Sword, Magic and Academic Society

Those around listening intently began betting one after another, using Allen's assigned class as the topic. And the ever so capable magic instructor Emmy jotted down who bet on what.

The most popular choice to bet on was Class A, but since Allen was from a remote countryside whose name they had never heard, some had doubts about his academic performance and so a few votes went for Class B and C.

A class had up to 20 people, and only 100 students would be admitted from the entrance exam every year, so classes ranged from A to E. However given Allen's mana capacity and his performance in the practical exam, he was confirmed to be placed in Class C the very least even if he just barely did good enough in the theory exam.

Once the bets were settled, Dew continued to speak.

"...As for what happened later, I presume you lot must have already figured it out from the video. He had made an impromptu strike but that was just a bait to probe my attitude in the beginning. Then when I followed up with a horizontal sweep which had almost no chance of injury, he dodged with his special move and countered with a roundhouse kick to my face. After watching his first move and the roundhouse kick on his 3rd move, I'm sure he was using his body-strengthening magic at full power — or closer to that — despite that damned soil setup of old man Godorfun which made it harder to walk on. I mean, considering his running pace in the morning, I've no doubt he must have already finished adjusting to the soil by the time he walked to the reception, keeping his pace to something no different than usual."

"If I may, I have two questions."

Dante, the one with the muscular jaw but had a kind look, raised his hand.

"It was indeed a sharp roundhouse kick but I don't think it was on the level that could touch the forelock of the 'Efficient Operator' Dew Owiel, the captain of the Knight Order's third legion."

"Hmm? Ah, was it hard to understand from the video angle? Well, I just underestimated him... That brat deliberately placed the wooden sword slightly to the right of my line of sight, adjusting in which direction it would be deflected. The trick was to guide my gaze to check if the flying sword wouldn't hit the clueless students standing there while he took advantage of that opening. Then his roundhouse kick came from a dead angle which caused me to react late."

"Hmm, I see. I also got the answer to my second doubt. No matter if it was to create an opening, suddenly losing your weapon would be a great disadvantage. He even came up with a way to make a counterattack by securing a weapon immediately from a nearby student."

"That's the crooked part about that brat. Looking back, he didn't show any interest in the other examinees, which seemed unnatural. But depending on the situation, he kept them as his insurance to take them into strategy when needed. Don't you think his spirit is quite rotten?"

"...I can't say anything about spirit, but as old man Godofrun said, he indeed didn't sound like someone who would be inept in studying..."

"...Alright everyone, that should be enough. Let's get back to grading..."

Mujikke tried to interrupt, however,

"...Speaking of which, old man Godorfun, did you see the footage of Dew-san's practical exam after that?"

Justin suddenly spoke with a grin.

"Hmm? Not yet... Was there another interesting lad?"

Some of them must have seen it, as they avoided eye contact awkwardly.

"After that, not a single examinee came to Dew-san! Not a single one! I couldn't see clearly from my position, but after getting tricked by that student, he must have had one heck of a furious expression! Ahahaha."

As Parch laughed boisterously, not reading the mood, a vein bulged out of Dew's forehead.

"There's no way I would be seriously mad at a 12-year-old brat!"

Justin swiftly stepped forward to supplement.

"Indeed, if anything, Dew-san looked to be in quite a good mood after that. He kept waiting for another strong-minded examinee to challenge him with a fierce grin. Though as more and more examiners avoided him, his face gradually turned depressed..."

As Justin fanned the flame, the ever-so-capable magic instructor Emily swiftly changed the image projected on the monitor. In it was the back of the Dew, waiting there all alone, with a melancholic expression.

"Ahahaha! This angle is perfect, Emmy-chan!"

Parch burst out in laughter once again, inciting others to follow as well.

"Stop showing that! All of them were cowards, choosing their examiners based on expression! The ones who came straight to me at the beginning were decent, but the rest were utterly mediocre! Have their levels dropped or something?!"

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"Fufufu. Well everyone, don't laugh. It was after having fun with an interesting toy. So he must have been quite excited and unintentionally leaked out some of his aura… Though I also wished the examinees were more gutsy!"

Godorfun put a leash on everyone's fun. Finally, when everyone reigned in their laughter, Mujikka urged everyone to continue their work.

