Hard Work Will Never Betray Me - CH 76

As the dust cloud on the exercise site clears, I see the examiners staring at me in shock. Slightly outside the center of the crater is the figure of Siegfried, with his white eyes peeling back.

‘…… , Stop, ……!　Hurry up and check on Captain Siegfried’s condition!”

Jet instructs the examiners to check Siegfried’s condition.

He has multiple broken bones and fissures , but otherwise he’s fine.

He avoided a direct hit. He’ s the fastest man alive. ……

It seems that he is not in life-threatening condition.

But the amazing thing about Siegfried is that he was able to move out of the way of the blast in an instant to a spot slightly outside the blast zone in order to minimize the damage from that attack. Thanks to that, he had sustained much less damage than I had imagined.

“Yet, it was an attack that even Siegfried couldn’t avoid.”

“What?”

I heard Jet muttering in a low voice, so I asked back.

“I didn’t expect you to have the ability to attack at range. s. You’re a human fortress.”

“A human fortress?”

I don’t think it’s that big a deal. Especially when it comes to the special division, there are a lot of such people around.

I still have to be stronger than even those people. There are rumors of demons and maybe a war with some country in the future. This is not a peaceful world. I think I might try to become a “human fortress,” I thought as I took a deep breath, exhausted after the practical test.

✳︎︎

“……That concludes the  exam . Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes, thank you very much as well.”

“The results will be announced at 5:00 p.m., so until then, you are free to spend your time as you  want in the facility. Any questions?”

“No, Excuse me.”

I thanked the  him and left the interview room. I was asked a lot of questions, but I think I answered them without any trouble. I think I met the criteria to pass the interview.

As I was walking down the hallway, thinking about the results of the test, I saw a door leading to the courtyard, so I took a quick  look .

Ah.

“Hey, good evening.”

It seems that Iris was  here alone. She greeted me with a fresh, straight face and  with  small wave of her hand.

“How was the interview?”

“I don’t know.”

“But if you have such great magic, you won’t be dropped unless you have a personality or belief problem.”

The Special Magic Division, on the other hand, is more of a “hands-on” division, so I think they will be accepted if they score high on the most important test, the practical skills test.

In fact, there are dangerous guys like Captain Siegfried. Even if you don’t have confidence in your communication skills, I don’t think you need to worry that much.

“Yours skills   were amazing.”

“Thank you.”

I used “Gekikaze” on the spur of the moment, but I think it was a pretty good move.

It was exciting.

Yes, it was.

“You will definitely be accepted. I think it’s only because the Commander recommended you  .”

“Well, I don’t think I’m going to fail.”

I am subtle.”

“The 30% written is the problem. ……”

I understand that it is difficult to ask a 12-year-old to  pass the test  of the Imperial Academy. It’s like asking an elementary school student to  pass the entrance exam of a high school. It would be difficult unless the child is very smart.

Why did Iris decide to join the Special Magic League?

“…… because my family is a low-ranked samurai family.”

” Although they are classified as commoners in terms of status, their standard of living and social status may be better than that of commoners. A powerful samurai family may be a vassal of a lord and boast a power that even exceeds that of a fallen low-ranking nobleman. In some cases, they even have the right to succeed to the title of nobility, as in the case of  my  “younger brother who has given up the right of succession to his elder brother and separated from the nobility,” and in such cases they can rise to the rank of nobility, making them different in status from commoners.”

The lower-ranked samurai she refers to are those who are as close to commoners  among the samurai families. They can be described as fallen samurai. They do not have a family business that has been handed down from generation to generation like merchants and craftsmen, nor do they have land inherited from their  parents like farmers. In addition, they did not receive a stipend from their lord, like the higher-ranking samurai, so they had to find work and earn money on their own.

The samurai often had some knowledge of martial arts and a certain degree of education. Therefore, most of them are employed in the military or as civil servants. In the case of Iris’s family, it was the military.

But my family is an elite family. My father is a leader  of the knight order .

The Order of the Knights is one of the top-ranking units in the Imperial Army. Even if you were a member of knight order  you would probably have a better life than a regular soldier. ……. However, they are not elite like the three major divisions. At best, they are above average.

“But if you are a samurai, you  need to rise in the ranks.”

“So, it is no different from the aristocracy in respecting honor?”

“That’s right. I have both red blood and blue blood.”

While living modestly as a commoner, one cannot help but pursue his dreams as an aristocrat. Such a clumsy creature might be a samurai.

I can’t help but think that they are like the samurai of Japan.

“If you want to get  better  life, you could marry a  noble . ……”

“I definitely don’t want a political marriage.”

“I  see ”

The poor lower-ranked samurai sometimes marry off their daughters to wealthy merchants in order to obtain financial support. However, the wives of samurai families are nothing more than an irritant to the status complex of the wealthy merchants. I heard that it is common for such wives to suffer from mental illness as a result of being tormented by their mothers-in-law and others relatives .

“It’s strange for me to say this, but I hope you  will be accepted ”

“Yes.”

✳︎

‘Now then, the results  are here . Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

At the designated time, Iris and I had returned to the room where we had taken the written exam. Jet was standing in front of us with papers under his arm. There seemed to be no one else in the room, and the air was somewhat tense.

‘Okay, let’s start with the Eberhardt examiners. ………… 85 points for the written exam, 100 points for the practical exam, and 82 points for the interview. With a total of 267 points, he passed without question.

Yay!”

I thought I would never fail, but I am still happy to have been passed . I felt like I was one step closer to my dream of protecting  someone who is important to me

“Next is the Steinfeldt . Are you ready?”

“Yes”

Iris clenches her fists nervously and takes a deep breath in order to clam down .

‘Okay then. ………… 30 points for the written, 95 points for the practical, and 55 points for the interview. That’s a total of 180 points, just enough to pass. Congratulations.”

Iris, you did !”

I looked back at Iris and congratulated her on passing.  Iris was stunned at first, but gradually she started to understand  what happened and her cheeks started to flush.

It was a joy beyond words. She was shaking in a completely different way than before.

If it had been one point lower,  she  would  has fallen.

You passed anyway, so what  the  matter?　Don’t  cry ”

“, that’s just how much we expect Steinfeld’s recruits to do with  her light magic. You should be proud of that.”

“……, Iris.””

” The light magic is the magic that I am best at. I can beat anyone at light magic.”

“That’s right, that’s the spirit. If you belong to the special division, you must have at least one thing you can’t lose to anyone else!”.

‘Hmm, hmmm… ……’

“Iris?”

Now, for a brief moment, Iris  smiled . Iris, with  cool facial  expressions, is smiled .

“Hul, you’re funny.”

The doll-like face was even more attractive when she  smiled .