Chapter 5: The Day Before the Makeup Exam

Anyone with university experience knows that if you put in just a little effort, a makeup exam is not too hard to pass.

Unfortunately, Aurora was a special case.

Her academic career in this life could be summed up in one paragraph:

First, she studied literature, but failed the imperial exams for three years; then she took up martial arts, but during a practice session, she shot an arrow that hit the drum officer and was beaten out; then she tried business, but encountered swindlers, thieves, and bandits; then she turned to farming, but suffered drought, flood, and locusts; finally, she studied medicine, achieved some success, concocted a wonderful remedy, took it, and died.

In simple terms, she first became a nun because the uniform looked nice, but she was not devout at all. Then she tried to be a poet, but her grammar was terrible. Finally, she switched to the magic department, but her mana was insufficient.

—She studied a lot, but achieved nothing.

Apart from this custom-made nun’s habit, her months of college life had left her with nothing.

If she had to say, maybe a roommate who got along reasonably well?

The next day, Frania University, Elementary Magic Academy, female student dormitory.

“Balian, stay here and don’t move. I’m going to find a backup.”

“As you command, milady.”

“Stand farther away, so no one gets the wrong idea.”

“Alright. But, milady, are you sure your roommate will agree to help?”

“Don’t worry. My dad paid for the dorm, so I’m basically half the landlord. Picking on her will be easy. I can handle her however I want.”

After many warnings and instructions, Aurora hid Balian in a shadowy corner. Only when she was sure no one had seen her walking with a male guard did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She sighed, her straight back immediately slumping, and she walked sloppily to the door with her name on it.

“Bang bang bang!”

“Vapgis, are you up?”

“Not up!!”

—She was up, but not in a state to see people.

Aurora replied, “Copy that,” and then pulled out her key, not stopping for a moment, and shoved the door open with a “whoosh.”

A wave of hot air hit her, followed by a bundle of clothes smacking her in the face.

Then came a scream:

“Hey! What are you doing!”

The clothes fell, and Aurora finally saw the scene inside the room.

A silver-haired girl with pointed ears was sprawled across the bed like an octopus that had just been caught. She looked like she was only in high school.

Her blue eyes were moist, her mouth was pouted high, clearly upset, and her cheeks were red, as if she was shy.

Looking down, Aurora immediately understood why Vapgis was both embarrassed and annoyed.

The room was as messy as a junkyard.

Books and yellowed parchment were thrown everywhere—on the bed, the floor, the table. Breadcrumbs floated like dust, and a long staff rolled across the floor.

Her roommate was also in a state unfit for public view. A fluffy bathrobe hung loosely on her, revealing pale thighs and her belly.

She didn’t even look like a B-cup.

Luckily, she was wearing underwear; unluckily, it was a bikini.

—By the female customs of this world, this was normal, but Aurora couldn’t accept it.

“Vapgis!!”

Aurora grabbed the clothes and hurled them at her roommate!

“Messing up my room, cranking the heat to max, and running around naked? You don’t have to pay rent or heating, do you!!”

“Ugh! Let me explain!”

Vapgis held her robe with one hand and gestured with the other.

“No explanations! You have five minutes to get dressed!”

Aurora slammed the door shut.

She threw her hands up, almost fainting.

Aurora had never imagined a girl could make a dorm this messy.

This dorm was rented by Marquis Ed for Aurora.

His original intention was to cultivate his daughter’s independence.

Unfortunately, Aurora felt that she had already suffered enough in her previous life; coming to this world was meant for enjoyment.

She usually lived in the Marquis’s mansion and rarely came to the dorm. Occasionally, she would stay for a while, but only after evening classes.

She had never encountered such a scene; she always thought her roommate was a gentle lady.

She had planned to take advantage of her roommate’s propriety and force some leverage, but now it seemed unnecessary—she could handle her however she wanted.

Five minutes later, the door opened from inside.

A breeze carrying a faint residue of magical energy swept out, followed by Vapgis with a cold expression.

She wore a large wizard’s hat and a thick black coat, but elsewhere she was quite exposed.

On top, she had a bandeau-style tank top, white fabric clinging to her skin, blue straps delicately outlining her shoulders, trimmed with fine ruffles and a bow.

Below, she wore a blue miniskirt barely covering half her thigh, and over-the-knee leather boots. The gap from the top of the boots to the hem of the skirt was exactly the width of an adult palm.

She looked like a perfect, aloof ice elf mage who knew how to be alluring.

Unfortunately, after seeing her indecent side, Aurora’s rose-tinted glasses were shattered. She now saw her only as a house-wrecking cat.

