Chapter 54: Test result

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Translator: Soafp

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The morning of the exam results announcement.

“Aldo, Elphus, Marl, even if the results are bad, don’t get discouraged. If you have that much time, use it for the next opportunity.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Yes, Balza-sama.”

After breakfast, we headed to the academy immediately.

Many students were already at the academy, gathering to hear the announcement of the results.

In the Magic Department, students are assigned classes based on their grades, ranging from S, A, B, C and D. For the Commercial Department, which has the largest number of students, there are even classes up to K.

“Now, which class am I in…”

First, I checked the S class… I found Marl and Olivia’s names.

“Marl, you’re in the S class. Congratulations.”

“Thank goodness… Marl, congratulations.”

“Thank you. With this, I can leave behind a respectable record…”

I became curious and asked a question.

“What do you mean by a respectable record?”

“Eh? Ah, I mean, it’s not embarrassing as the Tab Company’s daughter. Yes.”

“Hmm? Something seems suspicious.”

“W-What do you mean…”

“…Ah!”

“What is it!”

“As El’s wife!”

“T-That’s not it!”

Marl ran off somewhere, and Elphus followed after her.

“I will leave Marl to El, and for my own part…”

S seemed unlikely. How about A? I checked A class… Nothing. B… Nothing. C… Nothing. D…

Surprisingly, my name was at the very end of D class.

“I said it’s okay to be last, but seriously… being last…”

Even I, with my one-night cramming, studied so much, and yet…

“Aldo, which class are you in?”

Suddenly, Olivia called out from behind.

“I’m in D class…”

“D? Is there some mistake with Aldo’s result?”

“I don’t know, but it seems like D class.”

“I will ask the examiner!”

“Hey, wait…”

Olivia, radiating an aura that said, “I’m angry!” disappeared from sight.

(I wonder about the grades of my fellow reincarnated brethren in other worlds; they were mostly at the top. Being last is just too much to handle.)

Let’s escape from reality for a while and gaze at the sky…

After a while, Olivia returned.

“Aldo, I asked the examiner.”

“O-Ou…”

Although I was secretly anxious, I tried not to show it on the surface.

“Did you not use magic during the magic exam?”

“Hmm? I did use magic properly.”

“It’s strange. It seems you became last because you couldn’t use magic, even though you aspired to the Magic Department.”

“Come to think of it…”

I recalled the attitude of the examiner during the exam and how he had said something incomprehensible like, “Shoot magic quickly” when I cast Air Cutter.

“That examiner…”

“Aldo, you’re not thinking of something strange, right? That examiner is a teacher in the Magic Department and seems to be the next S-class homeroom teacher.”

It seems that examiner holds some position. Even if I speak up now, will he acknowledge the mistake? And even if he does, there might still be repercussions.

I looked up at the sky and then let out one big sigh.

“Well, it’s too late now. I guess I’ll just do my best in Class D.”

“In the middle and end-of-term tests, there’s a class reshuffling based on performance. Aldo, you could quickly move up to Class S.”

“Oh, there’s such a system?”

But if I go to Class S, that examiner might be the teacher… Is that okay?

In this situation, I’ll just have to accept what happened in Class D and try my best.

After a while, Marl and El returned, and Marl was glancing at me.

“Marl, I’ll be rooting for you.”

Marl didn’t seem to expect encouragement, returning a smile that was captivating. Not good, Marl’s a bit of a stern beauty; that smile’s incredibly potent.

And when I glanced back, El was looking at Marl with a genuinely affectionate expression. Seeing those two, for some reason, Ashera’s face flickered in my mind…

This doesn’t look good… Seems like I’m starting to feel a little homesick.

“El, be nice to Marl.”

For some reason, I’m thinking about someone who isn’t here. Is it because my body is pulling my mind back to my youth?

If that’s the case, it’s not so bad, I thought to myself.

I felt a little melancholic, but the school hasn’t even started yet. I need to switch my mindset.

Supposedly, there will be explanations about enrolling and class assignments.

Upperclassmen are wearing uniforms, so I suppose we have to buy them somewhere.

“Well, then, I’ll head to Class D.”

Leaving those words behind, I head towards Class D.

On the way, I suddenly wondered if Class D might be full of delinquents or troublemakers.

(Crap… This feels like a typical setup. There might be a bunch of troublemakers when I enter the classroom… I’m starting to get a bit excited!)

I asked staff and other students and finally managed to find Class D.

Standing in front of the class, I opened the door with a smirk.

My first impression of Class D was… ordinary.

There were about 40 seats. There was a podium upfront where the teacher would probably teach.

However, there was no blackboard. How would we take notes? Would we need to shorthand the teacher’s lecture?

Looking around the students, there were various races.

There seemed to be a dwarf, and… wait, there was someone with cat ears!

