Novel Bin Vol. 1 - Ch. 19 - Imposed Condition
...Haaa. I had to make a dear sacrifice, but at least I managed to sail through this sea of ordeal.
The Royal Academy could cook whatever story they wanted. I wasn\'t so obsessed with it, but it was another matter to be dismissed within one hour of being admitted into it. I would have been ashamed to meet my parents otherwise...... Thank you, Schord. Your sacrifice won\'t be wasted or forgotten.
I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes, praying for the happiness of my sworn friend in his next life.
"Not a single word of complaint, huh? Schord Bainfause\'s teachings really hadn\'t been wasted on you."
Well, Mother had said she would be leaving for the Viscount Rovenne territory soon, so maybe the situation wouldn\'t be taking an ugly turn.
...To be honest, I was wondering why she had to leave so soon. I wonder if she had already predicted this development (the excuse I would be giving). The scary part was I couldn\'t even deny the possibility.
.......Hmm? Wait, I think I just misheard something.
"I understand you may have many things to say after being told you\'ll be placed in Class E. But that\'s how significant the weight of this situation is, and how difficult it is to overturn the cheating allegation. After all, it was no different from doubting the long-standing comprehensive ability judgment system of the Yugria Kingdom.
Furthermore, in your case, it happened in four subjects, and nothing seems to prove that you cheated...... To be frank, this is the first time such huge discrepancies have occurred in the entirety of its history.
Those who were innocent after investigation in the past were all placed in Class E. That isn\'t to say that the class assigned was permanent, it depended on their performance after enrollment. But unfortunately, not a single person has managed to go beyond Class E......"
Class E!?... Whatever, I wasn\'t that fixated on class. In fact, considering how I wanted to live without being bound by anything, this just sounded perfect.
Of course, I haven\'t cheated but the comprehensive ability judgment system wasn\'t wrong either. After all, there was no way something as absurd as reincarnation would ever cross their mind.
"I understand."
I nodded, putting up a resigned expression purposely.
"Well, this should be the end of the orientation but there\'s a bit of circumstance this time around."
Godorfun swept over the class with a sharp gaze, and once the atmosphere tensed up, he continued.
"In as early as ten years, there is a high chance for a war to break out."
His bombshell remark made everyone in the class gasp audibly.
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"I was interrupted by that brat earlier, but this is one of the reasons why I\'m here and the decree of His Majesty is related to this.
Every single student in this Academy is someone handpicked from the pool of talents from all over the kingdom, the cream of the crop. So to put it bluntly, His Majesty is expecting me to choose the top 20 students from the Academy that would serve as the battle force to this kingdom."
Pausing there, Godorfun briefly glanced at Allen.
"I don\'t expect everyone present to become a soldier. How one lives is their freedom.
...But no matter the role you all take, given the ability and authority of the Royal Academy graduates, you\'ll be an important force to support the country. The war is first and foremost about the power of solidarity."
Then, Leo raised his hand.
"May I ask a question, Sir?"
"What is it, Leo?"
"If it\'s not overstepping my boundary, may I ask which country we\'ll be going against?"
"Hmm. The Intelligence department is currently consolidating the vital pieces of information as we speak. So there\'s nothing that can be concretely explained to you students... In the end, there\'s no stopping the needless rumors from jumping out. So it\'s useless to ask me anything about it for now. Though if I have to make a guess, the first one to make a move should be the Rosemieur Empire in the north."
"Sure enough."
Leo gritted his teeth together.
The Rosemieur Empire was another major power that has been contending with the Yugria Kingdom over the hegemony of this continent for a long time.
It had been just a decade ago that the Rosemieur Empire invaded the kingdom, and at that time, we had been invaded with a force that brought a huge change on the borders for a brief period.
However, with the surprise attack from the elite troops that included Godorfun himself which resulted in the fall of the enemy\'s commander, the kingdom\'s Knight Order swiftly took advantage of the gap to break the enemy line and somehow managed to keep the status quo.
"In tandem with their movement, there are chances the Zestiria Nation in the west might make a move as well."
"For real!?"
A clamor broke out in class as soon as another unexpected country was brought up.
"Does Zestiria have friendly relations with Rosemiure ever since its foundation? Why in the world are they joining hands to wage war on our nation after never partaking in one so far?!"
"It\'s not concrete whether they\'ll make a move or not for now. However, there are frequent suspicious signs like the exchange of military supplies with the Empire that we have confirmed. While nothing is confirmed, we ought to prepare for the worst."
After suppressing the buzzing class with a gesture of his hand, Godorfune turned to look at Allen.
