The Witch and the Doll Swear

On this day, Ting Na rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up in a daze.

"It's so noisy..."

Waves of unpleasant noises—especially unpleasant noises when An Ran was falling asleep—were passing through the dim dawn and reaching the girl's ears.

This was the first time Tina heard such a noise that could disturb people's sleep in this city-state of magicians.

"...Miss Liliana... ah..."

A few minutes after waking up, Tina patted her face.

She hasn't moved back to Liliana's bedroom yet, but lives on the 8th floor of the tower. In a gorgeous and clean guest room, the dark room is lit up with a small and elegant elemental lamp in the center of the ceiling because it senses the occupant's waking up.

Curtains embroidered with beautiful patterns separated the room from the balcony, and the messy noise came from outside the window.

——When I went to bed last night, did I forget to close the floor-to-ceiling windows engraved with sound filter magic?

Recently, every time she wakes up, the feeling of being empty in her arms has made Tina's thinking quite dull. After sitting on the bed with distracted eyes for a while, she slowly got up and opened the curtains.

In just a few minutes, the sky has brightened, and the moment of dawn has long passed, but the sun has not yet risen above the sea of ​​clouds from the horizon, so the sea of ​​clouds in the east has been brightly lit up, while in the west, there are no stars and no stars. The moonlit night still shrouded the clouds in silent darkness.

The 11th of Moonless Moonless, moonless and starless, the first week of the month ruled by darkness has come to the weekend.

Although it has nothing to do with Tingna, the big exam has come to an end, and what is more important to Tingna is Liliana's birthday, and the exam with Ai is imminent.

Just like every night before the exam in the past, Tina thought a lot before falling asleep, including Miss Witch's birthday present, including whether Ai would successfully complete the subject.

The former was sent to the Cetirin Academy of Ancient Languages ​​immediately after Alice found out about Mr. Guoyi’s gift, so that now the girl has no idea what to do to celebrate her birthday.

In fact, Tina hasn't mentioned birthday to Liliana yet, and it's completely unclear whether Miss Witch would like to celebrate her birthday—isn't there such a saying?

Every birthday after the age of 20 is sad and sighing.

As for the latter, it was completely out of her control, but it still took her a lot of time to think about it.

When Tina fell into a dream tiredly, even the moment of rest had passed, since traveling with Liliana and Alice, girls rarely go to bed so late.

So Miss Tingna is a little angry now.

For those who bothered me, this noise came from nowhere.

"what is going on……"

Pushing open the window, a gust of cold wind with fine snow swam across the skin like a wriggling python, and her somewhat dazed brain instantly became sober, and the girl who was used to sleeping naked shivered shivering unknowingly. Going back to the room, he didn't go back to the balcony of the guest room until he got dressed.

Tina couldn't help covering her ears.

Leaving the room protected by the sound filter magic, the hustle and bustle became louder. There were dozens...no, maybe hundreds of voices mixed together. They were preaching something through the magic of loudspeaker, but Here it sounds like a meaningless cacophony of words mixed in.

The oncoming wind has also become warmer.

"Miss Sylph, what happened? It's so noisy..."

There is no doubt that the cold wind that made the girl wake up all of a sudden was a little prank by the wind elf.

"There is a group of people gathering in the Black Truffle Square, it looks like a parade~~~~~"

The Wind Spirit, who was about the size of Alice, was riding on the girl's neck, and his brisk tone was as distant as the sound of the wind.

"Actually, it's so far away and with sound-filtering glass, the sound should be relatively low, but because of my blessing, Miss Tingna's hearing has become too sharp~~~~~ I'm sorry~~"

"No, it's not Miss Sylph's fault."

procession.

Tina is no stranger to this kind of activity. The trade unions in Salt Sand City occasionally hold large-scale demonstrations, from the port to the square of the city hall, to express their approval or opposition to the policies issued by the city hall.

It's just that Tina never participated.

"What did they gather for?"

Holding Sylph off her neck, Tina knew that the wind elf must know the reason.

"It seems that they were not admitted because of the big exam. They complained that the exams of various institutions were too difficult and the number of people admitted was too small. They hoped to persuade the association to change the exam system through this parade."

