Admission (1)
“Thank you for the meal, my lady.”
“It was nothing.”
And so the warm, cheerful meal came to an end, and we stepped out onto the street for a short stroll.
Walking the night streets together while taking in the sights of the Academy gave the whole experience a rather fresh feeling. The fact that it wasn't the middle of the semester yet—so the Healing and Magic Department students weren't shambling around like zombies—certainly helped too.
“Lucian.”
“Yes?”
By the time we'd made one full loop around the massive main Academy building, Seria, who had been walking along in quiet silence, finally spoke up.
They say that when you're with someone close, silence never feels awkward. The fact that I felt no awkwardness at all being with Seria—did that mean we'd grown a little closer?
Though I doubt Seria sees it the same way.
“Is something the matter?” I asked, indulging in my pointless little musings, and Seria got to the point.
“Have you arranged lodging?”
“Yes, I have. I've been staying at the same inn for a while now. I was planning to remain there until the exam results come out.”
“Hmm… I see.”
“Yes. Although—why do you ask about lodging?”
At my question, Seria answered with perfect composure.
“If you'd like, I was going to offer you a separate room. I wanted to ask whether you'd care to stay there.”
“Ah.”
“But since you already have one, well…”
Seria let her words trail off with a hint of disappointment.
But she wasn't the only one who was disappointed, so I hurried to correct course.
“However, my booking only runs through today. If I want to stay longer, I'd have to pay extra.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
“Yes, as it happens. If you're offering your hospitality, I'll gratefully accept.”
When I said it with a smile, Seria returned it in kind.
“Then I'll have a room prepared. Would you gather your things and come to this place?”
As she spoke, Seria drew something from her pocket—a small slip of paper bearing an address and a rough sketch of the way there.
“I'll get ready as quickly as I can and head over.”
“Take your time. I'm staying nearby anyway.”
“Understood. Then I'll see you shortly.”
Taking the hand-drawn map, I gave Seria a brief farewell and hurried off toward the inn where I'd been staying.
“Madam innkeeper.”
“Oh, the student. Yes, what can I do for you?”
“I've run into circumstances beyond my control, and I'd like to check out a little early, if that's all right.”
“Hmm… I can't refund what you've already paid. Is that fine with you?”
“Yes, quite fine.”
“All right then. Safe travels, student~”
So I cancelled the rest of my stay—there were still a few days left on it—packed up my simple belongings, and set off toward the place marked on Seria's map.
Fortunately, the distance wasn't far, so I arrived earlier than expected. And for some reason, Seria had come out to meet me, so there was no chance of getting lost.
“Hmm? My lady?”
“Lucian, you're here early.”
“Yes, but why are you outside? You couldn't have known when I'd arrive.”
“…I just, finished tidying up early and stepped out for some air.”
For some reason, Seria's cheeks flushed faintly.
“Ahem. Well then, follow me.”
“Yes.”
She quickly recovered her composure with a cough and led the way.
“Here it is. It's not a very good room, I'm afraid—rather embarrassing, really…”
“Not good? It's excellent. I can hardly remember staying anywhere this nice.”
That was no polite flattery—it was just a hair short of a five-star hotel. I could say so because I remembered staying at one on a family trip long ago.
Even if this world was littered with game-convenience conveniences here and there, the setting was, at its core, still medieval. And yet it fell only slightly short of a modern five-star hotel? I couldn't even begin to imagine how expensive a room like this would be.
“You think so? Well, regardless—there's no charge for the room, so just stay here until dormitory assignments come out.”
“I'm deeply grateful for your consideration, Lady Seria.”
Truly, when you play your cards right with nobility, rice cakes fall into your mouth even while you sleep.
Having scored a five-star hotel room for free, I celebrated inwardly, exchanged farewells with Seria—each of us wishing the other a good rest—and we parted ways.
“Whoa, look at that bed. No, wait—shouldn't I wash up first?”
Someone had apparently cast a cleaning spell on me back in the infirmary, so I was perfectly comfortable, but washing before bed was an ingrained habit by now.
“Ahhh… this is the life…”
After a quick shower, I threw myself onto the plush mattress and rolled around to my heart's content. And so ended my tumultuous day.
Time flew by, and before I knew it, a week had passed.
Early in the morning, I was exchanging greetings with Seria for the first time in what felt like ages.
“It's been a while, Lucian.”
“It really has. Good morning, Lady Seria.”
Even though Seria and I were staying practically next door to each other, we'd surprisingly barely crossed paths all week. Seria, having finished her entrance exam, was busy corresponding with her family, handling affairs, and training on her own—while I, for my part, had been busy running off to hunt and grind levels.
