Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Team 6
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The central hall of the dormitory was packed with second-year magic department students.
“Luca!”
Elias waved as he approached. Far off in the distance, Leo glanced over from where he was chatting with his friends.
Judging by their expressions, they hadn’t heard about what happened earlier. Thank goodness.
“How do you show up with just one minute to spare? Weren’t you curious?”
“Of course I was.”
Forty-eight students had participated in the second exam, and only twenty-four would advance to the third.
Of the eight teams, the top four would receive bonus points for the third round. The bonuses were substantial enough that failing to crack the top four meant you were basically done.
With team rivalries taking priority, everyone was dying to know the team assignments.
Like the other students, I stood in front of the blank announcement board and quietly spoke to Elias.
“Elias.”
“So formal~”
“…….”
He probably wanted me to call him by a nickname, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it here.
“What’d you do after the exam?”
“What else? Watched you and the class rep go at it.”
“…And after that?”
Elias gave me a puzzled look, then whispered in my ear.
“You already know. Why ask?”
“You stayed in that building the whole time?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded to show I understood.
Earlier, Elias had followed us to the task force headquarters, and all three of us hadn’t returned to school until six o’clock.
If he’d been in the HQ building the whole time while Leo and I were out at the scene, that gave Elias an alibi for the Adelbert incident.
Leo had been with Nikolaus, so that was obvious.
But I had no alibi.
‘I should ask Narke for some advice.’
I needed to be careful.
Dosing Adelbert with Pleroma served two purposes.
First, to kill him.
Second, to turn him into a Pleroma addict.
That second goal posed a massive risk to me.
Given my history of being suspected as a Pleroma user, I was the prime suspect in this case.
The real culprit had every reason to frame me, too.
“Whoa!”
A shout rose from the crowd of students.
Mana was etching the list of second-round qualifiers onto the announcement board.
[Team 1: Narke Farnese / Leonard Wittelsbach / ….]
“Whoa….”
“What the….”
A few students exchanged glances right from the first entry.
“Damn, Team 1 is stacked from the jump.”
Elias gaped.
I felt the same way deep down.
“That team’s got the bonus locked in. I hope I end up on your team, Luca!”
“Yeah, me too.”
Of course I did.
Teaming with Elias all but guaranteed the bonus.
‘Here’s hoping we get good picks.’
It was a team event, after all.
No matter how strong an individual was, failing to mesh with the team meant getting pushed out without mercy.
The bar for teamwork was set brutally high.
I had to admit it. I’d set idealistic standards without realizing I’d be stuck doing group projects.
‘Well, with people’s lives on the line, I had no choice.’
As I stared tensely at the board, teams 2 through 5 scrolled by without our names.
“Hmm~”
Elias, bored of standing still, slung an arm over my shoulder just as a list with my name appeared.
[Team 6: Lucas Ascanien / ….]
“Oh, there you are, Luca!”
[Yulia Cheringen]
When her name appeared next to mine, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
For some reason, Elias threw his head back and burst into mad laughter. Well, I could sort of guess why.
I turned away to avoid Leo’s gaze.
That’s when my eyes met Cheringen’s. He raised an eyebrow in surprise before breaking into a soft smile.
‘Nice.’
My lips curved up in response.
As long as our teamwork didn’t implode, we were in the bonus hunt.
[Melvin Clokner / Florian Osterhagen / Heike Ainsidel / Philip Garing]
‘Oh.’
Interesting lineup.
Sure, it included an annoying prick and someone whose surname triggered bad memories.
I clenched my left hand—the one that had been broken in Osnabrück—and kept my mouth shut.
Still, drama aside, this was top-tier.
That’s when Cheringen approached me with a grin.
“We’re on the same team, Lucas.”
“Looks like it.”
“Let’s make the next two weeks count.”
Cheringen held out his hand.
Shaking hands again now felt awkward, but since he offered, I took it briefly.
Or I tried to—it ended quick, but Cheringen held on and leaned in close to murmur.
“So, what happened with Leonard?”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone’s dying to know who won.”
His face lit up with mischief as he asked.
Now that I noticed, other students were sneaking glances at Leo and me.
“Dunno.”
“Haha, good thing no one ended up in the hospital. You talked it out?”
I nodded.
Somehow, he assumed I’d end up hospitalized if I fought Leo.
There weren’t many in this school who could beat him.
“Ah… damn.”
Then I heard Elias sigh softly beside me.
The board had finished listing up to Team 8.
In the distance, I could hear Leo gathering his teammates.
“Should we set a meeting time?”
Cheringen nodded toward his room.
It was free time, but to size up our teammates sooner, we needed to mingle with the group.
* * *
After settling on a meeting time, I headed back to the school infirmary.
I figured visiting hours were over at ten, but the place ran on magic with no staff around, so I could come and go until they locked the doors.
Knock knock—
[Come in.]
Adelbert’s weak voice called out.