The elf with the same hair color as Cang Qiong giggled and flapped his small wings, and flew up from the girl's arms.

Except for Aqua and Knight, and Salamanda, who has a wonderful hobby of raising each other's body temperature through hugging, the elemental elves and girls in the tower are actually not very close.

After all, the likes and dislikes of the elemental spirits directly depend on the affinity of the elements. Sylph's unobtrusive departure made the girl feel a little lost, but soon, she adjusted her mood and curiously asked the reason for the parade.

The reason is quite straightforward, the failure of the annual exam almost exceeds 80% of the candidates.

Among them, in addition to the magicians who have lived in the City of Thousand Towers this year, there are also candidates from all over the mainland and colleges. They have traveled thousands of miles to this city-state in the sky, but almost 90% of them have Dilapidated return, it has been like this for hundreds of years.

"Does Miss Tina know about the Freedmen of Feriden?"

"Yeah. I know……"

However, there are many candidates from the Free Cities in this year's exam.

"Different from the Free City-States Union established since the Second Era, the Free City-States after the Thirteenth Jihad almost all appeared because of these guys. There are some differences, simply put... because of the radical thinking of this organization, the independent city-states under their influence have a more sense of resistance, and they will launch fierce resistance against what they think is unfair."

"And this parade too?"

"...The main sponsor of the parade is from the free city of Lagolas, where a magic academy confidently selected the top students, but the entire army was wiped out... This is also very normal, the level of education in the mainland varies from good to bad , and the admission principle adopted by various institutions is not to delineate the eligibility line but to select the best for admission.”

"As a result, those students thought that this kind of exam was completely unfair, so they contacted many people who also failed the exam and gathered together... Well, I don't find it strange at all, there are voices complaining that the exam is too difficult and there are too few places every year, but this time With leaders, they seem to want to change the brutal form of merit-based admissions and implement a pass system.”

Putting down the knife and fork, Tina blinked.

"Sounds like a campaign to give people a voice."

After Sylph, Wright, and Knight explained the reason for the parade, she just finished her breakfast.

Liliana and Ai still didn't come down today. When the girl was feeling this way, Alice who was sitting on the dining table raised her silver eyes and glanced at her, somewhat disapproving.

"It's just the howling of a defeated dog."

"Yeah?"

Drinking Liliana's pour-over coffee with reverence, Tingna blinked her eyes.

After her curiosity faded, she was no longer interested in this topic. For the girl, as long as the parade would not affect traffic, it would be fine.

She has a lot of places to go today, and Miss Tessa has made new progress in deciphering. In the afternoon, the project led by Liliana in the name of Dragon Academy has a meeting that requires her to be a mascot, and there are some other affairs.

More importantly, she still hasn't figured out what to give Liliana as her birthday present.

"Then, I'm going out."

Thinking this way, the girl tidied up her clothes, put on light makeup for herself, and started today's work.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Ten minutes later.

"Wow..."

When I saw it from the tower, people in gray robes gathered here and gave speeches in the square, but now, they have formed a neat square formation on the road, filling the street.

Ting Na was very glad that she did not take a carriage near Fei Leng Cui out of caution.

The street near the Black Truffle Square is the only way to the Setilin Academy of Ancient Languages. If the carriage detours here, it will take more time.

This was the first time that Tina stepped into such a noisy corner of the city, just like stepping into a gray ocean.

"It's really a huge parade..."

This dim color is a symbol of the losers. They lined up neatly on the flat stone road and raised the same gray flags and banners, which almost blended with the crowd to show their personal prayers.

【We need fairer exams】

[Mediocre people also need attention and opportunities. 】

[Genius is only a minority, but we can also become excellent through hard work]

On the gray banners and flags, the blood-red handwriting is shocking. Tingna, who couldn't help but stop and look around, suddenly had the illusion that they formed a gray giant, and these handwriting, which looked like blood, were the giant's sad wish carved on its skin with a sharp blade.

In the final analysis, this is what a parade is. If one person can't do anything, then ten people, if the voice of ten people is too small, then a hundred people, a thousand people, but in the end.

After all, it is the weak who have to speak out in this way.

