The Unfair Advantage
A few days after the friendly match. Thirty minutes before the start of the event.
"It's huge..."
"Haha, it is a bit spacious, isn't it?"
...I didn't think "a bit" quite covered it.
I shook my head in awe at the sight before me. I knew the arena was large, but seeing it with my own eyes made it feel far grander than I had ever imagined. There was a miniature forest, a stream cutting right through its center, a vast plain stretching out beyond the trees, and a hill that was too large to be called small, yet too small to be called a mountain. When I was playing the game, I had just brushed it off as typical video game logic... but seeing it in person was a completely different experience.
...And humans made this artificially? Seriously?
"It's incredible. To think this landscape is man-made."
"I still find myself amazed every now and then," Instructor Ian replied. "Well, since we built it, we've been using it for all sorts of purposes, so I suppose it was worth the effort."
"I-I see..."
The image of the principal, who had casually handed me my salary in cold, hard cash simply because I didn't have a bank account, flashed through my mind. Classic principal. She never spared any expense when she deemed it necessary. Calling her "rich" felt like a massive understatement of her actual wealth...
While I was chatting with Instructor Ian about the arena, another teacher chimed in to scold us.
"Stop chatting and get ready, Instructor Ian. The match is about to begin."
"Haha, my apologies. ...Well, I should get going, Counselor Ophelia."
"Ah, yes..."
With those parting words, Ian headed toward the student waiting area alongside a few other teachers. Most of them were instructors who taught combat-related classes. According to what I had heard in the last meeting, they were stationed to prevent accidents during the students' battles. Since the students were still inexperienced, they often struggled to control their power. To prepare for such moments, teachers were deployed throughout the arena.
There was never any mention of this when I played the game.
"Counselor Ophelia, are there any students you're keeping an eye on?"
"Keeping an eye on...?"
"Well, just doing standard monitoring gets a bit boring. We usually place friendly bets on who will rank the highest."
"Hmm..."
Well, it wasn't a hard choice. All I had to do was pick the ones who stood out far above the rest. While the other teachers had to watch every single student to figure it out, I was different. I just had to pick the playable characters.
"These five students right here."
"My, you didn't even have to think about it, did you?"
"Ahaha... Well, these three are already quite famous, aren't they?"
"That's... true. And the other two seem to have very good evaluations from their respective professors."
Anastasia, the Watcher of the Church. Stella, the Second Princess. Orca, the Devil Possessed. These three weren't just famous; there wasn't a single person in the Academy who didn't know them. In fact, even outside the Academy, almost everyone knew Anastasia and Stella. As for Orca, she was famous in a notorious way—the label of "Devil Possessed" made everyone shun her, making her quite a well-known figure in her own right.
The other two, Leo and Aileen, weren't particularly famous right now... but they would make a name for themselves in no time. Seeing how some of the teachers were already giving them glowing reviews, it wouldn't take long at all.
"Then, out of those five, who do you think will survive the longest?"
"The Princess."
"Aren't you being a bit too decisive? This is the Academy, so you don't have to worry about offending the Princess..."
"No, it's not that... It's just that this battle is overwhelmingly in the Princess's favor."
"...?"
I simply smiled at the teacher, who stared back at me in complete bewilderment. Even if I explained it now, they wouldn't understand.
"...Is it finally starting?"
Stella scanned her surroundings. The dense forest stretched out around her, and she could sense the presence of students hiding here and there. So it turned out exactly as my brother said. He lied so often that she had resolved not to believe him this time. Perhaps he had caught on to her skepticism, because for some reason, he had actually told the truth.
If that was the case, teachers would be stationed nearby, watching over them. Despite all the training she had received in the imperial palace, she couldn't pinpoint the teachers' locations at all, which drew a quiet gasp of admiration from her. As expected of the Academy. The caliber is indeed high... Well, the teachers' caliber, at least.
Stella let out a sigh and spoke in a clear, loud voice.
"You don't need to keep lurking in the shadows. You may approach."
