Just a Madman
The novel I wrote, Academy Spy Dispatch, took an entire massive continent as its world-building foundation. A new continent would be discovered much later, but that was still far off. The nation that held supremacy over that continent was the Freya Empire. Ten years ago, the Empire launched a full-scale invasion of the Trude Kingdom after it rejected a demand for annexation. Despite the Empire holding more than a tenfold advantage in economic power, military strength, and population, the Trude Kingdom continuously bled the imperial forces dry and somehow forced a ceasefire agreement.
But it was only a temporary peace. While the Kingdom had suffered damage from which it could never recover, the Empire would regain its military strength within six years and resume the war. So the Trude Kingdom changed its grand strategy. Before the fighting restarted, they would dispatch a massive number of spies into the Empire to carry out simultaneous sabotage. They would mobilize every separatist and anarchist within the Empire, pushing things to the point where the Empire’s dissolution seemed imminent.
The protagonist, Hurtlocker Siegfried, was sent to the Imperial Academy as the vanguard of that plan. His mission was to perpetrate the worst terrorist attack in history on the appointed day of the final battle, slaughtering the students and faculty. But Hurtlocker, whose mind had been worn down from years of being used as a weapon of war, gradually regained his emotions after meeting various people at the academy. The stress of knowing he would eventually have to kill the friends he made there drove him to the brink, until he realized the existence of a far greater public enemy to all humanity.
In the end, Hurtlocker came to understand that the Empire needed unity rather than destruction, and he began working to bring all of human civilization together… That was the main plot of the story.
“Goddamn it…”
I had already ruined everything. Because of me, Hurtlocker couldn’t enroll. Now the bastard would never regain his emotions, would remain completely ignorant of that greater enemy, and would go on to commit every act of terrorism imaginable in order to destroy the Empire. The hero who was supposed to save the human realm had become a complete villain instead.
Incidentally, the Imperial Academy didn’t have any waitlist system. Even if I withdrew my admission, there was no chance Hurtlocker would get in.
“What the hell am I supposed to do…?”
If the Kingdom’s sabotage succeeded and the Empire collapsed, the human realm would be doomed. Without the Empire’s named talents, the protagonist alone could never stop the colossal wave that would soon come crashing down. I had set the power balance that way myself, so I knew it for a fact.
The reader who had sent me here had said he would help me reach the ending. In other words, if I wanted to return to the real world, I had to drag this story to its conclusion no matter what. Even if the plot ended up diverging somewhat from the original.
“All right, fuck it. I’ve decided.”
I slammed the empty beer mug down on the table. With that, my mind was made up. My resolve was set. My plan going forward was simple.
First, I would enroll at the Imperial Academy. Then I would gather every named talent from the academy to my side and stop Hurtlocker’s sabotage. Finally, I would somehow persuade the protagonist to…
“Goddammit.”
It was already falling apart. How the hell was the protagonist supposed to react if some student from an enemy nation suddenly started blocking all his sabotage attempts and then asked for help? I’d be lucky if he didn’t put me at the top of his assassination list. There was no good answer here.
I couldn’t carry out the plan while leaving out the protagonist either, since he was the final boss counter. The guy I had been feeding every opportunity and advantage possible was now standing on the opposite side. Nothing could be more fucked up than this.
“No choice then.”
There was only one way. I would force Hurtlocker to cooperate with me. Even if I had to beat him into submission. Even if I had to destroy the Kingdom. Even if I had to take away everything he had, I would make sure he stood on my side for the final battle.
*
“This is insane.”
The night had grown completely dark. It had been nearly six hours since I left the tavern, yet I was still wandering the streets. The reason was simple: I had nowhere to go.
It wasn’t as if I had done nothing for six hours. I had spent one hour walking all the way to the city hall to find out where Schluss Heinkel lived. But the only thing I learned there was—
“Schluss Heinkel… There is no information on him at all.”
At least he didn’t live in the capital. That made sense. The only commoners who could afford the murderous land prices in the capital were the bourgeoisie. So I checked every inn and lodging in the area, thinking he must have secured a room somewhere.
“I’m sorry, but we have no customer by the name of Schluss Heinkel.”
“There is no reservation under that name.”
“We can’t find anything. How do you spell it, exactly?”
But I found nothing. I had even searched the shabbiest places, yet there was no trace of him. Or maybe… maybe Schluss had never had a place to stay in the first place.
“No way.”
While walking down an alley, I spotted a pile of old newspapers stacked in a corner. Perhaps that had been where Schluss slept last night. Maybe he had come to the capital penniless, with nothing but the determination to take the Imperial Academy entrance exam. An ominous feeling was steadily becoming reality.
“Tsk…”
The night was already deep, and raindrops had begun to fall. My stomach was empty, and I only had fifty tyrion left in my pocket. At this point, there were only two options left.
One was to barge into any random place, offer to do any kind of work, and beg for a night’s shelter. The other was—
“I have to go back.”
Returning to the Imperial Academy. The latter seemed like the better choice.
***
“Is the grading finished?”
“Yes, it’s complete, Examiner.”
“I am no longer an examiner.”
“Ah, of course. Head Professor. Here is the final results sheet.”
In the exam scoring room, Head Professor Ludwig frowned as he took the entrance examination results. Erika von der Lichtenburg. Edengard Trie von dem Schulzenburg. Eins von Wittgenstein. The names of geniuses who had been called prodigies since childhood were all listed there.
