* * *
“When the new children come in, this boring School might become a little more lively, don’t you think?”
“…I suppose so, Elder.”
Rubdum judged that it would be impossible for anyone to become lively after entering a School with this kind of atmosphere.
If anything, they would just become as exhausted as everyone else.
Just like he had been as a provisional disciple.
He swore he had never heard of anyone whose face brightened after entering Pasadian.
Wouldn’t it be a relief if they didn’t resort to suicide?
For a moment, a few familiar cold corpses flashed through his mind.
“Things are going to get interesting.”
Salut made an unreadable expression and casually tapped the table twice with his finger.
And then, he vanished without a trace.
It was only about 30 seconds after he had left that the School members present could finally release the breath they had been holding.
“Hah…”
“As expected of Elder Salut. He’s impossibly handsome.”
“Stop it. We should just be grateful our heads weren’t chopped off.”
“…I can’t even like who I want to like? My life is precious to me, too.”
Once Salut disappeared, the relieved School members murmured, chatting about their experience of meeting Salut in person.
Opportunities to see the Elder were rare, even after entering Pasadian.
As Rubdum cleared his throat a few times in the noisy interior, the School members instantly fell silent as if dead.
“Keep an eye on the noble brats. Especially the child the Elder has taken an interest in.”
All the School members nodded.
Of course, there were some School members whose expressions were not good out of jealousy that Salut’s attention had been stolen.
Rubdum, noticing the jealousy of his disciples, said.
“Even if you are selected as a provisional disciple, it is rare to become a formal disciple. Some people have remained provisional disciples for ten years without being promoted. It means that once you reach the limit of your talent, you will eventually be eliminated.”
“…”
“The result is predetermined anyway. Focus earnestly on your studies instead of being swayed by personal feelings.”
As soon as Rubdum finished speaking, the Pasadian disciples lined up and unanimously bowed their heads and opened their mouths.
“For the blessing of Phasa.”
The group assessment, which had been eventful, was over, and the overall rankings were announced.
The children who regrettably failed to make it into the top 10 of their respective groups made miserable expressions, clinging to the emotion of despair.
Was it because they had tasted the bitterness of failure in life?
Most seemed lost, plunged into anger, regret, sadness, and self-loathing.
Anakin took them into his sight without blinking.
This was now reality, not a world of mere paper.
At least to the current Anakin, they were all real, existing human beings.
“Group 7 was full of nothing but simpletons.”
Hilde muttered, looking at the scoreboard.
“…Hilde?”
His robe was covered in bloodstains, but none of it seemed to be his own blood.
More importantly, Hilde said Group 7 were simpletons.
Anakin turned his head toward the scoreboard.
Looking at the overall rankings, he instantly understood why Hilde had said such a thing.
| [Overall Ranking] |
|---|
| [1] Lute McGuffin |
| [2] Hilde Astha |
| [3] Anton |
| [4] Anakin Descartes |
| [5] Kylea |
Excluding Anakin and Hilde, most of the ranked Group 7 members were in the lower ranks.
Only then did Anakin realize that his group had performed poorly.
More surprising than that was the fact that someone had surpassed Hilde to take 1st place, despite how much Hilde had been fighting.
“Now the full-scale selection exam will commence. All of you final 100 candidates, have you prepared yourselves?”
The 100 provisional disciple candidates, who had moved through the warp gate again, were greeted by a robed man in the distance who felt quite different from the Elder mentioned before.
A Pasadian traditional blue robe with red embroidery on the trim.
His first impression was that of a typical mastermind mage who would scheme and manipulate things from behind the scenes.
When the Elder appeared, there was not even a minimum presence, making him feel chillingly like a ghost, but the man who appeared now exuded the unique dominance of a high-level mage.
“There is no need for you to know who I am. That is because you have not earned the qualification. However, if you pass even this exam, you can truly be reborn as a disciple of Pasadian. If you become a School member, you will have the right to gain all of Pasadian’s secrets, as well as my identity, which is currently veiled.”
Pasadian’s secrets.
