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Entrance Exam

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Two hours later.

I was able to run us all the way here, I arrived at the imperial capital with Luluna.

As we pass through a massive gate, we can see the streets of the imperial capital spreading out before us.

“Fuu~~”

Luluna lets out a big sigh.

Th-that was pretty tiring.

Even though I was using magic to boost myself, I still had to keep running for two hours.

“W-we really made it…..”

“….Right? Didn’t I tell you I could do it?”

I try to stabilize my breathing to hide the fact that I’m so exhausted.

I don’t want Luluna to know how tired I am. If she knew I’m guessing she’d feel bad for using me to get here.

I look toward Luluna, from what I can tell she hasn’t noticed.

I think she’s amazed by how much faster I am than an imperial carriage.

“…Who are you?”

Luluna asks me this.

“I’m Lute. Luluna-san’s friend, Lute.”

“Right….Yes, you’re right.”

Luluna nodded several times.

After a little while, she suddenly looked up.

The sun reflected brightly in her eyes.

“Luluna is fine.”

“……Eh?

After I gave her a confused look, Luluna started fidgeting with a shy expression on her face.

“Since we are friends…..shouldn’t you just call me Luluna?”

“O-okay……Luluna.”

This is really embarrassing.

I can feel my face turning red. I don’t know what to do.

Luluna is also embarrassed, her face is bright red and it looks like there’s steam coming off of her head.

“Yes. I’m…Luluna.”

“Ah, yes thank you.”

“No problem…….haha~”

Luluna suddenly burst out laughing.

“Haha, the atmosphere became so strange.”

“But, it does feel like we’re a lot closer if I don’t use an honorific.”

Yeah, having friends is nice.

I close my eyes and place my hand on my chest.

I can feel the joy of friendship flowing throughout my body.

This is….friendship.

“It feels a bit shameless hearing you call my name without an honorific….But, it should be fine, right?”

“It does feel a bit shameless. Calling a girl by her first name feels quite exciting.”

The only women I’ve ever talked with were Grandma and an older woman from the village.

“Ah, I see.”

Luluna’s face turns even more red.

I wonder if she’s nervous about the exam.

I guess I’ll have to take the lead.

Though, I know nothing about the city or where the academy is, so I begin to get anxious as well.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Ri-right! Let’s go, Lute!”

I lead Luluna through the gate and we enter the city.

***

I looked around the imperial capital restlessly.

The capital is gigantic. There is no other city in the kingdom that can match its size.

There are merchants selling magical items I’ve never seen before.

Well, looking at them the quality doesn’t seem that great.

I feel like the magic tools Grandma made as her hobby were of much greater quality. No, these are terrible in comparison.

……Ah, I see the price for them is rather cheap. I guess these are meant for the common people.

After walking for a while, we reached the Adventurer’s Academy.

“This is the Adventurer’s Academy.”

“Aa~, this is it?”

Gathered around the building there were several people around Luluna and my age.

Incredible. This is the first time I’ve seen so many people.

“If you can display your ability to an examiner you will be allowed to join the Academy. Every year more than 10,000 people apply and only 100 are accepted. Out of that 100 the most exceptional are admitted to the special advanced class, that would maybe be five people each year…..Hey, are you listening?”

“Ah, yes….I heard you Luluna.”

I’m overwhelmed by the sheer number of people, so I return a vague answer to Luluna.

I think she mistook my amazement with apprehension, Luluna grabbed my hand.

The feeling of a girl’s soft hand stimulates my brain.

“Are you nervous? Don’t worry, you’ll definitely get accepted. I guarantee it, you will definitely pass.”

“Th-thank you, Luluna.”

Luluna’s cute face is so close to me.

She’s close enough that we would kiss if we moved any closer.

I’m happy that’s she’s doing her best to encourage me, but now I’m feeling nervous in a different way…..

***

 

“Next!”

The voice of the examiner echoes out, each time the line slowly advances forward.

Luluna and I parted to join different lines.

Apparently the exam seems to involve choosing one of the examiners to fight against.

