Ex and Roxwell sat side by side on a park bench.
Both of them looked utterly drained.
In the distance, professors emerged through the main building’s front doors.
They looked positively delighted.
“Chairman, Headmaster. That was a proper ruling.”
“We simply cannot praise your wise judgment enough!”
The flattery was painfully obvious.
Ex and Roxwell sighed.
Roxwell was the first to speak.
“I’m sorry things turned out this way.”
“No. Honestly, this might be for the best.”
“What part of this is for the best?”
“Well…”
“Oh, there you are. Professor Roxwell, Student Ex.”
Elnedor approached the two of them on the bench.
A deeply satisfied smile covered his face.
Roxwell started to rise and greet him, but Elnedor waved him down and seated himself between Ex and Roxwell.
“Hoho, do you mind if this old man squeezes in between two youngsters?”
You already did…
Both of them thought it, but neither said it aloud.
With his usual shameless good humor, Elnedor turned to Roxwell.
“Were the conditions I set a little too difficult?”
“…Far too difficult. I’d go so far as to call them impossible.”
“But adversity and hardship are what help a boy grow. Wouldn’t you agree, Professor Roxwell?”
Roxwell clicked his tongue and turned his head away.
He looked like a man who had been forced into doing the last thing he wanted.
Elnedor merely answered with a smile.
“Student Ex, congratulations on escaping expulsion. Professor Roxwell’s speech was quite impressive. Weaving together ‘The Tale of the Hero Protego’ and ‘the Academy’s Founding Principles’ like that… It certainly wasn’t the kind of speech one would normally expect from him.”
『Avoid Expulsion (C) Successful!
Completion Reward: 15,000 Editing Points acquired』
And with that, he had succeeded.
He had escaped the threat of expulsion in spectacular fashion.
By now, Elysia was probably beside herself with rage.
It was a terrible shame he couldn’t be there to see it.
‘That brings me to 16,100 Editing Points… This is insane!’
He began wondering which Base Stats he should purchase from the status window.
It was the happiest kind of dilemma.
Then Roxwell spoiled the mood.
“But you expect me to make this bastard the top student in the entire freshman class before the first semester ends? And if I fail, not only does he get expelled, but I get dismissed as well…”
“Do you consider that unfair?”
“Of course it’s unfair!”
“Then simply make Student Ex the top-ranked student.”
“No, that’s…! Screamweed! What the hell are you planning to do about this?”
The arrow was pointed directly at Ex.
He avoided Roxwell’s gaze as well.
After fumbling for an answer, he finally managed to speak.
“Well… I’ll do my best. To rank first academically.”
“Haa…”
Roxwell let out a sigh brimming with distrust.
Elnedor watched them for a moment, then rose with another easygoing laugh.
“Well then, I should be on my way. It appears master and disciple have quite a lot to discuss.”
“I have never acknowledged this bastard as my disciple.”
“Hoho, it’s good to see you so full of energy, Professor Roxwell. It reminds me of when you first arrived at the Academy.”
“…Let’s not bring up my student days.”
“Hohoho!”
Laughing like an old grandfather, Elnedor walked away.
As an added bonus, he dragged Maria along with him when she tried to approach them.
Ex shuddered when he saw the greed and disappointment in Maria’s eyes.
‘She’s the biggest problem of all.’
He released a silent sigh.
“…Professor. What are we going to do from here?”
“Do you really need to ask? If everything you told me is true, then we’ll have to do whatever we can. You should know that better than anyone.”
“You’re going to help me?”
“…Yes, you damn bastard.”
Even so, he had gained an ally.
That was the greatest reward he had earned from this entire incident.
He no longer had to agonize over everything alone, and with Roxwell’s help, he would be capable of doing far more.
‘So this is what it feels like.’
Simply knowing he had someone on his side put his heart at ease.
‘Maybe Circe… could be persuaded too, if I handle it properly.’
Circe had always worshipped the Hero.
And yet, she had shown enough change to apologize to someone.
It had happened because of a misunderstanding piled upon another misunderstanding, but even after realizing that, she had still chosen to apologize of her own accord.
That alone represented an extraordinary change.
‘She might not become an ally, but maybe we could at least cooperate.’
That thought suddenly reminded him of someone else.
