Chapter 11 - I Became the Daughter of the Academy’s Villain

Episode 11 11 - The Secret to Passing The next day. As usual, Michael browsed through the menu, his eyebrows twitching slightly. A glance sweeping around the inn with a face that seemed to say, "I can't believe it." It's me, me! I wrote that!! With eyes eagerly sending signals, finally, our gazes met for the first time. Got it? You mustn't mistake it for a menu written by someone else and go to the wrong person, right? I asserted firmly with my eyes. Wonder if he got the message. The corners of Michael's mouth lifted ever so slightly. See that? A reaction tinged with emotion. It was evidence that I had succeeded in capturing Michael's interest, just as the Monkey Oknodie had done. * * "This is the last Rare Dish that I got with the meal ticket." "Thank you, Mr. Giselle." "I've been training and eating nothing but Rare Dishes for the last five days after touching the menu. Is this really alright?" "Of course, it's alright! Today's the day for a decisive battle." Since I've eaten all the Rare Dishes. At the belated time when the sun was setting. Warming up with stretches in the backyard, dyed in a russet hue, I saw Michael grace the entrance with his noble presence. His hair, as crimson-red as if bearing the nickname 'Prince Michael' within the game, shone beautifully. It's a pity he's not a woman. "Nighttime special menu, swordsmanship duel with Oknodie. You've got some nerve to put up such an audacious menu." I was proud of the detail that we set it at night, so as not to attract the attention of other guests during the day. "And every night after training, you turn in early for bed with the special nighttime menu condition. That's extremely annoying." "Young children need to go to bed early to grow taller." "This is the first time a menu has made me wait so long. After all this delay, don't expect an easy pass. If you fail to satisfy me, be prepared for disqualification." Timing was also a key element of this hidden strategy. Michael had implied the difficulty level using the 'period' it takes for ingredients to arrive. According to his rules, as the nighttime special menu reached its fifth day, it was difficulty level five, corresponding to the fifth tier of the Sacred Mountain. The Monkey Oknodie. It was a level even higher than the fourth-tier mission he had challenged. "Even that hairy Oknodie stopped at the fourth tier. Don't you think it was arrogant to face the fifth day?" Michael pointed that out as well. I know. How a strong little squirt like me must appear to others. 'Like a glass cannon that could shatter at any moment.' That's why I took extra care. I made sure my stamina didn't run out, preventing any signs of frailty. Thanks to that, I was in perfect condition. Today, I especially feel light. Like a lifelong prisoner who has thrown off his metal armor and gained his freedom! "Your skill level will be apparent when our swords cross, won't it?" At my bold provocation, Michael chuckled. Too late for regrets now. With those words, his sword flashed. * * Senior Examiner Michael. From the first moment he saw Oknodie and the butler Jonah, he found them interesting. 'They're quite skilled.' Neither the lady nor the butler were ordinary. Especially the strength of the butler was so exceptional that even a senior examiner like Michael could not overlook it. Footsteps silent as a whisper. Movements that even controlled the sound of clothes brushing past each other. It was as if he was witnessing a professional assassin. 'Perhaps a treasure from a family of assassins?' Unlike the butler, the lady didn't seem to have honed any professional assassination skills. That made it all the more peculiar. If not a noble lady or a tycoon's daughter, hiring someone with such skill would be impossible; and yet, the corrected posture and aura she carried didn't belong to any ordinary girl. Adventurer's attire. The outfit that would look absurd on a woman carried a presence that felt no joke. 'Whatever the case, she has talent.' What an accomplishment for one so young. I knew it instantly upon our first clash. Though it was just a wooden sword, the ability to block his attacks wasn't something just anyone could show. Tremendous strength and exquisite technique. Adding to that, the ability to understand the principles of the ticket exam and the creativity to apply it. Even this alone qualified one to challenge up to the initial phase of the third level. 