Do you want the truth or a lie?
Upon hearing Draco's words, the bearded man was taken aback for a moment, then grinned and said, "Of course I'll listen to the truth—"
"The truth is," Draco gestured with his index finger between himself and Hermione, "That we're both minors."
The moment those words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of the adults around them froze. Even the woman in the front row with square-rimmed glasses turned her head, and the round-faced man twisted his chair, blurting out, "Wow... so small?"
"I'm almost 30..." the black woman said.
"Taking exams at such a young age? Has the school gone mad?"
The group started rattling off their ages, and the more they said, the more ridiculously young Draco and Hermione seemed. The bearded man stroked his chin and said, "You two must have something extraordinary about you, otherwise the school wouldn't have made an exception and admitted you."
Draco spread his arms slightly for them to see. "What's so special about me? I don't have three heads and six arms. Do I look like someone with any special abilities?"
The woman with square-framed glasses looked him up and down, then shook her head. "I don't see anything special about him. Could it be...?"
"You have a very powerful background?"
"If you really have a strong background, why bother with this exam? Just enroll directly," Draco laughed.
"Stop guessing. They said they're underage. Maybe they're one of those once-in-a-century geniuses. The school values potential, right?" said Zara, the black girl.
The bearded man stubbornly shook his head and said confidently, "No, no, no, I guarantee they'll both be accepted. That kind of aura is definitely not ordinary."
The round-faced man glanced at him sideways:
"You think you're the examiner... that you can make such a guarantee?"
Just then, the door to the interview room opened. The female teacher came out, and everyone immediately fell silent. Behind her was one of the candidates who had just gone in. The candidate had a happy expression on his face, and he couldn't suppress the smirk as he faced the questioning gazes from the other candidates.
However, instead of returning to his seat, he turned directly out of the waiting area, his steps light and quick, seemingly heading somewhere unknown.
After that student left, the female teacher called out the names of the next group of students, " Leland Shaw, Ella Wins."
Two figures stood up in response. When they realized it was each other, they were both taken aback. They hadn't expected that the two people with opposing views during their conversation would be attending the same interview.
The female teacher nodded and said, "Please come in with me, both of you."
The two left the crowd and walked together towards the examination hall. Leland suggested to Ella, " Ella, why don't you just give up? You didn't want to be a magician anyway, so maybe the spot will go to me, and I'll pass the interview."
Upon hearing this, Ella readily agreed:
"Okay, I'll explain it to the examiner."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Leland's eyes, but before that light could settle, she felt a pang of guilt and asked, "Are you really sure about this?"
Ella smiled at him and said, "I have no interest in magic, so having the opportunity to withdraw voluntarily is not a loss for me."
Hearing him say that, Leland breathed a long sigh of relief, "Thank you. At least we don't have to fight for a spot. It's a relief for you, and a rare opportunity for me."
After they finished speaking, the two went into the room one after the other.
The door closed.
A small commotion arose in the waiting area. Someone exclaimed, "My God! This group is so dramatic! One person is desperately trying to get through, while the other was already planning to give up!"
Those around him chimed in, "This is going to be interesting; I wonder who will get the acceptance in the end."
"That was certainly dramatic. But the result was the opposite: Leland, who was obsessed with magical powers, failed, while Ella, who had no interest in it, was accepted. That's what's truly disheartening."
"Yes, that's what I fear most! Fate sometimes likes to play cruel jokes on people."
"I don't know if you can voluntarily withdraw from the interview. If not, it would be an endless torment for someone who doesn't want to be a magician to be forced to stay here and learn magic."
"It's impossible not to let them give up," someone next to him said firmly, shaking their head. "If the academy doesn't even give them this much of a choice, what kind of respect for individual will is that?"
One person remarked, "This is the most exciting magic test ever! Some crave power, while others just want to escape."
Draco and the others also found the situation absurd. Hermione analyzed the various possibilities. "Given that Ella wants to give up, there are essentially three possibilities: either they get what they want, the situation reverses, or perhaps..."
Zara, the black woman, continued Hermione's words:
"Perhaps both of them will be eliminated."
The muscular man standing nearby suddenly realized, "I completely forgot about that possibility! A two-person interview doesn't necessarily mean one of us has to stay."
"That's too cruel. Ella can go home as she wished, but Leland, who was looking forward to it so much, ended up with nothing."
The woman with square-framed glasses was much more rational than the bearded man, she said:
"There's nothing we can do about it. That guy named Leland was wrong to pin his hopes on Ella giving up on her own. Whether she can succeed or not depends solely on her own efforts; no one else can help her."
The round-faced man nodded repeatedly. "Indeed, relying on others to make way is less reliable than relying on memorizing a few more spells."
Those who overheard Draco and the others' discussion also felt that if this were the actual outcome, it would be quite surprising.
The interview results for Leland and Ella could only be awaited quietly, while the fate of the previous group of candidates was already laid bare before everyone's eyes, so the topic quickly shifted back to the person who had just left.
"They were both called in together, but only one is coming out now. The other person must have been eliminated."
"Let me tell you something you don't know--"
"The one who came out must have passed the exam, right? Look at how smug he is, he's practically walking on air."
"Where did the people who didn't pass go?"
"Nonsense, of course we'll send them back to the human world."
"Will my memory be erased?" someone asked anxiously.
"Of course! Otherwise, what if you go back to the human world and talk nonsense? What if you're not satisfied and go astray?"
The others agreed, nodding in agreement.
There was also much discussion about this among Draco and his group. The bearded man said, "Interviews conducted by two people simultaneously are indeed more efficient."
The muscular man next to the black woman said regretfully:
"What a pity. If that person could tell us what the investigation entailed, we could feel more at ease."
The woman with glasses in front of me poured cold water on my idea, saying, "Don't even think about it. The unknown might be a test. You'll definitely be warned once you're inside that you absolutely cannot reveal what's inside after you pass."
The round-faced boy said with a pained expression, "I'm so nervous I need to go to the bathroom. It would be embarrassing if I needed to pee during the exam."
Everyone laughed, their tension eased somewhat by his joke, but they quickly tensed up again.
About ten minutes later, the interview room door, which had been closed for a long time, finally opened. Everyone immediately stopped talking and their attention was drawn to it. Only the female teacher came out. Behind her was nothing; neither Leland nor Ella were there.
Everyone instantly understood the unspoken result.
Although their hearts were filled with turmoil, no one dared to speak out in the presence of the teachers, for fear of being disqualified from the exam.
The candidates who had previously been hoping for the best suddenly became even more nervous.
It turns out that it really is possible for two people in a group to be eliminated; it doesn't mean that one person has to stay. The academy is ruthless when it comes to eliminating people.