Chapter 10: The Year – Do You Remember?
After finishing the practical exam on the grounds, Rouge and I followed the examiners back into the school building. It seemed that the final part of the entrance exam would be a written test, and we were headed to the classroom where it would take place.
“Hugh, your skill was amazing!”
Rouge walked beside me, her praise coming for what felt like the hundredth time.
“You keep saying that.”
“Well, it really was impressive! I’ve never seen such a powerful fire skill even in the Royal Castle!”
“The Royal Castle? Were you at the Royal Castle, Rouge?”
“Uh, well! My father works there!”
“I see…”
…It seemed better not to dig too deep into that. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear it.
Still, I can’t believe I can actually use a skill rewritten through Brainwashing. Even now, as I reflect on it, I’m astonished. It’s beyond the realm of Brainwashing. If I can do this, I could use any skill at will.
It would be akin to gaining the power of a god who bestows skills.
…Well, the danger of the Brainwashing skill has only skyrocketed. If I suddenly start using a skill like Water Gun tomorrow, I would definitely be suspected, and if my Brainwashing skill were to be discovered, it would lead to execution without a doubt.
Moreover, my goal in this life is to live a leisurely and carefree slow life, something I couldn’t achieve in my previous life. I don’t need excessive power. I just want to spend my days happily and at ease.
And then…
I glanced at Rouge beside me, who tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s wrong, Hugh?”
“Nothing, it’s fine.”
I can’t exactly tell her that I’m looking forward to spending my school life with her.
“By the way, how are you doing with your studies, Hugh? I’ve heard that the written exam at the Royal Academy is notoriously difficult.”
“Seriously…?”
That sounds like the end of my school life.
“Wait, could it be that Hugh isn’t good at studying…?”
“……Rouge, I might be in trouble. I only received my skill about a month ago, and I rushed to the Royal Capital because my father told me to. I didn’t have any time to study…”
“Ah, but! The questions will probably cover general knowledge and Kingdom History! There should be some things you can understand just by reading books!”
“Well, my family is a backwater poor noble, you see. We barely had any books at home. Most of them were just guides on wild vegetables and herbology.”
“Ah… I think there might be at least one question from Herbology…”
Rouge gave up trying to encourage me and averted her gaze. As we both walked with our shoulders slumped, we finally arrived at the classroom where the written exam would take place. It seemed seating was free, so I sat next to Rouge.
While waiting for the exam to start, I asked Rouge to cram as much knowledge into my head as possible. I tried to memorize the history of the Kingdom of Reese from its founding to the present. The founding was in the year 539 of the Divine Grant Calendar, and there was a war with the neighboring country… Ah! This is impossible! There’s no way I can remember everything just from hearing it once!
If only I could rewrite my Brainwashing skill to something like “makes me smarter,” but once we entered the classroom, leaving was not permitted.
The Brainwashing skill is really a bit tricky to use!
With only about ten minutes left, I made one last desperate attempt. The written exam began, and I glanced over the questions.
This is… surprisingly doable?
Of course, I was hopeless with history, but the math problems were all at a middle school level. The general knowledge questions covered duties of the nobility and territory management, and since I occasionally helped my father with his work, I wasn’t completely lost.
That said, I managed to fill out about half of the answer sheet, and my accuracy was probably around 30%. I had no idea what the passing line was, but it was definitely going to be tough.
As soon as the answer sheets were collected, I slumped over my desk. The hour-long test felt more exhausting than the month-long journey from my home to the Royal Capital.
“Good job, Hugh.”
“Rouge, I’m done for. Enjoy your school life for me.”
“No way, I don’t think you’ll fail…! You had such an amazing skill in the practical exam. Plus, you didn’t leave everything blank, right?”
“Well, I think I got about 30%…”
“Yeah, if you got that much, you should definitely pass when combined with the practical exam! I can’t wait for the results!”
“I hope so… By the way, when will the results be announced?”
“I think they’ll be announced around sunset? Successful applicants will move into the dormitory today, and the entrance ceremony is tomorrow.”
“That’s pretty quick.”
“I heard that in the past, there used to be about a week before the results were announced. But due to pressure, violence, threats, and theft, they moved it to the same day.”
“That’s way too much going on!”
In short, they were announcing the results before foolish parents who wanted to get their children into the Royal Academy could interfere. I could sense the struggles of the academy staff…
“Oh, by the way! We have some time before the results are announced, but do you have any plans, Hugh?”
“No, not really.”
“Then, could you accompany me for a little shopping?”
“Shopping? I don’t mind, but what are you planning to buy?”
“Um, I don’t really have many clothes. I’d like you to help me pick out some boys’ clothes.”
“Could you… please help me?” Rouge looked up at me with pleading eyes.
Of course, my answer was yes.
I won’t ask why she doesn’t have any boys’ clothes.