I Won't Die - Episode 16

"Wow, there are so many people."

Rather than being amazed by the long line, Karen was impressed.

To Karen, who had lived in the countryside her whole life, this many people was a sight she had never seen before.

I said to Karen,

"Do you want to take the test too?"

"Huh?!"

While surprised, Karen showed signs of thinking a bit.

If a commoner who wasn't nobility were to enter and graduate from the academy, they could walk the path of success.

They could become a government official, or if they accomplish great things, they may even be given the opportunity to become nobility.

This is no joke, it's sincere.

If Karen wants to take the test, I will give her the chance.

But Karen's attitude was firm.

"As I've done so far, I want to serve and attend to the Britten household, Young Master."

"I see."

Yes, you were a maid.

A maid who wants to serve us for life.

If that's what you want.

I'll let you do that, Karen.

She left first to secure lodging.

Registering as a proxy wasn't something she had to do herself.

There was no need to keep Karen stuck to my side.

Compared to commoners, the line for nobles was quite short.

Even though it was an academy that nobles naturally attended, for commoners it was the only path to success.

As such, there were quite a lot of commoners who wanted to enter the academy.

"Ah...I wonder how long we'll have to wait."

"It's so annoying that these old geezers won't even let us register by proxy."

On the other hand, nobles complained about and were irritated by the fact that they had to wait in a line that wasn't even half as long.

While there were nobles who were sincere about the academy curriculum, there were many who were not.

Why would they want to stay cooped up in an academy where all students were equal, when they could strut around and live however they wanted in their own territory?

Either way, after some time passed it was finally my turn.

The registrar called me over.

"Next, please come forward!"

As I sat in the chair, the registrar asked,

"What is your name?"

"I am Argal Britten."

"As nobility, you can automatically pass the exam, but if you take and get a high score on the exam, you can enter the integrated class. Would you like to do so?"

Since nobles had to at least attend the academy, even if they failed the exam they would automatically pass.

Such nobles would usually enter the class called the nobles class, where only nobles belonged.

However, the integrated class.

The class where nobles, clerics, and commoners who passed the exam would enter regardless of status.

Even if one was a noble, unless they entered and graduated from the integrated class, they were not considered to have properly undergone the academy curriculum.

"I will enter the integrated class."

"Next, will you be taking the practical exam? In this practical exam, injuries and even casualties can occur."

The highlight of the academy entrance exam.

And at the same time, an exam that caused controversy every year.

It was a practical exam where you would actually fight and hunt monsters.

"I will do it."

I had to do this to enter Class 1 no matter what.

Class 1 valued combat ability above all else.

It was traditionally the class knights would enter, and since it's where knight colleagues would gather, in a way combat ability was the top priority.

That's why they did various practical exams.

The practical exam for entrance was just a warm up.

As such, it only gathered the cream of the crop, and even included nobles and royalty among them.

I was given an exam number ticket.

I folded the paper and put it in my pocket, and was about to go look for Karen who I assumed had come back after securing lodging.

"You b*tch!"

Thwack!

A noble said in a very angry sounding voice, strongly gripping the shoulder of the person in front of him,

"How dare a worthless thing like you cut in front of me?"

At first it was an argument, but now it looked to be turning into a fight.

Since it was a space occupied only by nobles, the bystanders had a somewhat indifferent attitude, as if watching from the sidelines.

I was going to sneak away regardless of what was going on, but

The face looked familiar from somewhere.

"Worthless, you say."

The girl whose shoulder was being strongly grasped didn't change her expression one bit.

An unemotional bluntness, as if devoid of any emotion.

Yet possessing unshakable confidence.

Poisonous violet hair and ominously dark eyes.

An impression gloomy to anyone who looked at her.

One of my colleagues of knights.

It was Lancestar.

...I don't really understand why Lancestar is doing that there, but she calmly explained.

"I only temporarily stepped out of line because I had urgent business, you know full well I was in front of you, right?"

"If you left the line you should go back to the end!"

"Don't you have the bare minimum flexibility? If every time I temporarily leave the line for urgent business I have to line up again from the beginning, do I have to keep enduring that?"

Since they both had reasonable arguments, the nobles didn't particularly take either side.

Rather, they were eagerly watching like this was an amusing distraction from the boring wait in line.

...By the way, for you Lancestar to bring up flexibility.

Weren't you the epitome of inflexibility?

Meanwhile, the noble who had first thrown insults put his hand forward.

He no longer seemed to want to fight over something like this.

The administrators nearby also approached, seemingly worried that things would escalate further.

"That's enough. There's no point in talking further with the likes of you."

"And where are you trying to pull your foot out from?"

"What?"

As Lancestar moved her hand, a long lance naturally appeared.

..It was Lancestar's artifact.

A good artifact that resolved the cumbersome aspect of lances, having to carry them around.

The lance she had kept at her side since girlhood, for her entire life until she met her death.

And Lancestar, she doesn't take insults to herself very well.

Insults to family or friends she can let go or not care about.

So, she's just hot-tempered.

"You insulted me, so you have to pay the price."

"Ha, you?"

Swish-

The noble provoked by Lancestar promptly pulled out a sword.

A duel between nobles starting suddenly.

Many eyes focused on the interesting spectacle.

Lancestar was quite famously eccentric.

The stronger the opponent, the more she recklessly rushed at them like a moth to flame.

That was her.

