Ch.66. After the Entrance Exam

The entrance exam was over.

While it was called an exam, its real purpose was to measure abilities and assign classes before admission, so except for a few who were caught cheating, everyone would be seeing each other again as freshmen.

At this point, I was starting to think I might have gone a bit overboard.

Of course, my mindset hadn’t changed—since I’d been reincarnated into this body, I wanted to do things my way, as much as I could. Still, defeating every single freshman in the practical exam might have been a bit much because I got too excited.

What’s done is done, so there’s no point in regret, but I was concerned about how to handle all the attention that would be coming my way.

Even though my abilities might be top-tier right now, before long I’d be average, and eventually, I wouldn’t even rank among the lower tiers. I needed to find a way to keep up with everyone else.

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

Just then, Celia, who was walking ahead of me, glanced back and asked.

That’s right. After the practical exam ended, Celia had found me and declared “Follow me,” and I was being dragged along without any resistance.

Given what I’d done, and the fact that she was walking ahead without even looking at me, I felt awkward starting a conversation. So I just followed her, which gave me time to reflect on the situation.

“Just thinking I might have gotten too excited.”

“You certainly did. But isn’t it fine? You’ve accomplished something that will go down in Academy history.”

You don’t understand my struggles… Unlike you, who will grow to become the strongest in this world, this extra character will struggle just to survive at the Academy.

But since Celia couldn’t possibly know that, I just laughed it off. Well, what’s done is done.

Our brief exchange was enough to confirm she wasn’t angry with me, and since we were talking now, I decided to ask what I was curious about.

“Where are we going, anyway?”

“The lounge. The supervisor who treated me asked me to bring you.”

Taking me to that person? No wonder we were heading in the opposite direction from the exit.

I thought she was taking me to a quiet place first to avoid people before leaving, but we were actually going deeper inside.

“Here we are. She should be waiting, so let’s go in quickly.”

We’d arrived at the lounge. Opening the door and stepping inside, I felt a cozy atmosphere. There was even a calming scent in the air. It had the feel of an infirmary.

Well, though it was called a lounge, it was closer to an infirmary since it was where they treated students who were injured or unwell during duels.

Inside, there was a table and multiple beds for injured students, but except for one, all the beds were empty.

That made sense. I had carefully handled all my opponents to make sure they didn’t get hurt.

Lilith had collapsed from her own overexertion, so that was different, and Celia… I’m really sorry. Should I bow my head again?

“You brought him? Come, both of you, sit here.”

The supervisor—or professor now that the exam was over—was sitting at the table and called us over, so I couldn’t bow again and instead sat across from her.

“Do you like coffee?”

“I’ll drink anything.”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

Celia wasn’t particularly fond of coffee. If she had to drink something at a formal occasion like this, she’d probably prefer tea.

In the end, neither of us really liked either option. If someone wanted to give us something we enjoyed, milk or strawberry juice would be better.

Of course, coffee or tea was standard for occasions like this, so it couldn’t be helped.

Two cups of coffee, one glass of water, and some light snacks appeared on the table. The professor took a sip of her coffee and began speaking.

“Let me introduce myself first. I’m Reina Trier, a professor at Rubetia Academy.”

The Trier family. A prestigious family of healers who inherited healing abilities for generations.

To put it bluntly, even Rubetia couldn’t treat the Triers carelessly, which showed just how high their status was.

Since I already knew this from the first time I saw her, I just nodded lightly, but Celia expressed her surprise with a slightly excited voice.

“Ah…! I thought you seemed familiar. You’re the noble from the Trier family!”

“Noble? That’s too grand. No need for fancy titles here. This is the Academy, so forget about family status and just call me Professor Reina.”

“Yes, Professor Reina.”

The Academy’s cliché rule: equality regardless of status.

Of course, they couldn’t prevent the implicit discrimination among students, but at least it helped prevent the Academy from becoming completely dominated by power dynamics.

Thanks to that, even someone of very high status… well, given that the Academy was named Rubetia, there wasn’t much point in hiding it.

Even Princess Celia Rubetia could be just “Celia” here, not “Rubetia.”

Moreover, the Triers were a ducal family with influence rivaling the royal family… so it wasn’t particularly burdensome for the two of them to treat each other comfortably.

“I remember now. I visited you once when you were still in diapers, and you grabbed my finger.”

“I don’t remember that at all. But, um… Ludion is right here, so maybe we could avoid talking about diapers and such…”

“Don’t be embarrassed.”

How comfortable must they be with each other to talk so freely about such things?

The two of them, who had previously known each other only through family connections, now conversed like sisters, having shed their formal statuses.

As I sipped my coffee, not wanting to interrupt their lively conversation, Professor Reina suddenly seemed to remember my presence and turned her gaze toward me.

“But… Ludion?”

“Yes?”

“How can you be so calm?”

Her eyes suggested she was seeing something quite extraordinary.

Fair enough. With Rubetia and Trier chatting side by side right in front of me, even most nobles would be trembling too much to hold a coffee cup.

And I was a commoner. A commoner showing no nervousness in front of a princess and a ducal lady—even an Academy staff member who upheld equality would feel a disconnect.

