Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Final Exam (1)
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"...?"
The duty room was brightly lit.
Patrick, who had passed out with his head on the desk, opened his eyes.
"What..."
He hurriedly checked the time. About an hour had passed since he last looked.
Patrick stared blankly at the clock.
'When did time pass like this?'
He definitely hadn't let his guard down.
The book wasn't boring, and his eyes hadn't felt heavy.
To avoid falling asleep, he'd kept the duty room cold, so losing consciousness like this made no sense.
"...Right, so that's what happened."
Patrick recalled his last memory.
The last thing was his conversation with Roel Griffith, who had visited the duty room.
And the dull ache in his jaw...
Now all the pieces fell into place.
"I've had a lot on my plate lately."
It was finals period now. As a professor, Patrick had naturally been involved in the preparations.
The exam was on a massive scale, leaving him almost no time to rest recently, and that seemed to be the culprit.
His body couldn't handle the accumulated fatigue and had finally given out, leading him to faint. That was the conclusion.
And the sore jaw?
What else? He'd probably face-planted first.
"I need to get some sleep tomorrow. I wonder if Cadet Roel made it back safely."
Roel was an obedient cadet.
He'd told her to go back, so she probably did.
...Of course, he hadn't properly talked to her since the first day, but still.
Patrick opened the book again.
Now that he recognized the issue, he wouldn't make the same mistake.
He wouldn't fall asleep again.
"It went well, right?"
"Yep, she'll think she collapsed from exhaustion."
Leaving Patrick, who would wake up soon, I returned to the dorm in Roel's body.
Sitla's ability was even more convenient than I'd thought.
She couldn't erase or alter memories, but she could fix someone's thinking in a specific direction.
In Patrick's case, she'd implanted the keyword 'my own mistake' deep in his subconscious.
"Good job."
"Heh, hehehe."
Sitla wore a pleased expression.
It was a desperate smile to survive.
I had no intention of killing her, but it was amusing, so I let it be.
I sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at Sitla kneeling before me.
"Is there something you want to say...?"
"Nope."
"Th-then why are you staring...?"
"Just because."
I hadn't planned to clean up after what I'd done today.
If caught, Roel would be in trouble, but I thought resolving the misunderstanding could serve as a trial of sorts.
But after acquiring Sitla, I'd revised my plan to 'clean up'.
It was like a test.
A test to see just how far Sitla could go.
And her performance had been excellent.
She'd fixed the lock on the underground cell and tampered with Patrick's memory of fainting.
She'd erased every trace of my activities in Roel's body.
"Sitla."
"Yes?!"
"Looking forward to working with you."
"M-me too!"
I suppressed a leaking laugh.
My range of activity had become far freer.
Even if unreasonable trials befell Roel, Sitla could block some of them.
This was a bigger gain than expected.
"But communication's the issue."
Separate from Sitla's competence, contacting her to 'use' her was essential.
Sure, she couldn't escape, but what good was that if I couldn't reach her?
I needed a stable way to relay orders.
"Can't we do something with the oath?"
"Probably not. Oaths can't make the impossible happen."
"Then..."
"I can figure something out!"
Sitla jumped up and started doing something.
"If I use the power the Demon King gave me right, it should work."
A gate formed on her small palm.
It started at about a meter in diameter, then gradually shrank to the size of two finger joints.
"I can't move my body through it, but sound can go back and forth. How about using this for contact?"
"Oh."
"Just infuse it with mana periodically, and it'll stay active."
"Oh..."
Sitla puffed out her chest proudly, looking triumphant.
She seemed to be fishing for praise.
"I don't know how to handle mana."
"Pardon?"
"Only aura."
"..."
"And where would I even hide it? Normally, you'd be moving without me."
It seemed like her best effort, but it wasn't ideal.
"Ah, there's still another way!"
"What?"
"Hiding."
Hiding, huh...
It was certainly a method.
If contact wasn't possible, she'd have to stay nearby anyway.
"Confident?"
"Of course. If I hide for real, no one will find me."
"Even Cigarette?"
"I can't beat her in a fight, but I'm confident I won't get caught."
Sitla snapped her fingers.
With a crisp snap, her body dissolved into smoke.
