The aim of the plan had been simple.
If the problem was that Leon relied on Ex, then Ex merely had to become someone Leon couldn't rely on.
"I think I'll volunteer to play the villain."
In other words, all he had to do was become the villain.
Fortunately, Leon wasn't so stupid that he would entrust the empire's peace to an evil man. Ex could therefore throw himself into the performance without worrying about that.
The way to become a villain was simple, too.
Through no intention of his own, Ex had become both an Imperial Prince and the Hero.
With the exception of the emperor and Crown Prince, he could now be described as a man standing at the very summit of imperial power.
That left only one thing for him to aim at.
He would pretend to want the imperial throne.
Just like a villain corrupted by power.
When he suggested it, everyone else's expressions soured. But they couldn't see any other particularly good way to handle the problem.
Darius, the Crown Prince, was especially displeased. He went so far as to give serious consideration to whether Ex might have some personal ambition behind the proposal.
That was understandable. Ex was saying that he would make a bid for imperial power, after all.
"…Let me say this again. I have absolutely no intention of becoming emperor. My dream is to find somewhere quiet and live out the rest of my life in peace."
Only after Ex repeated that several times did the others finally let go of their suspicions.
Then they obtained permission from Drakan, the emperor, and worked out the details. It didn't take long to finish the plan.
Ex would gather the nobles in one place and display his ambitions for imperial power.
They would arrange matters so that Leon could witness it.
Once Leon became outraged and showed hostility toward Ex, their work would be done.
"We'll need Rosaria's help to arrange that. She's still a member of Leon's party."
Fortunately, Rosaria listened to Circe reasonably well and agreed to work as their spy.
Perhaps because she had done a great deal of similar work in her previous life, she proved quite skilled at deceiving Leon's party.
And, just as planned, Leon had witnessed Ex's performance and become sincerely furious.
Thanks to that, Leon had abandoned the idea of dropping out. Ex had definitely achieved his objective.
Everything had gone according to plan.
Leon would regard Ex as an outright enemy from now on. But even Leon wouldn't attack Ex, an Imperial Prince.
Ex's infamy at the academy would probably go through the roof. But he didn't care about honor, or what his name was worth. Not one bit.
As long as he somehow survived, that was all that mattered.
In that sense, this plan had been a success.
Except for one tiny problem.
"Even so, you went too far."
When Ex and Darius met again, away from prying eyes, Darius looked utterly miserable. So miserable, in fact, that he spoke while pressing one hand over both eyes.
"I heard you were going to act. I didn't realize it would be anything like that."
At those lamenting words, Ex lowered his eyes.
Even he had to admit that he'd gone too far.
"Well, you see…. I was just doing what came naturally…."
"You have quite a gift for crushing people with fear through your words. Even those of us watching in secret felt a chill. What do you think the young nobles who were actually in the room must have felt? It's a miracle none of them fainted…."
That tiny problem was….
He had overdone the performance.
He had overlooked the enormous weight attached to the position of Imperial Prince.
There was bound to be an immense difference between the weight carried by the words of Ex the commoner and the words of Ex the Imperial Prince.
The nobles, who had been accustomed to a society of ranks for their entire lives—indeed, throughout their families' histories—would have felt that weight all the more strongly.
In that situation, Ex had pressured the students with words and actions that crushed them beneath fear.
Saying he'd never thought of it because he wasn't used to a society of inherited rank would only be an excuse.
As a result, the nobles present had been overwhelmed by Ex. Fear of him had taken root deep in their hearts.
Now his mansion was being bombarded by a storm of letters and gifts from nobles trying to win him over.
His plan to make them dislike him just enough to withdraw had gone completely off course.
"I'm only asking to be certain, but…."
"What is it?"
"You really don't want to become emperor, do you?"
"Come on, why do you keep asking? Absolutely not. You've checked with a lie detector more than a hundred times already."
Darius finally stopped giving him that suspicious look.
He still felt uneasy, but for now, he had decided to believe Ex.
"What do you intend to do from here? Since we've strayed from the original objective, don't we need to revise the plan?"
"Let's go ahead as planned for now. I doubt the nobles will react any more strongly right away, so I think we can afford to watch a little longer. None of the great nobles attended, did they?"
He meant nobles of ducal rank or higher, like Tersha von Riharhite, the Grand Duke's daughter whose identity Ex and Lola had once used in their impersonation.
Fortunately, none of the great nobles had come to this banquet.
That was their way of saying that they didn't recognize a man born a commoner as an Imperial Prince. In the current situation, however, it was very good news.
