Chapter 10
And then, three months later.
I was standing in line for the general applicants' track of the Knights' entrance exam at the royal castle in the capital.
I’d arrived in the capital yesterday and spent the day relaxing at an inn.
“There really are a lot of people.”
Looking around, I was once again amazed by the sheer number of people.
Apparently, there are between five and ten thousand applicants for just one hundred spots, so I suppose this was to be expected.
The Knights' entrance exam is held on separate days for graduates of the Knight Training Academy and general applicants, and today was the general applicants' exam.
Most people from knightly families like mine enroll in the Knight Training Academy, but since my eldest brother, Ardio, didn’t attend, the younger children naturally ended up not attending either.
By the way, the academy graduate track admits one hundred out of its 150 graduates, so as long as you graduate, getting in isn’t difficult.
As for my “Great Saint” powers, the testing was complete.
The result was that I could “use healing magic almost as well as in my previous life.”
“Almost” because some things, such as “defense against magical attacks” and “curing illnesses,” couldn’t be reproduced due to a lack of test subjects.
At least I could use every spell I’d managed to test, so I’m hoping, perhaps a little optimistically, that I’ll be able to use them just as I did in my previous life.
Also, in my previous life, my mana reserves were about a thousand times the average, and it seems I have about the same amount in this life.
That sounds impressive at first, but powerful spells consume an enormous amount of mana, so depending on the spell, I can only use it a few times.
In my previous life, thanks to my contracts with spirits, I could use magic with a 9:1 ratio of ambient magical energy to my own mana. But now I only have my own mana, so I can use only a tenth as much as before.
I really have to conserve my mana...
The testing itself took just a week, so I spent the rest of the time training my magic.
In my previous life, I never fought anyone directly, so it was surprisingly difficult to cast body enhancement on myself and use it smoothly.
But after three months of carefully getting to know my abilities, I’d gained confidence.
Today, I wanted to see how far I could go... I was in a bit of an experimental mood.
Apparently, the first-stage exam is a test where you spar with a knight.
You pass if you block the knight examiner’s strikes ten times. It’s a simple test.
Come to think of it, Sis said that knights in their first and second years are always called in to help with the entrance exam. This must be what she meant.
The examiner seems to be a fairly young knight.
Since the applicants were divided according to the first letter of their names, I was in the F line. I looked toward the front of the line... and my eyes widened.
“Come on! You don’t have enough strength! Put your back into it!”
As he spoke, the examiner knocked the applicant’s wooden sword out of his hands.
That brown hair and those narrow eyes...
“Is there no one who can knock this Leon’s sword away?!”
...Right, he actually introduced himself. That was my brother Leon.
I mean, is an examiner allowed to have that much personality?
As I watched, Leon kept knocking the applicants’ swords away one after another.
...Was this what the first-stage exam was supposed to be like?
I mean, I knew most people would fail, since this was probably meant to weed out the mass of applicants who’d gathered here. But about fifty people in a row had already failed, and every single one had their sword knocked away after just one clash.
When I looked at the examiner next to him, the applicant exchanged one blow, then two... and on the tenth and final clash, their sword was knocked away.
On top of that, about one in five applicants passed.
Yeah, Brother Leon has no intention of letting anyone pass.
Or maybe he’d forgotten this was an exam.
As I wondered whether, as his little sister, I ought to warn him... someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.
When I turned around, I found myself staring at a magnificent chest.
Wow, muscles you can see through his clothes are amazing. Actually, if I can see his chest just by turning around, he must be really tall.
I looked up and saw a handsome man with silver hair who looked just like a prince.
...Whoa!
...J-just so you know, I’ve never had anything romantic happen to me, even in my previous life. I have no immunity to this!
...M-making eye contact from this close is kind of a big deal, isn’t it? Isn’t that something couples do?
I was thrilled in an instant, then suddenly came to my senses.
No, no. If a handsome guy like this has business with me, it must be to criticize or lecture me or something.
“...Is something wrong with my clothes? D-did I get egg on my teeth at breakfast?!”
The silver-haired hottie lowered his brows with a troubled look and pointed to the back of the line.
