[Academy First-Year, First Semester Midterm Exam – Knight Department Rankings]
[1st. Valoci Bienderk2nd. Berian Calburden3rd. Cain...15th. Barus Dene16th. Aint Armian…]
"What? Aint's ranking isn't as high as I expected."
"Right? For someone who beat Berian, it's a bit underwhelming…"
Blended into the murmuring crowd, Aint stared blankly at the results in front of him.
— 16th? The heir of Armian is only 16th?
He could hear Sir Gardener Alpenfarsen clicking his tongue.
"I mean, it couldn't be helped. The entire exam was replaced with written tests…"
Of course, it wasn't that Aint was stupid or hopeless at theory.
If he were, he wouldn't have placed 16th out of 100 students. It was just that the expectations others had for him were far higher than that.
"Oh."
A short exclamation came from beside him.
"16th? That's a huge jump."
"Valoci?"
Aint welcomed Valoci.
He was one of the few who neither mocked the now-fallen name of Armian nor kept a distant reverence for it.
It would be more accurate to say he was simply kind to everyone.
"Congrats, Aint. That's impressive. You shot up from 38th to 16th."
"Don't praise me too much. It was just a written exam. And besides, it's only the midterms."
"Still, if it had been practicals, wouldn't you have ranked even higher? You beat Berian, didn't you?"
"Well, that's true…"
But it was still just the midterm results, not the final rankings. The final scores would depend on how he handled the finals and upcoming practicals.
"Either way, it's still a good score."
"Right. Climbing from 38th to 16th in half a semester—that's insane growth."
Just then, a youthful voice suddenly cut in.
When Aint turned his head, he saw someone he'd never met before.
She was a striking beauty with short orange bobbed hair and vivid emerald eyes.
"You're Aint Armian, right?"
— She's an elf, Aint.
"…And you are?"
Even without Sir Gardener's comment, those pointed ears were impossible to miss.
"Aria Fridien. Magic Department."
"…Fridien."
Aria reached out her hand. Aint hesitated for a moment, then took it.
"Do you hate me, by any chance?"
"I don't really hold any prejudices."
Valoci shook his head.
"Whatever the reason, the Fridiens obtained the Golden Edict's rights legitimately."
"Thanks for the kind words. Honestly, it took a lot of courage for me to approach you first."
The entrenched stones rarely welcomed new ones that rolled in. That was true of all societies, and the Empire—its so-called pillar—was no exception.
"Courage?"
She nodded at Aint's question.
"After the midterms, first-years are going to have their first joint class, right?"
Joint classes between first-years were rare, but not unheard of.
"I've heard about it. They called it the 'Survival Class,' I think."
Aint nodded. As far as he knew, it was a week-long survival training involving both the Knight and Magic Departments.
"In that class, fighting each other is forbidden. So wouldn't it be better if we worked together?"
It wasn't wrong.
— Don't listen, Aint.
— Never trust those long-eared bastards.
'That's the first I've heard of that…'
Because he was surrounded by others, Aint couldn't refute it aloud. But since there was no harm in taking Gardener's advice, he came up with a reasonable excuse.
"But will they even hold the class? The midterms were changed to written exams because of the monster rampage."
"They will."
The reply didn't come from Aria, but from Valoci.
"Usually, they do it up north, but this time I heard they're moving it to the southern forest."
"How did you…?"
Aint began to ask but stopped himself. Valoci was the heir of the Bienderk family. He must have countless connections within the Academy.
"That still doesn't mean I'll just accept some elf asking to team up."
"That's harsh. Didn't you say you weren't prejudiced?"
"Trusting a complete stranger isn't being open-minded—it's just being foolish."
"But combat between students is forbidden during the survival class, isn't it?"
"Even so…"
"Both of you, enough!"
Aint stepped in to stop the bickering between Valoci and Aria. He shook his head.
"Sorry, but I don't plan on teaming up with anyone during the upcoming training."
— The southern forest, you say?
— Forget those sly-eared opportunists, Aint!
— The late emperor placed a spirit herb there. Forget everything else and go find it!
Because Sir Gardener Alpenfarsen had proposed a third path.
"Mithril. Mithril. Mithril."
Fernan, who had successfully snatched a temporary teaching assistant position, felt an urgent need to formulate a more solid plan.
"I can't let him have even a sliver of the mithril."
At the same time, Aint must never find out. If he suddenly snatched away what was rightfully his, it would be no different than declaring war.
It was a dreadful possibility that brought him one step closer to the worst future—his downfall.
"I have to get there before he does. Before he even senses the existence of mithril, I must intercept it."
And no one could ever find out. As if the mithril had never existed in the first place.
"There are three hurdles to overcome."
First, not getting caught slacking on his assistant duties.
Second, not getting discovered by Aint Armian and Sir Gardener Alpenfarsen.
"And third…"
Tap tap. Fernan's fingers tapped the desk.
"Not getting caught by the spirit beast guarding the spirit herb."
To avoid even the slightest trace, everything had to be perfect. In this case, perfection meant Aint must not even suspect, in his wildest dreams, that someone had taken the mithril.
"If there's any sign of a battle with the spirit beast, he'll know someone was there."
