HTACS 23

Chapter 23

The exam was right around the corner, and I decided to reduce my morning sales for a while.

If I kept doing business and broke my endurance, it’d be a straight expulsion ending. That can’t happen.

“Anyway—so for a while, there’s no part-time work or jobs.”

“…Why is that?”

“You must not have heard—I’m busy because I have a mini-test to take.”

Nephti, who’d come looking for work, looked like her life was over at my words.

“Doesn’t the Knight Department have exams too?”

“I already passed.”

“That’s awfully fast—what kind of exam was it?”

“A survival test—you pass by surviving three days in a designated mountain range. They said monsters wouldn’t appear, but it was a mountain where you had to survive with your bare hands.”

“And?”

“On day one, I built a log cabin and a hammock woven from tree branches—so they told me I could come down.”

“……”

Well—that figures.

“Hmm—so I wanted to do some part-time work with the remaining days, but what should I do? At this rate, my living expenses for this month are in danger.”

“How long has it been since the mountain hike—how did you spend money so fast?”

“I set aside some living expenses before remitting the rest home.”

“And?”

“After buying new semester supplies, I had nothing left. The Knight Department consumes a lot of equipment—even wooden swords cost money.”

That’s truly a sad reality—a different aspect from the game system.

Still, I can’t just pile on work carelessly.

“This store’s location isn’t good either.”

“I know. So I thought it’d be an easy job.”

“……”

She’s still excessively honest.

I thought—and then I remembered.

“I see. Then how about taking over some work for me?”

“What kind of work?”

“Nothing big—pulling a cart in the morning and selling doughnuts and drinks to the graduate students at the Magic Quarter.”

“Doesn’t sound difficult—I’ll do it.”

“Quick answer.”

Nephti grinned.

“Yes. So now let’s talk about compensation. How’s the hourly rate?”

“You’ll be working early morning, and it’ll be about three hours of sales.”

“Easy work. Then by average rate?”

“Yeah. Direct commission at 8,720 rin per hour—no fees to the Knight Department.”

“Good—perfect.”

“But—since it’s early morning and overtime, I plan to pay 1.5x special allowance.”

“13,080 rin…! As expected of Wolfram-nim—a vessel worthy of the great Imperial family!”

“No—I’ll round it to 40,000 rin for three hours.”

“I offer my entire being in loyalty. My convictions shall walk alongside your path.”

Nephti knelt on one knee and swore her loyalty to me.

—

And so—I left the morning sales to Nephti.

I didn’t think she’d pocket the money—she’s still a student with the title of Knight of Conviction, and she lives conscientiously. She’s just greedy for compensation—not the type to steal. I’ll check the inventory myself anyway.

Nephti left, and my studying continued without pause.

Occasionally, Rudika would show up and demand spicy hand-torn noodles, so I gave her the boot.

“If you’re not doing business, then why did you open a store here, Wolfram!”

She hits me right where it hurts again.

“The owner has personal circumstances—closed for a few days.”

“…Then just sell me the Red Pepper Herb! I’ll cook it myself!”

“That’s not difficult.”

Rudika bought an armful of Red Pepper Herbs.

In game terms, one costs 20 rin—I think I sold it to her for about 60. A sucker paying three times the price for status-effect curing herbs…

“Rudika—how’s your exam?”

“Hm? Rudika is fine. Don’t worry too much.”

“Is that so.”

“Rudika studies hard. Do you know why Rudika came to the Magic Department, Wolfram?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

It wasn’t in the setting book either.

“The Knight Department—everyone is much weaker than Rudika. Honestly, unless it’s Izolde-level from a nearby grade, almost no one can face Rudika and have a chance.”

“That’s true.”

“But the Magic Department is different. Magic defies an assassin’s predictions. That’s why Rudika came here. And Rudika studies magic properly. Rudika is the pride of her clan.”

Rudika grinned.

The Knight Department is weak—the Magic Department holds mysteries she can’t handle. Did Rudika choose the harder path of the Magic Department over the Knight Department, where she could coast through grades? To supplement her weaknesses. To recognize the unknown.

