Chapter 1
Chapter 1
It might sound like an excuse, but there is a reason I don’t have any friends.
I simply couldn’t get close to the other kids.
How was I supposed to fit in among children who laughed and cried together over surviving countless terrorist attacks?
With no common topics to talk about, I naturally ended up becoming an involuntary loner.
And so now.
Perhaps because they’re still immature, I’m forced to eat lunch while using as background scenery those bastards who make a big fuss about someone eating alone and look at me with pity.
What’s wrong with eating alone?
They’re getting offended over something so trivial.
Sure, people from different worlds can have different cultures, but this is too much.
That was what I was thinking while eating my usual meal of awkward silence.
“That person is…”
“It’s the young lady of the ducal family.”
The area near the cafeteria entrance grew noisy as someone walked in.
A female student wearing a pointed witch hat, as if she wanted everyone to know she was a mage.
From the way the hat occasionally twitched, the part hidden beneath it must have the animal ears typical of beastkin.
Considering that most barbarians are beastkin, it made sense that she would hide her ears like that.
“The barbarian warriors even trampled through the Cradle once.”
One of the twenty two terrorist incidents.
Maybe that was why the red eyes shining beneath her hat looked around the area restlessly, as if she had come somewhere unfamiliar for the first time. It almost looked like she was being cautious.
Her pure white hair was neatly braided and draped over one shoulder, which reminded me of a certain long standing cliché.
“She’s someone who’s going to die soon.”
For some reason, it’s a hairstyle often worn by protagonists’ mothers or sickly female characters. Some people even call it the short life hairstyle.
It might sound like a joke, but considering that the world I live in used to be a game, it wasn’t something I could just laugh off.
“Lady Ariel, are you perhaps looking for someone?”
“Ah, yes? Yes! Well, even so…”
They say life looks like a comedy from far away and a tragedy up close.
Perhaps because this was her first time in the common cafeteria, where most of the students were commoners, the way she kept glancing around nervously was rather cute.
Right. Even if Ariel, the ducal lady, was a human weapon capable of massacring people with magic, seeing a normal side like that made it clear that she was still just a student.
But then.
“…I found the person right away, so it’s fine.”
The moment our eyes met, she started walking toward me.
The girl who had been a scene in a distant comedy suddenly became a tragedy named the main story and began approaching me.
“Ah, damn it. You’re ruining my appetite.”
“What?!”
Looking at the girl who sat down in front of me, I sighed and spoke.
“…This is the first time I’ve seen someone openly hate beastkin like this.”
“No, let’s not cowardly hide behind a beastkin shield, Lady Ariel. If you were eating and ran into someone who was part of the group that threatened you last night, would your appetite not disappear?”
She suddenly tried to frame me as someone who hates beastkin.
As expected of the protagonist’s group. They know very well how to bury someone socially.
“…I admit it. I was being insensitive. But I only sat down because it looked like you were eating alone and I wanted to eat with you. I think your words were a bit harsh.”
“What’s wrong with eating alone? Don’t you sometimes eat alone too, Lady Ariel?”
“How could you say something so cruel…!”
Ariel suddenly had tears welling in her eyes.
Wait, she’s crying now?
Even after understanding what I meant and even apologizing?
A completely unexpected ambush at the most surprising timing.
“How insulting!”
“Who does he think he is, saying something like that to the young lady?”
I didn’t even have the chance to respond before I was fully exposed to the flood of criticism that followed.
What’s wrong with eating alone?
Why are they all making such a big deal about it?
You people are the worst.
After that, Ariel, who had been watching Johann, did what students her age often do when they hear something insulting and immediately reported it to the person she trusted the most.
“That bastard was a complete asshole.”
“I see, Ariel. Judging from the way you’re starting with such harsh language, it seems I told you to simply watch from a distance, but you approached him anyway and ended up getting scolded.”
“…That’s right.”
A quick admission.
Ariel immediately lowered her head at Lobelia’s reproach.
The problem was that she approached Johann without even considering his perspective.
But in truth, she had only wanted to eat with him because he looked lonely sitting there eating by himself.
And yet what she received in return was criticism.
Ariel was deeply hurt.
“But he told me I eat alone!”
“My, that is quite harsh.”
At the Cradle, saying someone eats alone is a huge insult.
Commoners have to stick together to stand against nobles, and nobles always have attendants following them.
Strictly speaking, attendants stand beside them rather than eat together, but the important thing is that there is someone there with them.
That is the norm. So if a noble eats alone?
It means they don’t even have a single attendant to stand beside them.
It implies their family has declined and they are nobles in name only, or someone oppressed within their own household.
And Ariel actually had been treated coldly at home because she was beastkin.
For Ariel, it was a painful wound.
“Still, I doubt he meant it that way. Perhaps he was just being self deprecating about his own situation of eating alone?”
“No! That gray haired bastard! You can tell he’s a gray faction just from his hair color! He’s definitely going to cause trouble!”
“That’s rather blatant prejudice. It sounds more like personal resentment.”
“You say Your Highness has a keen eye for people, but I’m not bad either, you know? That guy is definitely a sinister type!”
“That’s the first I’m hearing of it. Since when have you been so good at judging people?”
“Since the moment I chose to follow Your Highness.”
“I suppose I’ve lost that argument. I can only say your eyes must indeed be good.”
Lobelia gave a bitter smile at Ariel’s blatant flattery.
There was no way she could deny that here, so this verbal spar could be considered Ariel’s victory.
However.
“Still, keep watching him.”
“…”
“We haven’t gathered enough information about him yet, and…”
Lobelia smiled as she looked at the calendar hanging on the wall.
“Isn’t the stage for observing what kind of person he truly is coming soon?”
