“Uuuaaargh-! Uuuuuuuuaaargh-!”
Daniel flew through the air and landed some distance away, writhing as the pain crashed over him.
He was a pampered young master who had never even been struck by his father or older brother.
Pain like this was terrifyingly unfamiliar to him.
“When you’ve done something wrong, you need to hurt like hell. That’s how you learn to regret it.”
Ex turned around and surveyed all the eyes fixed on him.
‘Looks like no one saw me use aura. Good.’
He had deliberately infused a trace of aura into the blow just to make it hurt more.
It had lasted for only the briefest fraction of a second, so none of the students had noticed.
They had seen exactly one thing.
Ex, a commoner, had just smashed Daniel, a high-ranking noble, across the face.
“W-What the hell are you doing, you crazy bastard!”
“You… You just laid hands on Count Dremore’s son!”
“Don’t you know that he and his older brother are senior officers in Sword Gang?!”
The Sword Gang members erupted in a frenzy when they witnessed Ex’s outrageous act.
None of them could stand seeing their de facto leader sent flying so disgracefully.
Ex, however, remained perfectly calm.
“So?”
That one short question left the Sword Gang members speechless.
“‘So?’ Do you even understand what you’ve done?”
“I knocked half the shine off your precious golden boy.”
“You just disgraced Count Dremore’s honor! And you did it with a cowardly ambush, not even a proper duel…!”
“Mm. Now that I think about it, that really was a flawless ambush.”
“You lunatic…!”
Ex ignored their blind outrage and calmly pointed at Daniel.
“Instead of wasting time yelling at me, why don’t you take him to the infirmary? If you wait too long, he might stay like that for the rest of his life. And if that happens, it’ll be your fault for neglecting him, won’t it?”
“L-Lord Daniel! Please wake up!!”
Only then did they lift Daniel between them and rush toward the infirmary.
“This isn’t over! We’ll remember you!”
“Yeah, sure. See you around. Next time, I’ll downgrade him from gold to silver.”
“Grrrrgh-!!”
That brought the incident to a close, at least for the moment.
Ex immediately walked over to Vincent and helped him to his feet.
“Are you all right?”
“Oh, there’s really no need for you to…”
“I’m not a noble, so you can speak casually to me.”
“What?! Then what you just… Wait, you’re Ex, aren’t you?!”
Everything had happened so suddenly that Vincent had assumed Ex was some high-ranking noble.
But once he was back on his feet and got a proper look at Ex’s face, he recognized the student infamous for his bizarre behavior.
Which meant that what had just happened was a commoner attacking a noble.
“What in the world have you done!”
“I gave those kids a little lesson.”
“No, you attacked a noble! Have you completely lost your mind?!”
“Why is everyone so worried about some spoiled rich kid these days? I’m sure he’ll manage just fine on his own.”
“I’m not worried about the noble! I’m worried about you!”
It wasn’t as though Ex failed to understand that.
For now, however, all he did was shrug.
“I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.”
“How could this possibly work out!!”
“Please continue the lesson. I was following it just fine.”
“No, I asked how this could possibly work out!!!”
Vincent clutched his head, utterly overwhelmed by the chaos.
“How am I supposed to deal with this… My career, all the years and effort I’ve spent building it…”
“Then I’ll return to my seat.”
Ex walked back to his seat.
Horrified gazes followed him every step of the way, but he paid them no attention.
The only person who concerned him was Leon.
“Damn it. If only I’d made up my mind sooner…”
Leon also seemed unable to hide his shock at what had just happened.
He appeared to be blaming himself as well, but that much was acceptable.
‘Everything so far is within expectations.’
Ex had caused one hell of an incident.
The news would spread throughout the entire academy in less than an hour.
Andras would hear about it, and so would the Sword Gang.
‘If they move quickly, I might get a response by the next period.’
Ex leisurely reviewed his operation once again.
Judging by the state Vincent was in, this class was already a lost cause.
Elia, who had watched the entire scene unfold, looked deeply confused.
“Mr. Ex?”
“Yeah?”
“Why did you do that?”
By now, a contradiction must have formed inside Elia’s mind.
Ex was supposed to be an evil being destined to bring about the destruction of the world, yet he had just beaten down a student who was obviously rotten to anyone who looked at him.
That was why Ex gave her this answer.
“Who knows? Why do you think I did it?”
