Ch.178The Party NPC Running Without NPCs (3)

“All incoming students, please be seated.”

In the training hall of the academy, the entrance ceremony begins. Students entering the prestigious Neti Academy come from across borders without discrimination.

The young students now entering wear identical uniforms, but that’s where the similarities end—they all come from different backgrounds and countries. Moreover, each one could be called a prodigy in their homeland without exaggeration.

All these children are holding their breath, focusing intently on Manie, the headmaster’s secretary and acting vice-principal, who has begun conducting the entrance ceremony from the stage.

“…Why are we sitting in these special seats?”

“There are several reasons. Well, I’ll explain later, just watch for now.”

We’ve accompanied the headmaster and are observing the entrance ceremony from elevated seats so high they’re completely invisible from below.

Since the balcony railing is too high for Ira to see over, Gorr is giving her a shoulder ride.

The headmaster, who brushed off my question saying he’d answer later, quietly watches the entrance ceremony below where professors are giving introductions and explaining precautions for academy life.

“Ira. Come here.”

“Yes? Yes, Gorr.”

As the entrance ceremony gradually approaches its end, Ira, who had been holding onto Gorr’s head, moves into the headmaster’s arms.

“Look carefully at that child.”

“Yes.”

Below, where the headmaster pointed, a female student climbs onto the stage, and the secretary standing beside her speaks.

“Top entrant. Grace Müller. Please make the oath on behalf of all incoming students.”

“Yes! Grace Müller of the Imperial Müller County. As the top entrant of Neti Academy, I hereby make this oath! First!…”

So that child is the top entrant. Why did the headmaster suddenly tell Ira to watch her carefully? Is he trying to instill an inferiority complex in my sister-in-law? While I’m turning these suspicions over in my mind, the oath below comes to an end.

“In conclusion! I, Grace Müller, entrant of Neti Academy, swear to uphold the contents of this oath and never abandon my studies!!”

*BANG!!*

“Wooooow!!!”

As she finishes her oath, a pale blue light emanates from her body while small sparks begin to burst around her.

Though clearly not powerful, such a display would require quite difficult mana control.

Is this the skill shown by a 12-year-old? Really, is he trying to make Ira feel inferior?!

“Excuse me, Headmas—!!”

“What do you think? That child is the top entrant—does she seem impressive to you?”

“…Yes. She’s amazing!”

“In what way?”

“She used her mana to ask the spirits around her to create small sparks for her in advance. She asked them to do it when she lowered her hand at the end. I can’t speak that clearly to Piyaki yet.”

“I see… Huh? Piyaki?”

“That’s my spirit. Piyaki.”

“Piyak—!!”

“!!!”

Ira quietly summoned Piyaki, lowering her voice so the children below wouldn’t hear, but Piyaki, not understanding Ira’s intention, just started chirping happily because he was glad to see Ira.

When Ira puts her finger to her lips with a “Shh!”, Piyaki finally responds with a “Pii!” while flapping his wings, though he seems to be merely mimicking the action.

Watching this, the headmaster:

“…Heh, hehehe.”

After widening his eyes in shock at Ira and Piyaki, he laughed helplessly and patted Ira’s head.

“So, Piyaki doesn’t understand instructions well yet?”

“No. He understands when it’s time for food or walks, but like this…”

*BOOM!!*

“When I ask him to make sparks, he can’t make them small.”

The headmaster’s eyes widen again, almost overflowing from his face, as a fireball larger than Ira’s face instantly bursts like stardust right before our eyes.

Fortunately, the students below were raising their voices in response to the top student’s performance, so no one heard. Well, the secretary seems to have heard it… and a few other students might have heard the sound too, but they probably think the school set off some fireworks, so it should be fine.

The headmaster composed his surprised expression and told Ira to dismiss Piyaki’s manifestation, then spoke kindly, like a parent:

“Ira. If that child seemed impressive to you, aim to be like her from now on. She’ll surely become your good rival, or perhaps a friend.”

“Rival? Will we fight?”

“Hehe. Sometimes you might train and fight. But it won’t involve bad feelings, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, like what I do with big sister Rey?”

“…Yes, just like what you do with your sister.”

“Hehe. Okay!”

Ira answered with a bright smile, perhaps pleased with the headmaster’s touch. I held my tongue, thinking that at least he wasn’t trying to instill an inferiority complex.

After the entrance ceremony ended:

“You, golem there.”

[I am Gorr.]

“…Right, Gorr. Take Ira to Elementary Division Class A first.”

[Where is Class A located?]

“Manie, the secretary who conducted the entrance ceremony earlier, will be waiting at the exit. Ask her.”

[Understood. Lady Ira.]

“Yes!”