He’d checked into the hospital right after the exam, worn out from nearly rampaging.
I opened the door quietly. The room was pitch black, lit only by the streetlamps outside.
“Why are you sitting in the dark like this?”
“It’s bedtime.”
“The club president’s coming soon, right?”
“Oh… right.”
Adelbert had mentioned calling the drama club president here. I’d heard about it from her.
He nodded and flicked on the bedside lamp.
‘Hm.’
Now that the light was on, his face didn’t look particularly grim.
His score from what I’d heard was 6th out of 25 teams—8 points.
Converted to a grade, it barely scraped a 2+.
‘Hanging by a thread, but not bad.’
No one could call it a failure.
Still, it was three steps up from his previous 3+, but for Adelbert, it was still low.
Even so, he seemed surprisingly calm as I asked.
“You okay?”
He didn’t answer.
After a long silence, while I was peering out at students milling about outside, he finally murmured.
“No.”
“…….”
He muttered on like he was talking to himself.
“I was pissed.”
“Why?”
“I felt sorry for my teammates… sorry for myself… no, disappointed in myself.”
When you get that close to rampaging, you’re usually hospitalized for constant monitoring and treatment.
But he’d rushed straight into the exam without time for that.
No wonder he was disappointed. Pulling a 2+ in that state was damn impressive.
Plus, with everyone remembering his prior 3+, they’d think he was back in form now.
Suddenly, Adelbert spoke up.
“Have you ever been through this, senpai? Losing overnight a position you thought was yours—now you’re just looking up at it.”
More times than I could count.
It barely fazed me anymore.
“You’ve heard this before, but in our era, academics aren’t just learning—they prove your personal value as an investment. I thought I’d always upheld the value befitting my station.”
Not surprising.
Kids thrown into politics from birth rarely escape that mindset.
He paused a beat before continuing.
“I thought I was on the right path.”
“So low scores mean you’re not?”
“…….”
After a long moment, he nodded.
“That’s what I thought. In terms of effort.”
“Your beliefs shattered overnight.”
“Yes.”
He gave a faint smile.
“As royalty, I have to be someone the people can look up to without shame—someone worthy of leading them. I told you that before.”
I nodded.
Adelbert pressed on without hesitation.
“Maybe my despair wasn’t really about that.”
“…….”
“Like you said, senpai. Thinking His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and Lord Nikolaus would be disappointed in me… that was just me despising myself, being harshly disappointed in myself. Not duty as royalty or anything—it’s that I couldn’t accept falling from a pedestal I’d arbitrarily deemed mine.”
I nodded silently.
“I wonder why no one ever told me this. To not care about others’ expectations, I had to shatter my own first.”
“You’re figuring it out now. Why wait for someone else to spell it out?”
“Haha….”
He ran a hand over his face and let out a sigh.
“I’m good now. Sure, I feel wronged thinking ‘if not for the drug,’ but I couldn’t have done better today.”
He wasn’t satisfied—that much was clear.
Fury at wanting to hunt down the poisoner burned in his eyes and tone.
But the fear of the emperor or crown prince I’d seen before was gone.
‘Nearly rampaged and came out with self-reflection….’
Impressive.
No sarcasm—just stunned at his growth rate.
Now he looked at me with serious eyes.
“Senpai. Is Lord Nikolaus….”
“…….”
“…your senpai?”
I chuckled lightly.
“Nope.”
“…….”
He blinked, then shook his head.
“Yeah, figures. I said something stupid.”
He let out a light laugh, then looked back at me.
“Thanks. Thanks to you, I got through the exam and sorted my thoughts.”
Ding—!
Favorability +1
He wasn’t the type to warm up this easily before.
From my perspective of trying to raise him differently, this was a win.
It was a fresh start, free from obsessing over the crown prince’s expectations or living for his goals.
“Good.”
I smiled and gave a simple reply when someone knocked outside.
Adelbert raised his voice.
“Ah, must be you. Come in.”
“Hello~”
The club president entered the room.
After an excessively long round of greetings, Adelbert got to the point.
“I heard the regular performance is two weeks from now. It lines up perfectly with the second exam.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Yeah.
That’s why everyone avoided the lead role with all those lines.
Adelbert looked troubled as he said.
“President, I’m really sorry, but… I can’t act in this play.”
“What?!”
“…….”
“I’m sorry. With my stamina right now, I can’t memorize all those lines. I can cover prep costs instead—would that work…?”
Post-rampage protocol is usually a week in the hospital under observation.
He was a mage with fast recovery, so they’d thrown him into the exam, but rest was still the right call.
But….
The president gaped before managing to speak.
“Th-then the lead role’s open….”
“Could you find a stand-in from outside?”
Hiring an outsider for the lead defeats the purpose of a school performance….
I placed a hand on Adelbert’s shoulder.
“Junior.”
“Yes?”
“Some things money can fix, some it can’t.”
