Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Mock Exam Showdown
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Late autumn had already arrived.
As the sun began to set, the academy grew noisy with talk of advancing to the next stage.
Pensilon Academy was notoriously difficult to get into.
Cadet officers could enroll under the guise of national recommendation, regardless of their exam scores, but regular-track students were different.
Regardless of status, admission was decided purely by exam performance. Even my eldest brother Max and second brother Miller had failed that test and missed out on Pensilon.
Since enrollment at Pensilon Academy was essential for becoming a high-ranking national official, the regular-track kids were studying like their lives depended on it.
In contrast, we cadet officers had free time outside of mandatory classes.
We could have just gone home, but returning to Rainpole Academy would only mean paperwork, so I decided to kill time here instead.
“Dorothy, got a minute? Thinking of strolling through the city.”
Dorothy lit up at my suggestion, but her expression soon darkened.
“Sorry. I have plans with my fiancée today.”
Whenever his fiancée came up, Dorothy deflated.
‘Second daughter of Marquis Reinhardt, if I recall.’
We’d chatted lightly at the last party. From what I remembered, she wasn’t a bad person.
She just had ambitions that were a bit too grand, and sky-high expectations for her future husband. Not the type to match the timid Dorothy.
“Hey, if she’s too much to handle, just break off the engagement. Dragging it out and getting married anyway will make you both miserable.”
“But… how could I?”
“You’re a count. You’ve got the power to make it happen.”
“If I break it off for no reason, Marquis Reinhardt will be furious.”
“Ugh, that’s just something you fight through. Fine, I get it. I’ll handle it for you.”
“Huh? How could you, Als…?”
“Just trust me on this. You can find out later.”
It was nosy of me, but what’s a friend for? I decided to pull some strings through Duke Helian later.
Anyway, since I couldn’t make plans with Dorothy, I figured I’d pass the time reading in the academy gardens.
That’s when it happened.
“Ah, Als! You’re still here!”
Beryl came trudging over, arms full of books, waving at me with a grunt.
She had business with me, so I took the books from her and set them on the table.
“Thanks. Whew, these are heavy.”
“Looks rough.”
“Yeah, no choice. I came to regular track fully prepared for it. Anyway, Als, when are you heading back?”
“I could go anytime. Just didn’t want to go too early, so I was reading.”
“Perfect timing, then. I’ve got a favor to ask… Could you tutor me?”
“Tutor you?”
“Yeah, the other kids hire private tutors, but my family can’t afford that… I’m struggling a bit. I trust you, Als. Please, pride of Rainpole Academy!”
“Alright, alright, just don’t say embarrassing stuff like that.”
It seemed like a good way to kill time.
I agreed lightheartedly, but it ended up taking longer than expected.
There was way more material than I’d thought.
As the sun began to set, we could no longer stay in the gardens, so we had to either wrap up or move somewhere else.
That’s when Beryl pleaded with me.
“There’s a mock exam in two days. Doing well on it is key to joining the other kids’ study groups—it’s really important. Could you stick around a bit longer?”
There were study groups, apparently. Joining one meant access to info.
Makes sense—admissions were a battle of information too. I could understand Beryl’s anxiety.
“Fine. Why not just stay overnight here? You’re crashing at the academy anyway, right?”
“Ehehe, busted?”
“Even if I didn’t want to know, that frizzy hair gives it away. Hang on, I’ll tell the escort who came to meet me.”
“Thank you so much! I’ll head over first. General-track Classroom 1!”
I sent word to the Rainpole side about staying overnight, then had Ymir, who’d come to meet me, book a room at an inn so she could spend the night in Alpenserd.
After that, I headed to General-track Classroom 1 as Beryl had said.
The general track had way more students than cadets, so the classrooms were spacious.
Even after sunset, about forty students were self-studying inside.
“Ah, Als! Over here!”
Beryl, who’d claimed a spot, waved enthusiastically.
All eyes turned to me at once.
I scanned the room—Erina was there. She was in the center of her group, teaching.
I shrugged it off and headed to Beryl.
“Where were we?”
“We were on Pensilon history. Right here.”
“Okay. Picking up from there. The Erevenia Kingdom…”
About thirty minutes in, trouble started.
“…Haha! Wrong there, General Ilrain. Erevenia had a three-ministry system. Pensilon Empire’s three-minister division policy was modeled after it. Though I guess a cadet wouldn’t know.”
It was a skinny boy. He used polite speech, which somehow made it worse.
Beryl whispered as I shot him a look.
“Name’s Peterson. Took fifth overall last exam.”
“Hmm, didn’t know fifth place had speaking privileges.”
I responded to him.
“Erevenia shifted to a three-ministry system in 732 because Grand General Molton died in the Pensilon war, and Archduke Isaac passed away, and they couldn’t find replacements. They stuck with it until collapse, but institutionally, it was always a five-ministry system. Examiners love setting traps like that—watch out.”
