Catrine, Monica, Liora, and Nysera.

All five of them shook their heads in unison. "We didn’t do it on purpose."

But Margaret didn’t believe them. She snorted. "Hmph! You’re lying. Just you wait—I’ll get you back someday."

Luna rolled her eyes and popped a piece of stir-fried beef into her mouth.

"Just forget about the exam. Besides, you challenged Merlin without telling us. How were we supposed to warn you?"

Margaret chewed her food in silence. The delicious taste slowly helped ease her frustration.

Merlin simply smiled as he watched their interaction. Then he turned to Nivis and asked, "Do you have any plans for the next seven days?"

"Huh?" Nivis blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. She rubbed her chin and shook her head. "I don’t think so. I’ll probably just stay at home. Why?"

Merlin gave a faint smile.

"How about coming on vacation with us?"