Outside the Illusion Cave
While the students of Class 13 who had entered the Illusion Cave were each facing their own trials, a low chuckle echoed outside.
"Heh heh heh."
"Are you really just going to stand there at the entrance instead of leaving?" Instructor Anju asked cautiously, watching Principal Lobo who seemed content to do nothing but laugh in front of the cave.
"Why? Is it bothering you?"
"Yes."
"Hah, no mercy at all."
"You're the one who told me to speak up immediately if anything made me uncomfortable, Principal. You're also the one who recruited me as an instructor in the first place."
"That is true."
Despite Anju's blatant dissatisfaction, Lobo showed no sign of moving.
"Or perhaps you dislike that I threw the students straight into the Illusion Cave? Is my teaching method wrong?"
"......"
"If that's how you feel, don't just pressure me with silence. Speak plainly."
"It's not that. I respect every instructor's teaching style."
"Then the way you're saying it..."
"I'm not trying to pick a fight, nor am I beating around the bush. Hmm, let me rephrase. I believe the reason you tossed those students into such a perilous place wasn't only to test their abilities, but because you trust that every one of them will return alive and well."
"You seem to have little faith, considering how much you're talking."
"Ahem."
Lobo cleared his throat and took a step back.
"Very well. I'll be honest. It's because it would be troublesome if anyone got hurt."
"Who?"
"......"
"Are you worried about all nine students assigned to Class 13, or is there one specific person in particular?"
"As principal, I worry for all nine. But personally, there is one friend I hope makes it through the trial safely."
"...Principal. This is troubling."
Anju crossed her arms and glared at him. Her sharp gaze carried a thick undercurrent of betrayal.
"For someone who will one day help choose the successor to one of the Twelve King's Symbols to openly support a specific candidate is..."
"......"
"Tell me. Who is it?"
"If I tell you, I get the feeling you'll immediately put them through hell."
"Yes. I'll give them a harsh trial. We'll spar directly. I want to see what kind of talent they have that would make the Wolf King offer personal support."
"Ahem."
At the title Wolf King, Lobo—who had been on the defensive—immediately changed his expression.
"Do not call me by that title. The Wolf King position has already been claimed by another. I am the principal of this academy."
"Then Wolf Emperor?"
"...Listen, Instructor Anju."
"It was a joke. I'm only saying this because if you truly wished it, you possess the power to dismantle those imperial dogs in a single breath. That's why I'm speaking so candidly."
"There's a barb in your words."
"You refused to speak honestly and kept circling the point, so I charged straight in out of frustration."
Gwoooooooo.
A chilling wind rushed out from inside the Illusion Cave. Though the cave descended underground, the wind served as a clear signal that someone had completed their illusion trial and was emerging from the subspace.
"Let's stop here. We shouldn't be brawling in front of the students."
"Ahem. In that case, Instructor, how about a small wager with me?"
"A wager?"
"Yes. On who will emerge next. I believe it will be—"
"Corvalt the Blue Dragon."
When Instructor Anju pointed ahead first, Lobo pouted and shook his head with a sigh.
"We can't be certain. Perhaps an unexpected candidate will take first place."
"The fact that you're saying that tells me your personally favored candidate isn't the blue dragon?"
"......"
"You're deliberately telling me, aren't you?"
"It's not like that... ahem, ahem."
With a heavy clank, the device at the Illusion Cave's entrance opened, and a student emerged.
"Instructor, I have passed the trial..."
Corvalt, heir of the blue dragon. The moment he spotted Lobo standing beside Anju, he froze briefly before bowing deeply in respect.
"I greet the Archmage."
"Ahem, Archmage? I am here as principal today."
"Y-yes, Principal."
"How was the trial? What manner of monster greeted you inside the Illusion Cave?"
"...It was a corrupted demonic beast."
Corvalt furrowed his brow deeply and clenched his fist.
"That is all."
"Be more specific."
"Ah, are you asking for a report on the trial results?"
"That, and personal curiosity as well. Because..."
"The subspace within the Illusion Cave is infinite."
Anju pulled out a pair of round glasses from her pocket.
"Only the person who experienced it knows what illusion they were pulled into. The principal and I were not watching your trials in real time."
"Then confirmation is impossible? What if a serious problem occurs inside...?"
"Don't worry. They're only illusions. If something truly serious were to happen..."
"That would be a valuable harvest in its own right. The sacrifice of the vanguard allows the rear guard to prepare for safety."
"......"
Corvalt stayed silent, but the faint displeasure leaking from his twisted eyebrows was impossible to hide. Vanguard implied that even if an unforeseen serious problem arose inside—one the academy instructors hadn't predicted—and even if someone was sacrificed because of it, the response would be 'that's rather fortunate.'
"Ah. You probably wouldn't understand. The dragonkin population is so small, after all."
"That's not it. It's just..."
"If you were an antman, you would have nodded without hesitation. With fewer than a hundred dragonkin in existence, the very concept of someone's sacrifice is difficult to accept."
"......"
"Enough. So how was the trial?"
"It wasn't particularly difficult."
Corvalt extended his hand. Sharp claws slid out, and soon the distinctive curved dragon claws sparkled like crystal.
"I simply eliminated a zombified drake with these."
"A zombie, you say. What was its level approximately?"
