Chapter 19

【Academy – Midterm Exam Results – Knight Department, First Year】

【1st – Valoshi Bienderk
2nd – Verian Kalburdern
3rd – Kain…
…15th – Barus Dene
16th – Aint Armian…】

“What’s this? Isn’t Aint ranked higher than we thought?”

“Yeah, considering he defeated Verian, it’s a bit disappointing…”

Aint, mixed among the murmuring crowd, silently looked at his position.

— Rank 16? The heir of the Armian family only 16th?

The sound of Gardner Alfenparsen clicking his tongue could be heard.

“Well, there was nothing to be done. All the exams were replaced by written tests…”

Of course, that didn’t mean Aint was an idiot or lacked talent in theory.

If that were the case, he wouldn’t have placed 16th out of 100. The issue was that Gardner and the others had much higher expectations for him.

“Oh.”

A short exclamation was heard beside him.

“Rank 16? That’s quite a leap.”

“Valoshi?”

Aint greeted him gladly.

He was one of the few who neither mocked the fallen name of Armian nor revered it as if it were still legendary. Rather, he was simply kind to everyone.

“Congratulations, Aint. Amazing. You jumped from 38th to 16th.”

“Don’t exaggerate. They were just written exams. Plus, it’s only midterm.”

“I don’t know… if they had been practical tests, maybe you would’ve ranked even higher. After all, you beat Verian.”

“That’s true…”

But in the end, it was only a midterm result. Everything would depend on the final exams and the upcoming practicals.

“Anyway, it’s still a great result.”

“Yeah. Climbing from 38th to 16th in half a semester is an absurd growth.”

At that moment, a youthful voice suddenly interrupted.

Aint turned and saw someone he didn’t recognize.

A strikingly beautiful girl with short orange hair and bright emerald green eyes.

“You’re Aint Armian, right?”

— She’s an elf, Aint.

“And you are…?”

Even without Gardner’s comment, those pointed ears were impossible to miss.

“Aria Fridian. I’m from the Magic Department.”

“…Fridian.”

Aria extended her hand. Aint hesitated for a moment but then shook it.

“Aren’t you going to hate me?”

“I have no prejudice.”

Valoshi shook his head.

“No matter the reason, Fridian earned her right to the golden edict legitimately.”

“Thanks for thinking that. Honestly, it took a lot for me to decide to approach you.”

Fixed stones rarely welcomed new ones.

That was common in every society, and even the Empire’s elite were no exception.

“It took effort?”

In response to Aint’s question, she nodded.

“After the midterms, first-years will have our first joint class, right?”

Although rare, joint classes between departments weren’t unheard of.

“Yeah, I heard about it. I think it’s a survival class, right?”

Aint nodded. From what he knew, it was a weeklong survival course shared between the Knight and Magic Departments.

“In that class, fighting among classmates is prohibited. So I thought it would be a good idea to cooperate.”

Not a bad idea.

— Don’t listen to her, Aint.

— Never trust someone with long ears lightly.

‘I’ve never heard that one before.’

Since there were more people around, Aint couldn’t refute it directly. But since it cost nothing to heed Gardner’s warning, he improvised a reasonable excuse.

“Are you sure the class will happen as planned? With the monster frenzy, even the exams were changed to written ones.”

“It will take place.”

The one who answered wasn’t Aria, but Valoshi.

“Usually it’s held in the north, but this time it’ll be in the southern forest.”

“How do you know…?”

Aint cut himself off. Valoshi was the heir to the Bienderk family. He probably had a lot of contacts in the academy.

“Anyway, I don’t plan to team up with some elf who just popped out of nowhere.”

“How cruel! You said you had no prejudice.”

“Trusting someone you just met isn’t lack of prejudice, it’s stupidity.”

“But fighting among classmates is forbidden in that class.”

“Even so…”

“Enough, both of you!”

Aint stopped the argument between Valoshi and Aria. Then he shook his head.

“Sorry, but I don’t intend to team up with anyone for this training.”

— The southern forest?

— Doesn’t matter if they’re long ears or opportunists, we don’t need either, Aint.

— In the southern forest, there’s a spiritual herb left by His Majesty the Previous Emperor. Forget everyone else and let’s go find it!

Gardner Alfenparsen had shown him a third path.

***

“Mithril. Mithril. Mithril.”

Fernan, who had successfully secured the temporary assistant position, felt the need to craft a more solid plan.

“I can’t let that guy have even a speck of mithril.”

And at the same time, Aint couldn’t find out. If he snatched the mithril that was supposed to be his, it would be no different from declaring war.

That would be one more step toward the worst possible future—ruin.

“I need to intercept it before he reaches the location, before he even realizes the mithril exists.”

Without anyone knowing. As if the mithril had never been there.

“There are three obstacles I need to overcome.”

First, don’t get caught slacking off on assistant duties.

Second, don’t let Aint Armian or Gardner Alfenparsen find out.

‘And third…’

Tap, tap. Fernan drummed his fingers on the table.

“Don’t get discovered by the spirit guarding the spiritual herb.”

If he didn’t want to leave even the slightest trace, everything had to be perfect. And perfection meant that even after extracting the mithril and fleeing, Aint shouldn’t even suspect it in his dreams.

