Chapter 23
The enrollment center, in contrast to the overcrowded advising office, was fairly quiet. Each prospective student at the enrollment center was paired with an advisor for one-on-one consultations. The advisor took turns looking at me and Dybun, wearing an expression of doubt, clearly wondering why we were there. Perhaps it was because we didn’t appear to have much money.
“Um... it might be rude to ask in advance, but may I...?” The advisor asked.
“Please, go ahead,” I replied, taking the lead since Dybun was in a state of icy silence.
The advisor continued, sounding a bit apologetic.
“There are cases where people come here to pay and wish to enroll for one semester...”
The enrollment fee was a hefty amount of 50 gold, and while it was a substantial sum, if one was disciplined enough, it was definitely a plausible amount to save up for. However, were there really people who attended for just one semester?
“Is that not allowed?” I inquired.
If that was not allowed, then my whole plan was going to fall apart.
The advisor had spoken in a very polite manner toward me as well. Perhaps it had become a habit for them to show courtesy even to children, as everyone they encountered here was from a prestigious background.
“Of course, if you complete one semester and then find yourself unable to pay for the next... as per policy, you would be expelled after a certain period...”
“So, if someone can’t afford to enroll for the next semester and they don’t reapply, is that okay by the school?”
“Yes, in principle, that’s how it should be. There would be no reason to expel you if you did that... However, not all students who enroll this way are like that....”
Huh? What was going on? Was there some additional setup or extra context being added that I didn’t know about this world?
The advisor hesitated, then continued.
“Some would first pay for one semester, and then during that semester, build relationships with other students who are more financially stable. Then they would ask them to help cover the tuition for the next semester.... It’s a more common occurrence than we thought.”
Ah. I think I knew what the advisor was talking about.
“When students see a close friend having to leave the Temple the next semester just because they can’t afford it, they start crying and begging their parents to pay for them.... And while there are adoptive parents who do assist in these cases, it’s just that... it can harm the Temple’s image in various ways.”
For those with immense wealth, the cost of the Temple’s tuition wasn’t that significant.? The Temple was where nobles, commoners, and even royalty all mingled together, so it wasn’t strange to see friendships form that overcame social status.
So, basically, there were students who paid for one semester just to get inside, with parents who instructed them to find a well-off, wealthy friend. That way, even if they didn’t pay the tuition, having a wealthy friend was seen as a gain in itself.
Kids could throw tantrums about their friends leaving, but when it came to their parents, having poor brats wandering around at the Temple might lead them to file a complaint to the Temple’s authorities.
When I’d designed the Temple, I never considered that such unexpected interactions could occur.
I didn’t know that short-term admissions could be exploited in such a way. It was both frustrating and clever, and made me feel somewhat foolish for not thinking of it first!
“Ever since this became a problem, the Temple has been hesitant to admit students who don’t have the financial support to study for a considerable period of time.... In fact, when kids attend for only one semester and then leave the Temple, it often affects the kids who were friends with them as well...”
Given that such issues existed, the Temple’s stance now seemed understandable. Frequent changes in the student body alone could have a negative impact on the kids, but it was even more concerning if students intended to use other students for money.
Even I thought that implementing such a policy was necessary.
But what if I was enrolling to develop my talents to become a permanent student with a scholarship?
The advisor wouldn’t believe me if I told them that this was my plan.
If they knew I was the successor of the Bronze Gate Rotary Club, my admission would be blocked in an instant.
Perhaps gaining admittance through Sarkegar might have been the option more likely to succeed.
“If you can come prepared with financial documents that prove your income, we can consider your case... but it doesn’t seem like that’s really possible for you.”
The advisor was very politely looking down on the two of us, but I wasn’t particularly upset, since it was the truth.
I couldn’t believe that the Demon Prince couldn’t enter the Temple because he didn’t have enough money.
At first, it had felt like I was going to just enroll for the sake of it, but now, it felt like I was begging to get in.
