In order to obtain the writing tool that Stellaria had neglected to give him, Theodore left the examination room. As he wasn't told that he couldn't leave, he thought that it would be fine.

"Do you need something?"

To Theodore's surprise, he found someone on standby, leaning against the wall next to the door. He was a young man in blue robes, his silky blonde hair framing his soft features and his calming blue eyes adding to his charms. From the looks of him, he seemed at least four or five years older than Theodore.

"I need a pen. Ink as well," answered Theodore in a straightforward manner.

"Oh, did the Archmage forgot to hand those to you?" said the young man, not sounding at all surprised.

It appeared that Stellaria was as scatterbrained as he remembered. That being said, something mentioned else caught Theodore's attention.

"That was the Archmage?"

"Indeed. She doesn't seem like it does she?" The young man shrugged following those words. "Still, she *is* the Archmage, so you best show some respect."

"So you say, but you don't seem to be showing much respect yourself."

"That's because she's not here right now." The young man began to laugh. He seemed to be a friendly sort.

"Isn't that her right there?"

"Huh? Where!?"

The young man's shoulders jolted as he pushed off the wall. Tuning his head left and right, he searched frantically for the presence of the one known as the Archmage, the person with the highest authority at the Mage Tower and the one who presides over the Circle of Mages. After a few moments of searching, however, he found no traces of such a person.

"I lied," said Theodore.

"Sheesh, you scared me there."

"Just thought I'd keep you alert."

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"You're lucky that it's me you're playing a prank on. Let me warn you, here, at the Mage Tower, and Lancea by extension, there is a great disparity of power between individuals. That allowed certain people to act cruelly without repercussions. If you're not careful, you might get yourself into trouble one of these days."

"Is that how it is? I suppose I'm in luck that I met you first, huh?"

"Indeed. And you of all people here should be careful. You've been granted special treatment with this exam held just for you, after all. Usually, the entrance exams are held every four years, but we already had one last year. Everyone's talking about it, about this special someone that the elders had rolled out the red carpets for, about you."

"I don't suppose they think fondly of me."

"On the contrary, most are quite envious, some spitefully so. I guess you can say that you've started with a negative impression already."

"Well, that's no good. No good at all."

Theodore was beginning to regret what he had just done with this person before him. He was no longer in Eastcliff. He was no longer in a place where he could run around, doing as he pleases anymore. While Annaliese seemed to be taken to him, or at least had the patience to tolerate him, his cheeky attitude was not going to fly with everyone. He was going to have to let that sink in. That impudent nature of his, Theodore's nature, will have to be reined in from this moment on.

"Now, about that pen."

"Right." The young man pulled out something from his breast pocket. "I'll let you borrow mine. Be sure to give it back once you're done."

Receiving the pen, Theodore noticed an oddity.

"Well, isn't this interesting."

"Haven't seen something like this before? It's a pen that has ink inside of it. With this, you don't have to keep dipping it in ink. Handy, right?"

"Very handy. Thank you."

With that, Theodore headed back into the room and began to go through the stack of paper before him.

"Right. Two hours..."

While he chatted with the young man outside, he had forgotten that he was supposed to go through all of these within what little time he was given. From the looks of how the exam was run, however, rather than trying to score high, it was more so a questionnaire to figure out the knowledge in his possession.

(That being said, knowledge isn't the problem here.)

As the Demon Lord reborn, there were few things about magic that he did not know about. Most likely, the Circle of Mages will be using the results of the exam to try and figure out who he was supposed to be the reincarnation of. Answering too many things correctly will only clue them in on his true identity. He had to pick and choose, where to show his knowledge and where to feign ignorance. He had to choose who he shall be presenting himself as.

That being said, he did not know who the Circle of Mages expected him to be. If he knew at least that, then perhaps he could pretend to be them. Alas, such knowledge was out of his reach at the moment, and he could only give up on that plan.

(Fine then. Guess I'll do it this way after all.)

Understanding that he had little time to spare, Theodore quickly made his decision and got to work.

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End of Chapter 23

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