episode_0018

When I actually came and entered the waiting room, it seemed like everyone had brought real swords, so I thought to myself, “Should I have brought something proper instead of a wooden sword?” but I shook my head.

The price was the price, and if it had been absolutely necessary, Uncle Duncan would have definitely taken care of it for me.

‘If you try to show off during the test, you’ll just fail. Don’t try to show off, and just think about it as showing off your true abilities.’

Don’t put on airs, that was one of the things Uncle Duncan would always tell me when he taught me.

So I brought my usual wooden sword, and although it wasn’t widely known that the exam would begin the moment I entered the testing room, I found out about it after searching through the community and finding several buried posts about it.

“Hello. My name is Theo, the 32nd applicant.”

So, after simply exchanging greetings, he slowly began to place the scarecrows he had brought, one by one, on the grass.

Although he felt the hot gazes of the audience where the royal family was sitting, he tried to ignore them and after planting all the scarecrows, he finally drew his sword.

Phew-

Just a few light swings show that this wooden sword has been used for quite some time and is a familiar piece of equipment.

I think that these are also things that the examiners have carefully considered to see how well they can demonstrate their abilities, so I think that they will be things worth evaluating from the supervisor’s perspective.

Then, once you run close to the scarecrows and swing your sword at one of them, it doesn’t get completely crushed, as expected from a scarecrow that Marty said was made to be sturdy and well-made, but rather maintains its appearance to some extent.

“Oh… .”

I thought I heard a small gasp from the supervisor, but now was not the time to think about that.

If I can’t crush the scarecrow in one go, I plan to use the secret weapon that Uncle Duncan taught me: the Auror.

Well, honestly, I think that most of the commoners who come to the academy to enter the academy will be able to use Auras since they have to show their skills to the best of their ability.

Anyway, if they can do it, then of course I should be able to do it too.

Because it can’t fall.

Woohoo-

In this way, he gathers energy from inside his body, draws it out through his fingertips in the shape of a light flame, and then places it over the wooden sword as he always did.

Anyway, maintaining the aura as long as my hand and the wooden sword are in contact is not as difficult as you might think.

Woof- Whaaah-!

Sigh-!

A wooden sword covered in an aura cuts through the air in a large circle, slicing down and cutting the scarecrow in half.

Crunch-! Crunch-

And then he runs towards the scarecrows lined up sideways and uses consecutive slashes, and he even completely collapses the scarecrows by just stabbing and pulling them out.

After all the fifteen scarecrows I had set up became unusable, I guess this is all I could say about what I had prepared.

“That’s it.”

He lightly removes the aura, puts the sword back on his waist, and informs the supervisors that he is finished preparing.

But for some reason, no one answered with an answer like they had a hard time or anything, and everyone froze and didn’t say anything.

“… Oh, over there… ?”

What the heck, did I do something wrong? Did I use too many scarecrows…?

Come to think of it, cleaning up all that stuff is a lot of work.

***

When we first saw Theo setting up several scarecrows, all the judges looked half in doubt.

“No, isn’t that too much?”

“It would have been more work to bring all of those.”

“There are times when you have people who like to show off.”

Although it was funny to show off with a scarecrow, it could also be seen as an act of showing off since it was a conspicuous act.

That’s why people think Theo is just a puppet who wants to show off.

“There won’t be much to see this time either.”

I was making that decision.

but.

Phew-

After he had placed the scarecrow in the grass and pulled out his wooden sword and swung it lightly, I felt a sense of anticipation that had not been there before return.

“Oh, is this the sword you brought that fits your body so well?”

“No matter how I look at it, it looks like a sword I’ve used often. It’s completely familiar to my hand.”

As Theo had expected, that one small swing told the overseers that he had brought the sword that best suited his hand.

Considering that the previous candidate had come in with a shiny new sword that didn’t even fit his hand and couldn’t swing it properly, this certainly wasn’t something to be taken down on.

“That’s okay. If your skills are good, you should be able to pass without any problems.”

Today, for the first time, a passable evaluation came out of the supervisor’s mouth.

But that evaluation quickly became meaningless the next moment.

Crunch! Crunch!

After showing that the sword was a good fit for his body, he rushed forward and crushed the scarecrow with the wooden sword, leaving everyone speechless.

“Oh… .”

The supervisor, who was the most sane, let out a small exclamation.

Usually, when the examinee hears a sound from the supervisor, there are cases where the examinee reacts and ruins the test, so it is common for the examinee to talk to the examinee or react so that the examinee cannot hear.

So, it was clear that what Theo had just shown was something great enough to make us forget those rules.

but.

Woohoo-

The next moment, even that elasticity was no longer available to the supervisors.

“Uh, that’s… ”

I witnessed a scene where an aura was being used that was not appropriate for an academy entrance exam taker, that is, a test taker.

“There’s a candidate who knows how to use Aura…?!”

It wasn’t just the test supervisors who were surprised to see this.

The Emperor, who was watching Theo’s test from the stands, was so shocked that he couldn’t help but get up from his spot.

Woof- Whaaah-!

Crunch-! Crunch, crunch-!

But Theo continued his tests regardless of whether others were reacting in that way or not, and only after all the dummies he had set up were crushed or split in half and turned into trash did he release the auror and speak as if nothing had happened.

“That’s it.”

And he said that he finished the test as if it was no big deal.

Everyone there froze and couldn’t say anything.

What kind of space is the Academy?

It can be seen as a small society where you can learn swordsmanship, magic, and make connections.

However, if you ask whether there is anything Theo can learn from it, it has become a situation where it is difficult to rashly say yes.

‘Ah, but that guy is a commoner… It’s possible that he came here to build connections rather than to show off his skills.’

No matter how outstanding one’s abilities, a commoner cannot ascend to a title.

Other than taking over the work my parents were doing or doing things I could do regardless of my title, I couldn’t do anything of great merit.

However, despite having such outstanding swordsmanship skills, it was definitely disappointing that he was not good at farming or doing general work.

‘I see. So you chose to enroll in the academy to make connections!’

Only then were those who had come to their own conclusions able to smile and answer Theo.

“… Oh, over there… ?”

“Oh, yes. I saw it well. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Oh, yes! Thank you!”

The supervisors were confident as they watched Theo politely greet them and leave.

Theo wants to advance to a higher position by gaining connections with the nobility.

And the Emperor and Empress in the audience were thinking the same thing.

“I never thought I’d find such a nice person, Your Majesty.”

“That’s right, Empress. If someone like that graduates from the academy and becomes a knight of the Imperial Order, our power will be sky-high!”

Considering that there are only a handful of people in the Imperial Knights who can use Aura, it was possible to become a Knight Commander as soon as you enlisted.

No, it wasn’t just the level of a knight commander, but rather a level of skill that could make one a direct escort knight protecting the emperor, empress, or crown princess.

“I’m looking forward to learning more at the Academy. What do you think, Iris?”

“… I think it was good swordsmanship.”

“Yeah, you have eyes to see, so you must have seen it that way. But the expression is just… tsk, no. That’s enough.”

Since Iris was not usually an expressive person, the Emperor said that was enough and turned his head to the next test subject.

‘Ouch! Theo, that’s great! What the heck, the aura has gotten bigger!’

Iris seemed completely uninterested in the next test takers, and was simply cheering for Theo from the bottom of her heart.

In fact, I wanted to shout out loud, cheer, and shout ‘Theo-chan!’ and roll forward at the emperor’s question, but if I overdid it, it would definitely look strange and.

‘… What if he thinks I’m interested in you?’

I was a bit worried that such a misunderstanding could cause some problems, so I answered as carefully and quietly as possible.