The Special Talent Admissions Examination (5)
Late at night, in the Theory Department faculty office, Professor Ismera sat at the head of the table and called for a brief recess. As the professors rose from their seats, she was left alone. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Ismera was currently pulling an all-nighter with the entire Theory Department, tasked with drafting a plan for the Special Talent Admissions. The decision to recruit special cadets had already been made — now they needed a plan to actually make it happen. The Academy had no existing framework for this, which meant they had to build one from scratch.
A project of this scale was not something ordinary professors ought to be handling. It demanded leadership from the top. And at this Academy, there were three people who could claim that distinction: Principal Kirlin, Theory Chief Professor Ismera — who was also filling the vacant Vice Principal's seat — and Combat Chief Professor Dian.
Principal Kirlin could write a beautiful hand, but she was incompetent. She would never produce anything of substance. Word had it she'd come back from today's outing with absolutely nothing to show for it, hadn't she?
And as for Dian, the Combat Chief Professor — well, that went without saying. Just like those uncultured brutes in the Combat Department, he had probably spent his career living off the blade as some special-ops agent or covert operative until a commander took a shine to him and quietly pulled him in through the back door. True, luck had miraculously been on his side so far — a handful of accidental successes, the way a blind squirrel stumbles onto a nut. But this was different.
A Special Talent Admissions plan was not something you could slap together half-asleep. It was not simply a matter of administering a test and calling it done. The scoring tables, the weighted criteria — all of it had to reflect the kind of talent this Academy actually wanted. And that was only the beginning. They had to choose a venue, map out the logistics, arrange meals, and if the process stretched beyond a single day, lodging as well. The list of things requiring attention was endless.
There was no way Kirlin or Dian could handle any of that.
Which was precisely why Ismera regarded this as the perfect opportunity to make her case to the Imperial Palace. If she took the lead on everything — from planning to execution to the final selection — the Palace would surely look favorably on promoting her to Principal. Even if Kirlin was the daughter of the dark elf who had saved the Emperor's life, how long could she last with a pureblood elf of exceptional ability sitting right beneath her? They would just have to wait and see.
The plan would be finished by around lunchtime tomorrow, and Kirlin and Dian would have no choice but to follow her lead.
"This is actually really good."
A few of the professors who had stepped out came back in with something clenched in their teeth. On closer inspection, it was jerky.
"Jerky doesn't get better than Quiranna's."
Quiranna — so it was the jerky made by that hopelessly cheerful hunter from the Combat Department. The same jerky Professor Dian had once forcibly stuffed into her pocket. The memory alone made Ismera shudder.
Elves were primarily vegetarian, and took considerable pride in the fact. To someone like Ismera, Dian's behavior had been the height of barbarism and rudeness. That man, honestly...
"We're sorry..."
As Ismera shuddered once more, the professors read the room and hastily hid the jerky they'd been chewing behind their backs.
"I didn't say a word. But that — where did you get it?"
"We ran into some Combat Department professors on their way home. They shared it with us — said we should have something to eat while we were working late."
"They already left for the day?"
Ismera glanced at the clock and let out a derisive little snort. As if the Combat Department — whose only talent was putting their backs into things — could possibly have finished their own plan already. And Dian had clearly asked her to show him the Theory Department's section once it was complete, so he could use it as a reference. Which meant they had grown tired of waiting for her side to finish first, given up, and gone home.
Ismera, who had already more or less finished even the Combat Department's section, had never had any intention of showing Dian her plan in the first place. By lunch tomorrow at the latest, she would get to watch Kirlin and Dian sit there without a word to say for themselves. How thoroughly satisfying.
In a brighter mood, Ismera clapped her hands and called the professors back together.
"All right! Let's get back to it. We need this plan finished by lunch tomorrow!"
At her words, the Theory Department professors — looking distinctly haggard — had no choice but to sit back down, thoroughly cowed.
"Get some rest. See you tomorrow."
"Good night, Chief Professor."
"Have a good evening. We'll see you tomorrow."
After parting ways with the professors in the faculty residential quarter, I walked home alone. It was past midnight, and most of the houses — the singles' dormitory included — had gone dark and still. It was quiet enough that I could almost hear the waves against the shore along the Academy's southeastern edge. Almost. Even with my hearing, there was no way I could pick up the surf from this far inland.
What I could hear were the footsteps trailing behind me.
I glanced back. Combat Horsemanship Professor Anna scrambled behind a garden wall. Anna was single — she lived in the dormitory over that way, not here. Did she have something to say to me?
I stood there for a moment, waiting, but she didn't come out. I turned and kept walking. No point making it awkward for both of us by calling out someone who was trying to hide.
I'd only gone a little farther when I heard footsteps fleeing in the opposite direction. I looked back. Anna was already a good distance away, vanishing into the dark.
What's her deal?
When I got home, the living room lights were on, and Olicia was sitting on the sofa, nodding off.
"Olicia. Why aren't you in bed?"
