Chapter 29. Imperial Magic Academy Entrance Exam (3)
Splash!
The waves crashed against the coastal cliff and shattered.
However, the fishing rod held its ground without much shaking.
Three people sat on a huge rock and stared at something.
Someone stared intently at the fishing rod, someone stared at the horizon. Someone was even looking intently at the sky.
Leon, Radel, and the professor.
The three of them were each fishing in their own way.
'I thought he'd say he wouldn't do it.'
Radel thought as he looked at Leon sitting next to him.
When the professor held out a fishing rod and asked if he would take on the challenge, he had honestly expected him to refuse, but for some reason, Leon nodded his head, and as soon as he sat down, he cast his fishing line into the sea.
In truth, from Radel's perspective, who had started the bet a little earlier, it wasn't a recommended event for anyone.
The academy exam pass was first-come, first-served, so it was better to pass quickly.
But fishing took a long time, and the fish weren't biting as much as he'd thought. It was to the point where he wondered if he really had to fish if there were other options.
'Though I'm going to do it.'
Radel liked this time.
It was even better because there was no troublesome situation of having to spar with a professor.
However, Leon's patience seemed to have reached its limit.
“……This is a waste of time.”
Oh, it seems he's realized now.
Radel was not surprised.
Leon suddenly stood up and reeled in his fishing rod.
"I'm leaving."
You don't have to tell me.
If you're going to leave, just leave quietly.
It also seemed like he was too shy to complain directly to the professor. A guy with no patience and no social skills.
Radel was seriously worried about his twin brother.
"You're giving up already when you have such great magic abilities?"
Radel clicked his tongue.
He looked like a grandfather giving advice to a neighborhood kid.
Leon, who was putting away his fishing rod, glared at Radel.
It was a look that would have had him drowned right on the spot if the professor hadn't been there. Radel was also speaking with confidence because of the professor.
'What a murderous look.'
Would he dare to give advice a second time with a look like that?
Of course, Radel was a person who would do it more if he had the chance, but he planned to avoid getting involved with Leon as much as possible from now on.
"I will quit this bet."
Leon still packed his fishing rod and handed it over to the professor politely.
The professor didn't say anything either and just nodded.
Leon didn't just leave.
As he was leaving, he shot a chilling warning at Radel.
"The next time we meet, I will definitely kill you."
"Oh, bye."
Radel waved his hand nonchalantly and greeted him.
It wasn't to provoke him. It was a greeting he gave to others, so there was no reason he couldn't do it to his own flesh and blood.
However, Leon's expression became so murderous that he had no choice but to slowly lower his hand.
'That's a good judgment too.'
The professor thought to himself as he watched Leon, who had returned the fishing rod and disappeared. Knowing when to let go quickly is also a talent.
A prince with the royal family's Ability, the Dragon's Blessing.
The 9th Prince had been receiving a lot of attention from many professors even before he submitted his application for admission to the academy.
They were curious about how his magic power changed when he used his Ability, and they wanted to study how far his magic power could go. Most of it was magical curiosity, but he had never received this much attention before admission.
'Compared to him…….'
The professor looked at Radel, who was fishing leisurely.
He hadn't caught a single fish, yet he looked nonchalant. His appearance was the same as the 9th Prince's, but his magic power was absurdly small and his personality was different.
However, it was also true that there was something interesting about him.
'I'll have to watch him more.'
* * *
Cromwell Bondis, the principal of the Imperial Magic Academy, sat in his office and checked the clock.
There was still time left before the sun set.
He tapped the table with his finger with a meaningful smile.
“Huhu. This is really fun.”
Of course, as the principal of the academy, he was just watching this entrance exam with affection.
However, that strange smile made Cromwell look like a villain.
“Principal.”
A professor who had just returned from the academy entrance exam venue spoke to the principal.
"I think the admission quota is almost full."
The professors scattered on Conant Island, a private property of the academy, had a maximum quota of people they could pass per person.
The rule was to return to the school after passing the designated number of applicants.
The returned professors gathered in the principal's office and talked about this year's exam.
"Hey, why did you come back so early, professor? Didn't you just hide carelessly?"
“You don’t know my stealth magic skills? It’s absolutely not because I did a half-assed job because I wanted to finish quickly and rest.”
“The applicants this year can use some magic. They’re all pretty skilled.”
They also talked about the overall level of this year's applicants and the students they were particularly interested in.
"Did you see the royal who applied this time?"
“No, but isn’t his Ability the Dragon’s Blessing? The professors are very interested, aren’t they?”
"Last year was fun because student Venus suddenly summoned lightning while sparring with Professor Donton."
When the story of the 5th Prince, Venus, who had taken the entrance exam last year, came up, the professors' words became faster.
“It would be nice if a royal with that kind of elemental Ability would participate in the research.”
“Student Venus will definitely say no, won’t he? You don’t know how much he hates being bothered.”
No matter if they were the empire's royals, to the magicians who were crazy about magic research, they were just research subjects.