After throwing those words out, she sat down on a nearby rock that looked comfortable enough and took a brief rest. Soon, a few students began to approach her. When she remained still without much of a reaction, the others who had been hesitantly watching from the sidelines also began to scramble out of hiding.
"Y-Your Highness...! It is an honor to meet you...!"
"Spare me the empty formalities. You and I are hardly in a position to exchange such pleasantries, are we?"
"...!"
Tsk. Irritation flared within her as she watched the student's eyes widen, looking deeply moved. Surely, the student before her had entered the Academy because they possessed some talent... but no matter how she looked at him, he just seemed like a fool. Did this idiot seriously not realize she was being sarcastic? ...I should ask Father later if we can add a basic etiquette section to the Academy's entrance exam.
It would have been one thing if it were just this one guy, but even the ones trailing behind him showed similar reactions, leaving her with nothing but sighs.
"...Well, fine. If you insist on lingering around me, I won't stop you."
"H-How did you know...?"
"I have no desire to explain that to you."
These pests weren't the first to swarm around her royal title. No matter how harshly she treated them or how blatantly she ignored them, they gathered around her as if they didn't care in the slightest. She had hoped that the number of people seeking the crumbs falling from her royal table would decrease once she came to the Academy... but nothing had changed.
They seemed to be doing these useless things to leave a good impression, completely oblivious to the fact that it only fueled her distaste. However, just because she couldn't drive them away didn't mean she couldn't use them. Since things had turned out this way, she would simply use them as they wished. What did it matter if she ignored them afterward? She had never asked for their help in the first place. These fools were just clearing out the obstacles around her of their own accord.
"It is not as if I cannot bestow a blessing upon you. Receive it."
"...?! M-My body feels so powerful...!"
"Do as you please from now on. I will not concern myself with you."
"T-Thank you! Your Highness!"
When she casually cast her specialty, buff magic, on them, they showered her with gratitude. What on earth were they so thankful for? They didn't even realize they were being used. Stella watched with pity as the students, bowing with ecstatic expressions, began to scatter.
"...Sigh."
There were always people trying to scavenge crumbs around Stella, and the result was always the same. They would eventually realize they had been used by the very person they sought to exploit. She wondered how long these fools would last. The dumber they were, the longer it took for them to realize. Since they had made it into the Academy, she hoped they would figure it out as quickly as possible. Otherwise, she would have to seriously question the standards of this institution.
"This is..."
"Counselor Ophelia, did you somehow foresee this...?"
The teachers monitoring the match stared blankly at the screen, unable to hide their bewilderment. While Stella was resting comfortably, her followers were knocking out other students left and right. This was likely a first in the Academy's history. Normally, right after admission, the gap in the students' abilities wasn't that massive. However, the students buffed by Stella's magic were sweeping through the competition like a storm.
"No, it was just a guess. I simply thought it might turn out this way."
"But you spoke with such absolute certainty..."
"Did I? I don't recall doing so."
"Huh? But... Ah, right. Of course. My memory must be getting bad lately."
Whew, that was close. I had made a slip of the tongue without realizing it. I quickly locked eyes with the teacher and used Hypnosis to warp their memory, erasing the fact that I had spoken with such certainty. It would have been troublesome without my hypnosis. Sometimes, my sense of reality in this world gets a bit too faint, which can be quite dangerous.
"I just happened to hear about the Princess's specialty by chance."
Stella's specialty was buff magic. It was highly fitting for her princess concept. Furthermore, because of the students who swarmed around her title like moths to a flame, if you ran the game with only AI, Stella's win rate hovered around ninety-eight percent. While the other students fought in a chaotic battle royale, she alone could instantly form a team of dozens. On top of that, her buffs subtly boosted their stats, making it impossible for the AI to secure a victory against her. ...Well, that was only because they were AI; if a player actually tried, her win rate would plummet. But this wasn't a game—it was reality. Under normal circumstances, the fact that she held the absolute advantage remained unchanged.