Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Swaying Attention
A massive crystal lump golem, easily weighing at least 800 kilograms, began accelerating.
If crushed, death. Even a collision would mean at least severe injury.
No matter how strong Astraea’s Marie currently was, it wasn’t an opponent she could handle.
‘Since Marie got caught doing pre-learning, she’ll start with 7 penalty points, right? That’s too harsh. I should help her a bit.’
Idnia decided she should help Marie without making it obvious.
So she picked up a stone from the ground and carefully focused her aura into it.
The problem was, the moment she tried to concentrate her aura, the Tyrant Art began to boil up.
The suppressed Tyrant Art surged and tried to alter her form.
‘Ah, no. Ngh… I should retreat into the bushes.’
Feeling her form beginning to change, Idnia quickly slipped into the bushes for the time being.
Fortunately, everyone’s attention was fixed on the charging crystal golem. No one was looking her way.
‘Alright then!’
-Swoosh!
The stone wrapped in a terrifying aura shot toward the crystal golem.
At that moment, Marie, in a desperate situation, cast the Arrow of Holy Light once more.
-Thud!
The Arrow of Holy Light was deflected again, but… beneath that light, the stone thrown by Idnia pierced straight through the crystal golem.
-Boom!
The crystal golem shattered instantly.
“Oh?!”
“Wooooah!”
At the sight of the despair-inducing monster, which seemed impossible to defeat, breaking apart so cleanly, everyone cheered.
“My god!”
“We’re saved!”
“Hurray!”
The students reveled in the joy of being freed from the fear of death.
If one had looked closely, they might have noticed that the holy arrow was deflected, and a faster projectile hidden beneath its shadow destroyed the crystal golem…
But everyone had been too busy fleeing in terror to properly see what happened.
-Rumble…
The shattered crystal golem collapsed, and now there was nothing left blocking the path to the dormitories.
‘Hmm, it ended up giving Marie the credit. Well, that’s fine. Astraea’s Marie. She has quite decent potential.
As expected of the protagonist, I suppose? That’s a relief.’
Idnia withdrew the Tyrant Art and observed Marie.
The halo above her head disappeared.
‘Ah, so that isn’t just a cosmetic item. It only appears when she uses holy magic. Still, it’s quite a sight when it shows up. As expected of a protagonist—plain normally, but beautiful when she exerts herself.’
Nodding to herself, Idnia entered the dormitory.
If just getting to the dorms after the entrance ceremony was this dreadful, the future at the academy seemed worrying.
Just entering the dormitory left all the students in disarray.
Even though they had lit their way with magic, they had to wander through a dark forest and face unexpected low-tier skeletons.
‘It’s a miracle no one was injured. Honestly, Professor Vuremhyde still hasn’t come to his senses after causing such an incident….’
Meanwhile, the very person responsible for the chaos, Vuremhyde, seemed to have suddenly lost interest after tormenting the students to his heart’s content.
‘She destroyed my crystal golem because she’s a saint candidate? Hmm. With the output recorded so far, it shouldn’t have been enough to stop a crystal golem. Well then, I’ll return to my lab. Vice principal, you handle the rest.’
Completely self-indulgent.
That no casualties occurred despite Vuremhyde’s involvement was nothing short of a miracle.
Professor Deneuve, grateful that all students had returned alive, called Astraea’s Marie forward.
“Marie. You will be given 5 penalty points for being caught having done pre-learning and keeping silent about it.”
At that, some students began to sneer again.
Perhaps due to their social upbringing, where gossiping about others was a form of entertainment, some couldn’t hold back even in this situation.
“Heh… what is this? She did pre-learning but still got in last place? That’s hilarious….”
However, there were also sensible students, and the ridicule was quickly challenged.
“Is that something to laugh about?”
“Huh? Of course it is. If she did pre-learning and still got last, how dumb do you have to—”
“Then can you destroy a crystal golem like she did?”
“Uh… w-well, that’s different.”
“Does that make sense? Isn’t there some mistake?”
Thanks to the overwhelming achievement of destroying the crystal golem, the mocking students fell silent.
But then…
“Ah, um, excuse me, but I truly did not do any pre-learning.”
Surprisingly, Marie protested.
Everyone was taken aback by her claim.
She had smashed skeletons with magic and even destroyed a crystal golem—though the one who truly destroyed it was Idnia…—and yet she claimed she hadn’t done any pre-learning?
Even Professor Deneuve looked flustered, not expecting her to object at this timing.
“If it wasn’t pre-learning, then how did you use that magic? Are you suggesting that because it is holy magic, it doesn’t count as pre-learning? Marie, our academy curriculum includes holy magic education.”
“That’s….”
“Is she going to call it a miracle?”
“Maybe she learned it in her mother’s womb.”
The students mocked her again.
Even those who had admired her earlier now fell silent.
Using powerful magic was admirable, but speaking nonsense in this situation made it hard to defend her.
‘She’s choosing to walk a thorny path herself.’
Only Idnia, knowing Marie was sincere, felt pity.
‘She probably inherited a holy magic skill… In the game, it’s just understood as trait inheritance, but in reality, it’s literally a miracle. But how could she explain that?’
Marie likely had been born with powerful holy magic since childhood.
Without even knowing why she could use it…
So she simply said she hadn’t done pre-learning, but to others, it sounded like a ridiculous lie.
“Are you saying it’s because you are a saint? Very well. If you can prove it, the penalty points will be revoked. However, until it is proven, the penalty will remain.”
