Chapter 15

Chapter 15

From Cosmic Rascal to Professor.

Episode 15: Mock Test (3).

The four-hour-long mock test was finally over.

“Ah.”

Taking a test after such a long time really drained my energy.

It seems leisurely research suits me better than studying for entrance tests.

I was stretching my stiff back and body when…

“Did you do well?”

Silver-white hair danced before my eyes.

“I don’t think there was any problem I couldn’t solve.”

Zelnya von Adelwein, the heir to the Adelwein family, stood in front of me with her arms crossed, smiling casually.

She was showing off about the mock test.

“When you say it like that, it sounds so pathetic.”

“Hmm, if you get better results than me, I’ll acknowledge those words.”

Zelnya’s lips twisted.

Just like that, Zelnya goes around picking fights with everyone she sees.

The villainess who thinks she’s the best in the world. She’s not just prideful but also skilled.

Such is Zelnya, who eventually betrays humanity because she believed she wasn’t meant to hold humanity within her.

She becomes an apostle of an Outer God and opposes the protagonist, and after the Federation’s downfall, she is betrayed by the Outer God who had been protecting her and meets a glorious death.

But that is still a story far off. Right now, she is neither a villain nor anything, just a brat.

“Do you remember you asked me to step on you earlier?”

“Why, will you really step?”

Zelnya approached with a sly smile, ready to press her foot on mine. I didn’t move.

Step.

“I stepped on it, as you wished. How is it?”

“Nice.”

Even if she pressed down, it felt like a tickle because of her small body.

Seeing me stay calm, Zelnya, seemingly dissatisfied, shifted her weight as if to climb on top of me.

“Nice massage.”

“…Crazy jerk.”

Of course, this is all an act. I am not crazy. Where in the world would you find a pervert who gets excited from being stepped on by others? But, pretending to be crazy was the better approach when handling Zelnya.

I spoke up, leaning in closely.

“Hello?”

Zelnya jumped back like a cat whose tail was stepped on. She brushed down her forearm, catching her breath, and I grabbed my bag.

“I can handle being stepped on, but don’t touch my little sister.”

“Don’t touch my little sister.”

The single sentence stuck in Ceti’s mind.

‘What is that guy spouting?’

Ceti couldn’t understand Aidel’s sudden behavior. She hid herself and eavesdropped on the conversation between the two.

Zelnya gently scratched Aidel, just as she had done to herself. Yet, Aidel didn’t even flinch. Instead, he calmly extracted himself from the situation.

The conversation naturally came to an end.

Ceti blinked her eyes. She crumpled the remaining test papers and stuffed them into her bag, then went to look for Edward.

“Assistant teacher, you said you taught Aidel for the interview, right?”

“Uh? Yes. But…”

“Did he do anything strange to you during those two weeks?”

“Nope?”

Edward glanced at Ceti’s expression and nodded. He opened his mouth with a smile as if he understood her intention.

“Your brother actually seems different from how the media has portrayed him. Despite appearances, he is quite intelligent. And kind-hearted too. Of course, I could be wrong… but at least from an outsider’s perspective, that is how I see it.”

Edward may come from a humble background, but he has a strong sense of self. Ceti believed that Edward’s words weren’t lies.

The same was true even for Rustila.

Rustila described Aidel as ‘someone more pitiable than he appears’, ‘someone who needs help.’ It was also her first time meeting Aidel.

If it had been the opinion of just one person, she would dismiss it easily. But when two trustworthy people have given the same assessment, it warranted consideration.

Thus, one could arrive at this conclusion.

‘People change.’

Or.

‘There is a specific timing for the misdeeds.’

Ceti also hadn’t lived with Aidel for a long time. Even though they lived in the same house, they rarely came across each other, and they didn’t even eat together. Aidel always lived as if he was locked in his room.

Or perhaps their relationship was worse than that of strangers.

“He might look like that, but he worries a lot about his younger sister.”

“That guy?”

Ceti waved her hand.

“He is someone who would curse at me and hit me whenever he got the chance. That cannot be…”

“Guys with younger sisters are all like that to an extent. There might be differences in degree, but it is their way of expressing affection.”

“If that is an expression of affection, that is disgusting.”

“He will change once he matures.”

Edward chuckled and looked at Aidel and Zelnya talking. Zelnya snorted and then packed her clutch bag to go out.

