Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: First Academic Contest Results
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Grading was finished the next evening.
Having sacrificed my entire weekend for this contest, I gathered the retainers once more, hoping it would all prove worthwhile.
Fuzzy bro and Yulia sis had only done it for fun from the start, so they didn't bother checking the scores, but Bisceta Clen was different.
She had set aside her busy duties to come to my mansion.
'She's not here to check her own scores.'
From the looks of it, she had come to check Eonia's.
"It's probably too late to say this now, but... please don't take it too seriously, everyone."
After giving that warning, I announced each person's scores.
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1. Bisceta Clen—600 points
2. Olaf—583 points
3. Lutger Rosenberg—521 points
4. Lisitea Dearwind—504 points
5. Fuzzy Ilrain—448 points
6. Anton Quinter—439 points
7. Ilya Anpei—374 points
8. Ymir—364 points
9. Yulia Ilrain—353 points
10. Gaspar—341 points
11. Eonia Mirabel—291 points
12. Estelle Diante—262 points
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The winners were Team 2—Olaf, Gaspar, and Ymir—with a total of 1,288 points.
Second place went to Team 1, which included Lutger, with a total of 1,287 points.
Shocking... no, it was a result that had been predictable from that point on.
"Wow! A perfect score. As expected of Lady Bisceta."
Even Olaf, who said this so casually, had gotten perfect scores in everything except social etiquette. Apparently, he'd forgotten high society manners after holing up at home for so long.
The top spots were decided too anticlimactically for much reaction.
The real talk of the town was the battle for last place.
Both Eonia and Estelle had cheating controversies, but since it was mutual, we decided to let that slide.
"Ahaha..."
Eonia couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad.
Seeing Anton—whom she saw as her rival—so high up seemed to take the sting out of it.
Estelle, meanwhile, was glancing nervously at Lutger. Veins were bulging on his forehead.
"Estelle. From today onward, come to my room after your duties are done. I'll help you study."
"Study...?"
Estelle wrinkled her brow, clearly hating the idea. Lutger, unusually stern, scolded her.
Bisceta was no different.
"Eonia, you come to my mansion after work, too."
"Yes? But growth..."
She pleaded with her eyes that at least she hadn't come in last, but Bisceta shot it down.
"You're going to let some Florand human beat you and just sit there? The Holy King in the heavens will weep!"
"Ugh, got it..."
Eonia nodded dejectedly. Feeling bad for her, I decided to share the good news right away.
"As I mentioned before, I've set up a salary structure based on these results. Pay will be disbursed weekly, so please take note."
The salary rankings were completely different from the test scores.
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1. Eonia—120,000 silan
2. Lutger—100,000 silan
3. Ilya, Ymir—95,000 silan
4. Gaspar—90,000 silan
5. Olaf—80,000 silan
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Eonia was speechless at her ranking.
"M-Me, first place...? Me, the perennial second place!?"
"Perennial second? You were paying attention to that?"
"Ah, Lord Als! Wh-Why me...!"
"You raised your major scores the most."
Unlike the others, who missed some wars, Eonia had amazingly participated in every single one and performed well. I couldn't ignore that merit in her evaluation.
"Aja ja ja...!!"
Eonia let out a muffled roar, her face lit up like she could float away.
Olaf gave a wry smile.
"Haha, so I'm last here."
"Sorry, but it can't be helped. You have less seniority. We even excluded you from this test's evaluation."
"Well, next time then. Since it's come to this, I'll aim for first next round."
In truth, the salary rankings were a more meaningful metric than the test scores.
Think pro sports. Salary reflects skill. It's roughly the same idea.
Eonia, full of herself, stared at Anton and smirked slyly. Unable to stand it, Anton asked me.
"Lord Als. I'm not on the list."
"Well, you get plenty from Crossing already. So I left you out."
"That's... but still."
He really hated seeing Eonia gloat.
"Then from now on, I refuse my salary from Crossing!"
A shocking declaration.
Master Ilya tried to talk him out of it, but from Anton's resolute expression, he clearly planned to get on the list somehow by next week's payroll.
Eonia, for her part, agreed enthusiastically to study with Bisceta to defend her top spot.
And so the inaugural Academic Contest came to a noisy end.
'Next time, I should hold a Martial Contest.'
No telling when that would be.
*
*
*
With the retainer contest wrapped up, I headed to Crossing's top administrator's office, bringing Master and his wife along.
Juras was waiting there.
The guy grinned at me, and I got chills like ants crawling up my back.
'No matter how many times I meet him, I never get used to it.'
I was still doing okay, though.
Master, on the other hand, was always on high alert in Juras's presence.
I asked Anton for some tea, then sat across from the guy.
"You came early. I figured you'd be busy governing Bekavia, but apparently not."
"I had a report for my godfather and was on my way to Cross Hon anyway. Stopped by while I was at it. So? What is it you want to consult me about?"
"About the West."
At my words, Master flinched.
Juras stared at him without a word.
"You told him? About you being in that training facility."
"...!?"
Master jumped in shock.
"Y-You bastard, how the hell do you...!"
"What? You still haven't told him? This is getting boring, so I'll just spill it all."
