34 – Happiness is Ranked by Grades (1)
Thud thud thud thud thud thud
A massive tremor resounded through the academy, which had been filled with the sound of rain for a while. It was like an explosive movement where the sprouts that had been waiting for spring finally burst out of the ground. Finally, spring had arrived. It felt as if the entire world was declaring the arrival of warm days.
It wasn’t just a metaphorical expression. It was the monsoon. And because of the exams, the students who had been stuck in the classroom building were finally going outside. The movements of the students who wanted to bask in the sunlight after a long wait were dynamic, even intense.
And this time, I was also one of them.
As I watched the huge crowd surging in front of me, I remembered the scene where we all fetched water together from the common dormitory in the commoner’s dormitory. The difference was that this time, there was no distinction between nobles and commoners. Of course, there was no clear sense of community in this movement, but there was definitely a clear meaning in everyone moving together towards somewhere.
The wave of people sweeping through the corridor soon swept the stairs and rushed down towards the first floor. Although the bewildered academy professors occasionally popped out, they couldn’t stop this flow.
Soon, the rushing wave flowed down the first-floor corridor, pouring down like a waterfall. Then, in the distance, a brilliant light began to flow from the entrance of the building. The light you all longed for is here. It seemed to be fully revealing its tempting nakedness. As soon as the students saw the light, they ran forward with even more vigor. Soon, as the light poured down in front of their feet, it prepared to embrace us with all its might.
However, instead of embracing that light, we turned the corner and ran towards the dimly lit corridor on the other side.
The bewildered sunlight clung to our cheeks, shooting sharp rays at us. Nevertheless, we paid it no attention and continued running along the corridor without casting a glance in that direction. Passing the teacher’s office and the principal’s office in succession, we finally reached our intended destination and came to a stop. There, there was no radiant sunlight or evidence of the returning spring day.
There was only one large piece of paper attached. Of course, it wasn’t just any large piece of paper. It was a sort of directory containing the names of all the students in our grade.
I stretched myself to the fullest to find my name there. However, since there were so many others doing the same, it wasn’t a particularly meaningful action. In the end, I turned my head back to secure the best view.
“Gwero, give me a boost.”
“…Do we really have to go this far just to check the rankings? Why is someone who never cared about studying doing this all of a sudden?”
“Why? Scared because it might be embarrassing? How about making a bet? Who’s ranked higher?”
“Ha, really. But still, I won’t lose to a lowlife like you.”
“The barking dog doesn’t bite, Gwero. Want to bet? How about 10 shillings?”
“Our landlord must be desperate to give away money. Fine. Let’s check it out… go!”
“Uwak.”
With a powerful grunt from Gwero, he lifted me up above his head. And then, finally, the writing on the paper attached to the wall began to come into clear view. While an ordinary student might have scanned the names from top to bottom, I wasn’t that stupid. I looked for mine and Gwero’s names from the bottom. Soon, familiar names in bold black letters started to appear.
931st Year, 1st Semester, 2nd Midterm Exam Results.
…
…
…
201st: Ellen
202nd: Gwero
1st out of 2.
A truly, truly anticlimactic result.
“Ugh… How does it look? Can you see it?”
“Of course, I can see it. Your defeat.”
“What the heck?”
“Ugh.”
Gueiro, startled by my words, roughly released me and thumped towards the paper. After a while, he turned towards me with a thoroughly shocked expression.
“…Is this for real?”
“Yeah. It’s real.”
“How is this even possible?”
Gueiro muttered to himself as if he couldn’t believe it. Then suddenly, he grabbed my shoulders with a furrowed brow.
“What on earth did you do?”
“I studied really hard.”
“You’re talking nonsense! There’s no way. You must have cheated or something!”
“…Even if I cheated, would I get 200th place?”
“Unbelievable… losing to that idiot Ellen… Argh, seriously!”
Gueiro, feeling genuinely unjust, even shouted, denying the reality. The students, surprised by her outcry, hesitated and stepped back, giving me the chance to approach the paper.
I looked at the paper once again. And once again, I started searching for the familiar name. This time, not from below, but from the top. And it didn’t take me long to find that name.
931st Year, 1st Semester, 2nd Midterm Exam Results.
1st Place: Yuna Richmond
2nd Place: Elise
3rd Place: Ilya Baranov
Among 300 people. I came in first.
Her name, stuck in a place so high it hurt my neck, glowed unusually dark. Despite it not being mine, I continued to gaze at that name. Guero, with a smirk, asked me.
“Hey. What are you doing? Let’s go. We’ve seen it all.”
“You go ahead.”
“Feeling good about winning? Seriously. Okay, I’ll go first.”
Guero shook his head with a grin and left with a thud. Gradually, other students followed suit, one, two. With each footstep, the bustling corridor quieted down until only two people remained.
“Hoo…”
Only then did a faint sigh escape. But it was closer to a sigh of relief than a sigh of regret. I pondered what to say, pursing my lips, then smiled and spoke.
“It’s over. The exam.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“How do you feel?”
“Always the same, I guess.”
