Maseki Gurume - 026 part 2

Alright, here's the next part.

　＊

Ain had been eagerly waiting for the entrance exam for the past few days.

Since he did the same training as the castle knights, he thought it would be a good opportunity to show the fruits of his labor to outsides, and he also wanted to see the school with his own eyes.

And the day of the exam came. Since there still wasn’t a dedicated escort for Ain, he was being accompanied by Chris as they both went to the Royal Kingsland Academy.

Just like the last time they went out to the magic stone shop, Chris was hiding her face under a helm and was equipped with her own gear, not the Royal Guard armor.

As an aside, it appeared Chris' own equipment was even more expensive than the Royal Guard armor.

After leaving the castle, the two of them headed towards the White Rose station, the largest in the Royal Capital.

But this time, they took a regular water train instead of the royal one.

The area where the Royal Kingsland Academy was located was a place lined up with several other schools, closely resembling a school city.

They boarded the train and headed there.

They arrived in less than 15 minutes at their destination, and the place was crowded with many students.

The Royal Kingsland Academy had entrance exams every month, and many aspirants came from all over Ishtalika.

But even after removing those, there were quite a lot of other students walking the streets, causing Ain to feel amazed.

"There are so many people."

"Despite it being inside the capital, this place is called Academy City. There are not only students, but there's also researchers, teachers, and parents who come to visit, so it's crowded most of the time."

Chris responded to Ain's comment.

As for Ain, when he heard this place was always crowded, he felt somewhat weary.

"I'm not really a fan of crowded places, but for now I'll just aim at passing the exam."

"I too think it will be easy for you to pass the exam, Ain-sama. Now come, the Royal Kingsland Academy is in this direction."

And thus, being led by Chris, Ain walked to the place in question.

Looking around, one could see some people with knights as escorts.

Chris then further explained that children of nobility usually went to a school in the Academy City, so it was a normal sight to see them with servants or knights in tow.

"If I recall correctly, Lloyd-sama's child also goes to the Royal Kingsland Academy."

"……Ehh!? "

Out of nowhere, a surprising statement came out of Chris' mouth.

Too surprising that Ain didn’t know what to say.

"Lloyd-san's child……? Eh? Was Lloyd-san married? "

"U-Uh……Didn’t you know already, Ain-sama? I was sure you've already heard of it."

"Nope, not at all. I haven’t heard a word about that."

"I-I see……How should I explain?"

Chris worried a bit about what to do and wondered if she could explain.

"Well, I think there should be no problem with Ain-sama……Yeah, it should be okay. In fact, you have already met Lloyd-sama's wife, Ain-sama."

After Chris muttered that there was no issue, she went on to explain.

" !? No way. That's a lie, right? "

"She's the one who brings tea to Olivia-sama every day. That's Lloyd-sama's wife."

"Is it M-Martha-san!? That little Martha-san and that monstrous Lloyd-san are married!? "

Facing such a surprising fact, Ain lost his usual composure.

He couldn’t comprehend that little and cute Martha and the beast-like Lloyd were married.

"Please calm down, Ain-sama. There are a lot of people who react like that……Well, I think everyone reacts like that."

"I bet. They really don’t look like a married couple in the slightest."

"Both of them seem to have that stance while working in the castle. Since they both hold an important position, they try to keep it in moderation and thus, they don’t look like a married couple."

"I-Is that so? Uh, well...... I guess it's fine. So long as they are happy."

He never saw them holding a conversation, nor he had seen them acting like a couple, this is why Ain never noticed it ever since coming to Ishtalika.

And, thinking about it now, Ain noticed he lived inside the castle, but he didn’t know what everyone did outside of the castle.

"On holidays, you can see them going out shopping together. So, I guess they are on good terms."

"There's so much that I don’t know."

Feeling a bit dejected, Ain's excitement had died down a little.

"By the way, you need to be careful not to call him beast-like or monstrous where he can hear you since Lloyd-sama is easily depressed."

And while continuing such a conversation, they arrived at the test venue for the Royal Kingsland Academy.

After learning that shocking fact, Ain decided to switch gears and focus to face the exam.

