The Second Main Quest

The sun that had burned so beautifully while painting the twilight finally slipped beneath the horizon. Only the light of the moon and stars remained, faintly illuminating the emptiness of the night. I sat at my desk, staring blankly out the window.

"......"

In my unfocused vision, only the quiet stillness of winter existed. The academy’s splendid scenery visible beyond the thin glass harmonized with the serene darkness, creating a majestic atmosphere. It was the kind of view that would normally have drawn a sigh of admiration from me. But strangely, today none of it reached my eyes.

"Haah..."

A small sigh leaked through my cracked lips. I pressed my fingers to my faintly throbbing temple and glanced toward the door. It was where Rachel had been standing just a few hours earlier.

The girl’s calm voice suddenly brushed past my ears. It struck the firmly closed door of my heart with a clear, resonant wave. I found myself unconsciously turning her words over in my mind.

"Wait... huh."

What was she thinking, making such a reckless promise? If the day came when I left this world, I would never be able to return.

I muttered bitterly to myself and rested my chin on my hand. Inside the silent room, only the steady ticking of the clock’s second hand echoed.

After my conversation with Rachel ended, I had been lost in thought for a very long time. I had smoked so many extinction cigarettes that I couldn’t even remember how many I’d gone through.

"It really... isn’t easy."

It was a complicated dilemma. Well, it was a matter tied directly to the fate of the world; of course it wouldn’t be simple. If I left this world, a void exactly the size of my absence would be left behind.

"......Still, I think my mind is more or less made up now."

The things Rachel had told me hadn’t given me a direct answer. But they had given me strength. The encouragement and devotion she offered helped pull me out of my wandering haze.

It had been a useless worry. There were still three full years left until everything ended. On top of that, the status window had said even it didn’t know what would happen afterward.

"In the end, worrying about it wouldn’t change anything anyway..."

Things that came later could be thought about later. For now, I simply needed to focus on the role I had been given.

"What do you think?"

When I casually tossed the question into the empty air, a blue window soon rose and answered.

"As expected, you really do know a thing or two."

I raised my hand in front of the transparent screen as if offering a fist bump. The status window lightly bumped against it in response. Well, it actually just passed straight through, but the feeling was what mattered.

A soft, hollow chuckle escaped me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Out of habit, I reached for another extinction cigarette. The quiet click of the lighter was followed by a thin trail of smoke rising into the air. The dizzying tangle of thoughts in my head began to clear, replaced by a refreshing coolness.

As I sat there savoring the smoke, the status window drifting nearby spoke again.

"Hm?"

"Update...?"

I tilted my head at the window’s cryptic words. I didn’t remember any function like that. And updating my body?

"What exactly does that mean...?"

The status window immediately began explaining. I listened quietly, letting out a low hum.

"So, in short, you’re adjusting the difficulty by making my body stronger?"

"Hmm..."

A sudden power-up event. I was taken aback, yet at the same time I understood. Yes, a lot had gone off the rails. The original story had been heavily distorted, and traces of the Four Heavenly Kings—who shouldn’t have appeared yet—had already been discovered.

"......For this update, what do I need to do?"

"Really?"

"Muscle pain? I get that every day anyway... That’s nothing."

I shrugged as if it were no big deal. An improvement to my physical stats was something to look forward to. Although I had raised my Body Reinforcement stat as high as possible, I had recently felt that my growth was slowing down.

"Well... if you’re going to make me stronger, I have no reason to refuse."

"Haha, I’m good."

I leaned back in my chair and laughed. Before I knew it, the hour had passed from dawn into morning. Until the sun rose, I continued exchanging idle conversation with the status window.

A week passed like that.

As winter deepened, the air grew colder. Frost flowers peeked out, and white puffs of breath escaped the students’ lips. Under a December sky that looked ready to drop the first snow at any moment, the academy had entered final exam season.

"I’m completely screwed......"

On the way back to the dormitory after finishing the test, Lucy walked beside me and clung to my arm with a tearful voice.

"Raiden... what am I going to do...? I completely messed up..."

"Please calm down, Your Highness. It’s only one exam."

I gently patted Lucy’s slumped shoulder. Seeing her so heartbroken, it seemed the results hadn’t been good. Well... the test had been viciously difficult this time. Especially Professor Sharon—that damn blue-haired woman. The questions she set were truly beyond all reason.

Who in the world puts concepts about ‘recreation’ on an academy exam?

The test paper had been packed with ideas that belonged in a Magic Tower thesis. Most students had probably lost their minds the moment they received it. It wasn’t a difficulty level that could be solved at the academy’s standard.

"Professor Sharon... was too much..."

