Chapter 82: Prince Maker (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: Prince Maker (7)
That was a close call.
I truly experienced what it means for a person to be wielded by their weapon.
As expected of a weapon belonging to the (presumed) final boss of the original story—and the one currently used by the RoFan heroine. It was a true Magic Sword.
"I almost made a total fool of myself."
I’d gotten too intoxicated by the Magic Sword’s power and let the excitement get the better of me. Thanks to that, I’d drawn the aggro of several teams.
Of course, there was no way a bunch of ordinary students could defeat me—the man who had single-handedly crushed the combination of Prince Ellen and the Minor Sword Emperor.
That is, if I had stayed in the same condition as when I beat those two.
The problem was that I’d had a bit too much fun, and the divine power stored in the blade ran out right in the middle of the enemy swarm. Instead of receiving power from the Magic Sword, I had to struggle just to suppress its backlash.
The only saving grace was...
"It’s just as Prince Esid said!"
"As expected of Lord Esid!"
I was getting my mana sucked dry, and they were opting for a war of attrition, which made me wonder if they were insane. But since the one who came up with that crazy plan was Esid, I was unintentionally able to humor them.
"Urgh, as expected of Esid...!"
With those words, I slammed the Magic Sword into the ground, snatched a sword from a fallen student, gave them a decent enough fight to keep up appearances, and then made my escape.
Nothing about the process seemed suspicious.
It was true that I’d struggled because of the Magic Sword, and even after that, there was no way ordinary students or TAs could see through acting refined by the Essence of Defeat Sword.
Since the professors were supposedly reviewing everything via video, the Sword Emperor might have his suspicions, but even for him, it would be nothing more than a hunch. If I denied it, there was nothing he could do.
...Or so I thought.
"Wait, Head Professor, what are you doing here?"
"It’s a special exam."
"......"
Professor, this wasn't on the syllabus.
"......"
Fine. Let’s be generous. Let’s say the Sword Emperor can suddenly pop up during an exam. Honestly, he did that occasionally back at the Academy, too.
"It’s a special exam."
When I stared at him in silence, the same words came out again.
The problem was that the person I was staring at wasn't the Sword Emperor.
"Why is the Head Professor of the Magic Department here...?"
"Well, it is a joint class, after all."
"Indeed."
"......"
Shit.
Watching the two Head Professors nod at each other as if there were no issues, all I could do was put my faith in the power of the Magic Sword.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Has this old man gone senile?
McGregor, the Head Professor of the Magic Department, furrowed his brows at the words of his long-time rival.
Even though he’d been thrashed by that unprecedented anti-mage, Silence, McGregor was still recognized as a Grand Mage across the continent. Furthermore, the old man speaking was the pinnacle of swordsmanship—recognized as the greatest, if not the strongest, swordsman in the world.
For people like them to drag other professors and TAs along just to wreak havoc on a student exam...
"Wouldn't it be fun?"
"......"
McGregor sighed as he looked at the chuckling Sword Emperor.
The people of the continent were being deceived. Sword Emperor Aren was a man respected by every swordsman and even by mages. People believed him to be a solemn and grave individual based on the legends surrounding him.
But all these sword-jocks are the same.
McGregor knew all too well that such an image was a mere illusion. The breed known as 'swordsmen' were like children, whether they were young or old.
"At your age... please, grow up."
"Swordsmen are a lot that dies once they grow old. So, I need to hang out with the youngsters to recharge my youth."
Chuckling, the Sword Emperor held out a round crystal ball. It was a type of recording magic tool, containing footage of the exam process.
"Now, look at this."
"What now...?"
McGregor, who had been about to snap back, fell silent. The sword held by the student on the screen was very familiar.
"That... is someone else able to use that?"
"He’s the lover of Daisy from the Swordsmanship Department. I suppose she lent it to him since they're dating."
"...Why is Daisy in the Swordsmanship Department?! Daisy belongs to the Magic Department!"
"This year, perhaps. But will that be the case next year?"
She even lent him that sword, didn't she?
Provoked by the Sword Emperor’s prodding, McGregor joined the students' exam along with the other Magic Department professors to meet the boy in question.
Of course, naturally...
"Isn't it a bit cowardly for both of you to attack at once?!"
Since they had joined specifically to see Adam, testing him together with the Sword Emperor was a natural progression. They didn't give a single thought to the suffering the student might endure.
"How curious."
Daisy was fundamentally a mage, even if she held a mysterious sword. Since rumors were circulating about her transferring to the Swordsmanship Department, McGregor should have been trying his best to maintain the Magic Department's favor.
However, the swordsman before his eyes was sturdy, and more importantly, he was someone McGregor had no reason to walk on eggshells around.
Not only that...
"Ooh! It’s absorbing Aura, even if it’s just a little!"
The Head Professor of the Swordsmanship Department—the only one who could have stopped him—was more excited than anyone else as he pressured the student.
"The top scorer for this exam has been decided."
Though the Academy occasionally produced students who surpassed TAs or professors, here was a student holding his ground against two Head Professors.
Just surviving this long was enough to earn him massive extra credit.
Therefore...
"Hmm. This time, I'll try this spell..."
McGregor, who had been holding back for the sake of fairness, began humming as he prepared his next magic.
"...What on earth happened to you?"
When I went to find Daisy to return the Magic Sword, she took one look at my state and spoke.
"A f—... a great many things happened."
A hell of a lot happened.