“What do you mean by ‘the same’?”
“Just…”
At my words, she trailed off a bit. Then, with a yawn, she replied.
“…I want to take a nap.”
“hahahaha…”
I turned my head to look at Yuna’s face only after the tension-relieving response came out.
In Yuna’s eyes, the deep shadows were still present. There, accumulated fatigue, a moment of accomplishment, and the emptiness of the task being finished melted simultaneously. However, there was no trace of negative emotions.
“So, should we go to bed?”
“What…?”
“It’s okay to skip class once in a while. How about doing that?”
“Uh… Oh, is that what you mean?”
Thinking I would be scolded, Yuna turned her head in great confusion. What did she misunderstand? I approached her, tilting my head, lost in my thoughts.
“Anyway, congratulations. First place, huh?”
“Well… Yeah.”
“It doesn’t sound like a joyful response. Is there something you don’t like?”
“Even though I got first place, my grades went down. So, well… I can’t really say I did well.”
Is that so? Yuna always seemed to think more critically than me. Still, at this moment, I felt like congratulating her. I knew how hard she had worked. So, I wanted to praise her.
“But still, being first is amazing, right?”
“Well… Yeah, I guess. Anyway, I got first place.”
“Really impressive. I’ve never achieved something like being first in my life. Oh, maybe once. Anyway, I’ve never been the top in something like studying.”
“Okay, stop it. What about you, ranking 201st? I taught you, and you didn’t even make it to the top half.”
“But I did improve a lot. Seriously.”
“What? How much did you improve?”
“About four places?”
When I honestly answered, Yuna frowned in disbelief. However, she soon softened her expression and replied.
“What’s that?”
And then, for the first time in a long while, she burst into laughter.
From Noble mtl dot com
The room was still filled with a gloomy darkness, but her expression was as clear as ever. After the long monsoon season, seeing her smiling face made my skin tingle and warmth spread throughout my body. Maybe this was the sunlight I had been searching for. Even beneath the faint light, a smile slowly appeared on my lips.
“So, what now? The exams are over, what are you going to do?”
“Well… I don’t know. Like I said earlier, I just want to get some sleep for now.”
“You want to go to sleep?”
“Stop making that sound.”
Yuna hit my arm hard. It hurt a little because she put some strength into it, but it made me laugh. It was a relief to see her brighten up again.
“But now you can take it easy, right?”
“Not really.”
“Why?”
“That’s…”
Once again, unspoken secrets swirled inside her mouth. I patiently waited, knowing that they would never be spoken out loud. Eventually, Yuna summed it all up in one word.
“There’s just… so much to think about now.”
“Yeah…”
That’s right. I didn’t really expect anything. Yuna is always busy. Even back then, she must have had a lot on her mind.
But today, I felt like I wanted to release her from the chains that bound her, even if just a little bit. As I pondered, a clever idea came to mind, and I smiled mischievously as I opened my mouth.
“Hey, Yuna. When are you going to give me a reward?”
“Huh? What reward?”
“I got fourth place. Don’t you give out prizes for that?”
“What?”
Upon hearing those words, Yuna seemed perplexed but responded with a smile, as if she couldn’t believe it. However, this time, she didn’t explicitly say that it couldn’t be done. Perhaps this was the justification she needed.
“Even if you’re busy, taking a break for just today should be okay. Don’t you think so?”
“Well… maybe.”
Yuna’s lips, which had been pondering, slowly parted. It seemed that this time, there were even more difficult things on her mind. I opened my mouth again, gently pushing her back.
“They say it’s going to rain again starting tomorrow.”
“…!”
“If not today, it might not work out.”
“…”
Yuna’s expression reacted significantly to those words. She hesitated, cute lips pouting, but eventually, as if giving in, she slowly spoke.
“Well, then… should we?”
“Yes! Let’s go right now.”
“Why? I said we can’t.”
“Why not? Let’s take a day off for once.”
“Where on earth does that idea come from?”
“Don’t people have thoughts like that at least once?”
“Just thinking doesn’t mean everyone acts on it.”
As usual, we bickered back and forth while walking down the hallway. However, at that moment, a voice came from behind.
“Hey, Yuna?”
“Oh… yes?”
Yuna turned her head nervously. However, her tension was washed away by the clear voice of the professor of magic.
“Congratulations, Yuna. I heard you got first place on this exam.”
“Ah… Professor. Hello.”
“Especially in magic, you received a perfect score. You must have studied very hard.”
“Oh, it’s not that I did well, but thanks to your excellent teaching.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Yuna.”
The professor of magic smiled genuinely, and Yuna responded with a polite and noble-like face, devoid of her mischievousness from earlier. Is it a basic etiquette for nobles to have two faces?
But in the next moment, Yuna’s smile on her face faded a little at the professor’s following remark.
“But it seems like your parents are even happier than me.”
“What?”
“Oh? You didn’t hear me?”
The professor of magic tilted his head as if surprised. And with his next words, he even evaporated the smile that remained on Yuna’s face.
“Your parents, the Duke and Duchess, visited the academy this morning. To meet you.”