Episode 61
"From this moment, I shall place a special mark on all of you."
Isollet, who had been glaring at us as we stood frozen in shock, spoke thus and tore a magic scroll she had been carrying.
- Shuuuu...
At that, gray energy emerged from the torn scroll and burrowed into everyone's bodies before vanishing from sight.
"This mark can only be damaged by the special magic formula and special weapons that will be distributed when class ends. And once a certain amount of damage is sustained, the mark will disappear and I will be immediately notified."
Hearing her words, I scanned my body with the mana of the Stars, and sure enough, I could feel the mark settled within me.
"Those whose marks disappear can no longer continue the examination, and the side whose commander's mark disappears first shall be defeated. Everyone understands this much, yes?"
When the children nodded quietly, Isollet continued in a low voice.
"Then I shall now explain the rules regarding elimination."
The elimination rules that soon flowed from her lips were quite simple.
The majority of the victorious team would be exempted from Class B duty, while the majority of the defeated team would be assigned to Class B.
And according to Isollet, because of this aspect, each team's 'commander' would wield truly immense authority.
First, the commander of the victorious team would be granted the authority to select some of those to be eliminated.
Since the range of people who could be selected included not only the opposing team but also one's own team, this meant that even if one won the game, those who contributed nothing or caused interference could be eliminated.
And the commander of the defeated team could choose who among their own team members would remain in Class A.
In other words, with such immense authority, defying the commander was something that should absolutely never...
"I will not protect you, Lord Frey."
Perhaps I had thought wrong. Someone had already stepped forward to defy me.
"Rather than protect you... I would sooner go to Class B."
When I looked to see who it was, Perloche was glaring at me fiercely from among the crowd of commoners.
Perloche, who could have entered as a noble student but voluntarily joined the Academy as a commoner, claiming that a saint is merely God's proxy and not a person of nobility, was looking at me with such hateful eyes that my heart somehow ached.
"Why not just stop and take a seat? If someone as noble as you descends to the lowly Class B, won't the Solar God religious order cause an uproar?"
"Shut your mouth."
So I tried speaking in a greasily smooth tone, but Perloche recoiled at me and cut me down coldly.
"If you keep this up... I won't be able to help myself."
"W-what won't you be able to help?"
In the end, I had no choice but to employ the last resort I had planned to use if things weren't going well, less than 10 minutes after the practical evaluation had begun.
"I'm going to surrender to Klana right now."
"...What?"
Perloche, having heard my words, began to wear a foolish expression.
"W-wait a moment! Lord Frey!"
"Uh... please wait..."
But the commoners, having grasped the meaning of my words, began to cling to me desperately.
"W-why is everyone acting like this...?"
When Perloche, seeing this, asked with still that foolish expression, I raised the corner of my mouth and answered.
"If I surrender to Klana right now... the majority of people here will have to go to Class B without being able to make a single complaint."
"T-that's..."
"And from what I know, most of the commoners in Class A are barely attending the Academy thanks to Class A's special scholarship. Isn't that right?"
As I spoke with a smile, the commoners who had been clinging to me lowered their heads deeply and began to bite their lips hard.
"W-wait a moment! But... if you do that, won't Lady Klana single you out? So please calm down first and..."
Then Perloche urgently warned me.
"What do I care if I fall to Class B?"
"E-excuse me?"
"I'm the temporary lord of the most powerful ducal house among only three in the Empire. Do you think something terrible will happen just because I go to Class B?"
"T-then... are you really planning to go surrender!?"
Seeing Perloche shout with an indignant expression, I smiled and headed toward the exit of the empty classroom I had entered for a strategy meeting.
"It's fine, Perloche. I won't eliminate you specially. I need to focus on eliminating as many of those lowly things as possible, you see."
"Grr..."
"Then I'm off to surrender to Klana. Take care."
The moment I left those words and opened the classroom door, Perloche urgently grabbed my arm.
"I-I was wrong. Please forgive me."
Perloche, speaking in a trembling voice, then knelt before me, and the commoners watching this scene quietly turned their heads and clenched their fists.
'...Phew, thank goodness.'
Only then did I sigh inwardly, took my seat, propped my legs up on the desk, and spoke with an arrogant expression.
"So, where shall we set up our base?"
According to Isollet, both teams needed to determine their base of operations.
Due to the strange phenomena frequently occurring lately, this was apparently a policy established as part of teaching actual combat to Academy students.
"Um... since the exam runs through the entire break... couldn't we just hide somewhere?"
When a female student raised her hand and spoke, other commoner students began to chime in.
"...Sure, good idea. Then where will you hide?"
When I asked them in a dull voice, the female student who had first suggested it glanced at me and cautiously offered a proposal.
"Um... how about hiding in the forest..."
"Rejected."
Having suffered terribly in the Ashen Forest and the forest near my home for a while, I frowned deeply at the very thought of approaching any forest, and the female student stepped back with a frightened expression.
"What about coming to my house..."
"Rejected."
"The inn my family runs..."
"Rejected."
As I kept rejecting proposals for a while, everyone stopped speaking and began to glare at me coldly.
"...So, how long are you all just going to keep glaring at me?"
