Exam Registration
The Dome Stadium in Rosipool.
It was a building erected for one purpose: to soothe the bored days of the nobility. Everything from grand events and performances to pulse-pounding sporting spectacles designed to seize their attention unfolded beneath its vast roof.
Built to comfortably accommodate a hundred thousand people, it was always packed with visitors seeking relief from their ennui — hardly surprising, given that the capital of Rosipool was thick with nobles who had wealth and time to spare. On any ordinary day, the line at the first-floor information desk would stretch endlessly, staffed by attendants processing ticket purchases and seat reservations, worn down by the tide of guests until collapsing from exhaustion was practically a daily occurrence.
Today, however, the dome was utterly deserted. Where the receptionists should have been standing at the information desk, soldiers with rifles stood on alert instead.
“Haaahm... so bored.”
The soldier seated at the desk — the senior of the pair — let out a listless yawn and buried her face in her arms.
“How long do we have to sit here, anyway?”
“Until the screening of the academy applicants is finished. Until then, we're not allowed to leave our posts.”
Beyond the barrier draped across the center of the dome, those seeking to prove their eligibility for the entrance exam were gathering one by one.
There was exactly one way to prove it: cross the barrier, enter the arena itself, and submit an application for admission. The soldiers of the Zerta Kingdom hired by the academy were waiting for applicants here at the information desk.
Since so few ever managed to cross the barrier and demonstrate their talent, duty was quiet as could be — but as her junior pointed out, it beat being buried in work.
“The other soldiers are standing guard out in this freezing weather until their hands and feet go numb. We're sitting in here with the heater blasting. I'd say we have it pretty good.”
“Oh, sure, but sitting around doing nothing is killing me. When does this end?”
“Soon, actually. But don't forget — once this is over, we have to patrol the area around the stadium.”
“Whaaat? I forgot about that! I was planning to grab lunch around here as soon as we wrapped up!”
“You forgot? We can't take lunch breaks until the entrance exam ends. I believe that's why the government paid us a supplemental allowance.”
“Oh, was that what it was? I did think my paycheck looked weird today — the deposit was a little bigger than usual.”
“Please, please pay attention during training instead of dozing off!”
Under the sharp glare of her junior — glaring at her with open hostility — the senior soldier broke into a cold sweat.
She knew that if she kept running her mouth here, a storm of nagging would sweep in like the aftermath of some catastrophe, so she quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, did you see the faces of the students who applied this time? How are they all so impossibly cute and adorable!”
“They are the children of noble houses, raised in privilege. There are exceptions, but anyone taking the exam in this city is no ordinary talent.”
Academy entrance exams were held all over the world — from metropolises like Rosipool to backwaters that didn't even appear on maps. The effort to unearth the world's finest talents spared no corner of the globe.
As for the capital of the Zerta Kingdom, only those bearing identification could set foot inside, and among mana-wielding nobles, it was generally only those hungry to have their talent recognized who sat for the exam.
“It's established academic consensus that anyone with mana stays in peak condition at all times. Skincare, grooming, appearance management — all of it happens automatically. And that goes double for nobles born with an abundance of mana.”
“Maybe that's why I'm so pretty too? My skin is silky smooth no matter when you look at it.”
“And how, exactly, does a senior who barely qualifies as mana-holding plan to compare herself to children of the nobility?”
“Aww, just look at my poor junior's face — dry and flaky. It breaks my heart that you can't manage your skin without even a scrap of mana. You should just buy some lotion, honestly.”
“Most men don't have mana even among the nobility. And more importantly, stop pinching my cheek and face forward. If anyone sees us like this, we'll be punished for dereliction of duty.”
“You worry too much. Everyone who was going to cross the barrier crossed it ages ago. Who else is supposed to show up at this point—”
“Excuse me, is this where I submit the application?”
“HYAAAHK!”
BANG!
“This is exactly why I keep telling you.”
“Uuugh...”
The senior soldier, startled by the voice that popped out of nowhere, toppled backward off her chair.
Watching her groan and clutch the back of her head where she'd smacked it against the floor, the junior soldier heaved a sigh that seemed to empty the whole world out of her lungs, then turned to attend to their guest.
“Apologies for the commotion. Academy admission applications are accepted here. If you'd like, I can process yours for you.”
“Yes, please.”
Businesslike and perfunctory as the exchange was, the girl who answered wore a smile so faintly wistful it could set a heart aflame.
Her deep black hair, as though embroidered from the darkness of the night sky itself, was tied back neatly with a rubber band, and her ruby-red eyes gleamed with such vivid, intoxicating light that they seemed capable of drinking in the soul of anyone who met them.
A black suit, tailored without a single wasted line, radiated understated elegance, and hanging from the belt at her waist was a sword that exhaled an eerie, sinister aura — along with the sheath that housed it.
