The lectures began in earnest starting the very next day after the social gathering. From right after breakfast, everyone in the Ehrenfest dormitory had their preparations in order and was studying right up until the last minute. The victory conditions issued by the Academic Performance Committee were "Aim for the fastest pass! Or: Excellence from the majority!"—the same as last year.
The first-years watched with wide eyes as the upperclassmen gave their all from the very first day of lectures, then hurriedly opened their study guides.
Watching the first-years like that, I handed a letter to Ricarda.
"Ricarda, please submit this meeting request to Professor
"Understood, Lady."
After handing over the meeting request, I was reviewing the revision notes I'd made for myself—summarizing only the parts I was likely to forget—when Charlotte looked at me with slightly puffed cheeks.
"...Sister, you seem so relaxed about all of this."
"I had an entire year of preparation time. ...Charlotte and the others keep lamenting that your preparation period was short, but we were able to study geography and history in the kids' room both last year and this year, and I gave you proper study guides as well, didn't I? Even if we're aiming for a record-breaking first-day pass for everyone, it should be considerably easier than for last year's first-years."
As I pointed out that last year's first-years had been crammed with information after arriving at the Royal Academy dormitory with almost no time to spare, the second-years from middle and lower-ranking noble territories who had struggled with geography and history last year nodded several times. Last year, they had looked like death warmed over, but this year, with advance preparation complete, the second-years' complexions were perfectly fine.
Incidentally, this year's second-years' goal was "A record-breaking pass with high scores for everyone!"
"It's almost time. Everyone, please make your way to the entrance hall."
We had to move in time with the two-and-a-half bell. At Ricarda's voice, everyone packed up their study materials and gathered in the entrance hall with confident but tense expressions.
After checking our cloaks and brooches and giving the first-years their reminders, the first-years and second-years headed for the central building while the third-years and above went toward the specialized building.
This year, the first-years had practical exams in the morning and lectures in the afternoon. The second-years, same as last year, had lectures in the morning and practical exams in the afternoon. The morning lectures covered history and law.
"Charlotte and the other first-years, this is your first practical exam. Do your best with your Magic Power handling."
"Yes. And Sister, you and Brother are aiming to pass the first day of lectures too, right? I'll be looking forward to your report of a full passing result."
Charlotte gave us her encouragement, and we second-years headed for the lecture hall.
"Do not leave the lecture hall under any circumstances until we come to collect you."
After being reminded by our attendants one final time, we entered the lecture hall and searched for seat number ten, just like last year. Desks and seating areas were assigned by territory, so there was no chance of getting it wrong.
"Lady
Amid students arriving one after another from various territories, I heard a familiar voice. That soft, gentle tone still tinged with youth belonged to Hannalore.
I turned to find the
"Lady Hannalore, good day."
"Is Ehrenfest aiming for a full pass again this year?"
Hannalore smiled warmly at the scene of everyone clutching their notes and cramming at the last minute, the way one might look at something endearing. "I was quite surprised by Ehrenfest last year, when everyone passed on the first day," she said. Wilfried replied, "We're hoping to manage the same this year."
I smiled and added, "At last year's awards ceremony, we were told that while we'd passed quickly, our scores hadn't matched—and that was quite embarrassing. So this year, I felt I needed to put in as much effort as possible... We've decided to aim for a record-breaking first-day pass with high scores for everyone."
Hannalore and the Dunkelfelger students all went wide-eyed. Then Hannalore slowly swept her gaze across the Ehrenfest students with a look of surprise before settling on me with a smile.
"...If it's you, Lady Rozemyne, I rather think you'll pull it off. I look forward to seeing Ehrenfest's performance this year."
...Lady Hannalore is expecting this of me!? I have to earn grades I won't be ashamed of, as someone working together with her on the Library Committee!
The moment I resolved to live up to Hannalore's expectations, my motivation soared higher than ever before.
"I'll do my best to meet Lady Hannalore's expectations. I'll be cheering for Dunkelfelger's performance as well."
"I thank you, Lady Rozemyne."
I watched the blue cloaks move off toward their seats, then began reviewing my weakness notes with intense focus.
First: history. History had grown even more detailed and deeper than last year's content. There was a lot to memorize, but since it built upon last year's material, it wasn't overly difficult.
The first-years and second-years learned the broad outlines together, and once you reached the specialized courses for third-years and above, you studied the people who had been active from various perspectives along with their achievements.
"I'm nervous. Last year, I was the only one who barely scraped a passing grade in history."
"You studied hard this year too, so you'll be fine, Philine. Right, Brother Wilfried?"
