Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Mage of the Entrance Exam (3)
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Raymond Cloud, head of the Magic Department, pushed open the door to the interview room.
Already inside, three interviewers had taken their seats.
All of them, like Head Raymond, represented their respective departments.
"You're late, Head Raymond."
Lucian Ashford, head of the Political Department, greeted him with his signature relaxed smile.
Raymond furrowed his brow as he sat down in the empty chair.
"Aren't you all busy? I don't get why we're wasting time like this."
"Wasting time? No idea what you mean. Interviews are part of a department head's duties, after all."
"Oh my. Head Lucian must have the wrong room. The applicant coming here is already a shoo-in for the Magic Department."
"We'll see about that."
"Such needless greed..."
Lucian let out a snort at the venom in Head Raymond's voice.
"I wasn't that interested at first, but Chief Professor Howard praised her to the skies."
"..."
"He insisted we pull out all the stops to bring her into our department."
A twitch ran across Head Raymond's face.
That damn Howard—I specifically warned him. What the hell did he say?
The problem was that the Political Department wasn't the only competition.
"I have to admit, I'm interested too."
Felix Greenwood, head of the Economics Department, nodded along.
"I hear she's an orphan with no family ties. It's been ages since the Economics Department could trot out a star student for the academy's spotlight."
"Ha! Needless greed..."
Head Raymond let out a hollow laugh and turned away.
Her gaze shifted to the female professor cowering in the corner of the interview room, peeking around nervously.
"By the way, Head Lilliana."
"Eek—!"
Lilliana Gearheart, head of the Ma Engineering Department, flinched at Raymond's icy glare and trembled.
"Why are you even here? Do you really think the Ma Engineering Department could handle that brilliant talent?"
Ma Engineering should stick to its lane—taking in rejects who didn't qualify for the Magic Department.
Raymond shot her a look of utter disbelief.
"W-Well... The magic formula she wrote was just so beautiful..."
Head Lilliana wiped the cold sweat beading on her forehead as she stammered excuses.
"I just wanted to see what she looked like... Hehe."
"...At least you know your place."
Raymond clicked her tongue at Lilliana's awkward, embarrassed grin.
"Well, for talent like that, all four department heads turning out to greet her is only fitting."
Elterion Academy's interviews worked like this: based on written exam results, professors from departments eager to admit the student served as interviewers.
A case like this—where every department head showed up personally—was unprecedented.
Even if foreign royalty, or imperial family at that, enrolled, the chairman would handle it personally; department heads didn't budge easily.
These were people whose feet were that heavy, yet they'd all gathered for one applicant.
Just as the department heads' verbal sparring was heating up...
The interview room doorknob turned quietly.
The one who entered was a somewhat—no, quite exceptionally—unique applicant.
Ash-gray hair hung down to her waist, unkempt and tousled.
A glimpse of blue shone through her half-lidded eyes, drowsy and languid.
The girl ambled in slowly, gave a casual nod of greeting, and took the seat before the department heads.
"Uuuugh... Kaaaah... Giyaaak..!!"
She stretched out her limbs with abandon, letting out a massive yawn—pure my-pace energy.
The girl blinked vacantly for a moment, then introduced herself in a sleepy drawl.
"Hello. I'm Lunaris Evermoon."
All the department heads' eyes snapped to Lunaris.
Her expression had a hazy, dreamy quality to it.
But the aura emanating from her was anything but ordinary.
After a brief silence, Head Lucian spoke first.
He rifled through her documents, firing off various questions at Lunaris.
Head Felix chimed in from the side now and then, probing whether she had the qualities suited to the Economics Department.
In keeping with her drowsy vibe and soft voice...
Lunaris answered each question with natural ease.
Whenever she responded, the department heads held their breath, listening intently.
Lunaris's explanations were concise, without a single superfluous word.
Yet they nailed the core of every issue perfectly.
"No wonder Chief Howard raved about her..."
Head Lucian nodded repeatedly, letting out one exclamation of admiration after another.
Her steady, measured responses left them feeling strangely overwhelmed.
It was almost like she'd seized control of the conversation itself.
But Lunaris's true talent revealed itself next.
"U-Um... Miss Lunaris?"
Head Lilliana, who hadn't managed more than a few words since entering, finally mustered her courage.
"L-Looking at your answer for extending the duration of a basic spell... Y-Your solution was awfully unique... Yup!"
Head Lilliana's words began tumbling out faster and faster.
"It looks like you applied a mana output formula from Ma Engineering... R-Right?!"
In response, Lunaris laid out a magic theory infused with scientific knowledge from her past life.
Casually, half-heartedly, like it was no big deal.
But every word struck right at the heart of the matter.
"...Wow."
Silence descended over the interviewers once her explanation ended.
Every one of them wore a stunned expression.
At this level, she'd long surpassed undergrad territory.
"Unbelievable!!"
Head Lilliana in particular looked deeply moved, on the verge of tears.
