Academy Entrance Exam (2)

"Hah... hah..."

I was in a forest within the Lohengram Territory of the Empire — a place of dry climate. I had known, in passing, from the game that her house had fallen as far as a house could fall, but even so, the forest looked far too overgrown, as if no one had managed it at all. For me, though, it was perfect for quiet practice, so I had no complaints.

I focused mana into my hand once more.

The moment I cast it, a considerable volume of water burst from my palm.

"Haa... haa... So this is about my limit for now..."

Part of it was that my mana pool was small to begin with, but I had also burned through it with stupid wastefulness. My head spun as if mana exhaustion had set in.

Louise looked at me with a worried face.

"Are you okay?"

"You don't need to worry. I just got a little dizzy."

She tilted her head, puzzled.

"What have you been doing this whole time?"

"Magic practice for the Academy entrance exam. Isn't it obvious, My Lady?"

"That's not what I'm asking..."

She ignored my snide tone, sighed, and pressed on.

"What I'm asking is why you keep practicing nothing but Water Ball, of all things."

Then she raised her slender staff. An ebony wand — it suited her image perfectly. Judging by the quality, it was probably something the family had owned before they completely collapsed.

While I was thinking that, she lifted the staff and began her incantation.

Water began to freeze in front of her. A moment later — thunk — two arrows of ice shot forward and buried themselves in the tree ahead of me.

"Well?" she said, chin lifted, a little proud of herself.

That was dangerous... I hid the thought and clapped instead.

"Yeah, amazing! As expected of My Lady — magnificent, Louise! Bravo!"

Apparently that wasn't the reaction she wanted. She fixed me with a sharp look.

"Don't mock me, Aaron. So? Did you take anything away from that?"

"Hm? That you're incredible, of course?"

I said it teasingly, but I meant it. Using the Imperial four-line chant was a flaw, but Ice Arrow was solidly a second-grade spell. Considering she hadn't even entered the Academy yet, it was proof of how hard she had worked.

"That's not what I mean..."

She pressed a hand to her forehead and launched into a passionate lecture.

"You're ridiculously strong! Why are you practicing some bizarre, incomprehensible skill? You can't pass with something like that. I don't even know if you can call that a skill!"

She kept going as if her mouth had wheels attached.

"My magic is impressive, sure, but... with the power you showed back then, you could clearly use far stronger spells. So why do you keep using only—"

"Enough nagging!"

I knew what she was trying to say. Water wasn't even a proper first-grade spell — it was a magic that barely "existed." Magicians, limited in how many arts they could learn, never even considered studying it. At this point, I wondered if any magician still knew it existed at all.

She barreled on without caring.

"It doesn't even look useful. I can't imagine it being usable in combat..."

She wasn't wrong. Even commoners with a talent for magic learned first-grade life spells and put them to work. For a noble of the Empire, where offensive magic thrived, watching someone practice nothing but a weird trick that dribbled water from their hands for days on end would be enough to drive anyone crazy — even her.

"Isn't Water cool, though...?"

My absurd answer left her speechless. She stared at me with a blank, stunned expression.

"..."

I was grateful she thought so highly of me, but I wasn't a magician to begin with. Using high-tier magic the way she did was difficult. The power I had used back then hadn't been mine — it had been my master's, every bit of it. I simply hadn't told her because there was no need to advertise my weaknesses.

Even knowing this world was a game didn't mean magic could be learned overnight with a snap of the fingers.

I spoke up to soothe her dazed look.

"I'm joking. You promised you'd trust me for now, didn't you?"

"It's not that I don't trust you. It's just..."

"Just?"

She trailed off, fiddling with her necklace.

"It's not that I don't believe you... but if you somehow fail to pass, I'll be in real trouble, Aaron..."

She really loves that necklace... I thought, and answered her.

"Don't worry. I'll pay back the cost of the artifact, no matter what."

She looked flustered.

"What? That's not what I was worried about...!"

Then she immediately puffed herself up with dignity.

"D-don't underestimate the wealth of the Lohengram family! As if I'd care about something like that!"

From her perspective, she had used one of the only heirlooms she still carried everywhere — an artifact — to save me. It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a national-treasure-level piece of wealth, her last psychological and material line of defense.

Maybe that thought showed on my face, because she spoke with genuine offense.

"The Lohengram family is not short on money. And even if — hypothetically, truly — we were, that is not why I saved you."

A little guilt pricked me.

"The joke went too far. I know that wasn't the reason."

Actually, I don't. Then why did you save me?

