An Offer He Can't Refuse

"Gaaaah—! Gaaaaaaaaagh—!"

Daniel went flying, then writhed as the pain came crashing in. His was a precious body that had never once been struck — not by his father, not even by his older brother. Pain like this was alien to him, and it was terrifying.

"You do something wrong, you gotta hurt so bad you wish you were dead. That's how a person learns to be sorry."

X turned and took in the stares aimed his way.

Doesn't look like anyone saw me use Aura. Good.

He'd pushed a pulse of Aura into the blow on purpose, just to make it hurt more. It had lasted a genuine split second, far too brief for any of the students to catch. What they had seen was one thing and one thing only: the commoner X had just smashed a high-ranking noble named Daniel.

"Wh-what the hell do you think you're doing, you crazy bastard!"

"Y-you just laid a hand on Count Dremore's son!"

"Don't you know he and his brother are officers in Sword Rang?!"

The Sword Rang members lost their minds at the sight of X's outrage. Nobody was going to stand there and watch their de facto leader get dropped like garbage. X, however, remained perfectly calm.

"And?"

That single word of a question left Sword Rang slack-jawed.

"And? Do you even understand the situation you're in?"

"I turned that golden boy's face into a half-face, yeah."

"You just disgraced the honor of House Dremore! And not even in a duel — with a cheap sneak attack...!"

"Mm. Even I have to admit, that was a pretty perfect ambush."

"You lunatic...!"

X ignored the mindless abuse and pointed at Daniel as if nothing were the matter.

"Instead of screaming about it, how about you get him to the infirmary? If you're too late, he'll be stuck like that for the rest of his life — and that'll be on you for standing around."

"D-Daniel, sir! Stay with us!!"

Only then did they haul Daniel up and sprint for the infirmary.

"Just you wait! We'll remember this!"

"Yeah, sure. See you around. Next time I'll knock you down to silver."

"You son of a—!!"

And just like that, the situation was over. X went straight to Vincent and helped him up.

"Are you all right, sir?"

"Oh, no, you really don't have to... "

"I'm not a noble, so please, speak however you like."

"I beg your pardon?! Then just now... wait. You're Student X, aren't you?!"

Everything had happened so fast that Vincent had assumed X was some high-ranking noble. But once he got to his feet and actually looked at the face, it was X — the one famous for pulling bizarre stunts. Which meant that what had just happened was a commoner attacking a noble.

"What in the world did you just do, boy!"

"I was teaching the kids a lesson."

"You attacked a noble. Have you lost your mind!"

"Why is everyone so worried about rich kids these days? I'm sure they'll be just fine on their own."

"I'm not worried about the noble — I'm worried about you!"

X knew that. For now, he just shrugged.

"I'm sure it'll work out somehow."

"Work out?! How?!"

"Please continue the class, sir. I'm listening just fine."

"I said, how is this going to work out?!!"

Vincent clutched his head, drowning in panic.

"How am I supposed to handle this...? Everything I've built — my career, my time, my effort... "

"Then I'll just return to my seat."

X walked back to his place. Stares of pure shock followed him the whole way. He paid them no mind. The only one worth paying attention to was Leon.

"Damn it. If I'd made up my mind a little faster... "

Leon, too, was stunned speechless by what had just happened. There was self-reproach in it, but that much was fine.

Everything so far is within expected parameters.

He had kicked up one hell of an incident. The news would spread through the entire academy in less than an hour. Andras would hear it. Sword Rang would hear it.

If I'm lucky, I'll get a reaction by next period.

X leisurely ran back through the plan. Judging by the look of Vincent, this class was a lost cause.

Watching it all unfold, Elia was lost in confusion.

"X?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you do that?"

By now, a contradiction would have taken root in Elia's mind. X, the wicked being destined to destroy the world, had just beaten down a student who was, by any measure, a villain. So X answered like this:

"Beats me. Why do you think?"

He would not give her the answer she wanted. The answer to that contradiction was something Elia had to find for herself. Of course, for Elia, that would be extraordinarily difficult.

"...I don't know."

And that was the real trial.

"Hey, weed. We need a word."

The reaction to the incident came after second period. Practical Mercenary Tactics had drifted by like a self-study hall, and Martial Physique Analysis had just let out when it happened. A pack of thugs showing off their shoulder muscles blocked his path in the hallway. Sword Rang.

"Let's have a little talk."

"A talk?"

X snorted once and answered.

"If you've got something to say, say it now. I've got class."

"This bastard still... "

"Alright. Conversation's over."

X didn't wait.

Crunch—!

He immediately swung the club he carried and smashed it down on the big guy's shin. Completely unprepared, the thug howled as the pain of a shattered shin tore through him.

"Gyaaaaah—!! M-my leg!!"

"Y-you crazy bastard!! Get him!!"

Sword Rang had almost certainly planned to handle this out of the professors' sight. No matter how much power they held, they couldn't go around causing the kind of trouble that actually became a problem. But if you came at them head-on like this, they had no answer. X picked a fight with Sword Rang in front of every student in the hall. Within moments, five hulking thugs were at his feet, clutching their shins and groaning.

