Episode 60
"Did you sleep well, Young Master?"
"Ah, Kania."
The day after safely returning from the forest to the academy, I woke up feeling considerably refreshed.
"I really slept well today. Truly."
Instead of waking up looking at the old ceiling of a secret base or a sky filled with sunlight, seeing my dormitory ceiling as I woke gave me quite a sense of stability.
"Did you really sleep well?"
"Yes, I'm telling you I really slept well this time. Thanks to the trial ending early, I was able to sleep soundly without even dreaming."
Despite my gentle smile as I answered Kania's persistent questioning, she frowned and asked again.
"Then, the fact that you've been sleeping well all this time was a lie?"
"Um... I suppose that's how it ends up?"
As I vaguely averted my gaze and mumbled at her sharp question, Kania sighed and sat on the edge of my bed.
"Young Master, you don't need to hide such things from me. I am your only..."
- Creak...
Just as Kania was holding my hand and speaking, the dormitory door slowly opened and someone entered.
"Ah, hello?"
Irina, who had entered my room, saw Kania and me holding hands and slightly blushed as she greeted us, and silence briefly filled the room.
"...Not the only one who understands you, but a loyal retainer who gives her all, isn't that right."
Kania, who broke the silence, subtly glared at Irina as she finished speaking.
"Um... anyway, I've completed the paperwork. So, starting today, I'm your dedicated maid."
As Irina said, starting today her official status is my dedicated maid.
At first, Irina insisted on leaving the academy and becoming my exclusive servant, but I desperately tried to stop her.
If she quit the academy, it would not only hinder her path to becoming the archmage she so desired, but it would certainly have a negative impact on the scenario as well.
After trying to dissuade her for quite a while, Irina changed her words saying she wanted to become my temporary servant and live in the same dormitory, but this time Kania desperately opposed it.
For the record, I don't know well the reason she opposed or what was discussed between the two afterward.
All I know is that after several hours passed, Kania came out of the room with a cold smile while Irina had a depressed expression.
In any case, as a result, Irina who could become neither my exclusive servant nor temporary servant, finally got a job as a maid in the noble dormitory as a last resort.
Of course, working as a maid in the noble dormitory while living as an academy student was against school rules, but by giving Headmaster Lionel a modest gift, we were able to cleverly circumvent the rules.
Thus, she came to reside in the empty room right next to my dormitory room, becoming a dedicated maid who would come running whenever I called.
"Still... it is a bit awkward. Even though there was no choice..."
"So, Irina. Why exactly did you make such a desperate choice?"
Irina, who was examining the maid uniform she was wearing for the first time in her life with an awkward expression, answered with a serious face upon receiving Kania's sharp question.
"There's something you need to know related to that."
Sitting in a chair and speaking thus, Irina took a deep breath and let out surprising words.
"I'll start with the conclusion. Currently, Kania, you are under suspicion, and Frey might be assassinated soon."
At those words, Kania and I opened our eyes wide, and Irina sighed as she finished speaking.
"That's why I came in as a double agent to somehow improve that situation."
Kania and I, who had been staring blankly for a while even after Irina finished speaking, looked at each other and exchanged words.
"As expected, I was under suspicion. No wonder the information coming to me recently was so scarce."
"I see, I was wondering why no assassin was coming. Now the difficulty will skyrocket."
After saying that, we both made depressed expressions, and Irina, gauging our reaction, began to speak again.
"First, Kania, you are suspected by the Princess."
"By Lady Clana?"
"Yes, she's not certain yet... but the Princess currently views your possibility of turning sides highly and is trying to somehow catch evidence."
At those words, Kania said with a hardened expression.
"Indeed, no matter how cleverly I deliver vague secret documents... if that repeats, there's no way Lady Clana wouldn't notice."
"Right, I've often seen the Princess muttering while feeling something was off about the documents you give."
As Irina chimed in, Kania fell into thought, spinning the fountain pen she had taken out from her pocket.
"And, the Princess is also preparing for Frey's assassination."