And he would inevitably question what that person might have taken, if not the spirit herb. But taking the spirit herb as well would only incur even greater wrath.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a good solution.
He could prepare artifacts, potions, and scrolls for assistance, but achieving perfection alone was impossible.
"…In that case."
Damn it. When is that bastard Hyde going to show up?
Fernan stood up.
"Luina, by the honor of a knight, can you swear to keep what I'm about to tell you a secret for the rest of your life?"
He went to find his number one assistant, Luina.
"No."
Luina didn't take long to answer.
With a tense expression, she had sworn the oath and listened attentively, but then her eyes turned firm with resolve.
"You mentioned knightly honor, so I thought it must be something incredible… but it's just about a spirit herb?"
"Just? Just?! How is a spirit herb just anything?"
Ugh, does she think I'm lying again?
"I swear on money if I have to. This time, it's a real spirit herb."
"Whether it's real or not, you're asking me to skip class? What are you even thinking?"
"What do you want?"
"Whatever it is, I'll never accept skipping class. I must graduate top of the class."
Knowing Luina's obsession with being the top student, Fernan suppressed a groan.
"It's a spirit herb, Luina. A spirit herb. Do you know how much that's worth?"
"Even if it's valuable, it doesn't hold the same meaning for everyone. Everyone has different priorities."
She added:
"To think you became a temporary TA just to get a spirit herb… I honestly can't imagine anything more absurd."
Seeing how firm her stance was, Fernan gave up trying to convince her and dismissed her.
"Fine. Get out."
It would have been much easier with Luina's help, but it wasn't absolutely necessary.
What was truly necessary was the other person who had promised to meet him shortly.
"Aren't you leaving?"
Seeing that he didn't get up with her as usual, Luina tilted her head curiously.
"I have someone else to meet."
"Here?"
"Yes."
"…Don't tell me it's Professor Grad?"
"That's a pointless fantasy."
"Do what you want, but please don't get into trouble. If you get disciplined, it'll affect me too since we're paired together."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Just then, a presence could be felt outside. As Luina began to step aside—bang! The door swung open.
"…!"
Luina, who had been about to walk out, locked eyes with the person on the other side.
"Well now, looks like you're not alone, Brother."
"Come in."
"…Brother?"
Flaming red hair and green eyes. A sturdy frame uncharacteristic of a mage, paired with a warm and gentle aura.
Luina recognized the face.
"Jace Vines?"
The Saint of the Order.
Top student of the first-year Magic Department.
A genius of magic.
And a figure surrounded by countless other titles.
And now, that saint had just called the money-obsessed Fernan "Brother."
It was a combination that made no sense in Luina's worldview. Confusion clouded her thoughts.
"Yes. Is it strange that I call him Brother? You must be… Lady Luina."
He wasn't as famous as Luina, but she wasn't exactly obscure either.
After taking a moment to recognize her face, Jace gave a gentle smile and pressed his palms together.
"May the blessing of mana be upon you."
"Ah, yes. I…"
"No need to return the gesture. It's just a greeting—a habit from the Order."
Jace took a seat across from Fernan.
"So, what were you two discussing?"
"Luina's not involved. She was just leaving."
But instead of leaving, Luina pulled up a chair and sat down.
"You're not going?"
"…You two seem quite close. How did that happen?"
"Is that so strange?"
"Yes. It's only natural."
"Natural?"
"Perhaps you don't know since you're not a mage. Should I explain?"
Jace wasn't wrong.
"Listen closely, Luina. As you know, the original Dragon God Cult was a religion that worshipped the ancient dragon who brought magic to humanity."
To the humans of that era, magic was a miracle, and the ancient dragon was like a god.
But now, everyone knew that wasn't really the case.
Still, the religion persisted.
Because they shifted their worship from the ancient dragon itself to the concept of magic and mana.
Thanks to that shift, the Dragon God Cult survived and evolved into the most powerful mage organization, where most mid- to high-ranking members were mages.
"The fact that Archmages are certified by the Pontiff of the Order says it all."
Archmages were essentially the magical equivalent of royal knights—a rank granted to ten Grand Mages recognized by the Pontiff.
"I know that much. But I fail to see how that explains this close relationship. Unless Fernan studied directly under the central Order?"
"No. It's simple logic."
Jace smiled kindly and shook his head.
"Mages are money-eating monsters. And the Dragon God Cult is overflowing with such beasts."
"And my family makes the largest purchases from the Cult."
"Exactly. The Pellenberg family is our biggest client."
"Hugely so."
Fernan and Jace took turns hammering Luina's common sense.
"And as the old saying goes, when someone has lots of money, you call them Brother."
So there was no reason Jace wouldn't call Fernan Brother.
"Besides, if you go by age, he is technically my older brother."
The saint chuckled.
"Now do you understand?"
"…So, what you're saying is…"
She understood the words. But her brain just couldn't process it.
The saint, who cherished others and radiated such kindness, was smiling as he said—what, exactly?
After a long bout of internal chaos, Luina unconsciously blurted out her honest thoughts.
"…This is a saint?"
More like Money Demon No. 2, isn't he?