▸ Basic Swordsmanship Lv.5
▸ Light Footwork Lv.4
▸ Basic Mana Control Lv.4
As a result, my already absurdly high stats had grown into something outright monstrous. It was growth made possible by leveling up, sharpening my combat skills, and being able to venture deep into the heart of Helenia Forest.
Are these seriously the stats of a level 27…?
Standard 5-star characters like Nia average just over 30 across their stats at level 27. And this guy? What even is this.
If the gap was this visible in raw status window numbers, then in actual practice the difference in output for agility or magic could range from at least 1.2 times to as much as 1.5 times.
Yep. Pay-to-win trash gacha game.
There was a brief moment of disillusionment as I contemplated the dark future of the game.
“Here we are.”
And so, lost in thought, we arrived at our destination before I knew it.
Yes, you must be curious. The reason Seria and I—who had been too busy to meet for an entire week—were finally meeting again.
“Whew, there are so many people.”
“There are. I suppose they're all that curious about the results.”
“Though plenty of them didn't even take the exam and just came out of curiosity. That's why it's this crowded.”
Today was finally the day—the long-awaited announcement of the entrance exam results.
“Hey, hey, move it!”
“Oi, stop shoving! We're going to get crushed to death!”
“What about me? What rank am I?”
“Rank, my ass—check whether you even passed first.”
“Start from the bottom of the list!”
A dense wall of papers covered the massive notice board. In front of the board listing the admitted students and their rankings, people jostled and shoved each other in a chaotic scrum.
“Do you think we can even push through that? It's not as if we can just shove people out of the way.”
“Whew… I suppose not. Looks like we'll have to wait a while.”
“You intend to wait here? Wouldn't it be better to spend the time elsewhere and come back once the crowd thins out?”
“…That does sound smarter. We did set today aside as a rest day, but I'd rather not waste it standing in a crush of people…”
After murmuring to herself for a moment, Seria nodded and turned to me.
“Then shall we pass the time elsewhere and come back this evening, Lucian?”
“Sounds good. Who knew there'd be this many people from early morning? It's a long while until evening—where shall we go?”
“Hmm… let me think. Lucian, have you had breakfast yet?”
“No. I was in such a hurry to get here early that I only drank some water.”
“Perfect—I haven't either. Let's get breakfast first.”
And so we moved elsewhere to kill time.
“Since it's breakfast, I'll keep it simple—soup and bread for me.”
“I'll have the salad, please.”
We ate a light breakfast at a restaurant that looked outrageously expensive—on Seria's coin, of course.
“Now, which places hadn't we visited last time?”
“That road over there—it forked two ways and we didn't take it.”
“Then let's go that way.”
Afterward, partly to aid digestion, we strolled through corners of the Academy we hadn't seen before, memorizing the layout ahead of time.
“Whew, I must have overdressed—it's only spring but it's hot already.”
“Haha, if you're hot, just take it off. Better than dressing too warmly and catching a cold—that would be a real problem.”
“Take it off, you say…”
“Pardon?”
“No, no, nothing. As if people like us could ever catch a cold. Let's stop by that café for a bit.”
“Do you drink coffee?”
“…No. If I drink it, I can't sleep.”
Until lunchtime, we chatted over our respective drinks at a café that, once again, looked absurdly expensive.
Then we made our way back to the notice board, and compared to the morning, the crowd had thinned out considerably. Seria scanned the scene and said,
“People cleared out faster than I expected.”
“Looks like it. Everyone had the same idea, I suppose. Haha.”
Plenty of people were curious, of course—but at the end of the day, the examinees numbered just a little over a thousand. The onlookers who'd come out of mere curiosity had probably only paused to listen for the names near the top of the rankings before drifting off. In a way, it was only natural.
“If I'd known this would happen, we should have just come out leisurely from the start. I was far too impatient.”
“You can say that again. Well, no use crying over spilled milk. Let's hurry and go check, since we're curious anyway.”
Just as I was shrugging with an air of nonchalance, Seria's curiosity got the better of her and she pulled me along.
A brisk pace brought us to the board in no time. We tilted our heads back and began reading the names from the very top of the upper-left corner, one by one.
Of course, unlike everyone else, we had no need to search from the bottom.
Let's see here…
And even from the top, there was no need to look through many names at all.
1st:Lucian Peyote
2nd:Seria Levenstein
3rd: Maxwell Lancaster
4th: Lutia Lucretia
5th: Alberto Kalstein
6th: Ellis Gabriella
7th: Nia Mist
· · ·
Both of our names were sitting right there, bold as brass, at the very top of the list.
No anomalies.
The exam results matched my predictions exactly.
“Ah……”
And from Seria, who had checked the list alongside me, a long, deep sigh escaped.