Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Masterpiece
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Cecil Belriet was a battlefield veteran.
The war against the Demon King's army had dragged on for twelve years.
She'd been deployed in year seven and fought for five straight years.
Glorious!
She'd devoted herself to the empire and survived.
She would carve her name into the history books alongside countless other heroes.
...
...
"Bullshit."
Glory? Honor? Pride?
Don't give me that crap.
War doesn't bring you fancy stuff like that.
Death.
Screams.
Sorrow.
Despair.
Regret.
Anger.
Loss.
That's what war is.
The screams of the dying summon sorrow, and despair and regret breed anger. In the end, all that's left is loss.
Pain. War is nothing but pain.
She was disillusioned.
Disillusioned with the empire that wrapped every death in a cloak of honor.
That's why Cecil quit knighthood the moment the war ended.
"Cecil."
"Why do you call, sir?"
So now what?
What could she do, having gripped a sword her whole life?
Unable to find an answer, she figured she'd just farm and get by.
"You really leaving?"
"Captain, didn't I tell you? I can't stay in the capital anymore."
Emigration was out. Right after the war, no way they'd let her change nationalities.
But she could leave the capital.
"How about becoming a teacher?"
"......Pardon?"
That's when she'd steeled her resolve.
A single proposal from the captain.
It was utterly bizarre.
"Me?"
"I'll write you a recommendation. There are good academies outside the capital too."
"No......"
"I believe you can do it."
"Wait a sec."
Cecil knew she wasn't cut out to be a teacher.
Who teaches whom? It'd be a miracle if she didn't beat them for not listening.
"I can't."
"Cecil."
"What."
"It's my last request."
"......"
She still didn't understand the captain's intentions.
Why? For what reason?
Did he send her here?
"I don't know."
It might be too late to wonder.
She'd already adapted to the job.
Maybe that's what he'd aimed for. She still had no clue about his true purpose, though.
"......Ah, come to think of it."
Today was the day the new student was supposed to show up.
Name was...... Rain Ortiz?
"Why send a smart kid here?"
Cecil clicked her tongue and stood.
Genius or not, this was a whole different field.
High chance he'd never even adapt.
"Well, maybe I'll have some expectations."
However.
"......He didn't come?"
After that.
"Today too?"
Straight through.
"......Hah."
Rain Ortiz never showed.
"Outrageous."
For a full month.
"Rules are as notified in advance."
As you know, I hadn't been notified of any rules beforehand.
"Anyone I catch from now on will do physical training."
I couldn't complain because the situation wasn't unfair at all.
I was the one who skipped lectures.
"Begin!"
Cecil professor shouted to start.
A test launched without knowing the detailed rules.
What was I supposed to do?
I followed the system's advice.
"Ah, I really hate this......!"
I loathe physical labor.
Running's the worst of them, and here I was sprinting full tilt!
The only intel I had in this godforsaken mess?
If Cecil professor catches me, I'm screwed.
Problem was, my stamina was barely average human level.
Meanwhile, the professor chasing me was...
"Rain Ortiz."
A monster. A monster who could piggyback a grown man and charge like a tank.
"What's your excuse for all those absences?"
Suddenly, Cecil professor pulled alongside and spoke up.
Wow.
This scene felt awfully familiar.
"No answer, huh."
In a flash, she overtook me and swept a leg low.
Unaccustomed to exertion, I tripped hard and ate dirt.
Caught.
"Congrats on being the first catch."
No.
Professor.
Hold on.
"Time for physical training."
Ah.
.
.
.
The sun had set.
Drenched in sweat, I lay sprawled on the training ground, gasping for air.
"Listen up, all of you."
The situation boiled down to one phrase.
I'm dying.
"At this rate, none of you will survive a battlefield."
Long story short, my body couldn't keep up with Cecil professor's Spartan regimen.
Truth be told, most couldn't.
Everyone but two got nabbed and drilled alongside me.
"You wanna be arrow fodder like this?"
Her question drew a ragged chorus from the wrecks.
No!!
"Good. One more lap around the grounds to wrap up class."
Fuck.
Again?
Really fuck...
I hauled my body up by sheer force.
Wobbling like a jellyfish with legs. Figured anyone seeing me might crack up.
Still, I gritted my teeth through that final lap.
"Huff... huff..."
"Rain Ortiz."
Professor.
Can't talk right now.
"Rain Ortiz?"
Damn.
"Y-yes... professor..."
"How was the lecture?"
How was it?
My honest take?
Is this even a lecture?
Even boot camp wouldn't grind us this hard.
"As expected, your stamina's trash. No way you pass the final like this."
"......"
That part did worry me.
Attendance had tanked my grade already, but I wanted to ace the exam.
......Weird that I even cared about grades.
Situation was such that they didn't matter anyway.
"About that, I have something to say."
Still, it was my personal stake.
"Oh? What?"
"I hear the final's similar to today."
"It is."
"You know too—if it stays like this, I'm F-bound."
"Fair point."
Whatever else, an exam like this was straight-up 'unfair.'
No matter how diligent I got with training, I doubted I'd hit the bar.
All conditions stacked against me, so fairness demanded tweaks.
"Please adjust the rules a bit."
"......What're you on about?"
Cecil eyed me like I'd lost it.
I pressed on undaunted.
"Too stacked against me. Make it so I can shoot for an A."
"Hah..."
Insane ask.
Student demanding from professor.
Even I thought I sounded nuts.
"Possible?"
Old me couldn't have pulled this.
Now I knew: I'd changed since enrolling.
Well, couldn't be helped. Recent shit was too wild...
"What do you want?"
Cecil asked.
Not a win yet. More 'let's hear the pitch' vibe.
Push too hard here, instant rejection. Tread light.
"......"
Even top AI can't defy the impossible.
Stuck with just my body, I'd bomb for sure.
Answer was obvious.
Let me do what I'm good at.
"Let me use stuff from other departments."
Bottom line: my proposal got approved.
For this Knight Department exam, I could leverage other departments' knowledge.
And knowledge wasn't just book smarts.
Inventions from Magic Engineering.
Magic from the Magic Department.
Potions from Alchemy.
All of it.
But.
—One catch.
Mindful it'd flip the fairness the other way, Cecil slapped on a limit.
—One item per department.
Invention, whatever—one per department max.
In my shoes, no room to haggle, so I took it.
Nothing ever comes easy.
"So that's why you came to me?"
Nothing easy, but...
"Research timeline locked in... Yeah."
Wanted it as painless as possible.
Human nature.
Me included.
"Professor Rachel."
Max ease within bounds.
"Help with my project."
A week flew by.
"That was close."
"......Yeah."
Sleepless every other night deep in research and crafting—we birthed a beaut.
"My life's masterpiece wasted on a final exam..."
"What can ya do? That's the goal."
"Still, banning a paper on it? Too far."
Rachel griped through her exhaustion.
"......Nail it. After all this, no low scores."
"No worries."
Magic and potions? Adequate picks.
The 'overkill' was this Magic Engineering gem alone.
A full-week masterpiece.
I declared it loud.
"No way it'll dip below A."