All the applicants swallowed hard at those words.
The ability to learn those secrets, said to be more valuable and rare than tens of millions of gold coins, was clearly an enormous honor for a mage and would become their most powerful weapon.
For reference, in this world, Pasadian was an entity that made people tremble with just its name.
Even becoming a provisional disciple meant one could live comfortably for a lifetime.
“Since everyone seems tired today and the hour is late, let’s hold the next exam tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. There is a dormitory in Tran, so you will stay there for the day.”
“…”
It was true that they were tired. More than half of the children were injured, after all.
“Ugh… I’m exhausted.”
Even using magic to constantly infuse vitality didn’t dispel the fatigue.
This was partly due to Anakin’s naturally weak constitution… and partly because it hadn’t been long since his body had recovered.
Sleepiness kept washing over Anakin as they moved toward the dormitory, and he blinked his eyes.
“Ah… this terrible stamina.”
“Anakin. Your hair is a mess.”
While everyone was preoccupied with moving, Hilde gently pushed aside Anakin’s robe and tidied his hair.
Anakin was very accustomed to having his hair touched and, as there was no one particularly watching, he quietly closed his eyes and accepted the touch.
“Oh, right… Hilde. Thank you for helping me during the exam. You intentionally sent people my way, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think it was me.”
Anakin smiled softly and said to Hilde, who was looking away and pretending innocence.
“But the people were coming from only one direction, weren’t they? And with their faces pale with fear, too.”
“…”
At those words, Hilde stared down at Anakin.
As their eyes met from a close distance, Anakin also stared intently at Hilde.
Just as the atmosphere became subtly strange, a large boy walked between the two of them.
“Hah.”
Anakin looked at him in surprise, and the large boy looked at Anakin and Hilde with a very cold expression.
“If you’re going to play childish games, go back to your estates. You damned noble brats.”
‘Wow.’
That’s quite a personality, isn’t it?
Anakin quickly pulled up his robe. The boy then sneered knowingly.
“You must not have seen nobles who step into Pasadian out of curiosity and end up dying. Do you think you’re any different?”
“Are you the 1st place?”
Hilde completely ignored his previous words and cut to the chase.
Through his tone and actions, he seemed to have guessed that the boy was Lute, who had achieved the overall 1st rank.
The boy frowned and spoke with annoyance.
“…Yes. As expected, nobles are people who only say what they want to say. I’ll tell you straight. There are no bodyguards here, noble or otherwise, to protect you.”
A crowd quickly gathered around the small commotion.
The surroundings became noisy, but Hilde seemed oblivious to it, raising the corner of his mouth at Lute’s words.
“What an amusing fellow. Aren’t bodyguards what you need?”
At those words, Lute’s eyes became even fiercer, and the intense battle of wills between them grew more intense.
“…You insolent bastard.”
As the fire finally ignited between the two, Anakin frowned and said.
“Why are you fighting over something useless?”
All the children focused on the two who were clashing.
A confrontation between the 1st and 2nd rank. It was a spectacle rarely seen.
“I’m so tired…”
While Anakin was quietly complaining, a red-haired girl popped out from the crowd and spoke.
“If you cause a commotion here, you might be kicked out without even taking the exam. You haven’t forgotten, have you? This is Pasadian.”
It was Kylea, who had achieved the high rank of 5th place.
While some children were watching with interest, many others’ eyes turned unfavorable after hearing this.
Lute noticed this and frowned.
Hilde, however, seemed not to care what the people around him thought.
Lute, who had expected Hilde to shout or create a scene, surprisingly looked deflated and said to Hilde.
“We’ll fight in the next exam anyway. Just don’t cry then.”
‘Is he a type who doesn’t like attention more than I thought?’
He had thought he would be savage just by his appearance, but it seemed he was the type to back down when necessary.
“Boring.”
Hilde made an annoyed expression, looking at Lute’s retreating back.
Their personalities seemed to be equally difficult.
Anakin shook his head at their pointless conversation.
He had a feeling he would see them often in the future, and he was already tired.
* * *
