Chapter 17
“This is the list of students with outstanding scores on the first written exam! Students on the list, please prepare to take the first practical exam together with your partners! We’ve also sent text messages to the students on the list, so please make sure you’re ready in time….”
-Rumble, rumble, rumble….
A crowd of students rushed over as soon as they saw the list being posted on the central bulletin board.
Since the area was so densely packed with people, it was impossible to tell how many there were, but I wasn’t particularly interested. Most of those gathered over there were probably just random nobodies with nothing to do with the top scorers.
As the assistant professor had just said, the actual top scorers would receive a text message directly, so they had no reason to go through the hassle of checking the list.
-Bzzz.
“…Huh?”
Right, exactly like this.
“Seonho.”
“Yeah.”
“What am I going to do…? The academy just contacted me and said I was one of the top scorers….”
“Oh, really?”
Although I already knew, I pretended to be surprised and asked again. The fact that Cha Eun-joo had good written-exam scores had already come up several times in the original story.
That was why she could remain enrolled at Cheonmu Hunter Academy without being expelled, even if she showed some weakness in actual combat. And her group-project scores, which allowed her to team up with Lee Seonho, had always been good.
“That’s great. Somehow, I had a feeling you’d be one.”
“W-what am I going to do…? D-doesn’t this mean I can’t take the exam with you, Seonho…? I-I don’t think I can do it with anyone else….”
“Don’t panic. Read the rest of the message below.”
“Huh…?”
I showed the message containing the rules for the ‘first practical exam’ to her as she fidgeted anxiously at the possibility that she might not be able to become my partner. As soon as she read what was written below, Cha Eun-joo finally began to relax.
“A partner of a top scorer may take the first practical exam together with them even if they are not a top scorer, so applicants who have already chosen their partners are asked to take note and avoid any confusion….”
“Thanks to you, I won’t have to wait long to take the exam either. Thanks, Cha Eun-joo.”
“Phew, th-that’s a relief. So I can take the exam with you, Seonho….”
Cha Eun-joo had been flustered because she didn’t know what to do, but now she soothed her pounding chest and let out a sigh of relief. The practical exam had not even begun, yet I couldn’t believe her dependence on me had already grown this strong.
A good sign. Her growing inclination to rely on me meant she had the makings of an obedient slave.
I didn’t necessarily intend to train every slave to be obedient, but having my first slave be obedient would be better. It would also make it much easier to increase the number of slaves later.
That was also why I had chosen to pursue Cha Eun-joo before the other heroines.
-Bzzz.
“Oh, wait a second.”
“Yeah?”
While Cha Eun-joo and I were briefly discussing the contents of the practical exam, my phone vibrated with an incoming text message. When I checked it, just in case, I found a message nearly identical to the one Cha Eun-joo had received moments earlier.
「Applicant Lee Seonho has been selected as a top scorer on the written exam. Please make sure you participate in the first practical exam on time….」
…I hadn’t thought I had done that well when I finished the written exam earlier, but knowing the answers must have helped me to some extent.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
“The Magic Department applicant Cha Eun-joo and the Combat Support Department applicant Lee Seonho are taking the exam in the same group, correct?”
“Yes.”
-Nod, nod.
“You’re registered. The first practical exam will begin in about an hour, so please wait in the waiting room for first practical exam applicants until then.”
“Yes, thank you.”
-Nod, nod.
Following the practical-exam clerk’s instructions, Cha Eun-joo and I headed to the applicants’ waiting room.
She kept asking me about it as we walked, apparently finding it strange that I was a top scorer.
“S-Seonho, you’re a top scorer too. That’s kind of amazing….”
“Why? Do I look like I’m bad at studying?”
“N-no, that’s not it. It’s just amazing that we’re both top scorers…. We trained together even before our written-exam results came out….”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. To be honest, I didn’t expect to make the list of top scorers either. There were so many difficult questions that I thought I had barely passed.”
It shouldn’t cause the original story to go off track just because I did well on the written exam. It did mean that the person who had ranked one hundredth in the original would be pushed out by the next exam, though.
