Entrance Exam -Conclusion-

After somehow finishing the Magic Department entrance exam, which was more like a Mana Blast bombardment.

As soon as I hastily left the Magic Department entrance exam hall, which now had about three large, crater-like depressions, and returned to the Academy Central Plaza, I found Ethan waiting at our meeting spot.

“Maid, did you do well on the exam?”

…Should I say I did well?

Well, since I seemed to have avoided failing, I gave a vague answer so he wouldn’t worry unnecessarily.

“Yes, well. I think I did reasonably well.”

“Reasonably…? Was the subject difficult for Lillith?”

“No, well. It wasn’t that difficult.”

It was just that I jumped in as Lillith without any preparation and almost completely messed up.

Still, it was fortunate that I managed to smooth things over thanks to the Mana Blast at the end.

In the end, I destroyed a total of six targets.

The hardest target and one next to it.

One moving target and one next to it.

And one target furthest away, plus one that I accidentally hit while indiscriminately firing Magic Arrows.

I destroyed more than half, including the three highest-scoring targets, for a total of six, so the strategy itself was successful.

…Honestly, it was almost laughable that I only destroyed six targets after unleashing magic of that scale.

But who cares? As long as I reached the passing score, that’s all that matters.

How to increase Accuracy Rate. In other words, how to increase my ‘luck’ – I would just have to figure that out after enrolling in the Academy. After all, there were a few subjects in the Academy curriculum that could increase ‘luck’.

“If you are curious about my passing status, you do not need to worry. It seems I will be able to pass sufficiently.”

“Really?”

“Yes. However, since the exam subject was not my area of expertise, I do not believe I will receive a high score.”

“Th-that can’t be helped. Everyone has things they’re good at and things they’re not. It’s okay, I know Maid is an excellent Mage.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

“Ah, speaking of which, I thought I heard an explosion from the exam hall earlier that sounded familiar. Was it perhaps caused by Maid….”

“…Today is the day the Young Master’s Swordsmanship Department exam results are announced, isn’t it? Did you happen to check while I was taking my exam?”

“No, not yet. I wanted to check it with Maid.”

“That works out perfectly. We still have time before lunch, so how about we check now, Young Master?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

With that, we walked together to the bulletin board in front of the Academy Headquarters to check Ethan’s Swordsmanship Department admission status.

Honestly, what I was truly curious about wasn’t Ethan, but another character’s Swordsmanship Department admission status.

It was time to confirm whether the protagonist character had entered the Swordsmanship Department as per the original plot, or if they had chosen a different department.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Finding Ethan’s name on the bulletin board in front of the Academy Headquarters wasn’t difficult.

Generally, when the Academy posts a large number of student names on the bulletin board, they don’t distinguish between nobles and commoners. Naturally, they don’t distinguish between noble ranks either.

Luminor Academy’s method was to sort names in ascending order, regardless of whether noble and commoner names were mixed. It was probably the fairest way, and thus less likely to cause complaints.

And as I’ve repeatedly mentioned, this 『Luminor Academy』 was a Korean game, so sorting names in ascending order meant sorting them in Korean alphabetical order.

As I casually scanned the list near the ‘E’ section, I soon found Ethan’s name.

…

Ark Lilkenia

Ethan Richard Blackwood

Emma Lightsword

…

“Maid, did you find it?”

“Yes. You passed splendidly, Young Master.”

“Spl-splendidly….”

“Congratulations. At the very least, you won’t have to endure Master’s scolding.”

“…Yes, thank you. It’s all thanks to Maid.”

“It is merely the reward for the Young Master’s efforts.”

…Well, I admit I didn’t do absolutely nothing.

If I hadn’t motivated Ethan, he wouldn’t have developed this level of swordsmanship skill, and he probably wouldn’t have been able to guarantee victory in the sparring match against Karaham.

But still, the most important thing was that Ethan achieved these results because he put in the effort. I merely provided a bit of motivation.

I also casually checked the admission status of other key characters, only those who affect the main storyline of the game, like Natalie and Karaham.

A thought briefly crossed my mind that Karaham’s defeat in the sparring match against Ethan might affect his admission status, but looking at the results, it seemed the story was still flowing largely according to the original plot.

…In the first place, what mattered wasn’t Ethan or Karaham, but whether the protagonist character had entered the Swordsmanship Department.

‘How am I supposed to find the protagonist’s name among this many names…?’

Even if I had poured 2000 hours into 『Luminor Academy』 in my previous life, it was naturally impossible to memorize the names of all the Academy students. What kind of crazy person would memorize the names of even random characters, let alone extras?

But it didn’t matter. Even if I didn’t know the protagonist character’s name, there was a way to find it.

By using the fact that in 『Luminor Academy』, the protagonist character always has a fixed last name.

It might seem strange that the first name could be freely chosen while the last name was fixed, but due to the game’s story, this ‘last name’ had to remain constant.

All I had to do was find the last name ‘Bolt’ on this list of students, and that would mean it was the protagonist.

Bolt… Where is Bolt, Bolt….

