I Want to Live a Normal Life

Episode 5: The Entrance Exam

On the day of the entrance exam for the Hartelia Royal Academy, I was busy creating exam targets behind the testing grounds with the other janitors, all while hearing the enthusiastic shouts of the examinees.

“Haah!”
“Heya!”
“Raaahhhh!!”

After some deliberation, I decided to take the janitor job. The work seemed fairly enjoyable, and I wanted to experience the academy’s atmosphere. More importantly, I wanted to be able to protect Alt in case some fool tried to cause trouble.

…But now, I’m starting to regret it a bit.

“Oh great earth, become a wall to be broken, and a mark for the youth.”

Chanting magic. This is my first time chanting, and it’s pretty tough. It’s so full of that chūnibyō vibe that it makes my spine tingle. Who came up with this chant anyway?

The chant includes elements like the attribute, the amount of magic used, intensity, and effect range. This means that anyone with the corresponding attribute can always produce the exact same effect. It’s perfect for making exam targets, aside from the mental strain.

“Yaaahhhh!”
“Toh!”
“Uwoooohhhh!!!”

“Yeah, it’s great to see the youth so full of energy.”

“…You’re still plenty young yourself.”

“Well, that’s true, but if this chant feels tough to me, it means I’m getting old.”

“Ah… Yeah, this chant sure is…”

“”Sigh…””

“”Oh great earth, become a wall to be broken, and a mark for the youth.””

The one complaining beside me is Walz, a veteran janitor with twenty years of experience. For the time being, I’ll be working with him. Janitors usually work in pairs. Despite his demeanor, Walz is actually a knight baron.

By the way, both Walz and I can create the targets without chanting. However, allowing that could lead to people tampering with the targets, so it’s not permitted. The chant also serves to prevent cheating by the staff.

This academy is divided into the knight and magic departments, so the janitors are split into two groups for their tasks. I’m with the knight department since Alt is taking the knight entrance exam. I’m also supposed to report on his progress to Mr. Fenfield.

“Oh, it’s your young master’s turn.”

“Indeed it is.”

“Nice to meet you.”
“Begin!”
“Whew…”

“Hey, he’s doing pretty well.”

“Of course, Mr. Fenfield trained him thoroughly.”

“Mr. Fenfield… You mean the ‘Swift Sword’?”

“‘Swift Sword’?”

“Hm? You don’t know? He’s called that because he’s incredibly fast and strong.”

“Wow, that’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

So Mr. Fenfield has a nickname too. Well, he is really strong. He even performed well in the martial arts tournament. Since then, he’s trained even more and gotten stronger.

But more importantly, right now it’s Alt’s turn. Judging by his stance, is he going to use [Attribute Enhancement] to send a slash flying?

“Hah!”

“Oh! [Attribute Enhancement]! Your young master can do it!”

“Hmm…”

Not bad, but he was a bit tense. Among the examinees so far, he’s probably a head or two above the rest, but this will likely mean extra training from Mr. Fenfield. I’ll have to report this. Sorry, Alt.

“Walz, your hands stopped working.”

“Oh, my bad.”

“”Oh great earth, become a wall to be broken, and a mark for the youth.””

This is rough.

—

A week later, I received a summons from the marquis with reports on Alt’s test results and Sean’s brother’s situation.

“So, Alt has successfully secured his admission. He passed as the top student.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Congratulations.”

“Yes. Although it seems he’s currently being put through the wringer by Wayne.”

“I figured…”

Alt couldn’t escape from Mr. Fenfield. I tried to back him up, but oh well. Hang in there, Alt.

Still, being the top student means he did well in the written exams too. I always picture him training with the sword, but he’s the next count after all. It’s no surprise he’s received a fitting education.

“Changing the subject, the man Mine captured—he was a merchant from the Church. It appears he was acting on orders from the Church.”

“Miltia, huh…”

Miltia again. They keep showing up, disrupting the peaceful lives of Mine-kun, Seira, and me. Someone needs to take them down for our sake.

“Yes. As Mine heard, the person giving orders to those two was someone named Golddor.”

“Golddor…”

“Yes. He’s said to be a man in his mid-thirties with light blue hair and narrow eyes. Also, he has a scar near his left eyebrow.”

“…?”

Huh? Isn’t that the guy from the original story? The one who was an executive in the Commercial Guild… Gura… Gura something. With just this information, it’s hard to say for sure.

But if he were a member of the Church, that means Miltia had someone in the Commercial Guild’s inner circle. Considering the Commercial Guild sided against Hartelia in the original story, did they abandon Miltia, or were they preparing for Miltia religion’s survival even if the Church fell? Given that the connection between the Commercial Guild and Miltia never surfaced in the original, the latter seems likely.

So, even if the original story was completed, Miltia’s remnants would still remain. …Wait, was there a route or a sequel planned? I’d really rather not deal with that. Well, if only they reincarnated a hardcore fan… Nah, it’s fine. I’m having fun too. But at least give me some hints.

“Also, it’s been found that the person Sean Febris captured was also acting under Golddor’s orders. Based on their testimony, we destroyed one of their bases, but there are undoubtedly more. It seems they’re plotting something involving the academy.”

“Oh man, that’s a hassle…”

“They haven’t been informed of the details either, but there are probably more Miltia agents trying to infiltrate. We could use your vigilance there.”

“Understood.”

Seriously? Miltia, stay away. Don’t mess with Mine-kun’s and my school life (as janitors).

But if it’s academy-related, that means nobles will get involved, which sounds troublesome. There are nobles in this country, like those from Alteria, who oppose commoner admissions.

“In our investigation, we didn’t find anyone named Golddor among the main members of Miltia. It could be an alias, or he might just be a pawn. We’re currently investigating based on his appearance, but our progress is slow.”

“Maybe…”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, well, isn’t it possible they infiltrated other countries or the Commercial Guild? They seemed pretty tight with those groups.”

“Hmm, that’s a valid point. We’ll look into that too.”

I subtly provided knowledge from the original story. If it’s someone else, it might be a miss, but investigating won’t hurt. If it’s him, it means he’s been active in the Commercial Guild for quite a while. I don’t know what he’s plotting with the Commercial Guild, though.

I’ll leave the complicated stuff to the count and the smart people. Just call me when it’s time to solve things with force.