Mock Exam (2): Encounters at Ergos
Two days later, I boarded a spaceship for the very first time.
The destination was Ergos Comprehensive Academy, where I was to take the mock exam.
There was just one problem.
“Sonia.”
“Yes?”
“How do you pilot a spaceship?”
Sonia grabbed the back of her neck. She looked down at me with an expression of rare displeasure.
“An android pretending to have high blood pressure now?”
“My hydraulic pressure appears to be rising.”
“You really are something else.”
Sonia patiently explained the controls. Thanks for the kind lesson, Sonia!
Most of the ship’s functions were automated anyway. Unless you planned to operate it manually, a license wasn’t required.
It was strange. In the era I came from, self-driving cars had only just begun to appear, yet even then a license was mandatory.
I had suddenly become an orangutan. Whenever I saw something unfamiliar, the urge to touch or press it surged up inside me.
“Please refrain from touching anything. If you cause another incident, the head of the household will be furious.”
“I won’t.”
“Knowing you, Master, you probably will. I have no choice. I will accompany you.”
Sonia climbed aboard as well. The ship was small—about the size of a compact car and designed for one person—so with Sonia inside, we had to sit pressed together.
This raised an awkward question: should I be holding her, or should she be holding me?
“You sit in front, Master.”
At Sonia’s firm insistence, I had no choice but to take the front seat. After being beaten so often, offering my back to Sonia felt unnerving, but there was nothing to be done. It was more comfortable for me this way, too.
“Please lean back and relax.”
Sonia grabbed my shoulders and pulled me backward. A soft sensation met the back of my head.
“Hmm.”
Silicone.
Definitely silicone.
— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity sighs.
Blushing at a lump of silicon would make me less than human. That would be disqualification from humanity itself.
“Do not entertain strange thoughts.”
“I didn’t.”
“Tell me what you were just thinking.”
“What exactly is a semiconductor?”
“Your nonsense is truly abundant today.”
“You keep talking to your master like that?”
After spending so much time with Sonia, we had started trading jokes like this. At this point, the line between master and servant had completely vanished.
Actually, maybe it had never existed to begin with.
“By the way…”
A twenty-first-century Korean stranded in a space-opera world, riding through interstellar space with an android maid in a frilly uniform.
“What kind of situation is this?”
“Ignition complete. Please remain seated.”
Kuuuuum!
Before long, my body was pulled forward. We had shifted from an inertial frame to an accelerating one. The scenery outside receded behind us.
Once we left the orbital space where gravity—well, centrifugal force—held sway, an endless blank canvas unfolded before us.
A void already streaked with black crayon lines by someone else. It felt different from the night sky seen from Earth.
“We will arrive at Ergos in ten minutes. Incidentally, Stellarium lies just a little farther beyond.”
Sonia, now possessed by the spirit of a GPS, kept chattering, but none of it really registered.
I was far more worried about today’s mock exam.
What if my lack of knowledge gets exposed?
— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity warns you to remember what will happen if you fail.
Failure meant ruin. And this mock exam was the only indicator that could predict whether ruin awaited me.
Of course I was nervous.
Six hundred seconds passed faster than expected.
Sonia and I docked smoothly with the cylindrical vessel. A spotlessly clean, off-white dock welcomed us.
[Ergos Comprehensive Academy]
[Mock Exam – External Applicant Reception Desk]
“I suppose we head over there.”
“Let us go together.”
Sonia stuck close behind me wherever I went.
Honestly, it was embarrassing. It made me look like I couldn’t even handle basic tasks on my own.
Her outfit stood out, too. Service androids usually wore plain uniforms, not something like this.
— Who’s that guy?
— He dressed an android in an old-fashioned maid outfit.
— Isn’t that for… you know?
— Seriously? Ugh, gross. He’s completely insane!
My ominous prediction proved correct. People lined up at the academy entrance whispered as they stared at us.
Oh, Outer Deity. Why must you send me such trials? I cannot endure these stares with a sane mind.
Just this once, please drive me mad…!
“Sonia, take off the headband and remove the ribbons right now. At least then you’ll look somewhat normal.”
“I refuse. The frills and ribbons are of critical importance.”
“Why?”
“Because they are cute.”
Oh, Outer Deity.
Enduring the embarrassment, I joined the long line at the crowded waiting area. The academy was enormous, so there were plenty of staff members.
Thanks to them, the line moved quickly. I registered for the mock exam and transferred 80,000 credits to the designated account.
“Payment confirmed… Oh, Idel von Rheinland?”
The teaching assistant’s eyes widened like 500-won coins when he checked the account holder. I slipped inside before the situation could escalate further.
“…Huh?”
A familiar voice came from right in front of me.
“You? What are you doing here…?”
Standing before me was Seti. She nearly dropped the coffee cup in her hand, her face frozen in shock.
I was just as surprised.
“What about you?”
“Well, I attend this academy…”
What an unbelievable coincidence. I had never paid attention to what Seti did outside the house, so I had no idea.
Wait a second. That meant Seti might already know Edward…
“Ha, seriously. My luck is rotten. Of all days, I had to run into this bastard right before the mock exam…”
Seti glared at me and spat out a string of curses. I was used to it by now. Ignoring her, I asked,
“Do you happen to know a teacher named Meyer?”
“What?”
“Or should I say teaching assistant? Anyway, the guy named Edward.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“So you do know him.”
“……”
“He’s the one who’s been giving me private interview lessons.”
“Ha?”
Seti’s face crumpled. Before she could say anything, Sonia cut in.
“Come to think of it, Miss and Mr. Meyer have never met at the residence.”
“Sonia, did you know anything about this?”
