episode_0012

As the sun was setting, the sound of the wind blowing could be heard continuously in the semi-dark forest.

“98….99….100.”

“Hoo….”

There stood Arthur, his entire body soaked in sweat.

A trembling left arm and a shaking sword tip.

I have been practicing for five years. At first, I felt that my overall physical ability was improving, and I felt a sense of accomplishment from this, so I practiced even harder. However, contrary to my expectations, I quickly ran into a wall.

At some point, no matter how much I swung my sword or lifted heavy objects, my muscle strength no longer increased, and no matter how much I ran to my limit, my stamina did not increase at all.

That’s why I tried to learn from Alice how to strengthen the body using mana, which warriors use. Even if the amount is small, if you use it, the mana will naturally increase, and the body will become stronger according to the amount of mana that increases. And I had no other way.

But I couldn’t even learn that. No matter how hard I concentrated on what that damn mana was, I couldn’t feel it, and even though Alice directly poured mana into my body, I only continued to feel an unpleasant foreign sensation inside my body.

In the end, I sparred with Alice as a last resort. I heard that mana is something that the body often instinctively uses to survive in moments when life is at stake.

Although Alice made a fuss about not wanting to do it, she eventually had no choice but to grant the request, and after being beaten all day, she eventually passed out because she couldn’t stand it anymore.

Naturally, I didn’t feel any mana during the process.

A small amount of mana that cannot even be felt, a poor left-handed sword, and a lack of distance perception due to half-blindness.

When I first started practicing, I couldn’t even hit a still wooden pole properly. After that, I just got used to the position. It was almost impossible to hit a moving opponent.

The whole situation was at its worst.

“Haa….”

-Rustling.

“Arthur!”

The voice heard was Alice.

“Aris..?”

Since when did Arthur always go to places unknown to Alice to train alone? However, Alice easily found him as if she knew where he was from the beginning.

I once asked him how he found out about it, but he said that he just had a feeling that it would be there and tried to gloss over the method. Since it wasn’t particularly important, he just let it go.

Of course, every time I come across something like this, my curiosity is piqued.

“Arthur, let’s go back now. You know we have to leave for the capital tomorrow, right?”

The reason for going to the capital is that Arthur and Alice are now 20 years old and old enough to take the Academy entrance exam, and the exam is held in Ehis, the capital of Kirnio, an empire with a thousand years of history.

There are numerous academies in the Empire. But if you ask which is the best, there is only one answer: ‘Ehis Academy.’

Every year, thousands of people take the entrance exam and only 600 are selected.

And unlike other academies, there are only two faculties, the Faculty of Knights and the Faculty of Magic, and each accepts 300 new students. Also, as befitting the most prestigious school in the Empire, students who graduate with excellent grades are eligible to enter the Knights and the Magic Tower.

Of course, Arthur did not want to go to the Academy. Since he was a child, the village children had bullied him by throwing rocks at him and calling him a monster, so he was afraid that if he went to the Academy, something similar would happen to him.

However, the reason she went to the academy was because Alice wanted to, she had to enter the Magic Tower for her dream, and most importantly, she could not betray Hilda, who had continued to support her so that she could enter the Magic Tower.

“Then shall we go and say hello to the townspeople?”

Now Arthur and Alice must go to the capital. Alice, who is applying to the Knights’ College, will be evaluated for her martial skills through a week-long tournament-style duel, while Arthur, who is applying to the Magic College, will be evaluated for his magical knowledge, which is the most important thing for a wizard, through a written test.

Since the results come out a week after the exam, I had to stay in the capital until I entered school.

And since the academy’s vacation only lasts a month, unless something unusual happens, it’s common to stay at the academy for the full four years it takes to graduate. Today was my last day in town.

… … …

The next morning.

Arthur and Alice said goodbye to the village chief and his family and left the village.

It was a long journey on horseback. It would have been safer to hire mercenaries or adventurers to go, but since Alice was stronger than most mercenaries or adventurers, they decided to just go.

Of course, in the case of the empire, public security had improved due to the war with the demons, so there were almost no bandits, so there was little danger. In other words, it was common to hire them with the feeling of being prepared for an emergency.