Four 2-Stars and one 3-Star. Just barely a win.

To someone who had been through Roxwell's hellish training, this rabble was no match at all.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!!"

The professors stormed in fast. At the untimely appearance of faculty, Sword Rang realized the situation had gone thoroughly sideways. For X, on the other hand, this was the situation unfolding exactly as it should.

Pulling the professors' aggro went perfectly, too.

The professors marched X and the Sword Rang members into a side room. Some of them couldn't help but be tense. This involved Sword Rang, the academy's power bloc. Anything tangled up with nobles had to be handled with extreme care. And so they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pressed the commoner X — grilling him, threatening him, ready to use force if they had to — trying to drag out a statement that would favor the nobles.

X had only this to say:

"Please call the Chairman. I have nothing else to say."

Fed up with X's silence, the professors glanced at the nobles, read the room, and eventually put X in front of the Chairman.

"You again."

The Chairman sat across a desk from X and pressed his fingers into his forehead. His head was ready to explode from the stress. He didn't even have the first idea how to resolve this. But he summoned every ounce of patience he had and got the words out.

"Student X. Do you have some grievance with the academy?"

"It would be stranger if I didn't."

"Fine, then. Tell me what your grievance is."

X leaned back comfortably in his chair and answered.

"The academy's claim that commoners and nobles are equal exists in name only. The violent behavior of certain students is causing harm to professors and decent students alike. And some of the faculty treat commoner students as if they don't even exist, as if that's only natural... "

"You don't seem to understand your own position, student."

The Chairman cut him off. X knew exactly what that meant. He asked anyway.

"My position? Which position would that be?"

"It means that the only reason the consequences of the incidents you've caused haven't been decided yet is because you are a student of this academy. A commoner attacking a noble. Do you honestly believe that's something that can just be let go?"

A fair point. Nobles were, as a rule, beings who stood above the law — because they had the power to. Commoners, conversely, were commoners precisely because they did not. That was the single greatest reason the classes were divided. That didn't mean X needed to say, Yes, I was wrong.

"So a student kicking a professor in the head is perfectly fine, I take it."

"That is none of your concern."

"Students and I were the ones who suffered for it, and it's none of my concern?"

That, too, was a sound argument the Chairman would have a hard time answering. Disrupting class was a clear disciplinary offense. The only reason that rule existed in name only was because the students in question were nobles. The Chairman did not take the bait. Instead, he decided to put a concrete problem on the table.

"Setting that aside, your conduct went too far. With my authority, I can expel you immediately — and I can decide whether this matter goes to trial."

"Ah. I think you'll find that rather difficult."

"...What?"

"Chairman, you're a man who likes to weigh costs and benefits, aren't you."

The Chairman's eyes went sharp. That remark had been unmistakably rude. It was not something a mere commoner student had any business saying.

"...Explain yourself."

But he waited for what came next. He trusted the instincts that had kept him in this chair for years. X nodded and went on.

"I know why you fuss so much over the academy's public image, and why you fawn over the nobles. It's for the sake of keeping this place running properly, isn't it."

"Fawn? What would you know, to talk like that. Do you even understand how this academy operates?"

"The Imperial family's subsidies. They were cut off five years ago, weren't they?"

"...!"

The Chairman's eyes went wide. Information that even among the board only a handful of people knew — and the ordinary student sitting in front of him had just said it out loud. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠X gave a little shrug and continued.

"Well, of course they were. The founding principle was the training of Heroes, and in over forty years you haven't produced a single one. The Imperial family would have every reason to question whether this institution is worth running."

"What kind of nonsense...! The academy's purpose is the cultivation of talent, and that has meaning in itself! What would the likes of you know, to—"

"Think about it from a common-sense standpoint. From the Imperial family's position, they'd conclude there's nothing to gain. Handing military power to nobles they cannot control isn't a benefit. It's a liability."

"Shut your damn mouth!!"

The Chairman drew his sword and leveled it at X's throat.

"What would the likes of you know about the Imperial will, to dare run your mouth like that! Understand this: that statement alone is enough for me to have you executed on the spot!"

X didn't so much as blink.

"So what happened in the end?"

"..."

The Chairman glared, breathing hard, staring into X's eyes. Then he sheathed the sword and dropped back into his chair.

"Fine! It's just as you said! Five years ago, the Imperial subsidies were cut off without warning. Subsidies that accounted for more than fifty percent of our operating costs!"

Exactly as X knew the setting to be. A substantial portion of the academy's operating budget was covered by Imperial subsidies. Tuition might be expensive, but actually running an institution of this scale required far more than that. And those subsidies had been cut off, suddenly, five years ago.

Because that incident happened, after all.

The academy's operations had been shaken to the core. Thanks to the Chairman's ability, the problem hadn't exploded. But that had created a different problem.

"And that's why the privileges for nobles were expanded, then?"

"Don't you dare hold that against me. If I hadn't done it that way, you'd be looking at a ruined academy right now."

"I have no intention of holding it against you. If anything, I think it was an excellent response. Losing fifty percent of your operating budget and keeping this place running normally for five years is an achievement beyond words."

