Midterm Exams of the First Semester (2)

The midterm exam, which had caused endless chatter and controversy in the original work, had finally begun. We were given two days. There were ten questions. Aside from the submission deadline, there were practically no rules for the test······.

"I will remain here for the next forty-eight hours. You may come and submit your answers at any time before then."

Conversation between students was allowed. Taking the test paper out of the room was allowed. Almost every action prohibited in other exams was permitted here. The only thing one needed to be careful about was the grading method for the midterm.

If there were too many students tied for the same score and it exceeded the quota for a particular grade, that grade would be left empty and everyone's rank would be demoted. For example, if everyone scored exactly the same, they wouldn't all receive first grade. Instead, they would all plummet together to the lowest grade in perfect harmony.

Therefore, this exam demanded not only understanding of the class material but also cooperation or deception among classmates. The best-case scenario was obtaining answers for questions you didn't know from other students to raise your score. The worst-case scenario was a large number of tied scores causing everyone's grade to drop.

"Hey, hey. Gather around first."

"Do you get this problem?"

"I think this is······."

At first, the students had been solving the problems in silence like a normal exam, but one by one they began to chatter. Even so, Ludwig did not intervene at all. He didn't even seem to care. As a result, some students formed their own groups and started cooperating outright.

Those were the ones who had been badmouthing me behind my back. It seemed they were trying to suppress me using collective intelligence. But that wouldn't be easy. Only a limited number of people could achieve the maximum score. Which idiot among them would willingly share their answers and settle for a lower grade? It was a structure that was bound to produce traitors.

In the original work, the lower nobles who had been forced into the bottom eventually staged a rather amusing rebellion, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠completely shattering any trust within the group. I was curious to see what kind of show they would put on this time.

The difficulty is······ yeah. This is insane.

I tried to solve it myself first. Or at least, I made an effort. Problems one and two were practically freebies. Anyone who hadn't slept through class could solve them. But starting from number three, I began to get stuck. It wasn't impossible, but the real nightmares were clustered after question five. The problem statements grew shorter while the difficulty skyrocketed exponentially.

"W-what are you looking at?"

"······."

When I glanced at Erika, she lifted her test paper to block my view. The magic formula engraved in the mana of the test ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠paper couldn't be seen with the naked eye anyway, so what was she even doing? She should have spent that time reinforcing the security on her formula instead.

It was time to use the loophole Ludwig had permitted. In truth, I would have used it even if it hadn't been allowed.

She's basically giving me all the answers.

As expected, Erika's formula security was a complete mess. With just a little effort, I could extract its entire contents. Since Erika was practically an idiot when it came to psychological warfare, the probability that this was a deliberate fake to deceive me was close to zero. If I got it wrong after this, I'd just consider it heavenly punishment for trying to freeload.

Thanks to Erika, I quickly obtained the answers up to question five. The problem was that I lacked the mana to write the answers on the test paper······. Actually, this was more of an advantage. If I didn't scribble anything on the paper, there was no worry about someone stealing my answers.

"Hmm. What's wrong?"

"······It's nothing."

I tried to peek at Iris's answers for cross-verification, but I was immediately blocked. She had poured an enormous amount of mana into creating an ironclad defense. I could have broken through it with Selection and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Concentration, but I decided to give up. I couldn't waste my precious ability just to verify Erika's already reliable answers. It seemed Iris hadn't solved anything past question six either.

It would be better to use Selection and Concentration on solving the problems myself. Can I solve them all?

I had forty-eight hours left. With Selection and Concentration, I could use five seconds per day over three days, for a total of fifteen seconds. Of course, there was a high chance I'd need to use it during tomorrow's combat magic exam, so I might not have even a single second left for the day after. Five seconds should be enough to solve most problems, so three questions were practically guaranteed. The key was whether I could solve the remaining two······.

I wondered how many perfect scorers there would be. I remembered that in the original work, Hurtlocker got a perfect score and took first place, but I had no memory of what the average score was. Maybe the author simply hadn't described it. While the probability of a perfect score was extremely low, I couldn't completely rule out the possibility that the group united to take me down might pull off something unexpected.

My goal for now was a perfect score. Even with a perfect score, the outcome might be precarious. If I failed and lost both remaining questions······ I'd have to drop out.

Let's give it a shot.

Whether by stealing answers or solving them myself, I would try. After steeling myself and focusing properly—

Yeah. This isn't working.

After just one hour, my head felt like it was about to explode. There wasn't even the slightest clue to solving them. It seemed the others were in the same boat. Even when I secretly glanced at their papers, no one had touched anything past question six.

"I'll be leaving now."

"Me too."

"You don't need to announce it every time."

Deciding that there would be no resolution today, the students began filing out in droves. Erika still seemed to be racking her brains over question six without success······. And Iris······ wait, what? She had solved all the way to question ten?

"Hehe. Surprised?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Stop pretending. I've already solved everything."

"W-what?! Really? You solved it all already?!"

I had to frown at Erika's outburst. It was probably a bluff. She had likely just scribbled some random formula and made it impossible to see.

"If you've solved everything, why not submit it? That would eliminate the risk of someone copying you."

"Huk? C-copy?!"

"······."

Only then did Erika reach for her test paper and focus intensely. So now she was finally reinforcing the formula's security······.

"No, it's fine. I want to review it a bit more before submitting."

"You seem confident it won't be deciphered."

"Why don't you try it yourself? Well then, I'll head home first."

Iris rolled up her test paper, gave a bright smile, and left the exam hall. No matter how outstanding a mage Iris was, her skills were still slightly below Erika's. She had probably only solved up to question five, just like Erika. There was no need to waste my ability to check an empty answer sheet.

By the way, when was Erika planning to leave?

"······."

"······."