“Oh, Professor. Has Lola been doing all right?”
“Lola? She seems fine, as far as I can tell. That came out of nowhere. Does this have something to do with ‘that knowledge’ again?”
“No. I asked her to deliver the notebook to you. I was just worried she might have read it.”
“Notebook? What are you talking about? Circe was the one who brought me a notebook.”
“…What?”
His heart dropped.
Before he could even begin asking why, there was something he needed to confirm first.
“…Did Circe look like she’d read the notebook?”
“No. Her expression was perfectly calm, so I doubt she did.”
For a moment, Ex thought he could breathe a sigh of relief.
Then Roxwell’s next words struck him like a hammer.
“Come to think of it, she was carrying two notebooks. Were there two copies of the notebook containing all that knowledge?”
“…No. There was only one.”
At that answer, Roxwell also began to grasp the gravity of the situation.
“…This is the notebook you were talking about, correct?”
Roxwell pulled out the notebook he had kept hidden inside his coat and showed it to Ex.
Ex nodded.
Roxwell continued, his expression stiffening.
“According to you, Circe is the Reincarnated Sage. And the Sage was carrying two notebooks. Both of them looked exactly the same. She handed me one of the two.”
“…Don’t tell me she copied it.”
Ex checked the time.
6:30 p.m.
More than enough time for her to finish reading the notebook.
He opened the status window to verify.
『[Remove ‘Author Points’] Required Points: 5,500』
The required points hadn’t changed.
It wasn’t too late yet.
“Professor, we still have time. We need to hurry and recover the notebook before she…”
The instant he shot to his feet.
『Required Points: 100,005,500』
The number changed.
‘…What?’
The status window appeared immediately afterward.
As though declaring that he was already too late.
『Warning! The Reincarnated Sage has realized the truth and fate of this world. How could mere ‘vermin’ ever possess such knowledge? It is impossible.
A Plausibility Penalty will now be imposed.』
『Plausibility Penalty Acquired: Circe’s Memory Erasure. Designated Target: [All memories related to Ex]』
『Plausibility Penalty Acquired: Roxwell’s Memory Erasure. Designated Target: [All memories related to Ex]』
『Plausibility Penalty Acquired: Erasure of All Records. Designated Target: [Records containing the truth and fate of the world]』
『Plausibility Penalty Acquired: Roxwell’s POV added.』
‘…What the hell is this?’
His eyes trembled in shock.
Memory erasure? Record erasure? A new point of view?
He had never seen a penalty this aggressively hostile before.
But he had no time to dwell on those questions.
“Screamweed…!”
Roxwell’s urgent voice rang out.
Ex immediately looked beside him and saw Roxwell’s unfocused eyes turning hazy.
He clutched his head, his face twisted in agony.
“Professor!”
“Is this what you called the status window? A translucent screen, something that looks like glass…! Can you see it too?”
“No, I can’t see yours! What does it say?”
“It says, [Forget everything.] Damn it… My memories are… Screamweed, listen carefully!”
Roxwell seized Ex by the collar.
His eyes were losing focus.
Even so, his gaze remained fixed directly on Ex’s eyes.
“Is it still watching us?”
“…It is.”
“…Tch!”
Roxwell’s point of view had been added.
Whatever was behind the status window was undoubtedly watching them even now.
At Ex’s answer, Roxwell clicked his tongue in frustration.
“Then I can’t even explain myself properly. I’ll only say this.”
After swallowing a groan, Roxwell forced the words through gritted teeth.
“No matter what I do from now on, ‘trust me.’”
“Trust you? What are you talking about?!”
“I can’t tell you because we’re being watched. Just trust me! Do you understand? No matter what kind of vile, disgusting thing I do to you from now on, you have to believe in me!”
His gaze was filled with absolute conviction.
Ex hesitated for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“I’ll trust you.”
“Good. Damn it, I’m losing consciousness…”
Roxwell went limp.
Ex caught his body before he could collapse onto the ground.
A fierce fire burned in Ex’s eyes.
‘So this is how you want to play it.’
He had gained an ally, only to have that ally ripped away from him with insulting ease.
Their cooperation had been stolen before it could even begin.
But this had also confirmed several things.
‘You moved too hastily. Keep panicking like that. Keep getting impatient. I swear I’ll tear you apart.’
