episode_0035

After some fuss, registration at the main gate was completed.

Get rid of people who filled out false applications and get rid of people who appear to be unqualified. For example, things like having limbs that are not in good condition or not being able to read letters.

When I counted the people gathered in the main auditorium, about 1/3 of the initial number of applicants had evaporated, leaving about 200 people.

If about half of the people are eliminated through the physical fitness test over there, about 100 people will disappear again within the morning.

The remaining children will be evaluated this afternoon and tomorrow, and if even one fails, they will be kicked out on the spot.

As expected, only three people will survive to the end. The standards for the Combat Department have been set very strict.

Kirin said it was too harsh, but Ismera had a competitive spirit and made their theory evaluation extremely difficult.

It is a tremendous privilege to be transferred directly to the graduating class, obtain an official academy diploma next year, and enter a related institution.

Moreover, since it is being implemented for the first time this year, the Imperial Palace will be keeping a close eye on it.

Therefore, a method is to boldly weed out those who are not qualified and, if there is no one you really like, not to select them at all.

If I pick a half-baked kid, get caught in the imperial palace, and cause a blemish on Kirin’s career, it could create a butterfly effect and make me the principal.

“Principal. Let’s get started now.”

” That’s how it should be.”

Kirrin went to the podium and greeted the two hundred applicants.

“Hello, this is Academy Principal Kirrin Nemara.”

“Nemara… ? That dark elf clan, Nemara?”

When Kirin introduced herself, the applicants murmured.

“Thank you for applying to our Special Mission Academy. We hope that you will achieve good results and we will proceed with the selection process.”

Following Kirrin, Ismera guided the overall selection process and precautions.

To be honest, Ismera, standing on the podium, looked much more like a principal than Kirrin.

The elegant and dignified appearance and atmosphere unique to pureblood elves. A soft, clear voice and coherent words and actions.

In addition, he holds an advanced master’s degree, which is equivalent to a doctoral degree. He is perfect without any reproach.

That’s why I don’t understand why you hate Kirrin so much. Honestly, I think I would do the same if I were Ismera.

If Ismera becomes the principal right away, our academy will develop much further.

But what can you do? Now that the emperor has intervened, it has become impossible to win based on pure skill.

It is absolutely impossible for Ismera, a high-ranking diplomat, to turn the tables on a war hero and one of the most important positions in the empire, the second princess, who is head of the National Security Office.

As I carefully looked around at the applicants, I once again found the girl with pink hair.

The color was so bright that it immediately came into view, and this time I was able to observe the girl’s face more closely than before.

Now the girl was smiling with her arms crossed and her legs crossed.

The drooping corners of the eyes are pink, similar to hair. The smile on his face is so relaxed that if anyone sees him, he looks like an already enrolled student, not an applicant.

Judging by her white skin and slender neckline, she doesn’t look like she used to work as a mercenary.

However, the armament from earlier clearly belonged to the Leblanc mercenary unit. Is it really an indirect combat skill like a wizard?

That’s just as strange… . Why on earth would a wizard apply to a place like this?

If you want to learn more magic, you’ll go to the Magic Tower, and if you want to make money with magic, there are plenty of places to go.

Then I guess it’s a spiritist or healer type. I honestly don’t know about that either.

Each function has its own unique atmosphere similar to a cartoon or game cliche, but he doesn’t feel that at all.

The more I look at it, the more puzzling it becomes… .

Then, suddenly, the girl looked at me as if she felt my gaze.

The girl who made eye contact with me stared at me for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Ismera.

# # # # #

The physical fitness test has begun. The location is the grand parade ground.

There is a huge flat area in the very center of our academy, so wide that it would not be a problem to practice cavalry assault.

Here, applicants must pass a variety of physical fitness tests.

What I value most is measuring the running around the outskirts of the grand parade ground.

Agents in the field must have excellent endurance. You have to have endurance so you don’t get tired easily and you don’t get tired easily so you don’t despair easily.

And due to the nature of the agent’s duties, it is not uncommon for agents to enter dangerous areas alone and then have to flee or escape to a safe area alone without any support.

In times like this, having the endurance to walk and run without stopping is a must.

Physical fitness testing began with professors and teaching assistants from the Department of Combat.

In the physical fitness test, failure standards are set for each item, so if you fall short in even one item, you are immediately considered to have failed.