The remaining students left one by one until only the two of us were left in the exam hall. Just the two of us in this vast space······. I briefly considered moving seats since it felt like a waste of space, but decided against it. There was no reason for me to move.

I thought Erika would soon say something like, Ugh! What the hell! There's so much space, why did you have to sit right next to me? and leave. But that was a miscalculation on my part.

One hour passed, then two, and Erika remained seated beside me the entire time. When I deliberately stopped focusing on the test paper and leaned back in my chair with my eyes closed, she kept sneaking glances at me. I can see everything even with my eyes closed, you idiot.

"You can go first, Erika."

"Hah! What are you saying? Do you think I've been waiting for you?"

"Wasn't that the case?"

"It wasn't! Even delusions have their limits······. This is ridiculous."

"Then how much longer do you plan to stay?"

"Um······ about one more hour?"

"I see. I'll be going first then."

"Huh?"

I put the test paper in my bag and stood up abruptly. The way she looked up at me with flustered eyes, unable to stand herself, was rather cute. Her face seemed to say, You're really leaving?

"Is there a problem?"

"Ah, no······. It's nothing."

When she hung her head, I suppressed the chuckle that nearly escaped and left the exam hall. Soon after, I heard hurried footsteps and a loud commotion behind me.

"Haa······! Haa······!"

"Weren't you going to stay one more hour?"

"I just remembered I have plans this evening! I completely forgot about it!"

"Let's go with that explanation then."

"What do you mean, 'go with that'?! I'm telling the truth!"

Her pride was something else. It seemed this tsundere young noble lady had personally decided to escort me all the way home.

Wow. There really are some.

When I focused my senses, I detected several suspicious outsiders lurking nearby. They hadn't been there in the morning. Or maybe I simply hadn't noticed them before. I headed straight for the mansion, tense with nerves. Thanks to Erika sticking close beside me, there was fortunately no ambush.

"Thanks."

"I don't know what you're thanking me for······."

"Should I escort you home as well?"

"Are you stupid? Then how would you get back without me······ oops."

Realizing she had just confessed, Erika clapped both hands over her mouth. Her face flushed bright red, and without another word, she turned and sprinted away.

I owe you one. Thanks, kid.

"You're back? The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exam must have taken quite a while."

"Haha. Well, you see······."

When I opened the door, Emilia greeted me with a bright smile. Even though I knew it was an act, seeing her cheerful face still lifted my spirits. I hadn't intended to ramble on, but before I knew it, I had explained the entire nature of the exam to her.

Ah. So this was how Emilia extracted information. To think I fell for it even while knowing. She really was terrifying.

"Wow······. That's going to be tough. You have the combat magic exam tomorrow too, right?"

"Yeah. The exams ended up overlapping somehow."

"Isn't this too disadvantageous? Shouldn't you ask them to postpone the combat magic exam?"

"Haha. I'll just have to endure it."

"Did you choose the double major knowing this would happen, Mister Heinkel······?"

"No. It was a mistake. When I submitted my application, I accidentally checked both majors without realizing."

"So even you make mistakes, Mister Heinkel."

"Of course I do."

Emilia kept giggling as if something was incredibly amusing. That was enough small talk. It was time to focus.

"I'm going to go solve the exam now."

"Yes. Should I come wake you if it's time to sleep?"

"No. I'll sleep when I feel like it."

"You're going to stay up all night again······."

"Don't worry."

Leaving behind Emilia with her puffed-out cheeks, I headed for the underground training room. Except for when I had to take the combat magic exam tomorrow, I planned to stay in this training room all day. Even if a meteor spell fell on the mansion, at least this training room would remain intact.

The safest option was to stay holed up in here for the entire exam period. Of course, that was assuming I could solve all the problems myself······. I could only hope I wouldn't need to go outside to spy on Iris or Erika's answers.

Maybe I should get some help from Trie or Ainz tomorrow. Unlike Erika and Iris, I had built a fairly solid relationship of trust with them, so I wouldn't have to worry about them dragging me into a pit with lies. Trie probably wouldn't be much help, but Ainz was a genius weirdo when it came to magic, so he might give me ideas from unexpected angles.

"Let's start with number six······. Should I try solving it with my own power?"

I still had some pride. At the very least, I should solve one problem without using my ability or relying on friends' help. I clutched my head and began concentrating desperately.

······Of course, after three hours of that, I had achieved absolutely nothing.

- To the steward managing of Count Lichtenburg

- I have prepared a product that might interest the steward managing. Are you aware that Schluss Heinkel is currently taking his midterm exams? According to the rumors, it is a three-day examination······.

"Hmm."

It was a letter from the Crow organization. The steward managing House Lichtenburg read through it with a slightly intrigued look. In short, they were asking if she would like to commission them to sabotage Schluss Heinkel's exam. Things like locking Schluss Heinkel up somewhere during the exam period and then releasing him. Or damaging his test paper to disqualify him. The methods Jane proposed were quite varied.

"Schluss Heinkel······."

That damned bastard. Last time, he had charged her an absurd commission fee. Knowing that she harbored a grudge against him, Jane had clearly made this proposal.

"I won't do it."

However, the lady tore up the letter without a moment's hesitation and threw it into the brazier. It wasn't because she feared Schluss Heinkel's retaliation. If it was Jane instead of someone like Henderson who treated client information protection like garbage, there was no chance of being discovered. The reason was none other than Yulia.

That man Schluss was truly hateful and detestable, but······ when she thought of Yulia, she could no longer bring herself to kill him. It was because of that man that Yulia had recently been having nightmares every day, suffering, and suddenly bursting into tears. Perhaps he even knew why Yulia's face resembled that of the young lady of Iceburg who had died long ago.

"I can't kill him yet······."

At least not until she learned that secret.