“*Cough… hehehe… uhhuhuhaha!*”
“Please get a grip…!”
No way.
How can you not laugh in this situation?
Is there any way to keep your sanity intact?
Emilia is fine too.
I’m all in one piece.
But I couldn’t save the exam paper.
‘So damn competent, just like that.’
Is this the work of a master of concealment spells?
It looks like they used a small ignition magic to specifically target the exam paper to avoid being caught by me while using a larger spell.
If it had been a spell powerful enough to burn my body, I’d have noticed and countered it long ago.
Thanks to that, I had no idea until it completely burned away to ashes.
The spell I had carved into the mana of the exam paper had already flown away freely.
“I’m sorry… for my fault…”
“…….”
Emilia’s voice had quieted down a lot.
Before I knew it, she was speaking formally again.
Honestly, if I said I wasn’t resentful at all, that would be a lie.
But still, this wasn’t Emilia’s fault.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. If I had been more alert, none of this would have happened in the first place.”
“No, it’s because of my carelessness that I got caught…”
“If you keep saying that, I’ll leave you here. You think you could have dealt with the Crow just by being careful?”
“…….”
At last, Emilia had sealed her lips.
I hoped she wouldn’t blame herself too much.
I was just genuinely happy to see Emilia alive again.
Even if I had to drop out of the Imperial University, I would have made the same choice over and over again as long as it meant saving Emilia.
“I’m so relieved. That you’re okay…”
“Schlus oppa…?”
“Yeah?”
“Was there something like a professor’s seal on the exam paper?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I was thinking of perfectly forging it if I knew what it looked like…”
Emilia was still thinking about the lost exam paper.
It’s already too late for that.
It’s pointless.
So I was about to give up when…
“Huh?”
It was only after pondering Emilia’s words that I realized.
Now that I thought about it, there should have been Ludwig’s seal or signature on the exam paper, but there wasn’t any.
If that’s the case, it must be highly vulnerable to forgery.
No, not just vulnerable; even badly copied, there’s no way to notice it at all.
“Ah…!”
“What? What’s wrong? Huh? Huhh?”
I got it.
The exam paper was filled with mana, making it easy to write answers on it, so naturally, I had assumed the exam paper was the answer sheet.
Yet Professor Ludwig had never once mentioned how to submit an answer.
In other words, the form of the answer sheet didn’t matter.
As long as the form of the spell didn’t collapse and become unrecognizable, it could be on any platform without question.
Hah. How ridiculous.
The one who created the exam only just realized that flaw.
If it weren’t for Emilia’s words, I might have remained an idiot, staring blankly.
“I don’t need the exam paper anymore. Let’s run first. Hold tight.”
“Not needing the exam paper? What do you mean… Hwaah!”
I wasted a lot of time being indecisive.
I quickly activated ‘Selection and Concentration’ on agility and leaped forward.
Surprised by the sudden acceleration, Emilia’s scream echoed across the plaza.
*
“Schlus Hainkel!”
“……”
A chilling silence.
Erica cleared her hoarse throat and looked up at the large mansion.
For over an hour, she had been calling for Schlus, but neither he nor his attendant had shown their faces.
Were they both out?
What were they thinking as the exam submission time approached…?
“Is he refusing protection on the last day or something?”
Did he feel humiliated after having me escort him on the first day of the midterm?
No way, that couldn’t be it.
Surely Schlus had thanked me with a smile before.
Even if he was the type to come off as modest or fake on the surface, I thought Schlus was the kind of guy who would express dislike if he truly didn’t want something.
…We weren’t that close, but that was the impression I had so far.
“Ugh… where could he be?”
Could he have already been attacked?
If that were the case, there was no way I could help from here.
The exam end time was just 5 minutes away…
“I can’t let this ruin me as well.”
In the end, Erica had no choice but to take heavy steps.
It was clear that something had happened, but there was no real alternative.
It wasn’t like I could run around looking for Schlus now.
If I missed him and ended up failing the exam, I’d just end up in a worse situation.
“I’m sorry!”
Erica shouted loudly to Schlus, who might not even hear, as she ran off.
*
“Ugh… hack… hack… cough…”
*Creak-* The exam hall door swung open.
Most of the students had already arrived and taken their seats, with Professor Ludwig sitting at the center of the podium, staring this way.
I heard that the professor hadn’t left his seat for the entire two days.
I got that from some battle magic students who’d dropped by the exam hall out of curiosity.
Did he hold it in for two whole days without going to the bathroom?
Suddenly, Erica found herself wondering.
“Are you going to submit your answers, Erica von der Lichtenburg?”
“Yes.”
Erica hopped down the stairs confidently and handed her exam paper over.
There were already piles of exam papers stacked high on the desk.
She stole a quick glance towards Professor Ludwig, then quickly turned around.
Iris was waving at her over here.
With a smile, Erica rushed over and sat beside her.
“Where’s Schlus? He hasn’t arrived yet?”
“No, I haven’t seen him.”
“Is something wrong?”
“By the way, I heard there was a commotion near the market in the Old Town today. They said there might have been a clash between some hired organizations.”
“Could it be…! Did Schlus get caught up in that?”
“I don’t know.”
She felt uneasy.
What if Schlus Hainkel couldn’t submit the exam and ended up having to drop out?
Of course, there was no obligation to stick to that promise made on entrance ceremony day, but knowing stubborn Schlus, it seemed he might actually follow through.
‘It’s not like Schlus dislikes leaving the school…’
It would actually be nice if he stepped out of sight for a while.
But the problem was I couldn’t monitor him anymore.
It was a shame that I couldn’t watch the fate of someone who sold their lifespan to a demon.
