Ch.1818 – Arrival, Entrance Examination Hall

# 18 – Arrival, Entrance Exam Site

Due to being thoroughly marked by the guards, I ultimately couldn’t use the gambling hall.

Still, my purpose for trying to make money at the gambling hall was to buy Jona a reconciliation A-set.

After our conversation at the escape port, my relationship with Jona had improved, so there was no longer any need to buy a gift.

“I did it!”

“Congratulations, miss. In a few years, you could compete in an eating competition.”

Training, eating.

Training, and more eating.

Thanks to aggressive eating targeting buffet hours, I was finally able to collect all 100 dishes sold at the buffet in my food catalog.

“Eating competition? Are there lots of delicious foods?”

“It’s usually a competition to eat a lot of one type of food.”

“Then I don’t want to go. I don’t particularly want to eat a lot of just one food.”

It might seem a bit materialistic to immediately look for the next collection corner, but as a player, one must never neglect collection!

Wherever you go, finding out what food is famous and where the good restaurants are is a basic quality of an excellent player.

“Ah, mom. I need to eat a lot of meat. My brother said that’s how I’ll build muscle.”

“This child, I can’t deal with picky eating. If you’re going to eat a lot of meat, you need to eat a lot of vegetables too. Learn from that child who filled their plate with vegetarian dishes made from ground broccoli.”

The child being scolded by the noble lady flinched in surprise.

“Max?”

“Oknodie!”

“You know each other?”

“We met yesterday in the kids’ zone. She’s a nice girl who played with my youngest for a while.”

“My, how kind. Thank you for playing with our children, Miss Oknodie. May I ask your family name…”

“Excuse me, madam. Miss Oknodie has not yet received permission from her family to reveal her surname due to unavoidable circumstances.”

“Oh my. That’s unfortunate. I hope that child receives permission to use her family name soon.”

The noble lady turned away from Oknodie and pulled Max’s ear.

“Come on, Max. Stop eyeing the girl and eat your bell peppers and paprika. If you keep avoiding vegetables, I’ll add cucumber too, the most unpleasant vegetable.”

“No, please! Anything but cucumber!”

Even as he was being dragged away by his ear, Max seemed to be trying to convey something, putting strength into his eyes as he looked at me.

“You’ve charmed a boy overnight, I see.”

“It’s not like that. Max is just a friend. One I only met yesterday.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

The catalog collection is complete.

The airship journey is over.

[Dear passengers, this airship has safely landed at our destination, the Exam Island. We hope you had a pleasant journey and look forward to serving you again.]

Passengers disembarked following the crew’s guidance.

This <Entrance Exam Site> was an island with dry sea breezes that were harmful to skin health.

Carriages came one after another along the bridge connecting the mainland to the island, passenger ships arrived by sea, and several airships slowly flew in from the distance.

A scene I’d seen countless times in the game’s intro videos. One of those fleeting images that appears between cutscenes showing exam candidates gathering at the entrance exam site.

For reference, this game…

It was originally intended to be a dating simulation with beautiful girls, but during development, the company went bankrupt once, and it became a raising simulation game about nurturing students until academy graduation.

The reason I suddenly mention this is because I noticed a straw hat girl just disembarking from a ship.

“Ah! My hat!”

Her hat was caught by the wind and got stuck on a high tree branch.

Perhaps because I ‘recognized’ this scene, my head throbbed slightly.

<Affection Event>

The straw hat girl’s identity, her straw hat, has gotten stuck on a high tree branch.

This is your chance to gain affection from this pure young lady in a white dress and sandals who is stomping her feet in distress.

Whether you climb the tree or find a ladder, use any means necessary to be the first to retrieve the hat and return it to her!

What a ridiculous affection event.

What’s the point of gaining a girl’s affection during the entrance exam?

“Are you thinking of helping her?”

“Not really? If she can’t retrieve something like that on her own, she shouldn’t have applied for the entrance exam in the first place.”

“How cold-hearted, miss.”

“Whose fault is that?”

“Please don’t misunderstand. That was a compliment.”

“Mine was a compliment too.”

The NPCs are having a field day with this—some fall while climbing the tree, others climb too high and cry because they’re scared to come down, and one who successfully retrieves it ends up blushing and falling for the big guy who helped him.

As I join the crowd in applauding this heartwarming scene, the straw hat girl’s expression is quite something.

She looks… resigned?

Like she’s thinking, “I’ll just buy a new one.”

‘That’s kind of pitiful.’

If there were some supporting NPCs around, at least one of them would help retrieve the straw hat.

While I was thinking this, a familiar large, hairy figure stood beneath the tree.

“Move aside, runts. Unless you want to get hurt.”

“Oh! It’s a monkey beastkin!”

“Monkeys are good at climbing trees, right?”

“With that size?”

“The tree might break if he climbs it.”

From a distance, I could see Giselle wearing an awkward smile.

She seems troubled by her supposed bodyguard acting on his own.

“Let’s just watch this before we go.”

