***
As is usually the case with entrance ceremonies, a series of cliché stories went on and on.
-To all new students, welcome to the academy.
Our Imperial Academy is welcoming its 56th class of new students this year, but before this, it was a school with a very long and storied history under a different name…
Some students seemed genuinely moved by the moment, their eyes sparkling.
From my perspective, however, it was just enough to make me yawn.
So, I was watching for the right moment to sneak away, but the boring speech took an unexpected turn.
“…Though some students may have already heard, there has been a recent series of unfortunate incidents in the Empire.
In some regions, ‘monsters’ mentioned in ancient texts have appeared, and something called a ‘dungeon’ has also emerged.
Furthermore, a group calling themselves the Cult of the End has appeared and carried out a terrorist attack on a train.”
It was news I already knew, but thinking about all of it happening one after another gave me an uneasy feeling.
Monsters, dungeons, and those bastards from the Cult of the End were all causing a ruckus at the same time.
‘Something feels off.’
However, the other students around me had a lukewarm reaction.
“Is there really a need to mention something we all already know?”
“Haha, it’s probably just a formality, isn’t it?”
“I heard the Empire’s warriors and mages cleaned up those monsters and dungeons without any issue.”
“That’s right! And they suppressed the Cult of the End’s terror attack without any casualties, which just goes to show how safe our Empire is!”
No, I basically suppressed that terror attack by myself(?).
If I hadn't been there, it would have been a full-blown catastrophe!
Anyway, unlike on Earth, this place had mages and warriors, so the sense of crisis regarding monsters seemed to be relatively low.
“…For these reasons, the Imperial Academy has decided to tentatively postpone the new student welcome party that was scheduled for the beginning of the semester and has newly organized a curriculum related to counter-terrorism and counter-monsters.”
…Or so I thought, but the academy administration felt differently!
“W-what? No new student welcome party?”
“They said I could find a date if I went to the academy! They said I could find a date if I went to the academy?!”
The majority of the students who had been indifferent fell into a panic and confusion.
Amidst the chaos, the Chancellor continued to speak resolutely.
Actually, I had been half-listening so I didn’t know if he was the Chancellor or not, but seeing as he was giving an important speech up there, he seemed like the Chancellor, so let’s just call him the Chancellor.
“…And so, many discussions are currently underway, and we plan to conduct explorations of actual dungeons where monsters have appeared, or training exercises that simulate hypothetical disaster situations.”
<><><>
After the Chancellor’s controversial(?) speech, a group of people who appeared to be administrative staff came out in a throng and began to talk about the curriculum.
“From now on, you will be divided into the Magic Faculty, the Warrior Faculty, and the Magical Engineering Faculty, according to the department you applied for.
In your first year, you will be divided by faculty and take common courses. From your second year, you will choose your major and take classes accordingly.
Majors are determined by your grades in the first-year common courses, with spots being filled from the highest scores downward, so please apply yourselves diligently to your studies.”
After that, there were discussions about the simple academic calendar and school rules.
Just as the students were starting to get bored again, a new topic was thrown out.
“Now, we will announce the top-performing students who passed the entrance exam with outstanding scores for each faculty.”
They’re announcing student rankings at the entrance ceremony?
‘Are they trying to induce a sense of competition?’
Whatever the academy’s intentions were, the students’ gazes turned serious.
Some with blazing eyes, as if sizing up their competitors.
Others with eyes full of admiration, as if thinking they should get to know them.
“We will begin with the Warrior Faculty.”
Of course, since I had no particular interest, I was resting my chin on my hand indifferently.
“Second place in the Warrior Faculty! Linia.”
“What?”
Thud!
My hand slipped at that moment, and I smashed my chin on the armrest.
But before I could even feel the pain, my mind was filled with confusion.
‘No way, our blockhead is second place in the Warrior Faculty?!’
“Ooh, Linia was an even more incredible warrior than I thought.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. I knew her physical abilities were out of the ordinary, but still.”
El and the black-haired guy expressed pure admiration, but I just couldn’t accept it.
“Second place Linia? Please come up to the stage.”
Perhaps because Linia also knew her own capabilities, she looked extremely bewildered as she hesitantly walked onto the stage.
As Linia ascended the stage, my trust in and evaluation of this academy instantly plummeted.
“Second place Linia, would you like to say a few words?”
“Uh… I’m really just average, but thank you for evaluating me so favorably?”
Linia, being Linia, hesitantly gave her remarks.
No matter how I look at her, she’s just Linia, so why is she second place?
“Next, first place in the Warrior Faculty, Kain Argart. Please come up to the stage.”
Right after Linia’s remarks, the first-place student of the Warrior Faculty was announced.
A very skinny, bespectacled guy staggered up onto the stage.
That’s the top of the Warrior Faculty?
He just looks sick.
“Cough!”
Furthermore, his acceptance speech was replaced by a cough accompanied by blood.
Forget a speech, shouldn’t he be rushed to a hospital?
My trust in this academy began to sink lower and lower.
“Next is second place in the Magic Faculty, Melina Ilujiana.”