"To think... you'd apply that theory in such a way...!"
Unable to stay seated any longer, she shot to her feet.
"Yes! That way, you can sustain a spell far longer with the same amount of mana! Just like with machinery!"
Head Lilliana's body trembled with excitement.
Her hand began scribbling something in the air.
"If we tweak this formula just a little... No, it's already a complete theory...! How did you even come up with this... It's incredible! A genius! Uhi-hit! Uhehehe...!"
After rambling away in her own little world for a good while, Head Lilliana noticed the silence around her and clamped her mouth shut with a gasp.
Her face flushed red as she scrambled back into her seat.
"S-Sorry for overstepping, lowly me..."
Raymond sighed at the sight of Lilliana shrinking back again.
She was dragging down the academy's reputation and the professors' dignity—that nerdy gearhead tomboy.
"Hmm."
Unlike her sigh, a subtle smile played at the corners of her mouth.
At least it confirmed Lunaris's talent went beyond even her expectations.
"Miss Lunaris, I won't drag this out with long questions. Right here, right now—show us your best spell."
That would suffice, she said in a leisurely tone, unfolding her arms.
"...Anything at all?"
"Of course. Even a large-scale attack spell is fine. I'll block it."
It was a clever pitch.
Not only would it test Lunaris's magic...
It would also demonstrate her own ability to counter it.
"It might not be that simple..."
"Hm? What was that?"
"Nothing. Just to be safe, I'll go with something tame."
Lunaris gave her left hand a light wave.
The quill pen.
The paper.
The chair.
The desk.
One by one, they began to float upward.
Without a single clatter of noise.
As if gravity itself had vanished from the room.
The sight of the objects hovering was utterly surreal.
"...Ha!"
Everyone looked shocked, but Head Raymond of the Magic Department reacted most intensely.
'I figured she'd barely manage one advanced spell at best...'
She knew enough to recognize the sheer brilliance of Lunaris's magic at a glance.
'She's the real deal—right on the cusp of Archmage territory?!'
A being that defied all common sense.
Even "genius" fell short for Lunaris.
This was something that transcended humanity altogether.
The glimpse of talent from the written exam had fully revealed itself.
The moment Lunaris returned the levitated objects to their places with telekinesis, Head Raymond spoke up.
"No need to see anything else. Miss Lunaris, join the Magic Department right now."
She sounded utterly desperate, as if afraid someone might snatch her away.
I definitely came here for an interview.
"Join the Magic Department, and we'll pull every string at the academy level to get you Archmage status within the year!"
"Come to Political. Plenty of Archmages in history, but not a single one who's reached prime minister rank. We'll make you that unparalleled existence."
"What about Economics? With your talent and my guidance, you'll have more money than you can imagine from a young age."
...Before I knew it, every single department head was showering me with offers.
Honestly, none of it interested me.
Archmage?
Study magic all day. Too much hassle.
Prime minister?
That's the empire's most grueling job.
Unimaginable wealth?
Just thinking about the work it'd take makes my head throb already.
Not a single pitch appealed to me.
Guess I have no choice but to go with the original story's Magic Department...
"U-Um... C-Couldn't you consider Ma Engineering too?"
And there, amid all these imposing department heads, was one moldy enoki mushroom mixed in.
"W-With your ideas, we could definitely create some amazing magic tools..."
"Know your place, Head Lilliana."
"Eek! S-Sorry...!"
Her groveling aside, I was curious what she meant by "amazing magic tools."
"What kind of magic tool?"
"Oh, I have something I developed recently! Just a sec!"
She plunked a sphere etched with intricate magic circles onto the desk.
"What's this?"
"It's called the Illusion Projection Device! A boring magic tool I made with imperial funding for military training..."
The Ma Engineering head, who'd been all huddled up moments ago, was now flushed with excitement as she waved her hands.
"Use it, and you can project any scene you imagine in your head into space for everyone to see!"
The screen floating before my eyes showed the department head and me standing side by side, conducting a magic experiment.
"Still a prototype with performance limits, but once perfected, it'll have uses everywhere!"
Staring at the screen sparked an idea in my head.
This is straight-up a beam projector.
"...Wow."
In this no-fun medieval fantasy world where I figured I'd just lie in bed reading books forever...
A ray of hope had arrived.
'Wait—movies, dramas, anime, porn, shorts... I could do it all?'
Maybe enrolling in the academy wouldn't be so bad after all.
Lounging in bed, binge-watching videos.
How could anyone resist that?
Entrance practical exam and freshman welcome day.
"L-Lunaris?!"
"Hello, Head."
The Ma Engineering head I ran into in the hallway looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"Th-The Magic Department practical is in the main building next door...?"
"I know."
"Th-This is the Ma Engineering practical venue, though..."
"I know. Yawwwn..."
I stretched out a lazy yawn before continuing.
"I'm thinking of joining the Ma Engineering Department."
"??!?!"