“Welcome to the 37th Annual Conference, Mister Kairon, Miss Darkbrand. As per tradition, we have invited you here to listen and speak in this room about this year’s entrance exams.”
“Yes, Department Head Lyon.”
“The Headmaster is… indisposed as of currently and thus, cannot attend this meeting.”
Slightly surprised by the news, Vincent and Shelley recomposed themselves as they politely excused his absence.
“Well, please do take a seat. We old codgers aren’t so far in our ways to keep you both standing.”
Drawing a few chuckles from the sides of the room, Shelley visibly relaxed as her tense shoulders fell down.
“Today’s agenda is to discuss the final details of the 37th Entrance Exam and all the nitty-gritty details. Preliminary assessments over these several days have already been completed and we have eliminated at least 6603 examinees.”
He then looked over to the two students.
“This was measured against their character and temperament which have been assessed by instructors that have been spread around the city of Alexandria as shopkeepers, merchants, adventurers and more. We at the Cheiss Academy do not want any distasteful behaviour here.”
Shelley understood what the Department Head of Magecraft was doing. It was widely known that the Student Council had many duties regarding the organisation of not only everyday things like assemblies and allocation of funds to Guilds, they also arranged events like the Monthly Competitions and Seasonal Exams (which was mostly relegated to teachers). He was helping them to gain a feel for these sorts of things as Vincent was a new Student President and would remain so for an entire year unless he was reelected. This may bring chaos to the academy as new presidents could make mistakes at the beginning but fortunately, they had a grace period of 2 months where instructors would help and teach them.
“Anyways, now that we have settled that, I have been given reports from each instructor about exemplary examinees and the Recommended Students entering this year. Please take your time to read this. I believe this year has some very good roots.”
Several metal pods engraved with runes were passed out and everyone received the Magic Projector where all of the reports were stored. A few minutes passed as offhanded comments or noises were made as each person read the data. Vincent and Shelley were no exception to this since they were officially recognised as participants of this conference so they had the privilege of reading student data ahead of time. Although some would be eliminated in the exams, they were not ‘exemplary students’ for no reason. Most would continue on to enter the academy as their year’s leaders and linchpins.
“Hoh? Chloe Atican? This one has a troublesome aptitude for Mental Magic. She’s a Recommended Student as well.” One of the Department Heads remarked.
“What do you mean?”
Making a troubled face, the first speaker opened his mouth.
“She can’t control her powers and it has been recorded that she has killed people around her before via brain attacks so strong that they become an invalid for the rest of their life.”
Murmurs rippled over the room at his words.
“Quiet, quiet. This isn’t the first time we’ve had this issue. It’s not like we can’t fix this.”
Lyon spoke up, his high position, even among his peers, automatically granting him attention.
“But we’ve never had such a volatile student before. Previous troublesome students like this don’t kill people.”
One conservative instructor replied with caution in her voice, not wanting to offend Lyon. But she prioritised her worry for the students which was not unfounded. Another followed up in her place.
“Mental Magic is a delicate form of magic anyways. If she was that powerful with it yet unable to control it, wouldn’t her brain be fried instead? This ought not to be trusted.”
His counter-argument gathered nods and noises of assent while the main powerhouses stayed silent, like the Department Heads of Magecraft, Weaponship and Craftsmanship. They remained on the fence about this news, wanting to know more about it.
“Who was the one who reported this? And who was one who recommended her?”
Conrad Euneric, the Department Head of Weaponship, asked finally with a deep, gravelly voice, silencing the room as they turned to look at the initial speaker.
“It was reported by Kaine Euneric. And uh…”
Conrad remained stoic upon hearing his son’s name as everyone looked around, wondering who recommended the girl.
“It was me.”
The Department Head of Liberal Arts, Wilson Pollock, raised his hand causing surprise to spread amongst the table. His department wasn’t especially ‘respected’ as they only taught subjects like languages, history and etiquette for nobles and a minority of students outright showered it with contempt. That wasn’t the same in the staff team, however. Instructors, other Department Heads and even the Headmaster treated him with the respect that his station required as, while it was not known to many, he was the Headmaster’s closest friend and war strategist. The current Magi, Duke, also the Headmaster, had dozens of close comrades during the Demon War but only a tiny circle survived, most of which now worked alongside him in Cheiss Academy.