The merchants who denounced the nobles for maliciously manipulating prices, the fishermen who were restricted by law to go to sea—people who could not convey anything and could not change by themselves gathered together and conveyed their words loudly with footsteps and shouts.

"...It's kind of kind."

Ting Na also had this feeling during several parades in Salt Sand City.

Although I don't know what attitude the rulers on the frozen soil in the north have towards the people's parade, this scene made Tina feel kind.

But kindness is kindness, and I, who can't even use the most basic magic power, have absolutely no chance for the magic test.

Before the parade started, Tingna walked towards the end of the street. As long as she walked through this section of the street, she would not have to go around a long way to get to the Cetillin Institute of Ancient Languages. Next, she only needed to find a carriage...

Just as Tina was thinking about the next itinerary.

"Miss, can I take some of your time?"

A blond boy stood in front of her.

"That... sorry? I'm not a magician, okay?"

"No, it doesn't matter if you're not a magician, you seem to have something to do next, so I don't want to invite you to join the parade—"

The boy who was looked at by the girl with puzzled eyes bowed slightly.

Perfect etiquette, although standing in front of Tingna, it is not completely in front but obliquely to the right. If Tingna refuses, he can get out of the way with a slight side step. Of course, Tingna can also completely Ignore and leave.

"My name is Frogo, and I come from the great free city-state of Lagolas. May I take a few minutes of my lady's time to introduce you to this parade?"

His words had an accent that Tina had never heard before, but compared with those aborigines on the grassland, no matter how strange the accent was, it seemed acceptable.

"...just for a short time."

"Then, please come here. For drinks, do you want mocha or latte? Of course, it's free."

But Tina's curiosity was piqued. With the girl's consent, the boy with emerald eyes raised his head, showed a bright smile, and led Tingna to the open-air coffee shop on the street.

"Mocha is fine."

It didn't take long for the hot coffee to be served in front of her, and she sat down on the wicker chair. Tingna looked at the young man who was neatly arranging his robe, and was a little curious.

"Are there nobles in the free city?"

"If the free city-state that the lady mentioned refers to those guys who have been united city-states that have lasted for hundreds of years, then there are, but Lagolas is a city that was liberated under the leadership of the free people of Feriden. We followed Adolf The guidance of the leader of Auschwitz has completely smashed the shackles of class, so strictly speaking, I am a former nobleman."

When he said that name, the boy's expression became very serious, like a believer talking about his supreme god.

"I know that because of the slander of the ruling classes of various countries, the reputation of the free people of Feriden on the mainland is a little bit bad. Please don't worry about it. If the lady is interested in them, you can talk about it at another time. As for now... this lady is right. What do you know about the examination and admission system of the City of Thousand Towers?"

However, this look was fleeting, and soon, Frog returned to his smile, waved to the doubting girl, and changed the subject without a trace.

"Hmm... selective admission?"

Tina thought for a while and replied.

"That's right, merit-based admission, and it's the most extreme merit-based admission."

Frog nodded, and several posting notices appeared from his hand, and they were placed on the desktop.

It was a line of text pointed at by the young man in the admission brochure of the Ivory Tower that Ting Na and the Dragon Academy of the City of Thousand Towers had also heard. It was the admission quota.

100, vs. 20.

"These are the final admission numbers of Dragon Academy and Ivory Tower respectively. Dragon Academy is 100, and Ivory Tower is 20. Generally speaking, the number of admissions for the Academy is five standard classes and there will not be much change. The size varies, but the most are generally no more than 20."

Frog said softly.

"The big exam in the city of a thousand towers is actually open to recruit students from all over the continent. Thousands of people apply for these two institutions every year, including me of course, and most of the people in this square now."

"..."

Tina blinked.

"Thousands?"

Then he exclaimed in a low voice.

"Counting the test takers, there are about 30,000 residents in the City of Thousand Towers during the exam period, and more than 90% of them are taking the exam. Tens of thousands... It's not an exaggeration, it's these institutions that are exaggerating."

Frog smiled bitterly and spread his hands.

