Kjeragandr Is Persuaded / The Examination Ends

"It's a pity there are only ten spots!" Enciodes's voice came from the side.

In Enciodes's view, this number was far too small, a drop in the ocean even for little Kjerag.

Moreover, these spots weren't entirely his. Even with his meticulous planning, the sight of these young people still moved him deeply. He couldn't guarantee how many of them, after experiencing the outside world's prosperity, would still retain their original dreams and return to Kjerag to build their hometown.

Therefore, he could only send as many students as possible out, even if only one out of ten returned. As long as they learned the technology from the outside world, it would be a huge help to Kjerag, which was lagging behind everywhere.

"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, Kjerag has always claimed to be a sovereign nation. Although the nations of Terra do not prohibit people from other countries from studying in their countries, there are still necessary restrictions at the official level."

If you want to send more people to study abroad...

That seems impossible!

Suika abruptly changed the subject halfway through her sentence, but everyone present understood the meaning behind her words.

"Indeed, Kjerag was Kjerag of the Kjerag people before, and he can only be Kjerag of the Kjerag people in the future. This is our bottom line."

Enciodes stared at Suika as he spoke, but Suika's response puzzled him, as she showed no intention of continuing the conversation and instead shrugged as if to say, "I knew you would say that."

"By the way, are the proctors ready for tomorrow's exam? Could you get me a proctoring pass?"

Suika turned around and looked at the students in the room, a look of novelty in her eyes. In the past, she was always the one sitting in the examination room, being watched and struggling with the exam questions.

Now that she has the opportunity to proctor an exam, it wouldn't be in her nature not to show off a little.

"A proctor's pass has already been prepared for Miss Messenger. You can use this pass to freely enter and exit either examination room to supervise the exam tomorrow..."

Upon hearing Suika's words Ratatos took out a work ID card from her pocket and handed it to Suika. The card only had the word "Supervisor" written on it, followed by the number 006.

"001 is dedicated to Kjeragandr, to prove that the test was conducted under His watchful eye."

002 is Her Highness the Saint, the person closest to God, who will be proctoring tomorrow's exam on God's behalf.

003-005 refers to the three of us...

Seeing that Suika's attention was focused on the string of numbers, Arctos began to explain.

Suika nodded after listening.

"Hmm, what about the Grand Elder?"

"The card you have was originally the Grand Elder's, and yours was 007's invigilation card. However, the Grand Elder seems to be quite ill and probably won't be participating in tomorrow's invigilation, so we've canceled his invigilation and replaced him with you."

Enciodes answered.

"Um, can I switch to 007?" Suika asked with a hint of disdain.

"Huh?" The three of them didn't quite understand Suika's thinking. Logically speaking, in this situation, people would want their numbers to be at the beginning, so that they would seem more important. Why would someone specifically want the numbers at the end?

"Well, since I'm working for Victoria this time... the number 007 seems to have a stronger connection with Victoria."

Suika stated that even in another world, being a Bond girl would be an interesting choice.

The three looked at each other, unsure of the reason for Suika's strange request. Finally, the straightforward Arctos spoke up.

"In that case, Miss Messenger, if you like that number, I'll go and change it for you."

He didn't think much of what he said; he just guessed from Suika's expression that the other person felt it was unlucky for the previous elder to have this number, as the previous one was ill.

"Thank you!" Suika tossed the sign to him.

The four chatted as they walked and unknowingly arrived at the foot of the shrine.

"By the way, it's still early. Want to grab a drink if you're free?"

As Suika spoke, she pulled out her Ibuki Gourd.

Upon seeing her action, Atatos instinctively covered his mouth.

Then, pale-faced, he shook his head and backed away.

As a connoisseur of fine wines, I naturally feel that having a "magic weapon" (Suika claims) that can produce an endless variety of fine wines is a blessing.

But if someone gets you drunk with this stuff time and time again, and you can only have simple PTSD like Arctos, then you are already considered to have a very strong mentality.

Although he didn't know why Arctos was so afraid of the gourd in Suika's hand, Enciodes still politely declined Suika's invitation.

After all, although the exam is tomorrow, for the three major families, the exam is just one thing they need to do during this period. Besides this exam, they still have many other things to deal with, so they cannot drink with Suika.

"Fine, fine... you guys go play by yourselves..."

After the others left, Suika leaned against the shrine alone, taking sips of sake from the jug.

"Don't you feel lonely drinking alone?"

A woman's voice came from the side.

"Drinking is just drinking. Whether you drink alone, drink with someone, or raise a glass with someone, each has its own charm."

If drinking makes you feel lonely, then doing other things is different. At least when you're drunk, you don't feel lonely anymore.

Suika shook the sake bottle and then tossed it in the direction the sound came from.

A slender hand caught the wine jug and then tossed it back. "I'm not drinking anymore. Enya has a very keen nose; she almost got caught drinking with you last time."

"Won't it be a problem for you to be here alone?"

Suika her head to look at Yel, who was emerging from the shadows. Yara was Enya's maid, Changya'er.

"I was ordered by the Holy Maiden to come ahead and help her tidy up these rooms. I entered through the main entrance openly and honestly. What problem could there be?"

Yel sat down next to Suika with a smile.

"Where's Enya? Is she still on the snow mountain? Are you really going to leave her alone?"

Yel shook her head after hearing Suika's question. "Actually, she's already here, but she heard the Grand Elder was ill, so she went to visit him..."