“Aris…”

“Why?”

“Can I get into the academy..?”

“Arthur, don’t worry. I haven’t seen anyone smarter than you?”

“If you fail the exam after memorizing all the grimoires in the library, who would be able to enter?”

“But…”

“Shhh! Enough with this talk!”

Alice quickly cut off Arthur’s excessive worry and brought up another topic to divert Arthur’s attention, and the mood was quickly restored.

… … …

The long journey that lasted several weeks has come to an end.

Arthur and Alice, who arrived at the capital, were showing their identification badges at the gate.

The gatekeeper, who was checking the identification badge, saw the silver badge hanging around Alice’s neck.

“Huh..? You’re 20 years old and you have a silver medal?”

“It wasn’t difficult, was it?”

“Haha, it looks like you came to take the entrance exam… Kids these days are definitely high-level.”

At that moment, Arthur spoke from the side.

“Are you an academy graduate?”

“That’s right. So that’s why you’re guarding the gate here? Even though you look like this, you’re a knight guarding the capital. Not just anyone can do it.”

“Wow! You’re a knight. That’s amazing!”

The gatekeeper seemed pleased by Arthur’s compliments and began to give him tips.

“Now that you’ve checked, go ahead and go. And if you go to the center, there will be an inn with a tree drawn on it. They have good food there, so definitely go there.”

“Yes, thank you for letting me know.”

As the door opened, Arthur and his party were able to enter the capital.

“… Arthur.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t smile like that at other women.”

“… No…”

Arthur tried to explain, but Alice suddenly grabbed Arthur’s chin and kissed him.

“!!!”

Alice kisses him passionately and then pulls away.

“Because I’m jealous. Do you understand?”

Arthur looked around in confusion.

“Aris!! I told you not to do that outside! It’s embarrassing!”

“Other girls keep staring at me. Sorry.”

“Hoo….”

Maybe it’s because she’s 20 years old, but these days, Alice has become more proactive.

Is it scary sometimes..?

While we were chatting like that, we arrived at the inn with the tree drawn on it.

As I entered, a man who looked to be in his 30s greeted me.

“It looks like you came to take the entrance exam. You’re lucky. Our inn is doing well in the capital, and we just happened to have some rooms left.”

Arthur replied that there was room left.

“Really? Then 2 rooms..”

But he couldn’t continue speaking because Alice grabbed Arthur’s shoulder.

“Hmm… 2 rooms? Then here’s the key…”

“No? Give me one room.”

“Aris…?”

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“Oh, no, that’s not it…”

Then the owner began to smile and speak.

“Kids, you shouldn’t be too noisy at night?”

Arthur’s face turned red when he heard those words.

“… ”

“Let’s go in, Arthur.”

-Thump thump.

A room at the end of the second floor hallway.

-Squeak.

When I opened the door, there was a simple bathroom and a large bed inside.

“That…Alice? I have a test in a few days. I’ll go to the library to study.”

“Okay. See you later tonight.”

… … …

Arthur studied until late at night and returned to his room as late as possible.

Arthur slowly walked over and quietly opened the door. When he went in, the room was dark and Alice seemed to be already asleep.

“Arthur.”

“Eek!”

But Alice was not sleeping and was waiting for Arthur.

“Uh…Aris. You’re still awake?”

“I kept waiting because you didn’t come.”

“Well… There are so many grimoires that I’m seeing for the first time… I didn’t realize that time had passed so quickly…”

After hearing that, Alice tapped the seat next to her with her hand.

“Let’s sleep together, Arthur.”

“Ugh..yeah”

At Alice’s words, Arthur went and lay down next to her.

“Is this the first time we’ve slept together since we were kids?”

“Okay…”

“Then sleep well.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“… … … ”

I couldn’t feel any movement from Alice, so I wondered if she was really sleeping.

Arthur felt a sense of relief inside. Although he liked Alice and was dating her, everyone was nervous at first.

Arthur fell asleep quickly as he had been tiring that day, and nothing happened until the day of the exam.