Chapter 99: Exam Results

Several days have passed since the Sword Demon Society’s attack, but thanks to keeping it secret, the same sense of unease as before hadn’t returned.

However, the academy’s atmosphere was far from peaceful due to the long-awaited class assignment test results being released that day.

“Waaaaaah!!”

Turning my head at the crying sound nearby, I saw a female student kneeling and sobbing bitterly as if someone had died.

Students who had failed the exam and remained in their current class or were even demoted could be seen shedding tears like her here and there.

In contrast, those who had passed and advanced were elated as if throwing a festival. They all laughed loudly, boasting about their promotion.

I was bewildered by this strange atmosphere that felt like heaven and hell, or a funeral and celebration happening simultaneously.

“Vroom! Vroom! Make way!”

Hearing a familiar idiotic voice, I turned my head in disbelief…

“S-class student coming through! Vroooom!”

Hori was running toward me, holding a flag pole with “S-class Pass” written on it high above her head, singing a song that made even me, already in S-class, want to smack her.

“Oh? Ian! My fellow S-class Ian!! In case you didn’t see, I got promoted to S-class!!”

“Yeah…”

At Hori’s words, the sharp glares of students who had failed the exam were directed at her, but she paid them no mind.

Instead, she walked slowly with light but deliberate steps, as if enjoying those hateful stares.

It was a dramatic change – was this really the same Hori who used to lower her eyes whenever nobles so much as glanced at her, just because she finally got a sponsor?

“You’ve changed a lot compared to when we first met, huh?”

“Hehe!! Now I don’t need to hide this overflowing intellect anymore! To use one of your analogies, Ian, it’s like I’ve been hiding my baldo all this time and can finally use it!”

Comparing the torture of baldo prohibition to hiding one’s intelligence annoyed me a bit, but I understood what she meant.

“By the way, Ian… if it’s alright with you, could you stop by our class later?”

“Why?”

I listened, figuring it would be some useless reason, and sure enough, it was indeed trivial.

“I checked, and there’s not a single count or higher in our class! So I wanted to use you, a count, to intimidate them a bit– Ow!!”

Since it wasn’t worth listening to, I smacked Hori on the head. She whimpered, clutching her head.

“If you have time for such nonsense, do some research instead. The workshop repairs should be finished soon.”

“Already?! It’s only been two weeks since we went there…”

“I guess they know the mansion better, even if it was built centuries ago. The workshop wasn’t in that bad a shape to begin with…”

The workers said it took two weeks because they were backed up, but given how well-preserved the workshop was, it could’ve been done in a week.

“Anyway, the workshop should be repaired and the lab equipment should arrive in a couple days.”

“Wow!!! You said in a couple days, right?! Then I’ll be there on time! No, I’ll just stay at the mansion from now and wait!!”

Hori’s eyes were shining like a child with a big gift box in front of them.

I didn’t really care, but this kid surely wasn’t planning to just move into my mansion, right?

Leaving behind the students with their mixed emotions, Hori and I headed to the building reserved for S-class students.

Unlike before, Hori’s steps were proud and confident, clearly delighted to be able to enter this place legitimately now.

“Well, the knight department classroom is that way, so I’ll go ahead.”

“Okay! If I get bullied in class, I’ll come straight to the knight department classroom to tattle!”

“…Let me warn you in advance, don’t go picking fights to vent your past frustrations.”

“Huh?! I can’t?!!”

“Most of the parents in the alchemy department are probably alchemists, right? I don’t want to get involved with that lot unless they’re a renowned swordsman.”

Having faced several strong opponents, I wasn’t satisfied with anyone less than Jessica’s father’s level.

“If you really want to pick a fight, only do it with children of Swordmasters or 7th-circle or higher mages. At least they’re worth cutting down.”

“…Um, isn’t it usually the opposite? Shouldn’t you avoid provoking such opponents because it’ll be troublesome…?”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Why waste time picking fights with someone you can easily crush?”

Hori sometimes said incomprehensible things, probably from studying too much.

“Anyway, do well, and I’ll be going now.”

“Okay! I’ll visit the mansion after it’s over!”

