A few days earlier, when the System Level rose to Level 2, the Item Shop had been updated.
And there, Ex discovered an item he never could have expected.
『Item Shop
Lowest-Grade Stamina Potion (F): 10 points
Broken Iron Sword (F): 50 points
Low-Grade Stamina Potion (E): 100 points
Low-Grade Mana Potion (E): 100 points
Observer Viewpoint (-): 10,000 points (Purchase Limit: 3)』
“Observer Viewpoint…? No way… No way…! No way, no way, no way!!”
His guess was right.
It was the same ‘viewpoint’ through which Elysia observed the world.
“I never thought the day would come when I could use this…!”
It could only be purchased three times, and each use cost a staggering 10,000 points, but Ex had already experienced its overwhelming power firsthand.
“I've got over a hundred thousand points. I can buy all three and still have plenty left!”
Ex immediately purchased an Observer Viewpoint.
And regretted it just as quickly.
『Add Observer Viewpoint: Leon Brave: Impossible』
『Observer Viewpoint cannot be applied more than once.』
“Ah…”
Observer Viewpoint couldn't be applied to the same target twice.
In other words, if Elysia had already attached a viewpoint to someone, Ex couldn't use his own on them.
Because of that restriction, every major character and central villain was ineligible. The same was true for Elia.
“What am I supposed to do with this when you're only giving it to me now…?”
The loss of a full 10,000 points left him feeling hollow.
Still, Ex experimented with one person after another, hoping he might find someone who worked.
“Darius de Dritania…”
『Observer Viewpoint cannot be applied more than once.』
“Of course that one's impossible. I don't need the Emperor anyway… What about this?”
『Add Observer Viewpoint: Beatrice de Dritania』
『Observer Viewpoint has been applied.』
“Huh?”
Beatrice was a fairly important supporting character.
Considering that several important supporting characters, including Professor Lung and Maria, already had viewpoints attached to them, Beatrice should have been the same.
After analyzing the possible cause, Ex soon realized why she had been overlooked.
“Elysia already attached one to Andras…! And Beatrice is always right beside her, so there was no need to waste another viewpoint on her!”
For once, Elysia's complacency had worked in his favor.
Thanks to that oversight, Ex could now observe Andras through Beatrice.
“Serry, how do I use Observer Viewpoint?”
『Activating the Synopsis function.』
“Synopsis… So this is why the System gave me the item.”
Ex activated the Synopsis function.
The moment he changed the viewpoint he wanted to observe, the subject of the narration changed as well.
『Synopsis: Beatrice de Dritania's Viewpoint
「…Andras agonized over how to resolve the situation. However, no clear solution presented itself…」』
“Perfect…!”
The Synopsis was written from Beatrice's viewpoint as she observed Andras.
Thanks to that, Ex learned what kind of situation Andras was currently in and what sort of plan she was scheming.
Returning his attention to the present, Ex examined Beatrice's Synopsis and reviewed the newly added information.
“I did need a villain willing to attack the Academy…”
One of the essential components of his plan was a villain who would launch an assault on the Academy.
He had intended to dominate the demon worshippers hiding within the Empire and force them to act according to his will.
But if an actual demon attacked, that changed everything.
“I can at least order those demon-worshipping bastards not to kill any humans… But I can't control a real demon. And if it's a demon operating directly under the Holy See, there's no chance it'll be some ordinary small fry…”
His option of running another con using Berith had also been completely blocked.
On top of that, there was another unknown factor.
“Who is ‘Gremory’? Is she a newly created demon?”
Ex immediately purchased another Observer Viewpoint.
His remaining points had fallen to around eighty thousand, but at least he had already confirmed the item's value.
He immediately attempted to apply the viewpoint to ‘Gremory.’
The result was exactly as he had expected.
『Observer Viewpoint cannot be applied more than once.』
“Of course…”
If Gremory had been created in the same way as Elia, there was a strong possibility she was another absurdly overpowered character.
The only reason Ex wasn't certain was Andras's reaction.
‘I don't know exactly how powerful Elysia's ability is… but can she really create a character strong enough to make even Andras hate her?’
So far, Elysia's interventions had shared one thing in common.
‘The distribution of Mana Awakening Potions, the Demonization Accelerators, and the support of beast-type demons. All of it happened on March 8.’
March 8 was the day the story's development had changed.
Ex could make one possible assumption from that.
‘She can't alter anything that happened before the current point in time?’