"Regardless of the increase or decrease in the number of applicants, they have never relaxed the number of admissions because of this. They just increased the difficulty of the exam time and time again. It may not be clear that the lady has not passed the exam, but it should be clear at a glance... We investigated a part of the applicants for Dragon Academy Candidates, in this big exam, there are more than 3,000 people who only wrote the first half page of the test paper, that is, the five questions. No matter whether it is correct or not, there is no one who writes all the questions."

He took out another stack of reports and handed it to the girl.

"There are other more popular institutions. We also conducted a sample survey. The sample size is basically three to four thousand, which is somewhat representative."

The survey questions are quite simple, [regardless of whether you are right or wrong, how many questions did you write in the test], the options for answering are 1~10, on the pie chart, there are no 1, 2, 9, 10 at all, and 3, 4, 5, 6 squeeze the remaining 7 and 8 into an extremely thin line.

This is Dragon Academy.

Then there are the Ivory Tower, the Shadow Tower, Magnus College, the White Tower, the Hermes Alchemy Academy, the Alexander University... In this stack of reports, Tina saw several familiar names, these institutions are completely different , but the pie charts are similar.

"……too exaggerated."

"This is a fact. Extremely difficult questions, very few admissions, the result of such an exam is extremely cruel competition"

Maybe it's okay to describe it as shocking.

Putting down the last piece of paper in her hand, Tingna couldn't help pressing her temples.

"Does this lady think this is fair? Everyone who came to the exam worked hard, but every year only a small number of people can succeed, but I think so, education should never be just A luxury for a small number of people."

Frog picked up the black coffee in front of him and blew away the mist.

"So, we launched this parade, hoping that the Magician Association can amend such unreasonable and cruel rules, that is, introduce the pass line rule, as long as you can pass the pass line, you will be eligible to be admitted, and add more tests for all aspects of magicians Quality and ability examinations are not a written test to determine everything, and then expand the number of admissions, so that more research institutions, towers and colleges start to recruit fresh blood, only in this way can we fundamentally solve this problem!"

The more he talked, the more elated the boy became.

He started from expanding the scope of enrollment and reducing the difficulty of examinations, to reforming such unfair resource distribution, to putting an end to the nepotism of the nobles, and letting them compete with the common people on the same starting line, and finally talking about making everyone in the city of a thousand towers hungry. On the Internet, you can enjoy the top magic education in the mainland.

Tina frowned slightly.

"that……"

She agrees with the young man's sentence [Education should never be a luxury for a small number of people. 】However, his plan is a bit too... unrealistic?

As long as the parade is successful, you can do whatever you want, as long as the Magicians Association is forced to give in to the voice of the majority, you can do whatever you want. Frogo even planned to see the situation in one year or five years, but the actual situation is, They haven't even officially started the first step of the parade.

"...Ah, I'm sorry, I said too much without paying attention, and I wasted your time, miss, you still have things to do, right?" I didn't know that in the eyes of the girl in front of me, I had been labeled as a dreamer Frog put down the untouched coffee and smiled apologetically at Tina.

"Well, well, I should go."

"Then we won't bother you anymore. This is our brochure. If your colleagues or subordinates in the office have any misunderstandings about our parade, please don't hesitate to explain it to them."

"Ah, I will, um..."

After taking the rather exquisitely printed booklet, I watched Frogo walk into the sea of ​​gray robes, and then I could no longer distinguish his back from the others. Tina also stood up and walked through the noisy street.

There are several more square formations on the stone road, and a knight in mithril armor guides each square formation.

Those are the secret law guards of the city of a thousand towers, the city guards of the city, they are responsible for the guidance and security of the parade, which means that this is allowed by the city's law, perhaps because of this, everyone looks very happy So excited, before the parade officially started, Tingna had already heard them shouting to change this cruel competition system, people who did not participate in the phalanx were also shouting, their enthusiastic words were like burning coals, and the temperature It seems to be pulled up.

Walking through the Black Truffle Square, Tina got into an open carriage on the other side of the street.

"Go to the Cetillin Institute of Ancient Languages."

The middle-aged man who was driving raised his head from the book. He looked back at Tingna and then at the lively crowd in the square. He reached out and pressed his hand on the golem of the horse, causing the steel horse to start pacing.

"It's really lively. It seems that the dissatisfaction with the difficulty of the exam has really accumulated for many years..."