He refused to give her the answer she wanted.
Elia needed to discover the answer to that contradiction for herself.
Of course, that would be extraordinarily difficult for her.
“…I don’t know.”
That was the true trial.
***
“Hey, Weed. We need a word with you.”
The response to the incident came after the second period.
Practical Mercenary Combat had passed almost like a self-study session, and Combat-Type Physical Analysis had just come to an end.
Several delinquents flaunting their thick shoulder muscles blocked the corridor ahead.
They were members of Sword Gang.
“Let’s have a little talk.”
“A talk?”
Ex gave a dismissive snort before answering.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it now. I have another class to get to.”
“You little bastard…”
“All right, conversation over.”
Ex did not wait for them to continue.
Crack-!
He immediately swung the club he carried around and smashed it into the shin of the nearest hulking brute.
The brute had not been prepared in the slightest, and he screamed as the agony of having his shin destroyed tore through him.
“Aaaaargh-!! M-My leg!!”
“Y-You crazy bastard!! Get him!!”
Sword Gang had probably intended to deal with Ex somewhere outside the professors’ sight.
No matter how much power they held, even they couldn’t openly cause trouble wherever they pleased.
But if Ex charged straight into them like this, they had no way to avoid the situation.
He started a fight with Sword Gang in full view of every student in the corridor.
Before long, five hulking bruisers lay at Ex’s feet, clutching their shins and groaning in pain.
‘Four Two-Stars and one Three-Star. I can beat a group like this, but it’s close.’
Ex had continued his hellish training with Roxwell.
Random small fry like these were no longer worthy opponents.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!!”
The professors intervened with remarkable speed.
At the professors’ unexpected appearance, the Sword Gang members immediately realized that the situation had gone horribly wrong.
For Ex, on the other hand, everything was unfolding exactly as intended.
‘I drew the professors’ aggro, too. Perfect.’
The professors took Ex and the Sword Gang members to a separate room.
Some of the professors couldn’t help feeling tense.
This was a matter involving Sword Gang, one of the academy’s most powerful factions.
Anything involving nobles had to be handled carefully.
That was why they badgered and threatened Ex, the commoner, even attempting to use force to extract a statement that would favor the nobles.
But Ex only repeated the same words.
“Call the Chairman. I have nothing else to say.”
Worn down by Ex’s refusal to speak, the professors watched the nobles’ reactions and eventually brought him face to face with the Chairman.
“Not you again.”
The Chairman sat across from Ex with a table between them and pressed his fingers hard against his forehead.
The stress was so intense that his head felt ready to explode.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine how he was supposed to resolve this problem.
Still, he summoned as much patience as he could and spoke.
“Ex. Do you have some grievance against the academy?”
“How could I not?”
“Very well. Tell me what grievances you have.”
Ex leaned comfortably against the back of his chair before answering.
“The academy’s claim that commoners and nobles are equal exists only on paper. Professors and decent students suffer because of the violent behavior of certain students, while some professors act as though commoner students don’t even exist…”
“You seem not to understand your current position.”
The Chairman cut Ex off.
Ex knew perfectly well what the man meant, but he deliberately asked anyway.
“My position? What position would that be?”
“The only reason no decision has yet been made about how to punish the problems you caused is that you are a student of this academy. A commoner attacked a noble. Do you honestly believe that is something we can simply overlook?”
It was an entirely reasonable statement.
Nobles generally possessed authority that placed them above the law.
They had enough power to support that authority.
Commoners, on the other hand, lacked such power, which was precisely why they were commoners.
That was the greatest reason society was divided into separate classes.
Even so, Ex had no reason to respond with, ‘Yes, I was wrong.’
“So it’s acceptable for a student to kick a professor in the head at this academy?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“Other students and I suffered because of it, yet you’re saying it’s none of my concern?”
That, too, was a sound argument the Chairman found difficult to refute.
Disrupting a class was clearly grounds for disciplinary action.
The only reason the rule had become meaningless was that the students responsible were nobles.
The Chairman chose not to let Ex drag the conversation any further in that direction.
Instead, he decided to point out the one undeniable problem.
“Even setting that aside, your conduct went far beyond what can be tolerated. With my authority, I can expel you immediately. I can also decide whether you will stand trial for this incident.”
“Oh, that’ll be difficult.”
“…What?”