Perhaps they were only announcing up to second place, as they moved on from the Warrior Faculty to the Magic Faculty.
And as soon as the name was called, the girl who had brought the crow as big as her body stood up.
“Caw!”
The crow’s owner was small, but isn’t that crow just inhumanly large?
It looked like it could eat a person.
“Meow.”
“You’d be a single mouthful.”
“Meooow!”
Mackerel cowered completely at the presence of the giant crow.
The giant crow and its owner went up to the stage.
The owner of the crow, who had been wrapped in a robe, spun around on the spot and threw it off.
“Hellooo~!”
The girl who appeared from within the robe was dressed in incredibly vibrant clothes.
She felt like a magical girl, the kind you’d see in a manga.
“It’s a shame that someone as cute as me is only second place! But this is just the beginning, so next time, first place! I won’t miss it~!”
“Caw!”
The 4D-esque self-introduction passed.
A giant crow and a magical girl… what an ill-fitting combination.
“Next is first place in the Magic Faculty, Goren Taturium.”
The name of the top student in the Magic Faculty was called.
“Hmph.”
A menacing man with a mountain of muscle and a height that seemed to exceed two meters stepped onto the stage.
Magic Faculty, you say?
No matter how I look at it, it seems like the top students of the Warrior and Magic faculties were swapped.
“They say you can’t judge by appearances alone, and this is truly the academy. How profound.”
El was genuinely impressed, though I had no idea where she found anything to be impressed about.
“First place Goren, a few words please.”
“Proper magic begins with proper muscles.”
Muscles my ass.
I might not know anything about magic, but no matter how I looked at it, isn’t that guy the abnormal one?
The absurd awards ceremony now moved on to the Magical Engineering Faculty.
“Second place in the Magical Engineering Faculty, Senea Veronisia.”
When the name was called from the stage, three triplet sisters stood up from their seats and cheered.
“You did it! Senea! Congratulations!!”
“We did it together!”
“Quick! Go on, quick!!”
One of the three sisters who had been chattering nonstop walked toward the stage.
“Your remarks…”
“Thank you, everyone!! I’ll work even harder! It wasn’t just my strength alone, but thanks to my sisters that I was able to achieve such a good result, so it’s a little disappointing that I’m standing here alone!”
Geez, you’d think this was a year-end awards ceremony speech.
This is just announcing the entrance exam rankings, isn’t it?
I didn’t really understand why they were reacting like that over something like this.
Anyway, I cleared my throat, ahem, and waited for the announcement of the top student of the Magical Engineering Faculty.
“Next is first place! The top student of the Magical Engineering Faculty is El Grante!”
And the moment the top student of the Magical Engineering Faculty was announced, my head tilted to the side.
“…?”
What is this?
Huh?
[Eh? Why on earth isn’t Master the top student?]
Just as the Prototype said, something was strange.
I’m not the top student? Me? It’s possible that it’s not me?
‘Don’t tell me it’s because of that damn one point…?!’
The professor’s name recorded in my kill list grew darker.
Simultaneously, countless simulations began to run on how to drive that professor out of their teaching position in the most miserable way possible.
Of course, contrary to what was going on in my head, my face was all smiles as I offered my congratulations to El.
“First place, congratulations.”
“Uwaaah. D-do I have to go up there?”
El was completely stiff and couldn’t even think of getting up from her seat.
I immediately helped her up and gave her a gentle push toward the stage.
-That person is?!
-Is that the fourth princess?
-Perhaps because she’s a princess, I feel like I can sense her grace even from here.
As soon as she revealed herself, gasps of admiration erupted from all over.
As expected, there were quite a few people who recognized her face.
Meanwhile, El, perhaps burdened by the people’s gazes, walked onto the stage with a frigidly stiff expression.
However, that expressionless face, combined with the graceful steps ingrained with royal etiquette, created a strange impression.
“First place El, please say a few words.”
“…”
El took the microphone with an expressionless face and said nothing.
[Rather than not saying anything, isn’t it more like she can’t?]
‘That’s true.’
On the outside, it looked like she was haughtily observing the audience with a cold expression, but in reality, she was just frozen from being in front of so many people.
And so, El silently held the microphone without a word, put it back down, and joined the group of other top-performing students behind her.
-As expected of the princess. So haughty!
-Ah, how can such dignity come from such a small frame?
Hmm, misunderstandings are piling up in many ways.
Well, it’s her own doing, so what can you do? As long as that personality of hers isn’t fixed, things like this will continue to happen.
Now that the announcement of top students was over, this boring entrance ceremony would probably end soon.
Just as I was indifferently wishing for it to end quickly.
“Next, we will announce the overall top student of the new class.”
Overall top student?
I didn’t know they selected something like that separately.
“The overall top student is Raniel Leventia.”
Ah, in that moment, all my previous misunderstandings were resolved.
Right, it didn’t make sense for my rank to plummet like that over a one-point deduction!
‘A natural result, ahem.’
[Just five minutes ago, you were so agitated your eyes were about to pop out…]
‘Be quiet.’
I nodded at the obvious result, rose from my seat with dignity, and walked toward the stage.
And I stood on the stage and looked forward.
