episode_0188

The midterm exam will be a written exam followed by a practical exam. This is because I think of students who fail or die during practical exams.

So, we are now moving to the Lachst Mountains, the testing site. While riding the school bus.

Eden Academy is a school that discusses leadership on the continent. Of course, competition among students is bound to be fierce.

The inside of the bus was extremely quiet. The students put their hands on their knees and calmed their trembling hearts.

The atmosphere is solemn. I moved my hands to the back of my head and whistled.

I don’t like silence. Of course, immediately Maria stopped me and I had to stop. shit. It’s so boring!

This boring atmosphere is exactly what magicians hate!

“Wow… .”

Aru also cannot overcome boredom and keeps twisting his body. With your head down on my thighs. It’s really good to sell.

“… Merciful Lord, it is raining for your foolish servant. Please give me glorious blessings today. Please give me the power to thoroughly protect my comrades… .”

Maria is concentrating on prayer with her hands clasped together. A small cross is held in a pure white hand. An extremely sacred and faithful attitude. I don’t want to disturb that sacredness, so I don’t disturb it.

“Ugh… .”

On the other hand, Nioh looks gloomy from earlier. The cross that Saint Irowel had given him hundreds of years ago has been causing seizures whenever it touches Nioh’s hand ever since he and I made a contract.

“Haaa… .”

It’s Magi’s fault. Got it thanks to me.

There’s no need to sigh like that. John. Once this is over, I will cancel the contract. I also have no intention of ruining your pride.

Of course, if you survive. When you die, I will bury you in the ground. With that cross.

“Are you not even nervous? It’s Evans.”

“Good students are not nervous. Just prepare.”

“Why do exams matter to you? .”

I brushed off Albrecht’s scolding and pressed my arm against the bus window. A cool breeze passed by my cheek.

“Dean, try some of this!”

“I’m fine. Miss Rachel… .”

“Ah, don’t be like that, just try it. We packed it ourselves… .”

One unique thing is that the great sage Merlin joined the group. This is because the government is paying close attention to security due to an unknown murder case that shook the academy.

Since there are more than one student, there are several buses, but the bus that carries saints, princesses, and warriors is especially valuable than other buses. It’s not enough to be treated ten times as a VIP. This is why Dean Merlin personally comes to the exam room. While sitting in the back of the bus.

“But the Dean… Aren’t you in a relationship or something…? ?”

“I have no idea. It’s a difficult life to devote to magic.”

“Anyway, you are very knowledgeable… .”

I glanced back. Merlin sat in the last corner of the bus and the female students clung to him. There is silence throughout the bus, but that is the only place where it is lively.

It’s because of Merlin’s handsome appearance. A face that does not show signs of aging, skin without a single wrinkle, and light green hair full of luster.

Who would look at that person and think that he is a hundred-year-old grandfather? No, according to the information I heard from Sunspot, she is a grandmother.

“… .”

I didn’t know that Merlin was originally a woman. Is that really a cross-dressing figure?

If you look closely, it seems like that… Eyelashes that stand out strangely reveal beauty. So there are places where female students are crazy about Merlin and cling to him.

It will be three days before we reach the Racht Mountains. Until then, I’ll have to let my imagination run wild. The more simulations you run, the less risk factors you can reduce.

*****

After three full days, we were able to arrive at the Racht Mountains in the early morning. Since it was an exam at the best institution on the continent, it would have been crowded, but there was no one in sight except students and teachers. It is said that agents spread out across the mountain range do not allow access to uninvited guests.

In “… For those who don’t know, let me explain the rules first.”

Nearly three hundred students were crushed in the open space at the bottom of the mountain. Merlin used magic to rise into the air and opened his mouth with magic in his voice. Even though this was not the summit, a strange resonance echoed throughout the mountain.

“The grading criteria for the test are who caught how many and how difficult to catch magic beasts were. to… The judging will be done by teachers, including me. The exam time is 24 hours.”

24 hours. Survive for a long day entirely on your own.

The students, who had already prepared to the fullest, were not particularly surprised. We each packed a water bottle and lunch box in our bags. However, some people who didn’t even care were embarrassed.