Noticing that the cloak on his body has golden lace and a snake emblem, and thinking that many of these jobs during the big exam are people who have successfully passed the exam, Tingna asked curiously.

"Does this gentleman think they can succeed?"

"success?"

The middle-aged man who was driving turned his head and curled his lips in disdain.

"A parade of a group of children and losers can't find the elements for success anywhere."

"Don't you like this parade?"

"I don't like their proposition."

"Why?"

Tingna thought about it, and although it was a little unrealistic, the idea of ​​the parade organizers was still good, and she very much agreed with the phrase "Education should not be a luxury for some people."

"They want fairness, they want to reduce the difficulty of the exam, they want more opportunities...but their behavior itself, huh."

The man smiled sarcastically and let the carriage move forward slowly.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Judging from what Ms. Tingna heard from them, these people are pursuing fairer exams—that is, simpler exams. They also require nobles to participate in the exams instead of directly entering major institutions through intricate networks. ...?"

"Well, I think it's a good idea, but..."

After a while, the Setilin Institute of Ancient Languages.

After a moment of hesitation, Tina handed the booklet to Tessa.

"I want to hear what Miss Tessa thinks."

"Einstein's seventh seat shouldn't pay attention to this kind of thing, right? Unless these people go directly to the Supreme Council, if they have such courage, then I have to admire them."

"No, that, it's just my own curiosity..."

"Curious..."

After taking the booklet and flipping through it, the chief of the Academy of Ancient Languages ​​took off his eyes and organized the language a little bit.

"To put it simply, there is at least one point where their actions and their goals run counter to each other. Does Miss Tingna know? Nobles, especially local nobles in the City of Thousand Towers, hardly take part in the big exam. With this As far as the research institute is concerned, those who want to join will apply directly through the family—or a family related to me, the person in charge of the personnel department, and use the reputation of a certain family as a guarantee to come here for an interview."

The rules of operation of the aristocratic circle rely on the foundation of the aristocracy - family and reputation.

There have always been quite a few people who want to enter the Setilin Institute of Ancient Languages. Although this is not even a magical institution, the founder is the seventh seat of the Supreme Council, a sage. For this reason, when recommending newcomers, Every family will be extremely cautious.

If the interview fails, at most it will be a mistake, and it may become a laughing stock and a talking point in the noble circle for a period of time, but that's all, but if something goes wrong...

That's a problem for the whole family.

Therefore, newcomers recruited in this way are often more reassuring in terms of ability and responsibility.

This is true of most institutions in the city of a thousand towers.

"...Isn't this going through the back door?"

Tina pinched her hair suspiciously.

"Miss Tina wants to say this is through the back door? It is indeed so."

Tessa smiled and returned the booklet to Tina.

"But this is the way to protect non-nobles. If they let nobles and commoners take the exam together...it won't be long before they complain that only nobles can be admitted to the academy and learn."

"Would that be the case?"

"While commoners' children are still breastfeeding in their mother's arms, we have begun to learn words and languages ​​with the help of spiritual magicians and even psykers; when commoners' children are learning to walk, we already have our own study , were required to memorize thousands of words of original scriptures within an hour; when ordinary children were having fun in the streets, our buttocks were beaten high with a ruler by strict tutors only because a certain line of the magic circle was drawn a millimeter crooked; When the children of the common people are running around in this city for their livelihood, we will be scarred when we do magic experiments accidentally; when the children of the common people finally start to learn magic, we have finished all the courses in the elementary department of the college, and we have begun to learn communication. Time to have fun—but even that time is often used to study."

Leaning back in the chair, Tessa looked at the ceiling of the office and smiled slightly.

"Not all nobles have such capital, so this passage is a bit exaggerated, but this is one reason why the noble class and not the commoner class occupy the position of ruler on the mainland."

The gap between talent and hard work will be magnified hundreds or thousands of times in this city. Every day, ambitious people come here and more disheartened people flee in embarrassment, but there are almost no nobles among these people.

It would be truly unfair if nobles and commoners take the exam together, but now... although it is not fair, at least it is fair and everyone has a chance.

As for expanding enrollment and abandoning such strict merit-based admissions?

Tessa shook her head.