"..........."
I tried asking tentatively, unable to bear the continuing silence, but they still glared at me coldly.
"Well, can't be helped then..."
Thanks to that, recalling memories of being surrounded by an angry mob in the previous cycle, I closed my eyes gently, calmed my mind, and opened my mouth.
"...All of you, come to my house."
Then silence briefly flowed around us.
"What are you scheming?"
Before long, Perloche threw a question at me in a cold voice.
"What scheming? How hurtful. I'm only doing this for your sake..."
"I'm asking what evil deed you're plotting this time."
Despite my excuse, when Perloche kept pressing me, I put on a sullen expression and muttered.
'Geez... I'm trying to help you win and you still throw a fit...'
I intend to absolutely win this team battle.
Because this is a golden opportunity to send all those rotten nobles to Class B.
If the commoner team with me as commander wins this exam, Klana will keep only those nobles who are helpful to her and conscientious in Class A.
That way, I'll finally be liberated from the nobles who have always dogged my footsteps and driven my stress levels to the max.
Of course, most of the nobles not selected by Klana are high-ranking nobles with the means to offer bribes and are calculating individuals, so there's a very high possibility they'll view her as an enemy and try to keep her in check in the future.
In other words, if the commoner team wins, we can get rid of the annoying nobles, restore fairness to the Academy, and naturally keep Klana in check at the same time.
However, there is one problem with this.
If I fully support the commoner team's victory, rumors might spread among the commoners that I'm actually a kind noble who helps commoners.
If that happens, my life is over.
Therefore, in this exam, I must make the commoners' lives as miserable as possible and interfere with them while secretly supporting them from behind so they can win.
"Frey! Answer me! What exactly are you scheming!"
"Shut up, all of you pack your things and come to my house. I'll specially show you some mercy."
Having finished my thoughts, I ignored Perloche's outcry and spoke with a sinister smile, and the commoners began to squirm with uncomfortable expressions.
'This... I'm going to earn quite a lot of villain points during the break, aren't I?'
Just seeing how the commoners are already fearing what they'll suffer at my house during the break just from my sinister expression alone, it seems this break will bring in quite a lot of villain points.
"But... where will Lady Klana stay with the nobles?"
"Maybe the Imperial Palace?"
"No way... that doesn't make sense. Even so, the Imperial Palace..."
"Still, if they really are hiding in the Imperial Palace... wouldn't we be able to see the Imperial Palace?"
As that commoner next to me spoke with a slightly excited expression while packing, indeed, due to the special nature of this exam, the Imperial family had reportedly issued a proclamation that one would be pardoned for trespassing anywhere.
Looking at that, this incident is indeed...
'...Young master, this incident seems to be Lady Klana's trap. So...'
"I know."
"Excuse me?"
Kania, who had been quietly packing, spoke to me tentatively, and I answered in a low voice.
When I saw Klana's expression earlier showing she had no idea what was happening, honestly I was doubtful.
But she's someone who's been through every imaginable ordeal, so hiding her expression would be no problem at all.
And if I order an ironclad defense while locking myself in my room throughout the break, even with the Moonlight family's cooperation, assassinating me would become quite difficult.
However, she and the other nobles can legally intrude into the ducal residence thanks to the proclamation... so if they're planning to assassinate me, there couldn't be a better method than that.
Therefore, someone with a sharp mind like hers probably arranged all this, calculating that I would stay holed up in the ducal residence throughout the break.
'Of course, she probably has other motives as well.'
Having students determine whether other students are eliminated from Class A is quite unprecedented. No, rather than unprecedented, it's highly suspicious.
So if she orchestrated this incident... there must be a hidden agenda.
I still don't understand how she, whose power base is still weak, exerted such influence, though.
"Kania, when did they say the commander's location would be revealed?"
Thinking such thoughts, I asked Kania tentatively.
"In one week. After one week, both commanders will be notified simultaneously."
"...So there's time until then."
I already have so much to do I'm busy to death, and now being forced to have my location tracked is giving me a splitting headache.
But what can I do? Since it's come to this, I have no choice but to make the most of the situation.
"Frey, you."
As I was thinking that and about to step outside, someone grabbed my arm.
"You are...?"
When I turned to see who it was, Ariadne, Irina's close friend, was glaring at me.
"Please speak with me for a moment."
"No, it's bothersome."
Of course, not wanting to get involved with Ariadne, who is just as fierce as Irina, I answered firmly and tried to hurry on my way, but—
Crackle...!
Ariadne, grinding her teeth, created a barrier to block my path and began glaring at me.
"Just for a very brief moment, I beg you."
*Sigh...*
In the end, I sighed, turned around, and headed back into the classroom with her.
"...What's that? Why is Ariadne acting like that?"
"I don't know, must be crazy. Someone stop her quickly."
"Leave her alone, who's going to stop someone like that?"
Naturally, leaving the classroom door wide open so the commoners watching us from outside could see us clearly.
"So, what did you want to say?"
Having reached the center of the classroom, I asked with an arrogant expression.
Of course, I already had every word she would say to me pictured in my mind from start to finish, but in such situations, pretending not to know is more effective.