Ira, who somehow ended up experiencing her memorable entrance ceremony with us instead of among the other children, sat on Gorr’s shoulders and left. Only Rey and I remained.

“So, what did you want to tell us after sending Ira away?”

“Sigh… Can’t you do something about those hostile eyes? I can hardly live with such fear.”

“I’ve heard what you did to Miss Ira and Ragni, you know? Bear with it for a while.”

“Ha, if you’re saying I should consider it my karma, I suppose I have no choice.”

Jack highly values and trusts the headmaster, and even Ira doesn’t seem to have major complaints about her. But for me, the events from a week ago are still deeply etched in my bones. It’s certainly not easy to look at her kindly. So, with Rey’s support, I ask about her intentions again in a sharp voice:

“What kind of education did you give Ira? Out of 12 written assessment subjects, she got perfect scores in 8. In Spirit Studies, Magic Studies, and Commerce, she missed just one question each, and in the final Liberal Arts subject, she missed only two.”

“Hmph! Is that so? Are you trying to say Ira’s liberal arts education is lacking and we should teach her again…?”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

The headmaster cut me off strongly and looked at me as if she genuinely couldn’t believe what she was hearing, then continued:

“The elementary entrance exam questions are said to be easier than regular tests, but they’re designed to prevent perfect scores. Yet she got perfect scores in 8 subjects, and the questions she missed were deliberately designed by professors to trip students up. By rights, Ira should be the top entrant.”

“…What? Ira should be the top entrant?”

“Wait a minute. You just said that child was the top entrant…!!”

“That child is second. I manipulated Ira’s scores to drop her to around 30th place.”

Both of us looked at each other after the headmaster’s sudden confession of her crime…

“What? Are you picking a fight with us? Are you saying Ira shouldn’t be top because she’s a commoner?!”

“…Jack said you were a decent person, so I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt, but how could you do this?”

Rey placed her hand on her pommel, and I reached behind me to grip my gun, both of us directing genuine killing intent toward her.

Not only did she commit the crime of lowering Ira’s rightful test scores, but she’s boldly telling us about it—is she asking for a fight?

“Sigh… Calm down a bit.”

“Calm down?! Do you have any idea how hard Miss Ira worked to enter the academy…!!!”

“That effort is precisely the problem.”

“Huh?! Are you saying there’s a problem with the child’s efforts themselves? That it’s an issue when an exceptional child stands out? Don’t tell me, that girl just introduced herself as the daughter of Imperial Count Müller. Is it because our Ira is a commoner…”

“What kind of education did you give that child in Spirit Studies, Commerce, and Magic Studies?”

Despite our angry glares, the headmaster cut us off and asked as if nothing was wrong.

I was so furious that I told her we had Ira study all 12 subjects, and of course I mentioned all the textbooks too.

Since neither Jack nor we lacked money, I mentioned the approximately 30 extensive textbooks—those collected from Aigram and additional ones purchased after coming to Neti.

Of course, I wouldn’t say Ira mastered all of them, but she did complete about 80% of them!

“So, Ira only studied from commercially available academy entrance exam textbooks.”

“What’s wrong with that?!”

“…Wait, don’t tell me.”

Rey directed killing intent as if she would stab the headmaster right away, but listening to her words, I came up with a strange hypothesis. It should be impossible, but…

‘If that’s the case…’

“…Even if she memorized all those textbooks, there were problems in the elementary division that should have been unsolvable. She solved all of them.”

“A-are you suggesting Miss Ira cheated…!!”

“No, that’s not it. It’s the opposite.”

After all, how could the top student cheat off someone else? After restraining the agitated Rey, I began to understand the headmaster’s words, and my head started to ache. I knew Ira was smart, but…

“Yes, it’s the opposite. She’s so exceptional that perhaps there’s nothing left for her to learn in the elementary division.”

In other words, according to the headmaster, Ira might have difficulty interacting with children her own age. Moreover…

‘…She might really end up like I did in my childhood.’

Faced with the possibility that a reality I truly didn’t want might be approaching Ira, I was certain that even the few days without Jack would not be quiet for us.

*

After the entrance ceremony, 12-year-old Grace Müller, the brown-haired Imperial Countess, immediately headed to her assigned Class A since she had no guardians or maids to celebrate the entrance ceremony with her. She certainly thought she would be the first to arrive, but…

*Click, click, click. Slide.*

“Hmm?”

“Ah! It’s the top student! Hello!!”

*Bow*

A cute girl with summer-sun-red hair neatly tied up, violet eyes shining, and a sunflower-bright smile greeted her, alongside what appeared to be…

“A-a maid? Eh? No. A g-golem?!”

She let out a small cry upon seeing the unidentified female-form golem.