CRASH! BOOM!
The distant explosions and crashes made my shoulders flinch again and again.
Am I really in the Mage Tower?
Or did I walk into a construction site by mistake?
[Benefactor’s current coordinates are 41.40338, 2.17403! You are precisely inside the Mage Tower!]
‘R-right. Thanks for confirming.’
Because I had synchronized my mind with the chick before coming out, we could communicate without speaking.
The synchronization breaks if the distance becomes too great, so I had stuffed the chick into my pocket.
If I get caught, I’ll just pretend it’s my pet chick. After all my careful research, I figured that unless someone dissects it, even a mage wouldn’t be able to identify what it is. It’s a strangely intelligent and mysterious creature.
‘So this is what the Mage Tower looks like.’
A ceiling so high it disappeared into the sky, and countless staircases twisting upward like a labyrinth.
The scene was both mystical and majestic—I stood there with my mouth slightly open.
So if I pass, I’ll be working in a place like this. My heart pounded.
“This way, please. I will guide you to the exam room.”
“Ah, yes!”
An employee guided me forward.
Just as I stood up to follow—
A group of people came running down the corridor, tears streaming.
“Sob…!”
“I didn’t even know question 5’s elemental transformation formula… They told me to go back to kindergarten. Me! A second-ranked academy graduate!”
“They told me to write my name ten times with my butt! Said I need to relearn the alphabet! Waaaah!”
‘…That sounds like it’s about the Mage Tower Master.’
Wow. So the rumors about his personality were true.
Was I really right to come here and work under someone like that?
But still… not knowing elemental transformation as a top academy graduate is kind of impressive.
‘I’m pretty sure that was in first-year, unit three… oh! The door opened.’
A neatly dressed young man entered through the open door.
Thin glasses, neatly styled brown hair—he looked like the embodiment of a civil servant.
I stood up nervously.
“You’re here in response to the secretary position announcement?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
[Don’t be scared, benefactor! You’ve got me, your high-speed computation unit! You basically have a cheat code that guarantees you won’t get caught!]
Don’t say things like that!
It sounds like I’m cheating!
My heart, as an upright citizen who had never even littered once in my life, pounded with guilt.
“To pass the recruitment exam, you must score at least 80 points to receive an interview opportunity.”
The young man handed me a thick paper and a writing utensil.
It was definitely a test paper—but…
‘Why is it so thick?!’
“Good luck.”
He spoke solemnly.
I took the test paper with trembling hands.
And then—
‘…Huh?’
My eyes widened.
One hour later.
‘Time’s up.’
Aron, the man who had handed Freesia her test paper, stood up.
It was time to collect it.
‘She might’ve already left.’
Half of the applicants left before the time was even up, defeated by the difficulty.
But when he opened the door—
She was still sitting there.
‘Unexpected.’
Messy hair, thick glasses, timid posture.
She looked fragile and unremarkable. He hadn’t expected anything from her.
But—
When he glanced at the paper in her hands—
‘…Of course.’
It was almost completely blank.
The questions had been personally selected by Kaien Croitz and required extremely complex calculations.
If she had solved them properly, the paper wouldn’t be this empty.
This applicant had clearly failed to even begin.
Aron sighed and said in a businesslike tone:
“Time is up. I will collect your paper.”
“Ah, yes. Here.”
Her hands trembled slightly as she handed it over.
Even if she miraculously passed with such a timid personality, there was no way she could serve their “demon-like” master properly.
Aron hid those thoughts and spoke politely:
“We will notify you of the results soon. Would you like to wait here?”
“Yes, I will.”
After leaving her behind, Aron returned to his office.
Then began grading.
Judging by the condition of the paper, it wouldn’t take long—he’d just be drawing red lines all over it.
Five minutes at most.
‘Looks like we won’t get a new hire again.’
We don’t even need a genius who can pass this insane exam.
I’d be grateful enough to cry if we just got someone to help with basic errands!
‘I can’t even remember the last time I left work before sunset… please, just lower the exam difficulty!’
Grumbling bitterly, Aron picked up his red pen.
Then he froze.
“…Huh?”
The first question already had the correct answer written.
‘Well, multiple choice, so guessing is possible…’
He moved on.
And then—
“…H-huh?”
His eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
“L-lord!”
Aron burst into the room in a panic.
Kaien gave him a cold look.
“What is with the commotion?”
“The secretary applicant’s results are strange!”
“Strange as in… incredibly stupid?”
“No!”
Aron shook the test paper in front of him.
“Not that! Look at this!”
As he graded the test, Aron’s heart had been pounding harder and harder.
‘Oh—correct.’
‘That too? Impressive.’
At first, he hadn’t thought much of it.
The early questions were easy, so some applicants got them right.
But even those top applicants collapsed as the difficulty increased.
However—
‘W-what the hell…’
‘She got this right too.’
‘How did she even solve this?! I don’t even know!’
She hadn’t left the paper blank.
She had solved nearly everything mentally.
Problems that others couldn’t solve even after filling pages with calculations—
She had answered them all.
Aron waved the completely marked test paper, trembling with excitement.
“It’s a perfect score! A perfect score! We finally got our first perfect scorer! She solved every single question from that psycho-level exam!”
“Psycho-level?”
“I—I misspoke! Please kill me!”
Aron dropped to the ground in fear.
Kaien lazily waved him off and looked at the paper.
As his golden eyes scanned the answers, a faint glint appeared.
“Hm.”
A faint curve formed at the corner of his lips.
“So she meets the average human intelligence, it seems.”
‘Average human intelligence?! Then what are most citizens, monkeys?!’
Aron swallowed his silent protest while still prostrated.
Kaien tapped the paper once and gestured.
“Applicant’s personal information.”
Aron’s eyes widened.
‘Huh?!’
This was the first time.
The first time Kaien had requested an applicant’s personal details.
Normally, applicants were judged purely on the exam, and background checks came later.
Meaning—if there were no major issues, they were basically accepted.
Hope flared in Aron’s chest.
‘Finally… I might get a successor!’
Someone kind, smart, normal—finally a peaceful workplace!
“Yes, right away!”
But his hopes were quickly drenched in cold water.
The applicant, Freesia Violet’s personal record, was… mostly ordinary.
With one exception.