"That’s why, even if, hypothetically, what you claimed to be was right and this was the result of working hard day and night as if your life depended on it, the kingdom doesn\'t have the leeway to let talent go to waste. Having said that, I can\'t make an exception based on my judgment alone.
Therefore, I\'m giving you the task to gain recommendations from the members of this class saying \'you\'re qualified to be in Class A\' within one week. With the recommendations from all the members of this class and the examiners, I\'ll directly advise His Majesty and obtain permission through a royal decree. Understand?"
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\'Understand\' he said.
Like hell! What in the world was cooking in that senile mind of that old man...
I had no intention of participating in the war and most of all, I didn\'t see any merit in me bowing my head in front of everyone just to stay in this Class A...... No wait, maybe I was just ignorant about the advantages?
"Just to confirm, Are there any special privileges associated with being in Class A? For example, facilities exclusive to Class A, access to special materials, and the like?"
Godorfun answered with a dubious expression.
"There is no such special privilege. All Academy students are equal regardless of their class. However...... I\'m not fond of saying this but the graduates of Class A receive preferential treatment in their future endeavors. Being a graduate of Class A means you are almost guaranteed to join the kingdom\'s Knight Order, have priority in all possible employment, and you could even pursue advanced study in the Research Academy. You are promised to have success anywhere you go. Besides......"
Godorfun paused there as he raised an eyebrow and released a threatening aura, eliciting cries of surprise from all over the class.
"For someone who is a disciple of Schord Bainfause, I hope you are not thinking of something like \'Then who cares which class I\'m in’, right?"
Just how high had the stock of Schord shot up in the mind of this old man? It was almost as if they were war buddies who had gone through perilous situations together......
\'Don\'t blabber whatever comes to your mind! It\'s not like I didn\'t think I wouldn\'t mind being in Class E at all!\'
What\'s wrong with Class E anyway?!
The old man had talked about employment, advanced studies, or success in life which meant jack shit to me!
"Remember, behind your class assignment is an investment worth 30 million rea... your parents\' happiness who have raised you so far, Master Schord\'s efforts, and my pride as the one who recommended you for this class! If I ever saw you deliberately slacking off in your effort, mark my words, I\'ll tear you apart myself even if you managed to stay in the Academy!"
"Eeeek."
...30 million rea? Really?
That was almost equivalent to the annual tax revenue of our viscount territory, which, after removing the necessary expenditure, left us with an income of 3 million real.
For reference, 1 real is equivalent to 1 dollar.
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As long as one calmly analyzed the situation, it wasn\'t hard to see that it was impossible to gain the recommendation of the whole class in just one week.
First of all, I was under suspicion of cheating on the academic tests. Moreover, in four out of five subjects, especially in Magic Theory, I was accused of a 99.9% chance of cheating. If that wasn\'t enough, there was also my exchange with Leo.
When the kingdom was facing a critical situation, would he want a classmate who would openly announce that he didn\'t have any shred of favorability towards the kingdom? At least, I wouldn\'t have. So it was almost impossible to persuade Leo.
Furthermore, there was that bombshell remark from Fey. To be honest, I was still annoyed at her since my value in the eyes of the girls currently was even lower than a roadside pebble due to her.
Just who was that old man kidding? It was damned impossible to gain recommendations from the members of the class who looked at me like I was trash in a week.
If that wasn\'t enough, that old man, whom I was pushing to become the disciple of, instead announced he would trash me and ended up saying some mumbo-jumbo that I didn\'t get at all.
Most of all, the existence of my elder sister has been exposed, which wasn\'t a laughing matter for me at all.
Kukuku. Impossible. No one would believe that this was achievable.
I couldn\'t help but marvel at how the situation turned out like this. I tried to appear as someone innocuous, and yet, in the end, I was trapped in this hopeless situation. I questioned myself back-to-back, what was it that I did wrong that time? I was sure that I had just given my best.
As for why it was impossible, it was simple, I had no drive to follow up with this charade. Had there been even a single reason that made me want to pass the qualification for Class A at any cost, I would have made it a reality by deploying any means possible.
But there wasn\'t any. Absolutely none.
Alright, I would just pretend I was doing my best, but secretly aim for Class E in secret.
Editor\'s note - To be honest, I\'d also feel the same way if I was the MC. Not only was the accusation of cheating insulting to the effort he put in to ace the exam, but their test to prove that he didn\'t cheat had nothing to do with academics. Coupled with no actual benefits in staying with Class A and a war coming a decade at the latest, it wasn\'t a surprise he had no motivation to prove himself.