“Wha…!?”
“So naturally, Pensilon’s three-minister division had nothing to do with Erevenia. It was just a policy to efficiently split military, laws, and民生.”
“Th-that’s…”
“Ugh, this is fifth-place level? The rest must be obvious.”
The classroom buzzed.
Peterson trembled.
“W-we don’t know if you’re right yet! Erevenia definitely had a three-ministry—”
“Enough.”
It was a plain-looking girl with her hair in twin braids.
“You’re wrong. He’s correct. Erevenia operated under a three-ministry system, but the institutions were five-ministry. There’s debate on whether the three-minister division links to Erevenia’s system, but officially, no connection—that’s the consensus. Drop it.”
“Y-yes, Miss Leonor.”
Peterson grabbed his bag, red-faced, and left.
The girl called Leonor glared at his back, then turned to me.
“We started it, but I can’t let your comment slide.”
“Haha, what, even you want a go? What’s your rank? Fourth?”
“Second.”
“Wow, the runner-up jumps right in.”
“So? You seem confident. Care to debate a topic with me?”
Why bother with that hassle?
I was about to refuse when Erina stepped in.
“One moment, Miss Leonor.”
“Miss Erina?”
With Erina and her group joining, the murmurs grew louder.
“Even Miss Erina’s stepping up!”
“Gransel’s prodigy daughter! He’s done for!”
No idea what was “done for,” but the mood heated up.
“Debates aren’t fair—everyone picks their strong suit. How about this? There’s a general-track mock exam in two days. Why not have Mr. Ilrain join, General Ilrain?”
“Not sure if I’m allowed.”
“I’ll handle that.”
I wasn’t keen, but Erina was fired up, eyes blazing like vengeance had dropped from the sky.
‘Did I ever poke at her studies?’
Maybe something from way back at Gransel Academy. Couldn’t remember now.
“By the looks of it, you’re top rank, right?”
“Yes. Top of general track. Cadet track top, Als Ilrain.”
“Ha, you sure? If I join, you drop to second.”
“Big talk. Prove it…!”
Academy life had been boring lately. This could be fun.
“Deal. If the academy approves, I’ll take the exam.”
“No backing out.”
Erina, all fired up, returned to her seat—not to teach, but to study herself.
I kept tutoring Beryl while lightly reviewing.
*
*
*
Word of my mock exam spread, and the instructors saw it as a golden opportunity.
They didn’t just rope me in—they made all cadet officers take it.
The cadets whined. They hadn’t needed to, but now because of me.
Still, no one voiced complaints outright.
The fear from that last incident kept them at bay. No one approached rashly, not even rumors anymore.
“Quit groaning. You should’ve done this anyway!”
The instructor officer barked.
He was right.
Just like I’d taken overall top at Rainpole Academy, cadets were originally supposed to study general-track subjects and take their exams.
This year, two major wars meant long deployments, so they’d been exempted.
The kids moped but started studying to at least look good.
Exam day came.
We joined the general-track classroom for the test.
This mock was prepped for Pensilon entrance—high difficulty.
Subjects: culture, politics, history, economy, law, social etiquette. Six total, 600 points max.
I breezed through.
‘Finally, problems worth calling problems.’
Academy tests so far had been childish—missing any hurt my pride. This was decent.
Still not hard.
Truth is, I wasn’t a natural genius.
In my senior year of high school, I crammed and got into a top Seoul university, but among go players, that was average.
Some go buddies bragged about casually getting into Seoul National.
I was more about smarts—small bucket, but I knew how to use it efficiently.
Als, though? Bucket the size of a lake, but no clue how to fill or use it.
See the game Als: talented, but that 2% short. Botches wars.
Western spy traps change the story, sure.
In that sense, me and Als were perfect partners.
He brought the huge bucket; I maximized it 200%.
That synergy made today’s me.
‘Almost done…’
All perfect would be boring.
Wanted to give Erina a shot, so I bombed a 1-pointer in social etiquette.
Results posted next day.
Students swarmed the bulletin board.
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Als Ilrain—599 points
Dorothy Grimwood—597 points
Erina Salleon—582 points
Hanyu Leonor—570 points
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Ruan Chase—436 points
Beryl Milstein—436 points
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Students buzzed.
For general track, this was a shockwave.
Even Dorothy gasped in admiration.
“Wow! First time losing on scores. You’re amazing, Als!”
“First loss ever? For real?”
“Yeah, always topped academy exams before.”
“Never heard you were top, though, Dorothy.”
“Cadets get graded on more than tests. I always bombed those other parts. Never made top.”
“Ah… makes sense.”
Looks, brains, personality—Dorothy could’ve been the perfect son if not army-bound.
“Th-this can’t be…”
“I’m… fourth?”
Erina was speechless. Runner-up Leonor’s eyes shook too.
The yawning gap between top two and the rest.
They felt the wall between heaven and earth.