Dybun lowered his head as if he were guilty of a crime.
‘Hey, it’s not like not having money was a sin, keep your head up.’
What were we to do? I hadn’t expected an obstacle like that to appear. The Rotary Club had members who worked, but providing financial proof was difficult.
We could perhaps acquire some money through the Thieves’ Guild, but showing proof of association with a criminal organization on paper was not a viable option.
Changing my appearance again to get another ID and coming back with Sarkegar seemed like the only option in this situation.
“Well, then, I guess there’s no other choi—”
“How about running him through an examination?”
Just as I was about to get up from my seat, Dybun had offered a random suggestion.
An examination? What kind of examination was he talking about?
“Examination as in...?”
For some reason, Dybun’s expression seemed desperate.
“There’s a possibility that he could be a genius or a superhuman, right? Does putting him through such an examination cost money?”
‘Wait, what? What was with him all of a sudden?’
Dybun’s sudden comment left the advisor looking somewhat surprised.
“Of course, we do conduct these sorts of examinations here in the application office, and no it doesn’t cost anything to examine him, but... Well, the likelihood of him having any significant talent is quite slim. Most kids don’t have any talents at all...”
The advisor’s words were true. I didn’t possess any special talents at the moment. So despite Dybun’s desperation to find another way, there wasn’t any hope.
“Um... let’s just leave, Dybun.”
“Oh, come on, you never know what can happen. How long does it take to get him examined? Is it a lengthy process?”
“Well... You just need to use the physical scanner, so it won’t take much time... but you should get it done at the counseling center and not here.”
The advisor seemed startled by Dybun’s abrupt behavior.
After a moment of hesitation, the advisor heaved a short sigh.
“Well, since you’ve come this far, I suppose...”
The advisor rummaged through the office and took out a magical device.
It was a physical scanner, essentially a measurement tool used to assess talent and status in this world. With it, they could measure an individual’s talents and current abilities.
It was another one of those convenient things that suited this world’s setting. Without something like that, this process would have been much more annoying and taken unnecessarily long. It was kind of like the system message pop-ups that made everything more concise.
For example, system pop-ups that depicted your stats as numbers saved a lot of time when proving that you got stronger. Without them, you’d have to describe every single thing, like “I wasn’t able to do this and this before, but now I’m able to do such and such, so I feel like I’ve gotten stronger,” and so on. You’d have to explain everything in that way, and it was annoying and tiring.
Reading something like “My attack power increased by a thousand!” was much more convenient and I loved it.
Anyway, what Dybun was trying to do right then seemed like a pointless endeavor.
“Dybun, this seems pointless.”
“If there’s no harm in doing it, why not give it a try? We have nothing to lose, kid.”
Dybun appeared to be urging me to accept his suggestion, especially since it didn’t cost any money. He seemed quite desperate, since he thought that I had no way to enter the Temple other than this, when in fact, I had another option that he didn’t know about.
He was doing everything he could to help me. He was quite a nice guy.
However, that didn’t mean that I’d suddenly acquire a talent out of nowhere, though.
“Please place your hand on this scanner. It’ll take about a minute.”
It seemed like the scanner would display some kind of alert regarding the talent I possessed after it successfully scanned me.
I placed my hand on the gem.
Not possessing a particular talent was not the issue here. I wondered if it was going to expose my true identity, or if it would show that I possessed the Control Demon ability.
Nah, that wouldn’t happen. I was wearing Sarkegar’s ring.
The Control Demon skill was a unique trait of the Archdemon race, and so it was likely sealed away by Sarkegar’s ring.
It was a power that could only be used when in my Baalier form, so it was probably hidden from the scanner as well.
Of course, I could be totally wrong. In that case, I’d just have to run away with the ring and think up a brand-new appearance.
While I was pondering, the advisor suddenly tapped the scanner.
“...Hmm?”
Why did the action seem similar to someone tapping a device when it failed to work?
“Is there something wrong?”
