CHAPTER 43: ENGROSSED IN ACADEMIC LIFE

The Royal Academy of Randalorion has a grading system.

There are a total of five.

A (Excellent), B (Distinguished), C (Competent), D (Bare Pass), F (Failed).

My uncle already informed me of this before I came to this Academy, and it seems this system has not changed in the slightest. As a Scholarship student, I need to maintain a steady amount of As and Bs.

A single F will mean a loss of my Scholarship status, which means I am walking on thin ice.

But, getting an F is not possible for me.

Honestly, it hasn’t even registered in my mind even once as something that could happen.

My biggest worry is getting a C or a D.

I don’t want them!

Anything less than a B will not be satisfactory for me, which means I have to be very diligent.

This is easier said than done, and I recognize that.

But I am willing to put in the work!

In my past life, and even now, my discipline has always been top-notch.

Every day, I wake up by 3 AM and sleep very late, no earlier than 10 PM. Sometimes I go as far as 11 PM or 12 AM.

While the fear of failure is something etched in my heart, I recognize that it could always be worse. I hear that in University, getting an F in a course means the student will have to carry it over to the next year and take it among the other Courses for the new year.

That sounds scary, in more ways than one.

However, the consequence of failure in the Academy is also very steep.

Even though a student won’t retake the course if they fail it, too many failures will lead to a student being held back from being promoted alongside their peers.

In essence, they would have to repeat the year!

How frightening!

I certainly do not see myself being in such a situation, but it still sends shivers down my spine.

In my case, the price of a single failure is already more than I am willing to bear.

Losing my Scholarship would be a disastrous thing.

I can certainly afford the tuition now, but it’s not something I can maintain for all five years of my Academic life. If I try to seek out more avenues to make money while I am here, it’ll distract me and seriously affect my productivity in school.

As a result, I have to remain a Scholarship Student throughout my stay here.

That means I must rack up as many As and a small number of Bs. Lower Grades should not even be a part of my results at all.

Why am I so obsessed with getting good grades?

Well, even without considering my Scholarship, there is still the matter of graduation!

All the Grades of a student will be calculated from their First Year to their Final Year results, and that will determine their certificate.

First Rate Scholars have a consistent number of As, and their number of As must exceed the other Grades combined. For example, they could have 50 As, 14 Bs, and 30 Cs. As long as they have the highest number of As, and the other Grades combined don’t meet up with the As... they are qualified to be First Rate Scholars.

Also, First Rate Scholars must not have a single D or F in their results.

The least they can get is a C.

As for Second Rate Scholars, they may have Ds and Cs in their results. In fact, they could even have Fs. However, their As must still be the highest among their Grades. In essence, if they have 50 As, 14 Bs, 30 Cs, 10 Ds, 5 Es, and 1 F... as long as their As are the highest among the other Grades, they graduate as Second Rate Scholars.

As for Third Rate Scholars... honestly, the major stipulation is simply to have more passes than failures. In essence, even if one has the highest number of Cs. As long as their passing Grades are higher than their failing Grades... they can graduate as Third Rate Scholars.

Then, there are also those who end up expelled from the Academy, or those who are unable to graduate. These dropouts are deemed as "failures."

Actually, many so-called failures still use the prestige gained from attending the Royal Academy to become notable leaders or Clergy heroes, even though they are unacknowledged by the school.

This simply shows how big of a deal this place is.

As much as I am well aware of all these realities, there is only one result I look forward to, and it isn’t any of the ones I have listed above.

I want a Special Commendation!

In essence, the ’Royal Seals of Excellence,’ which are only awarded once per year to the best graduating student in each Department of the Academy.

There are seven Departments, which means seven Royal Seals of Excellence.

I want one!

At least... one! I believe I can achieve that much.

I know the competition is high, and that there is a lot of politics involved in determining the winner, but I firmly believe that if I work hard enough... I won’t be denied such prestige.

It’s something I simply have to work hard towards.

Since I am in six of the seven Departments, I should be able to secure a Seal from at least one of them: that is my goal in this Academy.

***********

Several weeks pass in the Royal Academy, and I have become a full-fledged student here.

I have officially been titled a ’bookworm’ by my fellow students, and I find it to be a fitting name, considering how I spend my days here. I hold no complaints towards the title whatsoever, and it has become a part of my everyday reality.

I spend most of my time attending classes, doing homework, or just studying.

I have time for nothing else.

Even my single lecture-free day is spent catching up on my studies, and I find that a single day is not enough to get by.

It’s so difficult.

Every single day is as precarious as the last, with no end in sight.

Yet—

’This is fun! I’m having so much fun!’

I have this thought every single day, and despite all of my exhaustion and frustrations, I still find myself having experienced a good time within the walls of this institution.

This... isn’t normal.

I have long realized that my behavior is far outside the norm.

Most Nobles prefer to do the bare minimum, and even the exceptional students do not exceed their interests. In fact, I think only a handful of students chose five Departments, and none of them chose as many Electives as I did in each one.

In essence, I am the only person offering this many courses!

But I don’t mind at all.

The process is exhausting and incredibly draining, but I find the experience incredibly valuable.

Besides, believe it or not, it isn’t even as tiring as life in my past life.

I was far more diligent then, yet I saw no qualitative change.

That led to deep frustration in my heart.

