Prepare (1)
The solution to the 12th problem, the rooftop of the Evina Tower.
A one-on-one interview began there, in a place devoid of chairs, tables, or anything else.
The interviewer was Chair Professor Theia Esil.
The interviewee was senior Shion Ascal.
“Then, I’ll ask.”
Against the backdrop of a full blue sky, Theia Esil asked Shion Ascal about his solution.
To prevent any ‘guesswork.’ Half in doubt, half in certainty.
“Oh, that?”
However, Shion Ascal explained to her the method he used to solve the 12th problem.
Just as Theia Esil intended. Without a bit of error, without a bit of hesitation.
“──So. The answer is ‘Not November, but October 30th. Until 10:30 AM. The rooftop of the Evina Tower.'”
“......”
Theia Esil’s face went blank.
It was hard to believe.
She couldn’t believe it.
No, she didn’t want to admit it.
“I was lucky. I also like riddles.”
Shion Ascal spoke calmly, but his expression was ambiguous.
Theia Esil was adept at reading others. With her genius Five Senses, she could quickly grasp the other person’s emotions.
In that respect, Shion Ascal was rather──
Understanding of Theia’s self-doubt.
Perhaps because he knew about the relationship between Theia Esil and Libra.
Something surged within Theia Esil, but she forcefully suppressed it.
The distinction between public and private is strict.
Even if this person is from Libra.
“Here’s your exam ticket.”
Theia Esil handed him the exam ticket.
[0001]
As the first person to solve the problem, he was number 0001.
He turned the exam ticket upside down and asked.
“So, am I completely accepted?”
“If you score more than 20 points, you pass the interview. No, being here with me is the interview itself.”
He doesn’t need to show off his purpose, skills, or ambitions in the interview room.
“But you still have to take the national university final entrance exam. The final exam day is November 7th. Be at the ‘Trinity Building’ by 10 AM.”
“Yes.”
“That’s all.”
Theia Esil left Shion and turned around.
“Professor.”
He called her. Theia turned her head slightly to the side.
“If I get admitted, can I see you again?”
“......That depends on your efforts.”
She answered his question in a stiff tone in an instant.
This is how Theia treats undergraduates.
If he can solve the 12th problem, he won’t fail the final exam. Shion Ascal is practically an undergraduate already.
“Ah. Yes. Thank you.”
She left the rooftop without responding and looked at her wristwatch. It was already 11:10 AM.
There’s a meeting with the professors at 11.
She hurriedly moved her steps.
[Conference Room]
Theia Esil stopped in front of the conference room door. She was about to go in when she pricked up her ears. She listened quietly, killing any sign of her presence.
─No. But, why on earth does Professor Theia give this 12th problem? No one has solved it for years.
─It’s a personal preference, isn’t it? I do understand it to some extent. The problem itself is well made.
─Or is this deliberately for corruption? If she gets a request from her cousin or something, she’ll tell them the answer.
─If you can get up to the third quarter, you don’t need to ask for a favor. She’s just incredibly picky. According to the graduate students, she gets upset if you contradict her lunch menu. We’re the young and great professors who feed and keep our national university alive, so we should adjust to her-
Bam!
Theia opened the door. The professors in the conference room quickly straightened up.
“Cough, cough. You’ve arrived, Chair Professor Theia.”
The bald professor Wally, who had just been talking about solicitation, laughed nervously, sweating coldly.
“Yes. I’m here.”
Theia took her seat.
The chairman of the board, ‘Ben’, gave her a small smile.
“You’re a bit late. Not like Professor Theia. 15 minutes.”
A young man in his early thirties, is the second son of Senator ‘Esteban’.
Theia answered while placing the document files on the table.
“There was.”
“What was there?”
The chairman asked in a relaxed tone, and Theia retorted briefly.
“A senior who solved the 12th problem I gave according to my taste.”
“......”
“......”
Everyone in the conference room was surprised. The chairman asked with a curious tone.
“Who is it?”Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
Theia licked the inside of her mouth with her tongue.
“Number 0001. It’s Shion Ascal.”
“Shion Ascal... Ah~ That. The one who defeated Gerkhen with swordsmanship?”
The professors hurriedly manipulated their tablets.
They all checked the profile of Shion Ascal, and soon swallowed their words. There was a professor who made a smirk-like expression.
It was because of his profile, that is, his future hope in the Endex school record.
‘Knight of Libra’.
“Why don’t you reconcile this time?”
Chairman Ben subtly said. Theia glared at him. It was a fierce expressionless face.