“I was unaware they were acquainted. I only learned today that Miss Seti is enrolled here.”
“Even if I didn’t know, why didn’t you?”
I asked. Sonia stretched her neck forward and stared straight at me.
Her lips moved.
“Because I am Master’s exclusive attendant.”
“Being my exclusive attendant means you don’t have to care about my sister?”
“Caring for even one Master is already exhausting enough.”
Fine, fine. It was my fault for trying to have a long conversation with a blue-haired beast.
Following the assistant’s guidance into the classroom, I spotted Edward teaching mathematics to the students.
He looked genuinely happy. In contrast, most of the students listening to him looked pale, as if they were dying.
“Oh, Idel, you made it.”
Edward greeted me casually. Seti’s expression twisted like crumpled waste paper. She seemed quite taken aback by how friendly Edward was toward me.
Edward approached with his usual easy stride.
“Hey, Seti. Thanks to your brother, I survived. I can even pay next semester’s tuition now.”
“No, that was… with my own money…”
Seti started to say something, then sighed and gave up.
Sonia went to wait in the corner while I took my assigned seat. Students began gathering noisily.
Seti and Edward continued their conversation near the blackboard. The surrounding chatter made it impossible to hear what they were saying.
When they finished, Seti walked over with a sulky expression.
“If you ever withdraw money from the account again without permission, I’ll really kill you next time.”
…That threat was a bit excessive.
Still, her expression looked slightly more relaxed than before, so that was something.
Yeah, for about ten seconds it seemed fine.
“Hello, Seti. We meet again today?”
Until that voice rang out.
At the sly tone, Seti turned around and immediately flew into a rage.
“…You said you weren’t taking the exam. Why are you here?”
“Well, I thought it might be fun to participate. Watching foolish people struggle has its own charm.”
“If you’re taking the test, go sit in your own seat.”
“How cold.”
Seti snapped back sharply, but the girl showed no sign of leaving.
She had platinum-white hair and wore a white scarf around her neck, contrasted by a black cardigan. A pale pink pin held back her bangs, leaving her forehead fully exposed.
Her overall appearance resembled Seti’s. Their auras were almost identical—close enough to be called sisters.
Yet there was a difference.
An indescribable gap in dignity.
Her amethyst-like eyes, glowing like ripe grapes, glared at Seti before flicking toward me. Despite her petite frame, her gaze carried the threatening presence of a wolf on the hunt.
“Hmm, yellow eyes. Golden irises are rare. Could you also be from the Rheinland family?”
The girl chuckled and spoke to me.
I rolled my eyes to read Seti’s expression.
Don’t talk to her.
Don’t get involved.
That was what it felt like she was saying.
I agreed.
I knew exactly who this girl was.
Of course I did. I remembered the main villains who betrayed humanity all too clearly.
If we had met under normal circumstances, I would have left immediately. She was that dangerous—and she would become even more so in the future.
But right now, there was a bigger problem.
A very big problem: she was interfering with her younger sister’s exam preparation.
“Why aren’t you answering? How boring.”
“……Zernya Adelbein.”
“Oh? You know my name?”
“How could I not? The news hypes you up as the Star of Adelbein all the time.”
The Adelbein family was both Seti’s maternal relatives and this girl’s paternal family.
Since Seti’s maternal side and my maternal side were different, we were ultimately strangers who weren’t quite strangers.
Anyway, if I had to name the most prominent trait of the Adelbein family as depicted in the novel, it would be this:
They had terrible personalities.
“Well, that much isn’t strange. Plenty of people know me—enough to fill the galaxy with stars.”
Zernya narrowed her eyes and continued.
She sat down in the seat next to mine. My luck was terrible—her assigned seat was right there. But misfortune could also be fortune.
Without hesitation, I opened my mouth.
“Did you bully my sister?”
I asked directly. Zernya looked momentarily surprised. Then her eyebrows twitched and she began to chuckle.
“Ah, I see. So you’re that problem child of the Rheinland family. No wonder.”
“……”
“Oh, right. I didn’t say that to mock you. So don’t get angry, okay?”
Angry? Hardly.
If anything, I felt relieved.
Because whether in the novel or in reality, Zernya acted exactly the same. She picked fights with anyone she deemed beneath her, just like the rich villainess from a chaebol story. And that was literally her position.
Just then, the exam proctor entered. Seti had already returned to her seat, and the assistants, including Edward, began distributing the mock exam papers.
I silently accepted the test paper and the electronic tablet for answers. Through the rustling of papers, the girl’s voice drifted from beside me.
“Idel von Rheinland.”
Zernya called my name.
“They say you’re the mad dog known as the Rheinland family’s reverse scale. Still, you wanted to get into the academy, huh?”
“……”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean that in a bad way.”
How would the original Idel have reacted here?
He probably would have smacked the back of Zernya’s head. Or perhaps done something even worse.
I wasn’t that kind of lunatic. Like any normal person would, I ignored Zernya’s persistent provocations and quietly opened my exam paper.
“Please check if there are any misprinted sections.”
“This is easy. All of these are solvable.”
Zernya tilted her head and spoke smugly. Without turning her head, she kept her gaze fixed on me while twisting her lips into a smirk.
Ignore her.
I gripped the pen, scribbled a few times to get used to the writing feel, then glanced up at the clock. Not much time remained until the exam started.
Since I gave no reaction, her smile grew even more crooked.
“You should try your best too.”
She whispered from beside me.
“Because I’m going to crush you.”
To that, I gave my only reply.
“Yeah, crush me.”
— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is horrified.
“…Wh-what did you just say?”
Deeng—.
At the same moment her once-arrogant expression twisted into blank stupidity, the bell signaling the start of the mock exam rang.