Truth
Lie or Truth
There was no separate measurement room.
It was simply the grand lecture hall where everyone watched.
“4th class. Next.”
The man with black hair and blue eyes shouted briefly.
At first glance, he looked no older than a student.
Too young to carry the title of professor from the magic department.
Yet the aura rolling off him made it clear he was far from an easy target.
I poked my tongue out and began trying to figure out the measurement method.
From what I’d observed, it appeared the grades were decided by how long you could hold a blue marble the size of a baseball.
It looked easy on the surface, but the students gripping the crystal ball showed otherwise.
The Guardian ranks from 1st to 9th class.
Not the official academy grades, but something with almost the same reliability, they’d said.
“22 seconds. 5th class.”
I didn’t care much about the numbers anyway.
I had to survive the coming collapse, after all.
A gate I’d have to pass someday.
I scolded myself while biting my nails, but I couldn’t hide the anxiety eating away at my mind.
*…Won’t 9th class even come out?*
“7th class. Pathetic.”
If I had to face that professor’s cold expression myself, I might have wanted to die of self-loathing.
It was the kind of gaze that looked at people like bugs.
*Yeah. I can hold for five seconds.*
One grade per second.
If I gritted my teeth and held, I’d reach 8th.
Setting the target at 8th, my tension eased a little.
Suddenly curious about Lirith’s reaction, I glanced at her.
Her mouth slightly open, both hands clasped tightly over her full chest.
She looked pretty cute, but I worried she might get discouraged by the cold reality.
*Well, I’m not exactly in a position to worry about her.*
I ran an internal simulation of how I’d handle each person and waited for my turn.
Time flew by.
Actually, it flew by fast.
Most couldn’t even last thirty seconds.
Almost everyone grabbed their wrists after holding the crystal ball.
And thirty seconds—that was for male students.
The record for female students was eleven seconds.
Most had been 9th class.
It was almost a given result before they even entered the academy, when basic training was still illegal.
Of course, I wasn’t talking about basic education like reading or speaking.
It was about magic and combat training.
They weren’t allowed to have the minimum strength to protect themselves.
The biggest problem was that I, too, started from the same line as them.
“Next.”
The noisy hall fell quiet.
I turned my head forward to see what was happening—
*…What? Why is she here?*
It was a character I’d seen in the setting materials.
The 2nd-class Guardian called the ‘Hope of Women.’
She should have been with the Guardian Guild…
“Serena Rudbein.”
The professor’s low voice sliced through the silence.
The female students began checking the men around them,
while the male students stared at Serena without a word.
Women’s education was strictly controlled.
But you couldn’t stop them from swinging a sword on their own.
And not everyone grew only through education.
The red-haired woman standing on the stage bowed her head respectfully, then gripped the measurement device with steady movements.
Crack—crack—crack…
The sound from the machine so far, but the weight felt different.
10 seconds…
20 seconds…
I heard Lirith swallow hard.
And finally—
“37 seconds. 2nd class.”
The fidgeting of the suppressed female students filled the hall.
“Amazing…”
“As expected of Serena…”
As if he didn’t care about the commotion, the professor stared at Serena quietly.
His blue eyes met Serena’s red ones in midair.
“But I can’t shake my suspicion. Marquis Rudbein’s daughter wouldn’t have done something unseemly, right?”
The noisy atmosphere froze again at the professor’s cold words.
*Yeah, that guy’s been suspicious since the beginning.*
*If it’s from the marquis family, they could’ve bought it with money.*
*Tsk, a girl messing with her honor.*
The male students, regardless of status, started hurling stones with their mouths.
And…
The frog on the stage endured the stones silently.
The ones keeping silence didn’t stop it.
And I was among them.
My heart was uneasy, but if I stepped in clumsily, stones would fly my way too.
I just waited for the situation to end quietly…
One by one, the gazes around me started pinning me down.
Eyes full of expectation.
*Goddamn it! I wasn’t planning to join the cursing!*
Because of Caron’s usual behavior, or wanting to ride the ducal family’s prestige—
the gazes gradually grew fiercer.
*Wait a second.*
*Usual behavior?*
From what I felt, Caron was as transparent as a completely consistent guy.
A brilliant idea flashed.
I barely kept my lips from curling and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Shut up. You’re all making the same lame accusations.”
The pebble-throwing cut off with my one word.
*I never thought I’d get this much attention.*
I was momentarily flustered, but if I faltered, I’d be the next target.
“Originally, I didn’t like that method either.”
By speaking what they wanted to hear, I steered the mood in the direction I wanted.
“He’s just a special case. Girls who received training are still just girls, right?”
My teasing words made the atmosphere slowly lean toward me.
*Yeah, they’d probably end up as idiots anyway.*
*As expected of Your Highness, your thinking is different from the start.*
“Hurry up and move on.”
It was a ridiculous situation, considering the professor had received the ducal family’s education yet was mocking Caron.
But the group’s madness was almost as stupid as it was scary.
The professor, watching the situation with interest, chuckled.
“Interesting, Caron. That’s not exactly what I’d expect from you. Got some faith in something?”
*Who the hell knows Caron?*
It should have been a heart-dropping moment, but—
[Achievement: ‘White-Horse Riding Demon Lord’ achieved]
[1P awarded]
In perfect timing, a smile spread across my face.