Then what if the opponent before her was weak?

As the lance moved once, the noble's sword went flying.

Clang!

"Wha...?"

And the lance handle struck the noble's skull at an invisible speed.

Thwack!

"Gahk!"

Thud.

A duel ended in just two strikes.

As expected, Lancestar was Lancestar.

The talent she later used to behead the executives of the Demon King Army was already shining through.

To be able to overwhelm an opponent who at best was only at a knight's level of skill in two moves was proof she was beyond the level of a knight.

Only those at that level could enter Class 1.

Meanwhile, it was Lancestar's turn and she leisurely stated her name at the registration desk.

"Um...what is your name?"

"Asel Montrose."

It was a name I hadn't heard in a while.

Usually, once one received the title of a star, besides Lancestar no one would call them by name.

"Young Miss."

"Ah, right."

Had I been watching for too long?

Karen came back after securing lodging.

"I got decent lodging. It was competitive because of all the people swarming in, but there were openings."

"Good work."

There was no longer any reason to linger here, so I turned my body.

To think I witnessed Lancestar at the exam registration.

It was good insight.

**

"Are preparations complete?"

The rare handsome youth was receiving a report.

A bizarre being with one broken horn spoke.

[Yes, my prince.]

"Is it really necessary to destroy the academy to this extent? I truly do not understand."

[It is where our enemy grows, so it cannot be helped.]

"Then you only need to kill one knight."

[The knight cannot be killed now.]

"...That makes even less sense to me."

The prince, not wanting to think more, shook his head.

"Since the damage from Ambrosia's collapse was quite large, I ask that you resolve it."

[It will be automatically calculated by the Heavenly Order, my lord.]

"That Heavenly Order really is almighty."

The Heavenly Order.

The current Demon King's unique ability, and the absolute standard for transactions.

No matter what is given, a fitting price must be paid.

It was also why the current Demon King was called the Demon King of Fairness.

"And there is a bishop covering up for Ambrosia's aftermath. His name is Bishop Levega, even the royal family directly interfering, yet his guts are quite big."

[I will take care of that as well, my prince. I propose two methods. Quickly but noisily, or slowly but cleanly.]

"Slowly but cleanly. Making a commotion in the church is like stirring up a beehive."

The bizarre being with a broken horn nodded.

And as if nothing was there, disappeared from that spot.

The prince muttered.

"Over half of the academy's population..."

What the Demon King Army had requested was simple.

To the extent it was almost massacre, they asked for the royal family to quietly stand by as they destroyed the academy.

Since the compensation they paid for this was enormous, the royal family readily agreed.

Yet they said they wouldn't kill the biggest threat, the knight.

The Demon King Army's judgement was strange.

"No need to strangle a promising prospect who may bring an unknown future."

Anyway, the royal family would enjoy endless glory in the eternal life brought by Ambrosia.

The prince was convinced of this as he turned his body.

The royal family was rotting away under the transactions of the Heavenly Order.

**

The exam started quickly.

Thanks to going through so many different incidents and accidents, I arrived at the end of registration.

To be precise, the students who applied for the practical exam didn't really need to be passionate about the written exam.

This was the process of filtering out talent to become bureaucrats, officers, mages, and magic researchers.

For combat job types like knights, staking their lives on the practical exam was enough.

Same for Class 1.

While everything had to be perfect scores to get in, if one was overwhelmingly exceptional in the practical exam they would be forcibly taken into Class 1.

"I should do decently."

And so the written exam began.

Receiving the exam papers from the proctors filled with the will to immediately execute any cheaters, I looked around.

Basic subjects like history, social studies, math, and foreign languages were boring, and honestly I didn't know them very well either.

This part of the exam was for those wanting to become bureaucrats.

For those not aiming in that direction, some would simply cover it up and sleep.

I scribbled something down haphazardly.

After all it wasn't an important part.

Meanwhile, I could hear muttering from behind.

"Hehehe, this is so easy."

A girl's voice.

I wonder how overflowing with confidence she must be to say something like that.

I subtly turned my head to look, and saw a girl with the typical image of a witch, wearing a large witch's hat on her head.

A cute round face, pointed eyes. Her eyes faintly yellow, and her hair short and black.

A somewhat memorable impression, but not a presence I specifically recalled.

Normally she was either someone who died early, or someone insignificant.

The girl behind me checked all the answers on the exam paper in less than 10 minutes.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

...What if that girl is getting all the answers right, should I take a little?

Among dark magics, there is an extremely covert dark magic.

Most are discovered when using magic power, but even in those cases, it depends on the level.

When using dark magic.

The magic power secretly flowing out from my belt dagger created, tuned to the ultimate level, another eyeball invisible to anyone.

That eye moved in sync with my vision, and everything became visible.

Despite the eyeball floating in the air of the exam room, none of the proctors noticed it at all.

When a dark magician who was once bordering on transcendence earnestly cheats, what method is there to catch them?

That could be realized without even seeing the result, and the actual result was the same.

I got all the exam answers from that girl.

The girl was confidently writing down the answers every moment, and those answers seemed reasonable even when I looked at them.

And towards the end of the exam.

For some, the most important exam.

The magic studies exam.

The harshest difficulty, a dreadful exam in academy history where no one had ever gotten a perfect score.

I tried to cheat here as well, but the moment I received the magic studies exam paper, my thoughts changed.

...I think I can solve all of these?