Last Class Standing - 7
A suffocating silence settled over everything. The principal mid-stroke of his beard, the vice principal explaining post-match cleanup to the student council after the four-person bout, and the student council members listening to that plan—all of them froze solid.
Of course, I was no exception.
Was there some other advisor I never knew about?
Every club is assigned exactly one advisor. There was no way a second advisor I had never heard of could exist.
Ah.
The realization hit. I had never been the advisor at all. I was simply suffering from the delusion that I was the club advisor. The real one was someone else entirely, and I had just been calling myself that.
No wonder. A civil servant waltzing into the Academy and serving as a club advisor made no sense. I had been trapped in a fantasy this whole time. The kind-hearted people around me had simply been humoring my delusion.
"R-repeating the announcement. Class 1-3 has nominated, in place of the previous faculty member Instructor Alberto of the Magic Department... the Baking Club advisor... K-Karl Crassius..."
Never mind.
The trembling announcement shattered even that last shred of hope. It named me with perfect accuracy and sealed off every escape route.
Professional. Whoever was running the broadcast was a true professional—carrying out the assigned duty without flinching even in a situation like this.
"No, this is..."
Bewilderment spread across the principal's face. It was exactly the same expression he had worn when he saw Luise using the Magic Lord's unique magic.
"There must be some mistake. A mistake."
The vice principal behind him rushed forward in a hurry.
"The Inspector is not faculty—he is an outsider. It seems students Erich and Luise have simply grown too accustomed to seeing the Inspector up close and mixed him up."
The forced smile on the vice principal's face looked almost desperate. His resolve to keep me out of this at all costs was plain to see.
I nodded along in agreement. Of course I didn't want to participate either. Barging into a children's game would only cause trouble.
I can't exactly thrash those kids either.
Honestly, I had no confidence in holding back. Up north, full-power fights had often left my own neck hanging by a thread, so I had never properly learned the luxury of restraint.
If I slipped and only severed a few limbs, those could be reattached. But if only the limbs remained, the rest would have to be burned and sent to Enen's side. That could never be allowed.
"V-Vice Principal."
But words that snuffed out even that desire reached me next.
"...The Audit Department Chief is also eligible for nomination..."
The student council president, who had remained quiet until now, delivered the death sentence in a calm voice.
No—looking at her face, she was anything but calm. Her expression was faintly twisted, as if she herself could not accept the situation.
"If the Audit Department Chief held no position at all, he would not be a target. But since he has taken on the role of club advisor, he is included."
"The Inspector is not official faculty. He is an administrative outsider."
"Instructor Alberto is also an outsider affiliated with the Magic Tower. He was simply dispatched, just like the Audit Department Chief."
To block my participation, they would have had to block Alberto's from the start. The vice principal let out a low groan at the implication; there was nothing incorrect about it.
I glanced around. No one seemed able to invent a justification for keeping me out. Once the precedent of including an outsider among the faculty already existed, there was no stopping it. Start carving exceptions into the rules and everything afterward becomes a mess.
And simply saying, "The advisor is too strong, so no"? What was the standard for "too strong"? The upper ranks among the faculty could be tossed straight into a war and stroll back unharmed. Should those faculty members also be excluded for being strong?
"According to the manual it's possible... well, there is no precedent for this, but... it is still possible..."
Muttering nearby drew my gaze. Margeta stood there, fan covering her mouth. She looked so thoroughly confused that she failed to notice my eyes on her.
I understood. When precedent and manuals catch you by the ankles, a civil servant becomes infinitely weak. The manual could certainly be interpreted this way. Yet no precedent for actually going that direction existed. Of course it would drive anyone mad.
...And somewhere along the way, Margeta had become a full civil servant herself. A sad development.
What a headache.
Who the Baking Club advisor was—everyone knew that. The stands had grown fairly noisy as a result. It was like a new whale diving into a fight between two whales.
In inverse proportion, the announcement booth had gone dead silent. Some time had passed since my nomination, yet not a single word of "hurry down to the arena" had come through.
Then again, who could possibly urge anyone on in a situation like this?
"I'll go."
"Pardon?"
"Karl?"
My quiet words drew every gaze.
What else could I do? If I had no grounds for refusing, better to head down quickly. Let the final match drag on too long and the excitement dies.
It already felt like the excitement had shattered a hundred times over, but still.