“S-s-s-s-save me. C-c-can't breathe.”
“Don't panic. I've got this.”
And beside that composed girl was someone trembling violently, clutching fistfuls of the other's collar.
Wrapped head to toe in a blanket embroidered with an excessive menagerie of cute animals and anime characters, she was impossible to even guess at — face, dress, everything hidden. The only clue was the voice that stammered out from beneath it, a strangely adorable sound even muffled by the fabric, suggesting the owner might be a woman.
“Please fill in your personal details on this form, and I will pass it along to the academy officials.”
The soldier handed over a pen and paper. Taking them, she filled out the required information with fluid, effortless speed and submitted it exactly as instructed.
“Confirmed. Chloe Opal — a child of House Opal, then.”
“Wait, Chloe Opal?! The Sword Saint's daughter is here?!”
It was the senior soldier who answered during the signature-verification step, and she shot to her feet, forgetting entirely the impact of cracking her head against the floor moments ago at the arrival of someone famous.
“Oh wow, it's really her! Look how pretty she is in person — even prettier than the portraits! What do I do!”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Honestly, senior. Stay still.”
The junior soldier yanked her senior back by the clothes as she rudely shoved her face toward Chloe, blocking her from getting any closer.
Chloe let it pass with a smile, saying nothing in particular.
The problem was what came next.
“Hold on, then who's the one standing next to you?”
“Hiiiek!”
“Got it, Chl—”
CLANG!
The instant the senior soldier tried to speak the name of the person clinging to Chloe like a barnacle, the girl's crimson eyes flashed with a chilling light.
Her hand had already found the hilt at her waist, and a menacing wave of killing intent rolled out to engulf everything around them.
“Huh?”
Too slow to grasp the situation, the senior soldier only then realized something had gone horribly wrong, and the sweat broke out across her skin.
It was a hair-trigger standoff where anything could happen at any moment. The one who reacted fastest was the junior soldier.
“The personal details of the person beside you have already been prepared under orders from above! Follow the corridor to the right and you'll find a waiting room — you can meet with the academy officials there for further instructions.”
“...Good luck with your duties.”
The mask of friendliness stripped away, she answered in a voice cold as a sheet of ice, then left without a flicker of regret.
In the space where only frozen silence remained, the senior soldier finally found her voice.
“Did I... almost just die?”
“You did take a round trip between heaven and hell, yes.”
“Ugh... I'm dying.”
Watching her senior slump bonelessly to the floor as the tension drained out of her, the junior soldier shook her head.
Among a noble society overflowing with lunatics, Chloe Opal was painted as one of the rare virtuous ones — extending kindness and a ready hand to anyone and everyone, commoner or lowborn alike.
But she also had one absolute weakness no one was permitted to touch. Her closest friend, the girl who sometimes trailed along at her side — the moment anyone so much as spoke to her, Chloe would react with a ferocity like just now, excessive even by her standards.
“Why would a citizen of the Zerta Kingdom go poking a noble's sore spot like that?”
“But I wanted to see the face of the young lady of House Amethyst.”
“That part I understand. I'm curious too.”
Eva Amethyst, the young lady of House Amethyst — her face was veiled in mystery, like mist.
Rumors of a peerless beauty circulated freely, but only her family and close acquaintances had ever seen her bare face, and her true appearance remained locked away in the fog.
“Still, please restrain yourself from these sudden outbursts. If it reaches the higher-ups, it won't end with a stern talking-to.”
“I know, I know.”
The junior patted her senior's shoulder in consolation as the older woman moped.
They had spent three years together now — and as the saying goes, even bad blood is a bond. She made an effort to get along.
“Senior, let's pack up our gear and get ready for the patrol rounds.”
“There's still time left for registration, isn't there? Aren't we supposed to be waiting here?”
“Just have everything ready. I suppose there's always a chance of an exception, but every important figure flagged by command has already arrived. Anyone showing up now has no real need to stand on ceremony.”
Having declared there was no further reason to devote themselves to the task, he rose from the chair he'd been leaning against.
“I was thinking of running to a nearby shop to pick up some coffee. Anything you'd like?”
“Vanilla latte! With tons of whipped cream on top!”
“Yes, yes, got it.”
He took the order and headed out of the arena.
Academy officials had cast a spell permitting free passage through the barrier, so he stepped outside it, climbed into a vehicle, and turned the ignition.
GRUMBLE-RUMBLE!
“What the—?”
A sudden tremor in the ground — an ominous vibration that seized his heart and shook it. He hurriedly leaned out of the vehicle to look—
CRASH!
The barrier covering the sky shattered and came pouring down. The sight of blue fragments raining like shattered glass could have held anyone spellbound, but he shook himself and raced back toward the information desk.
“Senior, we have a situation!”
Coffee could wait. Reporting the catastrophe unfolding before his eyes came first.