Academy Entrance Exam (5) - Professor Loralyn

"Hah... hah..."

Before long, as if the illusion had simply dissolved, my vision cleared and the familiar scenery of the Academy came back into view.

What the hell were those scenes I just saw...?

People I had never met. Landscapes I had never witnessed. Places I had never set foot in.

And yet the man standing in the middle of every one of those scenes had unmistakably been me.

My thoughts froze solid. I had never lived through any of it, yet every moment felt terrifyingly vivid.

As I stood there frowning, drowning in confusion, something glittered into existence right in front of my face.

A status window? I definitely hadn't called for it, yet it had appeared on its own. Among the familiar lines of text, something was glittering.

This is...

Next to the Lord of Darkness ability, an incomprehensible set of numbers had appeared.

1/100... It was obviously connected to the visions I had just seen. Those memories didn't exist inside me, yet the man speaking in them had clearly been "me."

Is it possible the memories I lost aren't limited to my previous life...?

The memories of my past life had returned the moment I touched Louise's necklace.

And the scenes I had just witnessed had been triggered by feeding Cats to the Lord of Darkness. If there was a link between the two... it had to be that necklace I saw in the vision.

I checked the status window again.

1/100... It almost felt like it was telling me to feed it more.

Not that I could just feed it anyone. With that thought, I turned my head toward the spot where the corpse had been. Both the bloodstains and the body itself had vanished without a trace.

As tidy as ever.

Whether he had truly intended to kill Louise or not, the moment someone tried to lay a hand on one of mine, elimination was the only option.

One of mine, huh... Come to think of it, why was I going this far for her? Ever since I touched the necklace and recovered those memories, the thought that I had to protect Louise refused to leave my head no matter how hard I tried.

No need to overthink it. It was probably just because she was a character I had grown attached to in "that game."

I forced the justification onto my strange behavior and moved on.

That short-haired girl... Celine, was it?

Unexpectedly, the first sacrifice of the Empire route had already been decided. Be my 2/100, won't you?

Louise was smiling.

Empire National Academy written exam, Subject One: Magical Bioengineering.

What kind of professor would write a question like this?

It practically had a tiny footnote that read: Solve it if you can, you little noble brats.

Sighs of pure disbelief rose from several desks around her.

The male student sitting next to her muttered under his breath.

"What the hell is this? I've never seen a question like this before..."

The potato—famine crop of the Empire's commoners. Noble children only ever cared about the finished dish on their plates; they had never once considered the process of growing it or the labor that went into it.

Why would a young lord ever bother thinking about magic that might affect something as lowly as a potato?

She smiled to herself at the thought.

All I ever had to eat was potatoes.

To the examinees around her, it simply looked like a magnificent, rotten smirk.

"Hah... hah... Examinee Aaron, reporting for arrival..."

Dealing with "Carpet" had cost me Subjects One and Two of the written exam, but I had managed to make it in time for Subject Three: Magical Formulas.

I had gotten a little lost thanks to the stupidly huge grounds and arrived late, but I only cared about the Empire's Magical Formula problems anyway, so it didn't matter.

I wonder what the Empire's infamous Magical Formula killers look like... Being something of a scholar at heart, I was actually looking forward to it.

The moment I stepped into the examination hall, I felt a dozen pairs of eyes lock onto me.

I had already drawn a mountain of aggro, and now I was strolling in after missing two entire subjects. Of course I stood out. There were the snickering ones, the ones who glared at me like an eyesore for daring to show off, the ones watching with open curiosity, and the ones who simply didn't care.

Roughly four categories. If this was karma, so be it.

Looking around, the hall wasn't quite as lavish as the noble examination room I had seen earlier, but it was clean and comfortable enough for taking a test. No glaring discrimination, then. Even rotting, this was still the Empire's Academy.

If anything, this place felt less tense than that overly grand noble hall.

While I was thinking that, noisy chatter rose around me.

People who clearly already knew each other were chatting freely. A few sons of wealthy merchants—not nobles, but rich enough—had clustered together and were talking with easy leisure.

And then there were the ones who looked thoroughly miserable by comparison...

