“Why am I the only one who got 100 points?,” I was still thinking about it.

  The participants who crowded the notice board to see the test results were also surprised. They thought that the answers they wrote were all correct, I also thought that they could answer all these questions easily.

  “But why am I the only one who got 100 points?,” I thought again.

  “You are really great, Rid. You are the only one who got 100 points in this first test,” Noa said loudly.

  “I don’t understand why I am the only one who got 100 points,” I said in response.

  “Doesn’t that mean you managed to answer 1 trick question out of the 20 questions, it seems like there is 1 question that was made to trick the participants. The participants may have found it easy to answer the trick questions but actually the answers that the participants know are not the real answers,” Noa explained.

  “Even though I only got 95 points, I’m still grateful. Besides, 100 points and 95 points are only 5 points apart, why would I bother if I didn’t get 100 points. Once again, congratulations Rid on your 100 points, it seems like my impression of you is increasing,” said Noa.

  “It seems like your impression of me isn’t a good one,” I said suspiciously.

  “It’s not like that, I mean the impression that you’re a participant to watch out for is increasing,” said Noa.

  “I see, if I’m someone to watch out for. Why do you want to go with me all the time?,” I asked Noa.

  “It’s precisely because you’re someone to watch out for that I have to be with you so I can find out what kind of person you are. Maybe to find out about your strengths? But don’t worry, I have no bad intentions by following you all the time, besides, we’re friends, right?,” asked Noa after explaining.

  “Friends huh? Well besides I don’t feel bothered when I go out with you,” I replied.

  “Besides it’s true what he said, I don’t feel any malicious intent from him, is he really someone who likes to behave freely like that?,” I thought to myself.

  “Well you finally admitted it, if we both pass the academy entrance exam, how about we form a team? We will make our team unbeatable,” Noa said excitedly.

  “Why did you think of forming a team with me? What if we end up in a situation to duel in the academy later, for example like taking a duel exam against you?” I asked.

  “Well dueling in exams is another thing, but I want to form a team that is used for us if there is an exam or practice that requires us to be in a team. If we form a team from the beginning and one day there is a test for the team, we don’t need to form a team suddenly. Besides forming a team isn’t just for an exam, we can build bonds by practicing together or hanging out and hanging out together, right?” Noa explained.

  “You talk like that, but you only invited me, does that mean this team only has 2 members?” I asked.

  “Well, I just thought of making this, besides, the only person who interacted with me from the beginning was you, Rid. It’s natural if I invite you right away, we can talk about the other members later,” Noa replied.

  “Well, it’s up to you, besides before talking about the team, we have to pass this entrance exam, there are still 2 more exams left,” I said.

  “Haha, that’s right, there are still 2 more exams left. Okay, let’s continue talking about the team later,” Noa said.

  -

  After I just chatted with Noa, I realized that all the participants were looking at me.

  “Is he the one who got 100 points?,”

  “Ordinary people get 100 points, that’s impossible,”

  “He must have cheated during the exam,”

  Those were the words they said, most of them were like teasing and doubting that I got 100 points, yes I also doubted why I was the only one who got 100 points.

  “It seems like you’ve become popular, Rid,” said Noa who also realized that the participants were starting to look at me.

  “I don’t really want it, besides they know that I got 100 points because you talked loudly to me,” I said.

  “Hehehe sorry Rid, but this is just the beginning of your popularity, there are still 2 exams to determine it,” Noa said to me.

  “I told you earlier that I don’t want popularity, I just want to pass the exam,” I said.

  “But for example, if you are serious about taking the exam and get the 1st rank at the end of the exam, won’t you be popular? Not only from the current generation, but definitely the previous generation too,” said Noa.

  “Yes, maybe I will be serious about the exam, but if it makes me popular, I don’t care, I don’t want to be popular anyway,” I said to Noa.

  After I chatted with Noa like that, someone approached us.

  “So your name is Rid Archie, huh? Even though we’ve talked before, I don’t know your name yet,” said someone who turned out to be Prince Charles.

  Prince Charles was the only one who approached me.

  “Prince? What happened that made you approach me?” I asked the Prince.