The new semester was about to begin.
New students would arrive, and returning students would move up a year.
And every year at that time, the Cradle compiles the academic results of the entire year.
Yes.
“When people are placed in extreme situations, their true selves always come out.”
The Class Placement Exam.
The beginning of the comprehensive practical evaluation.
There is only one country on the continent.
The Miltonia Empire.
In truth, just a few years ago there had been many other nations with different names, but the Empire conquered them all.
So what happens when one country swallows an entire continent?
Were there no side effects?
Of course there were.
After repeatedly waging conquest wars before stabilizing the nation, the Empire’s internal situation ended up completely wrecked.
In such circumstances, what about the Empire’s proudest academy, the Cradle?
There was no way it would function smoothly.
All sorts of secret organizations operating within the Empire, rebels, barbarians, fanatics, and even plain lunatics.
They had all trampled through the Cradle at least once.
It had been named the Cradle because it was supposed to be the most comfortable environment where the most perfect talents could be nurtured.
Yet ironically it became the place with the most incidents and disasters in the entire Empire.
Of course, the academy chairman’s embezzlement played a major role. He even siphoned off funds meant for security, which led to this situation.
As a result, there were twenty two terrorist incidents affecting the academy as a whole.
If you counted the smaller incidents limited to specific areas, they were already beyond counting.
So what happens when corruption like that is exposed in the middle of all these disasters?
What do you think happens?
He got fired.
And the new chairman invited by the Empire to replace him was an old grandmother who looked as gentle as someone you might meet in your hometown countryside.
“Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Olga Hermod, and as of today I will be serving as the chairman of the Cradle.”
At the same time, she was one of the three great archmages said to exist in this era.
At this point, it was practically a declaration that the Emperor had decided to personally protect the Cradle.
A true sign of a ruler’s determination.
Even if he was a crazy bastard who had done nothing but wage wars since inheriting the throne, he certainly chose the right person for the job.
Anyway, with her presence, the academy would finally become peaceful.
After all, how many lunatics would dare break through the defensive magic of an archmage just to capture a bunch of young talents?
Even simple logic says the cost effectiveness doesn’t add up.
Moreover, she was a master of defensive warfare.
“It is truly an honor to be entrusted with the future of the Empire, students like yourselves.”
Because she was a human fortress who mastered illusion and spatial magic.
But even so, problems would still occur.
After all, there was nothing that could be done about problems that erupted from within.
So in this second year, first semester.
What was the biggest incident I needed to prepare for in advance?
“Now then, let’s stop the boring talk here. We will begin the first evaluation of the Class Placement Exam.”
The Class Placement Exam.
More specifically, what it divides.
The act of openly ranking students from S to F creates the problem.
Of course, even though such a system existed, there had never been any major issues until now.
Or perhaps there were issues, but none had grown large enough to cause a major incident.
However, there was one thing Olga Hermod did not know.
“Well then, good luck.”
What kind of resolve the students standing here this year possessed.
When those who had risen while stepping over the corpses of their comrades were branded with the mark of F.
What kind of reaction it would cause.
How deep the wound carved into their pride would be.
The coup of the underachievers.
If you get swept up in that madness and frenzy, you could be dragged down along with it.
So there was only one thing I had to do.
“Just avoid F and S.”
In the Class Placement Exam, avoid both the very top and the very bottom.
Flash.
The moment Olga’s staff shone, the scenery changed completely.
As expected of a master of illusion magic.
She pushed every student into a vivid illusion.
The exam was a survival test.
Simply put, survive by any means necessary.
Students were thrown into one place and their numbers had to be reduced.
This wasn’t just to test strength.
It was also a test of judgment.
The weak could gather together to face the strong.
Others might deliberately avoid battle and hide.
All of those choices were part of the evaluation.
Of course the most important thing was survival.
Just surviving alone would likely keep you out of Class F.
“Now then…”
Of course, I had no confidence in doing any of those things well.
There were almost no students I could beat with pure ability.
How was I supposed to fight against killing machines hardened by real combat?
I didn’t even have friends to form a team with.
Hide?
Even hiding requires excellent stealth abilities.
So to survive, I had to find another method.
And the answer I found was simple.
If I couldn’t perform on the stage, I would simply leave the stage itself.
“Students, welcome to the examination field!”
Illusion magic Polymorph.
Change the face and change the physique.
“As you can see from the notice floating in the sky, this test is meant to observe your ability to respond to situations.”
Illusion magic Camouflage.
Change the atmosphere and change the clothes.
“Reduce the number of participants. I don’t care how you do it. The test will continue until only one third remain, and I will evaluate your actions in real time, so give it your all!”
Then add a spoonful of acting.
Instead of a student taking the exam, I shout while disguised as an examiner.
“Then begin!”
The chaos begins.
The exam was a survival test where students were thrown into an artificially created environment.
Simple, yet perfect for observing the students’ true abilities.
Olga watched the students’ responses with a gentle expression.
Perhaps because they were veterans who had already gone through countless crises.
They adapted to the sudden change in situation remarkably quickly.
However.
“What the hell is that bastard doing…?”
Even someone with her gentle personality had the word bastard slip out.
There were no examiners in this test.
The entire stage itself was an illusion.
She had planned to inform the students of the exam details by writing words in the sky. Discovering that quickly was meant to be part of the test.
But some lunatic suddenly appeared pretending to be a nonexistent examiner and was inciting the students.
His behavior was so natural that for a moment Olga wondered if the academy had secretly assigned an examiner.
But when she looked closer, it was merely a student disguised using Polymorph and Camouflage magic.
“What a crazy bastard…”
It was the moment Ariel’s judgment of character was reevaluated.