In response to Dybun’s question, the advisor shook his head.
“Hmm... I’m sorry. We hardly use this device here. It seems it’s malfunctioning.”
The advisor left the room, saying that he would bring a new device, implying he was more used to dealing with enrollment work and not talent scanning.
“Could it be that it found something in you?”
Dybun seemed hopeful, so I shook my head.
“Unlikely.”
I checked my stats again with the stat pop-up, and again, no talent was to be found. I knew my stats better than that magical scanner.
“I’ve brought a new one. I’ve checked it, so it should work this time.”
The advisor seemed to be getting tired. After all, providing extra services like this wasn’t necessary, especially for people who obviously looked talentless.
I placed my hand on the new scanner placed in front of me.
“...”
Again, the advisor fell silent.
“What...? Is it malfunctioning again?”
“Oh...”
The advisor furrowed his brow.
“This is strange. This has never happened before.”
The advisor seemed to be perplexed, and rather than speaking formally as he had done until now, the advisor was muttering in an informal tone.
“Does this device usually malfunction like this?”
“No. It’s not a complex device, so it shouldn’t.”
The advisor turned the scanner’s screen to Dybun and I to show us what was perplexing them.
It was hard to call it a screen, since it just kept flickering. It would flash as if it were displaying something, then continue to flicker.
What kind of talent was this? A talent for breaking machinery? If that was the case, I’d rather not have it.
An ability like that was something you would find in old novels, and was among the worst you could get. Such a talent was so outdated that it would be considered somewhat revolutionary if it were to appear in modern-day novels.
The advisor told me to remove my hand from the device, and this time, he placed his own hand on it, as though he wanted to check his own talents.
“... The device seems to be functioning normally,” the advisor said.
This time, the advisor asked Dybun to place his hand on the device.
“Hmm... it’s definitely not an issue with the device.”
It seemed that the glitching screen was caused by me.
The advisor then asked me to place my hand on the device once again.
“Now, hold it there for just about one second.”
“...alright.”
What on earth could it be?
I did as instructed, placing my hand on the device for one second. Again, the screen started to flicker wildly.
The advisor looked bewildered, his mouth falling open helplessly.
“I might know what it is. There have been various situations in the past... but this one is truly unique.”
“What is it? Did you find something?” Dybun asked with an excited expression.
“It’s not necessarily a talent, but rather an ‘aptitude.’ In some cases, individuals have an aptitude for some area, and if they put in the effort, they can excel in that particular area. It’s a kind of low-level version of talent.”
“Aptitude?”
Oh, I knew what that was.
“For example, if someone had an aptitude for swordsmanship, it would be better for them to learn swordsmanship rather than archery or spear-fighting. And if that person continued to work on mastering their swordsmanship, they might manifest a talent in swordsmanship, and even surpass those with talent in swordsmanship solely with their effort.”
“So, what’s your point?”
Dybun wanted to get the answer quickly.
“This device can not only read talents, but also identify the field in which a person has an aptitude. That’s why, at the counseling center, we also tell children what aptitude they have, even if they don’t have any talent. It’s quite rare for a child to lack both talent and aptitude.”
Identification of aptitudes. I see.
It was a way of informing parents who had traveled a long way to the Temple just for admission counseling about what their child could excel in, even if they weren’t necessarily a prodigy.
It seemed like another service that the Temple offered to the parents, saying things like, “Your child doesn’t have any talents. However, they do have an aptitude in this and that area, so you might want to guide them in that direction.”
The advisor showed the screen to me and Dybun again. It looked like it was the first time he had encountered a case like this as well.
[Swordsmanship aptitude, archery aptitude, mana aptitude, mana attunement aptitude, psychic aptitude....]
The screen was filled with all the aptitudes I possessed.
“It seems like Reinhart was born with an aptitude for just about everything in this world.”
I see. The screen wasn’t flickering.
It was simply refreshing constantly, because I had an infinite amount of aptitudes.
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