"Come one, this should be enough now, so please return to grading, everyone! We are already behind schedule compared to last year! We're short on time!

Everyone was about to head to their respective work when the magic instructor Emmy murmured in a soft voice.

"Ah... The reason why the examinees didn't come to Dew-san. I think I happened to see it......"

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

clatter-clatter

Emmy operated the magic tool once again.

<The examiner with the unkempt beard near the reception is in a bad mood due to a hangover so don't approach him.>

There, it reflected the image of Allen advising a cute girl while flashing a smile.

"That girl apparently had an acquaintance in the 'Pruning lawn', and passed on what he said to her other two friends. Most likely, that advice then spread out like wildfire between the other examinees."

Emmy further explained.

"That prickly brat! What kind of nonsense was he spreading?! How the hell would I, the defense-in-charge, have the time to drink alcohol?! Even though— even though I was awake the whole night and then even came to assist in their examssssssss!!!"

Dew flipped on his earlier remark and snapped in the end, having been triggered by a 12-year-old brat. The ever-so-capable Emmy once again projected Dew's melancholic back profile.

Parch mustered all his will to control himself. However, his effort was for naught as the big boss Godorfun ended up laughing, making the others laugh as well.

"Buhahaha."

"U-Unkepmt beard... Pff..."

"That back of the 'Efficient Operator' De— fu."

<Thank you very much! My name is Allen Rovenne!>

Emmy's finger danced in an upbeat mood as she operated the magic tool.

"…Don't try to act all fresh and cheerful like you're putting on a show!"

After that, Dew announced he was changing his bet from Allen scoring Class A to him failing in the theory test— a risky gamble.

◆

Later that night—

As everyone was going through the grading to make up for the lost time, the man overlooking the theory test grading floor entered their floor.

"The theory test results have been finalized~"

Everyone's gaze immediately focused on that man. There was a subtle aura drifting in the air.

"Hmm… What's the result of Allen Rovenne?"

The kind-looking old man Godorfun asked with a grin. The old man was once feared as an indomitable warrior in his active days but after retirement, his burning spirit finally mellowed down and nowadays, he was even called 'Godorfun the Buddha'.

However, beneath that serene exterior, his body still bore the visage of the formidable spirit he once possessed.

In these several hours, under the repeated provocations of Justin and Emmy, the betting amount had piled up to a staggering amount. It had increased to such an extent even the betting people with large salaries would find it hard to fork it out. Now that an astronomical amount was at stake riding on Allen's score......

"A-Allen Rovenne?? Err, that kid... ah—"

The result left everyone stunned.

◆

It was half past ten in the morning.

I made my way through the crowd of students — some shouting in joy while some whimpering in sadness — along with my Mother and came to the front of the notice board where the list of the passing candidates was posted.

I had confidence in myself.

I tried to calm myself down. I did have faith in my result but there had been precedents from my past life. Despite my exhaustive studies, I failed to qualify for Tokyo's 'Prestigious Institute'.

I just couldn't get rid of the 'what if' feeling.

I started looking for my name in the column of the Class E candidates while praying mentally. Mother softly called out to me.

"You're in, Allen. Look there."

I hurriedly checked the section my Mother pointed to, and the following was written—

ーーーーーーーーー

Allen Rovenne

Mana Capacity - (C)

Knight Course Practical Exam - (S)

Theoretical Exam - (A)

Assigned Class - (A!)

Knight Course Overall Rank - (4/50)

ーーーーーーーーー

Certainly, my Mana Capacity being rated C indicated a rank between 40th and 60th among the successful candidates. I understood this much. I had deduced such would be the result as well.

An A in the theoretical exam meant I was ranked somewhere between the 2nd and 20th position. I think I may have overdone things in this, though knowing that it was the result of my hard work made me proud of my result.

However, the thing that stumped me was the S in the practical exam. There was only one person with an S rank in each section.

My test was taken by that guard uncle with the unkempt beard suffering from a hangover. Maybe there was some kind of misunderstanding? Also, there was something else in the detail that further piqued my interest— Assigned Class (A!).

......I don’t think I've ever heard about such a class.

I reflexively turn to look at my mother. She was staring at the notice board with a scowl on her face.