Chapter 82: Midterm Exam 2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: Midterm Exam 2
Time flew by after the mission at Baron Ashro’s estate. Before I knew it, midterms were only a day away.
Nothing particularly special had happened in the meantime.
Every morning—or rather, in the predawn hours—I honed my physical conditioning and illusion techniques at the training grounds while Johanna watched from the sidelines.
Whenever I was so exhausted that I couldn't lift a finger, I would lie down with my head in Johanna’s lap.
Ever since our visit to the Freya Ducal House, Johanna had insisted I remove my mask whenever I used her lap as a pillow. It was a request I readily accepted.
Once morning training concluded, I began my duties with the Disciplinary Committee alongside her. She and I mainly patrolled the outer perimeter of the Academy.
‘I call it a patrol, but it’s really just the two of us strolling and chatting.’
During our rounds, we would visit the child who had been sold to Mordor. The trauma still seemed to linger, as the child needed to remain at the temple for a while longer.
Then, once Academy classes began, the Special Class students would spend their time ganging up on Professor Elicia.
When the lessons were over, I’d head back to the dormitory to rest, talk to Yerika on the phone, and then go to sleep.
‘Now that I think about it, my life is full of "special" things.’
I had thought time was passing uneventfully, but perhaps because every single day was so unique, I hadn't realized just how special they actually were.
"Tomorrow is the written portion of the midterm, and the practical exam will be held the day after. If anyone has questions, raise your hand."
It was the end of the day, right after the final Academy class.
As Professor Elicia spoke, I raised my hand.
"What is your question?"
"What’s the penalty for getting caught cheating?"
Professor Elicia sighed and rubbed her forehead at my question, while the other students stared blankly at me.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Well, it’s just that if it’s you, we feel like you might actually try it," Lucas remarked.
"That hurts! It was obviously a joke."
The students chuckled at the exchange between Lucas and me.
"Quiet."
The laughter filling the classroom vanished instantly at Professor Elicia’s single word.
"If you want to cheat, be my guest—as long as you’re confident you won't get caught."
"And if we do get caught?"
At my follow-up, Professor Elicia gave a wicked grin.
"If you're so curious, feel free to try. I’m curious to see what happens myself."
Goosebumps broke out all over my body.
"No, thank you. I’m not that curious."
"Sigh... If anyone else has a question, raise your hand. I will answer as long as it isn't a stupid question like the one we just heard."
I raised my hand high once more.
"…Is there anyone other than Loki who has a question?"
Professor Elicia scanned the room. I was the only one with a hand up.
"Haaa… Speak."
"I don't understand why my previous question was considered stupid!"
"Ho? You’re that curious about why it was stupid?"
Professor Elicia cracked her knuckles with a smirk and began walking slowly toward me.
"No, no! That was a joke! I’m actually curious about the practical exam!"
"Sigh… As I said before, the practical is the day after tomorrow. The contents are a secret, so I cannot tell you."
"That’s a shame."
"Does anyone else have a question?"
Not just Professor Elicia, but all the students were staring at me now—as if I were the only person allowed to ask questions.
"Professor Elicia has explained everything so kindly that I have no more questions."
"…Fine. Tomorrow is the exam, so don't be late. Make sure you're in the classroom on time."
After Professor Elicia finished, the students began to file out of the room. Just as I was about to leave, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned my head to see who it was.
"Loki, are you confident about the written exam tomorrow?"
It was Lucas.
The written exam, huh…
"Of course. I’ve already planned out how I’m going to solve it."
"Hmm… Do people usually plan out how they’re going to solve an exam in advance?"
Lucas looked puzzled, as if he didn't quite understand what I meant.
"Did you study hard, Lucas?"
"Me? Well, yeah, I worked hard. I’ll see you tomorrow, then."
"See you tomorrow. Don't be late, okay?"
Lucas laughed at my sincere advice. How mean.
"Hahaha, unlike a certain someone, I’m never late."
"I wonder who that 'certain someone' could be."
"I wonder."
* * *
Since I had already decided how to handle the written exam, I lay on my dormitory bed and thought about the practical.
It wasn't that the written portion was unimportant, but the practical carried much more weight. Professor Elicia had said the details were a secret, but of course, I already knew what the practical exam entailed.