"...Hmph. Don't flatter me."

Thinking about it again at this point: the Chairman was not a villain. If you had to put a label on him, he was a highly capable civil servant. His method of carrying out that duty simply had to be a little cold. Of course, X hadn't come here to flatter anyone.

"And that's hitting its limit too, isn't it?"

"..."

"The nobles in Sword Rang pressured you to sell off shares of the operating rights. Didn't they?"

"...Y-you — how do you— no. Everything you've said so far — where did you even learn all of this?!"

Well, I was the one who suggested that plot point.

It was a setting X had pitched to Elysia when they were building the Leon-versus-Sword-Rang conflict arc in the original novel. It would have been strange for the Imperial Academy to run without a hitch for nearly fifty years and then suddenly have incidents erupt out of nowhere. It was more natural to say a problem like this had been sitting under the surface the whole time.

Nobles running wild inside an institution funded by the Imperial family would have been strange too. The Imperial house and the nobility are political rivals, after all.

So you give the nobles a reason to run wild. The Imperial family cuts off the money for some reason, and the academy's operating shares start sliding into noble hands. Then the appearance of a villain faction like Sword Rang makes sense.

It was also foreshadowing that something was wrong inside the Imperial family.

And so, here and now, he put that knowledge to use.

"Chairman. Let's be honest."

"H-honest about what."

"Those Sword Rang nobles. You can't stand the sight of them, can you?"

"...!"

"You poured everything into this place. You barely managed to save a dying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠academy — and then a pack of hyenas shows up trying to snatch it up at a bargain price. Didn't you find that disgusting?"

A strange feeling came over the Chairman. These were words he shouldn't be listening to, and yet they resonated so deeply that, unbidden, the past rose up in his mind. X seized that instant. He leaned forward, caught the Chairman's hands in both of his, and cried out as if making a plea.

"Five years ago, when the Imperial subsidies were cut off for no reason at all! When the academy could barely stay afloat and you asked for help, and everyone turned their backs — remember that!"

"Th-those days... "

"The grief of making a cold-hearted decision even if it meant bracing for everyone's condemnation! The sorrow! You rose above all of that and built this academy yourself. With these very hands!"

"I... I did, didn't I... Not anyone else. Me... "

"And now those damned hyenas are trying to take it all away. Are you going to sit there with your eyes open and let them? You have to do something! If you want to protect this academy!"

"D-do something... Hah! Let go of me, you!"

Tsk. Not that easy.

The Chairman shook off X's hands and pulled himself together.

"I understand what you're saying, but operations will return to normal. A student has been chosen as a Hero. That means the academy's founding principle was not wrong."

This was the card the Chairman was counting on. The root of every problem was that no Hero had appeared, and so the Imperial subsidies had been cut. But a Hero had appeared.

"So we can obtain the subsidies again... "

"No. That's not enough."

X's voice was firm. The Chairman frowned — not at being told he was wrong, but at being told it was not enough.

"Not enough?"

"Chairman. There's something you need to accept."

"And what would that be."

"Listen carefully, Chairman."

X spoke with more gravity than he had ever spoken of anything in this world.

"Heroes are not made. They are chosen. The difference between those two things is absolute."

The words were so obvious that the wind went out of the Chairman.

"I thought you were going to say something... who doesn't know that? If we could make Heroes, this whole situation would have been settled long... ago... "

He trailed off. And then, suddenly, he understood. What it meant that can be made and are chosen were not the same thing. X drove the realization home.

"That's right. Something like this will happen again. Or, in the worst case... they may decide the academy has served its purpose, and scrap it."

"No. That won't... "

"Because the academy has never once made a Hero. Leon being chosen as Hero proved it!"

"That can't be...!"

"From the Imperial family's position, rather than pour a fortune into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠training a Hero, it's more profitable to simply wait for someone to become one!"

"No, no...!"

"Hero Leon's awakening is, for all intents and purposes, a death sentence for this academy—!!"

"Noooooooo—!!"

At those words the Chairman plunged into horror, then pressed both hands over his eyes as if hollowed out. He tried to force back the tears that were leaking through. The weight of the grief was too heavy for that.

"Then... what have I even been running this academy for... "

The man sitting in front of X now was a wretched, middle-aged soul. When the whole of your life has been negated, that is only natural. Which meant this was the moment.

"Chairman. A moment ago I told you it wasn't enough."

"Yes. You did say that... But at this point, what could possibly... "

"If this academy had a special curriculum taught nowhere else... a method that could produce power on par with a Hero... do you understand what would happen?"

"What are you talking about...? If something like that were possible, it would be a revolution in education. Heroes would no longer even matter. But that's a fantasy. It could never... "

"If that's what you think, then take a look at this."

X spread both hands and went on.

"Chairman. What's the most famous legend about Heroes?"

"That would be... the legend that they command 'every power.' That they use Aura, mana, and divine power alike... "

"Like this?"

And in that instant, X shattered common sense.

"If this academy were the only place that could teach this."

"What do you think would happen?"

This was X's second cheat.