Aidel finished his talk and approached.

“Little one, let’s go home.”

Ceti frowned.

The mock test results were out.

“Yah, what rank did you get?”

No sooner than the report card arrived, my sister burst into the room.

“What is the occasion? You are in my room?”

“Cut the nonsense and just show me your mock test results.”

Without a word, I handed her my report card. Ceti snatched it like a ghost, looked through it quickly, and her mouth opened wide.

“You, you must have forged it.”

“I cannot believe it.”

I pressed my forehead and sighed deeply. It seemed a bit too much to be accused of forging the mock test scores by my own sister.

Ceti’s eyes fluttered. She gasped for air. And her chest heaved as if she had run a marathon.

“There is no way you could get these scores without forging…”

“Didn’t I tell you before? Show and prove.”

Swish!

Ceti threw the paper at my face.

[Overall Ranking: 1(2)/4565]

[* The number in parentheses indicates the number of people tied for the same rank.]

“You couldn’t even do a simple fraction, you dumbhead. You were a fool. And now, in less than four months, you are getting these scores? It’s like the bullshit news of the year!”

“Sister, aren’t you being too harsh?”

“Yah, too harsh…! And you, all this time…!”

Ceti’s lips suddenly shut.

“Ah, well, let’s see the test paper.”

After saying that, she rummaged through my bag. The solved past question books slipped out onto the floor, and she finally found the half-torn mock test paper and unfolded it.

“Ah!”

Even if it is just a mock test, it is still a test, so I had to check the work. In the process, my test paper was a mess. Ceti glanced over the traces of the answers and shouted.

“Yah, this, this is cheating.”

“…”

“If it isn’t cheating, then it doesn’t make sense.”

This isn’t normal.

“How much did you rank?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“I showed you, why won’t you show?”

“Why do I have to show?”

I smiled and said.

“Shall I guess your rank? Third?”

“…Why do you think so?”

“Zelnya, that girl would probably study better than you, and she would be tied with me.”

It was a logical deduction and there was nothing to see.

Stellarium was located at the southern end of the massive spiral galaxy that makes up the Federation. Therefore, Zelnya, who had lived in the northern part of the galaxy, had bought a station in the south a month ago and was using it like a hotel.

As time passed, she naturally received her mock test score report. Originally she had no intention of taking the mock test, but due to her family’s insistence, she took it.

The result of the test was trivial. Even though she answered without much thought, she got first. It was Zelnya’s judgment that the test was made easy to manage the mental state of the kids.

But.

“Ah.”

There was a tie.

“…Who is this one?”

For the first time, Zelnya felt her temper flare. Until now, there was no one better than her.

Even though tied, it was enough to irritate her.

The direct descendants of Adelwein must always stand at the top. That was the family motto and a principle Zelnya had determined for herself. The mere presence of someone beside her was intolerable.

She ended up experiencing such an incident in the most unexpected place.

She felt sick to the stomach even before taking the test.

“Pecha, hack into the academy network if you have to, but find out who scored the same as me. I need to at least know the name.”

The Adelwein family’s information network is as robust as a well-woven spider’s web. Indeed, as soon as Zelnya issued an order, it took less than ten minutes to find out the personal details of the student who matched her score.

“I contacted the director. The name is Aidel von Reinhardt.”

“Aidel…”

Just typing the name into the internet brought up dozens of articles. Most of them were negative. It was the name of a boy who committed acts so vile that just reading would make one scowl.

No one had heard about this boy being bad at studying. It was just known that his school life was a mess and had been suspended several times.

“Was he that good at studying?”

“There is a saying that academic ability and character are separate.”

Zelnya tapped the oak desk with a tap, tap sound. She thought deeply about what to do with this boy called Aidel.

She wouldn’t resort to childish acts like ostracizing someone she deemed superior. That wasn’t nice. The Adelwein family always deals with their enemies in a sophisticated manner.

“Reinhardt…”

Not as much as Adelwein, but their influence was surely significant. At least, the southern part of the Federation hadn’t fallen to monsters because the doctors of the family had healed the soldiers with their medical skills.

“How interesting.”

Zelnya realized it.

-Step on me.

What was said by Aidel.

“…If only I could.”

After all, this was just a practice test.

The real deal is next week.

Zelnya giggled and checked the calendar.

One week left. The Stellarium written test was approaching.