"This is impossible in any case, just as impossible as Guanghui Academy's giving up special admission qualifications for people with special talents."

These words were similar to what the coachman who sent her here said. Tingna nodded. From this point of view, not everyone wants to make the exam easier.

Think about it carefully, who told me before that the resources of the City of Thousand Towers cannot provide everyone with a high-quality education. Thinking about it this way, in order to let the best few people get the best resources, such a strict screening of...

"...I still kind of agree with them..."

...still don't quite agree.

Probably because I am also one of the people who will be screened out.

Standing up from the chair, he conveniently put the documents to be brought to Liliana into the space storage ring.

Then, saying goodbye to Miss Tessa, turning around—

"Miss Tina."

"……Wow!"

He almost bumped into a cold little face.

"Love, Miss Alice?"

"Go with Alice to the Association of Magicians, there is work to do."

The puppet lady, who had always been hiding behind her silently, pulled her long silver hair and greeted Tessa, then floated onto the girl's shoulder, her favorite position.

"Eh? Eh? Why so suddenly?"

"……Eh?"

Tessa turned her head to look out the window in some surprise.

Not so long ago, the gray phalanx was still marching through the streets in front of the research institute. A moment ago, she was saying that if these people dared to make trouble at the Supreme Council, she would admire their courage...

"Is the Supreme Council going to resolve this matter?"

She looked at Alice in disbelief.

"The Supreme Council decided to solve this historical issue once and for all. The result has come out, and someone needs to make an announcement."

Alice briefly explained to the chief of the research institute, urging Tingna to leave as soon as possible.

"Wait, wait a minute, what's going on—"

But Tina hasn't figured out the situation yet.

"Shut up and go with Alice."

Apparently the little puppet’s explanation of the cause and effect was a failure for Tina, but Alice didn’t care at all. After freezing all the girl’s doubts with a cold voice, the puppet lady who pursues efficiency first brought Tina into the room. I got into the carriage and came to the tallest tower in the City of Thousand Towers.

The Association of Magicians · Sky Tower.

It is also the tallest tower in the city of a thousand towers.

Tingna had been here a few times before to help Miss Liliana A. Fei Lengcui handle some affairs, and she was so shocked that she couldn't speak because of the towering spire that almost disappeared into the blue sky.

But the previous few times, it was only on the fifth or sixth floor of the tower, but this time.

Alice led her directly through the corridor guarded by layers of guards. Before Tinna, who had a psychological shadow on the portal, had time to protest, she pushed the girl into an aurora-colored gap.

"..."

[Distance] and [Position] were dissipated by the dizziness caused by the distortion.

The eyes are occupied by the blue sky.

The third time she used teleportation magic, Tina finally didn't nearly lose her ability to move like the previous two times... It doesn't seem right to say that.

Tingna, who subconsciously lowered her head to make herself feel better because of the short-term dizziness, saw the block-like buildings under her feet and the phalanx formed by a large group of gray "ants", her legs softened and she knelt down , groping with his hands in horror, longing for a solid touch.

It seemed that only in this way could her crazily beating heart be slightly relieved.

"Stand up, Miss Tina, don't embarrass Lily in front of the other Supreme Council members."

"But! But!"

Alice's cold voice drifted into her ears.

"If it was an intruder without authority, he would have fallen at this time, but Miss Tingna, you are Lily's secretary, this arcane platform will not let you fall, stand up."

"No, I can't do it!"

Tina was on the verge of crying.

She never knew that she had a fear of heights. No, anyone who said she didn't have a fear of heights must have never been to a high enough place! Let those who claim not to be afraid of heights try it out here, on this transparent platform where the people on the ground are like ants!

"It's really useless."

Alice frowned, and reprimanded ironly.

As she spoke, she turned the girl's face and kissed her deeply.

The icy breath was blown in from between the small lips, and the fear was immediately suppressed to the corner of the mind, and then the icy air spread to the whole body, circling, leaving a snowflake-like coat of arms on the girl's hand.

【Mechanized mind】.

The girl's fear was suppressed, and her thinking became extraordinarily clear.

