HYVT | 005

<Episode 5>

* * *

Crack! Boom!

The thunderous noises echoing from afar made my shoulders flinch repeatedly.

I-I’m in the Magic Tower, right?

Not some construction site?

[Your current coordinates are 41.40338, 2.17403! You are precisely located within the Magic Tower!]

‘Th-thanks for confirming.’

Thanks to synchronizing my mind with the chick before coming out, I could communicate without speaking.

Since the synchronization would break if we were too far apart, I tucked the chick into my pocket.

If anyone notices, I’ll pretend it’s a pet chick. After thorough research, I found that unless someone dissects it, even a mage wouldn’t figure out its true nature. What a clever and mysterious little thing.

‘By the way, so this is what the inside of the Magic Tower looks like.’

A ceiling so high it seemed endless, with countless staircases spiraling upward like a maze.

The mystical yet majestic sight left my mouth agape.

If I pass, I’ll be working in this otherworldly place. My heart pounded with excitement.

“This way, please. I’ll guide you to the exam room.”

“Oh, yes!”

A staff member led me. As I hurriedly stood to follow—

A group of people ran down the hallway, sobbing.

“Wahhh!”

“They chewed me out for not knowing the fifth elemental transformation formula! Told me to go back to kindergarten! Me, the academy’s salutatorian!”

“They told me to write my name ten times with my butt! Said I need to learn letters from scratch! *Sob*!”

That’s about the Magic Tower’s master, isn’t it?

‘Wow, his personality is just as the rumors say.’

Coming here of my own volition to work as a secretary under someone like that—was that the right choice?

Though, it’s kind of surprising that an academy salutatorian doesn’t know the elemental transformation formula.

‘I’m pretty sure it was in the third unit of the first-year curriculum… Oh! The door’s opening.’

A neatly dressed young man walked through the open door.

Thin glasses, tidy brown hair—somehow, he looked like the embodiment of the word “bureaucrat.”

I stood up, tense.

“Are you here for the secretary position?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

[Don’t be scared, my savior! You have me, equipped with ultra-fast computational abilities. You’ve got an unbeatable cheat key that’ll never get caught!]

D-don’t say that.

It feels like cheating!

My law-abiding, never-littered-once-in-my-life heart pounded with guilt.

“Those who score above 80 on the exam will be granted an interview.”

The young man handed me a thick stack of papers and a pen.

It’s definitely an exam paper, but…

‘Why is it so thick…!’

“Good luck.”

I stared nervously at the exam paper he handed me with a solemn tone.

And then, moments later.

‘…Huh?’

My eyes widened.

—

* * *

One hour later.

‘Time’s up.’

Aaron, the young man who handed Freesia the exam, stood up.

It was time to collect the papers from the candidate.

‘She might’ve already left.’

Half of the applicants didn’t even last the full time, fleeing in despair at the exam’s difficulty.

But when he opened the door, the woman was still seated.

‘That’s unexpected.’

Messy hair, thick glasses, and an unmistakably timid demeanor.

He hadn’t expected anything from her frail appearance, but she seemed to have some grit.

However, when he glanced at her exam paper—

‘…As expected.’

The paper was almost completely blank.

Solving the problems handpicked by Cayenne required immensely complex calculations.

If she’d solved them properly, the paper wouldn’t be this clean.

This candidate must’ve barely touched the problems, letting time slip by.

Hiding a sigh, Aaron spoke in a businesslike tone.

“Time’s up. I’ll collect the exam paper.”

“Oh, yes. Here.”

The woman’s hand trembled slightly as she handed it over.

With such a timid personality, even if she miraculously passed, she’d never survive serving their demonic master.

Hiding his thoughts, Aaron said kindly,

“We’ll inform you of the grading results shortly. Would you like to wait here?”

“Yes, I will.”

Leaving the woman behind, Aaron returned to his private office.

And began grading.

Given the state of the paper, it wouldn’t take long.

Five minutes at most, just slashing red lines through it?

‘Another day without a successor.’

I don’t need some extraordinary newbie who can pass this insane difficulty.

I’d cry tears of gratitude for anyone who could just handle basic tasks!

‘I can’t even remember the last time I left work while the sun was up… Please, just lower the exam difficulty!’

Grumbling inwardly, Aaron picked up a red pen and froze.

“…Huh?”

The answer to the first question was correct.

‘It’s multiple-choice, so guessing is possible.’

His pen moved to the next question.

And then, moments later.

“…Whaaat?”

Aaron’s eyes nearly popped out.

—

* * *

“Master!”

Aaron burst in, panting as if he’d rolled down the hall.

Cayenne glared at him coldly.

“What’s with the fuss?”

“The-the secretary candidate. The exam results are strange.”

“Stupidly strange?”

“No!”

Aaron waved the exam paper in front of Cayenne’s face.

“Not that! Just look at this!”

With every moment of grading,

Aaron’s heart swelled like it would burst.

‘Oh, she got it right.’

‘This too? Not bad!’

At first, grading the initial questions didn’t faze him.

The early questions were the easiest, and a few candidates had gotten them right.

But even top candidates crumbled as the questions got harder.

However.

‘…Insane.’

‘She got another one right.’

‘What! How did she solve this?! Even I don’t know!’

The woman hadn’t turned in a blank paper.

She’d solved nearly all the problems *mentally*.

Problems that other candidates couldn’t solve even with pages of calculations!

Aaron waved the circle-covered exam paper with an excited face.

“Perfect score! Perfect! The first perfect score! She passed all the problems set by that personality-wrecked psycho!”

“Personality-wrecked? Psycho?”

“I-I misspoke! Kill me!”

Cayenne waved off the groveling Aaron and looked at the exam paper.

A glint flickered in his golden eyes as he scanned the answers.

“Hm.”

The corner of his lips curved faintly.

“She’s reached the average human intelligence, it seems.”

‘Average human?! Then is most of the empire’s population subhuman monkeys? Your standards are way too high!’

Aaron, still prostrate, swallowed his unspoken protests.

Cayenne flicked a finger over the paper and gestured.

“This candidate’s profile.”

Aaron’s eyes widened.

‘Gasp!’

It was the first time.

The first candidate whose profile Cayenne requested!

Since the exam was open to all, background checks came after.

If no major issues were found, it was essentially a pass.

Hope flared in Aaron’s chest.

‘Finally, a successor!’

At last, he’d get a kind, smart subordinate to start a harmonious work life, free from his tearless, bloodless master!

“Yes, sir! I’ll bring it immediately!”

But Aaron’s hopes were doused moments later.

The candidate, Freesia Violet, had a mostly ordinary and unremarkable profile.

Except for one thing.