"Students, friends, as we part ways upon graduation, I offer you my warmest, most heartfelt greetings.
Today is a sorrowful day of farewells, but it is also the day you set sail toward a bright future.
I have some wonderful news to share with you all.
Roland, a graduate of this year's class at our Falando Academy, has been admitted to the Orvisto Wizard Tower by special selection!
The Orvisto Wizard Tower is a Runes School wizard tower that has risen to the very top tier in recent years. You may already have heard its illustrious name, even if you are not yet very familiar with it.
To be precise, Roland has set a new record as the first student from our academy to gain admission to this wizard tower. Let us all congratulate him..."
The dean came to the center of the party venue and, surrounded by the crowd, gave a brief but impassioned speech, proudly announcing a new record for the academy.
Falando Academy counted among the Empire's renowned institutions, but even it could not guarantee that one of its students would enter a top-tier institution every year.
This was because the Empire had done an excellent job of making education widely available. No renowned institution could enjoy an overwhelming lead over all the others; the schools were very evenly matched.
As a result, the competition remained deadlocked, and even the slightest advantage could determine their rankings.
Having a student from their own academy set a new record was naturally cause for celebration.
Everyone was stunned, bewildered, and at a loss. Only after a long while did thunderous applause and cheers gradually erupt.
The dean gestured for quiet, gave the director of academic affairs a meaningful glance, and continued announcing the other students' admissions.
The director took the opportunity to draw Roland aside.
"Roland, I'm very sorry to take up a little of your time.
Our investigation into the plagiarism complaint you filed against Ramsey under your own name has yielded preliminary findings. However, there are still some details we need you to verify in person so we can determine the nature of the matter."
"The nature..."
While Roland pondered those words, Ramsey, who had overheard the gist of the conversation nearby, began shouting in disbelief.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I clearly-"
"Shut up! You have no say here!"
The director's gaze hardened.
Before he even gave an order, two attendants stepped forward. A single Silence Spell subdued Ramsey, and they dragged him outside.
The students who noticed this gaped, their mouths wide enough to hold duck eggs.
Those who had sided with Ramsey and spoken up for him earlier all trembled, terrified as though the end had come.
"This does concern the academy's reputation, after all. Let us have Ramsey withdraw due to illness and voluntarily give up his admission. As compensation..."
The director ignored them, leaned close to Roland's ear, and murmured a few words. Then he discreetly slipped a Magic Crystal Card into Roland's hand.
Roland weighed it in his hand, then suddenly smiled.
"I never intended to make a big fuss in the first place. I didn't expect you to go to such trouble.
Still, strictly speaking, cheating of this magnitude warrants expulsion..."
The director made the decision without hesitation. "It would reflect badly on us if word got out. We'll find another reason to expel him."
"And the Wendis Mage Tower...?"
"We'll handle the communication. You needn't worry."
"The students who insulted me just now...?"
"They'll be disciplined strictly according to the rules!"
"Then I have no other concerns." Roland sighed and said sincerely, "Director, you really are fair and impartial."
"Roland got into a top-tier tower?"
"The Orvisto Wizard Tower? Seriously?"
"The dean announced it himself. How could it be false?"
This was undoubtedly the graduating class's biggest bombshell.
First, the classmates who knew Roland erupted in excitement. Soon afterward, the other classes heard about it too, followed by nearly everyone in their year, regardless of their field of study.
But before any uninvolved students could come over to strike up an acquaintance or fish for information, Roland had already left the party early and disappeared.
He strolled along a tree-lined avenue on campus with Atali and Cynthia, talking about their impending farewell.
"Where did you run off to during the day?"
Atali was a little awkward. She wanted to say something to Roland in farewell, but for the moment, she did not know where to begin.
"During the day? I went out for a while to send some money home.
Atali, Cynthia, thank you for your help. If I get the chance someday, I'll repay you properly."
Normally, admitted students had at least a month to return home in triumph before reporting to their wizard towers.
But Roland had yet to figure out how to face his predecessor's parents and family, so he simply decided not to return.
"Roland, you heartless jerk! You got into the Orvisto Wizard Tower and didn't even tell us. You made us worry for nothing!"
At the mention of their help, Cynthia launched into a fiery tirade.
Roland felt terribly wronged. "Didn't I tell you ages ago?"
"Did you? I don't care. You didn't tell us, and that's that!"
Atali ignored Cynthia's unreasonable fussing and asked, "What exactly happened?
I still find it a little hard to believe. I never thought you'd get into a top-tier wizard tower..."
Roland spread his hands. "I don't know either. I just casually rewrote an essay, and a Grand Mage took a liking to it and admitted me."
"Damn it, he actually got to show off!"
Cynthia snorted, equally full of shock and confusion.
She did not believe for a second that something like this could happen so casually.
He must have been confident all along, yet he had made such a fuss that she had worried for nothing.
After some thought, she offered a serious analysis. "You probably outdid yourself and suddenly showed a level of ability far beyond your usual standard, and Archmage Ovesto just happened to notice.
I really don't know how you got so lucky..."
After hearing Cynthia's analysis, Roland agreed with part of it.
"That's true. Archmage Ovesto has a keen eye for talent. You could say he's the patron who recognized my worth."
He had used an Atrelin Language expression for "the patron who recognized my worth"; that language had similar terms and turns of phrase.
Cynthia said, "Ovesto's Runes School is a major new school that has only emerged in recent years. The Grand Mage himself is a grandmaster in the field of runes, and a rising star of our age with a chance of advancing to legendary rank. His prospects are limitless.
If you study under him, you'll have a bright future too.
But I'm not doing badly myself. I've already been accepted by Ailanburg. Come visit me there when you have time."
This time, it was Atali's turn to look dejected. "My prospects are nowhere near as bright as yours as mage apprentices. If knight apprentices like me are lucky, we might join the Imperial Knights someday or be hired by a wizard tower as a mage's guard. If we're unlucky, we can only fall back on becoming adventurers."
Roland comforted her. "Knights may not measure up to mages as a profession, but when it comes to personal advancement, each has its own strengths.
If you get the chance, see whether you can come to the Orvisto Wizard Tower. Then we can look out for each other."
Atali managed a faint smile. "I'll do my best."
Before you continue