"I'll handle it appropriately. I have that much judgment, at least."
"I trust the Audit Department Chief, but..."
The principal's eyes returned to the arena. His expression said he might trust me, yet he had no idea whether he could trust the two whales waiting down there.
After a moment of silence, the principal finally spoke with careful deliberation.
"I will trust only the Audit Department Chief."
"I'll be back soon."
I was going to end this war—no, this class match.
Under everyone's attention I descended into the arena. Not the kind of attention I particularly welcomed.
"O-Oppa."
Class 1-3. The moment I joined the group that had summoned me, Luise came scurrying over.
So it was you, the contractor who summoned me.
"What am I supposed to do if you call me out of nowhere?"
I suppressed the absurd joke that tried to leap out and ruffled Luise's hair instead.
Of course, from Luise's perspective the original member had suddenly deserted and left her no choice. Still, I had been yanked in just as suddenly, so I was allowed a little grumbling.
"I'm soorryy..."
Watching her just hang her head with nothing more to say made my irritation settle.
Right. Luise must have been at her wits' end to call me. They would have carefully selected the roster long before the class matches began, only for it to fall apart, and most of the decent faculty had already been picked up by other classes.
On top of that, the final four-person match was already delayed—the pressure must have been enormous. In the end she had simply called the most familiar person available: me.
"Hyung, actually I was the one who suggested it."
This little bastard.
My calmed heart exploded all over again.
The sheepish way he scratched his head was no lie. It was not an attempt to shield Luise; it was genuine proof that he himself had spoken the words.
"You called me because there was no one else?"
"No, those guys said the result was already obvious so we should just call anyone."
Erich looked elsewhere as he said it. Following his gaze, I found Ryutis and Later.
So he got provoked.
The picture was clear enough. Already stressed over who to nominate, hearing something like "You're going to lose anyway, so just call whoever" would make anyone's temper snap.
So Erich had truly called just anyone. Less a brilliant strategy and more the desire to stick it to those two for being so damn irritating.
"They seemed confident no matter who showed up."
"...Right."
So those two held a share of the blame for this mess.
My sense of guilt lessened, if only a little.
Why is life like this?
Is this just an unlucky year?
Otherwise it made no sense. Last semester's practical exam had already thrown me into a spar with Prince Ryutis. Now the class matches were doing the same thing all over again.
Prince Ryutis and Prince Later joining the four-person match had been within expected range. Having braced for it already, the mental blow was lighter.
Besides, those two possessed skill to match their lofty status. We had planned to fight moderately, collapse, and leave the remaining pair to decide the winner among themselves.
"Ha."
In the end a hollow laugh slipped out. This was too much. I had steeled myself for two princes—someone even worse showing up was simply unfair.
A man stood proudly in Class 1-3's camp. His brow was furrowed as if he found his own presence here unwelcome, arms crossed with no weapon in hand.
The Audit Department Chief.
If my heart had its way I would declare a forfeit on the spot. Standing in the same arena as foreign royalty already took enormous resolve—now the Audit Department Chief? Was this a joke?
Yet as a noble I could not afford the dishonor. Everyone would understand my feelings and no one would truly blame me, but I still could not become the first person to forfeit an official match.
To my face they would say they understood. Behind my back, though, the talk would certainly turn to "It was an Academy-sponsored match—was forfeiting really necessary?" In an instant I would become a coward.
"Charles."
Robert's voice came from beside me.
"We stick to the plan."
I nodded. Yes—the situation had changed, and precisely because of that, our strategy would shine even brighter.
I looked left. Royalty, even from another nation. Touch them carelessly and the label "noble who slighted royalty" would stick forever. I might never set foot in high society again.
I looked right. In truth, far more terrifying than royalty I would never meet after graduation. Earn their dislike and I would face an immediate "audit"—and the man was young enough to remain a pillar of imperial power for decades.
"Ready, Charles?"
"Of course, Robert."
Caught between untouchable beings. The response was obvious.
Fight the other class as fast as possible. Avoid Prince Ryutis, Prince Later, and the Audit Department Chief.
Then self-destruct. If untouchable beings exist, simply vanish before you ever touch them.
Go down fast.
I could never accept the title of first forfeit, but first elimination was tolerable enough.
If anyone complained, I wanted to tell them to stand in my place instead.
Damn it.
No matter how I looked at it, this year's luck was absolutely cursed.