Nozue and I stepped back to survey what had once been an impassable stretch of bedrock, now hollowed into a clean, reinforced tunnel, and the foreman handed over our stamped completion parchment with something close to real respect in his face.
"Stronger than a team of grown men, the two of you," he said, shaking his head.
"Thanks," I said, tucking the paper away, and Nozue offered a proud nod of his own.
Missy took the parchment from us back at the Guild, her fingers brushing mine for a beat longer than she probably meant them to, ears going faintly pink before she busied herself with the reward pouch. "Three hundred silver, for the excavation."
"Thanks, Missy," I said, and we headed home through the fading light of the afternoon.
Rosalia met us at the door with open arms, and once the coins and the day's small triumphs had been properly shared over dinner, she pulled a folded parchment from her apron pocket, something secretive in her smile.
"I heard something interesting today," she said. "A free scholarship, at the Zirabia Magic Heights Academy."
My chest tightened with sudden interest — Kazike had mentioned that place before, hadn't he. "Really? Where'd you hear that?"
"A student was handing out posters near the market. I made sure to grab one for you." She passed it over.
I read the elegant script aloud. "Seeking one exceptionally worthy individual to join our ranks as a full-scholarship student. Applicants under fourteen may take the entrance exam." I looked up, heart already racing ahead of me. "Free study, if I'm — worthy? What does that even mean?"
"No idea how the exam actually works," Nozue admitted, tilting his head.
Rosalia set a warm hand on my shoulder. "The only requirement is worthiness, my child. Why not try? You've got more potential than you seem to realize."
I looked down at my own calloused, dirt-stained hands. "You really think I could get in somewhere like that?"
"Everyone in this house thinks so," she said, firm and certain.
"Strongest person I know," Nozue added, without hesitation.
My eyes stung more than I expected them to. "Thank you. All of you." I pulled Nozue into a tight hug before I'd fully thought about it.
"Want company tomorrow?" he asked. "Moral support?"
"Of course I do."
We spent the rest of the evening helping clear the kitchen, and once the lantern was out and the room had gone quiet and silver with moonlight, I lay there turning the whole thing over in my head.
"Can't believe this is actually happening," I murmured to the dark.
"You've earned it," Nozue said sleepily from the other bed. "It's going to be great."
Morning came fast. I found Nozue already downstairs, methodically packing a travel bag, a focus in his eyes I didn't usually see this early.
"You're always so prepared," I said, only half joking. "I'm nervous enough for both of us."
"You'll get in," he said, with total conviction. "We just need to look ready."
We rode a carriage up the long, winding road toward the highest point of the city, and the academy came into view slowly — white walls climbing higher than anything I'd seen since arriving in this world, a structure that looked less like a school and more like something built to be worshipped.
At the registration table, two students in tailored uniforms managed a steady stream of nervous applicants. "Good morning," I said. "I'm here to apply for the scholarship."
"Seira Koruchi," the sharper-featured one said, sliding a thick parchment and pen across the table with practiced efficiency. "Fill this out, then present it to the Knight-Course students at the main gate. This is Joy Hasaki, my colleague — she'll walk you through anything unclear."
"They'll take it from there," Joy added, gentler than her counterpart.
"Only one scholarship goes out today," Seira warned, not looking up from her papers. "Out of every applicant here. You'll want to stand out."
"Noted," I said, and stepped aside to fill out the form, my thoughts entirely fixed on what came next.
At the gate, a Knight took my completed form, scanned it once, and stepped aside without a word. When Nozue moved to follow, an armored arm rose to block him.
"Halt. Registered applicants only past this point."
"Wait — he's just here for support," I said quickly.
"Academy rules. No spectators."
I glanced back at Nozue standing awkwardly outside the bars, and something occurred to me all at once. "Nozue — apply. You've got an A-rank affinity, don't waste that standing out here."
His eyes lit with sudden resolve. "You're right. I'll go get a form."
"I'll wait for you just inside. Hurry."
He sprinted back toward the registration table, and I stepped through the gate alone, into a courtyard of towering statues and polished marble that swallowed my nerves whole in its sheer scale.