And what the other magic is, Tina doesn't know, although she doesn't know, but she is soberly aware that her body is acting out of her own will, and Alice's sweet little tongue like ice cream is like the silk thread in the hands of a puppeteer. Manipulating her to leave this invisible arcane platform step by step, and came to the balcony of the room.

"Lily is waiting for you."

Lip points.

After casting a cold glance at the girl, Alice left her shoulders and floated into the room. If it wasn't for the long platinum hair, she would almost blend into the arms of the witch in the darkness.

[Mechanized Mind] Suppressing her fear, her hands and feet slowly regained her strength. Ting Na stood up unsteadily, but turned her head with lingering fear.

Entering the eyes, it is full of boundless blue.

The City of Thousand Towers is the closest city to the sky on the mainland.

And now, I am in the place closest to the sky in this city.

The top floor of the Sky Tower.

It seems that there is only this room on the top floor of the entire tower, and the light from the balcony does not enter the dim interior, but the eyes blessed by Knight can still see some exquisite candlesticks on the wall, and the fireplace with dim sparks.

These are all the light sources in the room. A round table is placed in the center of the room, and thirteen people who hide their figures in black cloaks sit beside the round table.

Even if Tina came here for the first time, when she saw Liliana sitting at the round table looking at her, she knew what this place was.

From this point of view, maybe the [Mechanized Mind] that Alice added to herself is really necessary, otherwise I really might not dare to enter this room.

Walk into this, one of the most powerful organizations in the continent, the conference room of the Supreme Council of the Association of Magicians.

But it's all here, no matter what, it's impossible to back down anymore, the portal has disappeared, even if you want to go back, you can't do it... let alone.

Taking a deep breath, Tina walked into the room and stood beside Miss Witch.

——I am Liliana's secretary.

"Miss Liliana, and..."

"...You don't need to say hello one by one, Miss Tingna, we will leave this city in a few days, and you may not have the opportunity to meet these people in the rest of your life, so hurry up..."

When she was going to greet the other twelve distinguished council members sitting on the round table in the center of the conference room one by one, but they didn't know how to address them and turned their eyes to Liliana for help, the witch calmly opened her mouth and took a roll of parchment. to her.

"...Miss Tingna knows about the parade in the City of Thousand Towers today."

"Yes."

"... Regarding their demands, the Supreme Council has responded, Miss Tingna, it's up to you to convey it."

Tina spread out the parchment.

There are four simple words written on it.

[ignored]

"...Is it enough to convey these four words?"

"How can it be."

Alice sighed softly.

It was quiet, but enough for Tina to hear.

The girl's heart skipped a beat.

— fucked up!

"This is the resolution of the Supreme Council, but if you say it directly, it will cause a lot of problems. In order to avoid such problems, convey the resolution in a way that can be accepted by them...that is the job of the secretary. "

At this moment, another crisp female voice spoke from the round table.

Sound good to hear.

But subtly chilling.

"But……"

Tina hesitated.

But immediately swallowed what he wanted to say again.

I am Liliana's secretary.

It is not for the secretary to challenge the outcome of the meeting.

"...If you have any objections, it's okay to say it."

"It only took a few minutes for us to agree on it, and it just didn't feel interesting at all."

There was another sound like wind blowing sand.

Except for Liliana, the other members of the council, Tina, couldn't be sure who was speaking, but unexpectedly, Liliana and the other members of the council seemed to find it very interesting.

"I... chatted with them by chance today, and I actually agree with some of their ideas. They think that high-quality educational resources should not be a luxury for a small number of people... They also showed me their survey, no matter what How to put it, the elimination rate is too scary..."

"...About this question, let Ai tell Miss Tingna."

"... Ai?"

The girl was taken aback for a moment, and then heard the sound of footsteps on the soft carpet coming from behind her.

Turning around, the girl in a foreign dress with deep dark circles on her face pulled Ting Na aside involuntarily.

In this conference room, there are also some small rooms that are probably used for resting. The dark blue floor tiles and snow-white marble walls, and the fur sofa with elegant curves are full of northern style.

"I've already written the speech for you, let's settle this matter quickly."

The fireplace was crackling with charcoal fire emitting incense, and after pulling Tinna closer to the room, Ai, who seemed to be terribly sleepy, sat on the sofa and handed the paper full of words to Tinna.