It was unknown why Wilson volunteered to teach Liberal Arts. Some speculated that he was tired of fighting and wanted some peace while others just didn’t believe the rumours that he was the Magi’s brother in all but blood.
“I sent some instructors to the Atican Dynasty based on the rumours surrounding the girl known as Chloe Atican. I suppose you could call it a hunch.”
Conrad closed his eyes and thought for a moment before opening them and commanding for his son to be sent back here. He wanted to hear all of the facts face-to-face. Chloe Atican could be a double-edged sword as her ability may cause unwanted incidents and disrupt student order. If those could be prevented right now, he wouldn’t hesitate to send the girl away, regardless of her prodigious talent.
“Greetings, instructors, Sirs and Ma’ams. I have arrived as per your instructions, Department Head Conrad.”
Kaine arrived 2 minutes later and heeded protocol to a tee, not showing any signs of a father-son relationship at all. He was, in fact, Gregory the innkeeper from ‘Howard’s Home’, though his appearance was completely different. Instead of the gnarled, rough middle-aged man from before, he was now in his prime with a heroic face, sporting short and spiky red hair and prominent golden eyes.
“I would like a hands-on report on the girl known as Chloe Atican, the girl who is taking residence in your inn. You should know why.”
“Yes, Department Head Conrad.”
He spoke about miscellaneous details like her appearance, behaviour and date of arrival before moving on to her day-to-day activities.
“She shows great attachment to another examinee named Cordelia Auster who arrived on the same day and I have seen them walking throughout the city together for hours. I believe she formed this attachment out of admiration when Cordelia Auster had a conflict with another examinee called Janelle Ignis and defeated her soundly. I witnessed it all for myself. And... it was discovered a few hours ago that Chloe Atican has killed her guardian. Whether it was intentional or not is unknown.”
Everyone who was looking through their Magic Projectors, searching for information on both mentioned examinees jolted at the last part. Conrad did not react at all and dismissed it uncaringly.
“It matters not. One does not need to enter with anyone else and we will deal with the Atican Dynasty when it comes to it. What I want to ask is, what do you think of Cordelia Auster? First impressions?
He stilled before opening his mouth.
“Unreadable. The first time I met her, I couldn’t read into her at all. She was like a blank slate. Her servants are quite powerful with some being on the level of 5th or 6th Year students, no doubt. I’ve also seen her train at the back of the inn and although I haven’t been on Entrance Exam duty before, I can tell that she is head and shoulders above our current Second Years.”
During his report, other men and women had read through Cordelia’s information and a few of them were shocked. Namely, the highest-ranking ones like Lyon and Wilson. They thought that the surname ‘Auster’ was familiar but they didn’t believe it was true. But now that they had read through her description.
Alexander Auster… Elaine, the Department Head of Craftsmanship, bit her lip. He was a controversial figure in the eyes of Duke and his friends. At one point, they were closer than siblings but after the war, it had changed completely. At one point, she loved that man.
Lyon, Wilson and others were conflicted as they mulled over the Auster name. At that time, they had been filled with such rage and anger that Alexander had been cast out without a second thought. Then, they had decades to think over everything and had realised their blunder but it was already too late. He had already died alongside that woman and there was no chance to amend their mistakes. Complicated emotions erupted within them as they read over Cordelia's report.
“I see. You may return now.”
Conrad waved him off but Kaine stayed, hoping to say a few more words.
❈ ❈ ❈
Thanks for the chapter! Man the plot is starting to get t h i c c
And the plot t h i c c e n s
Thanks for the chapter!
Gregory the spy
didn't see it coming
So the question is if that woman is behind her race being hidden, or not.
Dun dun duuuun.
I know what I'd assume from the tidbits given out here and there, but I guess we'll just have to see how you twist it with time.
mysteries, eh?