Those bastards called Head Professors treated a human being like a lab rat. The Sword Emperor was one thing, but even the Head Professor of the Magic Department was pretending to be dignified while his lips were twitching with excitement.
Honestly, I can't blame them; the urge to experiment with a Magic Sword is hard to resist. Even while I was being put through that hell, I found myself thinking, 'Holy shit, it can do this too?' and felt my heart racing.
"So. How was the sword?"
"To the point where I don't think I can go back to the days before I had it? Honestly, if I could just use it normally, I might have given my entire fortune to buy it. Or maybe I would have eloped to Leon in the middle of the night with it."
In the past, when I heard stories of nobles selling their capital mansions to buy a masterwork dwarven blade, I wondered if a single sword was really worth that much. Now, I understood that person's feelings a little.
"And just how much is your 'entire fortune'?"
How much, you ask?
"Among the first years, excluding that friend Hedrick, I’m probably the wealthiest."
Excluding the heir of House Ilias—who couldn't even attend the field trip because a terrorist was found among his staff during the Founding Festival—there probably wasn't a student who could beat me in terms of pure liquid assets.
Of course, the RoFan male leads existed, but their wealth belonged to their families, not them personally.
"...Really?"
"Yes."
So, in terms of funds one could use purely at their own discretion, I had the most.
"...My birthday is coming up soon. I guess I can look forward to something then?"
"...Wasn't your birthday in the spring?"
Her name is Daisy, and people usually associate flowers with spring. I even remembered Boradori telling me her birthday was in the spring.
"You knew?"
Daisy’s eyes widened in surprise. Did she become a Saintess just to scam people for gifts?
"I heard it from Violet."
"...You two are closer than I thought."
Sharing stories like that.
When she sent me a look full of suspicion, I shook my head with a grimace.
"It’s not like that."
"What exactly is 'that'?"
"Everything you're currently thinking."
"Hmm. They say the first one is the hardest, but it gets easier after that."
I sighed deeply at her 'Is this cheating?' expression.
"That's not going to happen."
"They say a strong denial is a strong affirmation!"
I think I know exactly who told her that.
"Bo— I mean, Violet told you that, didn't she?"
"You even know that!"
"...Who else around you would say something like that?"
"I have plenty of friends, you know."
"The ones who ran away when they saw the Magic Sword?"
"...That was just because they were surprised! They won't do that anymore!"
I handed the Magic Sword back to Daisy, who was pouting and grumbling.
"Why don't you try taking a lap around the area with that?"
"You're really mean, you know that?"
She immediately strapped the sword to her waist, looking quite accustomed to it now. It really wouldn't be strange to see 'Swordsman Daisy' next year.
But if that happened, Daisy would need to use the sword herself, which would make it harder for me to borrow it...
It was right around the time when the expectation of a talented newbie was clashing with the anxiety of losing access to a god-tier item.
"Ah, and also."
As I was about to leave after returning the sword, Daisy caught me.
"It’s true that my birthday is coming up."
"Pardon?"
"My real birthday is in the winter."
"Why?"
"There was a constant blizzard when I was born, so they could only report my birth in the spring."
Claiming it was a birth secret she hadn't told anyone else, Daisy smiled mischievously, her eyes curving beautifully.
"So, you have to take care of my gift both times, okay?"
I shouldn't have mentioned being rich.
And so, life in Rias—where it was hard to tell if it was a field trip or a survival training camp—continued.
I heard from Taylor about the mundane task of beating up the occasional passing Dark Mage. By the time the Head Professor duo making a daily routine of thrashing the top-ranked students (including me), whether I had the Magic Sword or not, became the norm...
Fortunately, today it was Prince Ellen getting pummeled by the duo instead of me, so I was relatively unscathed.
"Who did you say arrived?"
"It’s the Wolfkin."
A race name I had forgotten—or rather, wanted to forget—popped up.
"Hey, your dad's here."
"Huh?"
I grabbed the hind legs of Bell, who was sleeping peacefully while drooling in her dog form, and tucked her under my arm. Following the agent sent by Taylor, I headed toward the gates of Rias.
And there...
"......"
"......"
Stood a group of people in tatters, looking as if a hell of a lot had happened to them.
"Are the Wolfkin having a hard time lately?"
"I... I didn't think so..."
The state of the Wolfkin was so disastrous that even his own daughter's voice trailed off.
"Daughter!"
The man standing at the front charged toward us the moment he saw Bell.
"......"
Bell hid behind my back out of embarrassment, but unfortunately, I had no intention of being her shield.
"Traitor!"
"I am merely observing a touching family reunion."
I tossed Bell straight to the man presumed to be her father. Bell shouted in a voice full of betrayal, but...
"Daughter! Daughter! My daughter!"
"Yelp!"
The massive Wolfkin caught her and tossed her into the air about five times. Bell’s eyes spun in circles, and she couldn't say a word.
"Whimper..."
After being in the air for a long time, Bell finally touched the ground and began spinning in place. I turned my gaze toward Bell’s father.
"So you're the man who helped my daughter. I have something prepared for you..."
The man started to speak, then glanced back at his group.
"There were some damn Dark Mages on the way, and I lost it while crushing them."
"......"
"But don't you worry. There's a Feline Tribe village nearby. I'll just go pillage something from there."
"......?"
"Just wait a moment!"
With those words, he immediately led his group away and vanished.
"Dad?"
He even abandoned his own daughter.