“That… And… Teachers do not help you during exams. But we will keep an eye on you, and we will step in if a dangerous situation arises. step… If a student is saved by a teacher after being attacked by a magic beast, that student will naturally be disqualified.”

Even if you can’t catch a magic beast, it’s better than being disqualified, so are you saying that you should only catch the right magic beast? I nodded roughly.

And soon. The test has begun. With a long, loud whistle sound.

Now we will move as previously discussed. Aru hunts demon beasts alone and moves comfortably, Maria goes with Frey, and I go with Albrecht.

However, separate instructions were given to Aru and Maria of the Night. When a strangely large demonic force explodes and an unusual scream is heard, Aru runs and Maria runs away with Frey.

“Charge, Ta.”

Students running into the forest one by one. The faster they rush in, the more demons they can catch, so they seem to be in a hurry, pushing each other.

I knelt down before Albrecht, staring at their backs. Place both hands behind your back.

Albrecht said as he slowly put his arm into my forearm.

“I feel bad. Are you treating my wife like a baby?”

“Didn’t you know? This is my baby. We have to protect it.”

“… Weird guy.”

Pook-.

A light weight felt on my back. Albrecht placed his upper body on my back. Thin arms wrapped around my neck. I held her thighs with both hands.

“Right now, I support myself with both arms, but if I fight, I may have to remove one hand. Then, you must take care of yourself.”

“What good is it to know that you can move my wife with telekinesis?”

“You can’t waste your magic power today. It’s an important day, right?”

“I never thought I would hear something like that from you, whose magic power is close to the Great Sea.”

The reason she carries Albrecht even at the beginning of the mountain is because she is too weak. Even if you just walk for three hours, it’s obvious that you’ll collapse because your legs hurt. Because her body is ordinary.

It’s also a forest where you never know when and where a surprise attack may come.

I move leisurely, carrying Albrecht on my back. Students were still rushing into the forest.

“There is no need to rush. The forest is wide anyway.”

“There is a saying that the early bird catches the worm, so is it okay to be so careless?”

“The bug that wakes up early gets eaten.”

“Oh, that’s right. ”

“Close to three hundred students are not looking down from the sky, so there is no way they are evenly distributed. Some people will flock to one place, and another will be empty. We’d better go towards the empty side. The monsters placed by the teachers will be evenly distributed anyway.”

I thought the same thing. Hit the player first. I nodded cheerfully.

“Okay, converged. Let’s go in.”

“… .”

“I’m bored on the way there. How about solving a riddle? The reason why the empire’s diplomacy collapsed in the last ‘that’. Have you prepared an answer?”

Even though the testing site is closed to outsiders, escorts continue. The commander of the Imperial Knights, Albrecht’s bodyguard, wanders around us without exceeding the appropriate limit.

So, when talking about riddles, I changed some words to slang. For example, things like ‘last episode’.

“Yes. Isn’t that what you did? With a snake-like tongue.”

“Hmm, have you thought about the method?”

“There are several cases in this part… If she were in your position, the Empire’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Frank… .”

Jeopuk, Jeopuk-.

Aru has already jumped up the tree and seems to be far ahead. Frey and Maria entered the mountain in the middle of the crowd.

The students that Merlin mentioned were usually waiting in the branches of the trees. It is a positioning that allows intervention at any time without directly affecting students.

Beatrice and Johann must have settled down somewhere like that. It’s nothing to worry about right now.

I walked deep into the forest, listening to Albrecht’s brilliant reasoning. I was attacked by monsters a few times, but that didn’t slow me down.

This means that they were all killed without even touching them. I didn’t bother to take it with me because it would all be useless once Duke Duke Jack arrived anyway.

“Why don’t you take the body? Those things will soon lead to public affairs.”

“It’s just a burden. I need to catch the real guy.”

“Isn’t there another tactic?”

“Accurate. But the aim is very clever. Just trust and follow.”

But Jack didn’t show up until the sun went down. It’s fortunate that Albrecht is not obsessed with grades.

“What on earth do you want?”

“Well… Could it be that history has changed? I definitely thought it would show up today… .”

It was that moment.

Quaaang-!

A huge explosion that shook the earth rang out. An unprecedented amount of magical energy burst out from a corner of the mountain.

It was a guy.