I didn’t enjoy training, yet I did it constantly. I always worked hard, without rest, in my past life.

How much more in this one?

Not only am I seeing the results of my hard work in real time, but I have a genuine interest in the things I am studying. All of these factors have culminated in a kind of enjoyment that I can only derive from the studious life.

And so, despite being engrossed in Academic Life, I am quite satisfied.

I hear some students have begun joining clubs, but I honestly don’t have the time to indulge in any of that at the moment.

I’m too busy studying.

Life in this Academy has also changed a lot about me and how I view the world.

I’ve slowly altered the way I think and speak to become a lot more polished and formal. My mind has expanded beyond what it previously occupied, and a lot of my ideas have evolved over time.

Knowledge truly is amazing.

These weeks have morphed me into a better version I never thought existed.

My hygiene is far better than before, and my observational skills have sharply improved. My comprehension has experienced a qualitative change, and my critical thinking is advancing in leaps and bounds.

It’s almost like a miracle, and I find myself fascinated by this growth.

Education truly is amazing.

If there is anything worrying about my current life, it’s that my unusual behavior has begun to draw a lot of unneeded attention to me. I have gained something of a reputation among my fellows for my strange obsession with learning.

Naturally, many have approached me with good intentions, and I have interacted with them.

I have even helped many students solve problems that they had difficulty with, and I have explained some concepts that they had a hard time comprehending. Conversely, I have also had to ask many of my classmates for help. At first, it was a little awkward, and some gave me cold shoulders—especially those High Nobles.

But, eventually, they warmed up to me and began to treat me better.

I believe the studious Nobles have begun to respect me, seeing me as different from others in my caste. The stereotype they have regarding Knights doesn’t apply to me, so their attitude towards me has changed, though they still don’t treat me as an equal.

Regardless, it doesn’t bother me.

After all, I do not particularly care for their approval or recognition.

I have my own goals.

The major problem that arises from my newfound fame is that I have gained the attention of these factions that exist in the Royal Academy.

Some of them have even approached me, seeking to draw me into their caucus despite my lack of interest. Even though I am not affiliated with any of their families, and none of them even sponsored me to enter this Academy, they keep coming to me—like moths drawn to flames.

Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about this situation.

These are Nobles—members of High Nobility, for that matter. Politely turning them down is the best I can do in most of these instances.

I am helpless in this matter.

But these people do not give up! At some point, they even tried using the Aditi Household’s connection with our affiliated Baron Household to lure me in. Baron Romulus’s son attends this Academy, and he was used as a pawn to compel me to join his Faction.

Naturally, I refused.

His Baron Household has not particularly been of any benefit to the Aditi Household. We only have a superficial relationship and use the Barony’s name to raise our prestige. In exchange, the Baron can call on our Household to aid him in conflicts or battles.

In essence, it is a somewhat symbiotic relationship.

I am under no obligation to follow the command of the Baron’s son in this instance.

Plus... I refuse to be controlled—especially by these children.

Honestly, as dignified as they are, all of the students here are very immature. Their schemes and political maneuvers are far too obvious and plain, almost resembling a circus show in my eyes.

I would prefer to stay out of it if I can.

Despite everything being clear as day to me, I remain steadfast and keep my distance from the political world of the Academy.

In fact, I have chosen not to get involved in anything beyond my Academics.

Not to brag or anything, but I have had girls who have tried to get close to me. Not just from Knight Households or Low Nobility, but even some women from the Clergy have expressed interest in me.

Of course, I denied all their efforts.

I have somehow even caught the attention of a few women from the High Nobility, and it seems they are enamored by my unique style. Perhaps curiosity has overwhelmed them, and they wish to experiment, or they are truly smitten by me.

But do I care? No...

Not even in the slightest!

Even if I weren’t so focused on my Academics, I still wouldn’t be interested in them.

These girls are simply too young, and their childish minds make them unattractive in my eyes.

I can’t even look at them in such a light.

It’s disgusting!

However, it seems they have mistaken my disgust—born out of the vast age difference between us—as a sign of pride. As a result, many of these people interested in me have slowly begun to turn against me.

Thanks to this, I have started to gain a number of enemies.

Even when I mind my business, trouble still seems to find me... How tragic.

My rejection of these Factions and the many women who have thrown themselves at me has created a lot of ill intent from the students, and many of them have tried to have their payback, but how can they possibly outsmart me?

All their silly efforts are already predicted by me before they happen, and I manage to stop them.

Even when they succeed, it’s not like it affects me that much.

At most, it’s simply a loss in reputation.

I don’t mind.

I know some of them are still scheming in the background, and I intend to deal with those when they show up. However, what I won’t do is compromise.

Rather, I will keep moving forward and live my life however I choose to.

But...

"W-what is the meaning of this?"

... Sometimes, even when you have the best intentions, life has a way of spoiling your plans.

Some time has passed after the end of our first term exams, and our results have finally been released.

When I check mine, I notice a discrepancy.

It causes my eyes to widen considerably, as beads of sweat form on my face.

’This shouldn’t be possible! I studied hard for this Department! I did everything right, and the exams were some of the few I was most confident in... so why?’

As my eyes narrow and focus on the series of ’C’ written boldly in front of all the Core Courses I offered in the Department of Administration & Statecraft, I tremble slightly and glare hatefully at the board of results.

’Why did I get such scores?!’