“It’s nice to have company,” the girl said. “I came alone. My parents wouldn’t let me take the exam, said it was too far. I secretly registered and came by myself.”
She said this with a hint of pride.
Lena’s eyes widened a bit.
“You came alone? From where?”
“Castle City to the north. Heard of it?”
Lena shook her head.
“It’s normal you haven’t heard of it, it’s a small place.” The girl waved her hand. “Anyway, it’s a small city. I took a carriage for two days, a full two days! My butt is almost numb.”
Flora chuckled. The demon royal family’s carriage was really good—comfortable and fast, arriving in a day. Although the distance should have been farther than her place.
The girl saw her smile and smiled too, then continued, “On the way, it rained. The carriage got stuck in the mud. We got out to push, pushed for fifteen minutes, got covered in mud. When we reached the next town and found an inn, I finally got a good bath.”
She described it vividly, gesturing as she spoke, making Lena laugh continuously.
Flora listened beside her, silent, but the corners of her mouth curved up.
“By the way, I’m Ai Mi,” the girl suddenly said. “What about you?”
“Lena.”
“Funai.”
Ai Mi nodded, recited the two names, then said, “Got it. If we all pass, we’ll be classmates from now on.”
Her eyes sparkled as she said this.
Lena smiled and said, “With so many people, there’s bound to be plenty who don’t pass.”
Ai Mi blinked and grinned.
“But I don’t think it’ll be me.”
“What if you don’t pass?” Lena asked. As she said it, she looked ahead at the long line.
“Then I’ll come back next year,” Ai Mi said confidently. “I’m determined to get in no matter what.”
Lena looked at her, paused, then smiled.
“You’re really interesting.”
“Right?” Ai Mi laughed too. “My friends all say that.”
The three of them started chatting like that.
Ai Mi talked a lot, her mouth barely stopping. One moment she asked which inn they were staying at, the next she said she was too nervous to sleep last night, then she said she saw some delicious street food yesterday.
Lena was pulled along by her and talked a lot too, sharing many of her experiences. Of course, she didn’t say she was from the demon race, just saying “back home.”
The two chatted happily, laughter constantly reaching Flora’s ears.
Flora chimed in occasionally, but mostly just listened. But perhaps listening to them chat made the waiting in line less boring.
After a long while, it finally was their turn.
Flora walked to the table and took out the identity document she had prepared beforehand. On it was clearly written “Funai,” from some Western Town, parents deceased early, registered alone. She handed the document over.
Behind the table sat a middle-aged man in a gray robe, with the academy’s badge pinned to his chest. He took the document, glanced at it, then opened a thick book beside him and ran his finger down the list. After a few strokes, he stopped. He looked up and glanced at Flora.
“Funai?”
“That’s me. Is there a problem?”
He looked down at the book again, then raised his head, his expression unchanged, just nodding.
“You’ve already registered. Just go straight to the test.”
Flora was taken aback. Lena beside her was also stunned.
“…Registered already?” Lena whispered.
The middle-aged man ignored her, just took out two small wooden tags from the side, handed one to Flora and one to Lena.
“Take this. Enter the door, turn right, go straight ahead. There will be signs. The test venue is over there.”
Flora took the wooden tag and looked down. It was engraved with a number: 517. She looked up, thanked him, then walked through the door.
Lena followed behind, took a few steps, and whispered, “When did we register?”
“It must have been Mother who arranged it beforehand,” Flora said quietly.
“Oh, I see.” Lena gave a look of understanding.
Entering the door and turning right, there was a long path. Sunlight fell on the ground, scattering golden light.
They walked forward and saw a large building, from which came noisy sounds. Flora saw a sign planted to the side that read “Test Venue.”
“This is it,” Flora said calmly. “Let’s go in.”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Lena followed behind Flora.
Flora entered the door. In the open hall, a dozen or so people were already standing. Some sat on chairs resting, others paced around. Ahead were many small rooms, each marked with a room number.
“Newcomers, come to me first.” A teacher in the academy uniform, holding a stack of papers, called out when he saw them enter.
Flora walked over.
“Give me your number tag.”
Flora showed him the wooden tag in her hand.
The teacher glanced at it and nodded.
“Number 517, Funai, right? Here you go.”
He handed Flora a crystal bottle.
“This crystal bottle records your information. When you enter the test room, just hand it to the teacher inside. It will record your test scores and the footage of your test process.”
The teacher spoke quickly, as if he had said it many times, very practiced. Then he pointed to a room.
“That one, Room 3. There’s one person ahead of you, then it’s your turn. Go wait.”
Flora nodded, walked away, found a chair and sat down, looking at Room 3. Lena also followed and sat beside her. Her testing room was naturally Room 4.
While Flora was waiting, people kept entering rooms. Those who went in had tense expressions, some even had trembling hands.
Although Flora watched them, she herself wasn’t really nervous now. But as she thought, she recalled the past.
When she came here for the test back then, she was also extremely nervous, hands shaking as she entered, worried about failing, worried about her condition. Although once inside, the teacher first encouraged her to calm down. But now it was different.
She looked down at her hands. Those hands were fair and clean, completely different from the hands that once were covered in mud, gripped a sword, and released magic. But she knew that what these hands held now was far more than back then.
Flora looked up.
“Funai,” Lena called from beside her.
“What is it?”
Flora smiled.
“Nothing, just calling you. I don’t know what to say.”
Soon, it was her turn for the test in Room 3.
“I’ll go first,” Flora said to Lena.
With that, she walked into Room 3.
Flora pushed open the door to Room 3 and entered. The room was not large, about ten steps square. Light shone from above, bright and white, illuminating every corner clearly. In the center was a table.
On the table sat a crystal ball the size of a fist, transparent and colorless, its surface polished smooth. Behind the table sat a woman who looked about thirty, her hair tied up, wearing the same gray robe as the man at the entrance.
A booklet was spread open in front of her, a pen in her hand. She looked up at the sound of the door.
“Number 517, Funai?”
“Yes.”
“Come over and sit down,” the woman said.