Chapter 87 – What Do You Think of Me?
2024.01.26
“Is this the right place?”
Cordelia muttered uncertainly as she stood in the hallway. After stopping and asking several passing mages for directions, she finally found her way to Kainon’s laboratory. She took a short breath and knocked on the door.
Knock-knock—knock-knock-knock.
She knocked more than ten times, but there was no sign of anyone inside. It seemed the laboratory was empty.
What should I do? Should I just go back?
While she was hesitating in front of the door, someone tapped her on the back.
“Yes?”
“Who are you?”
“Ah, I’m Cordelia Vasquez. I’m here to deliver a letter—Matilda’s letter.”
She stammered slightly in her fluster, but thankfully the man didn’t seem to mind. The tall man with brown hair replied in a tired voice.
“He’s not here right now. He had something else to take care of.”
“He’s not in the Mage Tower?”
“No, that’s not it. Because of the exam—haaahm. Is it urgent?”
“It’s… not urgent. Then, do you know where he is now?”
“He should be in Zenith Hall on the third floor.”
“Thank you!”
Cordelia thanked the yawning man and headed upstairs.
It was her first time walking alone inside the Mage Tower, and every moment felt strange and exciting. Her heart beat faster—it almost felt like she really was a mage herself.
Finding Zenith Hall wasn’t hard, because a crowd of people had gathered there, buzzing with conversation.
“Alright, alright, get inside and take your seats. No chatting.”
“Excuse me…”
Cordelia approached the man directing people inside. With his square jaw and burly build, he looked more like a bandit than a mage.
“Is Kainon inside?”
“Why?”
“Well, I’m here from Lady Matilda…”
“Why aren’t you getting inside, huh? Noah! If you mess around one more time, you’re out. You hear me?”
“Tch, when did I ever mess around?”
“You still haven’t learned your lesson. Inside. Now!”
The man was clearly too busy to exchange more than a sentence with her. People kept streaming into Zenith Hall behind her.
“Excuse me, is Kainon inside?”
“Yeah, he’s in there. You, get inside too.”
“Uh? Why?”
“Aren’t you a low-ranked mage?”
“Yes…?”
But what did that have to do with anything? Did you need a certain rank just to deliver a letter?
“Then stop talking and sit down.”
“Sit down? I’m just here to deliver a letter to Kainon…”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re here for an errand, sure. And it just so happens to be for Kainon, the examiner? Don’t make ridiculous excuses. Inside.”
He gave her an impatient shove on the back.
“I’m telling the truth—”
“Even if you are, you can’t meet him until the exam is over.”
She had plenty she wanted to ask, but the man looked far too busy, and people were pushing in from behind, so she couldn’t just stand at the entrance. With a glance around, Cordelia slipped inside.
The hall was packed with desks, and people were seated, flipping through papers. She found an empty seat and sat down.
Before long, the burly man from the entrance strode to the front.
“As you all know, I’m Luces of Rhiannon. Anyone caught cheating today will have their head shaved and be cleaning the toilets for a year. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
Judging from the atmosphere, this must be some kind of exam. Her guess was confirmed when pens and test papers were passed out.
Somehow, in the middle of running an errand for Kainon, she had gotten swept up into taking a test. Still… she suddenly became curious about how well she could do.
Master always called me a blockhead, but I should at least be average, right?
Looking around, most of the examinees seemed around her age, or a little older.
Though she’d been studying for less than half a year, Rosenbeller had told her she was smart a few times, and she hadn’t been slacking off in her magic lessons—she should be at a decent level.
“You’ve got five minutes,” Luces announced.
Five minutes?
Her heart sped up. She quickly skimmed the paper. There were twenty questions, most of them short-answer, with the last two in essay form.
Wait, we’re supposed to do all this in five minutes?
Her earlier confidence shrank immediately. But looking around, everyone else seemed calm.
Wow, they must be amazing—finishing this in just five minutes.
A spark of competitiveness lit in her chest. She focused all her attention, gripped her pen, and began answering.
