episode_0016

Anyway, being able to move in an instant meant I had more free time, so I was able to regain some of my composure.

Well, honestly, it’s true that I get psychologically tired from driving and doing things early in the morning, so I was planning to just sleep in the car, and I think it turned out well.

“Ready to go! Perfect enough to go out right away!”

In the meantime, Estelle, who has washed up and gotten dressed, comes out and I put a hat on her.

“Huh? What is this?”

“We’re going to move together, so you have to hide the tattoo on your forehead.”

It was possible to say that she had dyed her hair blue, and since everyone who came to the test site was nervous anyway, it was clear that she wouldn’t pay much attention to it.

However, the tattoo on her forehead is so conspicuous that it is almost like advertising that she is a saint, so it is the number one thing that must be hidden.

“You can just erase it with magic.”

“… You’re not a great wizard, so you can’t use that?”

I clearly remember talking like that and turning my hat inside out when I went to the market after my first lesson, but now I’m just amazed at Estelle talking like she can wear something like that.

“You can’t use polymorph. That means changing the entire appearance. You can just dye your hair, change your eye color, and use magic to hide the pattern on your forehead. It’s not as hard as you think.”

“So if you had covered it up like that back then… No, that’s enough. Let’s stop. What’s the point of talking about it now?”

Well, I might not have wanted to use it at the time. It was also the first time we met.

You could ask someone you just met to stay at your house, but yeah, you could do that.

“Hehe, sorry. At that time, I wanted to tease Theo who was waiting a little.”

“Oh, I see.”

Even if the saint had a bad hobby of teasing people, that’s not what’s important to me right now.

The most important thing is the Academy exam that will be held in a few hours.

The academy’s exams are divided into two types: noble and commoner.

The aristocratic exam is conducted in a typical way, where the questions are clearly defined and the answers are to be found, although it is not known what kind of questions are asked and how they are presented.

However, if the problem is that the commoner model is not a typical test method, then it could be a problem.

Since the commoner exam itself is a exam to select truly talented people, it is conducted as an autonomous exam where you have to show everything you can.

This means that only those who can prove their abilities can attend classes shoulder to shoulder with the nobles at the academy.

“Have you decided how to show it?”

Since it is an autonomous exam, I learned that I can decide how to conduct the exam myself when I joined a community of people preparing for the Academy exam.

There is a way to bring in one person who can be your sparring partner, as long as your identity is verified, so I thought about asking Estelle to do it, but Estelle is basically not someone with a verified identity in the Ermunt Empire.

It might be possible if Estelle’s identity is revealed, but honestly, I’d rather not do that because it’s too obvious.

“I’m thinking of taking a scarecrow. The one used at Mr. Duncan’s butcher shop. I’ll use it to demonstrate swordsmanship and magical powers.”

So, the method we decided on was to take several scarecrows.

As this is the most commonly used method, it was also recommended by the most people in the community.

The fact that it is a universal method means that the probability of receiving bonus points is low, but it is okay since I have already thought about that part.

The Academy exam is basically conducted with the swordsmanship exam held in the morning and the magic exam held in the afternoon. Anyone who participates in both of these categories is given 10 bonus points as a basic bonus.

And since the total score is calculated by adding up all the points received from the swordsmanship and magic categories and adding up to a bonus score of 10, it is clear that participating in both categories will greatly increase the chances of passing.

“Did you decide to do it that way?”

“Yeah, that’s the most common and simple way.”

“I told you I’d be your sparring partner.”

“I don’t want to stand out by revealing that I’m close to the saint.”

Maybe after entering the academy.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to just pick something that stands out on the test.

Honestly, let’s say you’re close friends with the saintess, and in more detail. I think she’ll be supervising the test in great depth.

What if I fail to get into the academy?

At that time, it was truly a ruined ending.

“We’ll be going to the academy together anyway.”

“That happened then. Anyway, since we’ve finished eating, let’s get going.”

Before we knew it, an hour had passed before the exam was scheduled to start.

Since I had already applied online in advance, all I had to do was check, and they said that the line would be shorter as the deadline approached, but people still need to be prepared for the unexpected.

“There’s no way I could fail the test without taking it, right?”

“That’s right. Then let’s go.”

After saying goodbye to my parents and telling them that I will be going, I hold Estelle’s hand and start walking to the test site.

The first thing I realized while moving to take the test was that moving magic was more stable and comfortable than I thought.

If I just go from one side to the other, I get motion sickness, so it seems like I need to study a bit more in this area.

***

The time when Theo and Estelle are preparing to move.

There was a huge commotion in the examination room where the Ermunt Academy’s commoner entrance exam was being prepared.

“Did you hear that? I heard that Her Highness the Crown Princess Iris is coming to observe the commoner selection process.”

“Oh, I heard it was suddenly decided this time.”

“There was a lot of talk that Her Highness the Crown Princess had been out of the country for quite some time and that she probably wouldn’t come this time either.”

It was because word spread throughout the examination room that Crown Princess Iris was coming to observe the Academy’s commoner selection process.

Usually, the royal family was granted the right to attend the Academy exams, but the Emperor mostly showed up for both the noble and commoner exams. On the contrary, the Crown Princess Iris seemed to have no interest in attending the Academy exams at all.

Moreover, since it was a well-known fact to all the people of the empire that the Crown Princess had been out of the country for quite some time for personal reasons, most people naturally assumed that she would not attend this time either.

The Emperor also did not particularly force the Crown Princess to attend.

But this time, Iris was the first to express her intention to attend the commoner competition, and the Emperor was also quite surprised.

“Oh, if I could just catch the eye of Her Highness the Crown Princess, I could be completely successful.”

To catch the eye of the Crown Princess.

It was as if he was saying that he might be able to make friends with her as she entered the academy this quarter.

Having a connection with the royal family, or rather, even just one noble family member, would have been a great opportunity for a commoner to rise to fame, so having a connection with the royal family was clearly a dream come true for all of them.

but.

“Can you bring me a list of those taking the civil service exam today?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I have prepared it in advance.”

In Iris’ eyes, who had already entered the examination room and was sitting in her seat.

‘Oh, it’s Theo. Is this Theo’s 32nd time taking the test?’

Only Theo’s name caught my eye.

“Oh my. You’re suddenly saying you’re going to observe the exam.”

“Hello, Your Majesty the Emperor…!”

As Iris sat down and checked Theo’s turn, the Emperor walked over to her seat and spoke.

Everyone standing around trembled and greeted him, but the Emperor seemed to not care and just brushed them away.

“Well, maybe you suddenly become interested.”

“So. How is it going with the saintess in the Derr County?”

Although he had been submitting reports periodically, the emperor became very impatient as they were all superficial.

“Didn’t you upload the report periodically?”

“Stop saying such hypocritical things. Tell me what the saint you saw was like.”

The emperor’s tone of voice was gentle and he had a very kind smile on his face, but the content he spoke was far from being an affectionate conversation between a father and daughter who had not seen each other for a long time.

“Well, it’s exactly as reported in the report. It’s not much different.”

However, Iris had no intention of reporting anything about her personal friendship with the saint or anything about Theo.

Of course, I didn’t think the Emperor would be completely unaware of it, but it was clear that there were details that she wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t reported them to him.

That’s why he asked the question so nervously in such a public place.

‘… It’s not about protecting those two. I just want perfect peace.’

Of course, Iris was making excuses to fool herself endlessly.