Chapter 4

Soon enough, she changed the subject. “By the way, you two. Those uniforms. Are you students at the Academy of Magic?” “I’m afraid not. I haven’t enrolled yet. Same goes for Ireena over here.” “Hmm. Ah, come to think of it, I heard there might be two students with contingent admission joining this year. Must be you guys. In that case, I doubt we’ll hear any complaints.” “…Are you connected with the academy in some way?” “That’s right. I’ll be an instructor this year. The youngest in its history,” she boasted, flashing us a triumphant look that clearly said, Whaddaya think of that? “I’m Jessica. Jessica von Velgr la Melldies de Rainsworth. I’m the third daughter of a marquis, but no need to act all formally with me, y’hear?” She flashed us a cheery smile and stuck her hand out assertively. I accepted it, and we introduced ourselves in return. “Ard and Ireena, huh? Well, I’ve got business at the academy, too. Why don’t we all head over together?” We strolled alongside one another to our destination and passed through the gates into the grounds proper. The Laville National Academy of Magic was the largest school in the country, and it had a cutting-edge curriculum. Its grounds stretched out farther than its outer appearance let on… And to be honest, the sprawling campus overwhelmed the two of us. Jessica giggled. “Give it three days, and it’ll feel like old news… Well, I’ve gotta go to the staff room, so this is where we part ways. Next time we meet, we’ll be teacher and students.” With this lighthearted farewell, she waved at us and took her leave. After Jessica departed, we cornered a few students on campus as we tried to figure out our way to the headmaster’s office. As we meandered across the grounds, I noticed two variations of our uniform, which signified status. Based on this info, I bet there were remnants of a social hierarchy that separated the rich from the poor. I mulled this over while traveling through the school building with Ireena until we finally arrived at the door to the office, on which I gave a few quick raps with my knuckle before entering. “Oh, you’ve made it. Thank you for coming,” croaked the headmaster, an elderly man named Golde, as he ushered us in congenially and assumed his position in front of a desk smack-dab in the center of the spacious room. He looked like he couldn’t have been more than a couple days away from hitting one hundred, but he overflowed with a vitality that belied his appearance. He was a count and held the sixth position of mageship, known as “Hexagon”—only one rank away from the very top. There were fewer than ten people who’d earned this title throughout the nation. It wouldn’t be possible for an average villager (read: me) to be bestowed with this honor, though that wouldn’t have been the case back in my heyday. Next to Count Golde was an attractive young woman. I guessed she was his secretary or something. She’d kept silent until now, staring daggers in our direction. “…As expected from those three. Irregular, indeed. Like parent, like child,” she muttered quietly. This woman was a piss-poor judge of character. What about us was irregular? “Ooh, yes, quite fearsome. It seems they’ll do much better than we’ve been told.” …Apparently, the count needed to get his eyes checked, stat, especially if he was expecting something from a normal village boy and a less-than-mediocre girl. “We’ve heard of your heroism. You will be exempt from the practical exams. There’s no question you’d receive full marks. Especially you, Ard. If you were to go up against an exam proctor, he’d die if he wasn’t careful. Yes, indeed. Such frightening talent.” It was all lip service. And I had nothing to do with it. Our parents were renowned as some of the greatest heroes in history, so the academy could hardly afford to flat-out reject their kids. “However. We ask that you take the written exam. I think it’ll be an easy enough task for you both, but…I’m afraid I cannot allow you to enroll otherwise.” Gotcha. That’ll test our basic education. They could never allow two uneducated students into their school. We both nodded obediently. “Very good… It’s a bit preemptive, but perhaps I should say it now. Welcome to the Laville National Academy of Magic. I’m honored to have you here with us.” Sheesh, talk about overkill. Ireena and I were perfectly average. Well, probably less than average. A few days later, I was right in the middle of scribbling through the written examination at the academy, joined by a few other students. …Weird. Totally bonkers. The test is way too easy. This must be what they call a trick question, I bet. It had to be one of those problems where you squeeze out an answer by reading between the lines and words and spaces. Yeah. That had to be it. I mean, otherwise a three-year-old could pass with flying colors. It was obvious. After all, this academy stood at the forefront of all other institutions in the country, founded during the earliest days of the nation to provide a well-rounded education. Makes sense that they’ll have some tricky problems on their test. Nice. This is gonna be fun. On the morning after the exam, I headed to the academy with Ireena in tow. The results were posted on a signboard at the front gate, swarming with a crowd of students—smiling or sobbing in typical post-exam fashion. “Well! There’s obviously no way we’ll fail! We’re gonna knock this one outta the park!” Ireena powered forward, her chest swelling with confidence. I trailed after her and took a good look at the results. It didn’t take long to confirm that we’d gotten in. After all, both our names were at the very top of the list. Ireena scored full points. Amazing. My darling little girl was so smart. I, on the other hand… “Hey. Hey, Ard. Doesn’t this seem strange?” “I-indeed. I don’t understand it, either,” I said, bewildered. It made no sense. I’d scored a grand total of…zero points.