"Don't talk to me, Rozemyne. The names of every past king are threatening to spill out of my ears."
"They're all long and sound similar, don't they?"
Compared to the era names from my previous life, the kings' names were longer and harder to memorize, but on the other hand, the absence of specific dates made things easier. All I needed to do was keep the general flow straight.
"Now then, one representative from each territory, please come up to collect your exam papers."
Philine went to collect them as our representative, and the papers were distributed. This moment was always the most nerve-wracking yet exciting. Come at me with everything you've got! It gave me the feeling of a hero facing down an enemy.
...Of course, when I lack confidence, it's more like "Please don't come!"
The exam went smoothly since I'd prepared thoroughly and felt confident. Everyone from Ehrenfest seemed to be solving it without much trouble. Compared to last year, Philine's and Loderich's complexions were dramatically different.
"We're finished."
At Philine's voice—she'd been reviewing her work with those serious, focused eyes—everyone had completed the exam, so we decided to have the professors grade them.
Once all of us submitted our exam papers, we could start studying for the next exam. While I was reviewing the law material, a voice rang out through the lecture hall: "Ehrenfest—all have passed!"
We looked up from our reference books and notes, exchanging glances that said "We did it!" and "Yes!" I wanted to keep this momentum going for the next exam too.
A few other territories also had everyone pass, but Ehrenfest was the first.
...Next up: law!
Studying history hadn't been all that difficult, but law had been quite a challenge for me. It wasn't memorizing that was hard—it was understanding.
The laws applied to all nobles in Yurgenschmidt, including the royal family, and were recorded in the "Book of Law." What we studied was from a copy; the original "Book of Law" was apparently a Magical Tool kept in the central building.
The laws only covered things done across territories and matters common to all territories. In terms of content, most of it concerned rules for moving to another territory upon marriage and the regulations for designating a successor. In particular, what happened when a Lord died without designating a successor was spelled out in great detail.
But honestly, Yurgenschmidt's laws were incredibly vague and rough. There were many items like "leave it to the king's judgment" or "decide at the Lord's Conference." I wanted to cry out so many times: "In other words, nothing is actually decided! What's the point of these laws? I can't understand their reason for existing!"
According to the Chief Priest who explained it to me, even laws from long ago that no longer fit the times were extremely difficult to remove once they'd been decided upon and entered into the Book of Law. That was apparently why so many areas remained vague.
Long ago, there had been a king who was frustrated with having to consult others about everything. To reduce the number of consultations even slightly, he kept adding detailed law after detailed law. During his era, that system worked without issue.
However, as times changed, the laws gradually stopped fitting the circumstances. Even so, once something was established as law, it had to be followed. Kings of the new era desperately wanted to erase those laws, but there were nobles who resisted, saying they were tradition, and conflicts began to arise.
After that, for several decades, even minor disputes between territories inevitably escalated into debates over whether to delete certain laws, and the Lord's Conference descended into chaos every single year.
In the end, it was decided that keeping laws vague and then working out the details through discussion each time required less effort, so the overly specific laws were removed. From then on, anyone who tried to create detailed laws would be asked, "Are you unaware of the Law Deletion Turmoil?"
If it caused decades of chaos, why not just replace them quickly, you might think. But deciding which items to keep and which to remove often required the king's discretion, which took time and added enormously to the king's workload, among other considerations. So it apparently wasn't easy at all.
...And what all that effort produced were vague laws.
When I murmured my thoughts on Yurgenschmidt's laws—"Being vague seems like it would actually take more time"—the Chief Priest replied quietly, "People say many things, but ultimately, having fewer codified rules is more convenient for those in power." I see.
Despite being unable to grasp the reason for their existence, the laws were broad and thus relatively easy to memorize. I just needed to sort them into categories: things that were universally fixed and would never change, things where the king had some discretion, things decided between Lords, and things a Lord could decide on their own.
...Considering I'd survived exams on library law and patent law in my previous life, this was easy. So easy.
While everyone submitted their papers and studied for tomorrow's lectures while waiting for the results, I could see the professors arguing up ahead.
Even though Ehrenfest had submitted first, territories that turned in their papers second and third received their passing results while Ehrenfest's still hadn't come. Philine must have started to feel uneasy, for she opened her mouth in a small voice.
"Lady Rozemyne, Lord Wilfried..."
"There's no need to look so worried, Philine. We haven't done anything dishonest. We just need to carry ourselves with confidence."
"Exactly. Philine and everyone else worked hard for a whole year. Is it not only natural that our scores would be good?"
As I said that, a voice rang out through the lecture hall: "Ehrenfest—all have passed!"