I silently apologized to the extra whose face and name I didn’t know, then entered the waiting room. The people already gathered there were an impressive bunch.
-Swish.
“……”
-Glance, glance.
“…Ahem.”
The other applicants gave us wary looks, as if sizing us up, when Cha Eun-joo and I entered.
A few of them seemed to be characters who had appeared in the original, while quite a few others had faces I didn’t remember well enough to tell whether they were extras.
Their hair colors and styles were all incredibly vivid. Cha Eun-joo’s purple-and-black hair would have been eye-catching enough in the real world, but among the main characters of 『Surviving Hunter Academy』, it was actually fairly ordinary.
‘There’s no need to approach anyone and force myself to get close to them yet.’
Today’s targets were just Kim Isabel and Han Sora. There was no point in needlessly spreading my attention across other heroines or characters here; it would only become troublesome.
With that thought, I took a seat with Cha Eun-joo at a four-person round table in a suitably secluded corner.
…I had chosen a four-person table instead of a two-person one in case Han Sora and the protagonist’s group appeared later, giving me a chance to share the table with them.
“There’s bread and snacks too. I guess we can eat them?”
“I-I guess so….”
“What do you like, Eun-joo? Croissants? Or cookies?”
“Cookies….”
“Then I’ll go get some.”
“Oh, I-I’ll come too….”
I picked out a few light, neatly prepared snacks from the corner where they had been laid out, then returned and placed my bag on an empty seat, waiting for the others to appear as though I were waiting for my group.
Kim Isabel, the main character of this episode, along with Han Sora and the protagonist.
After sitting side by side at the round table and passing the time, the waiting room for the top scorers gradually began to fill with people.
-Bang!
“Oh, hey! Is everyone getting ready for the exam?”
“Stop making so much noise and get inside already, you idiot!”
‘Park Cheon-ho’ made a loud entrance, drawing everyone’s attention, while ‘Park Hana’ kicked him inside as though embarrassed by him.
-Creeeak.
“……”
-Glance, glance.
“Isabel! Over here!”
“…Oh, Ye-won!”
Unlike the Park siblings who had appeared a moment earlier, ‘Kim Isabel’ opened the door cautiously, looked around, then spotted her partner, ‘Min Ye-won,’ and hurried over to her.
-Bang!
“Seo Woojin! Hurry up! The exam’s about to start!”
“Haa, I-I’m running as fast as I can, haaah….”
“How many times have I told you to build up your stamina!”
And finally, with only about ten minutes left before the exam, ‘Han Sora’ burst through the waiting-room door, followed by the protagonist, ‘Seo Woojin,’ who barely managed to keep up while gasping for breath.
Along with those who had been there from the beginning, most of the main characters from 『Surviving Hunter Academy』 had now gathered.
One of the heroines had yet to arrive, but she probably wasn’t a top scorer and was scheduled to take the second session of the exam instead.
‘Sure enough, now that I’m seeing them in person, they’re all pretty impressive.’
I wasn’t talking about their skill as hunters. I meant the looks of the main female characters.
Han Sora, who appeared with a bold expression framed by wavy brown hair; Park Hana, with her prickly-looking face and short blue hair; and Kim Isabel, who appeared with conspicuous silver hair, though her face was hidden behind a veil.
They were all women who made me wonder what expressions they would make in bed. Of course, Cha Eun-joo sitting beside me was every bit as cute and lovable as they were.
‘By the way, I didn’t expect Park Cheon-ho and Park Hana to be taking the first session either.’
Both of them seemed far removed from the top scorers. Had they gotten lucky with a lot of guesses?
A minor question crossed my mind, but it wasn’t particularly important. The only thing that mattered to me was that Kim Isabel and Han Sora were taking the same exam.
…As for Seo Woojin, whatever.
‘Still, he is handsome, for a protagonist.’
Well, if he weren’t handsome, the original novel couldn’t progress in the first place, so it couldn’t be helped.