Once Darius won over the great nobles, the problem would resolve itself naturally anyway. It would be a nuisance until then, but there was no helping that.
It wasn't a problem Ex could solve by worrying about it right now.
Ex and Darius calmly discussed their plans for what would happen next, then parted.
For a while, at the academy, the two of them would be rivals competing for imperial power. There was a great deal they needed to coordinate to match that situation.
"Being around you just keeps teaching me new ways to swindle people…."
"Please stop talking about me as if I'm a con artist."
Considering that a problem had erupted, there wasn't much change in what Ex actually needed to do.
He had resolved the Leon problem. Now there was only one thing left.
* * *
The following Monday, Roxwell made an announcement during morning homeroom.
"There isn't much time left before the first-semester assessment in the Sixth Month."
Assessment season was drawing near.
"I don't know how much preparation you've done. But from what I can see, your abilities are pathetic. Are you aware of that?"
A few students gave him defiant looks.
Roxwell merely sighed and continued in a level voice.
"Can you beat the other classes? Surely you know that the academy's practical assessments rank you against other students."
Roxwell's words made the students' shoulders feel heavier.
It was an obvious fact. With Class F's current abilities, it would be difficult for them to earn better marks than students from other classes in a comparative assessment.
Besides, assessments at Elyon Academy were geared toward real combat.
The results of most practical exams were decided through competition.
If you didn't have the ability, your assessment would be poor.
That was how the protagonist's abilities would stand out…. But it no longer had anything to do with Ex.
The agreement that he had to take first place to avoid expulsion no longer existed.
There was no reason for Ex to become obsessed with this assessment now.
He already had a mountain of other things to worry about.
And it wasn't as if he felt any particular sense of belonging to this class….
Rather than waste energy trying to earn a good assessment, he needed to build his own fighting strength.
He had to keep watching Leon, and he had to monitor developments in the Theocracy and the Demon Realm.
Under those circumstances, he couldn't afford to devote himself to a practical assessment.
…At least, that was what he'd thought.
[New Side Objective
Top Scholar (B): Take first place in the first-semester assessment. The time has come to show the results of your efforts so far.
Success: Gain 50,000 Editing Points; gain a title.
Failure: Learning Ability -100%]
Oh, that was not acceptable.
This feature had been absent for so long that Ex had practically forgotten it existed.
Now it had finally reappeared. Sure enough, it had immediately handed him a new objective designed to screw him over.
If he failed, his Learning Ability would become -100%.
"Ugh, this is going to drive me crazy. Seriously!"
* * *
Now he had to come first in the entire academy.
It didn't seem like Elysia's doing….
At present, Ex had accumulated a considerable number of bonus points.
If he put his mind to it, taking first place wouldn't be particularly difficult.
That was why she wouldn't give him an objective with taking first place as its condition.
Then was the system acting on its own?
He couldn't tell why the system was doing this.
But now that it had happened, he had no choice but to come first.
When he told Roxwell, his master frowned.
"Bad timing."
"Timing? Why would the timing be bad? I've already earned plenty of bonus points. All I need is a decent score…."
"The way the exams are assessed has changed a little. The method now places more weight on class assessment, along with individual assessment."
Ex already knew that the assessment criteria included both individual and class performance. Even taking that into account, first place shouldn't be difficult.
But if Roxwell was bringing the matter up like this, it seemed there was a problem.
"…Is something wrong?"
"Even if you do well in every individual assessment, a poor result in the class assessments will affect your academic record, too. At Class F's current level, even taking first place will be difficult for you."
"So what you're saying is…."
"If you want first place, you'll have to grab the kids in Class F by the hair and drag them along yourself."
Ex let out a long, heavy sigh.
Ex couldn't call the abilities of Class F's students good, even as an empty compliment.
Aside from Ex, Circe, and Lola, their talent, abilities, and perseverance could all be described as below the required standard.
Ex supported raising the students' fighting strength to prepare for the doomsdays ahead. But Class F was an exception.
"Master, do you think we can actually accomplish anything with Class F?"
"…Well, I'm the professor in charge of Class F, so I have to do something. But it's difficult to be optimistic."
Ex nodded as well.
Class F's problem was clear.
"They all think nothing they do will ever work out."
Defeatism and cynicism had spread throughout the class.
"Honestly, Master, that was your fault."
"I know, you brat. I know I didn't look after them properly. That's why I'm making an effort now, isn't it?"
Class F had been branded the class of hopeless failures from the moment they entered the academy.