“It’s a joke, a joke. Still, it’s amazing. Solving the problem that Chair Professor Theia devoted her heart and soul to in just 5 weeks.”
He raised his eyebrows as he looked at the tablet.
“Shion Ascal. I should remember him. He was a person with very clear strengths and weaknesses.”
“......Shall we start the meeting?”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
The chairman smiled.
“While celebrating the solver of the riddle that came out after 6 years.”
Chevin Billington was drinking in the living room.
I took out my wand.
There’s no need for me to go in personally. There’s no need to take even a slight risk.
All I have to do is insert the tip of the wand into the keyhole...
Detonation.
──.
This time, it’s a combination of 5 formulas.
「Gale」,
「High Density Compression」,
「Elegant Curvature」,
「Tracking」,
「Silence」.
The Gale, compressed beyond high density into a super-high-density curve, elegantly bends through the keyhole, roams the interior of the dwelling, and tightly bites Chevin Billington’s neck.
There is no sound in the entire process.
It’s just quiet.
So quiet that one wouldn’t know whether he’s dead or merely asleep.
─Michael, what are you doing there?
The voice from the control room flowed into my earpiece.
“Ah, I thought I heard something. I came to check, but there’s nothing.”
I shrugged my shoulders and answered.
─Come down quickly.
“Yes.”
* * *
───Bang!
On the day of the national university interview. Pollen adorns the sky, welcoming the seniors participating in the interview.
Under that sky, Elise, Layla, Kain, and Asher are walking through the campus, their hearts somewhat heavy.
“Wow... finally, the entrance exams are over.”
“It’s not over yet. We have one last test left.”
Elise tackled Layla’s words. Although it was a foregone conclusion that they would pass the interview, they should not take the final test with repeaters and foreigners lightly.
“Hey, you two are both in the Department of Magic, right?”
Asher asked Elise and Layla.
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I’m going to the Department of Magic too.”
Kain looked at Layla with a slightly skeptical eye.
“Do you have the grades for it?”
“I do?!”
“Hey Elise. Is that right?”
Elise just twitched her eyebrows without saying anything.
In fact, the Department of Magic places more emphasis on talent than any other department. Therefore, for someone like Layla... it’s a pass through the interview.
“Oh yeah. Did you guys hear that rumor?”
Kain brought up a topic with a slightly nervous tone.
“What rumor are you talking about?”
“Someone solved question number 12.”
“...What?”
Elise furrowed her brows.
“How do you know that?”
“My dad’s friend is a professor at the national university.”
“......”
Could it be Gerkhen?
“No, it’s not Gerkhen.”
If it were Gerkhen, there would certainly be a rumor.
“He didn’t tell me who it was. He said you wouldn’t believe it anyway.”
You wouldn’t believe it anyway?
Elise’s eyes widened.
Could it be, Shion Ascal?
She quickly sent a text to someone.
[Hey. Did you really solve number 12?]
The reply came in no time.
[Shion: Yep.]
[Don’t joke around. Where are you right now?]
[Shion: Home. I scored 20 points, so I’m exempt from the interview.]
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang──!
At that moment, lightning struck Elise’s head.
Anyway, it was such a shocking effect.
[Shion: I was lucky. I like puzzles, and when I analyzed it, it turned out to be a puzzle.]
“......”
There’s a cliché in this world.
The master (Elise) and the disciple (Shion).
The master teaches the disciple, and in the end, the disciple surpasses the master.
It’s a cliché called “greenhorn surpassing the veteran.”
It’s the cliché Elise hates the most in the world.
This can’t be.
The disciple must always remain a disciple. At least ‘my’ disciple should......
“Elly. Why are you so pale? Are you upset because someone else solved the problem you couldn’t?”
“......”
Layla giggled and glanced at her.
Then Asher tapped his smartphone.
“Hey Layla. There’s been a big fuss in Trick City lately, hasn’t there?”
“Huh?”
“There’s just been news. An assassination in B-Section.”
“......Fuck. In B-Section? That’s a big deal, isn’t it?”
Layla was genuinely surprised.
An assassination in the security-tight B-Section is a major incident that hardly happens once a year.
“Yeah. But it seems to be the work of Raquel Dra.”
Asher is sensitive to the latest trends, information, and trends. Whether it’s Trick City or Edsilla, it doesn’t matter. Therefore, he knows very well about Raquel Dra of Trick City.
“You know Raquel Dra, right? The hot villain these days.”
“What?!”
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang──!
At that moment, lightning struck Layla’s head.
Anyway, it was such a shocking effect.