"…Royalty."
Huh? Inna looked at Professor Gnarly in shock.
Her role is Royalty?!
Inna gulped in nervousness.
No wonder everyone looked at her like that!
She felt utterly stupid as she finally looked at the arrangement before her. She thought that since it was a test, everyone would have the same silverware arrangement as she did. But turns out, hers had more forks and more spoons than the rest of the table. They were in different sizes and slightly different shapes. But, looking closely, she recognized some of the utensils back in her world which made her sigh in relief.
At least she wouldn't fail that hard…
Professor Gnarly held in his shock when he saw her sigh.
So this girl thinks she can handle it?
Hmph! We'll see about that.
He faced the participants as he spoke.
"Now that you've chosen your roles, I will now relay to you the situation and the rules in this exam. The situation would be a noble's birthday feast. The High class students would be taking the lead in this situation and the rest must follow through with the appropriate etiquette to show. In this situation, no one should be leaving the table nor will be using magic. Idle talk must be avoided unless asked. And, most importantly, if you were to break out of your role, then you will automatically fail and be asked to remain by the audiences as a spectator instead. I will only be observing ten things on your behavior so, if I were to see five faults, then you will automatically fail. Do you all understand?"
The students nodded as they answered respectfully.
"Yes, Professor Gnarly!"
"Good." Professor Gnarly remarked as he reached into his spatial pouch to take out his favorite item.
Inna looked over to see what Professor Gnarly was doing and she was shocked to see a very familiar thing.
He was holding a harisen. It was a closed giant paper fan and looking at it, it made Inna think back to her high school days.
Her high school group consisted of only her and the minions, Kevin, Bob, and Stuart. They have always been together ever since their freshmen years to the point that other people began to call them, 'The Three Idiots and their Master.' And they used to get into fights to find out who in their group was the 'Master' that others kept talking about. Then, Kevin brought a huge fan out of nowhere, saying that it was a souvenir from his cousin that just came back from Japan. He said it was called the 'harisen' but Bob, being the overly dramatic otaku that he is, decided to call it the Paper Fan of Doom.
So, with the fan, they decided to settle the fight for the 'Master' title once and for all.
And in order to do that, they played their favorite game of all time, "Rock, paper, scissors."
They agreed among themselves that the winner for each round would smack the losers by the fan. And, if one of them won five times, he or she will be given the 'Master' title. But it didn't end great for all of them because they ended up playing twelve rounds and it resulted to them getting hit for about three strikes each. And in every strike, there was a pinch of revenge mixed into it so the strikes were actually getting stronger and stronger. At the thirteenth round, Inna finally lost it. She forcefully grabbed the fan and began smacking them all in irritation. Then, fueled by each other's desire for revenge, it turned into an all out fight between the four of them which resulted to them ending up with detention for weeks.
Inna couldn't help but smile sadly at the memory.
Ever since a few months ago, starting when she was still in Solomon's Sun Breeze Mansion, she tried her hardest not to feel the crushing feeling of missing her friends and her life back in her own world. And she succesfully avoided it by being preoccupied with trying to survive. After all, if she were to ever find a way to return back, she should be in one piece to be able to do so.
So she figured that to help her survive in this world, she needed common knowledge. And to do that, she focused on seeing new sceneries, knowing new people, and learning new things, albeit she learned most by making mistakes. But that's the best way for her to actually stick the things she learned in her mind.
And admittedly, she's always been a curious person ever since she was small that it got her in various troubles. That's because even when she was a child, her thirst for learning new things helped her forget the old things she didn't want to remember.
Those cold nights, and those torturous days alone.
She didn't want to remember and relive those memories she kept locked up.
So, distracting herself by following her curiousity soon became her own defense mechanism against the emotions she hated feeling.
But being reminded by that harisen of her fond memories, she couldn't help but be reminded instead, of her closest friend's absence in the world she ended up with. And the wave of sadness, that she hated feeling, flushed into her whole body like a tidal wave.
Inna closed her eyes as the urge to suddenly cry made itself known.
Don't be a cry-baby. Don't be a cry-baby.
She clenched her fists as she urged herself not to let the accumulating tears drip.
Fuuuuuuuuuck. You're Inna Lovenhart! Inna Lovenhart doesn't cry because she misses people!
She's not that soft!
She's no longer like that! She changed!
She promised herself that she wouldn't let sadness over take her again like last time. She knew the consequences and she knew it'll be worse compared to before. So, gritting her teeth, she blinked away whatever moisture that was on her eyes and when she saw her reflection in the clear porcelain plate before her, she tried to bring herself back to the present.
"--made by using the Thread Tree that has been grown by yours truly in this very Plant Sanctuary. This weapon is one of a kind so, if you were to be hit, consider it as a privilege instead. The design was exclusively made by an expert in the Imperial courts. It was designed to avoid inflicting excessive pain upon the receiver and was first regarded as the most useless weapon in the century. But due to our wise Headmaster reviving this design, this weapon has been given a brand new meaning, not to inflict pain, but to educate students instead. So, if I were to hear complaints about student abuse, then know that the Headmaster will trash that complaint without a second thought."
Inna realized that she really didn't miss much. Turns out, Professor Gnarly has been bragging about his harisen for quite awhile, judging from the bored expressions of the audiences.
"Now, the reason why i've taken this weapon out is very simple. This will be the weapon I will use whenever I see someone committing mistakes. A single hit would mean a single mistake but I will not tell what the mistake is. You, as students, should be able to recognize it yourselves. But once I've hit you for a total of five times, then you must immediately leave your seat and sit by the audience instead. Is everything understood?"
Inna now knew how to answer so when Professor Gnarly asked his question, she answered together with the other students in unison.
"Yes, Professor Gnarly!"
Seeing Inna's enthusiasm, Professor Gnarly couldn't help but clench his hand that was holding onto the harisen in irritation.
He really couldn't stand the sight of that girl.
For the disrespect he received last time, he decided to get revenge this time.
"Drona, Galen, Firo, Herad, and Ingrid, the four high class nobles and the Empress will now be presenting a toast to start the exam."