"Lady Clana is preparing for the Young Master's assassination?"
When Irina started speaking again, Kania stopped spinning her fountain pen and frowned as she interjected.
"Wasn't Lady Clana's plan to completely ruin the Young Master before killing him?"
"Yes, that was the case."
Watching the two women casually discussing terrible things, I thought perhaps it was fortunate to have been caught, and Irina looked at me as she continued.
"But due to the 'Commoner Dormitory Raid Incident' last time and this time's 'Holy Undead Knight' incident, the Princess's thinking has changed."
"...How?"
"She says if it's possible to kill you secretly and quietly, she'll kill you as soon as possible."
Hearing those words, I hardened my expression for a moment, then soon smirked and replied.
"It's fine. That much is no problem. No matter how quickly Clana expands her power... it would be difficult for her to gain power enough to threaten me within a year. So the level of assassins would surely..."
"The Princess has joined hands with the elders of the Moonlight family."
Hearing those words, I felt my heart sink and began to turn serious.
If it were assassination plans and assassins selected solely by Clana, I had confidence I could overcome them somehow.
But if she has joined hands with the 'Council of Elders' of the Moonlight family, the story changes completely.
That means the Council of Elders of the Moonlight family, who have been in the assassination business since the family's founding until now, is getting involved in earnest.
Of course, the Council of Elders who had already ordered Serena to kill me, but the fact that they're bringing in other forces to kill me means their established plan is considerably twisted.
It's quite unusual for the Moonlight family, virtually the shadow of the Empire, to join forces with other forces, even if it's Clana, a Princess.
"Probably, they'll target your birthday party next week. To prevent that, I tried to persuade the Princess by saying I'd go in as a spy risking danger... but whether that worked is uncertain."
"Hmm..."
As I was thinking that, Irina, who had delivered additional information and was staring at me, spoke in a low voice.
"So be careful. Don't die for nothing."
After saying that, Irina quietly turned her gaze to the side, and I, who found her quite amusing and smirked, suddenly tilted my head in curiosity and asked a question.
"By the way, how exactly do you know such information? I don't think Clana would have shared all of that."
"Ah, well..."
Irina answered as if it was nothing special upon hearing my question.
"...The assassination plan is indeed what Clana shared, but I found out about the cooperation with the Moonlight family myself."
"How?"
"I stole a letter."
Hearing that, I had a blank expression for a moment and then asked in disbelief.
"That shouldn't be information that can be stolen so easily, right?"
Then Irina said with a proudly smug expression.
"I lived in poverty when I was young... so I have some expertise in stealing things."
"Come to think of it, the first time I met you was when I bumped into you running desperately while holding bread on the street, right?"
Recalling memories with Irina at those words, I asked with a smile.
"When the bread fell on the street, you were so angry that I bought you something several times bigger... surely that bread was..."
"W-well, I had no choice to make a living!"
As I was watching Irina blushing and making excuses, Kania, who had been sitting quietly next to me, suddenly interjected.
"Now is not the time for this, Young Master."
"Hm?"
"We should quickly establish the next plan and operation. No more variables should be created."
At those words, I quietly nodded, and Kania took out a notebook from her pocket and began asking me questions.
"First, I'd like to know a little about who will be threats in the future. I'll handle... no, investigate them in advance on my end."
"Hmm..."
Hearing those words, I began to answer while recalling the contents of the Book of Prophecy.
"If we're talking about people who will be threats... excluding the 'Main Heroines,' it would be the 'Sub Heroines.'"
"Sub Heroines?"
"Yes, for example, Isollet... or Irina's friend Arianne, for instance."
At those words, Irina flinched, while Kania made a serious expression and began writing something in her notebook.
"Ah, and next year, the daughter of the information guild leader who dominates the underworld, the youngest holy knight of the Sun God denomination, and the princess of a small country in the western continent are also sub heroines."
As I mentioned more and more people, Kania tightly gripped her notebook and whispered quietly.
