FIVE days later, I made it to the royal capital. I remained holed up in my hotel room until the day of the exam and studied what I could. Mother had made plans with a friend and set out for some fun. I wonder if I’ll make friends in school, I thought, though I hadn’t even gotten accepted yet.
And finally, the day of the exam arrived. The royal capital was quite chilly during this season, and everyone wore thick capes and mantles. From my perspective, Lawlife always saw plenty of snow, and the royal capital had a warmer autumn in comparison. I wasn’t especially susceptible to the cold or anything; Lawlife was just extremely cold. I felt like I didn’t even need a mantle as I stood in front of the school gates.
“Oh? Can you not afford a mantle?” a voice called, catching me by surprise.
I turned toward the voice and spotted a beautiful young girl with ashy purple hair glaring at me. She wore a thick fur coat over her dress that must’ve been warm, but it would be a bit too toasty for me in this weather.
“Watching you just makes me cold,” she said.
“Does it, now?” I replied. “I come from a snowy region, so I don’t feel cold at all.”
I usually shivered year-round in my hometown of Lawlife; never did I dream that I’d tell someone that I didn’t feel cold at all.
“A snowy region… I see,” the girl said. “But just looking at you sends a shiver down my spine! You should definitely wear something warm!”
After firmly stating her piece, she turned around and left. I watched her go, the falling leaves dancing in the breeze, and I couldn’t help but voice the first thing that came to mind.
“City people are scary!”
I assumed many people at this school were like her. I dreamed of making a hundred friends, but it seemed that would be difficult.
The written exam focused on five subjects: general magic, history of magic, magical formulas, potions, and classical magic. Arguably, the most difficult subject was magical formulas, where one had to create a magic circle, but fortunately for me, that was my best subject. My issue was the history of magic. No matter how many times I read the books, question marks filled my mind. I could only try to cram my brain with all the information. It only added to my confusion when several notable wizards or witches all shared the same name—it was difficult to know which was which.
I gave up trying to understand historical events and opted to just memorize them all. After we were tested on two subjects, we took a lunch break. The cafeteria was open to all for a meal, but I wanted to use my lunchtime to do some last-minute cramming. I took the bread that I bought on my way to the exam venue and went out to the courtyard to find a quiet place to study.
The courtyard was like a forest. It was easy to get lost, but it was far simpler to navigate than the snow-white forests back home. I glanced around, memorizing the trees and plants so that I wouldn’t get disoriented, and strolled along. Just as I was about to search for a place to sit, I heard a sharp squeak. A squirrel clutched the hems of my skirt and tugged me along.
“Huh? A squirrel? All the way out here?!”
Does this school raise squirrels or something? I wondered. Back at my school in my previous life, we had chickens and rabbits, so I guess this isn’t too unusual…
“Squeak! Squeak, squeak!” the squirrel cried.
“Huh? What? You want me to follow you?” I asked.
“Squeak!”
As if answering “Yes,” it scampered into the courtyard, lush with greenery. This feels fantastical, doesn’t it? Heading somewhere, guided by a small animal… But this isn’t Japan. Maybe in this world, it’s normal for animals to guide people. The squirrel, in a bit of a hurry, dashed ahead, leaving me behind.
“H-Hey!” I cried. “Wait for me!”
I ran after the squirrel for about three minutes until I spotted a bunch of other furry squirrels there, along with someone lying on the ground. I gasped, surprised. That was shocking enough, but on top of that, fluffy friends surrounded the person like a fairy-tale princess.
I took a closer look. The man wore a black mantle with a gold chain that resembled some kind of medal. His golden locks dazzled brilliantly, and his limbs were long and slender. He was very handsome. He wasn’t wearing this school’s uniform, so he clearly wasn’t a student. When he groaned in agony and had a coughing fit, I rushed to his side.
“Are you all right, sir?!” I asked.
He was still conscious. His eyes fluttered open, but he couldn’t answer, and his eyes fell shut again. He clutched his throat, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, clearly in distress and pain. I’d brought a potion from home, keeping it on me just in case, and it seemed as good a time as any to use it.
“I’ve got something that can stop your coughing,” I said. “Would you like to try it?!”
I felt like an employee in a bar trying to offer the special on the menu. The young man didn’t react at first, but he parted his lips.
“Don’t need it,” he croaked. “It won’t work on me anyway.”
“But it’s worth a try!” I replied. “This potion is quite famous in the royal capital pharmacies for working wonders!”
I didn’t mean to brag since I made the potions myself, but since I sold them to the royal capital, people constantly asked for more. Endless customers asked for this potion; it was an instant bestseller. The air in the royal capital wasn’t very clean and had damaged many people’s throats and lungs; this potion sold like hotcakes as a result.
The young man said not a word since he had another coughing fit. A nearby squirrel grabbed the bottle from me, skillfully undid the top, and tipped the contents into the man’s mouth, letting him drink. The young man was shocked at first, but when it touched his lips, his eyes widened even more with surprise.
“I-Isn’t this…” he started.
His hacking stopped instantly, and he got up with gusto. I was relieved that the potion worked, but I didn’t have time to dawdle. I wanted to eat and study for the afternoon portion of my exam. I stood and tried to leave without a word when the young man grabbed my arm.
“Where did you buy this potion?!” he demanded.
“Pardon?”
“It’s a popular one, isn’t it? I couldn’t find it in the royal capital—it was sold out everywhere!”
There apparently was a shortage of my potions. I cut back on my potion-selling gig to study for my exams, and it seemed the stock I sold to the royal capital had sold out. I felt like it would become troublesome if I revealed that I made it, so I decided to keep that a secret. It was best to just brush him off here.