23 - a solitary entrance examination
I didn't ask. Didn't you rather say <
Where is the talk of no-test admission to elite schools because of the king's recommendation? It doesn't sound like a fatherly misunderstanding.
Three days before I was to enter the school, I received an unexpected call to take an exam.
Apparently it's just a formality, and according to the explanation, it's a kind of
However, I just arrived in the capital today, and I haven't even been shown to my dorm room yet. I was planning to go back to my room in the frontier and replace the copy with a copy of myself as soon as I got there.
But now that I think about it, this might be my chance.
An exam is an exam, no matter how formal it may be.
If I show my inadequacy here and there, I could be on my way to the <
So I was thrown out at the main gate of the school, leaving my luggage in the carriage. (They said they would deliver my luggage to my dorm room.)
--The Royal Grunfeld Institute of Advanced Magic.
This school, named after the great sage who recorded the highest level in history, is the highest school in the country, renowned not only in the kingdom but also in neighboring countries.
Normally, students enter the school at the age of 15 and graduate in five years.
It is said that the graduates of the past generations are all very impressive. Even now, eminent magic users gather here from all over the country and from abroad.
There's no way I can have a proper conversation with them. I don't even want to see Parisians.
So, let's just make them fail the exam and drop out of school before entering the university. （What a contradiction!)
After getting lost in the large campus, I entered the main school building, which looks like a cathedral in Italy or something.
We got lost for a long time and somehow managed to find a sweaty man in a robe (a teacher of this school?). He introduced himself but I didn't listen to him.
I was alone in the mortar-shaped classroom, taking the written exam.
The test is one hour long. It's just a basic question that Lord Semphis' son would talk about over dinner, so please relax.
Maybe because I'm the son of a nobleman (and a rather prominent count from the frontier), my uncle is wiping off his sweat and looking very humble.
I don't think I'm supposed to ask him about magic while he's eating. What kind of family is that?
Well, I'll just write down the wrong answers and leave, I thought as I looked at the question paper.
.................. I have no idea.
What's this? It's so hard. I mean, I don't know all these words. I haven't been taught almost anything except for warding magic.
Because I'm close to someone who knows it well. Like a living Wikipedia. They explain it to me even if I don't know it!
By the way, it's Frey. He "only" knows magic.
Now I'm in trouble. No, it's not a problem. If I write "I don't know," it can't be correct, though it might be correct if I write "I don't know.
I write "<>" diligently. It is barren.
"Hmm?"
In the middle of the question, there was a question about warding magic.
The question asked us to write down all the characteristics, limitations, and uses of warding magic.
The common sense of this world's warding magic and my own warding magic are quite different.
If I fill up the entire answer sheet with , I might get misunderstood, so I'll just write some answers here.
I left out the parts I don't understand yet, and filled in about half of the answer columns.
The last question is about ancient magic. It's a lot of work compared to the others.
I had studied a little bit, since I said I was studying ancient magic for the sake of convenience. I found some applications to warding magic, so I know a little bit about it.
I filled in a bit here too.
And then, the exam was over, and I could see the sweat of my uncle when he got the answer sheet.
"So, let's continue with the measurement of magic level with
"What?"
"Yes? What are you doing?
"Oh, no, no, no, it's not that. ....... I declared my magic level as 2 at the maximum and at present, right? I didn't want to go to the trouble of measuring."
I don't mind if they know that, but my father also told me not to let them know that I have no attributes.
"I would say it's just a precaution, it's part of the interview. ......"
Uncle wipes the sweat off his face.
Well, whatever. I've got a way of hiding it. All I have to do is to put a sticker on my left breast with the "king's crest" hidden in a warding <
And then, we went to a room that looked like a reception room.
"Hello, you must be Sir Semphis' son, Hurt. Yes, he's quite a nice guy. The fact that he has black hair is also a plus in my opinion.
There's some little guy.
His hair was a dull brown, as if he had been sleeping in his bed. He wore small glasses and had a cheeky but adorable face. A girl in a black robe, too tight, is slouched over on the sofa.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. <
What are you mad about? You're being unreasonable.
I sit down on the couch opposite her at the urging of my sweaty uncle. On the low table between us was a crystal ball.
"Well, that's okay. I'm a professor here at the institute. My name is Tiaalietta Leseyaner. Tia is long, so you can just call me Tia. Now, no matter how much His Majesty the King recommends you, if you displease me you'll have to leave without attending the entrance ceremony..."
"Really?
So we're supposed to piss him off?
"Oh, yeah? I thought the bite you just gave me was more in anticipation than fear?"
You are absolutely right.
"Hmm, I don't mind funny men. In fact, I like him. This is very promising.
Tia, the teacher, bends over her not-at-all-full breasts.
"Where did you look?
If I thought, "This guy is a pain in the ass," would he be able to read my mind again?
"Now, let's see what you know about magic first."
The little Professor Tia's face turns grim as he hands me my answer sheet. <
"Let's go to ............ and take a measurement."
I put my hand on the crystal ball in front of me.
After Tia's mumbling, the crystal ball glowed brightly. Then it jumped and jumped and jumped again, and a mysterious gust of wind came up.
Boom!
It's cracked.
Professor Tia and her sweaty uncle were both gaping.
This crystal is a little bit shoddy, isn't it? I've never broken one before, have I?
But the result is all right.
The
Professor Tia's pretty face is drawn into a tight line and she is trembling. Well, that's a definite sign. Now tell him to go home in a fit of rage!
"........................ wonderful."
Hmm?
"Did you see that, Mr. Porcos? <
Porcos is the name of ...... ah, the sweaty uncle.
"But Dr. Ruseyaner, his magic level is only 2 at most. There is no reason for Sir Semphis to lie. Even if he did, it's too unnatural to set it so low.
"No, I don't believe you. No, I don't. The measurements are probably true. But how can you say (・・・・・・) that <
"That's just a twisted way of saying that you are a doctor. ......"
"Come on! It's not just about the crystals. His knowledge of magic is ...... so lousy that I didn't even see the basic theory, but his interpretation of warding magic is excellent! This, this is it. This is very close to the new interpretation I proposed in my research on ancient magic!"
"That's a big no-no from the academic community, isn't it?"
"Don't be silly! Anyway, I'll take him. I will not give such an interesting boy to other professors. Some unsavory people have been in and out of here recently... and this is what the students need to hear. Well, Mr. Porcos!"
The little professor stuck his finger out at the sweaty old man.
"Okay, this is a matter of the utmost importance. You can even cover up the fact that you conducted the test.
"It was secretly done by the doctor on his own initiative from the very beginning. ....... No one knows."
"So, Mr. Harto, why don't you come to my laboratory? Yeah, come on. It's the only lab in the academy that specializes in ancient magic. I promise you five satisfying years.
Eyes full of promise.
I have only one word for you.
"No."
I thought I heard the little professor stiffen.