Leaving Hori behind, I entered the knight department classroom to find Jessica already there, reading a small book the size of my palm at her desk.

“Hi, Jessica! Seeing you here, I guess you didn’t change classes. Did Rain drop out?”

“That’s impossible. Lady Rain just hasn’t arrived yet.”

“No one came up from A-class either?”

“Well… Judging by the headmaster’s silence, it doesn’t seem so.”

Originally, Marina wasn’t our class’s homeroom teacher, but since it was difficult to find a suitable replacement for Peter, she was acting as our homeroom teacher in addition to her headmaster duties.

“Come to think of it, the headmaster has it rough… It’d be nice if the royal palace sent a couple of decent Swordmasters.”

“Even the royal palace wouldn’t have high-level personnel like Swordmasters to spare! This is all because you chased away Professor Peter!!”

“That wasn’t my fault. The problem was with that guy who ran away just because he lost to a student.”

Was it even reasonable for a man of his age to leave with just a letter the day he got scolded by a student?

He wasn’t some fresh graduate fleeing a small company. The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.

“Haah… Looking at you, I’m worried about how to handle academy life from now on.”

“What’s the big deal? Peter’s gone, but I’m taking responsibility and teaching in his place.”

Though I couldn’t teach how to handle a hammer, Jessica’s skills had improved remarkably thanks to my rigorous basic training.

“Since we’re on the topic, how did your matches with Rain go during the exam? About 5:5?”

“Not quite… More like 7:3…”

“7:3? That’s not bad.”

It didn’t meet expectations, but at 7:3, she could narrow the gap with Rain further if she worked hard for a few more months.

“She’s the daughter of a Sword Saint, even if she’s the dimwitted one. Don’t worry too much.”

“Di-dimwitted…!! Are you crazy?! What if Rain suddenly shows up…”

“Huh? I’ve already said it to her face once before.”

Hearing this, Jessica rubbed her head with one hand as if she had a headache, just like Marina suffering from a hangover the other day.

“Since it’s true, she just glared at me and that was the end of it, so no need to worry.”

“That’s because Lady Rain is generous enough to let it end there. Can’t you develop your social skills even a fraction of your sword skills?”

“Social skills are useless anyway. If any trouble comes up, I can somehow solve it with this.”

Not all of life’s problems could be solved with baldo, but most could.

As I said this, showing the Wolffang at my waist, Jessica let out a deep sigh.

“It’s even more troublesome because that logic somewhat works for you. But such methods won’t always work, so why don’t you try to improve your social skills at the upcoming ball?”

“Ball? Do nobles these days build friendships at fighting tournaments?”

“It’s not a martial arts competition, it’s a ball!! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Don’t get so worked up over a joke. You mean the summer ball that’s coming up soon, right?”

I planned not to attend since weapons weren’t allowed at balls.

I couldn’t part with my precious katanas, which I didn’t remove even while showering, just for some dance.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be attending. I don’t even know how to dance anyway…”

“You can’t dance? Then how have you managed until now? Even a baronet is still nobility, so you must have had many such occasions.”

As Jessica said, my mother had insisted several times that I should attend such events for my future, even though I was busy enough with baldo.

But whenever that happened, I vehemently refused and tried to jump headfirst out the window, so she eventually said it was fine if I didn’t go.

“…You’ve been out of your mind since childhood. I can imagine how much Mrs. Barthow must have suffered.”

“Anyway, I don’t know how to dance, so I won’t be attending the ball.”

“…Then if I teach you how to dance, would you consider attending?”

Raising my head at this unbelievable statement, I saw Jessica avoiding my gaze and fidgeting with her hands, seemingly embarrassed by her own words.

“What’s this? Jessica, do you want to go to the ball with me that badly?”

“Of course not!! I just wanted to repay you a little since I’ve only been receiving help until now!! So, what are you going to do? Will you go to the ball if I teach you to dance?! Or not?!”

“Not going.”

Even before dancing, I didn’t like the idea of attending such an event and putting on airs.

When I conveyed this to Jessica, for some reason she got very angry and turned her head away sharply.

‘…Still, I’m not going to the ball.’