“Maid?”

“…Yes.”

“What are you staring at so intently? Are you looking for someone?”

“…No. I was merely thinking of memorizing a few names, as they might be individuals who will attend the same classes as the Young Master in the future.”

“Maid is truly diligent.”

In truth, I was indeed looking for someone and scanning the names on the bulletin board.

But if I kept looking for too long, I might arouse Ethan’s suspicion, so I decided to just check a few lines at the beginning.

The thought that I might be wasting time unnecessarily, given that I couldn’t even be sure the protagonist character had taken the Swordsmanship Department entrance exam, crossed my mind.

Just as I was about to casually skim the names near the ‘G’ section and turn back, I found a name that anyone would immediately recognize as the player’s.

As soon as I confirmed that name, whose meaning I could roughly guess, I immediately fell into deep despair.

“Ah, ahh….”

“…What’s wrong, Maid?”

“Ah, ah, no… It’s nothing, Young Master.”

“…Your expression is quite serious for it to be nothing.”

“Th-that can’t be. I-I am perfectly fine, Y-Young Master.”

“…For now, let’s go back to the inn and rest. Maid seems tired from the entrance exam today.”

“Yes, yes, yes….”

Even though I had only confirmed the protagonist’s name, my mind was thrown into chaos by a myriad of complex emotions.

At the same time, I began to seriously ponder whether this world itself could remain safe.

No matter how I thought about it, the Hero of this world, who had been given ‘that name,’ didn’t seem like someone who would make any effort to defeat the Demon King.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

About an hour after Ethan and Lillith left the Academy bulletin board.

A pair of men and women, whose appearance and attire were striking enough to draw the attention of many, immediately entered the Academy Department bulletin board area.

A tall, white-haired man with a Two-handed Sword at his waist.

And a pink-haired woman clad in a pure white priestess robe.

The large and small scars on the man’s body and armor indirectly indicated his experience in numerous battles.

The star and curved patterns on her pure white priestess robe proved that she was a Saintess of the Aurelia Church.

“How did it go, Hero-nim?”

“Hmm….”

The Hero of the Aurelia Church, with a serious expression, scanned the list on the Academy bulletin board from top to bottom, searching for his name.

His gaze quietly stopped at one side of the bulletin board.

After confirming his name written there, he let out a slightly troubled sigh and replied to the woman.

“Fortunately, I seem to have passed, Saintess-nim.”

“Y-yes, I knew Hero-nim would pass! Hero-nim’s ‘fate’ that I sensed also said it would be so!”

“…Yes. Thank you for believing in me, Saintess Celista-nim.”

The pink-haired girl, called Celista, smiled at the Hero once, but.

He, paying no mind to her bright smile, merely scanned the Academy bulletin board once more.

“Natalie, Karaham, Ethan… So the original story is flowing correctly, then?”

“…….”

“Then who was that woman I saw in Silverwood…? She looked exactly like Aeria. I’m sure the prostitute in Silverwood was a small woman with pink hair….”

“Um… Hero-nim?”

“Is it originally set to be random without any particular meaning? But other parts are still the same….”

“H-Hero-nim…! H-how long are you going to keep standing in front of the bulletin board…!”

“…I apologize, Saintess Celista-nim.”

The Hero, who had been muttering to himself and lost in thought, quietly stepped back at Celista’s words.

The empty space he left was quickly filled by other applicants eager to check their admission status.

“You’re talking about the original story and randomness again, what’s wrong this time?”

“…I apologize. It’s something I cannot explain to Saintess Celista-nim.”

“…Alright. If it’s something Hero-nim cannot speak of, there must be a reason.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Since Hero-nim has been admitted to the Academy, let’s go to the Church today and report Hero-nim’s achievements. I also need to speak with High Priest-nim and prepare to enroll in the Academy starting next year.”

“Understood, Saintess-nim.”

He was still a man whose thoughts were unfathomable, but Celista enjoyed this moment of walking together, looking at his expression.

Having endured hardships with the Hero several times already, the Hero already occupied a significant part of Celista’s heart.

The fact that she could live as an Academy student with him for the next four years was what brought her joy.

“Starting next year, Hero-nim and I will both be students of Luminor Academy!”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s been true until now, but I look forward to working with you in the future too! …Kyetmajosyegigot Hero-nim!”

“…….”

Kyetmajosyegigot Bolt’s expression stiffened the moment he heard his name from Celista’s lips.

And seeing his expression, she realized her mistake and hastily bowed her head, trying to gauge his mood.

“I-I’m sorry, Hero-nim! I-I was so happy that I just….”

“It’s alright. …Still, I would prefer it if you called me by my last name next time, not my first name. As I’ve told you before, I don’t particularly like my name….”

“I-I’ll keep that in mind….”

Carrying complex emotions in their hearts, each for different reasons, the two headed towards the Aurelia Church Academy Branch.

They were Kyetmajosyegigot Bolt, the Hero of 『Luminor Academy』, and Celista, the Fake Saintess of the Aurelia Church.