Chapter 12

“…Still not ready, old man? You’re way too slow!”

“W-Wait! This is necessary… No, maybe not… But maybe this is important—”

“None of it is needed! If you don’t hurry, you’re going to miss the entrance exam! I’m dragging you there whether you like it or not!”

“Ahhh! N-Noooo!!”

It’s been a few days since we made the contract.

Finally, the day of the entrance exam had arrived.

By the way, to take the entrance exam, you have to complete registration at least two hours before it starts. Right now, it’s two and a half hours before the exam begins.

I’ve got the money prepared, so that’s not a problem. But… this old man is taking forever to get ready.

Because of that, we were supposed to arrive an hour early, but now it’s starting to look like we might even be late.

“Hey, old man, when the contractor calls, you’re supposed to be summoned immediately, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right—Ahhh!! Stop! Don’t head out at full speed wrapped in lightning!”

After some time, I forcibly summoned the old man. Turns out, as a last resort, he shoved his whole house into the spirit realm.

If he could do that, he should’ve done it from the start. I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking that.

“We… made it!”

“Hoh… You’ve grown quite a bit.”

It only took a few minutes after leaving the forest.

We arrived at the Bahamut Kingdom, the great nation where the Spirit Academy is located.

I was overcome with indescribable joy and anticipation as I realized I was standing in the country where the story unfolds, and where my favorite character resides.

Maybe… maybe I’ll get to meet her!

I don’t even care if we don’t talk, or if she doesn’t recognize me. Just catching a glimpse of Hera with my own eyes would make today perfect.

“Come on, old man, let’s get moving. It’s your fault we’re cutting it so close.”

“I-I get it! I’ll just head back to my place.”

“Got it.”

After confirming that the old man returned to the spirit realm, I put in a little more effort and sprinted through the checkpoint.

I do have my residency registration, but there’s no time to stand around in line.

“There’s the academy…!”

I passed through the gates and went straight to the reception.

There was a long line of people in front of the beautiful receptionist, so I decided to head for the other line, where a gruff-looking man—an instructor named Doban—stood without anyone waiting.

“Excuse me… I’m here for the entrance exam registration.”

“Hmm? It’s rare for an exam candidate to come to me. What’s your name?”

Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give my name to a side character.

I should avoid getting involved with the main characters too much, though.

“It’s Shin.”

“Alright, Shin. Do you have your residency card or something to prove your identity?”

“I have my residency card.”

I placed the pre-prepared residency card on the reception desk.

Doban touched my card to a magic tool, and the word “Authentic” appeared.

“Not a fake. Shin, age 15, mercenary experience… And your contract spirit is a mid-level lightning spirit? That’s a rare one.”

“I just happened to be able to make a contract.”

“Well, good luck. If you pass, come by and say hi to me. My name’s Doban.”

“Got it, Doban-sensei. I’ll make sure to visit you after I pass.”

“Gahaha! That’s the spirit! Good luck!”

“Yes!”

After thanking Doban, I headed to the exam venue.

Just like in the game, Doban turned out to be a really nice guy.

I’d love to learn martial arts from him, and being on good terms with him wouldn’t hurt.

By the way, I always use polite speech in the academy.

The reason is that I’m a commoner, and I don’t want to stand out.

I’ll have the old man summon a mid-level spirit later to keep things low-key.

In this academy, I will not do anything that draws attention.

I will stay in the shadows, protecting and supporting Hera.

For that purpose—

“I’ll make sure I pass the entrance exam without standing out.”

With that determination, I made my way to the exam hall.

“The written exam will now begin!!”

We, the examinees, began the written exam in the academy’s largest lecture hall.

Of course, since the content of the written exam wasn’t in the game, I had no idea what it would be, but I know most things about this world, so I should be fine.

I scanned the questions on the exam sheet.

“…Okay, this should be easy enough.”

The questions mostly involved middle school-level math, basic magic theory, and knowledge about spirits, as well as the history of this country and the world.

I can easily adjust my score.

My goal is to aim for a middle-of-the-road score.

The written exam is out of 100 points, and if I remember correctly, the average score was around 57 points.

So, I should aim to get around 60 points to play it safe.

I carefully adjusted my answers to hit about 50–65% accuracy in every section.

After that, I just took my time finishing the exam.

There’s that typical trope of finishing early, but that would definitely make me stand out, so I deliberately acted like I was struggling to solve the questions.

And then—

“Time’s up! Anyone caught writing anything more will be disqualified!”

With the examiner’s words, all the answer sheets floated into the air and were collected at once.

Whoa… as expected from a school that teaches magic.

They use magic like it’s second nature—seems really convenient.

I’d like to try it myself someday, I thought, as I followed the examiner’s instructions and headed off for the next test: measuring magical power.