Therefore, the number of applicants who survived the final stage, the long run, instantly decreased by 40 percent, from the initial 200 to 1120.

“I will be doing long runs from now on, so I would like to spread some precautions.”

While Waver was educating the applicants on safety-related matters, I looked at the applicants’ faces.

And I was able to find that pink girl there again. I was with several former Leblanc mercenaries who had escaped elimination.

The fact that you have come this far means that your basic strength and endurance are above par… .

Then he is definitely not a wizard. A wizard is a profession that requires a lifetime of study, so they usually have lower physical abilities like Orendi.

Are you really a mercenary?

what… I’ve seen many women who demonstrate just as much prowess as men on the battlefield, so it’s not that strange… .

Actually, there are a lot of other girls besides that girl, but the reason I keep getting eyes on her might be because of her ridiculously colored hair.

As I was watching, the girl suddenly raised her head again and looked at me standing behind Waver.

We make eye contact too often for it to be coincidental.

“Then everyone, stand at the starting line!”

As the applicants lined up with nervous expressions, Waver blew his whistle sharply.

“What is that?”

Isn’t the girl in pink running ahead of the leader at a tremendous speed, breaking through the applicants who are rushing off?

If you run like that from the beginning, you will get tired along the way, but is that okay?

“You’re overdoing it.”

Waver smiled and opened his mouth, probably thinking something similar.

“For long-distance running, stamina distribution is important.”

“Looking at him, he looks like he belongs to Leblanc. Do you know anything about him?”

“Isn’t Les Blancs a famous large mercenary unit? That girl belongs there? No way.”

“No. As for my armament, I continued to travel with other LeBlanc mercenaries. Could it be that she is the daughter of the mercenary leader Leblanc?”

“Okay. I’ve never heard of that person having a daughter.”

Waver, looking at the pink girl who was already half a lap ahead, snapped his fingers.

“I think maybe they hired friends from Lesblanc rather than being affiliated with Lesblanc?”

“As a bodyguard?”

Among wealthy commoners who cannot have private armies due to lack of titles, they often hire mercenaries for long periods of time and use them as private armies.

Or, as Waver speculated, there are cases where money is paid for short-term security purposes.

“I’m not sure, but if you think about it that way, it makes sense. In case something unpleasant could happen during the selection process, the bodyguard mercenaries may have come along as applicants.”

“That’s right. What you say makes sense.”

During the short conversation, the girl is already catching up to the last place applicant. It’s really incredibly fast.

I wonder if I can actually run twenty laps around this wide parade ground at that pace.

And about an hour later.

Surprisingly, the girl who beat the other applicants by several laps reached the finish line first.

Although he sweated a little, he seemed to be barely out of breath, indicating that he was in very good physical condition.

“Thank you for your hard work. You’re really good at running, aren’t you?”

As I spoke with a smile, the girl looked up at me with somewhat mischievous eyes.

“Do something.”

“I like that confidence. However, the physical fitness test is the first hurdle, and there are many evaluations to be made afterward, so let’s not let go of tension until the very end.”

“Keep this in mind.”

There doesn’t seem to be anything special. As Waver said, she seems to be the daughter of a wealthy family who wants to become a civil servant.

Thirty minutes after the girl crossed the finish line, latecomers began to arrive one by one.

It’s not like you collapse and vomit as soon as you cross the finish line.

A Mayan priest who came to provide medical support busily went around and provided sacred treatment.

A total of 60 people passed the physical fitness test.

The first 200 people came, the number grew to 120 at the reception desk, and from there, the number grew to 60 through the physical fitness test.

The first evaluation has barely been completed, but as many as seventy percent of the initial applicants were rejected.

In the end, most of the applicants were imaginary numbers that did not meet our standards, and now the real evaluation begins.

I wonder how much will ultimately be left tomorrow afternoon.

While I was thinking about this and that, I felt like someone was watching me, so I looked around.

There, beyond the fallen and whimpering applicants, a girl in pink was standing crookedly with her hands on her hips, looking at me.

I tried to catch that gaze, but the girl didn’t seem to have any intention of avoiding it and just stared at me as if they were going to have a snowball fight.

We’ve made eye contact a few times, and now we’re openly looking at each other like that.

“Senior Professor. There is a brief meeting regarding the afternoon evaluation.”

Just then, a teaching assistant came up to me and spoke, so I took my eyes off the girl and headed towards the main office.

As I walked, I looked back and saw the girl was still looking at me.