“Chairman, you enjoy weighing gains against losses, don’t you?”
The Chairman’s gaze sharpened.
That remark had unmistakably been disrespectful.
It was not something a mere commoner student had any right to say.
“…Explain yourself.”
Even so, he waited to hear what came next.
He trusted the instincts that had kept him seated in the Chairman’s position for so many years.
Ex nodded and continued.
“I know why you care so much about the academy’s public image and why you curry favor with the nobles. It’s to keep the academy operating properly, isn’t it?”
“Curry favor? What do you know to say such a thing? Do you have any idea how this academy is run?”
“The imperial family’s subsidy. It was cut off five years ago, wasn’t it?”
“…!”
The Chairman’s eyes widened.
This was information known only to a handful of board members.
Yet a single student sitting before him had just spoken of it.
Ex shrugged once and continued.
“Well, of course it was. The academy’s founding ideal was to train the Hero, but more than forty years have passed without anyone ever seeing one. Naturally, the imperial family began questioning the value of keeping the institution running.”
“What utter nonsense…! The academy’s purpose lies in cultivating countless talented individuals! What would a bastard like you know about any of this…!”
“Think about it rationally. From the imperial family’s perspective, that provides no real benefit. Giving military power to nobles they cannot control creates losses, not gains.”
“Shut your mouth!!”
The Chairman drew his sword and held its blade against Ex’s throat.
“How dare an insect like you presume to speak of the imperial family’s intentions! Understand that your last statement alone gives me grounds to execute you on the spot!”
Ex did not so much as blink.
“So what happened in the end?”
“…”
The Chairman glared into Ex’s eyes, breathing heavily through his nose.
After a moment, he returned his sword to its sheath and collapsed into his chair.
“Fine! It happened exactly as you said! Five years ago, the imperial subsidy was suddenly cut off. The subsidy that covered more than half of our operating costs!”
As expected, everything matched the setting Ex knew.
A substantial portion of the academy’s operating budget had been covered by funding from the imperial family.
No matter how expensive the tuition fees might be, running an actual institution required far more money.
But that subsidy had suddenly been cut off five years ago.
‘Because that incident happened.’
As a result, the academy’s operations had begun to falter.
Thanks to the Chairman’s ability, the crisis had never been allowed to grow out of control.
However, his solution had created an entirely different problem.
“Is that why the privileges granted to nobles were expanded?”
“Don’t you dare judge me for that. If I hadn’t used that method back then, all of you would be staring at a ruined academy today.”
“I have no intention of blaming you. In fact, I believe it was an excellent response. You lost fifty percent of your operating budget, yet managed to keep the academy functioning normally for five years. That’s an achievement beyond anything words could properly express.”
“…Hmph. Don’t flatter me.”
It was worth remembering once again that the Chairman was not an evil man.
If Ex had to describe him, he would call the man a highly competent bureaucrat.
His methods of fulfilling his duties simply had to be somewhat cold.
Of course, Ex had not come here merely to flatter him.
“But you’re nearing your limit now, aren’t you?”
“…”
“The nobles belonging to Sword Gang have been pressuring you to sell them a stake in the academy’s management rights. Am I wrong?”
“…H-How do you know that?! No, where did you learn any of the things you’ve said so far?!”
‘Because I’m the one who suggested that setting.’
It was a setting Ex had proposed to Elysia when they created the portion of the original story where Leon came into conflict with Sword Gang.
It would have been strange for the empire’s academy to operate without any serious problems for nearly fifty years, only for incidents to erupt out of nowhere.
It was far more natural to establish that problems like these had been festering beneath the surface all along.
‘It would also be strange for nobles to run wild inside an institution funded by the imperial family. The imperial family and the nobility are political rivals, after all.’
All they had needed to do was provide a reason why the nobles were able to cause so much trouble.
The imperial family had cut off the academy’s funding for some unknown reason, while the academy’s management rights were gradually falling into the hands of the nobles.
That made the emergence of a villainous organization like Sword Gang feel perfectly natural.
‘It was also foreshadowing that something was wrong inside the imperial family.’
Now, Ex intended to make use of that knowledge.
“Chairman. Let’s be honest with each other.”
“B-Be honest about what?”
“You can’t stand the sight of those Sword Gang nobles, can you?”
“…!”
