When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 147

Episode 147

And just like that, it was time for the midterm exams of the first semester. It had been just over two months since they enrolled in the academy. During this period, the first-year students had completed an orientation camp, and the daily classes were progressing at a very good pace. As a result, this time of year was when differences between students began to steadily emerge.

The midterm exam subjects were the same as the entrance exam: academics, martial arts, magic, and an interview. Of course, the content of each subject was significantly different from the entrance exams, but the Royal Academy’s exams were conducted within these four major categories throughout their education, right until graduation. This system made it easy to compare one’s rankings from the entrance exams with their graduation standings, ensuring that students remained highly motivated.

On the flip side, it offered a great opportunity for those who didn’t perform as well as they wanted in the entrance exams. Do you remember the results from this year’s entrance exams? Here’s how Jez, Victor, Elin, Miriam, and Seraphina ranked:

Overall Rankings:

1st: Elin Saylor  

2nd: Miriam Stonewell  

3rd: Seraphina Lorentzi  

…  

8th: Jez Norman  

9th: Victor Alchemis

Academics:

1st: Victor Alchemis  

2nd: Elin Saylor  

3rd: Miriam Stonewell  

4th: Jez Norman  

5th: Seraphina Lorentzi

Martial Arts:

1st: Jez Norman  

2nd: Elin Saylor  

3rd: Seraphina Lorenzi

Magic:

1st: Victor Alchemis  

2nd: Elin Saylor  

3rd: Miriam Stonewell  

4th: Seraphina Lorenzi

Interview:

1st: Jez Norman  

2nd: Elin Saylor  

3rd: Miriam Stonewell  

4th: Seraphina Lorentzi

Jez’s overall ranking was pulled down mainly by his low magic score, and Victor’s by his martial arts. Seraphina ranked consistently high across the board but, when looking solely at her grades, she appeared as a lower-tier version of Erin. This was largely due to her being an international student. In particular, the academic and interview portions leaned heavily toward the knowledge and customs of the Kingdom of Tashman, areas with which Seraphina was less familiar.

These were the entrance exam results. Many students from the royal capital accepted Erin and Miriam’s rankings, but some were less pleased to see unknowns from the countryside like Jez and Victor, or a foreign student like Seraphina, among the top ranks.

By the way, except for the academics section, all the entrance exam tests were conducted with at least two instructors overseeing each student to ensure fairness. This meant that the students couldn’t gauge each other’s abilities during the exam. Although, after the orientation camp and daily classes, rumors spread throughout the entire first-year class about how Jez and Victor were supposedly extraordinarily skilled. However, with a mammoth student body of around 1,000 per grade level, the truth behind those rumors remained uncertain.

From the midterm exams onward, however, aside from academics, all subjects would be conducted in full view of the students. This is how Jez, Victor, and even Seraphina would begin to be properly recognized across the Royal Academy.

・　・　・

The exams lasted for about a week. The first two days were dedicated to academics. There were five sessions each day, for a total of ten tests over two days. From the third to the fifth day, martial arts, magic, and the interview tests were conducted simultaneously.

The martial arts and magic portions were nearly identical to the entrance exams. Students had to destroy as many targets as possible within a set time limit. The interview, meanwhile, consisted of a debate on a particular theme.

By the afternoon of the second day, the group of five—Jez, Victor, Erin, Miriam, and Seraphina—were gathered at an open terrace cafe within the academy, looking somewhat drained. Even for them, handling ten academic tests in two days was exhausting. Seraphina, still clutching her cake fork, was slumped over the table. Jez looked equally tired and sipped his coffee. Even Erin and Miriam showed signs of fatigue.

“…Why are you all so exhausted?”

Victor asked, with a genuinely puzzled expression, devoid of any malice or sarcasm.

Jez was feeling both exasperated and drained. He thought, “He really does have moments like this, doesn’t he?”

“Well, when you’ve got ten paper tests in two days, pulling off last-minute cramming is going to be exhausting.”

“…Cramming?”

Victor continued to look perplexed, his expression giving away nothing. Seeing this, Jez realized something important: Oh, he’s one of those guys. A serious one.

“So, Victor, what were you doing last night?”

“Last night? I was doing my usual research. Oh, by the way, do you know about Conceptual Armaments?” 

Victor casually responded, as if his activities had nothing to do with the exams. Hearing this, Miriam and Erin glared at Victor with irritation, while Seraphina remained indifferent.

Victor Alchemis—Jez had always suspected it, but now it was clear. This guy was a true genius. According to Victor, he only needed to hear a lesson once to basically remember everything.

When Jez asked why he even bothered to attend study sessions with them, Victor explained that he initially couldn’t understand what others found confusing. He participated to learn how others thought. Apparently, through those study sessions, he had started to understand the thought patterns of others a bit better.

“Isn’t he evolving in a more terrifying direction?” Jez thought, but decided not to dig any deeper. He felt that doing so would uncover something even more unsettling. 

After their casual chat, the five of them dispersed after school, following the second day of exams. Then came the third day of tests—practical exams, starting with martial arts.

The martial arts exam was straightforward: students had 10 minutes to destroy as many targets as possible in the various arenas, such as the grand coliseum. The number of targets and arenas were determined by the students’ rankings in the entrance exams. As the top-ranked student in martial arts, Jez’s exam naturally took place in the grand coliseum.

Since the highest-ranking students were scheduled to take their exams later in the day, Jez’s turn came near the end of the third day. By then, many students who had already finished their exams had gathered in the coliseum to watch. Even some upperclassmen had come to see the spectacle.

In front of this large audience, Jez stepped onto the arena after finishing his warm-up. The arena had been set up specifically for this test, resembling a hilly terrain. One of the supervising teachers informed him that there were 100 targets in total. Jez thought to himself, “100 targets in 10 minutes—this might be a bit tough.” He began contemplating how to approach the challenge.

The teachers, meanwhile, had a different idea. Although they had placed 100 targets in the arena, their expectation was for students to destroy around 10. A pace of one target per minute would be considered good progress.

Unaware of what the teachers were expecting, Jez decided to go all out from the start. He wrapped his body in a full-body reinforcement spell—a new technique he had been refining alongside Victor and Linnea. It was far from perfect, but this seemed like a great opportunity to put it to the test.

As soon as the teacher gave the signal to start:

“Reformed Norman-Style Technique: Earth-Shaking Step!”

Jez stomped the ground with all his might in his first step. 

A deafening roar echoed across the arena, accompanied by the sound of shattering earth and an overwhelming vibration. The carefully set-up terrain in the coliseum exploded into pieces. The tremors weren’t just felt in the arena, but reverberated throughout the Royal Academy and even several kilometers beyond its grounds.

The supervising teachers felt their lives were in dangerand hurriedly deployed protective barriers. The students in the audience scrambled in panic, trying to flee.

*This isn’t right… Why did it have so much power?* 

Jez stood there, stunned, his foot still planted where he had stomped. After a moment of shock, he finally snapped back to reality.

“…Uh, did I just do something wrong?”

He muttered his go-to phrase for moments like this, hoping it would somehow smooth things over.