Because of that attitude, the imperial family always kept a close eye on the academy. It was also the reason why the Ability Management Bureau infiltrated agents into the Imperial Magic Academy every year.
Cromwell, who was listening to the professors' stories, opened his mouth.
"Well, let's check the remaining applicants with the professors who have returned first."
When Cromwell snapped his fingers, several screens appeared in the air.
It was a video magic using the magical tools installed all over Conant Island and Cromwell's personal flying golems.
The videos showed the applicants wandering around looking for professors or making bets.
"Huhu. Everyone is working hard."
When Cromwell smiled, the professors' expressions subtly hardened.
'Why is he smiling so meaningfully?'
'I've seen it for years, but I can't get used to it.'
Cromwell looked around the island and checked the remaining professors, then noticed that there was a professor who hadn't passed a single person yet.
"Huh? Isn't that Professor Bronson Sendert?"
“What’s he doing over there?”
The other professors also spotted the professor and an applicant fishing on a rock.
“Why fishing?”
The professors were bewildered at first, but after watching the screen for a while, they opened their mouths as if they had realized something.
“Hey, why is he doing that kind of exam here?”
“You’d have to be a second-year student to pass that, wouldn’t you?”
At first glance, it looked like a normal fishing bet, but the academy's professors could tell. It was a difficult exam that could only be passed with very precise mana control skills.
It seemed that an applicant who didn't know anything had accepted the bet without thinking.
"Principal. Should we just watch?"
Cromwell had a thought after seeing the applicant in the video.
He remembered receiving an interesting report from the academy's document reception office this year. Something about the color of the magical tool that measured mana sensitivity lighting up in order.
“It’s alright. It seems they’ve met well.”
Cromwell smiled pleasantly.
'Is he planning something?'
However, to others, it was just a smile with a hidden agenda.
* * *
The applicants who had passed the entrance exam had returned to the auditorium through the teleportation magic circle.
A number was floating in the center of the auditorium.
Seeing the number decrease every time a successful applicant crossed over to the auditorium through the teleportation magic circle, it seemed to be indicating the remaining admission quota.
And the number continued to decrease and was now pointing to a single digit.
"Why isn't he here yet?"
Regardless of whether Inette was anxious or not, Gusto stood next to her with his eyes closed, leaning silently against the wall.
Inette was annoyed by Gusto's indifferent attitude.
“Aren’t you worried?”
“His Highness will definitely come.”
Gusto answered with his eyes closed.
“What if he doesn’t? There are only a few spots left now.”
“Are you that anxious?”
At Gusto's words, Inette pursed her lips.
Gusto nodded as if he understood everything.
“There is a way to feel better at times like this.”
"What is it?"
Inette wanted to escape this anxiety somehow. If what Gusto was saying was a good method, she was thinking of trying it right away.
“It is to pray to the Supreme Deity.”
As expected of an apprentice holy knight of the Supreme Deity Order!
Inette's expression crumpled.
“You call that a solution?”
“It doesn’t have to be the Supreme Deity. It will get better if you pray to someone.”
Inette was so dumbfounded that she didn't even answer.
Praying to feel better?
That was too weak of a method.
Flash!
Just then, someone returned to the auditorium.
Inette quickly turned around, but it wasn't Radel this time either.
The number floating in the center of the auditorium was now pointing to 2.
Inette, without realizing it, had her hands clasped.
* * *
At that time, on the coast of the island.
Radel looked at the horizon and then at his fishing rod.
Looking at the position of the sun, it seemed there was still time left for the entrance exam, but Radel felt that he had to finish the bet soon.
It would be difficult to beat the professor by just continuing to fish here.
But it didn't matter.
'It was impossible with normal fishing.'
Radel had known that from the beginning.
Looking at the fishing rods piled up next the professor, half had hooks and half didn't.
The moment the professor told him to choose a fishing rod from here, Radel had instinctively chosen a fishing rod without a hook.
It was a situation where that itself was clearly a test.
The professor didn't say anything even as he watched Radel pick a fishing rod without a hook.
In the first place, can you even catch a fish with a fishing rod without a hook? That meant that it wasn't about catching with a hook.
"Haaam."
The professor yawned languidly as if he were bored.
He looked so careless, but he was by no means an easy person.
Even at this moment, he was releasing magic power at regular intervals. For several hours straight.
It was a truly terrifying concentration.
While Radel was doing his absurd fishing, the professor had caught a few fish.
Radel had carefully memorized the wave of mana that changed each time.
And he had figured out how to do it.
He could now tell that the moments when the professor reeled in a fish were all part of the exam.
'The preparations are complete.'
Radel had already been feeling the flow of mana through his fishing line for a while now.
He concentrated and followed the flow, and at some point, when he reached the depths of the sea, he released his magic power little by little.
He did that several times.
Radel was now aiming for a big fish with a considerable amount of magic power as bait.
A big fish that would end the bet for the entrance exam in one go.