Strongest Noble's Daughter Uses Water Magic

Preparation

Five and a half years had passed since the day of that festival. Since then, Mindy and I had been going on with our usual routine; grocery shopping, magic training, general lessons, even cooking lessons, the last one which was for Mindy. As the time passed, as I got better with my magic, we even added some combat training in between our magic training. One where we would fight with magic and/or weapons. It was getting quite tiresome to just do magic training, especially when I was the one doing most of the training while Mindy used various light wind magic to keep me focused. Plus, the two of us needed some good exercise, and combat training would give us just that.

"Here are the bread, Levi."

"Thanks. Keep the change."

I walked out of the bakery with a bag of some freshly baked bread in hand. Today was just like any other day in Flammel Kingdom, with one small difference, compared to five plus years back.

"Lady Levi! I bought the meat!" Mindy announced as she rushed towards me with a bag of wrapped meat in her hand.

"Oh! Nice work!" I complimented, taking a peek at the contents within. "Okay, now all that is left are the vegetables and fruits, and then we can go home. Unless if you want to stop by Celina's store to see if she made any new harobes."

"Hmm... Nope, I'm good. Besides, I have more than enough at home."

"Okay then. Just the fruits and veggies, indeed."

During the five and a half years, Mindy had grown more used to being out with her harpy parts in full view, as were the locals getting more used to seeing her out in the open. At the moment, she had on a yellow short harobe- that is, what Celina decided to call the kimonos- with white feather patterns on it. And of course, with the advancement of the harobes, there were many middle and lower-class nobles willing to buy them, especially during the summer festival. Though, apparently there were some- mostly females- who bought them outside of festivals, supposedly for marriage purposes, or so Celina once claimed. I can’t say for sure if that was true or not, but Celina sure was happy with the business.

Levi and I reached Pocoro's shop, where though there were a large variety of fresh fruits and veggies out on sale, the salesman himself was absent.

"Mr. Pocoro! Are you in?" I called.

"Someone called?" came his voice, as Poroco got up from behind the counter. His face brightened up upon seeing me and Mindy there. "Oh! If it isn't two of my favorite customers. Levi, Mindy. It's good to see you both."

"Likewise, Mr. Pocoro," I greeted back, while Mindy bowed at him in response to the greeting.

"Shopping for groceries again, I presume. Go ahead and pick your poison! Everything here is freshly picked, and for the two of you, it's five percent off!"

"Whoa! That's a great bargain!"

"But, are you sure about giving us that discount?" Mindy questioned in worry. "You're always having us pay lower than the market price. That can't be good for business..."

Pocoro let out a hearty laugh at her worries. "Ah, don't worry about it. For you two girls, it's nothing. Especially not when you both have become such beauties."

As he said, in these years that passed, both Mindy and I have become quite the pair of ladies. While we were not sexy, to say the least, Mindy has become more adorable, and I grew up to have a more cooler, mature atmosphere, or so I was told. I would like to think myself as a more average sort of teenage girl, but apparently, all those times taking care of myself and Mindy gave me a more serious and mature appearance. Adding to the fact that I was a reincarnate and was previous an adult before my rebirth, I believe it was more or less a given that I would grow up to be quite mature at a young age.

... Thinking about it now, I feel as though I had wasted my second chance of childhood. Then again, it was not by choice in the first place.

"You do realize that is not a good reason to give away discounts, right?" Mindy said to Pocoro.

"Ah, my family back home are the ones growing these, and boy do we grow a bunch. Plus, this ain't the only town we're doing business, so it's fine," he waved off. "By the way, that exam is coming up soon, yeah? You girls are going to try your luck with it?"

"Rather than say we're going to 'try our luck', it's more that we don't have much of a choice in the first place," I answered, getting a light laugh from Pocoro in response.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that. All young adults take the entrance exam to that academy. Can't help but feel obligated to take it, even though it's mostly the nobles who get accepted."

"True, but 'mostly' does not mean 'only'. Who knows? Maybe Mindy and I will get accepted in that academy."

"If that's the case, then you'll be representing the many of us in the commoners' area of Flamvel City."

The exam being spoken of was the entrance exam to Flammel Royal Academy, the most prestigious academy in all of Flammel Kingdom. In this academy, advanced classes in magic and close combat was taken, and any person who graduates from there was guaranteed to have a successful future as a knight, adventurer, mage, and other professions taught there. All civilians- especially nobles- were expected to at least try out for the academy on the year after they turn into adults, in which in this world would be the age of thirteen years. 

While I may have been kicked out of the Anberibca Family, unfortunately, I was still of noble blood. As such, on one monthly visit, Lennox had a servant deliver a letter to me, one that clearly stated how I should partake in the exam and enroll in school, even as a commoner. While I was neutral with the command, Mindy was enraged that Lennox asked me to do such. Surprised as I was, I was also quite touched by how my harpy companion got angry for my sake, not that I blame her. After all, the man who was supposed to be my father had not gotten in contact with me in any way, shape, or form for years. And yet, he had the nerve to tell me to take this exam, even though it was not required for commoners. Well, even though even taking this exam was not a requirement for them, there were still plenty of commoners who dared try to take the exam and barely passed. However, despite that, they always get rejected in the end. Well... not 'rejected' exactly.

For the most prestigious academy, it was a given that there was a high tuition for attending, especially for those with lower grades. The higher one's grade is in that academy, the less the tuition, especially if the person is ranked the top five of their grade, in which the tuition would be free for them. This was a huge disadvantage for commoners, as they had arrived with little combat experience under their belt, and basic knowledge in reading, writing, and mathematics. As such, even if they did barely pass the entrance exam, due to the high tuition, it was impossible for them to attend regardless. There were some commoners who has support of the whole village pitching in to ensure their stay in the academy, or whose relatives or even family friend made good enough business to save enough money to help pay for the high tuition. However, for some reason, those commoners still never made it to graduation.

... At least, that was what Celina had told me and Mindy. Neither of us knew how much of that was true to say for sure, though. But I could only take a good guess as to why.

"What about your niece, Mr. Pocoro?" Mindy asked the shopkeep. "I thought she was of age to take the exam. Is she planning on taking it?"

"That she is. And I have saved up enough to ensure her stay here for a good while," he answered. "I can't wait for you girls to meet her. She's a real sweetheart~ Ah, I still remember the last time I saw her... The way she called for me so affectionately and jumped into my arm, listening to whatever tales I have here in the capital, no matter how trivial. She's especially excited to meet you both."

"We feel honored to meet her at the exam, then," I said.

Pocoro nodded happily at my words. "Oh yeah! You two are here to buy groceries. What will it be?"

******

After buying the produce, Mindy and I had returned to our home. Rather than accepting the discount, the two of us agreed to pay the full price instead, with some extra change. Pocoro was reluctant to accept, but upon hearing how we wanted to pitch in to help pay for his niece's tuition, he gratefully accepted. He also promised to save some extra fresh produce for us on the day of our exam at a fairly cheap price, but we denied the hospitality, especially when he had to save up the money. 

"The exam will be in a few days. I'm sure we'll be okay for practicals. What do you say we spend the next few days on just the written portion?" I suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea," Mindy agreed.