Chapter 118
Three days before the comprehensive exam.
Second Library reading room.
“Ugh……”
Wearing a nun’s habit, Arowell stretched as she rose from her seat.
Soon, she moved to the terrace lounge.
Taking a sip from a canned juice, she leaned on the railing and gazed at the crimson sunset.
Since I studied from the morning…… I must have gone about ten hours.
I worked hard again today.
“Haaah……”
A sound came from behind me.
A cadet with blue hair, Karin, entered the terrace, her shoulders drooping weakly.
“……Ah.”
My eyes met Karin’s.
“Hello, Karin.”
“Ah, hello.”
When I gave a small wave with a bright smile, Karin awkwardly followed suit.
For a moment’s rest, the two of us stood at the railing, watching the sunset.
“The sunset is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Uh, yeah. It really is……”
Karin sipped at her canned coffee and nodded slightly, stealing glances at me as if gauging my mood, before finally speaking.
“You don’t need to take the exam, right? Since you already got early admission? You don’t really need to study……”
When Karin carefully asked, I smiled brightly.
Just as she said, I had already been admitted early into Briarflower Monastery.
Frankly, even if I scored zero on the comprehensive exam, it wouldn’t be a problem.
“Yeah, but……. I want to check how well I’ve grasped everything I learned this past year.”
“Oho……”
As expected, top students have a different mindset.
What a beautiful philosophy of learning this was.
As Karin admired me inwardly, I turned to look at her eyes.
“Karin, which department are you aiming for? Alchemist?”
“Ah, yeah……. I like research a bit.”
“Karin, I think you could become a fine researcher.”
Hearing my answer, Karin fought hard to suppress the corners of her lips from curling upward.
“Wanting to research is just my own hope, though. I don’t know if I’ll even score high enough to enter……”
“No, I’ve seen how hard you study, Karin. You’ll definitely get in. I’ll pray for you.”
“Thank you……!”
Because of me, Karin’s spirits soared to the highest peak.
Alright, tonight I’ll even skip dinner and go full-on all-nighter mode……! Karin firmly resolved in her heart.
“Hmm, by the way.”
As if remembering something, I spoke.
“Villed hasn’t been around lately.”
“Ah…… Villed?”
Karin thought of Villed, then sighed and replied.
“Well, I don’t know what he’s thinking either.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
I tilted my head, and Karin shrugged.
“With just a few days left until the exam, he’s been doing nothing but farm maintenance work for weeks.”
“Farm…… maintenance work……?”
I blinked, and Karin thought of Villed working at the livestock shed before letting out a chuckle.
“Yeah. He’s kind of random like that, isn’t he?”
At her laugh, I shook my head firmly.
“No, that’s actually something really good.”
“……Huh?”
Karin blinked at me, and I smiled brightly as I continued.
“Since it’s winter, the animals must be shivering from the cold, so he’s repairing the shed. You can tell that Villed really cares for and loves the animals.”
……Eh?
Hmm, hearing it like that, it did sound like a good deed……
Karin scratched her cheek and muttered.
“Still, isn’t the exam more important than farm animals? I mean, it’s not exactly his whole life, but it decides the department he’ll study in for the next three years.”
“Maybe he has some confidence to rely on.”
“Ah……”
Hearing my words, she nodded in understanding.
It was the same during the final exams last semester.
Against everyone’s expectations, he had scored a perfect 100 in Basic Magic.
Even Karin, who had studied together with him, had been shocked.
No one thought he would top the class in a subject everyone assumed he had completely given up on.
……Of course, in most other subjects, he had barely managed to avoid failing.
Karin sipped her coffee and gave a small nod.
“Yeah…… I guess he’ll handle things in his own way……”
Even if she didn’t understand what Villed was thinking.
At Rekorox Mansion, at the Victory Festival booth, even with exams.
Every time, unexpected outcomes appeared before him.
‘Maybe, even repairing the shed…… is a kind of studying?’
No, maybe that’s pushing it?
Karin downed the rest of her coffee as she gazed at the fading sunset.
***
“Achoo-!”
Someone must be talking about me.
I wiped my nose with a tissue, then picked up my tools again.
Clang! Clang!
After hammering several times, I wiped the sweat dripping down my face.
Looking at the livestock shed before me, I let out a faint smile.
‘Even I have to admit, I built this well.’
A refreshing sense of satisfaction filled me.
After about three weeks of work on the shed’s repairs, today it was finally completed.
‘It’s definitely larger now, and the exterior looks better too.’
I replaced the rusted pillars with new steel.
I tore down the rotten, crumbling walls and rebuilt them completely, giving everything a clean, fresh look.
Not only that, but as the number of animals increased, I tore down part of the shed to expand its size.
‘Originally, I was going to install a heater, but the shop happened to have something like this.’
I looked down at the floor of the livestock shed.
Goddess’s Eco-Friendly Ondol Floor
When it warms up, it’s perfect for getting through winter! And it even stays cool in the summer~
All I had to do was light a fire in the furnace connected to the ondol.
The warmth from the floor spread into the air, and the animals no longer felt the cold.
Thanks to this, I didn’t need any additional heating equipment.
– Moo~.
I petted the head of a cow that let out a pleased sound, then returned to the storage room.
……There were only a few days left until the exam.
‘Everyone must be studying right now.’
It was a bit funny when I thought about it.
In fact, no one knew what would even be on the exam.