But what truly annoyed Ludwig was the name sitting at the very top. Schluss Heinkel. The only commoner among this year’s new students—and he had taken the top spot. For Ludwig, whose elitist beliefs ran deep, the mere fact was enough to make Schluss utterly distasteful.
“Is it because of that commoner?”
“……”
“I heard he scored perfectly on the special exam. How was it? You were there, weren’t you, Head Professor?”
“For a commoner, he was quite impressive. But that’s all.”
Ludwig clicked his tongue and handed the paper back. From that moment on, his mind was consumed with thoughts of how to expel Schluss. Since the chairman had taken a liking to the boy, ordinary methods wouldn’t work. He needed something more subtle, something that wouldn’t easily invite blame. As Ludwig pondered deeply—
“Professor. An outsider is looking for you.”
“For me? Who?”
“It wasn’t exactly the head professor they asked for… They requested the person in charge of the dormitories. I thought you would be the most appropriate.”
“Then who is it?”
“Schluss Heinkel. The student who is expected to be this year’s top admit.”
“……”
The professor lifted a crystal orb. It showed Schluss Heinkel standing ramrod straight at the school’s main gate, drenched in rain. When those hollow eyes slowly turned and met Ludwig’s gaze, he couldn’t help but flinch. The surveillance artifact installed at the main gate was supposed to be perfectly concealed from any observation, yet…
But it must have been a coincidence. The gaze soon drifted elsewhere. Only then did Ludwig let out a breath and speak.
“Let him in. Have him come to my office.”
“Yes, Head Professor.”
Ludwig tightened his necktie and turned around, a faint smile forming on his lips. This was perfect timing.
*
“…Schluss Heinkel.”
“Yes, that is correct, Head Professor Ludwig.”
“……”
The moment the man with those rotten eyes entered the office, Ludwig’s mouth twisted. Rainwater dripped steadily from his soaked body, staining the carpet. There was no way a mage skilled enough to apply to the Imperial Academy couldn’t even use a basic flame spell. Either he had exhausted his mana somewhere, or he was deliberately trying to cause trouble.
To Ludwig, the latter seemed more likely, but without evidence he couldn’t say anything. He narrowed his eyes, snapped his fingers, and a fire roared to life in the fireplace.
“…Go dry yourself.”
“Thank you.”
Schluss gave a polite bow while standing perfectly straight, then walked confidently over and sat in front of the fireplace. There wasn’t the slightest trace of the usual servility commoners displayed when dealing with nobles. Even lower nobles became obsequious in front of Ludwig, yet this man…
Whether he had lost all fear, had some kind of backing, or simply didn’t know the power of the Bermanstein family, he was certainly a strange one.
“So why have you come to see me?”
“Is it now confirmed that I will be admitted as the top student?”
“The announcement is tomorrow. Check then.”
“The results must already be finalized.”
“Even if that’s true, I have no obligation to tell you. I asked why you came to see me. Answer the question.”
“I wish to receive in advance the privileges of being top of the year—the single dormitory room and the dignity maintenance stipend.”
“State your reason. Without proper justification, it is impossible.”
“I have no place to sleep and no money.”
“……”
The brazen answer left Ludwig speechless. Demanding the top student’s privileges before even enrolling was absurd enough, but the reason he gave was even more ridiculous. Most commoners tried to hide their weaknesses—especially financial ones that nobles could easily exploit. Yet Schluss had declared it openly, as if it weren’t a weakness at all.
What was he relying on? A way to exploit that weakness immediately came to mind, so Ludwig spoke with a faint smile.
“Normally it would be against the rules… but very well. I will grant it.”
“Thank y—”
“However, there is a condition.”
“What is it?”
“You must maintain the top position in your year until the end of the first semester. If you lose the top spot even once, you will be expelled.”
“……”
“I am breaking the rules to show you goodwill. You should at least deliver results that match that favor, shouldn’t you?”
As Schluss’s expression hardened in real time, Ludwig’s smile grew clearer. The top spot changed hands three times in the first semester: during the entrance exam, the midterms, and the finals. No student in history had ever taken first place in both the entrance exam and the midterms, let alone all three. The requirements for each test were simply too different.
The odds of a commoner who had luckily received a perfect score on the special exam thanks to strong mentality also taking first in the midterms were… zero. Not close to zero—exactly zero.
He won’t want to be expelled.
Schluss sat silently for a long time, seemingly deep in thought. Graduating from the academy would guarantee a meteoric rise unimaginable for a commoner. There was no way he would choose expulsion. He would end up shivering on the streets in the rain with an empty stomach. If he froze to death, so much the better.
Some might call it a pathetic trick, but at least no one could hold Ludwig responsible. He had simply followed the rules. If anything, he had shown favor. Whatever the conditions of that favor were.
“All right.”
“Yes, I thought you would say… Wait. What did you just say?”
“I accept your proposal. Please guide me to the dormitory. Also, provide this month’s dignity maintenance stipend immediately.”
“……”
At some point Schluss had risen and now stood directly in front of Ludwig’s desk, looking down at him. Ludwig, at a loss for words, swallowed nervously and forgot for a moment that the other man was a commoner. His prediction had been wrong.
This wasn’t a man who had lost his senses. He was simply insane.