Juras unfolded the story like it was no big deal.
The gist was this.
Apparently, the West had these martial artist training facilities.
Institutions run by each of the West's three powers, gathering war orphans and homeless kids for brutal training.
Brutal didn't even begin to cover it.
Out of an initial 500 kids, fewer than ten survived to adulthood. The rest all died in training.
"The facility you were in was Hanneman's direct Dragonlatent group, right? Fisher Partin was one of your cohort. But you caught Guderian Chester's eye and left the facility. Your cohort mate Fisher Partin became the top of the group and one of Hanneman's Five Dragons. I don't think I'm wrong anywhere."
"That's why I'm asking how the hell you know that!"
It was clearly top-secret info. Even Anton, who handled Crossing's Class 1 secrets, looked stunned.
But Juras just sighed like it was trivial.
"This is nothing. Don't get worked up over every little thing. It's annoying."
"Urgh...!"
Waaah! Gawain started crying.
The baby, who never cried otherwise, must have sensed his mother's distress and burst into tears.
"Hahaha! What a loud cry he's got."
Master turned away, shielding the baby from Juras's gaze.
"Heh, Anton. What's the child's name?"
"Gawain, sir."
"Good name. ...Now, with the baby crying, we can't talk. So you all step out."
Anton wouldn't leave me alone with Juras, so he only sent Master outside.
Juras sipped his tea and asked.
"Back to it. What did you want to consult about?"
I had two things to ask Juras about. The Kurabel Holy Kingdom, and the advice Guderian Chester had given me.
Today, I decided on the latter.
"I happened to meet Guderian Chester recently."
"That's... interesting. From the looks of you, no fists flew. Did you get some info from him?"
"Yes. He told me to beware of Western spies, to watch out for Tetora Anistry, and... that war would break out in Caliper."
"War in Caliper...?"
Even Juras latched onto the last part.
"There's no reason for war to break out in Caliper."
"Seems you have no leads either."
Meaning even Juras's intel on the West wasn't perfect.
"Hmm."
"First, tell me about Tetora Anistry."
"He's the head of the force dominating the West's south. The strategic master of that Kraus Faulkner you faced before. Beyond his uniquely ruthless strategies and cruel temperament, I know nothing else."
Juras groaned softly.
"From the context, it sounds like Tetora Anistry will invade Caliper."
"Possible?"
"No. The West can't attack Caliper directly. They won't use sea routes. If Guderian Chester hadn't said it, I'd dismiss it as fake intel."
"I still have doubts about that part myself. Could be false info. Or maybe Guderian got it wrong."
"No, Als. We can't brush off Guderian Chester's words as a mistake. The reason he told you is probably because you're fellow disciples, right?"
"Yes, he called me a disciple too."
"Then it's not false."
Juras grinned innocently, like he'd found a new toy.
"Als, this is a time with no casus belli for war."
"True."
At best, maybe Byullang vs. Svenner, or Toonkai vs. Bekavia.
"To start a war, you need a pretext somehow. It means the West has found some way to fabricate one. Caliper needs to uncover that method in advance."
"...You mean we need to fight a shadow diplomatic war."
"It might already be underway."
"Hmm."
"For that, you'd be better off asking him than me."
Who "he" was went without saying.
Conveniently, tomorrow was Caliper's regular military council, perfect timing.
*
*
*
After my talk with Juras, I returned to the mansion intending to sleep early for academy tomorrow.
But guests were still there.
Lutger and his daughter Estelle. I'd sent Lisitea ahead; the two were studying in the drawing room.
"You're working hard. Missed the timing to head home? Feel free to stay the night."
I said that and tried to ignore them, but Estelle approached with short steps, apparently having business with me.
She followed me all the way to my room, like she wanted to talk privately.
"This is Lord Als's room..."
Estelle looked around curiously.
"Sorry, normally I'd chat leisurely, but I'm a bit tired now. If you have something to say, make it quick?"
"Ah... It's not a big deal."
Estelle hesitated, then.
"Lord Als... are you disappointed in me?"
"Huh?"
"You think I'm an idiot and you're disappointed!"
I took off my coat and hung it in the closet as I replied.
"Not disappointed."
I'd known Estelle was bad at studying. Back at Rainpole Academy, I'd tutored her.
She'd spent so long bedridden from illness that she missed the crucial period for building foundations.
"Well, I did think, 'How did she even get into advanced academy with those scores?'"
"Th-That's because you tutored me back then."
"No way you just stopped completely after entering advanced academy, right?"
"Y-Yeah... Crossing is... kinda lax about it. And I didn't know Pensilon Academy's entrance exam was this tough."
"Haha, want me to tutor you for a while?"
I'd figured as much, but Estelle shook her head.
"No, I won't accept your help, Lord Als. I'll prove myself on my own. What I want is for you to tell Erina this: I'll beat her on the Pensilon entrance exam!"
She was aiming high with her studies.
"Erina's pretty good at studying despite appearances. You sure?"
"I'm good. ...Probably?"
Eonia grinding to surpass Lisitea, Estelle gunning for Erina.
I silently cheered on the last-place duo's rebellion from the bottom of my heart.