"Strange, why haven't I seen Kagura today?"
When Rudolph Symbol came to the Track for training as usual, she noticed Kagura was not there today.
"The Chairwoman said that although she agreed to Kagura's enrollment, she still wanted to test Kagura's level individually. So, she called Kagura in for an exam today."
Tojo Hana received a notification from the Chairwoman in the afternoon, stating that she had arranged a separate exam for Kagura and would personally proctor it. Kagura was to take it alone, so she had borrowed Kagura for the afternoon.
"Oh? So, she's giving Kagura a makeup entrance exam for her academic level?"
"You could say that. After all, Kagura didn't come in through the normal process. I'm not entirely sure what the Chairwoman is specifically thinking, but perhaps she just wants a more legitimate and reasonable reason to write her name into the student roster."
"This is truly…"
Rudolph Symbol was a bit surprised. Although the entrance exam questions didn't seem difficult to her, if the Chairwoman was standing next to her, staring at her throughout the exam, she estimated that she herself would find it very uncomfortable. She was a little worried that the already introverted Kagura might encounter some problems.
"Don't worry about her; she's more reliable than you think. As for you, you're competing tomorrow. Train well today and review the running style Kagura taught you recently. See if you can still perfectly execute that running style without her by your side."
...Meanwhile, in Akikawa Yayoi's office.
Kagura, who had been called to Akikawa Yayoi's office shortly after two in the afternoon, was now sitting next to Akikawa Yayoi. In front of her was a blank test paper Akikawa Yayoi had just taken from the printer.
"Um… the reason the Chairwoman called me here is… this test paper?"
"A test! Although I trust Kagura's abilities, Kagura did not enter the academy through the normal process. This is just to complete the procedures that should have been followed."
Akikawa Yayoi's voice was as vibrant and full of intonation as ever, but Kagura wasn't very concerned about that now. Her current worry was how she would take this test, as she had never undergone any formal education.
"Relax! Don't be stressed, it's just a formality. It's okay even if you fail!"
Akikawa Yayoi genuinely had no intention of making things difficult for Kagura with the test paper, as she intended to admit her. She had been observing Kagura's performance in school during this period. Not to mention new students, the level of most Support Musume who had been enrolled for a long time in the school was far inferior to Kagura's. In terms of skills and basic qualities, Kagura's abilities were beyond doubt.
The reason she still organized this exam was, on one hand, Akikawa Yayoi genuinely wanted to complete the original process, giving Kagura a formal reason for enrollment so she could have an explanation for her classmates later.
On the other hand, this test paper was not actually the entrance exam paper that students would typically take. Instead, it was a special paper Akikawa Yayoi had created by adding many of her own difficult questions to the standard entrance exam. Many of the additional questions at the end were not something new students could answer. She had heard from Speed Symbol a long time ago that Kagura was very smart, and she wanted to see what this child was truly capable of.
"The exam time is two and a half hours. Please check and read the questions carefully, and don't write outside the lines."
"…"
During the time Akikawa Yayoi briefly explained the exam rules, Kagura had already quickly scanned the test paper. Besides some knowledge points related to races, the rest was normal theoretical knowledge of mathematics, Chinese, and English. The questions at the beginning were very simple, and even the more difficult questions at the end, which she glanced at, weren't extremely hard, as they barely reached the difficulty level of a high school entrance exam.
'You scared me to death; I thought a bare-bones exam would be a huge problem… Turns out it's just middle school questions and common sense, huh…?'
After roughly confirming the questions, Kagura let out a sigh of relief. When she received the notification that afternoon, she thought she was in for a tough time, but now she felt her worries were completely unnecessary.
Even for race-related knowledge she wasn't familiar with before, Kagura had caught up on a lot from Tojo Hana and Eclipse during this period. After all, it wasn't overly complex or difficult, and Kagura easily memorized it.
If there was anything about this exam that made her feel pressured, it would have to be Akikawa Yayoi, who was constantly watching her intently from the side.
'Mere middle school questions! Don't underestimate a battle-hardened medical student!'
After Akikawa Yayoi finished explaining the rules and the clock struck 2:30 PM, she gave the command to start the exam and begin answering the questions.