‘Right, there wasn’t even a mention of a test scope, and the professors haven’t said a word about what kind of exam it will be.’
The cadets had no idea what to prepare for.
That was why everyone studied the subjects they had learned so far, or trained their bodies, each in their own way.
‘Since the exam questions change every year, everyone has their own way of preparing.’
Two years ago, they were locked in individual exam rooms for a week and had to complete a written test.
Last year, they had to clear a high-difficulty dungeon in a practical exam.
‘Since the subject changes every year, it’s bound to be tough.’
The nobles trained in private training halls.
The commoners prepared either in the knights’ shared training grounds or in the library.
‘As for me, since I didn’t need to prepare for the exam, I just spent time tinkering with the farm.’
Because I knew the scenario, I already understood what kind of exam would unfold.
So, the exam itself wasn’t a big problem for me.
Tok, tok.
I turned my gaze to the sound coming from outside the storage room.
“Villed, it’s really clean and sturdy.”
Tapping the repaired wall of the shed, Lapin let out words of admiration.
……Right, the real problem was Lapin.
‘Now, it’s really not much longer.’
There was about a month left until Lapin died.
‘Even if I try not to think about it, I can’t help but worry.’
In the game, there had been no way to prevent Lapin’s death.
She was a character destined to die no matter what……
‘But I have a way to stop Lapin’s death.’
That method was in my hands alone.
I could recruit Lapin into the farm.
That meant I could make her one of my forces.
‘Lapin could live, and I could grow stronger…… It’s a way to catch two rabbits at once.’
It was an opportunity I absolutely did not want to miss.
To be honest, I also felt a strong sense of resistance against the unfairness of it all.
To put it bluntly, Lapin’s death was nothing but a pointless death.
‘Even if Lapin survives, it won’t break the scenario. There’s no reason she has to die. I don’t want to just leave her to it if I can help it.’
But still.
I wanted to bring Lapin to the farm no matter what……
‘……But I still don’t know her recruitment conditions.’
I had been stuck for months without any progress.
‘If I just knew the conditions, I could at least try everything to fulfill them…….’
As I let out a small sigh, a new notification appeared before my eyes.
Livestock Shed Lv.3 Upgrade Complete! To celebrate the farm upgrade, your animal friends have sent you a gift!
Maximum Cost +1
‘Cost……?’
It was always delightful—a sweet reward.
Now, the maximum cost had reached 8.
‘Now, even after using Shurk’s abilities, I’ll still be able to use various other skills.’
The more cost I gained, the fewer restrictions I had on using my skills.
But the joy of the reward lasted only briefly.
Another message appeared before my eyes.
As the farm owner has grown, Lapin’s contract conditions have been revealed!
The mysterious conditions I had waited months for.
Reading the message, I immediately turned toward Lapin.
Lapin’s Contract Conditions Not Met
Condition: ……
Written on the screen were the conditions to recruit Lapin.
Royal Academy Yggdrasil Main Building, 20th basement floor.
Clack, clack……
Inside a dark corridor.
Only the footsteps of two people echoed like a reverberation.
Carrying a lamp, the two were Ruber and Hilda.
Pinned to their chests were badges that read [Comprehensive Exam Overseer].
“I always wanted to try being an overseer, so thank you very much for recommending me, Professor Ruber.”
“There’s no need to thank me. I only recommended you because Professor Hilda has more than enough capability.”
Hilda smiled brightly and asked.
“Then, Professor Ruber, have you been overseeing the comprehensive exam every year?”
“For about thirty years now.”
“Oh my, I heard you were officially appointed at the age of twelve. That means you’ve been an overseer since then. That’s truly amazing.”
“You flatter me.”
Ruber gave that answer, then after a moment spoke again in his usual calm tone.
“I’ll share this only with you, Professor Hilda. In fact, not long ago, a thief broke into my laboratory.”
“Oh my, a thief?!”
Hilda blinked in shock.
“Have you ever heard of my paper, <Side Effects and Applications of Enhancement Elixirs>?”
When Ruber asked, Hilda nodded vigorously.
“Yes, of course! I read it in the journal.”
“I was in the middle of preparing a sequel to that.”
“A sequel……?”
“I created something three times stronger than what was presented in the paper.”
Hearing Ruber’s words, Hilda gasped.
“Oh my, even the elixir in the paper was already remarkable. If it’s three times stronger…… isn’t that practically criminal? Professor Ruber, you’ve been conducting some dangerous research……”
“If it’s not discovered, it’s not a crime. ……But the problem is this.”
Soon, even the faint smile on Ruber’s lips disappeared.
“Some rat-like petty thief stole that elixir.”
“Oh my! What in the world would someone even use that for…… The world is truly frightening……”
“Frightening, is it?”
At Ruber’s words, Hilda, as if frightened, furrowed her brows and nodded.
“……Yes!”
“To think a professor would be scared of something so trivial as a petty thief, it makes a mockery of the title.”
Ruber answered with a laugh, then turned his gaze to Hilda.
“Professor Hilda, you should be careful as well.”
Ruber stared straight at her as he spoke.
His face was not one of someone simply warning her, nor of someone concerned.
“In many ways, I mean.”
His voice carried a chill.
Looking into Ruber’s eyes, Hilda belatedly forced a bright smile and replied.
“……Yes, I’ll be careful!”
With those words, Hilda fell silent and simply continued walking.