And it had been filled with the students at the very bottom of the academy's range of abilities.
Most were commoners rather than nobles. Even the nobles among them could hardly be called high-ranking.
It wasn't as if the students had banded together, either….
The academy's system of elective courses made it difficult for them to develop a sense of belonging to their class.
Under those circumstances, expecting Class F to show much ability was all but impossible.
But Ex had to make it happen.
The Learning Ability supported by the system was the key to accelerating his growth.
Anyone could see that losing it would make the future far more difficult for him.
"Master, I think I'm going to need your help."
"Do you have a way to do it?"
"Since it's come to this, I think I'll just follow the momentum we've already built up."
"Momentum?"
"I'm supposed to be a corrupted Hero after the imperial throne, aren't I? There are so many rumors about it that there's no reason not to use them."
Ex rose with a sigh.
It looked as though this shameful reputation would be following him all the way to the end.
* * *
All sorts of nicknames for Ex were flying around everywhere.
Most of them were unfavorable.
Every day brought several more bizarre nicknames, so strange that Darius's couldn't even compare.
"With the assessments approaching, I intend to appoint a leader for this class."
That was what Roxwell announced at morning homeroom the next day.
"The class leader has the authority to make decisions and issue orders during class assessments. The leader's academic assessment will receive either bonus points or a deduction. Lead the class properly, and you get bonus points. Fail to lead them, and you lose points. Surely none of you is too stupid to understand that?"
The students of Class F nodded, accepting Roxwell's explanation.
As far as the identity of that leader went, however, the position was already as good as decided.
As though to settle that assumption for good, Roxwell called someone's name.
"Ex. You'll take charge as the leader of this class."
Naturally, Ex, the only Imperial Prince here, would be their leader.
The students accepted that as a matter of course. They also felt relieved.
After all, even the students themselves thought of this as a class full of hopeless failures.
They didn't believe anyone could lead them to accomplish anything.
They had effectively given up on the class assessments already.
If someone else was willing to take on a position with risks like those of class leader, they were more than happy to welcome him. All the better if that person was Ex, an Imperial Prince.
"Ex, come up and say a few words."
When Roxwell called him, Ex stepped forward.
There was no trace of the impression he had given back when he was Screamweed.
Now all they could see in him was an unshakable determination.
"I'm Ex, the newly appointed leader of this class."
This man, who continued to speak politely even after becoming an Imperial Prince, had reportedly made an arrogant declaration that he would become emperor.
There was nothing strange about an Imperial Prince wanting the throne. But no one had imagined that Ex would be so hungry for power that he would betray Crown Prince Darius, with whom he was supposedly close.
After taking that course of action, which none of them could have predicted, Ex spoke before every student in Class F.
"Let me make something clear in advance. I could have transferred to Class A, but I remained here. That was a choice I made of my own free will."
The students found that statement unexpected.
Ex's personal relationships might tie him to Class F, but they couldn't see any reason for him to insist on remaining here.
Ex continued his address.
"I have no interest whatsoever in the abilities, personalities, or goals of anyone in this room. There is only one thing I care about: taking first place and proving my own ability."
At the words first place, the students began to murmur.
"First place…? Doesn't he know the assessment criteria have changed?"
"He's not just looking for an excuse to blame us, is he?"
"What does he expect from a class of failures like ours in the first place?"
As the students' murmuring grew louder, Ex left the podium and walked toward the blackboard, speaking as he went.
"Well, this won't be bad for you, either. So all you need to do is become the pawns I use to prove my ability, and obey me. If I lead Class F—no, if I lead you, whom anyone would call hopeless failures—and still take first place with my head held high… those stuck-up people will begin to look at me differently, too."
Despite the harshness of those words, no student challenged him.
Ex had the standing to say such things.
But what he said next was difficult to ignore.
"As you are, you're no use as pawns. You're not even worth using as disposable pieces. I have no intention of taking useless soldiers onto a battlefield. So, starting tomorrow, we'll be doing some special training."
Ex wrote a schedule on the blackboard.
Two hours early in the morning, and two hours in the evening after classes.
Those were the hours when Ex underwent his own hellish training every day.
"Come to the outdoor training grounds at these times. Participation is voluntary…. Well, if you don't want to come, I won't try to change your mind. I won't try to change your mind, but…."
Ex showed them a chilling smile.
"I do hope you'll make a wise choice."
That smile made the students instinctively understand that they had to show up.
Class F's real march into hell had begun.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won't get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt