episode_0042

I expected them to interfere, but I never thought they would say that. I asked her in a calm voice.

“May I ask why?”

“Haa…”

Professor Naela, who is in charge of monster ecology, sighed deeply. She seemed dumbfounded and somewhat frustrated.

“Do you remember your test score? There’s been a lot of talk about it among the students.”

Test scores are usually released within a day or two. So you can check them quickly without waiting long.

My score in monster ecology was B+. Professor Naela’s grading system is strict, so that score is equivalent to an A+ in other courses.

That grade was the result of my hard work. To try to mess with that is absurd. I responded immediately.

“Professor. I did not cheat on the exam. That score is the result of my efforts.”

“I know, I know it very well. That you worked hard. But the students don’t seem to think so. They keep asking if you committed ‘fraud’.”

“……”

“And according to the rules, professors have no choice but to investigate when inquiries come in.”

“I know that.”

Professor Naela sighed again and continued. Her frustrated and uncomfortable feelings were conveyed without filtering.

“But you know very well that there’s no room for ‘cheating’ at Tianis, right? You know it better because you’re the one who tried it, right?”

She looked at me.

At Tianis Academy, the chance of cheating during an exam is 0.000001%. It’s almost impossible.

The reason it’s possible is thanks to the various magic tools that detect cheating and the professors’ surveillance. No student could succeed in cheating while avoiding the surveillance of master-level experts and top-notch magic tools. Of course, these morons ignored that, it seems.

“Yes, I know that well. But I never…”

“That’s why I told you. I know it well. The professor isn’t stupid and won’t be swayed by such words. Well, some professors might hold a grudge and take this opportunity to cause trouble.”

Well, I have to agree with that.

“It’s a waste of time, and I wanted to just pretend to investigate and move on. But I couldn’t do that after yesterday.”

“What happened?”

“Well, wouldn’t you know it, these stupid bastards did that to all seven of the exams you took?”

“…Haa.”

I massaged my forehead as a headache washed over me. These bastards have really done something ridiculous.

If it were just one or two lectures, I could have gotten over it. Because it would really be out of suspicion. I was going to think of that as karma and move on.

But all seven lectures? This is an act of screwing over the professors more than me.

That’s because it’s an act of disregarding the capabilities of seven professors. They’re saying that the faculty didn’t supervise properly, so that damn fool got such a score.

“Yeah, they’re crazy. The fact that guys who can’t even study did that kind of thing means that we’re…”

Professor Naela seemed very angry. She looked like she would explode if you touched her even a little.

“Especially Professor Mylon, he was so angry. He was going to kill all the guys who inquired and made a fuss. You have no idea how hard we worked to stop him…”

“That must have been difficult.”

“You have no idea.”

I asked her as she sighed again.

“So, the conclusion is a re-examination?”

“That’s right. But you don’t have to worry. The written test will have 10 questions of the same difficulty as the exam, and the practical test will be conducted under the supervision of seven professors and other professors. The entire exam process will be filmed and made public to the arrogant students who inquired.”

At this point, I had no choice but to ask. If there were that many conditions attached, I had to get something out of it too.

“Then what do I get?”

“Basically, there are three things. Of course, assuming you pass the exam without any problems.”

She spread out her fingers. And she folded one and said.

“First, bonus points for all the lectures you take this semester.”

The first condition is pretty good. She folded the next finger.

“Second, we’ll block all the scandals related to your exams that come out in the future.”

“What’s the last one?”

“The third is the punishment of students who have committed malicious acts.”

“Hmm, I don’t think it’s necessary to go that far.”

“No, we need this too. Those arrogant bastards have crossed the line too much. They must be punished.”

She gnashed her teeth. Even professors who like students didn’t seem to be able to just let this one go.

“Is there anything else?”

“There’s talk about opening the warehouse and giving you something. Professor Mylon insisted so strongly. It’s under discussion, but it’s likely to pass.”

That’s good. I needed materials to use for [Orange’s Blacksmith Shop] anyway. I was going to ask Professor Latral, but I can get it there.

“I understand. I’ll take the re-examination.”

“Actually, this isn’t a matter that should have gone this far… Anyway, I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s not like I’m completely without fault.”

“Hmm…”

She suddenly started staring at me intently. And she blurted out.

“You’ve really changed, haven’t you? You’re very different from how you were last year.”

“Yeah, well.”

I answered vaguely.

“More than that, when is the exam?”

“Nothing’s been confirmed, but tomorrow is the most likely. I know it’ll be hard since the exam is over today, but please bear with it until tomorrow. It’s not much of a replacement, but have a meal here and get some rest.”

Professor Naela handed me a business card for a restaurant in the capital. It’s quite famous.

“Eat under my name. You can go with someone else. You can go with the knight outside, or with a kid named Lana, whatever you want. But are you two really dating?”

“…That’s private. But I’ll enjoy the meal.”

“Hmm, I guess it’s real.”

“……”

I decided to just ignore it. Anyway, I finished the conversation and left the professor’s office.

“Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing much, they’re making me take a re-examination. I guess they’re not happy with the score I got.”

“Young master worked so hard…”

Ellaime was angry. She’s the one who witnessed how hard I studied for the exam.

“You don’t have to worry about this. More than that, they gave me this as an apology, okay?”

I fluttered the business card.

“Let’s go eat with Lana. The professor is buying.”

Then Ellaime smiled brightly.

“Lana will be happy. Let’s go, young master.”

She took the lead and led me. And we ate and then returned to the dorm to rest. For the re-examination that will be held tomorrow.

***

Re-examination day.

I stayed in a room prepared separately for a while. Soon, a professor will come to pick me up and take the exam.

Until then, I sat still and waited. The marble-shaped magic tools installed on both sides bothered me a lot, but I decided to bear with it.

Those are magic tools that monitor me to see if I’m doing anything suspicious before entering the exam. My appearance is being transmitted to professors and students.

As I was meditating, two professors opened the door and appeared after a while. They were professors I had never seen before. Judging from the fact that they’re not in my head, it seems like they haven’t even appeared before.

They led me to the prepared exam room. They stayed close to me this time as well so that I couldn’t do anything.

That’s how I arrived at the exam room. Before entering, I was searched. The knight department professor flowed mana to see if there were any magic tools, and the magic department professor detected magic and even used dispel magic.

“Wear this.”

They handed me a bracelet-shaped magic tool. It seems to be a tool that freezes the mana in the body and controls all mana activity.

They’re going to eliminate even the smallest possibility. I could see that intention. I didn’t care, so I accepted it. All it does is take away the strength in my body.

“I understand.”

It’s like they’re treating me like a criminal, but rather, I felt the professors’ goodwill. They’re saying that they’re going to prove my innocence by doing this thoroughly.

Only then was I able to enter the exam room.

Inside the exam room, there was only a desk and a chair. I sat there, and soon a voice came from the air.

-Ah, are you ready? If you’re ready, please raise your right hand.

I raised my hand. Then a pencil and an exam paper were summoned to the desk.

-The exam time is 20 minutes. When you’re done, put the pencil and exam paper on the desk and lower your hand.

There are 10 questions in total, so 2 minutes per question. It’s a little tight, but it’s enough for me. I glanced through it, and as they said, the difficulty level was just right for the exam.

I picked up the pencil and started solving the problems right away.

***

A total of 15 professors were sitting in chairs and watching the exam room.

Then, a professor with a frustrated face propped his chin up and complained.

“Ugh, what a mess. They’re bothering people who are busy with the event that will be held in a few months. They should just give him a failing grade.”

He was a professor randomly selected for this re-examination. He was already tired after the exam, but he didn’t like being drafted for this. In addition, he was busy preparing for the academy event that would be held in a few months.

“Please watch your words. This is a matter of the professors’ prestige!”

“What prestige. It’s all that damn fool’s karma. If that guy’s personality was normal, this wouldn’t have happened!”

He said sarcastically. In the first place, the re-examination occurred because of the damn fool’s fault. If it wasn’t for him, there would be no reason for him to be here.

“Professor Dven. I understand that you don’t like him. I know what that guy did last year. But he’s changed since then. If he hadn’t, we wouldn’t have gone this far.”

Then Professor Mylon intervened. He knew the damn fool’s change better than anyone else because he had even sparred with him directly. That’s why his evaluation had been upgraded a long time ago, starting with the exam.

“Hmph, that’s just temporary. According to rumors, he’s doing that because he doesn’t want to be kicked out of the family. And Professor Mylon, don’t make ridiculous excuses. People don’t change that easily.”

“There are people who haven’t changed.”

Professor Mylon himself was a prime example. He also deviated a lot when he was young. Of course, he shed that tendency after graduation.

“Besides, don’t tell me not to defend him. It’s natural to invest this much in a student with a promising future.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. A damn fool who ran wild for a year is investing because he showed a good side for only 2 months. Professor Mylon, could it be…”

Professor Dven’s eyes lit up. Just as a dangerous remark was about to come out of his mouth. Professor Naela stopped him.

“Professor Dven, please watch your words? I know you two are close, but there are things you shouldn’t say.”

Then Professor Dven closed his mouth. It wasn’t entirely wrong. Of course, he came to his senses later because of Professor Naela’s background. She was the head of a family.

“Ahem, I’m sorry. Professor Mylon.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. And the results will be known when you see that exam paper.”

Meanwhile, Kyle put down his pencil. The exam paper was immediately delivered to the professors, and the examiner began grading. It didn’t take long.

“It’s perfect. I can see some creative answers in the correct answers.”

The mana studies professor showed the paper with all the circles marked. The professors looked at the answers written on the exam paper.

“His understanding of mana is better than I thought?”

“I agree. He’s on par with the top students.”

“Hmm…”

All the professors, regardless of whether they were from the knight or magic department, praised him highly. Due to the nature of their jobs, they were all experts in mana.

Of course, Professor Dven, who had been criticizing the damn fool throughout the conversation, was the same.

“Ugh, I have no choice but to admit this…”

Even he admitted the mana studies exam. The damn fool’s answer was that outstanding. But the exam was not over yet.

1 hour later.

All the written exams were over. The results were either perfect or only 1 or 2 wrong. Of course, there was no cheating. By that point, even the professors who had been thinking negatively about Kyle Arden admitted that he was innocent.

And the students who were watching the live broadcast were spaced out before they knew it.

They watched the process of writing the exam questions right before taking the re-examination, and they saw all the other processes as well. A situation where there was not even 1% chance of fraud. But the damn fool boldly showed the same result as his original score, as if mocking them.

The students finally realized that something was seriously wrong.

“What do we do now…?”

“I don’t know…”

“…I think the professors said they would punish the kids involved in this earlier.”

“Ah…”

Whatever that punishment is, it’s probably the worst kind. But their nightmare wasn’t over yet. The practical exam was waiting for the damn fool.

If he gets a perfect score there too…

A sense of fear settled in the students’ minds, and their faces began to darken. And they thought. They seemed to be screwed anyway.