  “I was just curious about the only person who got 100 points, it turned out to be you who was in the canteen. We did chat earlier, but we haven’t officially met. Nice to meet you, my name is Charles Estella San Fulgen,” said the Prince while extending his hand.

  “My name is Rid Archie, Prince,” I said while shaking the Prince’s outstretched hand and bowing respectfully.

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  “Come on, don’t be so formal by calling me Prince. Besides, we are the same age and we are both prospective students taking the entrance exam,” said the Prince.

  “Is it really okay, Prince? I’m afraid it would be rude if I didn’t act formally, besides I am just a commoner,” I said to the Prince.

  “It’s okay, just relax. Whether it’s other nobles or commoners, it’s the same. Here we are both prospective students,” said the Prince.

  “Okay then, hmm Charles?,” I asked.

  “Right, just call me by my name. Besides, I want to study here with friends who call me directly by name instead of using a title. If so, I will also call you Rid,” said the Prince.

  “Please, Charles,” I said to Charles.

  For some reason I immediately got used to being able to call his name without using a title.

  -

  By the way, you're the person who's been with Rid, what's your name?," Charles asked Noa.

  "M-my name is Noa, Noa Sigisbert, Prince," Noa replied.

  "Noa, nice to meet you too, Noa. You don't have to be so formal, just call me by my name," Charles said.

  "Okay, Princ- I mean Charles," Noa said.

  Unexpectedly, Noa, who was initially like a confident person, immediately became nervous when faced with Prince Charles. It had been like that since the cafeteria too. Was he afraid that if he did something wrong, he would be punished immediately or was he a fan of the Prince? I felt like reading his mind, but I decided against it. It seemed like the reason he was nervous wasn't that important to make me want to read his mind. I'll just ask him directly later if I have the chance.

  "You're great, Rid. To be able to get 100 points, I only got 95 points,” said Charles.

  “I don’t know myself, I even thought many would get 100 points but I was the only one who got it,” I said.

  “Too bad we weren’t told which questions were wrong, I’m curious,” asked Charles.

  “Me too,” I said.

  “By the way Charles, why are you alone? Where’s Princess Chloe?” I asked Charles.

  “Ah Chloe, it seems like she went around after she saw her exam results,” replied Charles.

  “Enzo also went somewhere,” said Charles again.

  “Enzo, it seems like the Duke’s son has been with Charles too,” I thought.

  “It seems like you’re getting a lot of attention, Rid, after getting 100 points,” said Charles who realized that many participants were looking at us.

  “Yes, I did get a lot of attention earlier, but it seems like this time it’s because of your presence, Charles. It seems difficult to be a famous person,” I said to Charles.

  “Haha, that’s how it is, even though they could have just gotten close to me. But it seems like they’re a bit hesitant,” Charles said.

  “Considering that you’re the child of Her Majesty the Queen, of course they’re careful to get close to you, maybe they’re afraid that if they do something wrong, they could be severely punished,” I said.

  “Yes, it’s true, my noble status is the reason other people are careful to get close to me,” Charles said.

  “Like someone near me who’s been quiet all this time,” I said, looking at Noa.

  “Ah, I’ve been quiet all this time because I don’t know what to talk about,” Noa said.

  “Really?,” I said suspiciously.

  “Noa, are you also embarrassed to chat with me?,” Charles asked.

  “Ah, like Rid said earlier, I’m embarrassed because of your noble status, Princ- I mean Charles,” Noa replied.

  “I see, you can just relax talking to me, I’m not someone who just gives punishment to people, I’m not that authoritarian type. It might be hard for you to get used to talking to me casually, but you can start slowly,” Charles said.

  “Okay, em Charles,” Noa said.

  “Take it easy, Noa. But for Rid it seems like he immediately got used to calling me by name,” Charles said to me.

  “I’m the type of person who adapts easily,” I replied.

  “Hahaha,” Charles laughed.

  -

  “The person who caught Miss’s attention, he’s the one who got 100 points?!” Elf’s assistant said in surprise.

  “That’s right, out of all the participants who took the first exam, he was the only one who got 100 points. It seems like my assessment of him wasn’t wrong,” Princess Irene said.