What are you planning to do?

"What, you're still planning to plead for him?"

"I'm telling you, that guy's dead meat. No one can help him, I'm telling you."

After speaking, Suika picked up the wine jug and started gulping down the wine.

"Look, you're in such a hurry... I didn't say I was going to protect him, but he's been the Grand Elder for so many years, I should at least give him some face."

Yel shook her head, looking helpless.

"Tsk, do you really think he trusts you?"

I see absolutely no faith in his methods and practices..."

"Okay, you've convinced me..." Yel was finally persuaded by Suika's words.

Chapter 324 The Exam Ends

After all, it's their own business, and only they know the truth.

Perhaps the former Grand Elder did indeed have his own fanatical followers, or at the very least, he genuinely believed in himself.

But this elder was different; all his faith was an act.

He never truly believed in himself from beginning to end.

He became the Grand Elder not because of faith, but because of his methods and courage.

Of course, Kjeragandr didn't care in the past. To Him, He had already fulfilled His final responsibility to Kjerag, and how Kjerag developed was none of His concern.

However, being pointed out by Suika at this moment still made Him feel somewhat embarrassed.

"Here's what we'll do: if he doesn't target you again, don't kill him in the Manjushri Monastery. After all, I still have my pride if such a grown man dies there."

I'll find a way to get him out of here. Whatever happens, I won't interfere.

Yel thought for a moment before speaking.

"Alright, but wouldn't it be too much of a reward for that old man if you did it yourself?"

Suika had no objection to Yel's words. As long as it didn't prevent her from killing that old man, she didn't care where he died.

"Let's just say it's God sending His followers off on their final journey!" Yel said playfully, winking.

No one knew that within the Manjushri Monastery, beneath the shrine, the casual conversation between two non-human beings, a question and a answer, would determine the life or death of the religious leader of Kjerag, the most powerful elder in the area.

"That's about enough. If we don't go back soon, Enya will be looking for me... See you next time!" After confirming the Elder's fate, Yel stood up, said goodbye to Suika, and disappeared.

The rest of the time was uneventful until the exam on the second day.

Looking at the still-absent seat of the Grand Elder, Suika yawned with satisfaction.

Because of the joy she experienced with her clone the day before yesterday, she decided to go and have some fun herself last night, which resulted in the Grand Elder's condition worsening this morning.

However, Suika showed absolutely no pity for the old man.

On the contrary, seeing him huddled in the corner shivering, I felt a rare sense of satisfaction.

"Didn't Miss Messenger sleep well last night?" Arctos asked softly from the side.

Suika nodded. "That's right. The thought that today's exam will determine the future of so many students makes me quite nervous, after all, I've never done anything like this before."

"Haha, Miss Messenger, there's no need for that. If someone has good grades but unfortunately didn't get selected, we'll give them the opportunity to study elsewhere."

It's just that it might not be as good as the Royal Academy of Sciences Affiliated University.

For some reason, Enciodes surprisingly smiled at Suika today.

Having seen his usual lifeless demeanor for so long, seeing his smiling face now just felt awkward to Suika.

But Suika agreed with what he said.

"That's a good idea. All the talented young people who came to take the exam this time are from Kjerag. It would be a pity if they were to stay here and fail. If they had the opportunity to go out and see the world, broaden their horizons, and learn some knowledge from the outside world to help build Kjerag, it would be a wonderful thing to talk about in the future."

Soon the exam papers were brought in. Seeing the somewhat tired Jian and the other two, Enciodes, who was in the lead, nodded to them.

"You've all worked hard. Now, let the guards take over."

After handing the exam papers to the guards, the three were invited to a room to rest.

And so the exam officially began.

Suika had also looked at the exam paper, and just as Elisa said, it was basically all very basic material.

The above content is roughly at the junior high school level of math, physics, and chemistry.

Even though I've forgotten everything I learned, if I were to actually do it, getting a score of 70 or 80 would be easy.

This shows that she wasn't very confident about recruiting students in Kjerag.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have set such a simple question.

Suika, the proctor, was in high spirits, shuttling back and forth between the two examination rooms, and occasionally peeking out to see how the candidates were doing.

After reviewing several exam papers, Suika remarked that on Earth, these students would almost certainly lose one point for presentation on each major question.

Because they don't write "solution".

Seeing Suika shake her head after looking at just one person, not only the examinees, but even Ratatos was also an invigilator, felt a little flustered.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with their answers?"

There were two examination rooms, with Enciodes and Arctos serving as the chief examiners in one room respectively.

Ratatos and Suika were the examiners.

Therefore, only the two of them have a chance to meet.

"There are problems, yes, but they're not huge, but they're not insignificant either... Maybe it's just my obsessive-compulsive disorder acting up."

Suika touched her nose but didn't explain what the problem was. Instead, she continued to happily proctor the exam.

The exam lasted for a total of four hours.

The time may seem long, but with six exam papers covering the basics of various science subjects, time is actually quite tight.

When the exam was announced to be over, Suika noticed that many candidates' papers were still blank.

Seeing the student crying in her seat Suika said there was nothing she could do.

After all, this exam is meant to select the best students, so that they won't be at a loss when they arrive at school.

It's important to understand that academic pursuits have certain barriers to entry.

Especially in the sciences, spirituality is even more necessary.

If you don't understand something, you'll still not get it even if you're taught a hundred times.