“In other words, if there are signs of a battle with the spirit, he’ll know someone intruded.”

Then he would inevitably wonder what was taken while leaving the herb. But if Fernan also took the herb, it would only trigger more fury.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find a solution.

He could prepare with artifacts, elixirs, and support scrolls, but doing it alone was impossible.

“…In that case.”

Damn it. When the hell is Hyde going to show up? Fernan stood up.

“Luina, can you swear on the honor of a knight to keep everything I’m about to tell you secret for the rest of your life?”

He had found his first collaborator Luina.

***

“No.”

Luina didn’t take long to respond.

Though at first she had listened tensely and sworn solemnly, her resolve was clear in her gaze.

“When you mentioned the honor of a knight, I thought it was something incredible… but it’s just about a spiritual herb?”

“Just? What do you mean just? How can you say a spiritual herb is a small matter?”

Was she thinking he was lying again?

“I’ll swear on money if you want. This time it really is a spiritual herb.”

“Whether it is or not, do you expect me to skip class for that? What are you thinking?”

“What do you want in return?”

“No matter what, I’ll never skip class. I must become top of the class.”

Fernan, well aware of Luina’s obsession with being first, let out a soft groan.

“It’s a spiritual herb, Luina. Do you know how much that’s worth?”

“Even if it is, it doesn’t hold the same value for everyone. Everyone has different priorities.”

And she added,

“And to think you’re working as a temporary assistant just to get it… I can’t even comprehend that.”

Fernan, realizing it was impossible to convince her with that firm response, dismissed her.

“Understood. You may go.”

Having her help would’ve made things easier, but it wasn’t essential.

The person he truly needed would arrive shortly, as arranged.

“You’re not leaving?”

Noticing he wasn’t getting up as usual, Luina tilted her head, puzzled.

“I have another meeting.”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

“…Don’t tell me it’s with Professor Grad?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I don’t care what you do, but please don’t get into trouble. If you get sanctioned, it’ll affect me too, since we’re partners.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

At that moment, a sound came from outside. Just as Luina was about to leave, the door opened wide.

“…!”

At the entrance, Luina came face-to-face with the arriving person.

“Well, you weren’t alone, brother.”

“Come in.”

“…Brother?”

***

Red hair like flames and bright green eyes. A sturdy build uncharacteristic of a mage and a face that radiated kindness.

Even Luina recognized that face.

“Jace Vynes?”

The Saint of the Cult.

The top first-year student in the Department of Magic.

A magic genius. And many other titles accompanied him.

And from the mouth of that saint had come the word “brother.” Directed at none other than the miser Fernan.

To her, it was something completely incompatible with common sense. Her mind was overwhelmed with confusion.

“Is it strange for you that I call him brother? You are… Lady Luina, right?”

Although not on Jace’s level, Luina also had a notable presence. Jace, who recognized her a moment later, pressed his palms together with a friendly smile.

“May the blessing of mana be with you.”

“Ah… yes. I…”

“No need to press your palms together as well. This is just a customary greeting of the Cult.”

Jace sat down across from Fernan.

“So, what were you talking about?”

“Luina has nothing to do with it. She was just leaving.”

But instead of leaving, Luina dragged a nearby chair and sat down beside them.

“You’re not leaving?”

“…You seem quite close. How did you two meet?”

“Does it surprise you that much?”

“Yes. It’s only natural.”

“Only natural?”

“I suppose you don’t know because you’re not a mage. Would you like me to explain?”

Jace was right.

“Listen closely, Luina. As you know, the Cult of the Dragon God was originally a religion that worshipped the primordial dragon who granted magic to humanity.”

Back then, magic was a marvel and the primordial dragon was seen almost as a deity.

But now everyone knew that was no longer the case.

Even so, the religion had endured.

Because the object of veneration had shifted from the primordial dragon to magic and mana themselves.

Thanks to that, the Cult of the Dragon God survived and became the most powerful organization of mages, composed mostly of mid-level and higher spellcasters.

“The fact that the Archmages are recognized by the pope of the Cult of the Dragon God says it all.”

It was easy to view the Archmages as the magical equivalent of the Royal Knights. Ten great mages recognized by the high pontiff of the Cult.

“I already knew that. But I don’t see how that relates to your current friendship. Did you study magic at the Cult’s main headquarters?”

“No. It’s simply a matter of logic.”

Jace shook his head with a gentle smile.

“Mages are like hippos that devour money. And the Cult of the Dragon God is full of those hippos.”

“And our family is the one that buys the most products from the Cult.”

“Exactly. The Pellenbergs are our biggest customers.”

“Very big customers.”

Fernan and Jace spoke in turns, shaking Luina’s understanding.

“And as the old saying goes, if you’ve got money, they call you brother.”

Therefore, there was no reason why Jace wouldn’t call Fernan “brother.”

“Besides, even in terms of age, technically he’s also my older brother.”

The saint smiled.

“Do you understand now?”

“…I mean…”

With words, she understood. But in her mind, she couldn’t process it. That saint who seemed so kind and concerned for others was saying that with a smile?

After quite some time in confusion, she unconsciously let out her most sincere thought.

“…And this guy is a saint?”

Isn’t he just another miser number two?