A truly admirable way of life.

“Rudika—take this broth too. It’s made from dried fish stock.”

“Wolfram is truly a good person.”

“And until the exam day, try not to come here.”

“Got it! Rudika will try! Wolfram—do well on your exam too!”

And like that, Rudika vanished like the wind.

And she really didn’t come back until exam day.

What a good kid.

Is language the only thing she lacks?

“…Wait—she can take advanced magic classes but has poor speech? Is that even possible?”

A chilling thought crossed my mind—but I let it go.

Let’s not dig too deep.

“Digging into an assassin isn’t a good idea.”

Life is precious.

—

Aila enjoyed the energy drink every day after that, and we continued our study sessions.

Our great teacher Aila reviewed my studies without missing a beat while doing her own work—and on the last day, after grading, she nodded.

“Good—at this level, passing shouldn’t be a problem. The multiple-choice is probably almost all correct—the subjective questions are… I’m not sure.”

“That’s unsettling?”

“It’s more that the professor doesn’t expect cookie-cutter answers—they like twisted perspectives. Born to be a scholar.”

“I see.”

“Maybe it’ll suit Wolfram though—since you see everything from a different angle.”

“Too kind.”

I brushed off Aila’s words lightly—but honestly, that’s a huge tip.

“Then shall we wrap up studying for today? Since the exam is tomorrow.”

“Aila—thank you for helping me study.”

“Oh my—the day has come when I receive a pure thank you from the great Wolfram.”

Aila covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.

“Are you okay for your own exam?”

“At the top tier, it’s less about putting knowledge in your head and more about how little you make mistakes. Teaching others is an excellent review.”

As she said that, Aila’s hand was trembling slightly.

The energy drink’s side effect… probably not. She’s probably just nervous.

Hmm.

What should I do here?

I’ve learned a lot, and I’d like to repay her kindness…

“Oh right—Wolfram. The magistone freezer will arrive after the exams. I tried to get it as fast as possible, but it couldn’t be helped.”

“I see—that’s fine.”

Right—I’d agreed to receive a magistone freezer.

Then—ah. I have an idea.

“Aila.”

“I will definitely—y-yes?”

“When the magistone freezer arrives, I’ll make you a nice snack.”

“Wow…”

That should help ease her nerves a little.

Aila smiled brightly—then pulled back her upturned lips, cleared her throat a couple times, and looked at me with clear eyes.

“Wolfram—I’ll accept that snack when the rebellion succeeds.”

“Fine.”

Yes.

That’s the Aila I know.

—

As expected, the exam proceeded as scheduled.

“Then—the exam will now begin.”

[Question 1. When the enemy focuses on speed and encirclement tactics with 200 cavalry—and your side has 1,000 infantry (50% of the force) with one Tier 4 archmage—how should the mage be utilized? (Tier 4 magic is limited to one use.)]

It was an exam asking how to utilize mages on the battlefield—testing knowledge of this world—and it was multiple-choice.

Nine multiple-choice questions and one subjective question. I wasn’t sure how the grading would work, but at least six of the multiple-choice questions were ones I knew for certain.

If I just solved those, I could get a solid score—and six correct on multiple-choice wouldn’t be that bad.

I solved the multiple-choice first, then moved to the subjective question—and quietly raised my eyes at the unexpected problem.

“This is…”

[Describe, with logical reasoning, another way to utilize an archmage on the battlefield.]

Oh, come on—how did this kind of question show up?

“Let’s see…”

Write whatever I want? As long as it has logic? Ah—I’m a former bookworm who read all three volumes of “Logic for Fun” out of respect for the great Teacher Wi. You think a setting-nerd gamer would stay quiet when a problem like this shows up?

—

The exam ended without incident, and grading was swift.

Still, announcing results the next day—isn’t that too fast? With only about fifty students, maybe it was easy to grade?

No—that can’t be. Look at the teaching assistants next to the professor—their eyes are hollow. The professor probably worked the graduate students through the night.

Anyway—there was no reason to pity those unfortunate graduate students who’d made that choice. The professor calmly read out the grades.