  It seemed that Princess Irene and her assistant had already seen the results of the first exam.

  “It seems that the Prince is also interested in her,” said the Elf assistant after seeing Prince Charles chatting with Noa and Rid.

  “Hmmm,” Princess Irene also saw it.

  “Are you going to contact him now, Miss?,” asked the fox assistant.

  “There’s no need to rush, it’s only the first exam after all. I’ll contact him at the academy,” said Princess Irene.

  “There’s still something interesting that he might show in the second and third exams later,” said Princess Irene.

  “We better prepare for the second exam now,” said Princess Irene.

  “Yes, Miss,” said the two assistants.

  -

  Without realizing it, it was already 12:15, the second exam was about to start.

  "It's almost time for the second exam, I have to go find Chloe, we'll chat again if we have the chance, Rid, Noa," said Charles.

  "Okay, Charles," I said to Charles.

  "See you later, Charles," said Noa.

  Noa seemed to have gotten used to talking to Charles a little. Charles finally went to find Princess Chloe.

  "The prince is very friendly, even inviting us to chat," said Noa.

  "Even though you were nervous at first, from now on just call him by his name," I said.

  "Oh yeah, I keep calling him Prince. I've never interacted with nobles since before, only now during this academy exam there are many noble children present, so I'm nervous when interacting with them, especially Charles is a friendly noble type," said Noa.

  "But earlier when you interacted with the Marquess's son, you seemed angry," I said.

  “Why would I be nervous with such a condescending noble, I feel like I want to duel him right away. Unlike Charles who is friendly, I get nervous if there is a noble who is friendly like Charles,” Noa explained.

  “What if you interact with Princess Irene?,” I asked Noa.

  “Hmm, the Ice Princess, although I sometimes like to see her around the city of San Lucia, I have never interacted with her. She can’t be called friendly, but she is known as a good princess in the San Lucia region. If you ask about how I would interact with the Ice Princess, I don’t bother thinking about it, because I can’t possibly be invited to talk to her haha,” Noa said.

  “I see, talking about Charles’ friendly nature, maybe it’s a good thing, but on the other hand it could also be bad for him,” I said.

  “You’re right Rid, there must be people who take advantage of Charles’ friendliness for their own interests,” Noa said.

  “Not only that, he could be targeted by other nobles too. What do you think about Her Majesty the Queen’s government now?,” I asked Noa.

  “The current Queen’s government is very good, and she also cares about her people, but sometimes there are her subordinates who do not work by following Her Majesty’s instructions, such as those who commit corruption and others,” Noa answered.

  “Yes, the other people must agree that Her Majesty’s current government is very good for her people, Her Majesty also cares about her people. But there must be nobles who oppose Her Majesty’s attitude. For example, if tax money from the people is really channeled to the people’s infrastructure, those dirty nobles will not get their share. Nobles who are caught corrupt will definitely be sentenced to death, but what about those who haven’t been caught?,” I said to Noa.

  “Then what do you mean?,” Noa asked me.

  “I hypothesize that there might be a rebellion between those dirty nobles to overthrow Her Majesty, and change the kingdom’s policy to only benefit the nobles and not think about the people,” I answered.

  “Is it possible to fight Her Majesty the Queen? Let’s ignore the royal soldiers, but Her Majesty the Queen herself is someone who has high-class magic. There are even rumors that Her Majesty the Queen has magic that can destroy a region,” said Noa disagreeing.

  “True, if we fight Her Majesty the Queen it will definitely be difficult, but if they ask for help from other countries it might be possible. But there is one other way to defeat Her Majesty the Queen without help from other countries,” I said to Noa.

  “I see, the other way is to target Charles, not just Charles but her other children,” said Noa.

  “True, that’s why Charles could be targeted too, but that’s just my hypothesis, I don’t expect that to actually happen,” I said.

  “Being a noble with a good nature is really troublesome too,” said Noa.

  “No matter how good you are, there will definitely be other people who don’t like you, that’s why I said Charles’ nature could be a bad thing too,” I said.

  "Never mind, let's just focus on the second exam," I said again.

  "You're right Rid, there are still other things we need to focus on," said Noa.

  - To be continued