The Exam was drawing closer by the day.
On November 9, Lein summoned Downs.
"Downs! I only have one requirement for this selection—safety comes first."
"So long as everyone stays safe?"
I understood! My master meant that as long as we stayed safe, anything else went.
"Yes."
After thinking for a moment, Downs said, "Master! Lend me your head for a moment."
For an instant, Lein froze solid. He had misheard it as, If you don't abandon me, I, Bu, am willing to acknowledge you as my adoptive father. His fists had gone rigid on the spot.
Was betraying one's master and ancestors popular in other worlds too?
On November 11, the day of the Exam.
Earl of Ramanque was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan. As a supporting party, he knew perfectly well that for such a massive examination, the organizer, Tesla Archmage, had only asked them to prepare one hundred sets of seats.
But the candidates gathered outside the walls had no idea!
Early that morning, a dense crowd of students packed the open ground outside the Mage Tower's walls. Earl of Ramanque, watching from the City Tower, felt utterly exasperated.
He truly had no idea what that big shot would do next.
The only thing he knew was that the Temple of Light seemed quite pleased.
On the vast open ground, there was no organization and no so-called discipline. The students gathered in groups of three or five, but overall, based on their origins, they formed three enormous crowds.
The noble scions were the most conspicuous. More than a hundred carriages bearing family crests separated them from the others. They had not only servants but also fully armed guards, who vigilantly swept their eyes back and forth over the other two groups. The