The scattered form seeped into the shadow at my feet.
The shadow spoke.
"A succubus's specialty is hiding in a human's shadow. How's this? Good enough?"
"Definitely."
It wasn't just her body hidden.
Even the demonic presence unique to her race was gone, so no one would find her.
"Stay there unless I give other orders."
"Yes!"
Her loyal response was satisfying.
Communication solved, it was time to end the possession.
Any longer, and I'd get another warning about souls mixing.
"Alright, I'm off. Stay hidden."
With that final instruction, I released the possession.
'...Why am I so tired?'
Mid-lecture, Roel felt something off.
'My eyes keep closing.'
Her body felt heavy, drowsiness pouring in.
It was bizarre, like she hadn't slept properly.
But her sleep time had been the same as usual.
'My dreams were fine too.'
It was the first time her body felt bad after perfectly normal sleep.
Was she catching a cold?
Feeling oddly chilly, Roel tried to focus on the lesson.
That's when she witnessed the strange sight.
"Eek?!"
The still shadow suddenly writhed.
Like stretching an uncomfortable body, she reflexively yelped.
"What's wrong?"
As a result, every eye in the lecture hall turned to her.
Roel clamped her mouth shut, then frantically shook her head in excuse.
"A-a cramp in my leg!"
"...Be more careful next time."
Her face burned with embarrassment.
She wanted to tear her hair out, burying her head in her arms on the desk.
"What was that about earlier?"
After the lecture, Sera came over.
She seemed to be asking about the scream.
"It wasn't a cramp."
"Then what...?"
Roel answered honestly.
She thought her shadow had moved.
Sera spoke in a slightly worried tone.
"...Shouldn't you rest?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, they say you see things when you're too tired."
She handed over a mirror, showing a truly 'exhausted' face.
Hollow, gaunt cheeks.
Like she'd pulled an all-nighter...
"I've been working hard lately, but I don't think it was overdoing it..."
"Hard to believe when you look like that."
"Ugh, yeah, I need rest. Can't have this during exams."
And so that day became a rest day.
After the precious rest, Roel resumed training immediately, and nothing like it happened again.
"Ah, Sera!"
"You're early today."
"Exam day. What about Laila?"
"Not here yet."
Exam day arrived.
Unlike midterms, they hadn't been told about non-written tests, so Roel and Sera couldn't hide their tension.
"Haven't seen her much lately..."
"She seemed deep in thought."
Laila's words had decreased sharply recently.
No negative vibes, though. She seemed even more diligent than before, to the point Roel thought it was just worry over nothing.
Of course, she still worried.
They were friends.
"Let's ask after the exam."
"...Usually, that means you never do."
"If you're gonna say weird stuff, just sit down."
Seeing Sera bickering as usual eased her mind a bit.
"Prepared for the written part?"
"Hah, forgotten who I am? Proud daughter of the Evans house..."
"You scored lower than me last time."
"..."
As a fearsome aura boiled from the properly provoked Sera, Laila entered the lecture hall.
"Ah, Laila!"
"Roel? You're early."
"...Exam day."
It had been a while since they'd met, but no time for chit-chat.
Reviewing notes even a little would help their scores, so they exchanged brief greetings and opened their notebooks.
"Good morning, everyone."
As Professor Cigarette entered, the room fell silent instantly.
Not just because a professor arrived. Tension over the exam thickened the air.
"I trust you're all prepared for the written exam. I'll distribute the papers now. Don't flip them until we start."
Professor Cigarette walked through the room.
Handing out papers personally, she urged each one not to peek.
Is this exam paper different?
The material did feel slightly changed.
'...Not super hard questions or anything, right?'
Roel suppressed her anxiety and waited for the start.
"Then..."
Cigarette checked the clock and paused briefly.
Then said,
"Take a look."
Paper rustled everywhere.
Everyone flipped almost simultaneously.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Professor, is this the exam?"
Questions arose in unison.
No 'problems' on the paper.
Just a small magic circle and a calculation formula.
"Good luck to you all."
Instead of answering, Professor Cigarette offered encouragement.
In that moment, everyone realized.
This wasn't an exam paper.
"Wh-what is this!!"
The magic scroll activated its stored 'teleportation magic'.