Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Golden Generation (4)
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A little while earlier in time.
One day, a week before the entrance exam.
Camelia Ashporn sat in an atmospheric cafe, gazing out the window.
"Hm hm~♪"
Camelia savored the scenery while dumping spoonful after spoonful of sugar into her coffee cup on the table.
Her inherently elegant aura naturally drew the eyes of everyone around her.
How much time passed like that?
Ding-a-ling—
A clear bell chimed as a beauty with a cute face stepped into the cafe.
The woman with striking platinum blonde hair glanced around for a moment before spotting Camelia. Her face lit up.
"Camelia!"
"Welcome, Noah."
"Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?"
"No, I just got here myself. Go ahead and order first."
"Okay! Wait just a sec!"
The employee, who had been watching the two radiant beauties chat with a warm smile, finally realized up close that Noah wasn't a girl.
To be precise, he was a boy who came perilously close to being one.
"……."
"Excuse me?"
"Ah, y-yes! O-order received!"
A moment later, Noah placed his order with relief once the dazed employee snapped out of it at his prompting.
Grinning happily with his freshly served cookie frappe in hand, Noah ignored the stares from people rubbing their eyes and returned to Camelia.
Soon, he plopped down in his seat with a pure, innocent smile.
"Ehehe, long time no see, Camelia."
"Long time no see, Noah."
'Still looks like a little lapdog.'
His already feminine features paired with his small frame made him seem just like a tiny puppy begging for attention.
If he had a tail, it'd be wagging furiously for sure.
Camelia pushed aside the silly thought and responded to Noah.
"Anyway, I was surprised. I messaged on a whim, but I didn't think you'd actually come."
"Hehe, how could I not? It was you, Camelia."
Camelia blinked in surprise at his immediate reply, then softened her expression.
"With the exam so close, it must've been tough. Thank you so much."
She meant it.
Unlike Camelia, who had received elite royal education since childhood, Noah had probably come from some obscure family with equally mediocre tutoring.
And if he was aiming for Slaine Academy like her, he couldn't afford to waste any time.
Yet here he was, making time right before such a crucial test.
That alone filled Camelia with deep gratitude toward him.
That was when it happened.
Noah, fiddling with his coffee cup as he watched her, suddenly turned serious.
"Actually, I wanted to see you to ask one favor."
"…A favor?"
Camelia's face stiffened at the abrupt words.
"Yes. I hope you'll hear me out seriously."
"…Go ahead."
Noah's ensuing tale sounded utterly far-fetched to her ears.
'Terrorism in Academy City? At SKY, one of the top three academies?'
Camelia couldn't easily respond to the unbelievable claim.
"I know it sounds crazy. But please believe me. Evil demons are targeting Academy City! So I hope you and I can spread the word about the attack…!"
"Wait, hold on."
Camelia hurriedly stopped his excited outburst.
As hard to swallow as it was, she couldn't dismiss his earnest plea as nonsense.
"Do you have proof? Evidence? If it's solid, it'd be better to go straight to the Student Guidance Department than me."
"Well, actually…"
"What? No evidence?"
Her worried expression instantly chilled at Noah's response.
"……Noah."
"I'm not joking! Please believe me—there's no proof, but it's real!"
Clatter—
"Wait! Okay, okay! Just calm down!"
All eyes turned their way as Noah shot up from his chair in agitation.
Blushing at the attention, Camelia quickly soothed him until he sat back down.
"It's true, Camelia. Just believe me once."
"…Sigh. Fine, for now. I'll look into any signs of terrorism on my end."
In the end, that's all Camelia could say, though inwardly she regretted it.
'Shouldn't have met in person if I knew it'd be like this….'
She'd jumped the gun, swayed by the news he'd applied to Slaine.
Reassessing Noah down a notch, Camelia continued.
"Nothing's confirmed on the terrorism front yet, so let's hold off. No evidence means even the Guidance Department won't buy it. We can act once we have solid proof."
"But…!"
"I know time's short. But this isn't some pushover place. Even surprise attacks can be repelled with ease."
"Mm… Okay, I'll keep digging on my side."
Deciding to task her subordinate Paul with investigating, Camelia lifted her coffee cup.
"Actually, the reason I asked to meet today was to make one proposal."
"A… proposal?"
Noah looked stunned at the unexpected turn.
"Just to confirm—you're taking Slaine Academy's exam too, right Noah?"
"Yeah."
Camelia brushed off his implied "how'd you know?" with a light laugh, smirking inwardly.
'Just as Paul said.'
How shocked had she been to hear Noah—a mere failure—was applying to Slaine, the pinnacle of G1 academies?
It was hard to credit.
After the transfer ceremony, as Camelia networked with the rookies, she'd immediately bumped Noah's priority to maximum.