“It’s the bold beastkin who confronted the examiner.”

As the three of us—Jona, Leaf, and I—stood side by side watching, the monkey beastkin took out a staff from his back and pulled his shoulders far back.

The audience, realizing what was about to happen from his posture that had nothing to do with tree climbing, belatedly backed away.

Kwoong—!

A heavy impact sound hit my eardrums, followed by the rustling of leaves shaking like the tree was screaming.

Thud

Thudududud

“Kyaaaah!!”

“B-bugs!!”

“Aaack, a stag beetle bit my finger!”

The spectators panicked, trying to avoid both bugs and falling leaves.

Some bugs and leaves flew our way with the wind, but Leaf, who was holding a snack basket and parasol, extended the parasol forward.

Twirl

Tadadat

Leaves and bugs bounced left and right as he lightly twirled the parasol.

Spectators who were hit by debris that bounced sideways looked at us with displeasure, but seeing Jona’s grim face, they awkwardly backed away.

Rustle

Thwack

Amidst the chaos, the monkey beastkin twirled his staff, deflecting all the bugs and leaves.

He caught the straw hat with the end of his staff and held it out to the straw hat girl.

“Why so downcast, baby deer?”

Ugh, cringe.

“Would receiving this hat revive your spirits, my brown-tailed deer?”

The straw hat girl replied with a face that showed no gratitude whatsoever.

“Waaaaaah!! Because of you, I got rained on by bugs. My head, my dress, everything is covered in aphids and bugs! Uwaaaang!!”

[The straw hat girl’s affection event has ended.]

[No one gained any affection.]

Well, these things happen.

Not everyone can pull off unconventional strategies.

Only veteran players can avoid such backfires.

“That was quite the entertaining spectacle.”

“Indeed.”

The straw hat girl has it rough.

Having to go through such trouble for a ridiculous affection event.

Both the female heroines and the male characters who try to ‘save’ them suffer because of these forced game events.

“Hey, miss. The exam site is up this hill.”

“Where are those people going?”

“Don’t mind us. We’re just here as tourists.”

I waved to the exam candidates with that excuse, and they happily waved back.

Many participants looked at me with disappointed faces as they headed toward the hill, while others followed me with amused expressions along the less-traveled path.

“The monkey beastkin is following us too.”

“The gold ticket holders must go this way as well.”

The difference in tickets is becoming apparent.

Unlike the Iron, Bronze, and Silver ticket holders whose exam site is on the hill,

The Gold and Platinum ticket holders’ exam site led deeper into the island.

After about 30 minutes,

When we seemed to have gone quite far in, I saw a sight I’d often seen on school trips.

“Stone towers?”

I could see towers of stacked stones, large and small, all over the place.

Unlike the other participants who passed by without much interest, I knew the gimmick of the entrance exam.

Special scenery on the way to the exam site is a hint for the upcoming test.

It seems the first part of the entrance exam involves stacking stone towers.

“No.”

“…What did I do wrong?”

“I was just saying it.”

“Liar. You’re worried I might swallow the stones, right?”

“If you know, please be careful. Once the exam starts, we won’t be able to watch over you.”

I see.

Once the exam starts, Jona and Leaf won’t be able to stay with me.

“This is as far as outsiders may go. Those here for the entrance exam, please show your tickets.”

A gatekeeper monk in robes holding a broom appeared in front of an arched gateway.

Jona and Leaf spoke from behind me.

“I believe you will certainly pass, miss.”

“Here’s a candy pouch. Take one whenever you feel hungry.”

“Thank you, Jona, Leaf. I’ll definitely pass!”

* *

Oknodie occasionally turned her head to look at them waving goodbye.

Seeing her timid behavior, Leaf, still in his waving posture, moved only his lips to speak.

“She’s worried. The miss seems decisive at times, but tends to become too soft toward people she’s grown attached to.”

“Don’t worry. Even without us, there’s someone at the exam site who will protect her.”

Giselle passed by with the monkey beastkin.

Her annoying smile at Jona and Leaf’s gaze seemed fortunate, just for today.

“Did you spare that person for this moment?”

“Don’t forget. To us she may be our miss, but to the organization, she’s just a ‘scholarship student.’ Other prospective scholarship students might try to obstruct her.”

They weren’t worried about the entrance exam itself.

What Jona worried about was attacks from competitors.

The black market dealer Giselle was a kind of watchdog to protect the miss from internal competitors within the organization.

“I can’t see the miss anymore.”

“Let’s prepare a gift for her passing.”

“Food would be good.”

“We’re in agreement.”

The butler and maid had absolute faith in their miss’s success and safe return.

* *

After looking back several times, I was certain.

Neither of them could be seen anymore.

At this point, I definitely wouldn’t be caught.

“Aahn”

I opened my mouth wide and popped in a stat stone I’d secretly stolen from the stone tower.

[You have used a stat stone.]

[A random ability score increases by 1.]

I almost died from holding my breath, afraid of getting caught and having my stat stone confiscated!