Chapter: 109
The freshmen at the Academy didn’t really have much camaraderie.
Sure, they might have felt like they were all part of the same cohort since they entered together, but that was pretty much it.
They didn’t sit in one classroom with the same people all the time; instead, they moved between various classrooms, attending the classes they wanted. That made it hard to develop any real sense of community.
You might care about your close friends, but when it came to others, it was natural to stay indifferent.
So, if someone happened to be absent, it was usually just the professor who would notice, while the other students barely cared.
However, just before the 9 AM midterm exam in history began, the students in that class felt the absence of one person.
The prominent presence among the first years at the Soul Academy was none other than Countess Lucy Alrn.
She had yet to show up.
It was strange.
She hadn’t missed a single class until now.
Sure, she spent more time staring at her desk than the blackboard, but she had consistently shown up.
So why all of a sudden was she not at the exam?
While there were plenty of negatives surrounding her, Lucy Alrn had always been in the center of rumors.
Naturally, many students were curious about her absence.
Where is she?
Could it be that she lacks confidence to ace the exam?
Maybe she tried some shady tactic and ended up escaping?
Perhaps she’s pretending to be sick to avoid the test?
Now that I think about it, the dormitory head was looking for Lucy Alrn yesterday.
Wasn’t she not in the dorm yesterday?
What weird thing is she cooking up this time?
Amidst the students’ whispers, the door opened and the history professor walked in.
He had white hair and wrinkled skin, leaning on a cane as he slowly entered the classroom and looked around at the students.
“Looks like someone’s missing.”
The person he was referring to was the same one being discussed among the students.
He didn’t know exactly why Lucy Alrn was absent; it was just that her audacious attitude of calling him an ‘old fossil’ stuck in his mind.
For a renowned historian like him, being insulted with “old man” was not something to take lightly.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but an exam is an exam. Even if you’re late, that can’t be helped…”
BANG!
As the history professor was saying how things should be done, the rear door opened, and a figure emerged.
The armor she wore bore scars of battle, and she carried a shield larger than an average man.
Her hair was a wild mess as if she had rushed in.
Lucy Alrn.
The topic of the earlier conversation stepped in, panting and brushing her hair back.
“Lady Alrn? What on earth…”
The history professor was taken aback by her appearance, which looked as if she had just come from a fight, but Lucy Alrn didn’t seem phased at all.
“What’s up? Old Fossil?”
“Why are you wearing armor for the exam?”
“There’s no rule against wearing armor, right? Oh, or have you gotten senile and are doddering? If not, then it shouldn’t be a problem.”
The history professor bit his lip.
There were many things he wanted to say.
No matter how much there wasn’t a rule against it, there’s still common courtesy and sense, isn’t there?
Coming dressed for combat to an exam and intimidating other students? How does that even make sense?
He could argue about plenty of things, but he remained silent.
From experience, he knew that adding a single word would lead to countless insults directed at him.
With age, he had become more sensitive, and he didn’t want to add wounds to his heart by arguing with such a brash student.
“Please take a seat. We’ll begin the exam shortly.”
*
“Hey, excuse me…”
“Hey, spare me a pen, would you? I’ll graciously use your sorry excuse for a pen.”
“Y… Yes!”
Thanks to the kind cooperation of the student sitting in front of me, I borrowed a pen, took off my gauntlet, and stretched.
Phew. I really thought I was going to be late for the exam.
Our pathetic god actually gave me a quest to get first place in the academy exam. I almost blew it.
It wasn’t an ordinary quest; it was a precious one that grants inventory space!
I can’t let that slip away!
Imagine if I had inventory now—I could’ve changed out of my armor into my uniform!
Then I wouldn’t have to deal with all these whispers like “What’s she been doing?” “Came back from smashing something, huh?” “Creepy.” “Shouldn’t have bothered showing up.”
Sigh. It’s not like this is anything new. Just ignore them.
More importantly, I need to activate the log function and lay out what I’ll need for the exam.
Knowing I could cheat legally put a smile on my face as I opened the log window, but I froze when I saw it was filled with completely unexpected phrases.
“Pathetic♡”
“Garbage♡”
“Trash♡”
“Idiot♡”
“Grandma♡”
The log window was packed with content from yesterday’s battle at Adri’s mansion and the conversations that happened during it.
Huh?
Wait, what?!
Panicking, I scrolled to the top, only to see the phrase “What a pathetic knight, huh?♡” and I slammed my head on the desk.
This is insane.
No way.
This isn’t right.
How could it fill with logs from a whole day of battling overnight?!
Where’d the history textbook material I’d read go?
You useless log window!
Give me back the study notes I painstakingly documented!
Will this useless function stay useless even in reality?!
