The Longest Ten Minutes
"Alright, everyone, get ready. Put down your writing utensils."
Ugh, this is deathly awkward. I needlessly adjusted the collar of my white coat. My voice didn't shake, did it? I scanned the students to look as natural as possible, and fortunately, they didn't seem to find anything odd.
Except for Orca and Leo, that is.
I really wish they wouldn't look at me like that... It feels like I'm going to mess up...
To hide my awkwardness, I cleared my throat and recited my prepared lines.
"Try not to be too nervous just because it's your first exam. This is simply a process to see where you currently stand. If your score is low, you just need to work harder; if it's high, you must strive not to be overtaken."
I had agreed to help proctor because they said they were short-staffed during the exam period, but this was far more nerve-wracking than I'd anticipated. I had been told not to worry too much, as metal detectors banned all electronic devices and mana detectors could track the students' mana. They said cheating was practically impossible, and that proctors were there simply to deter students from even harboring the thought.
Yet, the reason I couldn't let my guard down was very simple. Back when this was a game, there was an episode that popped up during a sub-quest. As you might guess from me bringing this up now, it was about cheating.
The quest rewards had been quite lucrative, so I had always cleared it, meaning I knew exactly how the cheating was done. Not that I thought I could catch them in the act in real-time just by watching...
Still, perhaps because I knew such an incident would occur in the future, I couldn't help but look at the students with suspicious eyes.
Well, no. I didn't actually think a student at the Academy would resort to cheating on their very first exam. This was an age when their pride pierced the heavens. For a child praised as a genius to fall far enough to cheat, it wouldn't happen in just a day or two. Even if they did, it would be at least half a year from now. That sub-quest wasn't scheduled to start for another six months, after all.
But the world had already changed significantly from the original story. There was no telling what might happen.
...I turned my head to look at Orca and Leo. Were they nervous? Or were their minds completely blank? I couldn't tell what kind of expressions they were making.
All I could do was keep watch to ensure no cheating took place.
I hope they do well on the exam.
"I hope you all get good results, reflecting the hard work you've put in. Now, once the time comes, you may begin."
Even though they had relied on the power of Hypnosis, Orca and Leo had studied incredibly hard. Though it hadn't been for a very long time...
I just hoped they wouldn't be disappointed when they received their results. Only then would they put in even more effort to prepare for the next exam.
A bell cut through the quiet silence, signaling the start of the test.
"Alright, you may begin. You all know that cheating is strictly punished, so please refrain from it."
The sound of students scribbling on paper began to echo in unison. Everyone was focused solely on writing down what they knew. There was no sign of anyone cheating.
...Was I just worrying over nothing?
Of course. Who would try to cheat on the very first exam?
To be honest, even if someone did cheat, there was no way for me to detect it. At least, not with the cheating method I knew of. How on earth was I supposed to notice someone engraving microscopic text onto their writing utensils and reading it through tactile sensation? That was insane.
No matter how closely I watched the students, I was ultimately just a Normal / Untrained person. There was no way I could track all of their movements.
My resolve to root out any potential cheating for the sake of the students shattered in less than five minutes. I had thought that even if I couldn't catch the act itself, I might be able to deduce it from their reactions, but all I saw were students writing down their answers with utmost diligence.
Yeah, who am I kidding...
Giving up, I stared blankly into space, only to grow bored and look back at the students. Then, tired of watching them, I went back to staring blankly into space, repeating the cycle over and over.
...By the time it felt like I had repeated this dozens of times, my body began to itch. My posture was uncomfortable, so I kept shifting my weight. My rear was starting to ache, and though I wanted to stand up, I couldn't just wander around for fear of distracting the students...
Is this... the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? Just how many minutes have passed?
"..."
Staring blankly up at the clock, I immediately fell into despair.
...Only ten minutes have passed?
There were still fifty minutes left of the exam.
And I couldn't even sleep. I was the proctor. If the proctor fell asleep right in front of them, it was obvious what the students would think. Besides, this was only the first subject exam.
I'm pretty sure I had mindlessly offered to help with all of them...
I wanted to die of boredom. I should have just offered to help with the practical exams. At least those would have had plenty of things to watch.
But no matter how much I regretted it, nothing changed, and time began to crawl at an agonizingly slow pace.
Arghhhhh...
"What about the instructions?"
"Perfect. Even if everything else fails, the Academy will at least be thrown into chaos."
"...Good."
In a secluded alleyway of the Academy, an instructor was conversing with someone.
"Well done, Teacher. It must not have been an easy position for you to interfere with."
"...It was something that had to be done."
The Academy's security was certainly top-tier. However, compared to the security of the Church and the Imperial Family, it naturally fell short.
The Imperial Family possessed greater power than anyone else in the world, and the Church, while not quite matching the Imperial Family, served as their deterrent. No matter how much one wished to strike a blow against these two factions, rash action would result in gaining nothing, suffering immense losses, or having their tail caught, leading to the dissolution of their organization.
That was why they decided to target the Academy.
The Imperial Family only employed those selected through a rigorous screening process, and the Church likewise subjected its high-ranking officials to strict scrutiny, though the details remained a secret.
But what about the Academy?
Veronica, who ran wild with the Emperor's favor backing her, hired instructors based solely on her own whims. The security was lax compared to the other two factions, and the hiring standards were a mess in comparison to the Church and the Imperial Family. Even if they caused an incident and stirred up trouble, they would have plenty of time to escape compared to targeting the other two. At the very least, they would have enough time to cut their tail like a lizard and flee.
...Furthermore, once it was revealed that the Empire's Imperial Princess and a Watcher had enrolled in the Academy at the same time this year, they became certain.
This was a god-given opportunity.
"Thank you for your hard work. No one will ever forget your sacrifice."
"...Right," Ian replied.
The voice echoing from the receiver was certainly expressing condolences, but the instructor holding the phone could tell there was absolutely no emotion behind it. He was nothing more than a disposable pawn to them.
"Do not worry too much. We will make sure your relatives are well hidden."
"To say such things when you already know everything... You truly are scum."
Grit. The sound of his teeth grinding was so loud he wondered if it would carry through the receiver.
"My apologies. I suppose my joke wasn't very funny."
"A joke? ...Do you think this is a joke? There is no way you don't know that my family is already dead!"
He had realized the moment they contacted him that he would be a disposable pawn. He also knew that this was nothing more than a futile, misplaced venting of anger. Yet, why had he grasped their hands instead of reporting them to the Imperial Family?
It was for revenge. To avenge his deceased wife and daughter.
There was no way they didn't know that. If he hadn't had such a background, they never would have approached him in the first place. Judging by the fact that this group rebelling against the Imperial Family had yet to be discovered, they were an incredibly cautious bunch.
"...Well, it's not entirely incorrect, though."
"What?" Ian asked, his voice tight.
"The moment it's revealed that you committed such an act, the Imperial Family won't hesitate to desecrate corpses."
"..."
"They might dig up the graves, exhume the urns... and perhaps even torture their souls just to vent their anger."
"T-That sort of thing..."
"Is highly possible, I believe. Even a child knows that the Imperial Family hoards countless artifacts. Do you really think they wouldn't have a single artifact capable of doing that?"
He couldn't deny it. The ugly, true face of the Imperial Family he had witnessed was certainly capable of doing such a thing, and worse.
"That is why I said it. Even if your own soul is damned, your family's souls shouldn't have to suffer, should they?"
"...Right. I'm counting on you."
"Do not worry. This is a gesture of goodwill. A reward for you, who are helping us free of charge."
"..."
"I hope everything goes well, Instructor Ian."
"Yeah," Ian replied, and the line went dead.