After Antoine left, the three noble kids looked at Colt with sympathetic eyes.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" he asked.
"Don't you get it? Sei had to accept the bet for both of you. If the second prince wins, you're the one who'll lose the most—you'll end up as his cook," Hei said.
The real meaning was clear: He'll use you like a servant—or worse—if you're under him. But Hei couldn't say that out loud. Not as a noble under the royal family of Ostines.
"Seila, you have to win this bet," he added.
"Don't worry. I won't lose, no matter who I'm up against."
Colt smirked again.
Then a voice echoed through the area:
"The written exam will start in 15 minutes! Please head to your assigned exam room!"
"Sigh... we didn't even finish our food," Myrin said.
"It's fine. The exam only lasts two hours. We can eat after," Seila replied, and they all made their way toward the room their arrows pointed to.
---
Meanwhile, a guard approached the second prince.
"My lord, are you sure you want to go through with this bet?"
"It's fine. He was better than I expected, I'll admit that. But no matter how wrong I was, it won't be that wrong. Did you watch her exam?"
"Yes, my lord. She's good, but her physical exam won't receive full marks, unlike yours."
"Good. Then, first place is guaranteed."
"My lord, just be cautious. The written exam is full of trick questions."
"It's fine. I studied hard for this."
---
The examinees were guided to the rooms where they would take the written exams.
When the four entered the room the arrow pointed to, they didn't know what the intended use of the room was before.
But it had been arranged like a classroom for the occasion.
When they entered, Colt saw that Niter was also in this class, sitting right near the door.
He raised his hand to greet her, but she turned her head.
"Your friend?" Hei asked.
"No, we met at the physical exam, so I thought I would greet her. We will probably be in the same class," Colt answered.
"I see. But it seems like you were rejected," Hei smirked.
The four of them were assigned to the same room, though their seats were spaced apart.
They sat where the arrow pointed.
The room was filled with both nobles and commoners, but only fifty examinees were present—each room held fifty, as the remaining candidates had been split into similar groups.
Not long after they'd taken their seats, the second prince entered, stirring a wave of chatter throughout the room.
People began whispering, nudging each other, or trying to greet him to gain his favor.
With a bright smile, the prince raised a hand. "Please, no need for ceremony. We're in an exam. Treat me as one of you."
This stirred up even more excitement, especially among the noble ladies.
Meanwhile, Colt found himself wondering whether the second prince truly understood what he'd just said.
Telling them to treat him like one of them now... implies he normally isn't.
If he didn't realize that, it was a problem. But if he did—if he meant it—that was a sharp move.
Colt assumed it was the latter.
He knew that in the future, the second prince would prove himself clever and cunning.
Still, he wasn't sure how sharp a fifteen-year-old version of him could be.
At that moment, the teacher entered and walked straight to the desk at the front without even glancing at the prince.
"Everyone, sit down or you'll be eliminated."
The prince, the only one still standing, twitched slightly—probably because she hadn't shown him any respect.
But it was a subtle reaction, one that only Colt and the teacher likely noticed.
Once the prince sat, the teacher threw the stack of exam papers into the air.
Each sheet floated down and landed neatly in front of an examinee.
The teacher was a half-bald man with a perpetually angry gaze.
"The exam will last for two hours. You're allowed to cheat—so long as you don't get caught."
His purpose in saying this was not to joke around.
At the academy, strength meant everything.
So if someone cheated but was strong enough not to get caught, it was considered fair game.
Colt didn't think he'd need to cheat, though.
"You may begin when the bell rings," the teacher said, then walked out of the classroom—to everyone's surprise.
No one's going to watch us?
Of course, they would. Not just that one teacher, but four high-level instructors were watching the room from outside.
The bell rang, and Colt turned over the first page.
The first question read: What is the name of the first king of Ostines?
It wasn't a trick question. It was simple, but it had a purpose.
Though the academy wasn't under the kingdom's control, it was still within its borders and cooperated with it on many fronts.
Still, Lofpus Academy was one of the top academies in the world, and it didn't take kindly to interference.
When the kingdom, specifically the king, asked the academy to include questions on national history in the entrance exam a few decades ago, the request was firmly rejected.
At the time, the headmaster told the king he could interfere if he wanted, even take control of the academy. But if he did, the institution would no longer be the best in the world.
The king wasn't foolish. He knew that the headmaster was right.
Also, too much pressure would cause top personnel to leave the country, likely for rival academies in other nations.
And that would spell the kingdom's decline within a century.
Still, he didn't back down. Instead, he struck a deal with the headmaster.
The academy would include some questions on the kingdom's history in the entrance exam.
The headmaster agreed, and the tradition began.
But somewhere along the way—likely after another king tried to assert more control—things changed.
Since the agreement never specified how many history questions had to be included, the academy settled on just one.
And that one was always this:
What is the name of the first king of Ostines?
The answer was Isaac Ostines—the kingdom's founder, and the founder of Lofpus Academy.
A simple question that shows the academy wouldn't be controlled.
A power move, and maybe the only punch thrown at the royal family without any repercussions.
***
After that, the second question was the real first question. It was about the mana in the atmosphere.
As a mage with a lifetime of research behind him, Colt wasn't going to score anything less than perfect on this exam.
Even when the trick questions came, he answered them with ease.
He double-checked everything, made sure there were no mistakes, and then he left.
Yes, he finished the exam in one hour, took his paper to the teacher's desk, and left the classroom.