In my mind, I said, “I’m more of a dog person,” but I couldn’t take my eyes off those cat ears.

Slowly shifting my gaze down from the cat ears, I found out it was a guy… looking quite cocky while scanning around.

(A male with cat ears? Who even needs that!)

My enthusiasm that was once high plummeted instantly.

I slouched into an empty seat, feeling dejected, and suddenly, someone spoke to me.

I turned to the unexpected voice, slightly surprised.

“Hey, you’re the last one, right?”

It was a nekomimi.

At least it should’ve been, ‘Are you the last place guy?’!”

“Ah, that is right.”

I replied with an obvious tone of disappointment.

“Don’t get so down. I’ll look out for you.”

He seemed genuinely nice. I felt a bit sorry for teasing him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. I’ll count on you then.”

“Sure thing. I’m Nero, from the Beastman tribe. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Aldo, from the Human tribe.”

And thus, I made an acquaintance with a nekomimi named Nero.

As we chatted about the school and exams, someone who seemed like a teacher entered the room.

“Good morning. I’m Anna, and I’ll be the homeroom teacher for this class for the next year. Nice to meet you all.”

She appeared to be in her mid to late twenties. Average height, average face, an utterly unremarkable woman who was now our homeroom teacher.

Anna-sensei covered topics from how to purchase the school uniform to acquiring textbooks, explaining that most items could be found at the shop adjacent to the cafeteria.

“I look forward to seeing you all again at the entrance ceremony. That’s all for today.”

As Anna-sensei finished speaking, everyone began preparing to leave.

“Aldo, want to explore the school if you’re free?”

Nekomimi seemed excited.

“Sure thing, Nero.”

We grinned mischievously and left the classroom.

“Where to first?”

“Let’s check out the rumored hole!”

“The rumored hole?”

“Don’t know about it? Then I’ll tell you.”

“Okay.”

“On the day of our exams, the principal was away. The next day, when the principal entered his room, there was a hole in the statue.”

“Interesting…”

“Then they noticed holes in the walls…”

“A ghost story…”

“And walking down the corridor, the holes aligned perfectly with the statue and wall holes.”

“Creepy…”

“The principal followed the holes and it turns out it led to the examination room we were in!”

“…”

“So, let’s go check out the examination room!”

I wasn’t very good with ghost stories. In a world with magic, I couldn’t shake the thought that ghosts might exist.

Nero had already explored the school building and confidently led us to the examination room.

“We’re here, Aldo.”

“It’s definitely the examination room we were in.”

“It seems the hole continued from here.”

Nero pointed to the spot where I had cast my Condensed Ray (simplified version) spell.

I suddenly remembered something.

“Hey, Nero, how big is the hole?”

“Let’s take a look since it’s open over there.”

We glanced at the hole behind the target.

This is…

I couldn’t stop the cold sweat from trickling down.

(This is where I cast the Condense Ray. That examiner said there was a protective barrier!)

I need to divert the topic without Nero noticing.

“Hey, Nero, how about going somewhere else?”

“Somewhere else? I got here too early this morning and already toured once.”

“I see. How about the library or—”

“I hate books. Just looking at them makes me sleepy.”

He’s a formidable opponent.

“In that case… How about checking out the cafeteria menu?”

“Sounds good! Let’s go.”

Got him! I swiftly changed the subject.

“Do you have anything you hate, Nero?”

“I hate vegetables. Why should I eat leaves… I don’t get it.”

“What about something you like?”

“Meat!”

“That was a quick answer.”

“Do you not like meat, Aldo?”

“I like both meat and fish, and vegetables too.”

“Not bad. My mom always tells me to eat vegetables…”

“Sounds like a caring parent.”

“You’re like a grandpa, Aldo.”

As we conversed, we arrived at the cafeteria.

“Nero, let’s take a look at the menu.”

“Sure.”

The menu offered various items like skewers, stew, fish dishes, and bread.

It seemed like second and third-year students were having their meals.

“I’m getting hungry.”

“It’s almost lunchtime.”

“I’ll head back now. See you, Aldo.”

“Sure. See you, Nero.”

We parted ways at the cafeteria.

Should I meet up with El and Marl and head back home?

As I reached the fork in the road, just as expected, the two were there.

“Nii-sama, you’re late.”

“Yeah, I made a friend and toured the school with them.”

“You’ve already made friends. You’re truly amazing, Nii-sama.”

“I don’t know what’s so amazing about that; it’s normal.”

They asked about Nero while we walked back.

El and Marl seemed envious as they’d never seen beastmen before.

Come to think of it, I talked to Naga, an elf, at the adventurers’ guild, and there was someone dwarf-like in the classroom. The only one I haven’t seen is a demon.

I wonder what kind of race demons are. I’m looking forward to my three years at this school, despite carrying various surprises.

That wraps up the exam result announcement and a day of curious encounters.