As I was observing them, the voices of the moneyed brats drifted over.

"Isn't that the guy from the plaza earlier?"

"Looks like a total commoner. Hilarious."

Aren't you commoners too? The way they still tried to draw ranks among themselves was almost funny. In my experience, people who didn't know their place rarely lasted long.

With that thought, I approached the teacher standing at the front to register my attendance.

"Examinee Aaron. I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠some business and arrived a little late. I would still like to sit for Written Subject Three."

The male teacher—built like a skinny wooden chopstick—narrowed his already slit-like eyes and twisted his face into a scowl.

"You want to take the exam now?"

Ah. What's this guy's problem?

"My apologies. There were circumstances that delayed—"

He cut me off.

"I saw the ruckus you caused earlier. Trash like you is rotten from the root."

I cast a little area-of-effect aggro and this is the reaction I get?

He sneered and kept going.

"That mouth you ran at a noble... very, very bad form."

So he was talking about the incident with the short-haired girl.

"That was self-defense. And this is an Academy—ability should come before status."

"Are you talking back to a teach—"

I cut him off in turn.

"And what does any of that have to do with you blocking me from taking my exam?"

He clicked his tongue in open contempt and exhaled sharply.

"That attitude is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the problem! The problem! In the Empire, a mere commoner dares to—"

I no longer saw any value in listening.

"As far as I know, there is neither reason nor regulation that prevents me from taking this exam. Kindly step aside."

"Regulation? In this examination hall, I am the regulation."

He answered with a mocking curl of his lip.

I didn't particularly need the written exam, but the thought of simply killing this teacher did cross my mind.

While I was entertaining that idea, a voice spoke up from behind me.

"Since when did a teacher become the regulation in a fair Academy entrance exam?"

Huh...? This woman is...

"And who the hell are you?"

The chopstick teacher was, with impressive stupidity, digging his own grave.

"You are Daru, third son of the Laurent family and a teacher here, correct?"

The Laurent family...? Don't tell me this bastard was harassing me because of...

She narrowed her eyes and continued.

"If you are holding a grudge over the earlier incident, I saw your younger sister pick a fight first with the young lady of House Loengram."

So she was there at the scene...

His face twisted into something ugly.

"Who do you think you are, sticking your nose in? Looking at that getup, you're just some Magic Department student—"

Hey. Stop. You're really going to regret this.

Ignoring my silent warning, he jabbed a finger into her shoulder and grinned.

"I am the newly appointed Magic Department teacher. Looking forward to working with you?"

Well. I'm out. Not my problem anymore.

Instead of answering, she scrunched her face into a full scowl and kicked him square in the shin.

Thwack—

"Aagh! You crazy bi—"

She slipped on the gown she had been carrying and spoke with her face still thoroughly crumpled.

"I am Loralyn, newly appointed professor of the Empire Academy's Magic Department and a member ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Imperial Magical Special Division."

"S-Special Division... p-professor...?"

The moment he heard her name, he froze solid on the spot.

Green hair. A face young enough that you could easily believe she was still a student. No doubt about it.

The professor I needed to get on good terms with for my enrollment. And one of the main characters of the Special Division route.

Originally we should never have met here... but of course my actions had already started warping the route.

She locked eyes with him, bent slightly at the waist, and offered a handshake.

"Since this is the Magic Department, I suppose that makes me your superior's superior. Looking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forward to working with you, newly appointed junior teacher?"

"I-I must have misunderstood something..."

As he forced a twisted smile onto his face, Loralyn spoke again.

"No need to be so tense. Hand the examinee attendance sheet over to me and wait outside, would you?"

"B-but this is my—"

She frowned.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"I-I'm sorry!"

Looking into his eyes, I saw the pure despair of a man whose entire life had just gone spectacularly sideways.

"Hey. Out."

He walked toward the exit of the examination hall with a hollow expression. Just before leaving, he glanced back over his shoulder.

Without making a sound, he mouthed the words "Just you wait" at me with a thoroughly warped face.

I casually raised my middle finger where she couldn't see it. An ugly crease formed across the bridge of his nose.