Vapgis also found it hard to remain composed after being caught in an embarrassing situation. After holding it in for a moment, she burst out laughing.

“Haha, I’ll clean up, okay? You’re not mad, are you?”

Aurora looked down at her (being taller) with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Not mad?”

“…”

“Right?”

Seeing Vapgis about to cry, Aurora finally spoke:

“Forgiving you? Fine. But I have one condition.”

“What condition?”

“Tutor me. Help me pass the makeup exam.”

“Deal!”

—Backup acquired.

Aurora took Vapgis outside and saw Balian surrounded by a group of female students.

They were all dressed up: those with slits up to the hip were priest students, those with crop tops were warriors, those in tight clothing were assassins, and those wearing grass skirts were rangers.

Amidst a sea of flowers, Balian stood out like a crane among chickens, his eyes sharp, still maintaining the same posture as when Aurora left.

Aurora couldn’t stand seeing her guard being stared at like that.

Even if in a dozen years Balian would stage a coup, he was still her guard now.

If she were to dismiss him, it would have to be her decision, not someone else’s taking him away.

“Balian! Come here, let’s go.”

Aurora deliberately raised her voice.

The students turned their heads. As soon as they saw Aurora, their pretty faces turned pale. They scattered like they’d seen a ghost, shouting:

“Run! It’s the villainess daughter of the Chancellor!”

Leaving Aurora and the other two bewildered.

Well, whatever.

Aurora led her two subordinates back to the Olivia Marquis’s mansion.

The guards, male servants, and maids were all on standby, waiting for Aurora’s orders.

In the capital, only Aurora and her father were part of the Olivia family. Marquis Ed was buried in paperwork and rarely came home except to sleep. So here, Aurora was the boss.

Due to the inertia of her previous life’s education, Aurora usually treated her servants well. Thus, they all said the young lady was kind, were willing to work for her, and even voluntarily worked overtime to clear a space for her to practice magic.

Aurora announced her one-week intensive review plan to the two of them.

For college final exams, a week of review was optimal—shorter would be too rushed, longer and you’d forget.

First, self-study, go over all the course material. Then, do extra practice for each chapter. Finally, a comprehensive review for the exam content.

This was her experience from cramming in her previous life.

Balian nodded solemnly, looking convinced.

After Aurora finished, he said:

“Milady, the scheduled date for the magic academy’s makeup exam… seems to be tomorrow.”

Aurora’s face turned pale.

“Didn’t we just finish exams last week? How is the makeup exam tomorrow?!”

“Milady, the makeup exam content is to independently cast a three-circle fireball spell. There is no written exam.”

“No written exam? I stayed up all night studying books for nothing?”

Aurora fell into a state of numbing shock.

How could this makeup exam not follow the usual pattern?

No, this is wrong.

College shouldn’t be like this!

You’re supposed to give more participation points, highlight key points before the exam, try to save students after the exam, and compensate for low test scores with participation points.

For those who actually fail, you give a holiday to review, and then during the makeup exam, you retake the final exam paper.

That’s how it was when I went to college in my previous life!

Vapgis, with a face full of confusion, explained softly to Aurora:

“Because the minimum graduation requirement for the magic academy is to independently cast a three-circle spell without using a scroll. And the fireball spell is the simplest among all three-circle models. It’s a freebie question, much easier than memorizing the history of magic.”

She wanted to complain but didn’t dare, so she added in an even smaller voice: “You can’t even do this, can you…”

Aurora waved her hand in annoyance and retorted, “No, happy now? You have to find a way to help me pass the makeup exam!”

“Uh, how about I make you a subtle scroll?”

Casting with a scroll was much easier, like heating up a pre-made meal—just having hands and basic knowledge sufficed.

Obviously, that was cheating.

“That won’t do.”

Balian interrupted Vapgis.

“Cheating is not acceptable. It would tarnish the family’s honor. Besides, milady is a high-profile figure in the capital, so she would be especially targeted.”

He gave both an overt and a covert reason, his words watertight.

If Aurora didn’t know that Balian also didn’t want to be sent back home, she might have thought he was making things difficult for her.

“Then what about doing something with the staff and clothes?” asked Vapgis.

“The Marquis’s mansion isn’t familiar with the local guilds. One day probably isn’t enough time to prepare.”

Balian’s analysis blocked that avenue as well.

“Then what? Do it ourselves? I think maybe we should plead for a postponement of a few days. After all, one day is way too short.”

“No!”

Aurora roused her spirits.

“Heaven never seals off all exits. There’s definitely a way. Don’t panic; let me think.”

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