This chapter is finally over.
Part III
“It can’t be helped, I guess. I went a little overboard.”
With Lucia and the others watching from a distance, Ryoji took out a table and some chairs from storage and began to relax with drinks and snacks.
“You’re as free-spirited as ever.”
“Oh! It’s you, Reynold! What are you doing here?”
Ryoji looked at the man with whom he had investigated in the Cave of Trials and saw him standing there with a smile on his face.
“Didn’t I tell you? I am the Head Professor at the Royal Academy of Magical Arts.
“Eh? Head Professor? Maybe that’s why Marco looked so pale when he heard that I trained Reynold and the others?
“Maybe. But I enjoyed it. Sergeant’s ‘If you can’t survive here, you’ll die!’ And, ‘Don’t think your lives are worth living if you can’t do anything!’ I will never forget the shock I felt when I heard that.”
Reynold accepted the drink offered by Ryoji and began to giggle as he recalled the incident. The two were enjoying their conversation, and the people around them were astonished to see them.
“The Iron Mask, Professor Reynold, is laughing!”
“And he’s acquainted with Ryoji-kun?”
“If I can win Ryoji-kun over, perhaps he can introduce me to Professor Reynold?”
As they continued their conversation, overhearing the voices mixed with speculation, Lucia and the others arrived, having finished their examinations. She then bailed lightly to Ryoji and Reynold and froze when she saw who it was.
“It’s finished! Ryoji-kun! Ehh! An-Any chance, this person ……?”
“It’s Reynold-san. He’s apparently famous, you know about him?”
“Of course I do! It’s Mr. Reynold Nosuke! He is the Head Professor of the Royal Academy of Magic and has published more than 10 magic papers. Having extensive knowledge of magic, he is said to have developed many of the household magic devices available in Royal Capital. He is also the youngest ever to be appointed as the Head Professor! Young and promising, he is also known as the Iron Mask because of his lack of a smile. ……. But that seems to be a discredited rumor.”
“Thank you for your accurate description in front of the man himself. I just did what I love to do and the results were appreciated. By the way, the rumors about the Iron Mask are true. I’m just smiling now that I’ve met Sergeant. By the way, when you say ‘promising’, what do you mean?”
When Reynold asked Mishka for an explanation, Lucia answered with a smile instead.
“A promising candidate for a son-in-law, of course. So, what do you think of me?”
“Could you reach out to me again after you graduate, at least after you have excelled at the academy? Because I know you only as Sergeant’s acquaintance, and I’d forget your name in a heartbeat.”
“By the way, Professor Reynold. You’ve been referring to Ryoji-kun ‘Sergeant’ for a while now, is that a nickname?”
He laughed at Orlando’s question and explained the incident at the Cave of Trials. After hearing the story from Reynold, they all looked at Ryoji and wanted to say something, but shook their heads and let out a sigh as if they realized what had happened.
“Everyone passed. Please head to the main auditorium where the other accepted students are. And the person in charge as well, please go to the main auditorium.”
When the examiner told them that they had passed the exam, they all burst out in joy. One of the examiners called out to Reynold, who was smiling at the scene, Reynold returned to his blank expression, waved to Ryoji and the others, and walked away.
“Everyone! Congratulations on your enrollment. You have passed the examinations of the Royal Academy of Magic, which has a long history, and you who have gathered in the main auditorium will carry the Kingdom on your shoulders. Please remember that. The medals I just handed you will represent your Class. I hope that what you have learned in these two years will guide you in your lives!”
The Dean, Christopher Ehmann, gave the opening speech, and as soon as the speech was over, the successful candidates opened the box to check their medals and cheered or were disappointed. Ryoji and his group also opened the box at once at Lucia’s prompting and showed it to each other.
“Eh? All together?”
There was a red medal in everyone’s hand, and in the enrollment manual, it says ‘ Special classes will be Purple, Blue, and Red, and General classes will be Yellow and White,’ and in the remarks, it also says ‘The color of the medal will change depending on your evaluation during your time at the academy, so do your best’.
“Ryoji-kun, why don’t you show us your medal?”
“Well, you see! The color of the medal is just for decoration!”
“Surely you don’t have to hide it. Everyone else is in red, but your’s is different, is that why you don’t want to show it to us?”
“Yes, that’s right. The color is different. It’s a shame that it’s different from everyone else’s.”
Ryoji’s behavior was strange when Lucia asked him about the medal’s color, and they all looked at each other with quizzical expressions and then nodded to each other, Rosa and Mishka leaned in close and asked.
“I am still curious. Can you show me your medal, Ryoji-kun?”
“Don’t worry. The color of your medal doesn’t determine your life, does it?”
“I’m still curious. My father said that. ‘ Just having the medal of the institute will give you an advantage in getting a job. The color of the medal will play a major role in the rest of your life’.”