***
“I’m bored.”
Beatrice, Imperial Princess of the Dritania Empire, was bored.
No.
She was no longer Imperial Princess Beatrice.
“Even taking over an Imperial Princess’s body isn’t any fun.”
The demon Andras had been writing reports for hours as part of her duties as an Imperial Princess.
In the middle of her work, she turned her gaze toward the ring on her right index finger.
“…Quiet. Stop nagging me. The only reason I’m keeping you alive is because I have no other choice. Keep annoying me, and I might erase you forever. Ow! How dare you raise your voice at me…! What? I wrote the report wrong just now? Haa…”
She sighed and sank deeply into her chair.
‘I thought I’d be able to indulge in every pleasure imaginable. Why is there so much work to do? I’m dying of boredom.’
How many years had it been already?
Years had passed in preparation for the plan alone.
At this rate, the boredom would rot her soul from the inside out.
“What? That duel? …Fine. That was somewhat entertaining. You want to see him again? You have the strangest taste.”
Watching a weak piece of vermin defeat a stronger piece of vermin had been mildly amusing.
Had his name been Ex?
She had interfered without receiving any orders.
Because she had commanded that he be healed, she had ended up attracting unnecessary attention from the Archdemon.
“I admit I acted carelessly. But I was bored. The lesser demons get to enjoy themselves as much as they want out in the provinces. Why am I the only one forced to keep up this tedious performance? …You think there’s still a chance for me to redeem myself? There really is nothing you won’t say to a demon. Haa…”
No matter how often she sighed, nothing changed.
The only thing that increased was the number of sighs she let out.
“Master. I have a report.”
At that moment, a bird flew down and landed on Andras’s hand.
Its eyes glowed red, and words began to emerge from its beak.
It was Andras’s familiar.
“You found out? What happened?”
“He avoided expulsion.”
“What? Really? That’s impressive!”
She had been certain he would be expelled.
Screamweed Ex.
He had defied her expectations and survived.
“How did he manage that?”
“I will report the details.”
The familiar recounted everything that had happened during the disciplinary committee hearing.
As Andras listened, her excitement quickly faded.
“What? The professor in charge barged in and persuaded them? How dull. …I don’t understand how you can call that impressive.”
“Afterward, the professor lost consciousness and collapsed.”
“Hm?”
That was strange.
According to her investigation, the professor named Roxwell was a martial artist of a fairly high star rank.
Unless some external force had interfered, there was no reason for a man like that to lose consciousness so easily.
‘Was it connected to that boy?’
“Shall I assign someone to watch him?”
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
Andras shook her head.
‘I may be personally interested, but not enough to go that far…’
At present, it was nothing more than mild curiosity.
If she stirred up trouble and drew the Archdemon’s attention again, it would only create problems for her.
Then her eyes suddenly returned to the ring.
A wicked smile spread across her face.
“Right, curiosity. I suppose I could use it that way. I happen to have a spare ring left over too. …Don’t use the ring? Have you forgotten who I am?”
Andras pulled out the two rings she had tucked inside her clothes.
One was a ring filled to its limit with divine power, rendering it unusable.
The other was the ‘ring’ she intended to give to that boy.
She stared at the two rings and furrowed her brow.
“It’s difficult to tell them apart by looking. I don’t want to try sensing them and accidentally touch the one filled with divine power. It hurts. …The one on the right is the ring filled with divine power? Are you sure? Then it must be the one on the left, you liar.”
While she was thinking, the familiar opened its beak again.
“We have received orders to begin preparations for the plan.”
“Ah, finally!”
Had the time finally come?
Andras’s expression brightened.
The gloomy atmosphere around her vanished in an instant.
How long had she waited?
How long had she looked forward to this?
How desperately had she yearned for it since the descent of the God of Light?
Andras stroked the ring as she spoke.
“Did you hear that? At last, we’ll be able to meet our god! Our true god!”
A brilliant light gleamed in Andras’s hideous eyes.
All traces of her earlier boredom had disappeared.
“The ‘Hounds’ are prepared, aren’t they?”
“They are prepared.”
The first stage of the plan would begin here.
At Elyon Academy, the very heart of the continent.
‘Everything for our god.’
The demons began to move.
–TL Notes–
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