He stopped himself before his thoughts spiraled any deeper.
‘Don't jump to conclusions. I don't have enough information.’
Elia and Andras remained his highest priorities.
‘Andras is coming to find me, so I need to be ready.’
The Berith card was no longer available, which meant he needed to prepare something else.
The best possible story would be to convince her that he had ‘turned into a demon after receiving the ring.’
Ultimately, all he had to do was deceive Andras again.
And the method was very simple.
“Serry, buy every last one of these.”
***
The weeklong school closure came to an end, and Monday finally arrived.
The students were more than a little shocked.
“Isn't that Screamweed? I swear, he looks different every time I see him…”
“I heard people have started calling him Weed lately… Wait, is that really him?” (TL Note: As in, he is growing like weed)
“They say he did nothing but train during the entire school closure…”
The whispering continued even after Ex entered the classroom.
Lola's reaction was especially intense.
“…You're not my commoner.”
“I assure you, I'm still Ex, my lady.”
“Commoners aren't supposed to be this handsome! Your face used to look like someone stopped kneading the dough halfway through! It wasn't completely unbearable to look at, but still! You're an impostor! I'm certain of it!”
“Come over here for a moment. No, I'm not going to hit you. How could I ever strike you, my lady?”
“Waaaaah! The commoner was never this violent!”
Seeing the way the other students now looked at him, Ex became certain.
‘This will work. I'm definitely going to fool Andras.’
The cause of the change was this.
『Base Stats
Stamina: 2.0
Intelligence: 2.0
Agility: 2.0
Magic Power: 2.0 [Increased by 0.5]
Demonic Power: 1.0 [Sealed State]
Luck: 0.0 [Fixed State]
Charm: 2.0 [Increased by 1.0]』
He had purchased every stat available to him and raised each one to its current maximum.
The greatest difference came from his Charm increasing by an entire point.
‘It cost me just as much, though…!’
Ex had expected prices to rise after the System Level increased.
But he hadn't imagined they would multiply this badly.
‘Magic Power and Charm cost 2,000 points for every 0.1 increase! The price went up fourfold!’
‘I spent 30,000 points in total! I've only got 55,200 points left!’
‘My hundred thousand points got cut in half in a single day…!’
Considering the prices of the cheat abilities he still hadn't purchased, his finances were effectively already in the red.
He was working like a dog and spending like a king.
‘But the results are undeniable!’
With a change this dramatic, there was no way Andras would recognize him.
His hair had even turned white, making the difference more pronounced.
If she still recognized him after all that, then the story's plausibility itself would be broken.
The minor commotion eventually died down, and morning homeroom began.
As always, Roxwell entered at precisely the scheduled time.
There was a brief incident during homeroom when he saw Ex's face and visibly faltered, but an even more surprising announcement soon followed.
Roxwell delivered the news with the expression of a man chewing shit.
“Sigh… We have a new student. Make her feel welcome.”
‘No way…’
Ex already had a strong suspicion about the new student's identity.
There was only one person who could appear as a new student at this exact point in time.
While everyone else cheered at the unfamiliar face entering the classroom, Ex tensed.
“Hello! I'm Elia!”
It was her.
A Peerless Beauty (S) with an unbelievable Charm stat of 5.0 had appeared.
Everyone stopped breathing for a moment at the sight of her, then students of both sexes erupted into cheers.
“She is unbelievably beautiful! Why is someone like her joining Class F?!”
“Look at how pale her skin is! Is she made of marble or something?!”
“Can we even have new students at this point? She's not a transfer student?”
Roxwell silenced the cheering and continued his explanation.
“Elia requested to join Class F of her own accord. Under normal circumstances, she would have been assigned to Class A. So don't make the mistake of thinking she's on the same level as you vermin. You might die.”
Ex was the only one in the room who understood what he really meant.
‘Don't act up and get yourselves killed.’
That was the true message.
Roxwell could only say such a thing because he had personally witnessed Elia's combat ability.
When none of the students understood his warning, Roxwell released a weary sigh.
“Anyway, Elia. Do you have anything you'd like to say by way of introduction?”
“I'm Elia!”
“…Anything else?”
“I came here to meet Mr. Ex!”
Every eye in the classroom immediately turned toward Ex.
Ex shot Roxwell an aggrieved look, but the professor merely shook his head.
‘How did things end up like this?!’
‘This was the best I could do.’
Roxwell had already confirmed the nature of Elia and Ex's relationship during their previous encounter.
