"Old man, please be careful! You might hurt yourself!"
A soldier quickly reached out to steady an elderly man who nearly tripped at the entrance of the Earth Defence Force's examination grounds.
"Also, sir, this is the Earth Defence Force recruitment site. Did you perhaps take a wrong turn? The marketplace is inside the city."
"I'm not lost! I'm here to see my goddess! You're the one who should go buy vegetables!"
The old man snapped back, then turned toward Princess Yuzare inside the testing area, his wrinkled face glowing with infatuation.
Yuzare visibly shivered, goosebumps rising all over her arms.
Terrifying.
"Yuzare-sis, do you want me to throw him out?" asked Cain, who was standing behind her, equally creeped out.
How could anyone be this shameless? he thought. His sister was only eighteen! That old man looked like he was pushing eighty!
"You shameless fool! In your dreams!"
A shrill voice came from behind the old man, and moments later, an equally elderly woman stormed up, grabbed his ear, and began dragging him away while scolding him furiously.
"Running around with the young people at your age—have you no shame?"
"The wall at home got blown up by a monster and you're still here flirting!"
"Just wait till we get home—I'll fix you!"
Everyone around fell silent.
"…."
Once that little drama ended, the registration officially began under Yuzare's orders.
The applicants lined up in an orderly fashion, registering at the entrance one by one.
After signing up, each person was guided by soldiers to their assigned seat inside the examination field, where devices had been set up for the written test.
"This testing setup… looks a lot like the exams in the future," Yu Zhou muttered from his perch atop a nearby tree.
It reminded him of driver's license tests and professional qualification exams—same format, same setup.
When Yuzare saw the examinees settling into place, she nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed her arrangements were working well.
The plains were vast and flat, perfect for setting up rows of exam seats. Even with hundreds of people taking the test at once, as long as each group finished in time, the next batch could take their turn without issue.
The results so far looked mixed—some walked in with confidence and left looking dejected, clearly having struggled, while others finished calmly with unreadable expressions.
Yuzare's goal with this written exam was to filter out unqualified applicants early, to reduce the number of people moving on to the next round.
After all, the Earth Defence Force's mission was to protect the entire planet—it wasn't something just anyone could do. A single mistake could cost a life.
Seeing that Yuzare was busy overseeing the test, Yu Zhou jumped down from the tree.
It would probably be easier to talk to her now.
But when he reached the examination perimeter, he found the area tightly guarded by soldiers. No outsiders were allowed in.
He had no choice but to approach the entrance and… sign up himself.
When the soldier taking his information saw his form, he frowned.
"Place of origin… Orion constellation? You're an alien?"
"That's right," Yu Zhou replied calmly. "Is there a rule saying aliens can't participate?"
"Uh… well…" The soldier hesitated. "I'll have to ask Princess Yuzare about that."
There wasn't any explicit rule against aliens joining, but then again, no one had ever considered the possibility.
Unable to scratch his head through his helmet, the soldier awkwardly went off to consult Yuzare.
A few minutes later, he returned.
"Princess Yuzare said that anyone willing to protect this planet, regardless of where they come from, is welcome to take part."
Yu Zhou raised an eyebrow.
He had to admit—Yuzare's open-mindedness was impressive. Few people would have the heart to welcome an alien into an Earth defence force.
"Well then," he said, smiling faintly, "may I go in now?"
As he was led into the testing grounds, he thought, "Come to think of it, Yuzare was even able to accept Dark Tiga—the leader of the dark giants. Letting in an alien really isn't that strange for her."
Just as he was about to walk toward Yuzare, the soldier escorting him stopped him firmly.
"Please don't wander around. Follow me—I'll bring you to your assigned seat for the written test."
Yu Zhou sighed internally. Seriously? I'm not here to take this stupid exam.
But the testing grounds were enormous, and Yuzare was quite far away, moving among the examinees as she occasionally checked for cheaters.
It was impossible to get close enough to talk.
"Um," Yu Zhou said, trying his luck, "before the exam starts, could I speak with Princess Yuzare for just a moment?"
The soldier chuckled.
"Everyone wants to see Princess Yuzare. You should focus on your test. Once you officially join the Earth Defence Force, you'll get your chance."
Yu Zhou was speechless.
Even a royal guard found it hard to meet her—what chance did he have?
And so, without much choice, he found himself seated at one of the empty desks.
He stared blankly at the glowing exam screen in front of him.
Seriously? They actually made me sit down for this?
Maybe he could wait for Yuzare to pass by and call out to her. Or yell loud enough for her to notice him.
Then his eyes caught the first question on the screen.
"How does one become an excellent warrior?"
Now that seemed normal enough.
He thought for a moment, then typed in his answer:
"Follow orders, win battles, and maintain good conduct."
"Not bad," he nodded approvingly. "Simple, clear, and concise!"
Then he moved on to the next question.
"Your mother and your wife both fall into the water at the same time. Who do you save first?"
"???"
Yu Zhou blinked.
What kind of question is this?!
Is this seriously part of the Earth Defence Force entrance exam?!
He stared in disbelief for a few seconds, then typed:
"I'll hang myself and see who learns to swim up first to save me."
One by one, the following questions became even more absurd. Sweat started to form on his forehead.
How is anyone supposed to qualify for the defence force with questions like these?!
He looked up toward Yuzare. She was slowly walking in his direction, occasionally glancing at examinees' answers and keeping an eye out for cheaters.
To be fair, with questions this ridiculous, even cheating wouldn't help.
Yu Zhou leaned forward on his desk, quietly waiting for her to approach.
Finally, the screen flashed the last question—thankfully, this one looked somewhat normal.