Professor Deneuve, disregarding the presumption of innocence, demanded that Marie prove her own innocence.
‘Even this much shows he’s a person of character. If it weren’t Professor Deneuve, another professor would have taken it as a challenge to their authority and punished her more severely.’
Indeed, Professor Deneuve was a very fair person.
“Separately, for stepping forward to protect your fellow students from the threat of the crystal golem, you will be awarded 2 merit points. I do not agree with Professor Vuremhyde’s policy, but all of you—many students here have done pre-learning.
And yet, they chose not to step forward, prioritizing their penalty points over the safety of others.
In contrast, I would like to commend her for stepping forward despite the risk of penalties.”
“Yes. Th-thank you.”
With that, Astraea’s Marie escaped last place with 2 merit points and 7 penalty points, rising instantly into the rankings.
Though she held an overwhelming lead in penalty points, rankings were determined primarily by merit points, so all ordinary students with zero merit points fell below her.
And then more rewards followed.
“Rudolf Rosenbaum Kalliestra. For demonstrating excellent leadership as the head of Zephyros dormitory, you are awarded 1 merit point.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Crown Prince Rudolf Kalliestra took the lead with 4 merit points.
He had taken the front, broken through the skeletons, and then led the Zephyros students to swiftly overcome the obstacle.
“Idnia Katche Betelgeuse.”
“Yes.”
“For displaying outstanding leadership in a crisis and excellent command as the head of Euros dormitory, you are awarded 1 merit point.”
Idnia also received a reward.
‘It would have been nice to get 2 points, but only 1… still, I suppose this puts me right below the Crown Prince? I’m not confident in magic studies, so I should secure merit points whenever I can….’
With 2 points from being dorm head and 1 more just now, she had 3 merit points. With no penalties, she rose right beneath the Crown Prince.
She surpassed Isolde, who had 2 points for top admission, as well as the heads of Notos and Boreas dormitories, taking second place.
“Everyone, you’ve worked hard. Now, dinner will be provided.”
With a snap of Professor Deneuve’s fingers, plates and teapots floated up and began setting the table on their own.
A simple yet neat meal was laid out—scones and tea, bread and cheese, some fruit, and vegetable soup.
Though they were nobles accustomed to delicacies and not particularly obsessed with food, the growing boys and girls who had gone through such hardship since their first day rushed to the table and began devouring the meal.
‘I’m hungry too, but I can endure it. Should I go find Saint Marie? She’s probably being seen as a liar by some, so I should help manage her mental state in advance….’
Idnia was about to look for Astraea’s Marie. But before she could, a young man approached her.
“Ah, excuse me, but would it be alright if I sat across from you, Lady Betelgeuse?”
He was a tall, handsome man with brown hair, appearing slightly older than the other students.
He wore a wide smile, like a playboy, and carried the scent of perfume.
A man who seemed carefree, unserious, constantly letting out easy laughter.
Idnia knew who he was.
“You must be the head of Notos dormitory….”
“Lorenzo Medici Mazdari. Lady Betelgeuse, if you don’t mind, please call me comfortably. From a beauty like you, I wouldn’t mind being called lovely Lorenzo.”
“You are the son of House Mazdari. I’ve heard much of your reputation, but I didn’t expect to meet you here….”
Lorenzo Medici Mazdari was the eldest son of the Mazdari ducal house, one of the imperial electors like Idnia.
In the game, he was a natural 4-star character, comparable in performance to Crown Prince Rudolf, but in the story, he was a cunning schemer hiding his abilities.
‘The Mazdari Duchy profits from trade with both the Holy Eldar Empire and the Eastern Vikrant Empire. They built the greatest wealth on the continent through commerce and banking….’
Lorenzo Medici Mazdari harbored ambitions to turn that duchy into an untouchable great power.
Though known in high society as a pleasure-seeking womanizer, he had in truth undergone harsh martial and magical training.
And more than that—
His servants were essentially spies.
Though part of the Holy Eldar Empire’s elector families, they were always prepared to switch allegiance to the Vikrant Empire, and aimed not for an emperor, but to produce a pope.
Such an ambitious man now stood before Idnia, smiling as he looked at her.
“Hehe. My, my. You’ve already gathered 3 merit points.
I saw your command earlier—it was impressive.
The Crown Prince’s leadership was excellent, but yours could have been rated even higher.”
“No, you flatter me.”
“Not at all. Any praise would still fall short. Your remarkable leadership, your beauty, and your spirit. To be honest, I feel relieved.”
“Relieved?”
“Yes. If such a beauty were Crown Prince Rudolf’s fiancée, I think my inferiority complex would have exploded beyond endurance.”
“Ah.”
“Oops, pardon me. I hope I didn’t carelessly bring up something unpleasant.”
“It’s fine. I was the one who decided to break off the engagement. It’s already in the past….”
“I see. Hmm.”
Lorenzo’s gaze examined Idnia’s expression.
Trained as a spymaster, he was probing for genuine emotions beneath her mask.
‘This is unexpected. According to the original story, he should have set his sights on Marie, the saint candidate with immense potential… so why me? Marie displayed that level of holy magic, yet he didn’t go to her?’
Idnia was slightly flustered by Lorenzo approaching her instead.
Shouldn’t he be drawn to Marie, who had shown the shocking feat of destroying a crystal golem?
At this rate, the story would deviate from the original, making it harder to predict what comes next.
‘In that case, shall I throw a direct question?’
Idnia decided to ask him outright.