When he blocked Elia's attack, he had felt beyond any doubt that she genuinely intended to kill Ex.
‘We cannot accept her into our class.’
For that reason, Roxwell had vehemently opposed placing Elia in his class during the faculty meeting. However, the Chairman had made the decision final with a single firm response.
‘I've already entertained your unreasonable demand to postpone a decision regarding Student Ex. Do you intend to make another unreasonable demand? If the relationship between those two is the problem, then I will simply expel Student Ex.’
After that, Roxwell had no choice but to accept Elia.
In exchange, he had issued Elia a very strict warning.
‘Do not attack Ex or any other student without permission. If you attempt to kill an innocent student, I will eliminate you immediately.’
He had given her several other warnings afterward, and this was the result of all that correction.
Of course, the outcome wasn't particularly good for Ex.
And his misfortune didn't end there.
“May I sit here?”
“Uh, s-sure… Go ahead…”
“Thank you!”
Elia sat directly beside Ex.
As an added bonus, she had driven away the student who had previously occupied that seat.
Now Lola sat on his right, while Elia sat on his left.
The reason Elia had gone out of her way to sit there was obvious.
She spoke loudly, as though deliberately making sure everyone in the room could hear her.
“Because I'll be staying with Mr. Ex from now on! We're bound by a shared fate? Something like that!”
The gazes of the entire class became filled with murderous intent.
At this rate, Ex was more likely to be killed by someone else than by Elia.
***
“Why are you following me around…?”
“Stopping Mr. Ex from committing evil deeds is also a Hero's duty! So I'm going to keep an eye on you… Maybe?!” (TL Note: Not a big fan of this, but basically the Author is trying really hard to make her sound stupid, because she has 0.5 Intelligence)
Even after homeroom and the morning classes ended, Elia continued following Ex everywhere.
She stuck to him even during lunch, making it impossible for him to eat in peace.
“Commoner, what's wrong with her…? Did you do something bad?”
“She's… a little unwell. Please help me out, my lady.”
Even Lola remained unusually cautious around Elia until they parted ways.
Elia did nothing but smile, yet she showed no particular interest in Lola.
It appeared she truly intended to monitor every single thing Ex said and did.
‘It's not like I never considered this possibility…’
From the moment he had guessed Elia's true identity, Ex had expected her to place him under surveillance.
He simply hadn't imagined she would follow him this closely, and the thought was more than a little unsettling.
There was no telling when she might suddenly change her mind and attack him.
That meant he needed to lay some groundwork in advance.
Once they reached a place with few people around, Ex glared at Elia and confronted her.
“What exactly do you want?”
“To keep watch over you, of course!”
“Wasn't your goal to kill me?”
That question sent Elia into a brief state of confusion.
“Oh, that's right! I have to kill Mr. Ex! But the professor in charge told me that I'm not allowed to attack anyone without permission!”
“So you're just going to watch me from now on?”
“No! Goddess Elysia's words are more important! I absolutely have to kill Mr. Ex! So…”
“You're saying you'll kill me if I do something evil?”
“Ah, that's right! If Mr. Ex does something evil, then I'll kill you!”
A new condition had been added to what had previously been a blind, absolute objective.
That was a good sign.
It proved that Elysia couldn't control her perfectly.
Ex decided this might be a good opportunity to shake Elia's faith.
“What would you do if Elysia lied to you…”
“That would never happen.”
Before Ex knew it, Elia had closed the distance between them. She seized him by the collar and lifted him into the air.
She stared into his eyes with a hollow gaze, repeating her words like a broken recording.
“Lady Elysia doesn't lie. She's the one who saved my life. She's the one who chose me to become a Hero. Every word spoken by Goddess Elysia is truth. Every word is absolute.”
“…”
“I won't forgive anyone who insults Lady Elysia. Anyone who does such a thing is evil, a sickening villain who deserves to be annihilated immediately.”
She released Ex, stepped back, and smiled brightly.
“Mr. Ex wouldn't do anything like that, would you?”
It was a strange and chilling smile, filled with fanatical devotion.
‘Her faith is absolute. This is going to be much harder than I thought.’
One of Ex's objectives had been to recruit Elia.
If he could turn such an overwhelming combat asset into an ally, she would become a powerful card for preventing the world's destruction.
As an added benefit, it would be a spectacular way to screw over Elysia.
But he hadn't realized Elia had been brainwashed to this extent.