"The difficulty was certainly high. She even included concepts we hadn’t learned yet..."

"Hic... But I still got two questions wrong...!"

"Two questions... you say?"

In a monstrous exam where the expected average was 41 out of 100, that was practically a perfect score. I’d heard that even the usual top students had gotten fifteen to twenty questions wrong. Yet she had only missed two?

"......Your Highness, that score should be enough for first place in the grade."

"Lady Filer only missed one..."

"The young lady is quite ruthless herself."

I had missed nine. Compared to the average student it was a high score, but compared to true honor students like Lucy and Margaret, it was still far behind. Feeling a bit awkward, I quietly slipped the test paper I had been holding proudly back into my bag.

While I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠comforting a gloomy Lucy, familiar voices came from behind us.

"Ah? It’s big brother!"

"Uhyo lolol A passing bastard spotted!"

When I turned my head, a red-haired angel and a golden-haired scoundrel were walking toward us.

"Big brother! How did your test go?"

Ariel ran over noisily and threw herself into my arms. I slowly stroked the smiling girl’s head.

"It was alright... How about you?"

"I did amazingly well! I might even take first place this time!!"

"Oh..."

I clapped for Ariel as she puffed out her chest with a proud cough. If Ariel took first, would she steal the title from Clara Misof, one of Alan’s heroines?

"Well done. You were really upset about getting second place last midterms, weren’t you?"

"Yeah! I studied really hard this time!!"

Clara Misof, who had lost first place... Her reaction would probably be entertaining. In the original story, Clara had been obsessively fixated on her grades. I hadn’t liked how she had teabagged Ariel last time by calling her second place. Maybe I should go watch the aftermath later?

"Ariel... you got first... Hic, I only got second..."

"Y-Your Highness?! Why are you crying?"

"I’m second... I’m trash..."

While Lucy and Ariel were talking, Gold Tae-yang, who had been loitering nearby, approached me. He glanced at the crying Lucy and asked.

"What’s wrong...? Why is Her Highness in tears...?"

"She missed first place by one question."

"Oh dear..."

Gold Tae-yang looked at Lucy with pity for a moment.

"Your Highness, cheer up. Second place is still amazing."

"Thank you, Mr. Tae-yang..."

"Second place is still amazing."

"......Why did you say it twice?"

Her expression had brightened when she heard “second place,” so I had suspected as much. Sure enough, Gold Tae-yang had gone and teased even the Empire’s First Princess. Joking around while risking his life—there was no doubt this guy was the Empire’s greatest lunatic.

As I stared at him with tired eyes, his white pupils met mine and he grinned as he walked over.

"Bastard, how did your test go?"

"Hm... I think I landed somewhere in the middle-upper ranks. What about you?"

"Heh!"

At my question, Gold Tae-yang let out an unpleasant laugh and held up three fingers. What did that number mean? Surely not third in the grade?

"I! Am third in the grade!"

"Oh."

"From the bottom!!"

"Oh...?"

I was about to offer a word of admiration for third place when the next words made me tilt my head. Third from the bottom. In other words...

"You’re saying you’re basically at the very bottom of the entire school, you damn worm?"

"That’s one way to put it!"

Gold Tae-yang answered proudly and gave a thumbs-up. ......Just what kind of guy was he? He didn’t even seem human at this point.

As I sighed and rubbed my forehead, he chuckled.

"Whatever~ It doesn’t really matter, right? I can just make up for it in the ranking matches next week~"

"Hmm... Make up for it in the ranking matches."

The ranking matches were a practical exam in which all academy students participated. It was a one-on-one tournament that determined final rankings. With Gold Tae-yang’s skill, he would probably secure a good position unless the bracket was extremely unlucky. The ranking matches affected grades almost as much as the written exams.

"This big brother has a plan~ That’s what I’m saying."

"I see."

I gave a lukewarm reply and clicked my tongue inwardly. As if I didn’t use the ranking matches to patch up my score ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because I didn’t know how. I simply didn’t do it because there was a reason I couldn’t.

"......You’ll probably regret it."

"Huh? Why would I regret it?"

"There’s a reason."

Gold Tae-yang tilted his head ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a question mark floating above it. I gave him a faint, crooked smile.

If my memory was correct, this ranking match had a high chance of being canceled midway… No, it would definitely be canceled. On the third day of the matches—exactly one week from now—monsters accompanied by two intermediate demons would attack the academy.

"Status window."

When I called it in a low voice, the familiar mechanical sound rang in my ear. A blue window rose into the air.

I quietly moved my hand and clicked on one of the text boxes at the bottom.

The second main quest would arrive in one week. Unfortunately, it seemed my final exams were not over yet.