The Academic Achievement Tests were held at the Arcana Academy.
The testing was divided into a Written Exam and a Practical Exam, starting with the written portion. Consequently, the Ancient History professor, Merlin, was currently buried under a mountain of answer sheets in his campus office.
Merlin was a strict educator, famous for awarding grades with zero mercy.
He always formatted his tests as open-ended essays—though they took an eternity to grade, he was convinced this was the single best way to gauge the depth of a student’s intellect.
"Princess Eliana's answer sheet, let’s see..."
Merlin studied the paper intently.
As expected of someone who had received an elite education, the content was of a remarkably high standard, further bolstered by her own natural intelligence.
However, even so—
Merlin wrote down '91 points.'
It fell short of perfection.
Next were the papers of Silvia, the international student from a neighboring country, and Commoner Luna. After a quick read-through, Merlin graded them 78 and 58 points, respectively.
As for Luna, being a commoner meant there was an inevitable gap in the education she had access to, so the score was understandable.
(If anything, she clearly put in a great deal of effort.)
The unsettling one was Silvia. She was officially just an international student, but this was a score that could not be achieved without the backing of a sophisticated academic pedigree.
(...Is she hiding something?)
Merlin’s lips curled into an intrigued smile.
This was exactly why open-ended essay exams were so wonderful. No matter how hard someone tried to hide their true nature, something would always seep through the cracks.
Eventually, Merlin picked up Leon’s answer sheet.
(The Hero Candidate.)
Since this was classified information within the Academy, not all teachers were privy to it, but Merlin was trusted enough to be kept in the loop.
Interested to see what he had to offer, Merlin scanned the paper, but—
"He still has a long way to go," he muttered with a weary sigh, scribbling '31 points.'
Of course, for someone from a commoner background, it was a perfectly average score. But if this boy was the Hero destined to save the world, Merlin had hoped to see some startling spark of brilliance.
"...I suppose I’ll just have to look forward to his future growth."
With that, Merlin reached for the next paper.
Because he had psyched himself up for Hero Leon's exam, he found his concentration flagging as he moved to the next one. After all, it was rare to encounter an "interesting essay" like Eliana’s or Silvia’s; the vast majority were absolute trash. It was only natural for fatigue to set in.
He skimmed the words, assuming this would be more garbage, when—
"—Wait, what?"
He caught his breath, his focus suddenly shifting into high gear.
No, his focus had been hijacked.
Like the moment one encounters a masterpiece of a novel, Merlin became so immersed that he forgot to breathe. The content on the page was far too provocative, far too original.
The argument proceeded as if theories Merlin—a specialist in Ancient History—didn't even know were common knowledge.
Was it just a delusion of grandeur?
(No... the perspective is novel, and it fills in the missing links with such elegance...)
It was a bold hypothesis he had never even considered, but if one accepted it as the 'standard,' a multitude of contradictions and mysteries were resolved in an instant.
Merlin was overwhelmed by the sheer brilliance of the arguments unfolding before him.
It was rare for his usually cool-headed self to lose composure. He literally devoured the paper.
"Splendid... what in the world... who? Who wrote this?!"
After finishing, still basking in a state of excitement and ecstasy, he looked at the name of the author.
—Albert von Kronstadt.
"KRONSTADTTTTTTTTTT!"
Despite it being the middle of the night, he couldn't help but scream.
Albert von Kronstadt!
The mysterious student who had been a thorn in his side lately was the one who wrote this!
"I knew he was no ordinary student! No, I already knew that! He’s beyond that! To possess such profound insight and knowledge...!"
Merlin’s heart hammered against his ribs.
In reality, Albert had simply confused the "original game's background settings" he knew from his previous life with the knowledge he’d gained since being reincarnated, but Merlin had no way of knowing that.
He couldn't suppress his excitement.
His instincts as a scholar recognized the priceless value of this answer sheet. If it were up to him, he would have summoned Albert right then and there to debate the paper until dawn.
But Merlin restrained himself.
He was a teacher, and right now, he had a job to do.
"...I have to assign a grade."
However, the content was so extraordinary that he honestly didn't trust his own judgment.
He read it over and over, agonizing over the decision, until he finally reached a conclusion.
Out of a possible 100 points—
Merlin wrote '150 points.'
A mere 100 wasn't enough. Merlin couldn't allow there to be only a nine-point difference between this masterpiece and Princess Eliana's essay.
The paper that had shaken the very foundations of Merlin’s worldview was worth at least that much.
"Kronstadt... just who are you...?"
Merlin’s eyes glittered with an unsettling light.
The Academic Achievement Test was held a few days ago.
Naturally, as a student, I was obligated to take it, so I put in a decent effort.
The results were announced today.
To be honest, I didn't really care about them, but—
"Hey, Albert! Let's go check the results together!"
Hero Leon called out to me, his eyes practically sparkling.
...Even after I gave him such a thrashing, this guy still finds excuses to talk to me. Why?
"Go by yourself. I'm not interested."
"But I want to be friends with Albert!"
As usual, the guy was smotheringly energetic.
...Well, I guess the Hero type is bound to be a pain in the neck.
I didn't have any burning desire to see them, but it’s not like I was completely opposed to knowing my results.
"Tch. I'm not going 'with' you. Just follow me if you want."
"Yeah! Will do!"
"Don't walk beside me! Get behind me!"
"You got it!"
No matter how poorly I treated him, he followed me like a loyal dog. Even those sparkling eyes were puppy-like. Why on earth have you taken such a liking to me?
The bulletin board where the results were posted was swamped with people.
More than that, the atmosphere was buzzing.
...Was there really that much to gossip about? It was just a standard announcement.
It looked like a hassle to push through that crowd. Maybe I should just head back.
As I was considering leaving, the students who had already seen the results and were filtering away began to notice me.
"...It's him..."
"It's Kronstadt."
"This is insane... that guy is seriously messed up..."
Whispers and gazes started flying my way. I didn't mind them being in awe of me, but I wished they’d keep it down.
Well, I was the one who had been cultivating my own villainous reputation, so I couldn't really complain.
However, their reaction was different than usual.
The whispers rippled through the crowd still gathered at the board. The students tore their eyes away from the rankings and turned toward me in the back.
—At me?
Look at the board, not me. My grades aren't written on my face.
Their expressions were filled with the kind of fear one might reserve for an incomprehensible monster. Their feet moved instinctively, and the crowd parted to the left and right like the Red Sea.
A straight path opened up, leading directly to the bulletin board.
Even from a distance, the contents were clear as day.
The top of the list read:
1st Place: Albert von Kronstadt – 850 points 2nd Place: Victor von Eldridge – 786 points
A voice leaked out of my mouth involuntarily.
"...Huh?"
850 points?
The total possible score across all subjects was only 800, even with perfect marks.