Chapter 76 Trainee Exam
――On that day, the day of the "Royal Alchemist Trainee" exam, things were quite busy.
There were noticeably more examinees this time around, perhaps due to the increased recruitment efforts. Just guiding them around was a challenge, with constant back and forth between the exam venue and the operations headquarters for various tasks. Running back and forth in the corridors had become a routine. I had grown accustomed to the scrutinizing gazes from the adults.
――And then it happened. Rustling noises filled the air, making my eardrums vibrate. I involuntarily stopped in my tracks and turned around to see a young man who seemed to have scattered documents and papers all over the floor.
Despite being in a hurry, I couldn't just leave after seeing that mess and decided to speak up.
"Um, are you okay?"
With his navy blue unruly hair, long wavy bangs, and glasses obscuring his eyes, it was clear he was an unfamiliar young man. His attire was different from any of the uniforms of the organizations working in the royal castle.
It clicked. He was probably, no, definitely a candidate who had come to take the "Royal Alchemist Trainee" exam.
As I approached him, he lifted his face, and our green eyes met.
"Uh!? Oh, yes! I-I'm fine! Ah, sorry for being in the way like this!"
The young man hastily gathered the scattered documents, picking up a few and handing them over. He then bowed his head apologetically and tried to run off.
When the young man stood up, I was momentarily surprised by his height, but more importantly, the exam venue was not in the direction he was heading. I raised my voice as he moved away.
"Excuse me, you're one of the Royal Alchemist exam candidates, right? The venue is not that way!"
The young man's steps came to a halt. It seemed he was indeed a candidate.
He awkwardly, almost robotically, turned back towards me. As I had thought before, he was quite tall, maybe as tall as Arnold, if not taller.
Peeking at the blushing face of the young man standing next to me, I couldn't help but smile at his nervousness. With a hint of a smile on my lips, I said,
"I'm heading to the venue too, so let me guide you."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
The young man bowed repeatedly as he started walking a few steps behind me.
We hurried towards the exam venue. I was contemplating whether to say something to ease his nerves when, surprisingly, the young man asked me a question.
"Um, are you perhaps from the Royal Alchemist?"
"Huh?"
"Your uniform..."
He pointed at my white coat, the one provided to Royal Alchemist trainees. I was so used to wearing it that I didn't usually pay attention, but it was indeed distinctive to others.
I nodded quietly in response to his question.
"Yes, that's right. But I'm still... a trainee."
I almost said "assistant" but changed it to "trainee" at the last moment. He wouldn't understand the position given as a special case.
At my answer, the young man's green eyes sparkled behind his glasses. He let out a small sigh.
"Wow, that's amazing. Unlike me, you have talent."
"Oh, no..."
"I've been failing the exams continuously. This is my last chance..."
His words reminded me of the recruitment requirements for Royal Alchemist trainees.
――Qualifications: Men and women aged 14 to under 20.
If he said this was his last chance, he must be 19 now. In this world, he was already an adult. It made sense why he seemed taller than usual; his sturdy build and well-developed body structure contributed to that.
"Haha, I'm sorry for bringing up such a gloomy topic."
The young man, now a man, gave me a wry smile as I had been staring at him. "I'm the one who should apologize," he said, bowing slightly as we continued walking.
The conversation ended there, but we were not far from the entrance to the exam venue. Rather than feeling awkward in the silence, we arrived at the exam venue.
"Please take a seat in the available chairs and wait for a while."
When I guided him, the man seemed apologetic, hunching his back and bowing his head multiple times. Not extremely shy, but unsure how to react when someone he just met is so apologetic, I could only awkwardly wave my hand in front of my face and say, "Please don't worry about it."
As we repeated this exchange a few times at the entrance, another examinee arrived. Realizing we were blocking the entrance, the man bowed deeply one last time and proceeded towards the exam venue - but his right hand and right foot moved simultaneously.
Seeing his nervousness, I couldn't help but speak up.
"Um! I caught a glimpse of the contents of the document you dropped earlier. It was neatly annotated..."
He turned around. After a moment of hesitation, I continued.
"I hope your efforts pay off. Have confidence and do your best."
His tense expression softened ever so slightly.
* * *
In the quiet hallway bathed in the setting sun.
After the first day's written exam had ended smoothly, I was shuttling between the exam venue and the operations headquarters for cleanup.
"――Excuse me."
"Yes?"
Turning around, I saw a man with dull red hair standing there. His hair was loosely tied back, casually bouncing around.
The slender man had a mature face, with somewhat sharp eyes, but an aura of "currently in trouble" emanated from him, so I tilted my head and approached him.
"Um, did you happen to see a girl about this tall? With light peach-colored hair and amber eyes..."
As he spoke, he scanned around with his "amber" eyes. His speech seemed somewhat hesitant, lacking familiarity with polite language.
I searched my memory as requested. Light peach-colored hair, amber eyes. Such a striking appearance would surely stand out in a crowd — unfortunately, I couldn't recall such a girl in my memory.
Worried she might be lost, I shook my head in response.
"Sorry, I――"
"Haha! Mentor, there you are! Don't just wander off like that!"
Interrupting me, a cute girl's voice echoed in the hallway. She ran past me and threw herself at the man in front of me.
Her hair was light peach-colored, likely long, styled in a somewhat intricate ponytail.
Relieved that the missing person had been found, I gazed at the neatly braided back of her head, when suddenly,
"You're the one who got lost, not me, geez..."
The man's deep sigh reverberated in my ears.
Distracted by the sudden appearance of the girl, I realized she had indeed made a strange remark. It almost sounded like the man was the one who got lost.
Are they father and daughter? They didn't resemble each other in appearance or seem to have similar personalities even for a moment.
The girl, seemingly unconcerned with the man's words, tilted her head and asked, "Huh?"
"Hey, Mentor, where are Leon and Sieg?"
"They're looking for you. Come on, let's go."
The man took the girl's hand, nodded at me, and as they were about to leave, the girl slipped away from his grasp and ran towards me.
Her large amber eyes looked up at me. Despite her adorable appearance, there was an unfathomable depth in her gaze that made me take a half step back. ――At that moment, her amber eyes "overlapped" with someone from my memory.
I tried to think who it could be, but before I could, the girl asked,
"Hey, big sister, are you a Royal Alchemist?"
"Y-yes."
Upon my response, the girl's eyes lit up with joy. She proudly declared,
"I'm Iris! I'm going to be a Royal Alchemist too, so let's work together! Oh, but since you're already a Royal Alchemist, you're my senior, right?"
Placing a hand on her mouth, the girl murmured something with a deep sense of emotion. Despite her lovely appearance, she seemed to have a strong personality.
From the words "I'm going to become a Royal Alchemist," it's clear that today's examinee took the exam. However, she seems completely set on becoming a trainee already.
She seems very confident - actually, she believes she will pass without a doubt. Despite her attitude not showing any arrogance or conceit, I could sense her purity due to her youthful demeanor. She might be a true genius type.
"Don't mess around."
The man firmly grabs the girl's neck. Then, he drags the girl away from the spot.
Even as the girl is being dragged by the man, her gaze remains fixed on me. For a few seconds, our amber eyes and gazes intertwine. Staring intently into those eyes that sparkle in the sunset, I start to feel uneasy - suddenly, I "remembered."
"When you look at me, it feels like you can see right through me, and it makes me a bit uneasy."
The voice that resurfaced in my eardrums was slightly lower and calmer than the present, the proud voice of my childhood friend. The one to whom those words were directed at is the ancient species heroine. During our journey, she was taken aback when she was suddenly told such a thing - those amber eyes of hers.
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