Chapter 125
Despite wanting to proceed with the academy story without Mirne, if I had my way.
[ Mirne is essential to the progression of the academy story. ]
[ If Mirne attends Velos Academy, demonification will be temporarily suspended. ]
The system's explanation left me no choice but to abandon that desire.
'So I have no choice but to make her attend.'
In an academy story, it would be absurd for the protagonist not to attend the academy from the very beginning.
If that were possible, I had been genuinely curious to see how the story would proceed.
Unfortunately, I had to leave it to my imagination.
So.
'People will come from all over the continent to enroll in the academy, so I wonder what sort of test they'll take.'
I immediately turned my attention to another issue.
First and foremost, I was most curious about how the academy entrance examination would be conducted.
Since I didn't want to interfere with every little detail like this, I'd only encouraged them to handle it themselves.
I couldn't readily imagine how they would sort out the cadets' levels.
'I never thought I'd find myself thinking about the Korean CSAT.'
If this were Korea, we could just wrap it all up with the CSAT.
With that thought, I looked over the list of cadets who were certain to enroll.
'Starting with Theo... Second Prince Bedin, Northern War Champion Gorrhan... the elf Ailorren.'
I had been so shocked when people who normally seemed to have no interest in the academy suddenly said they wanted to enroll.
It was enough to make me wonder whether this was story compulsion.
'Then again, the protagonist's enrollment generation becoming a golden generation is the oldest cliché of them all.'
There was nothing particularly strange about it, considering I myself was planning to enroll.
'But with so many of the male leads already out of the picture, can Mirne really have a rom-com at the academy?'
The thing I was most curious about during the academy term was whether Mirne's romance could happen here.
At the moment, everyone from Theo to Ailorren was on bad terms with Mirne.
Of course, I hadn't seen Gorrhan often, so I didn't know what his situation was.
Even if Gorrhan switched sides, the Empire had little to lose.
'Even Ryujin, who appeared as a prince from the Eastern Continent... I have to consider his story over from the moment the Kingdom of Cheongryu came under the Empire.'
As for Roomta, the younger brother of the giant executioner, he had already sworn loyalty to the Empire as one of the hidden male leads.
I couldn't even guess who Mirne would form a connection with at the academy or how the story would unfold.
The most likely possibility was that she would meet a new connection at the academy.
Even if cadets were gathering from across the continent, was a new male lead really going to appear out of nowhere in the current situation?
That was laughable too.
Unless she rebuilt relationships with the princes of the existing countries.
A completely new face was out of the question.
Male leads weren't products stamped out in some factory, after all.
'Even if they could be stamped out, it would be hard to imagine a male lead made that way being strong. He wouldn't be ready for immediate deployment.'
Just look at Gorrhan. Even though he had appeared as a stand-in for Northern Grand Duke Freon.
In terms of pure combat power, the gap in level was fairly significant.
Freon had even proven, while struggling in his final moments, that his potential reached the Grand Master level.
It was unknown whether Gorrhan could ever reach that level.
"This should be interesting."
What kind of show he would put on this time, and what he would give up.
I never imagined I'd look forward to attending the academy alongside Mirne.
'I'll cut them down one by one and bring it all to a perfect end.'
I wanted the academy to get properly underway as soon as possible.
++++++
At the time the Crown Prince was considering the academy.
Likewise, there were people inside the imperial palace who were thinking about the academy.
"Is it certain that His Highness the Crown Prince will attend the academy?"
"I, Theo, can state with confidence that His Highness the Crown Prince will attend the academy. Of course, he is so busy that he will only appear occasionally, unlike the ordinary cadets... but he told me that he wants to come at least once a week."
They were the mage Theo and Saintess Rowena.
The two kept checking their surroundings as they continued speaking, as if something terrible would happen if anyone overheard them.
"...If His Highness the Crown Prince is attending... then I will too...."
"Isn't that obvious?"
Saintess Rowena wanted to reveal her desire to stay by Bellon's side as much as possible.
To make that desire appear more natural, she had asked Theo for advice.
And as for Theo, naturally...
'Princess Erna, I'm sorry, but I've read approximately 2,300 romance-related books in the Imperial Library to study love. You cannot possibly be a match for me.'