Am I destined to be a loser in life?
It should at least be semi-helpful in situations like this, right? Ugh, worthless feature!
[Hey girl, what’s wrong?]
‘…Grandpa. Please save me!’
Oh Grandfather! Save me!
At this rate, I might as well gamble with the history exam paper instead of actually trying to take the test!
Sure, I’d probably score something, but I can’t guarantee I’d get first place in the academy’s midterm!
So please help me! Grandpa!
[If you’d just been studying regularly, you wouldn’t be in this predicament, would you?]
‘But.’
[Excuses won’t change anything. I told you I wouldn’t help you. You have to face your fate.]
Nooooo! Grandpa!
Don’t be so harsh on me!
I messed up!
I swear I won’t do this again next time! Please!
I desperately pleaded, but my cranky grandpa was unyielding.
Is he still holding onto that day I plopped him in the toilet?
It’s been days since then! Shouldn’t this legendary Holy Knight let it go?!
Damn. There’s no way around it.
In that case, I’ll have to leave the history exam to fate.
With another curse from Agra, my luck should be better than last time, so I should get a score above average.
I should just settle for the history exam and focus on scoring high in my other tests.
With that mindset, I started designating numbers on each side of the pen when Grandpa spoke up softly.
[I’ll help you, but you have to promise me one thing.]
‘…What is it?’
[After this exam, you’ll start properly studying from the basics.]
Huh?! Grandpa!
You’re using my exam score as leverage for the most annoying condition possible!
You really are pure evil!
Is there no merciful being in this world?!
Guess not!
My pathetic god is strutting around, claiming to be a deity, so how could I expect mercy from the heavens?!
[So, what do you say?]
‘Fine.’
I hesitated for a moment, but my answer came quickly.
I’ve been thinking it would be fine to at least learn the basics.
I also need something productive to do while training my magic at night.
It’ll probably be boring and tedious but I should give it a shot.
[Agreed? Then let’s move on to question one. The Kingdom of Soladin…]
*
Zack observed a girl asleep in the corner.
Her eyes looked weary, and her mouth hung open in a goofy expression.
She looked like a small girl without an ounce of tension, almost like a decoration on a shelf—beautiful but incredibly small.
Lucy Alrn.
As long as she kept her mouth shut, she was at least somewhat tolerable.
But once she opened it, disaster would unfold.
Despite a significant amount of time having passed since the previous incident, Zack still didn’t like Lucy Alrn.
Her reckless actions fueled by her own genius talent triggered something deep in his gut that he couldn’t brush off.
But now, she wouldn’t have the luxury of acting aloof.
Word was going around that she essentially hadn’t paid attention in any classes this semester.
Moreover, no one had witnessed her studying solo either.
No matter how exceptional Lucy Alrn may be, it was unlikely she could achieve good grades without ever opening a book.
She was going to pay for her complacency this time.
Zack was curious about how she would react when she fell behind those she looked down on.
Heh, when that day arrives, I wonder how I’ll get to laugh at her.
“Next! Lucy Alrn from House Alrn! And Frey Kent from House Kent!”
After the duel between two students had ended, Combat Study Teacher Anton called out the next candidates for the exam.
Even though Anton’s voice was quite loud, Lucy Alrn didn’t stir from her slumber.
Had she stayed up all night studying or was she just naturally this lazy?
While Zack was feeling disappointed in her lack of diligence, Frey Kent approached Lucy Alrn and pinched her cheek.
The surrounding students gasped at this act of rudeness toward the famously temperamental Lucy Alrn, but Frey Kent didn’t seem to care at all.
“Wake up.”
As Frey Kent pinched her cheek again, Lucy Alrn finally opened her eyes.
The moment she woke, she tackled Frey Kent and pinned her down, raising her fist in the air.
A perfect surprise attack that didn’t give her opponent a chance to react.
Despite having been knocked off balance, Frey Kent didn’t frown and maintained his usual calm tone.
“We haven’t even started the duel yet.”
Only then did Lucy Alrn collect herself, blinking as she shifted off Frey.
There was no apology in sight.
“Your temper is really something.”
“No matter how cranky you feel waking up, that’s going too far, don’t you think?”
As the other students whispered among themselves, Zack didn’t pay them any mind.
That wasn’t just a typical outburst.
It was more of an unconscious reaction.
What kind of training do Alrn family knights undergo to have such instincts?
Fascinating.
Guess that’s why they are the continent’s top knight family.
As Lucy shifted off, Frey Kent stood up and brushed dirt off his clothes.
“Lucy.”
“What is it, you pathetic knight?”
“Can I take the initiative?”
“Suit yourself.”
She seemed more thrilled about getting to start than about having just been attacked.
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