She was muttering to herself as she looked at me.

"Besides, you're clearly going to save me... the fairy-tale... prince..."

Her words dissolved into a mumble I could no longer make out.

"It's nothing."

"You have to finish the sentence, My Lady. Fairy-tale prince... cock?"

Ah. A vulgar line had slipped out before I could stop it. At any normal level of affection, dropping a sex joke like that on her would be the end. What was wrong with me lately?

Hearing my crude joke, she frowned and looked at me with pure contempt.

"Could you step back a little?"

"Oh... that's milder than I expected...?"

Honestly, I had braced for a slap.

She sighed.

"First impressions really are a scam..."

That level of scolding was remarkably gentle compared to the Louise I knew from the game. Watching her, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠muttered under my breath on a hunch.

...

No response, as expected.

Annoyed by my muttering, she snapped at me.

"What are you mumbling about by yourself?"

Might as well test it one more time, just in case.

"Prince cock."

She stared in sheer disbelief for a long moment, then shook her head as if she had given up on me entirely.

"Haa... I'm going back first. Come whenever you feel like it..."

Another reaction I hadn't expected.

...Did that mean her affection for me was genuinely high? Or was it simply further proof that this wasn't the game?

Either way, to know for certain I needed the Info skill first. That problem would solve itself once I enrolled in the Academy.

And then there was me. My personality had clearly changed from before.

Just then, I sensed someone behind me.

Louise? Hadn't she gone home?

She carefully caught the hem of my clothes, still looking uncertain.

"Um, Aaron."

"What is it?"

The way she hesitated made me wonder if she had come back angry about what I'd said earlier.

After a pause, she spoke.

"It doesn't mean anything — I'm just asking... When you said you'd pay back the artifact... was that... real?"

?

Ah. That's kind of cute.

She was drowning in debt. Worrying about food for tomorrow — no, being sold off as some prestigious old man's trophy wife wouldn't even be strange. Of course she was anxious.

She was so cute I suddenly wanted to tease her.

"What happened to the wealth of the Lohengram family?"

She started babbling in a panic.

"Ah... no! It's not that the Lohengram fortune is... the problem... it's just... putting you in my debt... yes, I thought it would be better to keep you indebted to me...!"

In the game she had only ever been a haughty queen. Seeing this side of her was funny — and a little worrying for her brain.

"Why... why are you looking at me with those pitying eyes...?! Th-the Lohengram family is perfectly fine...! I'm serious...!!"

Oh. She had noticed my expression.

I simply kept gazing at her in silence, with a fond smile and tender eyes.

"S-stop it... that look... I can't take it..."

I kept staring.

"D-don't look at me with those pitiful eyes! I... I am Louise of the Lohengram fa...mily...!"

...

She looked fine on the outside, but one more push and she might cry. That was a little entertaining — but making her cry would be too mean, so I stopped.

I changed the subject.

"Louise, do you really have time to keep staring at me?"

I wanted her to take the top rank if possible. It would lighten my own burden as well.

"I only came with you today because I was worried you'd get lost."

"You don't need to worry about that..."

"It's not like I plan to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get in your way either. Like you said, there's no guarantee I'll take first place. So I intend to give it everything I have."

"You're more diligent than you look, Louise."

"What?"

She glared at me.

"My apologies."

"Haa... I've shown you the way. I'm heading back first."

As she turned to leave, she added one more thing.

"You really do have a way to pass, right? I'm trusting you."

"Don't worry, My Lady."

"All right."

She set off toward the manor once more.

Of course, I wasn't acting without a plan either.

The reason I bothered practicing a skill like Water... Water was weak and meaningless, yes — but it had an undocumented singularity.

A bug: the more you used it, the greater the volume of water became.

It wasn't like other magics, where spending more mana or improving the caster's skill made the spell stronger. Literally, the more you cast it, the more water it produced.

More ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠water didn't grant any killing power, and the increase was so slight no one had ever noticed it. So why practice it?

At this point, I couldn't think of any way to hit the passing score on both the practical and written exams through normal means.

So what did practicing this strange magic have to do with anything?

Hah... hah... I had burned every last grain of mana in my body. I didn't even have the strength to move.

Around the spot where I had collapsed, the dry earth was so thoroughly soaked it couldn't absorb any more — a swamp of mud. The surrounding trees had all toppled outward from my position, as if a tsunami had swept through.

"This much... should clear the cutoff."

The most spectacular skill I could use: Water.

Passing the Academy with this skill would be the first step toward conquering the Academy — no, toward conquering the Empire itself.