After readily accepting Rowena's proposal, he had resolved to actively support her so as not to lose to Princess Erna.
"Of course you must attend. Even if you can't appear as often as His Highness the Crown Prince... you must come to the academy whenever he does, at the very least."
"It's an academy—can you really attend whenever you please? Leaving His Highness the Crown Prince aside, how could I dare..."
"Saintess! You too hold a position of sufficient rank, even if it isn't quite as high as His Highness the Crown Prince's. So you needn't worry about that. I intend to do the same, after all."
"You are attending the academy too, Lord Theo."
"Yes, I... I actually had no intention of doing so, but Princess Erna called it an imperial command, so I had no choice... and that's how it happened."
As he spoke, Theo assessed the current situation.
"To begin with, Lady Arveda and Lady Pavan among the executioners have said they will attend. But, naturally... I imagine they will only come on days His Highness attends."
"...I-is that so?"
"What do you mean, 'Is that so?' Saintess, you've seen Lady Arveda and Lady Pavan frequently in His Highness's chambers, haven't you?"
"...."
"In fact, Lady Arveda is the only person ever to enter His Highness's bed, which no one else has been allowed to enter...."
Just as he was about to explain the whole situation to Rowena, who had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"Cough!"
Suddenly, Rowena began coughing, her face turning red.
"Are you all right?"
"What? Y-yes, yes... j-just a moment...."
"To continue, Lady Arveda is the only one who has entered His Highness's bed... and even gone beneath the blankets...."
"Cough!"
Theo, whose senses were extraordinarily sharp, instantly realized why Rowena's condition had suddenly changed.
'So it isn't only dragons that are fast.'
I thought that, while the giant slept, the dragon alone was steadily closing the distance.
Was the saintess the same?
Theo turned his head toward the North and smiled faintly.
'Princess Erna, I'm afraid Northern Grand Duke Estella is probably not an option.'
Theo concluded that this meant he had effectively won about half the bet he'd made with Princess Erna.
+++++
On the day of the academy entrance examination.
"It's r-really unbelievably huge."
"Wow... They gathered this many people?"
"There are so many people! They're crazy!"
"Isn't it even more absurd that, with this many people, everyone is standing in such orderly fashion while maintaining personal distance?"
The prospective cadets who had gathered from across the continent were all assembled at the location designated by Velos Academy.
Gathered in the middle of an absurdly enormous plaza, they couldn't even begin to guess how the first-stage test would be conducted.
"Has anyone heard anything?"
"I know that the moment we leak the test contents, they'll cut off all four limbs regardless of the reason."
"...So nobody knows."
"But since people from across the continent have gathered, it looks like all the best of the best are here."
The prospective cadets swept their gazes around and realized that truly all kinds of people had come.
"Wow... It's a beastman."
"There are elves too?"
"I never thought I'd see other races."
"Everyone really came to take the academy entrance exam seriously."
"But when on earth does the test start?"
After some time spent making small talk with those around them, their patience gradually began to run out.
So many people had gathered, and everyone had assembled quickly in response to the courteous instructions, so they had expected something to happen soon.
Only now were they beginning to realize that the waiting time was growing long.
"They never actually said how long we were supposed to wait."
"Still, making us wait this long seems a little much."
How long had they been waiting like that?
Just as sweat was beginning to bead on people's foreheads.
"From this moment on, Velos Academy's first screening exam will begin."
A voice suddenly rang out from the empty air.
Without anyone needing to say a word, all the prospective cadets raised their heads and looked at the voice's owner.
"T-the Grand General!"
"A-Acam Velos...."
"The Empire's Grand General is supervising the first screening exam?"
"What kind of test...!"
Even as the atmosphere threatened to grow tumultuous at the appearance of Grand General Acam Velos.
Acam Velos impassively continued with everything he had to say.
"Those who wish to stand beneath the Empire's shadow must prove that they possess the qualifications."
Those with the qualifications, stand on your own two feet.
And with those words.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Without the slightest warning, Acam Velos revealed his full power.
The killing intent, pressure, and strength released in earnest by a Grand Master.
Before overwhelming martial might.
Thud.
People began to drop out.
The name of Velos Academy's first test was.
'Simple enough. This will be easy.'
Enduring the Grand General.
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