The day of the second exam brought rain from the early morning. I arrived at the cathedral ahead of time, waiting for the test to begin.
"Good morning, Bauer."
"Ah, good morning."
As I sat there, Hermann came over and took the seat beside me. As usual, he wore his preparatory school gown, holding a staff in one hand.
"Do you really need the staff?"
"Nah, not really. Just thought it made me look the part of a proper mage."
"Doesn't it get annoying having one hand tied up?"
"I think the true essence of the world often hides behind irrationality. Besides, aren't you practically a walking ball of irrationality yourself?"
Hermann gripped his staff tightly and chuckled. True enough—paying a fortune to an inn that blatantly ripped me off made me irrational enough. Maybe there really were things you couldn't gain by simply taking the shortest path.
"More importantly, Bauer, are you ready for the exam?"
"Yeah, I carefully thought through the questions they're likely to ask. I think I'll manage."
"That's good to hear. And thanks to you, it looks like I'll dodge a 'dud room' too. I really lucked out~"
"Ahaha..."
As I gave my halfhearted laugh, a thought struck me. I still didn't understand the full scope of the mage examination, but one thing had become clear: the element of "luck" had been left in on purpose.
In the written exam's short-answer section, some candidates might have passed purely by guessing correctly. Even today, talented examinees might unluckily end up assigned to a "dud room." While nothing in this world is entirely detached from luck, it felt strangely out of place for an examination that supposedly demanded such strict precision.
"Good morning, everyone."
Looking up, I saw Sophie standing at the lectern. The appointed time had arrived before I realized it.
"First of all, congratulations on passing the first stage exam. That you were able to pass through the narrow gate of one in a hundred is surely the fruit of your daily diligence."
I could feel the tension ease among the surrounding examinees. They had all been on edge. Between her gentle tone and her serene expression, Sophie truly was a venerable woman of the cloth.
"We will now begin the second exam. It will consist of an oral examination, through which fifty of the hundred candidates before me will advance to the third exam. In each testing room..."
Like the others, I listened closely to Sophie's explanation. For the written exam, I had to puzzle out the answers on my own, but that wouldn't fly in an interview. Besides, if I dozed off again, that ten million belg—half of which I'd already spent—would go to waste.
"...That concludes the briefing. Now then, examinees numbered up to 50, please follow instructions and proceed to your rooms."
"Let's go, Bauer."
"Yeah."
Hermann and I set off together toward "Room 1."
The nun led us into a small annex beside the cathedral. A series of rooms lined the corridor, normally used for everyday church affairs. Slips of paper marked "1," "2," and so forth were pasted on each door.
"Please wait here a moment while I check with the examiner."
After a light knock on the door of "Room 1," the nun stepped inside alone, presumably to ask if she could send us in. We waited in a line along the hallway.
"...Man, I'm so glad we got 'Room 1.'"
"Yeah, seriously..."
Two other examinees were whispering nearby. It seemed Elena and Hermann weren't the only ones convinced that "Room 1" was guaranteed to be safe.
...I had no real basis for it, but a faint sense of dread crept in. Was "Room 1" genuinely spared from being a dud just to accommodate the top scorer? Or had the one-in-ten chance simply missed every time purely by coincidence?
Say over a thirty-year period, the exam took place ten times. The probability of "Room 1" never once being a dud across all ten exams was roughly thirty-five percent....That was well within the realm of possibility. If so, what if this year was—
"Thank you for waiting. Examinees for 'Room 1,' please come inside."
The nun had returned before I noticed, gesturing for us to enter. Well, whatever. It wasn't as if I could tell whether an examiner was a dud just by looking at them anyway.
"Pardon me."
"Mm."
I led the way inside, where five chairs were arranged in a row. Facing them sat a long-haired man with a white beard gracing his chin, seated behind a desk. He carried the unmistakable presence of a seasoned veteran, radiating a dignified aura.
"Excuse m—... Pardon me."
"P-Pardon me."
The other examinees filed in behind me, but... something was off. They seemed visibly shaken. Was it just my imagination?
"Pardon..."
"What is it? Don't just stand there frozen. Get inside."
"...me."
...Hey, Hermann, you look pale as a ghost. What's got you so rattled? Don't tell me—is this examiner a "dud"?
"Everyone is present. Take your seats."
We all sat down at once. A tense, staring silence lingered for a moment before the examiner finally spoke.
"I am Edel Wittmann, in charge of your examination. Pleased to meet you."
After introducing himself, Wittmann immediately began scribbling on the papers before him. Was he grading us already? Either way, all I could do was trust Hermann and Elena's advice and answer the questions.
"Now then, let us begin with examinee number '1.'"
"Yes, sir."
My turn came right out of the gate. After flipping through what looked like reference materials, Wittmann turned his gaze to me.
"Keegan Bauer, is it? Why do you aspire to become a court mage?"
"Yes, sir. Having keenly felt the disparity between urban and rural regions in this country, I set my sights on becoming a court mage to help bridge that divide."
"Hoh. An admirable resolve."
"Thank you, sir."
Wittmann's pen moved across the page again. Elena had come up with that answer for me. She had advised that coming from the countryside was an angle I should leverage in my responses. In truth, it aligned well with how I actually felt.
"Next question. It states here that your parents are rural farmers... How did you learn magic?"
"I studied on my own using grimoires I found in our barn. Since no one in my family could read, I taught myself literacy as well."
"Hoh..."
A murmur rippled through the other examinees. This response was courtesy of Hermann. He had suggested that since I had a true story that proved my talent, I should definitely share it with the examiner.
"Your scores on the first stage exam were extraordinary, but I never imagined you were entirely self-taught. Remarkable talent."
"Thank you, sir."
"Hm. That will suffice for you for now."
Ah, what a relief. I had worried this might be a "dud room," but it seemed my fears were unfounded. Placing first in the first stage exam really did carry its privileges.
"Next, number '41.'"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Let's see here..."
I had assumed we would be called in numerical order, but apparently not. What kind of question would he ask next? Magical theory? Mage ethics? Or perhaps—
"State your thoughts on what manner of cheating examinee number '1' used."
"Huh?"
"Wh-What?"
The entire room froze in utter bewilderment. Yet Wittmann's expression remained dead serious. He had asked the question in complete, unyielding earnest. Ah. I see. So that was it.
This room really was a dud...
Glancing sideways at Hermann, whose face had gone completely lifeless beside number "41," I couldn't help but look up at the ceiling in despair.