"I beg you, please return Irina to me."
After pretending to ignore her for a moment, Ariadne squeezed her eyes shut, knelt on the floor, and began to speak.
"I will do anything you ask. If you tell me to bark like a dog, I will bark; if you tell me to crawl on the floor, I will crawl; if you tell me to offer my body, I will offer my body... Please, I beg you, return my friend to me."
Saying this, Ariadne began to shed tears.
"Irina, come here for a moment."
Looking down at her calmly, I beckoned to Irina, who was standing quietly among the crowd whispering in the distance, and spoke.
"Do you know this person?"
When Irina quietly entered the classroom, I raised the corner of my mouth and asked her.
"I don't... know her."
Then Irina lowered her head deeply and answered with a soulless expression.
"I-Irina! What on earth did they do to you!"
"........."
Unable to bear watching that sight, Ariadne grabbed Irina and began shaking her violently, but Irina only avoided Ariadne's gaze and pretended not to notice.
"Sorry, but..."
After watching that scene for a moment, I snatched Irina from Ariadne, wrapped my arm around her waist, and spoke.
"...I'm already overwhelmed with Irina alone, so I have no intention of adding more slaves."
Leaving those words behind, I exited the classroom with Irina, leaving Ariadne standing with a dazed expression.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and depart."
I then drove away the commoners who had been quietly watching the scene and began walking down the corridor with Irina.
"...I think you can remove your arm now, young master."
"Ah."
Then, when Kania spoke to me from behind with a cold expression, I startled and removed my arm, speaking with an awkward expression.
"Um... Kania. The ducal residence is going to be quite noisy for a while, will you be alright?"
*Sigh...*
Hearing those words, Kania, who sighed briefly, answered with a blank expression.
"I will try my best to manage somehow."
Feeling slightly sorry for Kania, I was thinking about buying her a fatigue recovery potion when Perloche suddenly appeared from behind.
I was startled, worried she might have overheard the conversation, but seeing her looking at me with a sullen expression, I breathed a sigh of relief and asked.
"What is it now?"
"What did you do to Miss Irina?"
Hearing that, I sighed, sensing the conversation would drag on.
It seems I too should procure a fatigue recovery potion.
.
"Young master, if you bring that many students into the house, what will you do about the 'Main Quest'?"
"Main Quest?"
As we rode in the carriage heading to my ducal residence, which had suddenly become a forward base, Kania asked me tentatively.
"Yes, since it's such a major event... we should prepare in advance, but if we're taking the exam until the end of the break..."
"It's fine. Originally, according to my plan, we need to launch the attack when the incident reaches its climax. There's still time for now."
I answered her with a relaxed expression and leaned back against the carriage seat, murmuring.
"Good... everything is perfect. For once, everything is going properly."
Until now, everything had been a series of variables and accidents.
On the first day of regression, the main heroines' memories surfaced... scenes I didn't even remember appeared... systems I knew nothing about emerged...
But now everything is within calculation range.
I've already thought of a way to lead the commoners to victory while earning villain points steadily, and for the next Main Quest, the 'Slave Market Liberation,' I had been planning meticulously since the previous cycle.
Of course, as always, I can't rule out the possibility of variables or unexpected situations arising, but at least this time, I'm confident I can respond to any situ...
"...Frey, will you really be alright?"
"What?"
While thinking such thoughts, Irina asked with a worried expression.
"Can you really handle Ariadne on your own?"
Hearing that, I quietly sighed and answered.
"...Who knows."
Ariadne is certainly a good person, but once she becomes unhinged, there's no telling what she might do.
If her specialty was attack magic rather than defensive magic, I would have had absolutely no means to handle her.
Even just earlier when I left the room with Irina, I could feel quite a murderous intent.
*Sigh...* "Well, can't be helped. Given the situation..."
- Thud!
"...Hm?"
Feeling my carefully calmed mind becoming unsettled again, I was sighing when suddenly a loud noise came from the carriage and it began to slow down.
"...What's going on?"
Frowning, I cautiously peeked my head out the window, and a man was blocking the carriage we were riding in.
"Hey! Come out quickly! Do you know who's riding here..."
When the coachman driving our carriage began to scold the man, the man in front answered in a grave voice.
"I have come to see Lord Frey Raon Starlight. It is an urgent matter, so please forgive my rudeness."
".......!!!"
Hearing that voice, Kania, Irina, and I all froze simultaneously.
Because the owner of that voice was none other than the second-in-command who had existed as the Demon King's closest confidant in the previous cycle.
"...You all stay here, I'll go out."
"Y-young master!"
"Frey!"
Fearing Kania or Irina might step forward, I quickly exited the carriage and stood before him, who was dressed in a suit, with a calm expression.
"So, what is this about?"
"Well, you see..."
Then the second-in-command smiled and answered.
"...It seems you must come with me immediately."
"Why?"
Answering him, I began to quietly reach for the sword at my waist, but—
"We cannot begin the executive meeting without Lord Frey, you see."
"What?"
I began to doubt my ears at the words that emerged from his mouth.
"...Congratulations on becoming a top executive, Lord Frey."
It seems I'll need to watch my words for a while.