Her original goal of delivering the letter was long forgotten.
Thankfully, the first ten questions came easily. Of the remaining eight short-answer questions, three were tricky, but she managed to force answers out of her brain.
Only the two essay questions remained.
She pushed herself, writing as fast as she could. The problems weren’t conceptually hard, but the formulas were long, and a single mistake meant starting over.
Phew.
Just barely, she finished in exactly five minutes. The moment she wrote the last line, the tension drained from her body, and she dropped her pen.
Cordelia timidly raised her hand.
“Um.”
“What? What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
“I… finished.”
“What?”
Luces walked over with a strange look, snatched the paper off her desk, and his eyes widened.
“…You really did finish?”
“You said to do it in five minutes.”
“What are you talking about? I meant check the print quality and fill out your personal details, not finish the whole thing. Is this your first exam?”
“…Oh. I see.”
Now it was Cordelia’s turn to be embarrassed.
Indeed, the test was far too long to finish in just five minutes. She could feel everyone staring at her.
Luces glanced between her and the test paper, still looking doubtful.
“In all my life, I’ve never seen someone finish the whole thing before we even start. I don’t recognize you—which school are you from?”
“Acheron.”
“Acheron? My gods! You’re Lady Atilay’s apprentice?”
His booming voice echoed across the silent exam hall, drawing even more attention. Cordelia lowered her head, feeling the pressure.
“I was always curious how brilliant you must be for her to take you on. I get it now—you’re a real genius, aren’t you?”
“Eh? N-no, nothing like that…”
A genius? She was more used to her master teasing her about whether her head was made of granite or limestone. Her cheeks turned red like a ripe apple.
“Don’t be modest. Get up—you can go straight to the next exam room.”
“Huh? Next exam? I’m just here to see Kainon—”
“Yeah, yeah, he’ll be there. Take this—you’ll need it to get in.”
Luces handed her a small chess piece with the number 1 engraved on it.
And so, before she knew it, Cordelia was headed to the next exam room.
Well, if he’s there, I’ll just give him the letter and leave, she thought, clutching the envelope tightly.
The door was closed. She held the chess piece near it—click—and it opened.
“Hello.”
Inside, five men and women were seated at a long table. All were middle-aged or older—clearly not examinees. Cordelia glanced around, trying to figure out which one was Kainon.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Cordelia Vasquez…”
“No, I mean, how did you get in here?”
“Uh… Luces gave me this.”
The youngest of the five—though still at least in his forties—looked startled when he saw the chess piece in her hand.
“What? How did you get this already? The exam’s barely started.”
“You’re number one?”
“Kids these days must be sharp—finishing so early.”
“Haha, it’s different from our time, I suppose.”
They all chimed in at once, making her dizzy. It felt like she might get roped into another test. Quickly, she pulled the letter from her pocket.
“I’m here on an errand from Lady Matilda—to deliver this to Kainon.”
“A letter? Give it here.”
The man in the center must have been Kainon. He beckoned, and she handed it over.
“Hmm.”
He skimmed the letter without expression, then looked up at her.
“How did you get that chess piece?”
“Luces gave it to me.”
“Without taking the exam?”
“No, I took it.”
“Then stand in the middle. Since you’re here, you might as well take the second test.”
“…What?”
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She had planned to hand over the letter and leave.
Unsure what to do, she fidgeted with her fingers.
“What are you doing? We don’t have all day. Get in the middle!” Kainon barked.
“O-okay!”
Startled, she obeyed and stood at attention.
“Written tests just require memorization, but the practical is a different story. Today’s topic is magic circles.”
“Magic circles?”
“That’s right. Let’s see how much you’ve really learned.”
Kainon gave a sly smile.
Cordelia, however, relaxed slightly at the topic. She could now layer up to quintuple magic circles.
Of course, Leonard always clicked his tongue at her slow progress, but for about three months of study, she thought she wasn’t doing too badly.
…Probably.