Ans since the escorts didn’t seem to be able to enter the place where the examinations were taking place, Ain parted with Chris there and walked in.

　＊

Ain's chosen test was about combat. The use of any weapon was permitted, no matter the weapon. However, dangerous places, such as sharp edges had to be dulled. Skills were allowed to be used however, magic that acted on the space, such as creating flames, was prohibited.

For this reason, Ain brought the training wooden sword he was used to. Being already prepared, he just waited for his turn to come.

As for the exam, it was necessary to get an "Excellent" score in a one-on-one battle with the examiner.

The definition of excellent was a bit hard to explain, but two other examiners were watching the fights aside from the one who actually fought it, and the final decision of whether one would pass or not was made by the three of them.

"YAAAAAA! "

"What's with that swing!? Does the quality of the person who taught you swordsmanship only amount to that? Why don’t you just retire and stop embarrassing yourself?! "

"(He's quite the bad-mouthed examiner.)"

Here at Royal Kingsland Academy, the battle test examiners performed a number of taunts.

And then they saw how the provoked candidate acted. It was good if they could behave calmly, but even if they got angry, so long as they could demonstrate their strength, they could pass. However, the weak-minded ones who were brought to tears were simply rejected.

He made a lot of provocations, but of course, he didn’t mean them, and they were only for the sake of the test.

"Da……mn……"

And so, the candidate who said this as he looked at his arm in doubt as tears formed in the corner of his eye, did not pass. Reaching this point, the exam was already over.

"You fail. Bring the next one! "

Ain couldn’t readily accept this approach.

Still, he thought it was inevitable for a high-ranking school to examine not only the physical ability but also the mental strength, so he understood where this was coming from.

"I'm ready! "

The next examinee came forward. Here at the Royal Kingsland Academy, the candidates were forbidden from giving out their names.

There were several rules in place as measures taken to prevent nobles involved in the school management from giving preferential treatment to those seeking to enter. And not naming yourself was one of the said rules.

Thanks to this, Ain was feeling somewhat more comfortable.

"You too fail! You're not suitable for the Royal Kingsland Academy! Next! "

After a little while, it came Ain's turn.

Ain wasn’t nervous at all, rather he was somewhat relaxed.

Since his opponent was the examiner for the prestigious Royal Kingsland Academy, it was certain he was reasonably skilled.

He also looked stronger than the castle knights that he always practiced against. However, he didn’t think he wouldn’t be up to the task.

"I'll be in your care."

"Come, brat. Show me you can pass."

With those words said, Ain closed in the distance, swinging the wooden sword.

"Hooo……Not bad, kid. You're the fastest today."

"Well, thank you. I still have more."

Ain continued to attack without thinking too much.

He aimed at the feet, at the joints, at the neck. He attacked different places without a fixed aim so that his opponent couldn’t read the next attack.

"Hmm. Even babies know there's no point in scattered attacks, they won’t connect! "

"Guu……"

The difference in physique was noticeable, and Ain received a light blow to his sides.

Ain's stats were high and splendid, but there was a difference in experience between the two.

"You rely on your stats too much. Your skill isn’t up to par, what'cha gonna do now? Do you want to run home with your tail between your legs? "

Despite the hit, Ain got up soon since it was a light blow.

He tried to pay no mind to the examiner's provocations.

"No, I can still go."

"Hmph! You sure don’t know your place, I'm sure your teacher is also a failure! "

Ain was close to snap with this taunt, but he managed to keep his self-control.

However, he felt that, with those provocations, he had to show his strength to this examiner.

He felt terrible hearing someone say he had wasted his time training with Lloyd, Chris, and the castle knights, who kindly taught him to use the sword.

"You don’t know that for sure. I can still keep going! "

"What a cheeky brat. That's why I hate those parents who fail to properly educate their kids! "

…….

Ain decided on using the Dark Knight.

He no longer cared if this could become troublesome. Despite this being a taunt for the sake of the exam, Ain wouldn’t put up with anyone insulting his mother, Olivia.

His body was in good shape today. He hadn’t used his magic power, so it was enough. There was nothing in the way of using Dark Knight.