I Want to Live a Normal Life

Episode 9: Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

“This is the Royal Academy in real life…! This is the sacred place…!”

On the long-awaited day of the pilgrimage to the holy land, the Alteria Royal Academy, as seen from the carriage window, was far larger and more beautiful than in the game. With a majestic main gate inspired by the kingdom’s symbol, the Pegasus, beautiful school buildings with white as the primary color, and towering spires at regular intervals, the scenery I once saw in the game now stood before me as a reality. I must have had a terribly foolish expression as I looked up at it. It’s that impactful.

“Wow… this is amazing…!”

…

Disembarking from the carriage in front of the main entrance, memories of the protagonist of the original story being harassed by noble children flashed through my mind.

Among the nobles, there are many who look down on commoners. The so-called noble faction, with our marquis’ family being one of them, is the prime example. It’s contradictory to look down on others yet cause trouble. Truly fitting for a noble who’s lost touch with reality.

But I digress. They probably find it amusing that commoners attend the prestigious Alteria Royal Academy. They try all sorts of tricks to harass them. The protagonist also gets harassed for silly reasons but is saved by the intervention of a certain noble daughter. It’s a typical event that happens here. It’s a shame we can’t see the whole scene because of the large number of exam candidates.

By the way, the exams are held at test venues all over the kingdom. Well, kids from remote rural areas probably can’t even come to the capital. On the other hand, it seems all noble sons and daughters are required to take the exams here. I wonder why. Maybe for the sake of the story’s convenience?

“Master Mine, I will come to pick you up around the end of the exams.”

“Yes.”

After seeing off the carriage and the middle-aged maid, I proceeded to the entrance to complete the procedures and receive my examination ticket. First up is the written exam. Then lunch at the cafeteria, followed by separate practical exams for the Knight and Magic departments in the afternoon.

As I followed the guide towards the examination hall, I glanced around. This hallway has appeared many times in the original story…

Suddenly, I noticed some familiar faces among the teachers. They are the same teachers who appeared in the original story. Unfortunately, I don’t remember their names.

“Come to think of it, it doesn’t feel strange at all that game characters became real.”

The game characters all had an anime-style visual. Their facial features and designs were somewhat exaggerated. Despite them becoming real, it’s strange how I can immediately recognize them as “oh, that character.”

“Oh, this must be the examination venue. Huh!?”

Upon entering the classroom, I sensed a huge amount of magic power. The source seems to be the female examination supervisor for this class. At first glance, she looks like an ordinary middle-aged woman, but she possesses more magic power than anyone I’ve ever met.

But, was there such a person in the original story? With this amount of magic power, she can’t be just a background character, but it’s hard to tell because she looks like an ordinary woman. Well, even the “Sword Saint” was like a background character in the original story, so it’s no use pondering about it.

Oh right. I acquired a new scouting ability a few months ago. Until then, I used [Magic Detection], but after using it for a long time, I became able to sense the surrounding magic power without expanding my own. It’s the [Magic Sense] that only a few characters in the original story could learn. The effective range now is about five meters, but it’s still helpful that my [Magic Armor] consumption has improved. It can be used depending on the situation. Isn’t it amazing that Mine-kun can learn this? “Sword Saint” huh…

Passing by the supervisor, I took my seat with my examination number. Maybe my magic power was sensed because I was stared at… I hadn’t thought about that possibility. I have some blind spots because I’m thinking too much on my own. I should consider ways to hide my magic power in the future.

“We will soon begin, so let me inform you of some precautions for taking the exam.”

After a brief explanation from the supervisor, the written exam began. This part is almost the same as the entrance exams in my previous life. If I had to point out a difference, it would be that all subjects are taken at once and there are measures against magic cheating. Well then, let’s get started.

“The end.”

As expected, the written exam was a mess. There were some things I could cover with my knowledge from my previous life and from the original story, but there were overwhelmingly many blank spaces. I mean, how would I know about history? I’ve never received any education. I mean, even touching a quill pen for the first time was quite an experience. It really is made of feathers.

By the way, I confirmed my ability to read and write characters when I read books in the study. It seems Mine-kun was studying before I was reincarnated. Thanks, Mine-kun.

Well, so, most of the exam time, I was sleeping. While feeling the gaze of the exam supervisor. Well, it’s natural to think, “What’s this guy doing here?” if I fell asleep within the first thirty minutes. I’d think the same thing.

“That’s it. Please put down your pen.”

The written exam ends with the examiner’s voice. After this is lunchtime. I head to the cafeteria with the other examinees. Their expressions vary. Some look confident, some look unsure, some don’t seem to be thinking at all, some look like they’re about to die. Huh?

“Hey, are you okay? Want some water?”

“Oh, thank you…”

I unintentionally spoke up because the nearby girl’s complexion looked really bad. But there’s nothing in particular I can do. So, I delegate it to the teacher nearby. Sorry.

“Excuse me, this child seems to be unwell.”

“Oh my, you look pale. Let’s go to the infirmary. Can you walk?”

“Y-yes…”

The girl nodded to me and headed to the infirmary with the teacher. In fiction, we’d probably meet again after enrolling and become acquainted… Too bad, I failed. I’m even considering seeking asylum. We probably won’t meet again anyway.

“Oops, more importantly, it’s food, food!”

This academy has seven cafeterias. Two for high-ranking nobles, three for lower-ranking nobles and commoners. The other two are for teachers and staff.

