Q: What was Yeriel’s mistake?

A: The dream of knowledge and a broader world.

- - -

"Congratulations to the fifty of you," Rosalyn told the youths before her. After eliminating everyone else but these fifty, the hall turned far more vacant than before. "Sadly, the test is not over yet. There is no elimination in the next two rounds. Afterwards, we will select the pupils. Do not worry about anything else and just focus on achieving your best."

I controlled myself far better than I had expected, though I knew it was nothing but a delay for later. Elinor, the thin girl—the person who made me suspicious about many things—came back before me. She had not spoken a word to me, nor did she appear to be in a bright mood.

I was wondering if my appearance changed the timeline in any way. Surely, there was the butterfly effect, but I have done almost nothing to change the world.

In the book, Edward had no twin brother or sister, but Elinor appeared to have one, or had one, however, they all were dead now.

Other than the intervention of our Friend, The Almighty Author, nothing makes sense. I only hope this kid has the same two abilities as Edward or else the world may already be doomed.

I sighed inwardly and tried to ignore the striking oddity before me. Well, ignoring things was one of my specialities, so it was not that difficult. At least, not now. I had to prepare for the examination. Though I have some clues about how the next two rounds will go, I have no clear notion of how well I will do. I had prepared nothing, nor had I studied, as I knew a couple of days would not be enough.

My memory was not the problem here. As I said before, I have an almost photographic memory. It was just that I did not have the books to prepare for it. I can only borrow books or read books from the Knight division of the archive. There were still other ways, but I figured there was no need, so I have been inclusive with myself for a broader perspective, only training my spirit energy, and noting down all the important stuff that will happen in the future as well as the 1000 questions.

The admission mostly depends on the innate talent that I have and my ability to learn new things. I am almost the best at the former, but for the latter, I should have some talent—unsure how much, though. The next two tests were just a formality for me and the other two with the highest grade of Spirit Force and Affinity. I guess I will do fine, but I will need to take the test to find out how fine it will be.

The second round was the least important to my knowledge. It was a written test to see how much the candidates knew about the order of the Magi and other things such as history, science, geography, math, etc.

The few instructions brought me, along with the forty-nine others, to another room. They announced the rules for the written test and mentioned another time that there was no elimination.

I took a seat in a corner and saw the thin girl sitting on the desk across from it. The prince took one in the other direction as the instructors brought in the question sheet.

For some reason, I felt a little nervous. It has been quite a while since I last took any tests, not to mention that the fate of this world and mine somewhat depends on it.

I skimmed through the entire question sheet, trying to find any questions I could answer. My lips twitched at once. It was a good thing there was no elimination in this round. It looks like I have to give my best in the next round.

Well, it was not like I could not answer any of the questions. I could answer a couple of questions about the general herbs that could be used for healing. I answered a few more questions on the subject ‘The History of the Realm’ and as for the question about general sorcery, I answered a few, though I have no idea if any of it was entirely true. Getting a passing grade will be tough, but I could possibly get close to it.

That reminded me that there was no passing grade. It was just to check if the students had previously had any introduction to sorcery or magic so that they could prepare the curriculum and allocate resources accordingly.

Though only three or four out of all will get to the authentic magic department, a few might get the chance to learn in the 'lesser-talent' classes.

Within half an hour, I had finished my exam. I looked around and saw others with deep frowns or beads of sweat on their faces. As if they were having life and death battles with the test paper.

The prince, as it was expected of him, seemed to be doing well, whereas Elinor was wholeheartedly focused on the test she was taking.

I did not wait for the exam to end, but stood up and delivered my answer sheets to the instructor before leaving to get fresh air.

The sun was brimming with splendour in the wintery atmosphere. A slow gust of wind blew from the mountain in the south, carrying the dry leaves. Rows of large naked trees stood at the embarkment of the academy, their branches swaying a little along with the wind.

I strolled along the path before taking a seat on a bench. Warders had already sent away the eliminated candidates, and the place was now empty. I had not had my breakfast yet, so I took the container I had brought out of my bag.

Among a few of my redeeming abilities, cooking is one. A man needs to have some hobby. An interest to waste time. I would not consider myself a top chef, but I am confident enough to open a diner, though I have no intention of doing that.

I just made my food to keep my mind busy, or I would have been worrying about the things that I have no way of affecting. I kept my mind busy almost all the time and with that came tiredness, so I got a good night's sleep most of the time.

The container could not keep the food warm. I had the idea of warming it up with the flames of purgatory, but chose not to. I would probably burn it with my poor control over the ability. It was still as dominating as ever.

Even if the food was cold, somehow it still tasted good. Only the egg felt a little repulsion, but the vegetables were far better than in my old world. I had never been good with most of the vegetables, but some of them can be changed now.

"How did your exam go?" the thin girl said, strolling silently on the green lush grass.

Seeing her face, the questions came to me again, and I could not help but stare at her blankly.

"You look really foolish, you know." Elinor said, taking a seat next to me."I reckon your test did not go well."

"I can say the same to you," I replied, and I did not forget to stuff my mouth with the food. "Not even half the time has passed, yet you are here."

The thin girl snorted. "There was not a single question I could not answer," she said proudly.

The way she said it showed she was not proud of it. As if it was natural for her to do that. 'Dear lord,' I thought, 'Even their personalities are the same.'

"Why do you look pensive, then?" I asked, fidgeting with my food. "Do you think it is unfair? That you cannot see your family anymore?"

I did not know why I asked that. Perhaps the worrisome thoughts I was bottling up leaked their way out. Her and my situations are different, but neither of us can see our families again.

"Can I have some water?" She did not answer the question, instead asked for water while looking down at her feet.

My palm stopped as I recalled that the girl before me probably had eaten nothing. There was not much food left for me to share with her. I swallowed the last bit of it heavily and cursed my insensibility inwardly.

I gave her the flask of water and found an apple and a couple of bananas inside my bag. That would not be enough for her, but that was the best I could offer at the moment. She did not take it at first, but after insisting a couple of times, she finally took it, though she did not eat them outright.

I wondered what I would do with her. What will I do she is the protagonist? I had no answer.

"Do you know how much the tuition costs here?" she asked.

That was what she worried about. It appeared she was quite confident about getting in. Well, if both her and Edward's origins were the same, then there was no need for her to worry.

"The bare minimum should be a couple of thousand dynes for a month," I said and could not help but sigh. "To have a proper education without worrying, it would be about ten thousand dynes." The numbers sounded heavy to even me. "But you can get by with less in the first few months."

Even though the girl appeared to be expecting it, she flinched at hearing it out of my mouth. She appeared far more depressed than Edward was—though that was probably one of the effects of being a girl. To be fair, Edward was just as depressive, but he could hide it well.

I stood up, carrying my stuff. I can do nothing to soothe her now, nor will I like to do. 'If she really is the protagonist, she needs to solve her problem on her own.'

"With the scholarship and doing some errands for the academy, you could get the bare minimum for the tutelage," I said and looked at the broken white clouds in the sky. "And you can get a sponsor if you like. There should be plenty to take someone of your talent. Although it comes with a price."

I saw her nod, even though she did not say a word or eat the fruits I gave her. There was half an hour left before the next round. I could not worry about someone else, even if that person turned out to be the protagonist.

"I am really glad to learn you did not turn into what the rumours say."

I turned at her words and stare at her for a while. She said nothing, not even glance at me. Shaking my head, I left her with those words and went inside the academic building to prepare for the next round.

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