“Overall top student Raniel, we’d like a few words.”
At the assistant’s words, I confidently held the microphone and spoke the obvious.
“This is a natural result.”
[No, isn’t it a bit much to just brush off your speech like that?]
‘It’s an obvious thing, so I said it was obvious. What else is there to say?’
I held my head high and looked forward.
-What’s with that bastard?
-The Leventia family? Ever heard of it?
-Why is he so confident? He looks so shady.
-The cat on his head is cute!
Useless chatter could be heard, but because I was confident, I decided not to pay it any mind.
More importantly, with the attention of so many people on me right now, there was something I had to do.
“Linia. Come over here.”
I gestured to Linia, who was waiting on the stage.
“H-huh? Me?”
“Overall top student Raniel, what are you saying all of a sudden!”
The assistant looked at me, flustered, but I answered nonchalantly.
“It is a necessary procedure for an efficient acceptance speech.”
“No, what does that even…”
I lightly ignored the assistant’s objection and handed a sword to Linia.
“Take it, Linia.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s a late entrance celebration gift.”
“Huh? Now? Th-thank you.”
Leaving behind Linia, who accepted the sword in an awkward posture, I took the microphone again.
“I know there are those who doubt my position as the overall top student. Therefore, I will now demonstrate the technology I submitted.”
Still holding the microphone, I looked towards Linia.
“Draw the sword.”
Linia tilted her head at my words but applied strength to lightly draw the sword from its scabbard.
But, of course, it wouldn’t be drawn.
“Is it defective? It won’t come out.”
“Naturally. This time, place your thumb on the round groove of the scabbard.”
“Like this?”
Linia gently placed her thumb on the round groove of the scabbard.
-Authentication complete. User Linia confirmed.
Click.
Along with the voice guidance, the sound of the sword’s lock disengaging could be heard.
“Now draw it.”
At my words, Linia immediately drew the sword. It slid out smoothly.
“Oh?!”
Linia exclaimed in admiration, looking back and forth between the scabbard and the sword.
I shrugged my shoulders, took the microphone, faced forward, and opened my mouth confidently.
“This is an item applying the Unique Mana Authentication System that I submitted during the practical exam.”
-Wh-what?
-Mana authentication system?
-What the hell is that!
It seemed there were some who understood this system and some who didn’t.
To make them understand for sure, I gave another instruction to Linia.
“Sheathe the sword and have someone else try to draw it.”
“Got it.”
Linia sheathed the sword again and handed it to El next to her.
El quietly took the sword and tried to draw it, grunting with effort, and even tried placing her finger on the round authentication groove.
-Beep! Unidentified user.
Naturally, it didn’t budge.
“It won’t draw.”
El handed the sword back to Linia, who, fascinated by the unique mana authentication device, repeatedly drew and sheathed the sword.
Watching her, I smirked and turned my gaze forward again.
“This is a personal identification system that uses an individual’s unique mana. As you just saw, a sword with this system applied can only be drawn by the registered owner.”
-For real? Is something like that really possible?
-No way, he submitted something like that for an entrance exam assignment?!
This time, it was mostly cheers and admiration, as if they had properly understood the Unique Mana Authentication System through the demonstration.
As they say, seeing is believing. As soon as I added a demonstration to my explanation, they seemed to understand the system quickly, and cheers and exclamations erupted from all sides.
[It’s a technology along the same lines as fingerprint or facial recognition, but it’s several times more advanced! Of course, anyone with a brain would have to be impressed!!]
The applications were endless, and forgery was nearly impossible.
A perfect personal authentication system.
And now, my own sword that only I can draw!
Any warrior would go crazy for it.
And who were the people in this place?
Most of them were the children of wealthy nobles or famous families—in other words, the best customers.
“For a limited time, the first 100 orders can be placed for the low price of 19 gold. For inquiries, please contact the Leventia Workshop in the Leventia region.”
As soon as my words ended, the auditorium began to buzz like crazy.
-Does anyone know where Leventia is?!
-Damn it! 100 people? I have to buy one now!!
-Is it only swords? I use a spear.
-Would it only be for swords?! The same technology could obviously be applied to things like tablets or grimoires!
“Of course, we plan to apply it to items other than swords, and testing is currently underway. Please wait a little longer.”
I sorted through the flood of inquiries and answered the ones worth answering right away.
“In addition to the 19 gold for the first 100 orders, all new students of the Imperial Academy can receive a 10% promotional discount, so I urge you to hurry.”
The effect of the massive advertisement was a huge success.
I nodded my head in satisfaction at the sight.
Then, the assistant, who had been standing there with his mouth agape since the middle of it all, snapped out of it and grabbed the microphone.
“P-please be quiet! The entrance ceremony is not over yet! And overall top student Raniel! I told you to give a speech, what do you think you’re doing running a business…!”
“This concludes the Q&A session. For any additional questions, please find me after the entrance ceremony to inquire.”
Although the end of the entrance ceremony became a mess, it was a small sacrifice considering my future profits.
With a satisfied smile, I quietly descended from the stage.
It had been a very satisfying entrance ceremony.