After Akikawa Yayoi announced the start of the exam, she stood behind Kagura, intending to observe the child answering questions throughout. However, right from the beginning, she noticed something was off. Kagura picked up her pen and, without even looking, swept through the first twenty multiple-choice questions. Her strokes were decisive, without a hint of hesitation, so fast that it made one suspect she hadn't even read the questions and was just guessing. Yet, Akikawa Yayoi carefully cross-referenced and found that Kagura hadn't gotten a single question wrong.
'Huh?'
If it weren't for the need to maintain silence, Akikawa Yayoi would have been unable to resist voicing her confusion.
When she reached the twenty-first question, Kagura's answering speed slowed down slightly, from the almost random guessing speed to pausing for a second or two before writing. However, this speed was still too fast, far exceeding any new student of this age Akikawa Yayoi had ever seen.
The multiple-choice questions didn't hold Kagura up for long. Under Akikawa Yayoi's incredulous gaze, Kagura folded the test paper and began answering the subjective questions. Although her answering speed decreased again due to the limitations of her hand speed, Akikawa Yayoi could tell that Kagura's thought process was very clear. Her answers never paused for long; the answers to these questions already existed in her mind; it was just that her hand couldn't transcribe her responses onto the test paper fast enough.
'Is this an eleven-year-old??'
Akikawa Yayoi couldn't help but suspect if there was something wrong with the age listed on Kagura's identity registration information, but Kagura was indeed a child.
Akikawa Yayoi had initially worried that two and a half hours might not be enough for Kagura to write so many questions. Now, it seemed her concern might have been a bit excessive.
Half an hour into the exam, Kagura had completed all of the "original entrance exam paper" section and checked it twice. Akikawa Yayoi had also been following along and checking, and she knew that Kagura had not lost a single point on these entrance exam questions.
'No wonder that student named Excellent Quality has such good grades; I heard she usually tutors… What a gifted child.'
This meant that if Kagura had taken the exam normally, the first place in this year's new student theory exam wouldn't have been Excellent Quality, but her. After all, she hadn't lost a single point; at most, someone else might have tied for first.
Upon entering the additional questions section that Akikawa Yayoi herself had set, Kagura's answering speed clearly decreased. This was because this section not only began to feature more difficult calculation questions but also involved practical race situations.
However, even so, Kagura still completed the entire paper in an hour and a half and checked it multiple times. She confirmed there was nothing more she could do before looking at Akikawa Yayoi and asking:
"Chairwoman, may I submit my paper early?"
"Surprising! Such fast answering speed!"
Akikawa Yayoi had actually already seen Kagura's answers to every question. For questions with definite answers, Kagura's responses could be described as flawless. For questions without definite answers that required practical experience, Kagura's responses clearly showed problems, which was also what Akikawa Yayoi had expected — Kagura lacked relevant experience, and her answers clearly leaned towards theory rather than practice.
Kagura was not entirely without experience, but the little she had accumulated from training with Eclipse during this period was not enough for her to tackle the questions Akikawa Yayoi had personally set.
By the time Kagura finished answering, Akikawa Yayoi had already completed the grading in her mind. Although Kagura's answers to those extra questions were still somewhat lacking, Akikawa Yayoi was already very satisfied.
"Then… I'll go back and wait for the results?"
"No need, Kagura! I have already graded your test. Your total score from both parts is 193 out of 200. Your performance was outstanding! I'm even thinking of giving you a reward!"
Kagura's first reaction was that Akikawa Yayoi might have given her a random score, but then she thought that if Akikawa Yayoi were to give a random score, she would have just given a perfect score, not a peculiar number like 193. This must be the score she gave after careful consideration. Although getting this score wasn't surprising to Kagura, as these things were truly simple for her.
Akikawa Yayoi was happy on one hand because she realized that Kagura, in addition to her extraordinary physical talent, also possessed a solid theoretical foundation. On the other hand, Akikawa Yayoi also confirmed what Tojo Hana had mentioned earlier: Kagura indeed lacked practical experience. It was highly unlikely that Kagura had completed that strategy guide entirely by herself. She most likely knew another powerful Uma Musume, and she was helping to keep her identity a secret.
'Who could that person you know be, little girl...'
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