Chapter 2 : It’s Not Me

The day to register for the academy entrance exam had arrived.

​The gates were open, meaning I could enter the noble district.

​Just as I was about to enter the gates along the road, someone’s shout echoed.

​”Stop right there!? Thief!”

​Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw a young child running away with a bag and a woman chasing after them.

​The woman, who appeared to be a Noble Lady with rose-red hair and sharp eyes, was shouting at the top of her lungs as she chased after the child, making the worst possible choice by following them into an alleyway.

​Clearly, this Noble Lady, ignorant of the world, had come out for a stroll and been pickpocketed. How could she enter an alleyway without fear…?

​I could ignore it and go my own way, but considering what the Noble Lady might face, it was obvious.

​A future of being harassed and sold into slavery was vividly painted in my mind.

​Reluctantly, I followed her into the alleyway, and as expected, she was surrounded by thugs.

​But something was off.

​These weren’t the common thugs you’d see in easy mode; these were people wearing black masks, holding daggers.

​There was even a sticky liquid on the blade’s edge. Was that poison?

​Could it be that the difficulty had changed to hard mode?

​”D-Do you think you’ll get away with this!?”

​I couldn’t ignore the Noble Lady, who was trembling pitifully even from a distance. The Phantom Thief Rue dormant within me… the blood of a righteous thief wouldn’t allow it.

​As she stood trembling, wary of the approaching assassins, I stepped in front of her. The assassins, startled by my appearance, aimed their daggers at me.

​I skillfully delivered the line I had recited hundreds, no, thousands of times.

​”Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending this fantastic magic show.”

​As soon as I finished speaking and snapped my fingers, a thick fog rolled in.

​This was a stage performance using Illusion Magic, which I had practiced like crazy for three months. It had to be spectacular, right?

​The assassins, disoriented by the thick fog, realized that their bodies wouldn’t move.

​”The first magic trick I’ll present is the Magic Box!”

A trick where you put someone in a box and stab it with large swords or sharp blades.

There’s a hidden space inside the box to avoid the blades, but what if you use illusion magic?

You can perform the trick without any of those gimmicks.

​The fog cleared, revealing the assassins trapped in boxes, their torsos confined in a ridiculous manner.

​And in my hand was a large sword.

​There were holes in the box where the sword could be inserted, and their faces turned pale as I slowly approached.

​”This will sting!”

​ As I thrust the sword into the holes in the box, strange screams echoed, and they fainted as soon as I twisted the sword.

​They fainted from just one twist of the sword?

​I stabbed and twisted the sword into the holes of the other assassins, causing them to scream and faint as well.

The Noble Lady, who had been blankly staring at the scene, had a bewildered look on her face, as not a single drop of blood had been spilled.

​I grabbed her hand, and the Noble Lady looked at me, startled.

​”Miss, shall we run away now?”

“Y-Yes!?”

​I took the flustered her to the street where the guards were and returned her lost bag.

​”Please be careful in the future.”

“T-Thank you…”

​Then I asked what I was curious about.

​Why was she, who appeared to be a Noble Lady, wandering alone in a dangerous commoner district?

​She hesitated to answer my question.

​”I was curious about the commoner district.”

​Curiosity kills the cat; it’s true.

​I said goodbye to her and was about to step through the gates when a guard blocked my path.

​The regulations stated that commoners could take the magic school entrance exam, but the guards wouldn’t let me through.

​That’s why I needed this.

​I took out the Arcane Magic School recommendation letter from my pocket and showed it to them, and they let me pass.

​”I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“It’s alright. It happens.”

​I passed the guards and put the gifted recommendation letter back into my pocket, heading towards Arcane Magic School when I heard a scream.

​”I told you, the recommendation letter was in the bag!? I left my ID at home!”

“You cannot enter without the proper procedure.”

“I’m telling the truth!”

​Really, what’s the point of shouting at the top of your lungs at the gates?

​I reasonably suspected that kids these days weren’t being properly educated as I headed to the Arcane Magic School’s examination hall.

​

​

“I’m sorry! I didn’t recognize you, Princess of the Draconian Duke family!”

“Hmph, I told you, didn’t I?”

“I-I’m really sorry, Princess!”

​Only after contacting the family and confirming her identity was she able to pass.

​But more than that, the child who used our family’s recommendation letter was a girl with black hair and red eyes?