But from my perspective, I didn’t know what to say. I could hardly blurt out, “I’m a reincarnator so I know everything already.”

So I just gave a vague answer.

“Well… I just don’t really care about that stuff.”

“Hmm, I have a lot I want to say… but I don’t think we’d understand each other, so I’ll drop it.”

Good call. I wouldn’t know how to explain it either.

But Celia seemed to like my vague answer and turned the conversation toward me with a bright smile.

“With abilities like his, isn’t this kind of boldness natural? The Imperial Palace will probably be desperate to recruit him later, and being too timid would be a problem then, right?”

“I agree. This boy… even I was surprised, and I pride myself on having seen many things.”

“Truly. He’s the first person who treated me this way despite knowing my name. I was shocked at first, but now it makes sense…”

“Good thing he’s the first. It would be terrifying if there were many people like him.”

“That’s true.”

Excuse me, you two? Are you subtly criticizing me?

Girls’ talk is scary. Pretending to compliment while actually gossiping.

Their conversation continued for quite some time, only ending when all the cups on the table were empty.

“Whew. That was an enjoyable chat. To be honest, other professors and students tend to avoid talking with me.”

Professor Reina said this as she cleared the empty cups and sat back down.

Finally, we were getting to the main point.

“Aren’t you curious why I called you here?”

“Of course. Everyone else has probably gone home to prepare for tomorrow’s entrance ceremony.”

“It’s nothing major. I just want you to go with Celia to the Student Council.”

“What?”

Student Council? Why would I, who hasn’t even attended the entrance ceremony yet, go to the Student Council?

“When a professor tells you to go somewhere, you just say ‘Yes, ma’am’ and go. Why so many questions? Learn from Celia.”

“But Celia’s situation is different. She’s a princess, and I’m a commoner.”

“By that logic, you’re a one-man army…”

She has a point. I’m convinced.

“So we’ll learn why you called us from the Student Council?”

“Now you’re being sensible. That’s right.”

In the end, I ended up accompanying Celia to the Student Council, which originally would have been her solo trip.

I already knew the reason, but there was no need to pretend I did.

Since there was no reason to stay any longer, I immediately left with Celia for the Student Council room.

After Ludion and Celia left the lounge, the space that had been filled with conversation just moments ago fell silent. Just then, the only person lying on a bed in the room opened her eyes.

“Huh.”

“Awake now? Mana depletion has quite lasting side effects, so you probably won’t be able to move right away. Rest for a while.”

“Um… where am I?”

“This is the lounge where people who get injured or exhausted during the practical exam come to rest. Today, you’re the second and last visitor.”

“What about the exam?”

“It ended a while ago. Don’t worry. What you showed was enough to be assigned to the advanced class.”

Lilith didn’t know whether to be happy about that or shocked by the prowess of the man who hadn’t been affected by her attacks at all.

Yes, that man… what happened to Ludion? Surely he must have been at least a little tired after she attacked him so fiercely that she passed out?

“That boy? He stayed in the dueling arena until the exam ended. He didn’t even look tired. It’s strange—he didn’t seem to be managing his stamina at all.”

He wasn’t affected at all? How is that possible? He must have already fought dozens of battles before facing her.

She was aware of her own limitations. Though she had fortunately awakened, before that she was just a princess who had learned a few self-defense techniques.

Still, she hadn’t expected to feel this powerless in just the entrance exam.

“The world really is vast. I’m glad I came to the Academy.”

She wasn’t discouraged by the wall she’d encountered. Her goal was to grow stronger and take revenge on the Demon King’s Army, so she would simply make that wall her target.

Someday, she too would possess the power to subdue everyone, just like the boy who had toyed with her.

Unlike in the original story, she now had an extraordinary standard to aim for, but Lilith had no way of knowing that.

“Come to think of it, I was going on about dark magic and whatnot… acting like I would obviously win.”

Her face suddenly flushed with heat. If she could go back, she wouldn’t have shown such an arrogant attitude.

After awakening as a saint, she had only studied divine power superficially.

And that superficial study became the problem.

The Dunning-Kruger effect… often called the peak of ignorance? People with limited knowledge tend to be particularly arrogant rather than humble, and Lilith had fallen right into that trap.

Belatedly realizing her mistake, Lilith wanted to hide under the covers, but her body wouldn’t move as she wished due to the after-effects of mana depletion.

She could only squirm slightly.

Reina noticed Lilith starting to squirm and smiled.

“Starting to feel embarrassed now? Go ahead and feel the shame. It’s all part of the experience.”

Reina chuckled as if she’d seen something cute, but her laughter only made Lilith feel more ashamed, causing her to squirm more vigorously.

Leaving Lilith to squirm alone, Reina made another cup of coffee and returned to the table to enjoy her leisure.

Normally, dozens of students with various injuries would have come here, making the place busy and crowded for several more hours, but this exam was different.

It was thanks to a very special student who participated in this entrance exam: Ludion.

“Thanks to him, I got to slack off. I should ask if he’d consider working directly under me next time.”

If Ludion had heard this, he would have retorted, “You’re saying something terrifying so casually,” but having left long ago, he had no way of knowing about Professor Reina’s frightening recruitment plans.