Reviewing the children's latest mock exam scorecards, I was quite satisfied. At least they were performing much better than I had back in my school days. Most of the kids had a solid grasp of magical theory and fundamentals, and they remembered their basic spells quite well; with just a little practice, I figured they would soon be casting magic proficiently.
Of course, these weren't matters I should be worrying about in the first place—the teachers in charge of magic classes would naturally handle everything. What truly concerned me was the extreme imbalance in these children's development. Almost none of them met the passing standards for physical combat training. With that level of physical fitness, aside from a few rare exceptions among the boys, I doubted any random boy could best Alice in hand-to-hand combat. Despite her delicate appearance, the little one was remarkably strong. She had possessed great strength since childhood—greater even than most boys. Her bow was custom-made with thickened bowstrings, requiring much more force to draw than a standard bow. This was a bow truly suited to Alice's strength.
As for my sword, Alice had always complained that she couldn't get used to it. Perhaps she simply wasn't cut out to be a swordsman by nature. Still, it relieved me that she had recognized early on which weapons did not suit her.
Chapter 45