'She has all the basics down.' Finding no openings in her swordsmanship heightened his assessment. Even the threshold of the fourth level was possible. Deciding on the victory, he forcefully flicked his real sword. "You pass." "Already?" As Oknodie had guessed, the conversation Michael shared with the innkeeper implicated that the number of days needed for the arrival of ingredients suggested the 'level of challenge.' By intentionally drawing out the time to five days, Oknodie had naturally challenged the fifth tier's difficulty level! "I haven't shown enough skill yet." Intending to draw out wand magic and show fifth-tier power, Oknodie's plan paled as Prince Michael declared her passed at the moment she demonstrated fourth-tier prowess. "Strength and technique, analytical ability and creativity, swordsmanship - I give passing marks in all five areas. Technique, analysis, and swordsmanship were proven in this duel. Creativity was evident from the menu." "What about strength?" "Arm wrestling. There were rumors about a strong girl." "Ah." "Here's your reward. I never thought I'd be giving out this ticket." Platinum-colored Platinum Ticket. It was a ticket not usually granted to ordinary challengers. Swoosh. Raising his hand high to avoid Oknodie's attempt to take the ticket, Michael said with an amused look at her candid expression. "Before you take the ticket, I'll offer you an opportunity. A Platinum Ticket can provide a significant advantage in the entrance exam. However, if you give up this ticket, I'll give you ten Gold Tickets instead." "!!" "I can't tell you the exact difference, but Gold Tickets have their own benefits. You're free to do as you wish with the nine extra ones. Now, what will you do?" It was a sort of additional test based on Michael's whim. The value of a Platinum Ticket was immense. Far more significant than even ten Gold Tickets combined. Still, the temptation was hard to withstand. Tickets traded on the market were mostly Bronze Tickets. Or sometimes, even less worthwhile, mixed with Iron Tickets. Iron Tickets are false tickets scattered by the examiners. For the underqualified greenhorns. They might still be able to take the entrance exam if they realize it in time to secure another ticket before submission, but if one has the aptitude to figure that out, they could have obtained a ticket through their own efforts to begin with. 'Of course, this lady has more than enough skill. The important thing is desire.' Ten gold coins. The average selling price of a Bronze Ticket. One hundred gold coins. The average selling price of a Silver Ticket. Bronze Tickets may require an on-the-spot test before the main exam depending on the number of candidates gathered at the entrance examination venue, or an immediate disqualification may ensue for a certain proportion. A Silver Ticket belongs in the 'safe zone', freeing one from such immediate disqualifications. A Gold Ticket has even further 'advantages'. Obviously, those who know its value would buy it even for ten times its price. Powerful individuals wanting to boast about sending their children or successors to the Gift Academy are willing to pay a fortune for a Gold Ticket. However, no one can buy a Platinum Ticket with money. Those who qualify to acquire that ticket do not commit the folly of selling their chance for mere material greed. "Of course, it's the single ticket." "Why? Tickets can be converted into money." "Do I look like I'm short on cash?" "Not really. The fee to hire that butler must have easily surpassed a hundred platinum coins." Conversely, the examiners are volunteers. This bothersome job, which isn't profitable, is normally not taken unless by someone with a debt to the academy or a quirky personality. Michael is plainly quirky. He possesses a hobby of enjoying putting others to the test. Most of those tested usually grind their teeth in frustration at his tricks, but there are always those who pass his difficult exams. 'And for those who pass the test, there's the counter-reward.' If there had been even a moment's hesitation or doubt, he would have handed over the ticket already in his hand. But this child did not waver. Thus, the test was passed. Instead of the Platinum Ticket he held, he took out another Platinum Ticket from his inner pocket and handed it over. "Is there a difference between the same tickets?" "The one I just offered was number 143. This one is number 15." "!" "Each ticket is assigned a number. Triple-digit numbers have less value than double digits, which in turn are less valuable than single digits." "So this is a really good ticket?" "Heh. You could say that. The date and location of the entrance examination are written on the ticket." "Thank you. It was an enjoyable test." "One moment. What's your name?" "Oknodie. And you, examiner?" "Michael." The bold girl went upstairs. Only the butler was left. "Aren't you going to attend to your 'lady'?" "I have something I want to ask." "I'll answer, for the lady's sake." "The additional test at the end. It was too easy for a test concerning a double-digit top-tier ticket. What's the reason for wanting to give the lady that ticket?" "Heh. Caught on, have you?" "That's not all. It seems lacking to evaluate as fifth-tier strength based on a mere rumor from an arm-wrestling match." "You have better intuition than the lady." "If there's an ulterior motive..." "Nothing of that sort." The moment the butler genuinely harbored murderous intent, the chirping of insects that filled the mountain ceased. The birds stopped flying overhead, and the music from the inn abruptly halted. A silence that seemed to reflect the desperate hearts of prey trying not to catch the attention of a predator for even a moment. "I just employed the female quota." "......" A Note from the Author (Afterword) Why the academy has many heroines