He had underestimated Elysia's cruelty.
‘But you underestimated me too.’
Under these conditions, Ex could buy himself plenty of time.
He slowly composed his expression.
“Heh heh heh…”
A twisted smile crept over his face as he glared at Elia with a sinister gleam in his eyes.
Elia tensed at the abrupt change in his entire demeanor.
Ex sneered as though he found the situation deeply amusing, then opened his mouth.
“That faith of yours doesn't look easy to break. Truly impressive conviction.”
“I knew it! Lady Elysia was right about you!”
“And what do you intend to do about it?”
Ex straightened the collar Elia had left crumpled.
“At present, I am nothing more than a kind and innocent student of this Academy. I haven't committed a single crime. My reputation is good enough that even that foul-tempered Roxwell is willing to protect me.”
“I can't believe it… That weakness you showed back then was all an act!”
“So what if you've realized the truth? Are you going to kill me now? If you do, you'll be nothing more than a deranged bitch who brutally murdered an innocent student. There will be no glory in it. No honor.”
“Ugh…!”
If Elia was trapped inside such a narrow way of thinking, he only had to use it against her.
All he needed to do was boldly present himself as ‘a villain she couldn't afford to touch carelessly.’
That alone would allow him to guide her next actions.
Ex raised a single finger.
“I was beginning to grow bored, anyway. Allow me to propose a game.”
“A game…?”
“If you defeat me in this game, I will reveal my true identity before everyone and grant you the duel you desire. Of course, someone like you could never hope to defeat my true form.”
“I'm not afraid of anything!”
“But the same cannot be said for everyone else.”
“Everyone else…?”
Ex pointed toward a nearby calendar.
“One month from now, the Tournament will be held during the Grand Festival. It is an enormous event attended not only by the students and faculty, but also by ordinary citizens. An extraordinary number of people will gather here. So many people…”
“So many people… No!”
“Yes. Precisely what you're imagining.”
Ex dragged his thumb across his own throat.
The gesture could only mean one thing.
“The final match of the Tournament, the moment everyone is waiting for! If ‘we’ attack at that exact moment, I imagine the screams will be magnificent!”
“You vile monster…!”
“Careful. Put the sword away unless you'd like to end up on the executioner's block before the Tournament even begins.”
“You coward…!”
Elia had begun to draw her sword, but reluctantly slid it back into its sheath.
Even if she killed him here, she would only place herself in danger.
For now, she had no choice but to listen to what this evil creature had to say.
Strengthening her resolve, Elia glared at Ex.
“What kind of game are you proposing?”
“The final match of the Tournament. Reach the last stage.”
“…What do you mean?”
Ex sighed at Elia's question before answering.
“I am terribly bored. Hopelessly, painfully bored. The only entertainment left in my life is watching humans fall into despair. But even that comes too easily in this place, so I've lost all enjoyment in it. However.”
Ex pointed directly at Elia.
“How entertaining would it be to witness the despair of someone with such unshakable conviction? The mere thought sends a thrill through my entire body!”
“Don't tell me what you're planning is…!”
“Exactly! Once you reach the Tournament's final match, I will crush you completely and profane everything you believe in. I will make every person there hear the despair of your defeat. I will show them that no matter how desperately humans struggle, they are destined to lose in the end!”
Elia held her breath at the insulting declaration.
‘Lady Elysia really was right.’
The creature standing before her had to be an evil existence that threatened the entire world.
This was why she had been chosen as a Hero.
This creature was her ‘trial.’
“I won't submit to you! I'll reach the final match of the Tournament! And when I do, I'll defeat you!”
“I commend your determination. But remember this. If you flee or fail to reach the final, I will create a disaster worse than anything you can imagine. After all, the screams of humans are always a delight to hear.”
Ex rearranged his expression once more.
The sinister atmosphere surrounding him vanished in an instant.
The only person left standing there was Ex, an ordinary Academy student.
“Until then, I'll play along with your little surveillance game. Even if you want to defeat me, you won't be able to lay a hand on me. I suspect watching you endure that humiliation from up close will be entertaining enough.”
“That's exactly what I want! I'll keep a close eye on you and make absolutely certain you can't commit any evil deeds!”
With those final words, Elia merely continued glaring at Ex.
She seemed unwilling to speak to him any further.
Only then did Ex release an inward sigh of relief.
‘What the hell am I doing at my age?’
Naturally, every last word had been a lie.
–TL Notes–
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