On the third day since Ethan and I arrived on the Island of Knowledge…

We finished our preparations early in the morning and set out for the academy a bit early.

That’s because today was finally the day for Ethan to take the ‘Swordsmanship Department Entrance Exam’ to enroll in Luminor Academy. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

 

“How are you feeling, young master?”

“Fine. I got enough sleep, and I’m fully prepared.”

“That’s good. I was worried you might be nervous about the entrance exam since you seemed to have trouble sleeping yesterday.”

“…That was because of you, Maid.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

 

How silly.

Well, it’s fortunate that his condition seemed fine on the day of the exam. Yesterday, he looked tired all day, as if he hadn’t slept well.

He was the one who suggested we go sightseeing on the first day if we arrived without delays in our schedule, but what was he thinking, falling asleep until evening due to fatigue? 

As a result, we had to stay at the inn for most of the second day after arriving on the Island of Knowledge. We even had all three meals at the tavern-cum-restaurant on the first floor of the inn.

 

‘Still…’

 

It’s fortunate that his condition seems better for today’s exam.

He probably felt fatigued from the long and unfamiliar carriage journey. It was a thousand times fortunate that we set out a day early.

At least it’s much better than being tired and complaining on the day of the exam.

Of course, this year’s entrance exam for nobles was expected to have an extremely low passing score for all departments except magic; at least the evaluation reflected in the entrance exam would be helpful in building connections during the first semester. 

Naturally, more people would flock to the department’s top student rather than the one at the bottom.

 

‘With Ethan’s current skills, he could definitely aim for the top of the department.’

 

Even though it was a mock duel using wooden swords, he had the skills to win against a Sword Master occasionally.

If he could display even half of his usual skills, he’d be able to achieve a score that would surpass most other students.

The only variable would be how strong the protagonist is…

Well, at least Ethan won’t encounter him today. Today is the Noble Entrance Exam for the academy’s Swordsmanship Department.

If the protagonist character enters that department, he’ll participate in tomorrow’s Commoner Entrance Exam. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

They might compete for the top spot, but their directly crossing swords would happen quite a while later.

 

“It’s quite a distance from the inn to Luminor Academy, should we call a coachman to drive us?”

“I think it’s better to walk. Many nobles will arrive at the exam site on the morning of the exam, so taking a carriage might actually make us later.”

“I think so too, young master.”

“…If the exam finishes early, let’s look around the island this afternoon to make up for what we couldn’t do yesterday.”

“That’s a good idea, young master.”

 

Thanks to Ethan’s wise decision, we fortunately avoided experiencing the traffic congestion from my previous life in this world.

After walking for a while, we entered Luminor Academy, avoiding the long line of carriages that appeared.

The Swordsmanship Department Entrance Exam at Luminor Academy takes place from morning to evening.

Fortunately, not all applicants have to take the exam from morning to evening; the exam proceeds in order of arrival.

First, students who arrive at the academy are grouped into fours in order of arrival to take the entrance exam.

These groups of four prospective students engage in one-on-one sword duels.

The principle is to face each opponent once, so there will be a total of six duels. Each person will have three duels, one with each opponent.

Including the time for six duels and the breaks in between, the dueling for each group usually finishes in about one or two hours.

New students, who haven’t even entered the academy yet, won’t have dozens of sword exchanges, nor will they typically maintain a standoff for over ten minutes while looking for an opening in their opponent. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

After finishing the duels that last one or two hours, the acceptance results are posted on the academy bulletin board the next morning or the morning after that.

In Ethan’s case, since he’s taking the Noble Swordsmanship Department Entrance Exam, it will happen the morning after the Commoner Swordsmanship Department Entrance Exam ends.

By the way, coming first in a group of four doesn’t guarantee acceptance, nor does coming fourth guarantee failure.

The four-person group dueling method is just a way to save time and eliminate variables, not to evaluate the four prospective students relative to each other.

How unfair would it be if the future 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ranked students of the Swordsmanship Department were grouped together, and the 4th place student was rejected for coming fourth?

What really affects the grades is the evaluation given by the supervisors who observe the sword duels. In that sense, it can be considered somewhat fair.

Of course, since it’s a subjective evaluation done by humans, it can’t be considered perfect, but that’s how all exams are.

I’m not worried because, with Ethan’s skill level, he won’t go and lose shamefully in any battle. Besides, he’s long past the age where I need to look after him for everything.

 

“Did you pack the two swords properly, young master?”

“Yes, I packed them here properly.”

“You didn’t forget to hang the long sword on your right side, did you? Since your swordsmanship involves holding the short sword in your right hand, to draw quickly when unsheathing…”

“I’m well aware. I have to manage the swords myself anyway, Maid. You don’t need to take care of every little thing.”