"Ah, you're back...? I was waiting up for you."
She rubbed her eyes, got to her feet in a drowsy shuffle, and padded toward the kitchen.
"Have you eaten? I prepared something just in case."
On the kitchen table, a cloth covered a spread of bread, a wedge of cheese, and the like.
"Thanks, but I already ate. Waiver brought late-night snacks. You remember that jerky from last time?"
"That was delicious. I'm glad you've already eaten, then."
She pulled the cloth back over the food and let out a long, stretching yawn.
"Why'd you wait up? You should've just gone to bed."
"How could I sleep comfortably when you're working so hard?"
She yawned again, then came back with a dry towel.
"Go wash up and get to bed. Just because you worked late doesn't mean you get to come in late tomorrow."
"Fair point. Thanks, Olicia."
"This is all so you don't go getting any other ideas. You know what I mean, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't even think about quitting the Academy."
"That's my Dian. Well then, I'll be turning in."
After Olicia went to her room, I showered and dropped straight onto the bed.
Still, I hoped Kirlin and Ismera would take to the combat section we'd built off the military academy's plan. It wasn't as if we'd cribbed it to one-up the Theory Department or get on Kirlin's good side. When there's a perfectly good sample sitting right next door, there's no reason to start from scratch. No point wasting effort you don't need to waste.
Besides, the Combat Department professors were swordsmen, not scribes. Sit them around a desk for days on end and the quality of whatever they produced was a foregone conclusion. Better to exercise a little flexibility, so long as nobody actually got hurt.
We'd put the stolen documents back, so the military academy would never even know — and it wasn't as if copying their plan did them any harm. We get to take the easy road, Kirlin will be thrilled, and Ismera doesn't have to cover the Combat Department's section on top of everything else. She's probably going to draft the whole thing herself just to show off anyway. All we have to do is slot our section in. Everybody wins, right?
Yeah. All upside. Not a single downside.
The following day, just before lunch.
"Professor Ismera. Are you sure you're all right...?"
"I'm fine..."
Kirlin asked the question with a worried look, and Ismera answered in a voice steeped in fatigue, both of her eyes bloodshot. They were in the Principal's office — Kirlin, Dian, and Ismera, gathered to discuss the final draft of the Special Talent Admissions plan.
"Your eyes aren't emerald anymore — they've gone ruby-red, just like the Principal's. Shouldn't you stop by the infirmary?"
Ismera forced a smile and shook her head.
"With a matter of this importance facing the Academy, a Chief Professor can hardly afford to look idle."
"Even so, you look terrible. Don't tell me you haven't slept a wink since yesterday?"
Ismera answered with nothing but a haggard smile.
"In that case, we should wrap this meeting up quickly so Professor Ismera can get some rest. Let's get started."
With that, Dian pulled out two copies of a draft plan and set one in front of Ismera and one in front of Kirlin.
"We'll start with the Combat Department's section. It's a bit rough around the edges, so go easy on us."
Ismera snorted inwardly. The entire Theory Department had slaved through the night while the Combat Department had all gone home. She didn't even need to look — the result would be obvious. Give it a polite reaction and push through with the version her people had made.
"Hmm.... Professor Ismera..."
In the meantime, Kirlin had skimmed the plan. She turned to Ismera with a meaningful look.
"About this.... I think we could use it as-is...?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just read it. That's how it looks to me, but you might see it differently."
Unable to make any sense of what that dark-skinned principal was going on about, Ismera picked up the copy sitting in front of her.
Special Talent Admissions Plan
The overview was obvious enough. She skipped it. The general outline... hmm. Well. They'd put it together reasonably well, actually. Perhaps the Combat Department was not entirely a congregation of fools.
But anyone could write a general outline. The real test was the detailed plan. Bound to be a complete mess, of course. It might look impressive to an unqualified principal, but to someone who had earned a High Master's Degree, it wouldn't even—
Wh-what is this?!
Ismera's eyes flew wide as she read through the detailed plan. It was a rare expression on her — almost never seen — and Kirlin leaned in anxiously.
"Well, Professor Ismera?"
"Ah... well, that is... hmm..."
Faced with a plan so complete it left no room for criticism, Ismera stammered, her eyes darting this way and that. How is this even possible...? Are they seriously telling me those Combat Department morons produced this?
"I... I believe you're right.... It doesn't appear to need any further revision..."
Ismera's insides may have been pitch-black with humiliation, but the pride unique to her kind was far too strong to allow her a self-serving lie. The Combat Department plan Dian had presented was perfect — so much so that its format could be applied to the overall plan without the slightest strain. If anything, the comprehensive plan she had wrung out of her professors through an all-nighter now felt like garbage, and she wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
"You did an excellent job, Dian. Well done."
"Haha. Thank you. In that case, cake's on you after lunch today."
"Ah... is that how this works..."
Ismera ground her teeth, glaring at Dian as he laughed and chatted with Kirlin. This man... what even is he?!