“Yeah, I know, but….”
The president’s eyes had already slid slyly toward me.
“…….”
* * *
The next morning, at the appointed time, I arrived at the Team 6 meeting room.
And no, I didn’t volunteer for the lead role.
The president had begged, but it wasn’t my problem.
She’d figure something out—private tutoring on memorization, me rewriting the whole script, or just handing it to someone else. Whatever.
‘Who the hell dosed Adelbert….’
Now I saw it: that bastard was screwing everything up.
I rubbed my temple, lost in thought, when Cheringen clapped to get everyone’s attention.
“Everyone’s here.”
Naturally, our team fell under Cheringen’s lead.
I scanned our stiff-faced teammates.
I was pleased with the lineup, but excluding Cheringen and me, no one looked happy.
The reason was obvious.
I rested my chin on my hand and stared at the end of the table.
The lanky guy with his black hair neatly slicked back avoided my gaze.
‘That’s Florian Osterhagen.’
One of Philip’s friends—the ones who’d tried feeding me pie early in the semester.
Philip, sitting beside him, looked visibly uncomfortable because of me.
Melvin’s face was sour since he was grouped with those two. Philip’s crew had a bad rep with soft types like Melvin. Still did.
And the last one.
I eyed the student with dark blonde hair and gray eyes.
Heike Ainsidel.
He seemed the least bothered. But as the only Class 1-A member, he’d looked a bit thrown when the teams were announced.
‘…Related to that Ainsidel?’
Ainsidel was a Prussian noble house, so sharing the name wasn’t impossible.
I couldn’t confirm if the guy I met was legit family or an imposter.
Visually, no resemblance anyway.
Ainsidel had white hair and a laid-back way of speaking, giving off Elias vibes.
‘Let’s check his status.’
Heike Ainsidel
Favorability -2* [Unconquerable]
Title: —
Stamina: +6
Mental Strength: +3
Mana: +5
Technique: +4
Impression: +2
Luck: +1
Traits: —
Not bad stats, but worlds apart from the Ainsidel I’d seen.
Likely relatives, but nothing major otherwise.
‘That said….’
Unconquerable?
First time I’d seen that.
‘Now I wanna try.’
An Ainsidel whose surname screams “conquer me,” and it says unconquerable?
Favorability can’t be raised? Like there’s a hard cap?
I itched to max the conquest stages and visit his estate to probe any Osnabrück Ainsidel links.
‘While I’m at it, check the team’s favorabilities.’
I flicked through their status windows quick and subtle.
Yulia Cheringen
Favorability +3 [Conquerable (2/5)]
Florian Osterhagen
Favorability -3* [Conquerable (1/5)]
Philip Garing
Favorability -1* [Conquerable (1/5)]
Melvin Clokner
Favorability +7 [Conquerable (3/5)]
Not bad at all.
Boost my charm trait today or tomorrow, and we’d be in solid territory.
‘Jacking it up across the team could sync us better.’
Especially Yulia and Melvin.
But that was one thing….
“…….”
The mental whiplash hit; I closed all the windows.
Not the numbers—just seeing them all at once made me question my life choices.
‘Whew….’
Craving a smoke for the first time in ages.
That’s when Cheringen, lounging back with a relaxed expression, glanced at the second-round team list.
“Three teams stand out for bonus contention: Team 1, us, and Team 8.”
Despite the icy tension, the others nodded along cautiously.
“Team 1 has Leonard Wittelsbach and Narke Farnese, as we know. Ours goes without saying. Team 8 has Elias Hohenstaufen and the current top student from Class 1-A.”
No top-tiers in the other five.
“Team 8’s most likely to clash first. What do you all think?”
“…….”
Cheringen’s tone was dry.
Higher rank meant bigger bonuses.
He was mentioning rivals to push beyond just securing a bonus.
After ten-plus years together, no one wanted to speak up first, so I nodded.
“Probably.”
Team 8 was five from Class 1-A and Elias solo from 1-B.
The polar opposite of ours.
Class 1-A kids generally didn’t like Elias. If he’d fit in there, he wouldn’t have switched to 1-B.
Elias was teamed with five enemies.
‘Hope he pulls through.’
I wanted to team with him someday, after all.
No worries—he’d manage. Just curious what antics he’d unleash.
“The exam’s in two weeks, but there’s a student council joint training session in one week. Let’s scout the other teams then. And… we should test now if we can perform at full strength that day.”
I burst out laughing at Cheringen’s smirk.
“Pretty confident.”
Bit early to plan that far.
If we needed to sandbag, getting underestimated—or even seeming too strong to drop guards—might play into it.
I smiled lightly and asked.
“Shouldn’t we check teamwork first and decide?”
“Exactly. We’ll know once we spar, but if there’s discord like Team 8, better cut it early. So….”
Cheringen half-raised his hand and crooked a finger.
His eyes were already on Philip.
“Anyone got beef with each other?”