‘A survival game involving the entire first-year class.’
All students would be blindfolded, and the professors would drop them at random locations in the forest. The exam would begin the moment the blindfolds were removed. The test would end either when the time limit was reached or when only one student remained.
Unlike the written exam, there would likely be many variables in the practical that I wasn't aware of.
As I was mapping out my plan for the survival game, I checked the time.
‘It’s about time to call Yerika.’
I pulled my communication device out of my Pocket Dimension to contact her.
Ring, ring.
Just as I was about to dial, the device rang. Naturally, the caller was Yerika. Talk about perfect timing.
"I was just about to call you first."
[I guess I was one step faster?]
Yerika seemed pleased by my words, covering her mouth as she giggled. Ever since the last mission, Yerika always insisted on video calls.
"I’ll make sure to be the one to call first tomorrow."
[Fufu, as long as you don't go four hours without answering like a certain someone, I don't mind much.]
"Ahaha, I don't know who that is, but they sound like a very bad person."
[Exactly. A very bad person indeed.]
Yerika narrowed her eyes and stared at me intensely with a playful smirk.
[Anyway, the exam is tomorrow. Is it okay for you not to study? It looks like Brother Lucas is studying very hard.]
"I don't really need to study."
[Hmph. You sound very confident.]
"I’ve already thought about how I’m going to solve it."
[Do people usually think about things like that?]
"And honestly, talking to you is much more important than studying for midterms, Yerika."
[..........]
"Yerika?"
Yerika covered her face with both hands.
[W-Wait a second. I’ll call you right back!]
.
.
.
"As I said yesterday, if you’re confident in your cheating, go ahead. But I’ll leave it to your imagination to figure out what happens if you’re caught."
"Professor? Why are you looking at me while saying that?"
"It’s your imagination."
"""Hahahaha!"""
The students' laughter died down as the written exam began. The only sound in the classroom was the quiet scratching of pens as students wrote down their answers. However, that small sound didn't even register to the students who were deeply focused on the problems.
Lucas’s seat was at the very back. From there, he couldn't see the actual answers the other students were writing, but he could tell what they were doing.
While most students were reading the questions, agonizing over them, and then carefully writing their answers…
Loki was an anomaly.
Loki’s hand never stopped for a single moment. It was as if he already knew all the answers. He just kept writing them down, one after another.
Lucas briefly wondered if he was just guessing randomly, but…
‘There’s no way.’
Lucas had shared several classes with Loki. Even after lunch, when other students were nodding off, Loki never slept and always listened intently.
‘Stop worrying about him and focus on my own paper.’
.
.
.
Lunchtime, after all the exams were finished.
"The scores are out!"
At a student’s shout, everyone rushed toward the bulletin board where the results were posted. A large sheet of paper listing the scores and rankings was pinned to the board.
Clara Adelian — [100 points]
Lucas Leonhart — [90 points]
"As expected of Lady Clara. A perfect score! Isn't a perfect score a first for an Academy exam?"
"Even His Highness the Crown Prince got a 90. This exam was supposed to be especially difficult."
Lucas looked at his score and felt satisfied. Although there was a 10-point gap between him and Clara in first place, a 90 was an incredible score considering the difficulty of Academy exams. The third-place student below him had a score of 73.
The multiple-choice questions had clear answers, but the essay questions were different. Academy professors were notorious for being extremely strict when grading essays. Honestly, he found it amazing that Clara had gotten everything right.
‘No matter how many times I checked, I didn't write anything wrong in the essays.’
The reason he didn't get a 100 must have been that he needed to be even more detailed. After checking his own score, Lucas moved his gaze down to find the other Special Class students.
"Hmm?"
But no matter how far down he looked, he couldn't see Loki’s name.
"Was there an error?"
Even if the professors handled it personally, they were human and could make mistakes. Just as Lucas was about to head to the faculty office to report the error, he froze.
"…Huh?"
A dumbfounded sound escaped Lucas’s lips. Why was that name there?
Loki — [0 points]
Loki’s name was at the very bottom of the list. While the other students also noticed Loki’s score and began staring at him, Loki looked at his own result and muttered to himself.
"Ah, I should have just guessed in a straight line."