"...Why is Miss Ai here."

"Good question, I encountered a problem when I woke up early in the morning and started to do the subject Liliana tutor gave me, but Miss Liliana and Miss Alice were not there, so I had to ask Miss Sylph to send me here, on the way I wasted precious time by being entangled by those parade guys for a while, and when I came here to ask, it turned out to be such a boring thing—"

The face of the severely sleep-deprived girl was full of resentment.

"In short, can you solve the problem quickly? Secretary, Shu, Xiao, Miss."

"No, but..."

"What you are struggling with are nothing more than two issues. Let me explain to you clearly. First, the issue of educational resources."

Ai was very dissatisfied with Tingna's hesitation.

"The educational resources of the City of Thousand Towers have never existed to improve the education level of most people. The purpose of this city's existence is very simple, that is to cultivate geniuses, just like the dark sages, who are enough to change history and create A genius of an era, if possible, the members of the Supreme Council would like to concentrate all their resources on one person. The purpose of adopting an extremely cruel merit-based admission mechanism is to select the best few people and force them to become Even better."

"If the pass system is adopted, a large number of nobles will turn to participate in the exam that is easier than family recommendation, which will further dilute educational resources and crowd out opportunities for civilian magicians who have potential and ability, but have natural disadvantages compared to them. , so the grid line system is absolutely impossible to adopt.”

"Then, secondly, regarding the difficulty of the exam, although the final number of admitted students this year has not yet been calculated, ah, the total number of colleges and high towers that recruited newcomers in the big exam exceeds 150, even if each high tower recruits The Ivory Tower is half of the huge and famous tower, and the number of places in each college is only half of the enrollment of the Dragon Academy, which is more than 2,000. And those investigation reports you have read...I have read it too, Ting Miss Na, maybe you haven’t studied statistics and don’t know the pitfalls, but please use your big head to think about it—”

After finishing the long passage in one breath, the girl took a deep breath, and then paused every word in a sarcastic tone.

"Do you think their survey will count the more than 2,000 successful people? Or do you think removing the sample of these successful people has no effect on the survey results?"

"..."

Even in the state of mechanized mind, Ting Na was still taken aback.

No, it was used for the stack of investigation materials that she had never doubted at all in the state of mechanized mind. It is indeed a bit strange to think about it now.

It's not surprising that there are no people who can't solve a single problem. This is the city of a thousand towers, the city-state of magicians, and there are few real idiots and lazy ones who dare to come here.

But there is no one who wrote the entire test paper... It is indeed a bit strange.

No matter how few the best people are, it is impossible for them not to exist... Since it is an exam, the selected questions must be able to be done, and the city of a thousand towers... definitely has no shortage of outstanding people and more outstanding people. excellent people.

"do you understand?"

nod.

"Then hurry up, this is your first serious job, if it wasn't for Miss Alice's strong request that you must do it, I would have..."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down on the sofa next to the wall again.

"Why are you still hesitating? Go tell Instructor Liliana that you are ready, and Instructor Liliana will use a projection technique to project your image to the front of the parade. You just need to read the manuscript, Hurry up, hurry up and go back, don't waste my time."

"..."

Ting Na, who was about to turn around, hesitated after hearing what the girl said.

"what happened again?"

Seeing that Ting Na hadn't moved, Ai glared at her viciously with those wine red eyes.

"...Well... on the way here, I may meet with the organizer of the parade. After finishing this work, can I still go to the streets..."

"... go!"

After a moment of silence, Ai took off his little leather boots and kicked Ting Na out of the cubicle.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Postscript of a certain day:

"... How do you feel? The first official job."

"I'm so nervous that my heart is about to jump out..."

"Although I probably won't have the chance in the future, it's better for Ms. Tingna to get used to it. I don't know why, but Lily always has a special affinity with big scenes."

"Speaking of which, why does Miss Alice have to be me? Just to announce the results of the meeting...Actually, Miss Ai or other staff can also do it, that...Mr. Frog was so surprised when he saw my face The dumbfounded expression...can I still go out on the street in the future..."

"..."

"..." "Well, Miss Liliana...Miss Alice?"

"Fool."