“You shouldn’t worry about such a thing. Don’t you think you should make your own way in life, not the color of the medal?”
“Hey? Why were you using such subtle honorifics a while ago?”
“ThatIsNotTrue, ItMustBeYourImagination.”[TN: He’s saying, ‘That’s not true, it must be your imagination’ in a single word]
The two were gradually stepping toward Ryoji and asking him to show them his medals, but Ryoji found himself cornered by the wall. At the same time, Mateo and Orlando held Ryoji’s arms.
“Fu fu fu fu. I got that medal box!”
“Darn it!”
Lucia took the box from Ryoji and checked its contents, her expression turned subtle.
“What is this?”
When everyone looked into the box containing Ryoji’s medal, they saw a black piece of paper. The schedule was going on without a hitch while the battle over the box was going on, and just as everyone looked at the black paper in the box, an explanation was given.
“This year is a great year for the institute. Many talented students are currently enrolled at the institute, but this year we have six Red Medalists and two Blue Medalists. Normally, it would be excellent if they could reach the blue level before they graduate. However, those who have been given the red and blue medals should also keep up their self-improvement. Furthermore, this year, for the first time in the history of the institute, there is a person with a Black Medal. We have prepared a special medal for the non-standard. All of you should strive for the purple, which is the original highest peak.”
“The explanation you just gave is definitely about Ryoji-kun, isn’t it?”
“So that’s why there’s a piece of paper in there. Since this is the first time in the history of the academy, a new medal has to be prepared ……”
“I’m feeling a little sad about the red medal I have.”
“Don’t look so gloomy! Ryoji-kun promises to put it away ’cause it’s ‘Ryoji-kun’! We must unite and go for the purple! Overthrow! Ryouji-kun!”
“Don’t overthrow me! I’ll help you go for the purple!”
Ryoji listened to Lucia’s insistence and offered to help.
“Ryoji-kun, please come to the Dean’s office.”
“God’s hammer’s about to fall!”
“Don’t you think it’s simply an explanation of the Black Medal.”
Mateo calmly pointed out to Ryoji, who was being summoned by a staff member, seeing that Lucia was happy.
“I guess this is where we part ways for today? Let’s have an admittance party soon!”
“Is it on you, Ryoji-kun?”
“Of course! I’ll make it a grand one, you can look forward to it!”
Ryoji and the staff headed for the school with the cheers in the background. The Dean’s office is located at the back of the school building and is furnished with marble tables and a bar counter, in addition to portraits of past Deans.
(What kind of room is this?)
As Ryoji was laughing to himself, a man sitting in the back of the room stood up and called out to him,
“Ryoji Uchino, I presume. I heard that you passed the exam with an unbelievable score. You are Druglu’s hero, after all.”
“I am honored by your praise. May I ask why you called me here?”
When Ryoji met Christopher, he did not like him at first glance. His taste in rooms may have just been inherited from previous heads of the academy. However, the look in the Dean’s eyes when he was looking at him was not the face of an educator, but rather a judgmental one.
He suddenly thought of something and opened the interface to display a screen for acquiring skills, and acquired magic detection and listening.
“Sit down. I have something to say to you now.”
(minus 5 points)
Christopher ordered Ryoji to sit down, and while he muttered in his mind, his courtesy skill activated and he took his seat with perfect manners.
“I thought it’s a country boy from Drugul, ……. Maybe this one would have no problem joining the aristocratic faction.”
The words that he was muttering to avoid being overheard were fully audible to Ryoji, who had just acquired the skill of listening in.
(Who the hell do you think you are? Minus 15 points)
Ryoji smiled as if he did not hear Christopher’s mutterings.
“Dean. May I ask you to tell me about today’s summons?”
“Yeah. It’s about the annual meeting with the students who have achieved excellent results. This time, however, I wanted to meet Ryoji-kun quickly, and also I wanted to explain the medal directly to you, so I asked you to come as soon as the entrance ceremony was over. Normally, it would have been a week later.”
When Ryoji was plainly told that he was being honored, he replied he was flattered and further downplayed Christopher’s assessment.
“─. So, I have been passionately devoting myself to education for five years as the Dean of the Academy. You, too, will contribute to my institute by achieving excellent results until the end.”
Ryoji, who had been listening to Christopher’s self-praising report on the activities of the institute over the past five years, smiled and nodded his head in disgust.
Christopher continued to talk pleasantly with Ryoji, who had pasted a smile on his face, and it was an hour later when he began to explain the main topic, the Black Medal.
“About the Black Medal, when I saw your excellent grades, I put it on the urgent agenda of the board meeting, saying ‘Purple is not good enough’. The usually argumentative Iron Mask ……. Chief Professor Reinardt agreed with me, so I guess it was a great idea.”
