## Chapter 104 – No. 25. Qualification #1
After the sex, No. 25, who had dozed off in Low’s arms, stirred awake, roused by a smell tickling her nose, and got out of bed.
Low, already gone from the bed, was in the kitchen cooking, as usual.
Of course, she wasn’t wearing any clothes.
With all her heart, she wanted to hug her slender waist from behind and rub her dick against her luscious ass, but the thought of having to go to the Academy barely suppressed her lust.
No. 25 quickly ate the breakfast Low had prepared and said to Low while putting on her school uniform.
“You don’t have to pick me up today.”
Low, who had finished eating and was drinking tea, lowered her lips as if disappointed, but soon wore a sad smile on her face and nodded.
“Okay, coming every day might be a burden to you…”
It wasn’t that she didn’t like Low coming, but she wanted to have some time alone.
If she stared with those wet eyes like yesterday and sent signals as if to say, “Let’s go home and have sex right now,” she knew she wouldn’t be able to refuse.
It was best to block it in advance.
Only after hearing Low say directly that she would only come to pick her up once or twice a week did No. 25 open the rift familiarly and head to District 1 with a brief greeting.
Perhaps because she had wandered around the Academy quite a bit with Claire yesterday, she could at least find her way to Classroom 1 without getting lost.
Standing in front of the familiar wooden door, she took a deep breath and cautiously opened the door.
Similar gazes to yesterday were fixed on No. 25.
However, there was a slightly more favorable aura than yesterday.
The favor came with its own burden. To live up to the changed gazes, she had to show a better side of herself in front of them, and the responsibility befitting that knowledge was needed.
The still unfamiliar scent of the classroom, No. 25 hesitated at the door, feeling a presence behind her.
Before No. 25, sensing the presence, could turn around, Saruke placed a large hand on No. 25’s shoulder and greeted her brightly.
After a brief greeting, Saruke raised his voice, looking as joyful as a child who had gotten the toy they wanted.
“Ryu, you were amazing yesterday! It’s the first time in a month I’ve seen Professor Adriana praise a student.”
So that’s what counts as praise, No. 25 thought, scratching the back of her head with an awkward expression.
“Really? I just wrote what I knew…”
The way she trailed off and answered nonchalantly seemed to impress Saruke even more.
He grabbed No. 25’s delicate hands tightly and asked, his eyes shining.
“Can I ask you sometimes if I don’t know something?”
“Yeah, anytime.”
After a light conversation, the two returned to their seats and began to chat about trivial things.
No. 25 wanted to know more about him and asked a question about his background.
“Saruke, which district do you want to go to that you came to this Academy?”
Saruke answered immediately without a moment’s hesitation.
“Me? I want to go to District 5, to see the Demon Lord Clara Bell.”
District 5… According to what Aser had said before, it was definitely a district with well-developed animal husbandry, with very beautiful scenery that people often visited for recreation.
It was also a district that No. 25 wanted to visit at least once in her life.
No. 25’s voice became even brighter at Saruke’s intriguing answer.
“Why do you want to go?”
Saruke, seeing No. 25 approaching him slightly and asking questions actively, avoided her gaze shyly and scratched the area near his temple.
“Well… I have a friend in District 5. Someone I promised to marry… So I want to graduate from the Academy with dignity and make her life comfortable.”
Unlike his menacing appearance, which seemed like he would hit on any woman he liked, he had a pure love that could dedicate himself to the life of one person.
If she asked about Saruke’s lover, the conversation would surely be long. But she didn’t want to stop the conversation once it had started.
This was a conversation with a same-sex friend! It was what No. 25 had wanted so much throughout her life. It was a conversation she couldn’t have with her brothers, who were trapped in cages, lamenting their fate, and waiting for the day they would die.
Just as she was about to continue the conversation with an excited heart, the door at the back opened, and Adriana entered with something in both hands.
Professor Adriana, with dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept, entered the classroom with her unique tired expression and strode to the podium, and the students who had been chattering until then fell silent as if they had made a promise.
Adriana, standing at the podium, didn’t even glance at the black attendance book and went straight to the point.
“Today is exactly one month since you entered the Academy. Based on the results of the simple tests you’ve taken for a month and the magic crystal ball I brought, I will be awarding the first ranks, so everyone be prepared.”
After finishing speaking, Adriana carefully placed the transparent crystal ball she was holding in both hands on the desk without making a sound.
Adriana, wiping the sweat flowing on her forehead, spoke to the students again in a dignified voice.
“Come out one by one when I call your name.”
Only then did Adriana, holding the attendance book in her hand, call out an unfamiliar name.
No. 25 whispered to Saruke in a small voice, so as not to disturb the people taking the test in front.
“Can’t only the Demon Lords give ranks?”
Saruke answered in a small voice, just like No. 25.
“That’s only possible for the 2nd rank, Secundus, and the professors of the Academy have the authority to bestow up to the 4th rank, Quartus, to the students.”
Only then did the expressions of the people called in front come into view.
Students jumping for joy, perhaps because they received a higher rank than they thought, and students who were dissatisfied with the rank that came out lower than they thought or shedding tears.
No. 25, who didn’t have much meaning for the ranks, calmly observed the faces of the students showing various reactions, as if it was none of her business.
It was quite fun to see the students dyed with sadness or joy and accepting the results.
Some of them made excuses that they were not in good condition today and begged to do it one more time, even kneeling down.
Adriana was not one to tolerate such things. She would simply tell the students who were dissatisfied with the results to get lost in a firm tone.
No. 25, who didn’t understand that, asked Saruke, who was sitting next to her, again.