“You poured your life into raising this academy. You barely dragged it back from the brink of death, and now a pack of hyenas is trying to snatch it away from you for next to nothing. Didn’t it disgust you?”
The Chairman experienced a peculiar feeling.
He knew he shouldn’t entertain such words, yet they struck so deeply that memories of the past rose unbidden in his mind.
Seizing that moment, Ex leaned forward, grasped both of the Chairman’s hands, and cried out as though pleading from the depths of his heart.
“Think back to five years ago, when the imperial family’s funding vanished without a single word or reason! Think of the day you begged for help because the academy could no longer sustain itself, only for everyone to turn their backs on you!”
“Th-Those days…”
“Think of the humiliation! The sorrow! The pain you endured when you made a ruthless decision, knowing everyone would condemn you for it! You overcame all of that and rebuilt this academy yourself. With these very hands!”
“Y-Yes… It was me. No one else. I did it…”
“And now those damned hyenas are trying to take all of it away from you. Are you going to stand by and let them? You have to do something! You have to protect this academy!”
“S-Something… Wait! Let go of me, you brat!”
‘Tch. He’s not easy.’
The Chairman shook Ex’s hands away and regained his senses.
“I understand your point, but the academy’s operations will return to normal. A student has appeared who was chosen as the Hero. That proves the academy’s founding ideal was never mistaken.”
This was the move the Chairman had been counting on.
Every problem had begun because the imperial family’s support ended when no Hero appeared.
But now, a Hero had appeared.
“That means we can receive the subsidy again…”
“No. That won’t be enough.”
Ex spoke with absolute certainty.
The Chairman became suspicious because Ex had said it would not be ‘enough,’ rather than simply saying he was ‘wrong.’
“Not enough?”
“Chairman, there is one thing you need to acknowledge.”
“And what would that be?”
“Listen carefully, Chairman.”
Ex spoke with more seriousness than he had shown toward anything else in the world.
“Heroes are not made. They are chosen. Those are two fundamentally different things.”
The statement was so obvious that the tension immediately drained from the Chairman.
“I thought you were about to say something meaningful… Who doesn’t know that? If it were possible to create a Hero, none of this would have happened in the first… place…”
The Chairman trailed off in the middle of his sentence as realization suddenly struck him.
He finally understood the difference between something that ‘could be created’ and something that ‘was chosen.’
Ex drove that realization home.
“Exactly. This will happen ‘again.’ No, in the worst possible case… the imperial family might decide, ‘The academy has fulfilled its purpose, so dispose of it.’”
“No. They would never…”
“Because Leon being chosen as the Hero proves that the academy has never created a Hero at all!”
“That can’t be…!”
“From the imperial family’s perspective, waiting for someone to be chosen is now more profitable than spending a fortune trying to train one!”
“No. No…!”
“Leon’s awakening as the Hero was effectively a death sentence for this academy-!!”
“Nooooooooo-!!”
The Chairman was plunged into horror by those words.
Then, as if all strength had left him, he pressed both hands over his eyes.
He tried desperately to hold back the tears threatening to escape, but the weight of his grief was simply too great.
“Then… what did I run this academy for…?”
The Chairman sitting before Ex was now nothing more than a pitiful middle-aged man.
That was only natural.
It felt as though his entire life had just been denied.
Which meant this was Ex’s opportunity.
“Chairman, I told you earlier that it wouldn’t be enough.”
“Yes, you did… But what could possibly matter now…?”
“What if this academy possessed a unique form of education found nowhere else… and what if that education could give people power equal to the Hero? Do you understand what would happen?”
“What are you talking about…? If such a thing were possible, it would cause a revolution in education. The Hero would no longer be nearly as important. But that’s nothing more than fantasy. It could never…”
“Then take a look at this.”
Ex spread both of his hands.
“Chairman, what is the most famous legend about the Hero?”
“Well… the most famous one is the legend that the Hero can wield ‘every kind of power.’ Internal energy, mana, and divine power, all of them…”
“Like this?”
At that exact moment, Ex shattered common sense itself.
Magic appeared in his right hand.
Aura gathered in his left.
He showed the empire’s highest authority on academy education the destruction of the common belief that magic and aura could never be used together.
“If this academy alone could teach people how to do this.”
It was ‘an offer he could not refuse.’
“What do you think would happen?”
This was Ex’s second cheat.
–TL Notes–
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