Academy Top Student?

"You worked hard on the exam. The results will be announced in one week at the registration office."

The entrance exam, a literal storm, had finally ended, and when I came to my senses, I was at the exit of the exam hall. Even as I followed the proctor's guidance out of the academy's main gate, I felt like I was floating aimlessly in the air, detached from reality. Part of it was the rebound from suddenly releasing the tension I'd been holding onto, but the bigger reason was the Big Deal I'd eaten right before the exam wrapped up.

Despite clearly raking in a massive amount of points by sweeping the entire island, Sidus had chosen to fail herself out of sheer determination not to let me beat her.

Did I provoke her too hard...?

Even with her pride as a dragon—a dragon of imperial blood—could someone really decide to fail on purpose like that? My taunts must have hit way too deep for her to go that far.

The chaotic conversation between the proctors hit my ears the moment I teleported out of the exam hall, and it lingered in my mind. A whole nation's princess failing the academy exam? It was like the president's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kid bombing the entrance test for a top Seoul university. On a personal level, it wasn't a huge deal, but her status blew it up into a massive scandal.

The flustered proctors turned their fury on me, the presumed culprit. I hadn't directly harmed them, but I had to endure their scorching glares all the way out of the academy. My body nearly got riddled with holes from those looks, but since it was my fault, I couldn't shake them off. If someone cost me a bonus, I'd glare daggers too.

Worry about myself first.

But now wasn't the time to empathize—it was time to fret over my own safety. I'd planned to cleanly cut ties with Sidus right there, but it ended on this murky note, so who knew how she'd react later.

What the hell can I even do about it?

Worse, even if she pulled some stunt, I had no way to counter. Me, a lone nobody, versus the imperial backing she carried? No contest.

Guess I'll be pulling all-nighters from now on...?

For a moment, I considered sleepless nights of paranoia, but I decided to just roll with whatever came. Even wide awake, a magic spell from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠afar could slice my throat before I reacted. Might as well sleep soundly.

*

"Yawwwn."

A week passed since then. Shockingly, nothing happened. Whether Sidus had forgotten me or was plotting something bigger, I didn't have to worry about it for now. Thanks to the compensation money, I'd upgraded to a plush inn bed. After a quick breakfast, I headed out to check the results.

"Everyone! No pushing—form an orderly line!"

"Your cooperation helps us process results faster!"

The registration office wasn't the one I'd used, but it was swarmed anyway. Even arriving early, I ended up at the tail end of a massive queue. After about an hour, it was my turn.

"Here for your exam results?"

"Yes."

"Your name, please?"

"Lerven."

"Lerven... Yes, one moment."

The registrar flipped through the mountain of papers behind her. No modern databases here—just analog drudgery. Having seen sorting magic used in places like this before, I wondered why not.

"Sorry for the wait. Here's your result sheet, Lerven."

"Thanks. Why no sorting magic? Even rural offices use it..."

"Ah, sorting magic..."

She looked utterly exhausted at my question.

"We used to, but complaints flooded in that we couldn't trust magically altered documents, so now we sort everything by hand."

"Whoa. That's why..."

I was floored by the backstory. Distrusting magic-touched papers? And by that logic, couldn't you distrust human-handled ones too?

"If logic worked, they wouldn't complain in the first place..."

Like any stubborn complainer, reason didn't sway them.

"Uh... hang in there."

That was all I could offer the dejected registrar.

"...Thanks."

My words seemed to help; her gloom lifted into a genuine smile—warmer than a rote professional one.

"Here's your pass/fail notice, Lerven. Please review it privately."

Grumbles rose from behind, so she hurriedly handed over the wax-sealed document. I thanked her, dodged the heated stares, and slipped away.

"Back to the inn...?"

Standing in the bustling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠street clutching the paper, I headed off per her instructions—until a voice stopped me.

"Hey? Lerven?"

The herbal scent and blue low-tied hair—Sionel. She spotted me, pushed through the crowd, and rushed over.

"Hi, Lerven! Fancy meeting you here! I figured we'd next see each other at the academy!"

"Hey, Sionel. Me too. What are the odds?"

She beamed at my greeting, then zeroed in on the paper in my hand.

"Ooh! Academy results? You haven't checked yet?"

"Just got it."

"Wanna...?"

She eyed the paper and my face, then pulled out something from behind her back.

"Check together! I just got mine too!"

Hers was identically wax-sealed, unopened. She shook it excitedly; I nodded.

"Sure, why not."

"Yay! I know a spot! Let's go check there!"

Thrilled, she yanked my arm toward a nearby fountain. We perched on its edge, the sparkling water catching sunlight, and nervously split the wax seals.

"Okay, on three we open? One... two!"

Shrrk!

We yanked the paper top and bottom; it unfurled smoothly. Eyes glued, we scanned the text like it might vanish.