It took longer than usual for the results to come through, but naturally, everyone passed. The fact that Fraularm had been shouting about "high scores" told me our grades were good this year. Normally, students weren't informed of their exact scores, so it was nice knowing we'd done well.
With everyone having passed, we were about to pack up and return to the dormitory when a group wearing emerald-green cloaks in slightly muted tones stopped in front of us.
"You're amazing again this year, Wilfried."
"
I watched from a step back as Wilfried and Ortwin congratulated each other on their results. Drewanchel was known for producing many excellent civil officials, and perhaps for that reason, everyone there looked quite scholarly.
"For the last twenty years or so, we haven't once ceded the top spot in lectures. Ehrenfest has been improving its lecture scores, but Drewanchel won't go down that easily."
...They didn't just look scholarly—they really were scholarly. To maintain the top position for twenty years, the entire territory would have to be working together as one. Ortwin spoke about his home territory with a smile brimming with confidence backed by history.
"Ortwin, it's almost time..."
"Ah, right. Wilfried, let's both keep doing our best going forward."
When a student waiting quietly behind him spoke up, Ortwin caught himself and stopped talking. Then, with a swish of his emerald-green cloak, he led the Drewanchel group away.
"It's good to have someone to compete with."
Wilfried watched Drewanchel go with a refreshed expression and said this as he shook his own mountain-bell-colored cloak.
When we returned to the dormitory for lunch, the knight apprentices and layattendant apprentices were already back. Both groups that had morning lectures had apparently achieved a full pass.
"This year feels like a breeze."
"Yes, I don't feel like losing at all."
As the Academic Performance Committee, we were delighted, but the competition between groups was fierce.
"Lady, I delivered the meeting request to Professor Solange. She was surprised since it was the first time anyone had submitted a meeting request right when lectures began. Apparently, the registration day for first-years is the day after tomorrow during the lunch break."
"Will we have time to change outfits then?"
I wanted to get the new outfits on them as quickly as possible, but Ricarda gave it some thought.
"...When changing outfits, we would also need to inform Professor
"I see."
Ricarda was right—the outfit change itself wasn't something that needed to be rushed. I'd just have the Magic Power supplied and get the Chief Priest's magic stones back.
We all discussed our results over an lively lunch, and in the afternoon, we encouraged Charlotte and the other first-years and sent them off to their exam while we second-years headed for the practical exams.
Just like last year, the practical exams were held in separate classrooms by rank, so the number of students was significantly smaller.
"It's been a while."
Wilfried rejoiced at reuniting with upperclassmen from other territories, and they exchanged pleasantries about working together this year too. Watching him, I felt keenly how few connections I had. Since I'd only attended class once before and finished at record speed, I hadn't memorized anyone's faces or names. They probably hadn't memorized mine either.
...Maybe I should have built more connections. The library and connections, though...
This year too, I was forbidden from holing up in the library until lectures ended. If asked to choose between the library and connecting with other students, I would choose the library without hesitation.
...I'm a person who reads books in the library. Brother Wilfried is a person who makes lots of friends through socializing. Yep, perfect division of labor.
Truly, the right person for the right job.
Besides, it wasn't as though I had no connections at all. I had Hannalore, a wonderful friend. Deepening my relationship with Hannalore and making book-loving friends—that was my important mission.
...If I made one book-loving friend in my first year, maybe I could add two in my second year.
"Well then, today will be a review of the first-years' material."
Hirschur, Fraularm, Primverre, and Ruffen—the four of them stood at the front and made the announcement.
The exam would check whether students had properly retained what they'd learned in last year's practical sessions: handling riding beasts, transforming staves, firing Roth flares, and more.
"Please bring out your riding beasts."
At Fraularm's command, everyone summoned their riding beasts simultaneously. The difference in how long each one took to form came down to experience. Some kids could bring theirs out in a flash, while others needed a bit of time to shape theirs.
My Lesser Bass was a bit unusual, but several other female students also brought out and mounted similar riding-type beasts. Most of them were Shmuil-type, probably because Hirschur had demonstrated with her Shmuil-type riding beast as an example. They also all had reins instead of handles in common.
"Done."
Hannalore, who let out a soft breath, had also created a Shmuil-type riding beast. It was small, designed for one person, but the Shmuil's face was incredibly cute. She absolutely must love Shmuils to pieces.
...Lady Hannalore would probably get along well with Lizelote.
They both loved Shmuils and looked adorable with cute things. Hannalore was surely skilled at embroidery and sewing as well.
Once everyone had created their riding beasts, the next step was stave transformation. Ruffen stood at the front, while the other professors spread out to observe the students.