“Sorry if this sounds rude. Our examiner seems a little unusual, and he’s failing every applicant, isn’t he? But each examiner is supposed to pass twenty percent of the applicants in the first-stage exam. I think an examiner like that will be warned by the one next to him once there are only a few applicants left, and then he’ll panic and start passing people. So I think you’d have a better chance if you joined the back of the line. Look, all the women are standing at the very end.”
Sure enough, the women were clustered at the end of the line the silver-haired hottie had pointed to.
Wow, that’s amazing. I just witnessed chivalry at the Knights’ entrance exam.
As a young lady, I should obey the handsome gentleman’s instructions...
“Thank you for your kindness.”
Trying to convey how grateful I was, I dipped my head slightly, then stepped out of line to head to the back...
“Fia, don’t run away! Get up here!”
Brother Leon had spotted me.
Aaah, Brother, you’ve just ruined the silver hottie’s thoughtful gesture...
To let the silver hottie, who looked concerned, know that I absolutely didn’t blame him for his kindness backfiring and making my turn come sooner—and that I wasn’t angry about it at all—I forced a smile and explained.
“He’s my brother. He called me, so I’ll go.”
I doubt many applicants are called out by name by an examiner.
With everyone’s eyes on me (at least, I think every applicant in my line was watching), I hurried over to my brother.
“You’ve got some nerve trying to run away from me! Don’t get carried away just because you subjugated the Black Dragon King! ...Come on, attack me!”
“...Black Dragon King? What’s that?”
“He said ‘subjugated,’ right? Does that mean she has a monster under her control?”
“...Ha ha, no way. Monsters only submit to people stronger than themselves. Even a full-fledged knight can hardly manage that.”
The applicants around us, having caught my brother’s shout, began murmuring.
...This is the worst, Brother.
I don’t want anyone to find out I’m a Saint until my safety is assured, so I was planning to keep a low profile and stay unnoticed. What on earth are you doing?!
I picked up a wooden sword and stepped onto the raised testing platform.
“I look forward to our match.”
After a slight bow, I closed the distance.
Before he could say anything else stupid, I should just finish this quickly.
Body Enhancement! Attack power x1.2! Speed x1.2!
I murmured softly, strengthening my body.
At the same time, my brother struck.
Our wooden swords met with a dull thud, and I took a step back.
“Oh...”
For the first time, my brother looked surprised when he failed to knock an opponent’s wooden sword away in a single clash.
Meanwhile, I was a little impressed with my brother.
Brother, you’re strong!
Even with both my attack power and speed enhanced, Brother was still far stronger than me.
He hadn’t knocked my sword away, but he had pushed me back a step.
Body Enhancement (Refresh)! Attack power x1.5! Speed x1.5!
I overwrote the spell. How about this?
I gripped the wooden sword firmly in both hands and clashed with my brother a second, third, and fourth time.
Unlike the first strike, I no longer wavered, and I began to exchange blows with him steadily. My brother watched me with a puzzled look.
Then he gradually increased his speed.
Fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth! Ninth clash!
On the tenth clash, I stepped forward and put my weight behind my sword as I pushed him back.
Clack!
With a sharp, dry sound, my brother’s sword went flying.
...Oh, no.
I realized the other applicants were clearly watching me, froze for an instant... then, after thinking it over, tried giving my brother an ingratiating smile. Heh-heh.
“As one would expect of an examiner, sir! You held back so I could have a set number of people pass... In other words, you took it easy on me—by a lot, by quite a bit, by an incredible amount—so by luck, miraculously, and purely by chance, I managed to cross swords with you ten times.”
I glanced at my brother. He was staring at me with his mouth hanging open, looking utterly disbelieving.
...Oh, come on. That expression completely ruins my convincing performance.
I should leave before things get worse.
“Well then, excuse me. Thank you for letting me test myself against you.”
Smiling ingratiatingly, I headed for the door as quickly as I could without actually running.
I heard a muffled snort from somewhere around where the silver-haired hottie had been, but of course I didn’t look back. I fled the venue as fast as I could.