​I’ve seen such a girl before.

​The girl who saved me from the assassins with magic I’d never seen before.

​”…I must repay the favor and settle the score.”

​

​”Achoo!”

​Is someone talking about me?

​My ears are itchy, so it must be true.

​Did that girl notice? Hmm, I stole it so naturally, there’s no way.

​No one can match my sleight of hand, and there aren’t many who would recognize it.

​There’s a reason I’m called the Hand of God.

​I applied for the entrance exam at the magic school’s admissions office and looked around while waiting.

​I saw people greeting each other; they must be nobles.

​They all knew each other, probably having known each other since childhood.

​It seemed I was the only commoner taking the entrance exam.

​Then I heard a familiar voice.

​”I found you!!!”

​Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw the lady who had given me the recommendation letter earlier striding towards me.

​And she pointed at me accusingly.

​”You thieving cat! Not only did you steal my recommendation letter, but you’re brazen enough to be here!?”

“What are you talking about?”

​She was flustered by my calm expression, thinking, ‘Did I misunderstand?’ when she spotted the recommendation letter peeking out from my pocket.

​She quickly snatched it and unfolded it, revealing the crest of a noble family.

​The roaring dragon crest, that is.

​”Look! It’s mine!”

“Really? I didn’t know. It was in the bag you returned earlier, so I used it. Thank you.”

​I bowed to her, and the Noble Lady was flustered.

​”You’re welcome… No, are you telling me to believe that!? Aren’t you and those assassins in cahoots!?”

“If that were the case, Miss wouldn’t be here right now, would she?”

​She flinched at my words.

​

Just as she was about to retort, a voice echoed.

It was the magic school examiners.

​”Please be quiet. This is the sacred magic school entrance examination hall.”

​The examination hall fell silent at those words.

​I extended my hand to the red-haired girl who was glaring at me.

​”I’m Aris. I don’t have a last name because I’m a commoner.”

“Ernia Draconian.”

​I didn’t let go of her soft hand after she took it, and she frowned and shook me off. She was a feisty lady with a cat-like charm.

​And now she was sitting next to me, glaring at me.

​I think I messed up, but it’s water under the bridge.

​I need to solve this problem in another way.

​Friends get closer by fighting with each other.

​If she really had a bad personality, I wouldn’t even be here right now.

​She would have called the guards and kicked me out.

​There’s a saying that a crisis is another opportunity.

​This is an opportunity. A chance to make a noble friend.

​I don’t have anything, so I need to latch onto someone, right?

​She said she was from a duke’s family, so she must have a lot of money.

​There’s a reason why people say to be a servant in a noble’s house.

​I smiled brightly at her, who was glaring at me, and she turned her head away, only to glare at me again a little later.

​It seems like it’s going to take a lot of time?

​”We will now begin the magic school entrance exam. Please enter the testing room one by one in order.”

​I was moving to the measurement room in order for the first stage, Magical Power Measurement.

​The number of students applying each year is approximately 1,000.

​About 300 of those students can enter Arcane Magic School.

​How much time had passed?

​I endured the boring time and ignored the stinging gaze I felt from the side.

Then I heard the examiner’s voice calling my number.

“Student number 953, please enter the measurement room.”

​I got up from my seat and looked at her, who was behind me in line, as I was about to head to the measurement room.

​”What? Do you have something to say?”

“I’ll see you in the second testing room.”

​I left those words behind and entered with confidence.

​Even though I look like this, I’m a veteran, so I always have to be confident.

​I entered the measurement room, and there was a large glass orb in the center and an examiner recording the values.

​”Please place your hand on the glass orb comfortably.”

“Yes.”

​I had magic power that I received as a perk, so I comfortably placed my hand on the glass orb, and an anomaly occurred.

​The glass orb cracked and shattered.

​I was also flustered, but the supervisor next to me was even more flustered.

​No, why did it break? Don’t tell me they’re going to ask me to pay for it?

​”C-Could it be an unmeasurable grade…?”

“Did I pass?”

“Huh…? Yes…! You passed!”

​I had to rush through in the midst of the chaos.

​They might grab me and ask me to pay for it.

​I immediately rushed out at the word “passed,” and people looked at me with surprised eyes.

​It wasn’t me. Please don’t look at me like that. I don’t have any money to pay for it.