“I’ll check once more if the belt to tie the swords is properly fastened. It could be dangerous if it loosens during combat.”

“I’ve already checked, maid…”

 

I’m not worried at all. Because I’ve seen Ethan’s skills up close until now.

Although I’m a bit concerned that today’s duel will be with real swords instead of wooden ones, the academy’s dueling grounds are relatively safe, so there shouldn’t be any danger.

In the first place, the judges will intervene and stop the duel before it’s completely decided in most cases, and even if someone receives a fatal wound, they won’t die but will be transferred to the Aurelian Church within Luminor Academy.

To prevent fatalities during duels between academy students, the exam site is covered with ‘Death Prevention Magic.’ [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

In that sense, it was much safer than the mock dueling grounds where he sparred with Harold… …in the sense that there was absolutely no possibility of death.

If the Death Prevention Magic were to activate and someone got revived in the church, it would surely be Ethan’s opponent who was cut by Ethan’s sword, not Ethan himself. That was certain.

 

“Since you’ll be dueling with real swords, you must be even more careful in observing your opponent’s movements. Although they say you won’t lose your life, the momentary pain of being wounded will be etched in your memory.”

“I appreciate the advice, but I’ve already heard about practical dueling from Father, so you don’t need to worry, Lilith.”

“There might be opponents who attack in completely unpredictable ways, unlike that of the master. Not all swordsmen always attack accurately and efficiently. Rather than attempting attacks that endure injury, it’s better to prioritize safety during combat…”

“I said you don’t need to worry, Maid…”

 

I’m not worried at all because I believe in Ethan.

I’m really not worried at all about how he fights.

After Ethan returned from registering his name at the academy’s Swordsmanship Department reception…

With some time to spare, Ethan and I waited leisurely on a bench near the reception for his duel opponents to be determined.

 

“It’s still early morning, but there are surprisingly quite a few people.”

“If they miss the chance this year, they’ll have to wait until next year. Even nobles would be diligent on a day like today.”

“You’re also a noble now, Maid.”

“But I didn’t come here as a noble, I came as your maid for today, young master.”

 

…And if I had to say, I actually had almost no authority as a noble in reality.

Thinking of it as just an empty title to safely graduate from the academy, it was much more comfortable to just think that I wasn’t a noble.

It was a useless title unless I was going to belong to the Blackwood family for life.

…Come to think of it, I wonder who Ethan’s duel opponents will be today.

 

“Young Master Ethan, may I ask what your registration number is?”

“It’s 15.”

“Then Applicant Numbers 13, 14, and 16 will be your duel opponents.”

“That’s right.”

 

By the way, nobles taking the exam at this early hour were more likely to be lower-ranking nobles rather than high-ranking ones.

Most high-ranking noble applicants were probably stuck in traffic somewhere on the road in their backed-up carriages by now.

It was typical of nobles to wait for hours on the road rather than walk directly on the road themselves, even if it took several hours. Of course, this tendency became more severe the higher-ranking the noble was.

In other words, the duel opponents encountered at this time were likely to be relatively weak opponents. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Generally, high-ranking nobles had larger mana capacities than lower-ranking nobles, and their swordsmanship itself was more developed, so it was a natural result.

Well, no matter who the opponent was, Ethan would probably win easily.

As I was thinking this and waiting for Ethan’s turn to duel, someone who looked like a guide staff member started calling out the applicants for the next duel in front of the dueling ground.

 

“The following people should prepare for the next exam! Applicant Number 13, Louis Finn Agonis!”

 

Number 13 would be one of Ethan’s duel opponents.

Judging by the unfamiliar feeling of the name, he probably wasn’t a major character.

Given that I’ve never heard of the Agonis family name, they were probably a baron or quasi-baron family from the borderlands.

As I was thinking this and waiting for the next name to be called, the name of applicant number 14 soon reached my ears.

 

“Applicant Number 14, Benjamin Huckleberry Belvin!”

 

This was also a name I’d never heard before. Both the name Benjamin and the surname Belvin.

As expected, there were many applicants from borderland families in the morning time slot.

Probably the only high-ranking noble taking the exam by walking directly at this time would be someone like Ethan.

If these are the opponents, Ethan will probably win easily.

 

“Applicant Number 15, Ethan Richard Blackwood!”

“Let’s go, young master.”

“Okay.”

 

After confirming that Ethan’s name as the 15th applicant was called, I was about to move towards the dueling ground with him. 

However, at that moment, I couldn’t help but doubt my ears at the name of the next applicant that came from the guide staff’s mouth.

 

“Lastly, Applicant Number 16, Caraham Jamuel August!”

“…Caraham?”

 

…Why is his name coming up here?