“I see, (It was Reynold, I guess things got tedious and he agreed appropriately. I’ll check on the state of the academy later).”
Ryoji was irritated to the max in his mind, but Ryoji kept on smiling and kept on agreeing with him. Christopher was about to continue with more of his own bragging when he was approached by the secretary, who said they had another meeting.
“Unfortunately, I’m afraid our time has run-up.”
“Thank you for spending some of your valuable time with me. Please let me know what you have to say about the institute again.’
“Ha-ha-ha. You really are a boy who knows what to say. I hope Reynold-kun can learn from you.”
After bidding farewell to Christopher, who was in a good mood, Ryoji was on his way to the Head Professor’s office where Reynold was.
“Excuse me. Ryoji Uchino here.”
When he knocked to enter, he was greeted by Reynold with a smile. As he was about to speak with a smile, he was suddenly shown a piece of paper. On it was written, ‘Conversations in this room are being eavesdropped on,’ he put his finger to his mouth and was instructed not to speak.
“I owe you for your help in escorting me to the Cave of Trials, don’t I?”
“No. It is a great honor for me to receive the teachings of the renowned Professor Reynold.”
“I also learned a lot from watching the battle with the monsters up close.”
“I am now able to enter the academy without incident. Will you continue to teach?”
“Of course. I also have high expectations from Drugul’s hero, who was awarded the Black Medal.”
“I just wanted to stop by today to say hello. Now, if you will excuse me.”
After ending the conversation, Ryoji invoked his magic power detection skill. Then, as if in response to the magic power, a red light was detected from the vase on the desk.
He approached the vase and started pouring magic power as fast as he could while watching Reynold, who gasped at the sudden light.
“Yosh! There is no longer any unnatural magic detected.”
“Sergeant? What did you do?”
“I got tired of these unnatural conversations. So, I broke the bug in the vase.”
Ryoji’s explanation made Reynold laugh out loud, then he examined the vase and took out an object that looked like a wiretap.
“This appears to be a magical device for eavesdropping. Apparently, it successfully traps through wind magic. Designed to operate only when a conversation starts, it also reduces the consumption of magic power. It’s been well thought out.”
“You look happy. Reynold.”
“It was that obvious, huh. Ever since I came to the academy, how much I’ve struggled with this. I was baffled at the beginning because I didn’t know where the information was leaking from. Can this be analyzed to counteract it?”
Reynold was happily muttering as he looked at the magic device, but when he came back to himself, he smiled and asked the reason for Ryoji’s visit.
“So, the reason Sergeant came to see me is because of the interview with the Dean, isn’t it?”
“Yeah! That’s right! The heck! That Dean! He’s one of the top three most annoying guys I’ve ever met in my life.”
He told Reynold all the bad things he had heard about the Dean, and then gathered information about the academy.
“Welcome back. Ryoji-sama. How was the entrance ceremony? Dean Christopher’s talk was long and pointless, wasn’t it?”
“Do you know the Dean?”
“He came to the city of Drugul once. At that time he always mentioned ‘I am great’.”
Carena greeted Ryoji upon his return. When Ryoji told Carena about his meeting with the Dean, she let out a big sigh.
“He’s the same as ever huh. Although he told Ryoji-sama that the meeting would be held in a week, it is customary for the meeting to be held after the entrance ceremony is over.”
“Eh? Why did he have to tell that little lie?”
“I guess that he’s saying, ‘Since I, the Dean, took the time to meet with you, you should respect me’ or something along those lines.”
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to ‘respect you’ with that attitude and the way he talks. …… I’d rather have my reputation ruined. On a scale of 100, I’d give him a 25.”
Hearing Christopher’s evaluation, Carena chuckled and continued the conversation while serving tea.
“If that’s the initial evaluation, I wonder what it will be when Ryoji-sama graduates?”
“He’ll be smiling in a frame as the former Dean.”
Ryoji’s words instantly made her expression grimace, and she fearfully confirmed it.
“You wouldn’t kill him, would you?”
“I won’t kill him! Even if you can’t kill someone physically, you can kill them mentally or socially, right? And with Reynold there, it won’t be a problem, will it?”
“I meant it as a light joke. ……”
Carena muttered as she looked at Ryoji, who was drinking tea with relish.
“That reminds me. I’ve decided to have a celebration party with the friends I made at the entrance ceremony. Do you know of any good places?”
“In that case, since classes don’t start for another week, perhaps you should look for a place to live? We also need to find a place for the chiefs to live.”
“I agree. We should go to a real estate agency tomorrow. Of course, Carena and Melta will come with me, right?”
“That’s right. I will be happy to go with you.”
Carena happily replied to Ryoji’s question.
— end—
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Yay, a chapter! Let’s hope the next release will be soon. Thanks for the treat.