The Student Council President's attention.
Involvement in the mana rampage incident.
And now Scouting for Slaine.
Any one was noteworthy, but he had all three—not two, three.
Even if unadmitted, qualifying for the exam alone made him a talent worth watching.
Learning of Noah also solidified Camelia's suspicions.
'There's definitely some hidden secret about Noah. Otherwise, a guy struggling at the transfer ceremony couldn't qualify for Slaine.'
He'd resolved the mana rampage, sure—but was that enough for Slaine?
Camelia shook her head at the thought.
'No way. Slaine only admits a handful of continent's geniuses. Blocking a rampage won't earn a spot.'
Especially since the Student Council President handled the decisive part.
Not fully solo, so Slaine wouldn't budge on that alone—or so she judged.
Yet Noah's news still threw her plans into disarray.
She'd sidelined her groundwork with the Executor and Saintess Candidate to meet Noah personally for that reason.
After a brief pause to gather her words, Camelia opened her eyes and smiled softly at Noah.
'Is he naive or just dense?'
Oblivious to her thoughts, Noah beamed happily while sipping his cookie frappe.
"Noah, do you know how Slaine's exam works?"
"Uh… They just combine written and practical scores to pick admits, right?"
"No."
Noah's mouth fell open at her firm denial.
"G2 and below do it your way—written plus practical totals. But G1 is different."
As the absolute top academies, G1s each run exams in unique fashions.
"Slaine, the one we're taking, is famous for pure practicals—no written test."
"Really?"
"Yes… Didn't the scout who targeted you explain?"
Camelia couldn't hold back, seeing how clueless he seemed.
"Hehe, I was hospitalized, so they didn't go into detail. Said they'd explain properly later, but I've been too busy lately…."
She sighed deeply as he scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
"Haa… No idea how busy you were to forget something that crucial. Still, talk to them later for the full rundown."
An applicant clueless about their target school? Unbelievable.
Camelia clutched her throbbing temple.
'Did I overhype him?'
She even pondered downgrading his priority.
Fidgeting at her reaction, Noah gave an awkward smile.
"Thanks, Camelia."
"…Anyway. Slaine's all practicals. Content changes yearly, but it's brutally tough, so applicants often pre-form teams to boost pass rates."
"Huh? It's an exam—teaming up beforehand is allowed?"
"Slaine doesn't forbid it. Direct cheating like match-fixing is banned, of course, but anything short of that? They don't care."
"Mm… But doesn't that let weaklings leech off others?"
Is that right?
Noah tilted his head questioningly and leaned in for her answer.
"Noah, no one lacking skill gets into Slaine."
"Uh…"
"Every applicant to Slaine, including you, is a gem handpicked from across the continent."
That's why they don't mind strong teams riding the bus.
"But there could still be standouts."
Like the Golden Generation's President and Spirit King—overwhelmingly superior students.
No matter how elite the applicants, few match them, Noah figured, meeting Camelia's gaze expectantly.
"True. Some rookies like us are notably stronger. Especially since the Executor lacks a faction unlike the Princess with hers—plenty will want to tag along."
"And those rookies are getting love calls from tons of applicants."
Of course, academies cap teams to avoid overload.
Still, intel said up to four was fine, so Executor-types would roll in with full four-man parties.
"Then…!"
"Slaine allows even that."
"…What?"
"Slaine's criteria differ from other schools."
They don't judge raw power for admission.
All applicants are already exceptional.
So instructors ramp up difficulty for differentiation.
Coping with surprises.
Responses in extremes.
Creative trial breakthroughs.
And the resolve to challenge the impossible.
They evaluate holistically.
Luck factors in too…
"Pass however you can. Hitching to a strong back? That's skill too."
"…For real?"
"The Spirit King once knocked out his proctor and passed."
"……."
Noah was speechless at Camelia's deadpan delivery.
"No proctors left to grade him."
"…Huh."
"They called it creative—bonus points even."
"……."
"New proctors kept dropping like flies. No choice."
Practically a natural disaster.
"The rest of the Golden Generation? No less wild. Our Student Council President flattened a mountain when told to fetch a beast."
Well, they were exceptions, really.
Destroying the exam framework itself required overwhelming power most lacked.
'That guy dropping proctors en masse, the President erasing a mountain for a beast. All nuts.'
This year's rookies couldn't pull that off, elite or not.
So they'd challenge straight-up.
"Point is, Slaine weighs crisis handling over brute force. Team-ups? They don't sweat it."
"Synced teams handle crises better?"
"Exactly. And opponents get creative too against teams."
Noah nodded thoughtfully, chin in hand, then straightened to face Camelia.
"Got it. So you're after something from me, right?"
Camelia flashed a sly smile.
"Straight to it: Noah, team up with me for Slaine."