According to the conversations of the examinees walking nearby, examinees are assigned to cafeterias for lower-ranking nobles according to the classrooms they took the exam in. Is it okay for the sons and daughters of high-ranking nobles to use the cafeteria for lower-ranking nobles? I wondered, but apparently, they take the exam in a separate room with special treatment and then have their meals in the cafeteria for high-ranking nobles. …I’m from the Marquis’ family,right?

“T-this is…”

The place I was guided to was the largest cafeteria. Right after enrolling, the original protagonist and the commoner heroine were harassed by the daughters of nobles here. It seemed silly, with reasons like smelling of commoners and the food tasting bad. And then, they were helped by the noble heroine and deepened their friendship afterwards. Hmm, the stage setting for the noble daughters feels strong.

It’s lucky to be able to come to this cafeteria, which has been the stage for various events.

“…Is this meat? Actual meat?”

This is the first meat I’ve tasted since being reincarnated. I almost cried. After all, it’s the meat I’ve been longing for!

“Oh, it has flavor…?”

The taste was really delicious. I teared up a bit. The other examinees near me seemed a bit taken aback, but that’s not my concern right now. What’s more surprising is that seconds were free.

“The Marquis’ family,huh.”

I unintentionally muttered, and the other examinees gave me looks like “Is this guy sane?” But I didn’t mention which Marquis’ family, so it’s okay.

“Finally, it’s the practical test.”

The afternoon practical test is a choice between magic and weapon combat. If you take the exam with magic, you’ll enter the magic department, and if it’s weapon combat, you’ll enter the knight department. There’s no need for prior application, you just need to take the one you want, and you can even take both if you want. Well, some commoner examinees have never held a weapon properly, so… But there are still cases of examinees who scored high using a weapon for the first time. Probably because their weapon aptitude was S or A. It’s probably also a reason why they recruit a wide range of examinees, to pick up talents that even the candidates themselves aren’t aware of.

By the way, I’m only taking the magic department exam. Even if someone tells me now that I have aptitude for archery, it would be troublesome. While thinking about that, I peek into the training ground right next to the magic department’s exam venue.

In this training ground, which serves as the exam venue for the knight department, there’s an event where the original protagonist, who rapidly improves his skills, gets into a duel with Cain. He’s always getting into trouble, isn’t he? If you win this event, you proceed to the friendship route, and if you lose, an event related to Cain’s fiancée progresses. Come to think of it, is he already engaged? It doesn’t matter.

“Oh, I need to line up.”

The practical magic exam is quite simple: destroy two targets about thirty meters away. You’re allowed to cast magic only three times. The examiner evaluates how quickly and accurately you can cast magic to destroy the targets.

I wait in line in one of the five rows. Because I was peeking into the adjacent training ground, the line was already quite long.

“Next.”

“Please take care of me.”

“-!?… Sorry. Begin!”

“[Bullet]”

Finally, it’s my turn, so I hand my exam ticket to the examiner and take my position. They glanced at my name and seemed momentarily surprised but didn’t say anything and signaled the start. I wonder why?

I cast [Bullet] twice and finish. A boy who was three people ahead of me used [Stone Lance], so I kept the power and casting speed about the same. Anyway, I’m going to fail the written exam. I’d rather not stand out.

“Well, I guess that’s the end of the pilgrimage.”

It’s a shame I couldn’t see the face of the senior heroine who seems to be taking the exam in another venue, but she’s a daughter of a Marquis, after all. It can’t be helped that we’re treated differently. …Wait, am I from the Marquis’ family?

As I’m thinking about that, I suddenly feel someone’s gaze.

“Huh… Why are you here?”

The owner of the gaze is a man who shouldn’t be here. His hair and long chin beard are white, and his face is deeply wrinkled, but his blue eyes sparkle with a fierce light. And his ears are longer than a human’s.

With this information, almost everyone who played “Alteria Chronicles” would think of the same person.

“The Sage” Elc Markkulkur. An elf who has lived for over a thousand years, he is the “strongest” officially recognized for handling vast magic and magic of all attributes.

He’s a magic geek who loves magic research anyway, and he’s a monster who can copy and steal even original magic just by seeing it.

Although his name frequently appears in the original work, he only appears at the end of the school arc and the end of the war arc. I remember he was set not to get involved in conflicts between countries. Well, he doesn’t belong to any specific country, and if he were to participate in a war, the whole place would become a wasteland. He was even called a “walking map weapon,” so I guess it was also for game balance.

By the way, there seems to have been a route that delved into the past of the “Sage,” but I dropped out before that, so I don’t know the details of that route. But it must have been a hassle and a jinx.

Although someone like that is looking at me from the top of the spire. Since our eyes met, I lightly bowed, and he grinned and disappeared. Teleportation, I guess? He used it in the original too. It seems convenient, so I want to use it too. If I have the aptitude, that is.

In reality, encountering the “strongest in the original work” would be a pleasant event as a former player, but because it’s him, I can’t help but feel it’s going to be troublesome. But maybe I’m just overthinking it.

“Oh well, let’s go home.”

There’s no point in thinking about it here. Whatever will be, will be.

“Sigh… The pilgrimage was fun.”

With this, my last visit to Alteria Royal Academy comes to an end, so I firmly imprint it in my memory. The results will be announced in a week, but I can already see it. I can almost hear someone saying, “This incompetent idiot!!”

And then there’s the Hartelia spy. I’d be happy if they didn’t move, but that’s probably not going to happen. Such a hassle.