Proudly straightening my chest, I declared,
“Well, if you’re going to the academy, do you think you don’t know me?”
Murmurs mixed with expectation burst out from everywhere.
The professor glared at me for a moment, then—
“I see. Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”
He turned his gaze from me and called the next person.
I swallowed my sigh of relief and prepared to draw.
But my eyes met Serena as she descended from the stage.
A bow.
A tiny greeting that was hard to notice.
Before I could respond, she turned and walked back to her seat.
My mind went blank for a second at her pretty appearance, then I recalled—
*More than that, the fact that she’s here…*
It meant the timeline of this world was several years ahead of the setting materials.
In other words, there were at least several years left until the end of the world.
Good news while listening.
Well, the exam right in front of me was the immediate problem.
“Lirith. I’m going to take a nap for a bit, so wake me when it’s my turn.”
“Ye…?”
Of course, I didn’t know if I could wake from outside.
Well, I’d wake before the exam anyway.
[Drawing…]
[Congratulations! ‘Swindler’s Memory’ first fragment acquired.]
My vision gradually blurred…
***
“Hey. What do you think is most important when lying?”
Before my eyes opened, a voice came.
My mouth moved on its own like a magician’s.
“Hurry up and answer. We don’t have much time to analyze the situation.”
When I opened my eyes, I saw life forms drifting in a red sky.
Things that looked like wyverns.
But at the prompt, I stopped admiring and answered quickly.
“Um… audacity?”
“Completely wrong.”
My head shook.
“Audacity means you’re admitting you’re lying yourself.”
“Then what’s the answer?”
He smiled faintly and replied.
“Interestingly enough, the answer is truth.”
“Hide lies within truth, like—”
“That’s obviously not the basic answer.”
The being within me paused briefly and said,
“Some say knowing what is truth and what is false completes a sophisticated lie.”
My vision nodded up and down.
“It’s half right, though.”
Then I felt my lips curl.
“After all, what I’m saying is the truth itself.”
“What does that mean…?”
There were too many questions, but he showed no intention of answering.
“Always remember: if you don’t believe in yourself, no one will believe you.”
My vision started to blur again.
“No. We don’t say it like that.”
His final words echoed in my fading consciousness.
“Only by deceiving yourself can you deceive the world.”
***
Because it was the second time, I didn’t wake up embarrassingly like last time.
Just a little jolt from waking up startled.
I glanced beside me and saw Lirith jump in shock as she looked at me.
“Master… Are you all right…?”
I nodded.
All right or not.
[Trait ‘Lie or Truth’ acquired.]
[Description]
[Lie or Truth: The probability of deceiving someone increases dramatically.]
This time, the explanation was extremely simple.
But as a possessed person, I could feel that it would be an enormous help to my survival.
However…
This skill isn’t useful in the current situation, is it?
The thought that it was screwed rose to my head, but I forced myself to stay calm.
Time passed endlessly while I didn’t know my complicated feelings.
“Next. Lirith.”
Lirith’s body stiffened slightly at the professor’s call.
She bowed toward me, then her retreating figure looked somehow fragile.
“Grab it.”
She carefully reached out and gripped the crystal ball.
1 second… 2 seconds…
Her tightly closed eyes trembled.
…
“8 seconds. 8th class. Pathetic.”
Lirith’s face was expressionless, but I knew.
She was swallowing something.
I bowed my head, and just as she was about to turn back—
“Looks like it’s the master and that maid.”
A clear crack formed on Lirith’s expressionless face.
The mocking reactions were completely shattered.
Instead, the students began watching me a little more carefully.
The teary-eyed girl began walking back.
Her steps didn’t waver even a little.
As if she thought that if she fell now, it would be a nuisance to the ducal family.
She was a strong woman.
It would be embarrassing to compare her to me.
“Next. Caron Ludaiph.”
It felt like my heart was pounding in my ears.
If I wasn’t scared, it would have been a lie.
I couldn’t handle those gazes if I was trembling and couldn’t even announce properly.
But still…
[Lie or Truth activates]
“It’s fine.”
I muttered briefly while passing Lirith.
Whether it was a lie toward someone or truth.
I climbed onto the stage and gripped the crystal ball roughly.
Everyone’s gazes pinned me, but my eyes were fixed only on the professor’s.
Thanks to Master of Mana, the inside of the crystal ball was crystal clear.
The mana was slowly rotating faster.
I finally understood why the students were struggling to hold on.
Just holding the crystal ball felt like my arms were being torn out.
5 seconds… 6 seconds…
But the moment I realized the crystal ball was made of mana,
this test lost its meaning.
I squeezed the hand gripping the crystal ball and began controlling the mana inside.
*Can I hold for long?*
No.
My body couldn’t endure it.
*…Maybe the answer was one from the beginning.*
According to my will, the mana gradually found stability.
The mana that should have been spinning out of control.
Instead, the professor’s pupils began to tremble slightly.
Finally, the crystal ball stopped perfectly,
and his expression froze along with it.
“…The crystal ball… stopped?”
No one except the professor opened their mouths.
In the deathly quiet, I murmured softly,
“Why are you all so surprised?”
Hoping someone who gave me courage would hear.
“That maid, her master, right?”