Preparing for the Exam

About sixty days had passed since I went to the ducal territory, and tomorrow was finally the day of the exam.

I spent this period taking things easy. I considered studying, but since there was nothing left for me to do, I stopped pretty quickly. The history covered on the exam was only very superficial, so there wasn't much to memorize. I wanted to learn more in-depth history, but I suppose I'll be taught that in class.

My practice with antidote magic hadn't gone well either. There hadn't been any suitable poisons during winter. Potato sprouts were the easiest thing to obtain, so I decided to practice with them once spring came.

Roger was supposed to come pick me up at home today. I was pretty sure he was coming in the afternoon, so I prepared in the morning and waited for the carriage to arrive.

"Leon, do your best on tomorrow's exam. You'll be fine."

"If it's you, Leon, you'll be fine as long as you stay calm."

"Mom, Dad, thank you. I'll do my best!"

Today, it seemed that Mom and Dad were more restless than I was. They were telling me to stay calm, but they were the ones fidgeting. I couldn't help laughing.

"Ha-ha... You two should calm down. I'll be fine."

"That's right. You'll be fine, Leon. Of course, your mother believes in you."

"Me too. But I'm worried about things like what if your stomach suddenly hurts, or a noble picks a fight with you..."

"Dad, hearing you say things like that is making me nervous instead."

"S-sorry!"

Dad was getting even more flustered. He was pacing around me. Dad, maybe you should calm down soon...

But watching the two of them actually made me feel calmer. I guess it's true that seeing someone else panic can make you calm down.

While I was sitting in the dining room waiting like that, I heard a knock on the door, followed by a voice saying, "This is Roger."

I stood up from my chair and immediately opened the door.

"Leon-sama, I've come to pick you up."

"Thank you. I'm all ready, so let's go."

I said that, picked up my luggage, and turned toward Mom and Dad.

"Mom, Dad, I'll do my best."

"Yes, do your best."

"You'll be fine, Leon."

The two of them wore slightly stiff smiles, as though they were doing their best not to show their anxiety.

Seeing their faces made me laugh again.

"Ha-ha... You two look funny."

"Hey, don't say that in front of the ducal family's servant! Um, you must be Roger-san, right? Please take good care of Leon."

"Please take care of him."

Mom and Dad bowed deeply toward Roger. Perhaps because he wasn't used to people bowing to him, Roger looked slightly flustered, but he quickly returned to his usual expression. That's Roger for you.

"Yes. I will serve Leon-sama to the best of my ability."

Roger bowed as well.

This had turned into the bizarre sight of us all bowing to one another. I stepped between them.

"Mom, Dad, I'm off now. I'll be back after the exam."

"Yes, do your best. I'll have a feast waiting for you."

"Good luck, Leon. See you when you get back."

"I'm off!"

And so, I boarded the carriage with Roger and headed to the ducal residence.

When I arrived at the ducal residence, I was immediately shown to the guest room I always used. Apparently, I could continue using this room when I started living at the estate, so it had effectively become my room. The gifts I'd received from Elisabeth-sama were there as well. Even seeing them again, they were far too extravagant.

"Leon-sama, regarding tomorrow's schedule, the ducal family's carriage will take you and Lucien-sama to the Royal Academy. The carriage can only go part of the way, so from there, you will walk to the examination venue. The examination venues are separated by social status, so please be careful not to go to the wrong registration desk. This is your admission ticket; please hand it to the receptionist."

Roger handed me a small sheet of paper. It had my name, candidate number, and affiliation written on it. The affiliation said the Townsend ducal family, but what did people with no affiliation do?

"What do people with no affiliation do?"

"People without an affiliation rarely take the examination. If they are children of nobles, their family is listed as their affiliation, while commoner children who take the examination are often children of merchant families, in which case their merchant company serves as their affiliation. Those who belong to neither usually use the church in the district where they live as their affiliation. Since the affiliation is where the examination results will be sent, I believe they choose somewhere easy to identify."

So that's how it worked. Even though I was a commoner, having the Townsend ducal family as my affiliation would make me incredibly conspicuous. Were there any other commoners whose affiliation was a noble house?

"Are there any other commoners affiliated with a noble house?"

"Apparently, almost none. However, on rare occasions, someone who holds a knightly title will send a commoner with talent for swordsmanship to the Royal Academy so that they can become a knight."

So it was unheard-of for a commoner to have the ducal family as their affiliation...

I hoped I would be able to make friends normally... I could only imagine being feared or bullied out of jealousy.

"As for the rest of tomorrow's schedule, once the examination is over, please return to the place where you got out of the carriage this morning. The ducal family's carriage will be waiting there, so you can return with Lucien-sama."

"Got it, thank you. Do I have anything scheduled for later today?"

"I don't believe you have any particular plans today. You will have dinner with the ducal family in the dining room."

Then I only had about an hour left. It was an awkward amount of time, so I decided to take it easy here.

I spent the time relaxing and drinking tea that Roger had brewed for me.

I thought I'd be fine on tomorrow's exam, but I was still a little nervous. Surely there was no chance I'd fail.

Still, mishaps happened. What had happened when I'd taken exams in Japan? I needed to make use of my experience in situations like this.

Come to think of it, I had once forgotten to bring extra lead for my mechanical pencil and panicked when it nearly ran out during the exam. I had been incredibly worried back then, but I had barely managed to finish writing. Still, I was pretty sure I'd failed that exam. Panicking really was bad. I would stay calm tomorrow.

Huh...? After thinking that far, I realized I'd made a serious mistake. Oh no, this might be really bad...

I don't even have a pen of my own!!

Did people bring their own pens to exams in this world? I didn't have one! Pens were expensive items in this world, weren't they? Could I borrow one?

This wasn't even a matter of staying calm! How had I not realized this?

"Roger! Do I need to bring my own pen to the exam? If so, I don't have one!"

Even though I said that in a panic, Roger didn't seem disturbed at all. Huh? Could pens be borrowed? Was everything really going to be okay?

"Leon-sama, the school lends pens to anyone who does not have one or has forgotten theirs. There is no need to panic so much. Also, the head of the family has prepared a pen and ink for you, Leon-sama."

I was surprised that I could borrow one, but Richard-sama had prepared one for me!?

It was incredibly kind of him—so kind—but my debts to him just kept piling up. I felt truly sorry.

I wanted to pay him back later, but he probably wouldn't accept it. In any case, I had to thank him at dinner.

Still, he had really saved me this time. I needed to be more careful. Once the examination was over, I would ask the Royal Academy exactly what I needed and go buy everything before enrolling.

"Here are your pen and ink, Leon-sama."

The pen Roger brought me was simple and looked easy to use. It was similar to the pen I'd borrowed at the bank, so I supposed it was a standard type. It was made of metal and was the kind you dipped in ink before writing.

"Thank you. Is there anything else I'll need tomorrow?"

"I don't believe there is."

Then I could relax for now. Forgetting about the pen had been a little alarming, but at least nothing serious had happened.

Reassured that it hadn't become a problem, I relaxed a little and sank into the sofa. It was slightly improper, but Roger was the only one here, so it should be fine.

Thinking that, I rested comfortably until dinner.