“The following students have failed. Mublé. Lipery. Endor. Quark…”

With fifty students, this is a bloodbath?

So the Middle Ages are still the Middle Ages?

Exams should just quietly notify you—or at least announce the top few—but look at poor Filth over there, he’s about to cry.

See—even Wolfram is about to cry!

And as the failed students’ names were called one by one, my heart screamed wildly.

“That concludes the failing students.”

Huh?

My name… isn’t there?

“Next, I’ll announce the grades from average to upper-average. Descent. Io. Stratis. Polka. Raeven. Pilgrim. Wolfram. Latua.”

I clenched my fist.

I passed!

They said from average to upper-average, so I don’t know exactly where I stand—but I survived.

“Next—the top-tier grades.”

Aila and I are in different subjects, but at the word “top-tier,” her face came to mind.

“……”

I survived. Let’s call it survival.

And Aila?

Then—

“That concludes all exam results. Good work, everyone. Especially—some truly interesting answers came in on the subjective questions this time. I always support my students’ growth—I want to evaluate them by their attitude toward learning, not by the prejudices placed upon them. If you’re interested, come see me—graduate programs await you.”

Why is the professor staring at me when saying that?

—

By the time I returned to the convenience store, the sun was setting—and a new item had arrived.

“Already installed and gone, huh.”

The magistone freezer was already set up when I got back. Its enormous size and majesty made me nod involuntarily—just look at that bulk.

“I don’t know Aila’s results… but let’s make a snack quickly as a trial run.”

First—mix Orange Beans and Aqua Beans to make orange juice, add sugar, and put it in the freezer. Then make Cream Beans and put them in the small refrigeration compartment.

About an hour later—

I sensed someone outside the convenience store.

“…Wolfram.”

“You’re here.”

Aila arrived, and I first studied her face.

She didn’t look too bright.

Did she not succeed? Another vice-presidency?

But—it can’t be helped.

The 3rd-year president of the Magic Department—Regina Ciella—is an exceptional being among elves. The current master of Yggdrasil—a true genius.

“You lost. Don’t be too disheartened.”

“I didn’t lose!”

“Hm?”

“But I didn’t win either.”

That means—

“You tied with Regina Ciella?”

“Yes… They said they couldn’t give more than a perfect score.”

“I see.”

“Boo—she’s already first place, and if I, in second place, tied her, shouldn’t they add a point for ‘rebellious spirit’ and give me 101?”

“Where’s that grading system from?”

Aila grumbled endlessly—and I stared intently at the biggest change happening before my eyes.

The Aila who would have fallen away in Act 3—the Aila who would have been twisted after getting hit by Kelter early on—she’d quietly grown, and now she’s said to have reached the level of characters who shine even in Act 6, Act 7—even the final act.

I’ve defeated this character—no, this Aila—hundreds of times.

But I can say with certainty—I’ve never seen an Aila like this.

“You caught up to someone you couldn’t catch. That’s a splendid rebellion.”

“D-do you really think so? If Wolfram says it, then maybe—yes, you’re right. I succeeded in my rebellion!”

Look at that attitude shift.

“Wait just a moment—I’ll make you that promised snack.”

“Oh right—how was Wolfram’s grade?”

“They said average to upper-average.”

“Wow!”

The professor’s final gaze is nagging at me—but I decided not to mention that part.

I started preparing a fruit sorbet topped with whipped cream for Aila.

For her exam-weary brain. The crunchy, smooth sorbet piled high with whipped cream. I can’t say it’s healthy—but her brain needs it, and her tongue enjoys it.

Aila left one line of review for the snack:

“The taste of sweet rebellion!”

“What kind of taste is that?”

“The taste of rebellion!”

…This rebellion-obsessed girl.

But today, I decided to play along. She’d worked that hard—and in many ways, she truly did achieve a rebellion.

“Yes—that’s the taste of the rebellion you achieved.”

“No! It’s not!”

“Hm?”

“It’s Wolfram and me—together. That is, *our* taste!”

Aila extended her spoon—and at the end, clinked it against mine with a smirk.

The clear, crisp sound rang out pleasantly.