"It felt disturbingly realistic, but it was at a level any undergraduate from the banquet hall could have defeated."
For the first time, Corvalt smiled faintly. The arrogant curve of his lips clearly carried the flavor of boredom.
"I see. Then... oh dear, the second group of passers has arrived."
"Passers, indeed."
With a long creeeak and another gust of wind, two figures emerged together from the Illusion Cave.
"Ooh...!"
A golden sheep and a white rabbit. At their appearance, a spark of interest lit up in Lobo's eyes.
"You're both safe! Did the two of you complete the trial together?"
"...Yes."
Bleber, the rabbit princess, stepped forward to answer. Something about the trial seemed to have left an openly uncomfortable atmosphere between them, yet both emerged completely unharmed.
Without a single wound.
"Good. What appeared in your respective trials?"
"........"
"Student Bleber?"
"......."
"Why the silence? Did something that shouldn't have appeared... appear?"
When Bleber remained quiet, Lobo and Anju exchanged glances. The rabbit princess they knew wasn't the type to fall silent over something like this. If the Illusion Cave had malfunctioned—
"It was a giant rabbit."
The sheep beastman, who had stayed quiet, finally spoke.
"So fat it could barely move its own body. A monster even larger than a pig beastman corrupted by demonic energy."
"Uh, um..."
"So I asked her. Princess, if you gain weight, do you end up like that too?"
"Don't speak nonsense."
Bleber snapped immediately, then gritted her teeth and gestured at the sheep.
"If you're going to talk like that, follow me. Principal, Instructor? May we speak elsewhere for a moment?"
"Speak?"
"This man's combat habits are incredibly filthy. They need correcting immediately."
"Ah, is that so? In that case..."
Instructor Anju pointed toward the academic building.
"Head to the Class 13 classroom first. Sit wherever you like."
"Thank you. You—follow me. Now."
"Yessir, yessir."
After the two beastmen left, Lobo continued staring at their retreating figures with a chuckle.
"Heh heh heh..."
"Principal. Is the one you're watching that sheep?"
"Hm?"
"Your eyes were glued to him the entire time."
"...Ah, yes. That's right. I won't deny it. Hmm, to prevent any strange misunderstandings on your part, I should explain in advance. You might not have seen it."
"Seen what?"
"The Rat King, Silmarion the Lord of Purgatory, recommended five rats and one sheep. That friend is the sheep in question."
"!!"
At the name Silmarion, Anju's eyebrows shot upward.
"Now you understand why I'm paying attention to that sheep?"
"That madman recommended a sheep...? No, why...?"
"I don't know. He even mobilized royal authority to recommend someone outside his own race. Ah, keep this secret. You as well, Corvalt."
"I will remain silent."
"Good. Oh dear, it's about time. Let us meet again at the next meeting."
Before the next student could even emerge, Lobo turned and left.
"...Ha. Hovering like a mother who tossed her pup into crocodile-infested waters. Just how high are the odds placed on that sheep...?"
"Instructor?"
"Never mind, never mind. It was merely a figure of speech. There is absolutely no gambling ring deciding who will inherit the King's Symbol with set odds. Understood?"
"......"
"What is it?"
"Nothing. It's just..."
Corvalt lightly brushed his nose with one hand.
"I thought I caught a faint scent of blood."
"Scent of blood?"
"Yes. From Bleber."
"...You."
Anju's expression crumpled instantly.
"No matter how superior a dragonkin's sense of smell may be, you don't just say things like that!!"
On the path to the classroom, I muttered, "That's strange."
"What is?" Bleber asked, adjusting her clothes and stepping closer.
"It seems neither the instructor nor that blue dragon noticed, but the principal definitely did."
"...Do you think the 'real demonic beast' was something Principal Lobo deliberately released?"
"Hard to say. I don't know."
"If the other students are facing real demonic beasts right now—"
"Even knowing that possibility, the one who stayed silent and followed me here was you."
Bleber froze in place for a moment.
"If you didn't view the other students as competitors, you would have told the instructor the truth back there and demanded the test be stopped."
"...I'm not that good of a person."
"Exactly. And neither am I."
I lightly tapped the inner pocket of my coat.
"To hide my secret weapon, I concealed the truth. You cooperated with that silence as repayment for owing me your life."
"......"
"If that nosy deer or the seemingly frail jellyfish ends up hurt or dead fighting a real demonic beast? It'll sting. I could have saved them. Because I kept quiet, they might spill blood."
"That is..."
"It can be called vulgar selfishness. It's tragic, but at the same time, part of me is thinking that the number of competitors for the Rabbit Queen's Symbol—which I should rightfully claim—has conveniently decreased."
Truly, a very human way of thinking.
"Let's keep this between the two of us for now, partner."
"...Partner?"
"Yes. Partner. Who knows? We have no idea whether the instructor, the principal, or some outside force assigned us this trial."
"......!!"
"Instructor Anju might have plotted all this with that deceptively innocent face, or Principal Lobo could have secretly altered the Illusion Cave."
"...Or, like with the Obelisk, it might be because it's a relic from the human empire."
Bleber reached out and briefly touched my hand.
"Either way, thank you for saving me. I'll repay the cost of that parchment and scroll with the recovery and cleaning magic."
"No need. But you..."
My gaze drifted to the slightly raised white tail fluff behind her.
"Are you in heat?"