She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner! 13

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Order of the Academy

“And so, we will again hold the annual selection exam for those interested in joining the Order of the Academy.”

On a Saturday, Lorec Cugletto, the current commander of the Order of the Academy, addressed the rest of the students in the academy’s lecture hall.
As his name suggests, he was Loretta’s older brother and heir to the House of the Count of Cugletto.
House Cugletto was one of the households that had consistently held important positions within the kingdom’s military and was also one of the first houses to realize the future importance of magic.
They promptly requested instruction from Tred Magik, the kingdom’s leading magic expert, and were able to maintain their influence even after the use of magic was standardized.
As one could expect from the heir of a family with deep ties to military service, Lorec was both candid and well tempered.
Loretta was similar in that regard, but in her case, it would be more fitting to say that she prefers glossing over the details.

The Order of the Academy that Lorec mentioned was a student governed chivalric order within the academy.
This Order was formed by a small number of students selected through a strict process and high ranking students within the order would at times have authority equivalent to the teachers.
Traditionally, the order was formed by students hailing from royalty or high ranking nobility and these students were responsible for maintaining the academy’s discipline.
Finally, as their name suggested, they also participated in emergency relief or even fought in combat should the need arise.
The Order of the Academy was not just a chivalric order in title.

“Heh.
You know I’m in.”

Rodd-sama was the first to declare his participation.
Considering his personality, this was but a matter of course.

“I’ll participate in the selection exam too.”

Yuu-sama was the next one to raise his hand.
While he had graceful, almost feminine, features, his combat style gave him the name the “Prince of Ice”, and I had no doubt that he was one of the top combatants in our academy.
Though his ability to control magic did not particularly stand out, Yuu-sama had also been trained in close quarter combat from a young age.

“Sein, you’re in too.”
“… I’d really rather not.”

Urged on by Rodd-sama, Sein-sama reluctantly raised his hand.
Considering his personality I understood that he’d prefer not to engage in group activities, but as a prince there was no way he could escape participation in the Order.

“Princes, your participation is greatly appreciated.
Please do your best during the selections.
Is there anyone else?”
“I too wish to participate.”

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The one who responded to Lorec’s call now was, of course, me.

“Claire-sama… Hmm, don’t you think the burden may be a tad too heavy for a lady?”
“Not at all.
While I may not be able to compare in pure physical strength, my proficiency in magic as well as in day to day administrative work should more than qualify me.”

Members of House François had consistently participated in the Order.
Both my father and mother had, so now, I too would do the same.

Commander Lorec displayed visible hesitation, as a man fitting the role of commander, he quickly came to his decision and nodded.

“In that case, me too.”

Sitting right next to me, the commoner raised her hand.
I contorted my face to openly express my displeasure.

“The Order’s standards are impossibly high for the likes of you.”
“Oh? Is that really something that Claire-sama, who did worse on all the recent exams except in Etiquette, should be saying?”
“Keep talking! I won’t lose to you on our next set of exams, just you wait and see!”

She’s so full of herself just because she got the better of me in our last bet! Just watch, I’ll be sure to pay back the favor!

“Misha, you participate too.
In the unlikely possibility she’s accepted, someone needs to be there to rein her in!”
“I’m not Rei’s guardian…”

Considering even the slimmest of possibilities, I called out to Misha.
Though she certainly wasn’t excited about it, she still raised her hand.
After that, a number of other students raised their hands as well.
Lorec took note of those hands before distributing handouts outlining the selection process.

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“The selections start tomorrow, early in the morning on Sunday.
You will be tested in two categories, your capacity for administrative work, as well as magic.
Further details are outlined in the handouts provided, so make sure that you read them.
Well then,I’ll be taking my leave.”

With that, Lorec left the lecture hall, and it wasn’t long before others followed.

“Hmph, it’s clear that a lowborn like you could never make it into the Order of the Academy!”

I made fun of the commoner sitting next to me… so, why was she just sitting there with a dumb smile?

“Claire, Rei, and Misha are all participating too, huh.
I’m looking forward to it.”
“Rodd-sama…”
“Looks like we’ll have to do our best too, Sein-niisan.”
“I really couldn’t care less.”

The three princes called out to us.
First was Rodd-sama, boasting his confidence.
Second was Yuu-sama who held a silent confidence.
Finally, Sein-sama who made it clear he really couldn’t care less.
Truly, to each their own.

“Hey, once you’ve decided on something you really go all in, don’t you? I know that you’re not actually interested in the Order…”

In response to Misha’s call out,

“Yup, exactly right.
I just want to stay by Claire-sama’s side.”
“I knew it…”

With an exasperated sigh, Misha raised both hands in surrender.
Though Misha had not intended to participate, now that it had come to this, she wasn’t the type of person to do something half-baked.

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“Rodd-sama, are you aware of the criteria we’ll be tested upon? I’ve only heard broadly that they will judge us by our capabilities in administrative work and magic.”

As previously stated, it was common knowledge that members of the royal family have consistently joined the Order of the Academy, so I thought I could ask for some details.

“You’re not going to hear anything from me, the selections have to be fair.
We’ll be finding out tomorrow anyway, so it’s not like there’s much that you could do to prepare in just one night.”
“You have a point.”

That said, the selections were also in the form of an exam.
So―

“Commoner, let’s make another bet!”

I declared my intent and sent the commoner a sharp glare.
In response, the baby water slime that sat on the commoner’s head gave a surprised hop.
The slime’s name was Relaire, and she was the commoner’s familiar.

“If you are not accepted into the Order of the Academy, you will leave the academy.”
“Eh? But I’d rather not?”
“Again… couldn’t you at least consider it!?”

Every single time, why was this commoner always so quick to douse my fire!

“Okay, okay… let’s do it.
Do the same conditions we used last time work for you?”

I was about to say, “Yes, that’s fine.”, but I caught myself.

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“Wait just a moment! Do you intend to trick me in the same way?”

That was right, this commoner had caught me in quite the nasty trap during our last.

“No no, I’d never be that mean.
Let’s keep it simple this time.
If I don’t make it in, then it’s Claire-sama’s loss.
If I do make it in, then it’s my win, how does that sound?”
“That’s fi… absolutely not fine!? Doesn’t that mean that I’d lose either way!?”

Goodness, I really couldn’t afford to let my guard down around her.

“Okay, I get it.
If I don’t make it in the Order, it’s Claire-sama’s win.
If I do, then it’s my win.
How’s that for a compromise?”
“Can’t we set it so that if I am accepted into the Order then it’s my win?”
“I’m sure that Claire-sama will be accepted so those conditions give me no chance.”

Hearing the commoner say that made me just a little happy.
Perhaps she wasn’t as ignorant as I made her out to be.

“Fine.
What happens if you win?”
“Like before, I’ll have you do any one thing that I request of you.”
“Very well.”
“Perfect.
Then it’s decided.”

Just as we did the last time, we had Misha stand witness and swore an oath to the Spirit.
With that, all that was left was for me to do my best during tomorrow’s selections.

Translator Comment: Glad to be able to share Chapter 2 with you all! It was a lot of work, but I also had a lot of fun doing the translation.
I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
Let’s once again watch over our very precious Claire together!