"...Why are there so many?"
At her words, I answered with a smile.
"Of course, that's in the normal route... in the Villain route, they're troublesome strong enemies just like the main heroines."
"Sigh..."
Looking at Kania sighing with an apologetic expression, I quietly shared some good news.
"But I'm currently in a good relationship with the information guild's daughter... so that part..."
"Understood. Then, what's the next 'Main Quest'?"
For some reason, Kania's eyes were cold as she cut off my words, and feeling a chill run down my spine, I quickly brought up the system window before my eyes.
[Main Quest: Liberate the Slave Market]
- Quest Content: Raid the soon-to-open large-scale slave market and liberate the slaves to prevent the impending catastrophe!
[Reward: Increase in Hero's Armament awakening level, Increase in total mana]
[Failure Penalty: Great decrease in reputation]
"...Slave market raid?"
After reading the contents of the system window that appeared before my eyes, Kania said with disbelief.
"Surely it's not that incident I know of?"
"I can't read your memories, but... it's probably the incident you're thinking of."
Hearing those words, Kania sighed deeply and lowered her head.
"That slave market is no different from a bomb warehouse. If you touch it wrongly... even the Young Master wouldn't be able to handle it."
Kania, who quietly opened her mouth, began to speak in a worried voice.
"You don't necessarily have to follow the Main Quest, right? If you get too swayed by the system, something will definitely go wrong someday. So, in my opinion, this Main Quest should..."
"It's not because of the Main Quest."
"What?"
I looked at her and began to speak with determined eyes.
"Even if this wasn't a Main Quest... even if the rewards and penalties were reversed... I would have decided to prevent this incident no matter what."
"Young Master, but..."
Raising my hand to stop Kania who tried to interject, I spoke again in a clear tone.
"I already decided in the previous cycle. No matter what happens, I will prevent that catastrophe and liberate the slaves."
"...I see."
Kania, who had a hardened expression for a moment when I wouldn't change my mind, soon smiled gently.
"If that is the Young Master's will, I will follow it accordingly. I am your confidant, after all."
"Thank you, Kania."
As I responded with a gentle smile to her, Irina, who had been quietly watching us from the side, timidly interjected.
"Um... I'll help hard too."
"Okay, thank you. Irina."
After greeting her as well, I got up from the bed and said as I left the dormitory.
"Then, let's go attend class now."
The time to attend boring classes again had come.
.
"Today is the last day of the first semester. And at the same time, it is also the day the special exam begins."
Something had gone wrong.
I was planning to just listen to boring classes in the boring classroom as always and kill time, but Isollet says there's a special exam.
"...What is going on?"
"Well, I don't know either."
When I asked with a puzzled expression, Kania, who had entered the classroom with me, answered with an equally unknowing expression.
"Um... what do you mean by special exam?"
And it seemed the same for other students, as a commoner student raised his hand and asked, Isollet said with a calm expression.
"The special exam you will take starting today is an exam to select students who will drop from Class A again next semester."
At those words, the noble students' and my expressions turned pale.
"What, what does that mean!"
"From the results of the last final exam... didn't all the dropouts come from the commoners?"
"This is abuse of power! No matter how much the professor is from a noble family, such behavior is...!"
Soon the noble students rose up in protest like a swarm of bees, but Isollet looked at them coldly and dismissed them with a single word.
"...It's an order from the Imperial Family."
At those words, the nobles all fell silent, and Isollet smirked and said.
"Thanks to someone who spread money and bribes to buy scores... when innocent skilled people dropped out, the Imperial Family was quite angry."
"Th-then..."
"The Imperial Family chose a re-exam instead of an investigation. Therefore, I am merely following that. Any objections?"
Naturally, no one objected to those words. Because the moment they objected, they would be objecting to the Imperial Family's decision.
In that situation where cold silence lingered, I rolled my eyes and fell into thought.
'Something's strange...? Was the Imperial Family such a clean and conscientious group?'