"Alright, bring out your staves!"
Ruffen's loud voice echoed through the small auditorium. At the same time, everyone produced their staves with a burst.
...So many crested ones!
I'd thought Wilfried was the only one who enjoyed making fancy staves with crests, but apparently crested staves were all the rage among the boys. Some had crest designs plastered flat onto baton-shaped staves, while others, like Wilfried's, were three-dimensionally sculpted.
"You look quite surprised. Is something the matter, Rozemyne?"
"I was just startled by how many crested staves there seem to be."
"Ah, that's because you finished lectures early and didn't know. I'm the one who started the trend."
Wilfried said this proudly. I'd known his stave was overly ornate and that he'd started the crest trend, but I hadn't realized the influence had spread this far.
"There are very few women with them, though."
"Right. Some women had been thinking about trying it, but Hannalore said she wouldn't add one since she might marry into another territory. Everyone here is a lord candidate or upper-class noble, so many of them might marry into other territories too. The rest seem to have decided against it after thinking about their futures."
...They should just make them like the maternal crests from my previous life.
The maternal crests from my previous life were passed down from "mother to daughter, daughter to granddaughter" and continued even after marriage changed one's surname. If they were accepted in a similar way, I thought women could wear crests too.
...Not that I'm planning to wear one myself, so I don't really care.
When first-year girls looked like they wanted to add crests to their staves, I could advise Charlotte about the maternal crest system.
"Roth!"
Matching Ruffen's shout, everyone fired a red light flare.
I could understand why they taught stave transformation, since it was necessary for potion-making practice. But I'd always wondered why Roth was taught first.
...I mean, it's not like a rescue signal is something you use all that often, right?
I thought it would be sufficient to carry one Magical Tool for sending a rescue signal in case of danger. When I raised this question, the Chief Priest answered me matter-of-factly: "If they didn't know Roth, Treasure-stealing Ditter would become even more dangerous."
It had only been recently that first-years started receiving staves and that Treasure-stealing Ditter was abolished, so the connection had simply never occurred to me. In the old days, when third-years in the specialized courses received staves and both knight apprentices and layattendant apprentices had participated in Treasure-stealing Ditter by creating and activating Magical Tools, Roth had been essential.
"Messer!"
Following Ruffen's incantation, everyone also chanted "Messer" to transform their staves. They then chanted "Ruchen" to undo the transformation, followed by "Stilo" for a pen and "Beimen" for a stirring rod.
Though there were slight variations in speed with the transformations, everyone completed them without issue.
"Good. Everyone seems to have been practicing diligently. We should be able to move on to the next stage without any problems."
As Ruffen said this and looked over the students with a satisfied smile, Hirschur slowly stepped forward and began discussing the next practical exercise.
"The next practical exam will cover the basics of potion-making. The second-years will make recovery potions, Ordonnanz, and proposal magic stones. These are all things every one of you will need."
Hirschur chuckled as she said this.
From here on out, especially once they reached the specialized courses in their third year and beyond, students would use so much Magic Power during each practical session that they would need recovery potions regularly. She said that if you couldn't at least prepare your own recovery potions, you'd only have yourself to blame for the trouble.
As for Ordonnanz, they were essential for communication between nobles. If you only had one and it didn't return a reply, you'd be completely cut off from everyone. So it was apparently standard practice to keep multiple Ordonnanz on hand.
"This time, I'll only be teaching you how to make them, so even though they're called proposal magic stones, we'll be using low-grade magic stones. When you actually use them for a real proposal, you should prepare the highest-quality magic stones you can manage on your own."
Hirschur's smile deepened as she spoke.
"It might be a bit early for second-years, but they're perfectly fine for use when asking someone on a date or requesting an escort for the graduation ceremony—not just for proposals. Some students have even dedicated the first magic stone they ever made to a lover whose parents opposed the relationship."
Come to think of it, my mother had written a romance novel with a scene just like that. As I recalled this, the girls around me were already sparkling with excitement over the romantic possibilities of the Royal Academy.
The temperature difference between the girls' enthusiasm and the boys' lukewarm "So what?" reactions was rather amusing.
...My mother's romance novels seemed like they would be very popular with girls.
Noting the potential customer base, I smiled to myself.
Hirschur told us what materials to prepare and instructed us to gather them from the collection sites around the dormitory.
"Next time, we'll be making recovery potions, so don't forget."
The second-year lectures at the Royal Academy have begun.
Wilfried has connections, but Rozemyne only has Hannalore as a friend.
I hope she makes more friends this year.
Next time: a visit to the library for the first time in a while.