Fortunately, Han Sora had no feelings for Seo Woojin beyond those of a ‘childhood friend.’ She would only begin developing romantic feelings for the protagonist of the original after the events that would take place during this practical exam.
And as was usually the case with childhood friends in manga and novels, Han Sora was not treated very well in the story. She received a decent amount of attention at first, but by the latter half, she was reduced to nothing more than ‘the first heroine to appear.’
As the protagonist’s abilities blossomed, more and more women appeared around him who were more capable than Han Sora, leaving her as a tragic heroine who couldn’t confess the feelings she realized too late and could only pine away.
…Of course, if she became my woman, she wouldn’t be neglected like that. She would be much happier joining my harem than remaining beside an indecisive loser like that.
“Mmm….”
Han Sora folded her arms and cautiously looked around the waiting room, which was bustling with more than a hundred applicants.
Thinking this was my chance, I moved the bag I had deliberately placed on an empty seat and pretended to rummage through it.
“What are you doing, Seonho?”
“I’m putting my phone and wallet in my bag. I won’t need them once the exam starts anyway, and they’d be a nuisance in my pocket.”
“I see…. I should put mine in my bag too.”
Cha Eun-joo adorably copied what I was doing and put her phone in her crossbody bag.
Fortunately, my plan seemed to have worked. After seeing that the seat was empty, Han Sora approached the table where Cha Eun-joo and I were sitting.
“Is this seat taken?”
“Go ahead. It’s fine, right, Eun-joo?”
“I don’t mind….”
“Hey, Seo Woojin. There’s a seat here.”
“Okay….”
Perhaps because this was still early in the story, Seo Woojin moved as though being dragged along by Han Sora’s words.
Regardless of his handsome appearance, I didn’t like the pathetic, timid impression he gave off.
“Since meeting like this must be fate, shall we introduce ourselves? I’m Han Sora. I’m in Archery.”
“I’m Lee Seonho, a Combat Support student.”
“…I-I’m Cha Eun-joo, in Magic….”
True to her lively personality, Han Sora began exchanging names as soon as she sat down.
I considered greeting her warmly to match her personality, but decided against it. Cha Eun-joo was sitting beside me, so I should speak calmly as usual.
She was shy around strangers, but because I had introduced myself first, Cha Eun-joo cautiously opened her mouth as well.
“……”
And there was one person who felt even more awkward about the situation than Cha Eun-joo and sat there with his mouth shut.
Sitting between Han Sora and me, Seo Woojin kept his lips tightly closed and said nothing.
-Smack!
“Hey, Seo Woojin! Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”
“W-what…? If you’re from Support or Magic, we’re only going to see each other once anyway….”
“We might see each other again in group classes later! And even if we’ll only see each other once, shouldn’t you still say hello?”
“……Seo Woojin.”
“Sorry, I made you uncomfortable. He’s just a little quiet.”
“It’s fine. It’s probably just awkward since this is our first time meeting.”
Fortunately, Seo Woojin was exactly like the Seo Woojin from the original story. Whenever a woman other than his childhood friend, Han Sora, was nearby, he became too pathetic to speak and could only watch her reaction nervously.
In the original, this aspect of the protagonist was supposedly meant to trigger the women’s protective instincts and draw heroines to him… but honestly, I couldn’t understand how women would gather around a guy like this.
Although I had dropped the original before seeing its ending, if someone like this was the protagonist of a harem story, he would probably fail to make a decision even by the end and let the story fizzle out into some sort of everyone-stays-friends ending.
The heroines would simply keep giving their love to a protagonist who could never return it. I had genuinely enjoyed the novel before dropping it, so I absolutely couldn’t accept an ending like that.
“What department are you in? Archery, like Han Sora?”
“N-no…. I’m just in Sword….”
“Really? Then we might run into each other pretty often. The Support department has a lot of classes that involve working with Combat too.”
“N-no, it’s fine. I’m not particularly interested in becoming friends with anyone from Support….”
“Huh?”
“H-honestly, the Support department is where people without any combat ability gather…. I-I don’t really like people like that….”
…Well, well.
This bastard. He was even more of a bad seed than I’d thought.