“Isn’t this also a kind of test, so can’t you just take it again later?”
Saruke, seeing No. 25 with a naive question, made a face as if to say, “You don’t even know this?” but explained kindly.
“Well… the opportunity to be promoted is only given once every half year unless you pass a special test or achieve a result of winning a competition held within the Academy. So even if you are not satisfied with today’s result, you have to wait at least a few months.”
No sooner had the conversation ended than Saruke’s name was called.
No. 25, seeing Saruke, who answered loudly with a trembling voice and got up from his seat, clenched both fists as if to cheer him on.
Saruke, standing in front of Adriana, bowed his head and greeted her briefly, and like the other students who had taken the test before, placed his hand on the crystal ball.
The inside of the crystal ball, reacting to Saruke’s magic power, began to be filled with a golden aura similar to the color of his hair.
The golden magic power, which started with three strands, twisted together, surged, and began to thrash as if it would escape out of the crystal ball.
Adriana tilted her head with an interesting expression.
“Hoo, this is quite…”
The reaction was good compared to the other students.
No. 25 waited for Saruke’s result, her heart pounding as if she was taking the test herself.
The magic power slowly disappeared from the crystal ball, and Adriana moved the fountain pen on the paper.
Adriana, having written her opinion, looked at Saruke, who was shining his eyes in front of her, and quietly moved her lips.
“The attribute is Triple Earth. I never thought that a guy with Triple would come out among the first graders… Besides, the basic amount of magic power he possesses is quite high.”
Adriana turned over the paper containing Saruke’s personal information, put her finger on her chin, and showed a look of being lost in thought.
“The characteristic is Weaponization? Ah, was it the secret art of the Ballack family? It’s a pretty good ability.”
Saruke’s expression brightened at Adriana’s continued praise. As far as he knew, the Triple attribute was as good as confirmed up to at least the 7th rank, Septimus, and if he went further, he could go up to the 6th rank, Sextus.
It meant that he could graduate from this Academy, which revolved around ability, faster than anyone else and be chosen by the Demon Lord.
Unlike at the beginning, Saruke asked Adriana with a brightened expression.
“Then…!”
However, Adriana’s expression crumpled in an instant, as if cutting off Saruke’s hope in one stroke.
The crumpled eyebrows held regret.
“But as a result of observing you so far, your intelligence is terribly lacking. At this rate, you won’t be able to properly understand the structure of magic, and you won’t be able to use it. Saruke Ballack, you are the 8th rank, Octanus. It’s a pity, if you had a good head, you could have received the 6th rank.”
Saruke’s shoulders drooped at the harsh criticism. It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept the result. Adriana’s words were not wrong, and he knew very well that his head was not good.
Saruke, who returned to his seat, shrugged his shoulders as if to say he was okay to No. 25, who was sending him a worried look.
After Saruke’s turn was over, Adriana’s eyebrows twitched as she checked the list.
The next turn was No. 25.
Adriana, wondering if the results of yesterday’s test could be shown with her innate ability, revealed her curiosity about someone with a hard-to-find talent and said in a brighter voice.
“Ryu, come forward.”
The gazes of suspicion and expectation mixed together poured out on No. 25, who got up after hearing her name called.
She was a student who had received the Demon Lord’s favor. Even the fact that Low had come to pick her up directly yesterday had spread quickly among the students.
The 5th rank, Quintus, a rank that could be counted among the top students in the Academy. It wouldn’t be strange to receive a rank that could be called the pinnacle among ordinary people.
No. 25, who came forward, looked at Adriana with trembling eyes.
“Are you ready? I’m sorry, but since you’ve only taken the test once, I have no choice but to be a little stricter than the other students. Even if it’s not the result you want, don’t blame yourself.”
“It’s okay.”
No. 25, standing in front of the crystal ball, took a breath and slowly raised her hand.
“?”
No. 25 tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds passed with her hand raised, but there was no change.
The puzzlement was dyed with embarrassment. No. 25 looked at Adriana with an expression of not knowing what to do, with her hand on the crystal ball. Could it be that she was doing it the wrong way? A glimmer of hope like that.
But Adriana was just as embarrassed.
The attribute of the body that a person should have… No, even if it wasn’t a person, it was the attribute that dwelled in inanimate nature.
And the crystal ball was a tool made to be most sensitive to that magic power. Even if you put a pebble on the street, the magic power containing the attribute of earth would be captured, but it was the first time that nothing was projected.
Adriana pushed No. 25 away from the crystal ball and began to look around.
“There’s nothing? Is something wrong…? No, it can’t be because it’s a tool that just finished being checked.”
When Adriana put her hand on it herself, the crystal ball rippled with a deep azure aura as if it contained the deep sea, as if nothing had happened.
There was nothing wrong with the crystal ball.
The students began to stir at the series of events that took place on the podium.
It was the first time she had experienced such a thing in her teaching life.
The expectations for No. 25 disappeared, and negative opinions began to emerge.
“What? Does she not have magic power?”
“Eh, no way…”
The flow that had started once gradually gained strength and covered the hall.
No more noise could be tolerated.
Adriana erased the embarrassed expression from her face and raised her voice in a solemn tone.
She wasn’t screaming, but a clear voice that could be heard by everyone.
“Quiet!”
In the awkward silence that followed, Adriana took the crystal ball and said to No. 25.
“Hold… Your result is on hold for now. Ryu, come to my room later.”
Leaving those words behind, Adriana left the classroom, and what remained in that place were the negative gazes of the students who doubted her qualifications.
At that moment, No. 25 even felt as if she had become a sinner.