So I hoped he’d stay in school as long as possible.
If he actually left, Erica figured she would also have to drop out and chase after him.
After all, she could always re-take the exam to get back into the Imperial University.
“But why are you so relaxed?”
“Really? Does it look that way? I’m just as worried.”
“You’re lying.”
Iris rested her chin, smiling.
She genuinely had a face that seemed to be overflowing with ease.
There was no way someone like Iris would be glad if Schlus had to drop out.
It seemed she had glimpsed an interesting future through her future sight.
Maybe she saw a dramatic scene of him arriving just seconds before the time ran out.
With both hands pressed together, Erica silently wished that whatever Iris had seen would come true.
Despite not knowing what it was.
“But really, time is almost up…!”
Professor Ludwig had started looking at his watch.
Erica, feeling anxious, checked her own watch.
Only a minute left until the deadline of 9 o’clock.
50 seconds.
40 seconds.
30 seconds.
“Eh?”
*Gurgurgurgle…!*
At that moment, faint vibrations made themselves known.
It was a vibration coming from far away.
But it grew bigger and bigger until—
*BOOM!*
The exam hall door burst open with a loud crash.
The figure that appeared beyond it was none other than Schlus Hainkel.
“Haa… huff… huff…”
He was covered in blood and panting heavily.
Students gaped in shock.
However, Schlus, without a hint of unsteadiness, stomped down the stairs and stood in front of Professor Ludwig’s desk.
“Uh?”
Only then did Erica notice the piece of paper in Schlus’s right hand.
That paper was undoubtedly the exam paper.
The exam paper handed out on the first day of the midterms.
But only the end part remained.
It appeared scorched, with a blackened edge.
“Kukuk…!”
Laughter began to bubble up from one corner.
Only then did it sink in.
‘Ah, I messed up…’
Suddenly, she felt all her energy drain away.
Only then did she realize why Iris had looked so relaxed.
Iris had known in advance that Schlus had failed the exam.
Having prepared herself mentally, there was no worry, urgency, or bleakness to feel.
Sure enough, Professor Ludwig glanced down at Schlus’s right hand, snickering in disdain.
Just 20 seconds remained until the exam was over.
“Did you lose your answer sheet?”
“The answer sheet? I didn’t bring anything like that.”
“……?”
Schlus dropped the remaining piece of the exam paper to the floor.
Then he tightly shut his eyes.
“I’m going to submit my answers now.”
“There’s only 10 seconds left until the deadline.”
“That’s enough.”
“How exactly do you plan to submit…?”
Professor Ludwig, who had raised his voice as if frustrated, abruptly fell silent.
Spells were spreading out.
In the air of the exam hall. All around.
Spells unfolded simultaneously, surrounding the exam hall.
It was undoubtedly remarkable.
There had never been specific instructions for how to submit the answers.
So that meant it was okay to write the answers in the mana of the exam hall!
‘Did he remember all of that?!’
Erica gasped and looked around.
The fact that Schlus was able to remember all those complicated spells and unleash them at once was astounding.
His memory was nothing short of extraordinary, but more importantly, the amount of mana he possessed was almost unbelievable.
To carve out ten spells would require at least over 20,000 mana!
And now, those guys crowding at the front were desperately trying to disrupt Schlus’s spells.
To counter that, he’d need to use even more mana…
That meant he’d need at least 50,000 at a minimum.
Whatever Schlus did to get here, there was no way he hadn’t used a drop of mana to end up covered in blood, so he must have had a mana pool well beyond 50,000…
“Wow.”
Erica couldn’t help but exclaim in awe at Schlus’s mana.
There was no time to overthink now.
As she read the flow of mana unfolding before her, something amazing happened.
“What’s that…?”
“Wow. It’s beautiful…”
It looked like a canvas.
When she had been engrossed in solving the problems, she hadn’t noticed, but all of it connected to create a continuous picture.
It wasn’t exceptionally detailed, but what it expressed was unmistakable.
A green meadow.
Sheep frolicking freely.
And a windmill stood tall, its view sprawling out in panorama.
“Huh…?”
But there was one spot.
There was a missing area.
Where the answer to question 10 should have been.
In fact, the 10th question was exceedingly difficult.
Even Erica had barely solved it after much agony.
It seemed Schlus wasn’t omnipotent after all.
At that moment…
“Are you going to submit it like this, Schlus Hainkel?”
“……”
“Three seconds left until the deadline.”
“……”
“Th-This…”
As the minute hand neared 12 o’clock.
At that moment, a wave of mana surged, and a spell was inscribed on the blackboard.
In an instant, it spread out to connect with the nearby pictures, and as the hour hand found its position, it was abruptly completed.
The intertwining flow of mana illustrated—
“Ah.”
A boy wearing a straw hat.
A boy with a bright smile.
But he appeared remarkably similar to someone else.
As Erica looked up at the blackboard, her gaze slowly drifted down.
She saw the close-up, fierce expression on Professor Ludwig’s face.
It was undoubtedly Ludwig.
His child-like… his youthful appearance.
“It’s time. Get seated.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Professor Ludwig’s voice sounded unusual.
As if he had something in his mouth, or a tone filled with rage.
What was clear was that he was distinctly different from his usual self.
He was showing emotion, unlike the cold facade he typically maintained.
But that was only for a moment.
Professor Ludwig quickly took a deep breath, keeping his head bowed, and soon returned to his original demeanor.
The same stony, frowning face of Ludwig von Wermannstein, the head professor.
“You did well. This ends the Midterm Exam for the first semester. You’re all free to leave.”
With that declaration, Ludwig hurriedly left the classroom, clutching the pile of exam papers to his chest.