The current Imperial Family is precisely the hotbed of corruption where all kinds of schemes run rampant and the management bureau.
Most of the irregularities and corruption occurring in state institutions are in fact subtly managed and adjusted by the Imperial Family.
Therefore, they would have turned a blind eye while the Imperial Family was involved in the large-scale corruption incident in this final exam.
But why did such an Imperial Family make such a decision?
'Is it Clana's doing?'
I glanced at Clana just in case, but she too had an unfamiliar expression.
Indeed, even Clana, who has gathered quite a lot of power, wouldn't have the authority to fully intervene in such corruption yet.
And not only Clana, but most officials wouldn't have the authority and power to make this decision that goes against the existing Imperial Family's position.
'...The Empress? First Prince? First Princess?'
So I started thinking about people who could do such a thing with just a flick of a finger, but no matter how much I thought, I couldn't think of a reason why those people would do such a thing.
"Hmm..."
After that, trying to guess what was going on for a while, as my head started throbbing, I eventually gave up guessing and started asking Isollet.
"So, what's the exam content?"
Then Isollet began speaking without even looking at me.
"The special exam we will take today will be a team battle."
The children started buzzing at the words dungeon and team battle, and Isollet, who silenced them in an instant by emitting a cold aura, looked around and continued.
"The teams will be divided into noble team and commoner team as always, and one commander will be appointed to each team."
Saying that, Isollet placed a ballot box in front of the lectern.
"The commander will be decided by everyone's vote. So, nobles and commoners, vote for your commanders now."
As Isollet said that and handed out papers, most of the nobles started subtly glancing at me.
'...Well, those guys wouldn't want to pick me as commander either.'
Currently, I am in a situation where everyone dislikes me because of the rumor that I am closely connected to the Demon Lord's army.
So, even nobles full of thoughts of lining up wouldn't vote for me.
Those quick at calculation would probably pick Clana, the rising sun, as commander?
"Then, I will begin counting the votes."
Lost in thought, Isollet tapped the ballot box and declared the count.
- Shwirk!
Then, the chalk on the blackboard started moving on its own and began writing the vote results.
- Noble Side: Frey Raon Starlight
- Commoner Side: Clana Sol Sunrise
"...Ha."
And the result completely missed my expectations.
'The nobles were stupider than I thought... and the commoners were smarter than I thought.'
Despairing at the fact that I was made some kind of commander when I already had too much to do, Isollet, who checked the blackboard, declared with a calm expression.
"Alright. Then starting today, I appoint Frey Raon Starlight as the commoner side commander, and Clana Sol Sunrise as the noble side commander."
Silence flowed for a moment after those words ended.
"Um, Professor? What do you mean..."
"I didn't say it wrong. In the special exam that will continue throughout the break, Frey will be the commander of the commoner side, and Clana will be the commander of the noble side."
When those words ended, everyone fell into silence again.
They were probably in such great shock that they couldn't even think of buzzing.
"Then, since the commanders have been decided, I'll reveal the identity of this special exam."
Isollet, who was calmly looking at such children, raised the corner of her mouth and said.
"From now until the break ends, if you protect your commanders, it's victory."
At those words, everyone was flustered, and Isollet quietly added a word.
"The commander of the winning team will be given the right to select some of those who will be dropped."
.
Meanwhile at that time, somewhere in a back alley.
"So, what exactly is the Demon King's intention?"
"He hasn't revealed his identity until now, so I'm already suspicious enough... isn't this too much?"
"This cannot be tolerated. How can someone who is neither demon nor monster be..."
People gathered in a dark room, their faces covered by robes, were complaining one by one.
"Quiet, quiet!!!"
One man sitting at the head of the table slammed his desk and shouted in anger, and everyone stopped complaining and fell silent.
"It is the solemn command of the Demon King..."
The second-in-command of the Demon Lord's army, who was looking at them coldly, looked down at the same photograph everyone was holding and declared in a low voice.
"...Starting today, this man is one of the highest executives of the Demon Lord's army."