Before lining up there were papers handed out when you applied for the examination. On these papers were the faces and names of each examiner, and the type of magic each person used.

There are certain magics that are strong against others, because of this it would be bad if you ended up fighting someone with magic you are weak against.

Now, the question is which examiner to pick……The line I was currently in had the fewest people.

I can use multiple types of magic.

Therefore, I shouldn’t have to be concerned about fighting someone that has a magic I’m weak against.

However, if I fought someone with super death class magic like Luluna, I’d be helpless.

“Next!”

It’s me already? That was surprisingly fast.

I moved forward after being called up.

The exam seems to be held in a translucent dome, and so I entered it.

I guess this thing is also a magical tool.

From what I can tell from the fight with the previous applicant, the examiner must be considerably strong.

The dome contained all of the magic, so I could watch closely without worrying about being harmed.

I faced the examiner, he was a huge, muscular man.

I’d guess he’s about 180 centimeters tall, but the atmosphere around him is intimidating and makes him appear much larger.

According to the papers, this man’s name is Bagiran. He uses a type of magic that strengthens his physical capabilities.

Strength enhancement magic is one of the major types of magic similar to fire, water, wind, earth, and thunder. There are many users of this type of magic.

The skill level of the user greatly affects the amount they can increase their physical strength.

Speaking of skill, this man’s level…….is considerably high.

This isn’t a fight to the death, but…..I’m not sure how long I’d be able to last if it were.

“State your name and the type of magic you use.”

Bagiran speaks with a threatening tone.

I wonder if some people would be intimidated by his voice alone.

Maybe, if a student is scared by this much, he doesn’t want them to even bother trying to go further in the exam.

While thinking about this, I answered Bagiran.

“My name is Lute. I use trap magic.”

At the same time, I show him the documents I filled out at the reception desk.

The document has my name and magic I use. It seems the paper is enchanted, making it impossible to lie about what you write on it.

“……Huh? Trap magic?”

Bagiran frowned, then, he looked over the documents I gave him.

What? Does he need to be so rude…….

Bagiran scratches his brown hair. He shows an annoyed expression and says, “I’m tired of this.”

“Seriously, all of you people…..Listen kid, I know you’d like to have a story to tell your friends about how you tried out for the Academy, but you’ll get seriously injured if you take this so lightly.”

……..Hah? A story to tell people?……Me?

Well, it’s true I’ve only recently heard about this exam, but I am definitely planning on taking it seriously.

Isn’t it a good thing to attend the same school as my friend? Isn’t that what friends do?

This may seem like a shallow reason to some people, but to me it’s very important.

I’m definitely not doing this just to have a story to tell.

Also, I have pride in my abilities.

I may not yet be top class, but I have lived and breathed magic for the past several years.

There’s no way I’m inferior to people around the same age as me.

I didn’t even realize I held these feelings until now, I now hear Bagiran continuing to call out to me.

“I understand you want to have a story to tell, but it would be better for you if you left quietly now. Trap magic is such a useless magic I don’t even want to waste my time with it. Even though the school does implement safety measures, every year many people are injured. I’m sure you don’t want to become one of those injured people, so just leave quietly already.”

I could see sympathy in his eyes as he looked at me.

This bastard, he’s treating me like I’m nothing but trash…..

To top it all off is he looking at me with pity?

…..Ah, not good. I’m barely able to suppress my anger at this point.

I look straight into the man’s eyes and say.

“What did you say…….Foolish people should just remain silent.”

Suddenly, Bagiran’s eyes changed to shock, but he immediately returned to his original intimidating look.

“Even if you say such strong words, you can’t back them up, boy.”

“I think you’ll understand soon enough…..I’ll show you the power of the trap magic you’ve been mocking!”

I’ve been researching and studying trap magic with Grandpa and Grandma for so long. This magic is very important to me.

I won’t allow this fool to keep insulting it.

I’ll make him see it’s power!

“Interesting. Then, come, let the exam begin!”

Bagiran’s voice echoed throughout the dome. My exam had begun.

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