Chapter 5: Sierra talks to the principal.
Sierra was escorted to a room in the main school building: the headmaster’s office.
The man and woman who had found her were instructors here, and they had simply been patrolling nearby when the intruder barrier flagged Sierra.
Waiting for her was an older woman with a gentle expression who welcomed her warmly.
“I’ve been expecting you, Sierra-san. Please, take a seat. You two may leave us.”
“Understood.”
“If anything comes up, call us anytime.”
The pair still seemed slightly wary of Sierra.
A prospective student triggering the intruder barrier was unprecedented.
To be fair, the outer wall wasn’t something normal people could climb, so their shock was justified.
Back when she and Ainz had explored the 《Dragonpeak》 where dragons dwelled, Sierra had scaled countless cliffs.
Compared to that, the academy’s wall (or even the capital’s outer wall) was child’s play.
“Um… are you the lady my dad knows?”
She had just called the headmaster of the academy “old lady,” but the woman in question only smiled and nodded without the slightest offense.
“Ufufu, that’s right. My name is Awenda Shelley. I’ve commissioned jobs from Ainz Walker several times. I believe you helped him on some of them, didn’t you?”
“Maybe? Dad was the one who took the jobs, so I never really knew the details.”
Sierra had never been present for negotiations.
Even if she had, she wouldn’t have understood them, and she had no interest anyway.
Her daily life had consisted solely of completing the work Ainz brought home.
She was here now only because Ainz had told her to live in the capital.
In that sense, one could say Sierra had very few desires of her own.
“I’m sure you did help. That’s why, when Ainz-san told me about you, I suggested you try enrolling here.”
“I see.”
“Yes. Personally, I was ready to let you transfer in without any conditions, but Ainz-san insisted you go through the proper process, including the exam. So tomorrow you’ll be taking the transfer examination.”
“Yeah, Dad told me.”
Sierra nodded.
As a magus academy, the exam covered not only basic knowledge but also subjects like 《Magical Theory》.
And furthermore…
“For the practical test, you’ll have a mock battle against one of our instructors.”
“A mock battle?”
“That’s right. Ufufu, if it’s Ainz-san’s daughter, you might even defeat our instructors.”
“…Would beating them be bad?”
“Of course not. It’s necessary so we can properly gauge your abilities.”
“Got it.”
The “Normie Notebook” Ainz had given her flashed through Sierra’s mind.
She fully intended to follow its rules, which meant she had no plans to go all-out in the mock battle.
The only problem was that Sierra had no experience holding back, so she was a little worried whether she could actually restrain herself properly.
(…I wonder why Dad says I must never go all-out?)
That question did occasionally cross her mind.
Ainz’s intent (that Sierra was simply far too strong and needed to avoid showing her full power) had not properly reached her.
In a way, the notebook was already acting as a shackle, but not enough to truly restrict her actions.
That was why she had already done several eye-catching things outside the academy.
What Sierra truly needed was a place that would teach her common sense, and that place was precisely this academy.
“Ufufu, I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Oh, have you found an inn yet?”
“Nope, I was just about to look.”
“Then feel free to use one of the empty dorm rooms tonight.”
“Really!?”
“Yes. Since the exam starts first thing in the morning, it’ll be easier if you stay here. Unless you have something else to do outside?”
“Nothing at all. I thought about sightseeing around the capital, but that can wait until tomorrow or later. I’ll stay here tonight, then.”
“Please do. I’ll have the woman from earlier (Instructor Alimia) show you the way.”
Sierra nodded at Awenda’s words.
Her enrollment wasn’t decided yet, but she would be staying in the academy dorm tonight in preparation for tomorrow’s exam.
“Ufufu, one more thing. Ainz-san should have given you the study materials; did you go over them properly?”
“Study?”
“Oh? I definitely handed them to Ainz-san…”
“…Then I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
That was Sierra’s answer to Awenda’s question.
In truth, she hadn’t studied a single page, and she fully intended to take the exam completely unprepared.
She would likely become the first person in academy history to sit the transfer exam with zero preparation.
And tomorrow, during that very exam, Sierra would once again make academy history in an entirely different way.
I think it’s about time I started to exude a sense of invincibility.