Chapter 60
Chapter 60
I have to do this right.
I had never wanted anything to do with the Demon Blade.
But now that things had come to this, I had to make the Demon Blade move according to my intentions.
It wouldn’t be easy.
Especially considering the Demon Blade’s “circumstances.”
I needed an unorthodox approach, not a direct one.
“Anyway, that’s a relief. Since you were once as much of a piece of trash as I was, I’m sure you’ll understand if I’m a little less than diligent, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“It’s nice that we understand each other. You really are a friend of mine. Then, from now on, don’t interfere with me, and…”
“Why not quit the Academy altogether?”
“…What did you say?”
I shook my head as if to say he shouldn’t misunderstand, then continued in a voice that sounded as though I sincerely had the Third Prince’s best interests at heart.
“Your Highness, there’s no need for you to keep attending the Academy when it’s such a nuisance, is there? The Second Prince will inherit the throne anyway, so I think you’d be better off quitting the Academy and enjoying your own life.”
“……”
“I’ll help you.”
The room fell silent.
The smile on the Third Prince’s face grew deeper.
He seemed amused—or perhaps cold.
It was strange.
But only for a moment.
“Haha! You’ve got a good sense of humor, my friend. You know the Academy is a required duty for members of the Imperial Family, don’t you? That’s why I enrolled at the Academy at my age.”
“What does duty have to do with anything? You’re not someone who cares about that sort of thing, are you, Your Highness?”
When I pressed the point again, the smile finally vanished from the Third Prince’s face.
“…You’d better stop. You’re being far too disrespectful.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m your homeroom professor. It’s my duty to guide you properly, so I need to know what path would truly be in your best interests.”
“……”
Silence settled over the room.
The Third Prince stared at me with a fierce gaze, as if trying to see through my intentions.
-…Kyu?
Mari looked timidly between the Third Prince and me, so I gently stroked her head.
Taking advantage of the slight lull in the tension, I spoke.
“How about a game of chess?”
“Why chess all of a sudden?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice for old friends who haven’t met in ages? The loser grants the winner one request.”
“Haha, you know I’m terrible at chess, and you still want to make a wager? Isn’t that a little unfair?”
“I’m no great shakes either. It might be fun to have a grand, pitiful contest between two old friends who used to be such disappointments.”
“Fine. But don’t ask for anything unreasonable.”
The Demon Blade nodded, and the outcome was decided in an instant.
I won flawlessly.
Not because of my Versatile Talent of a Thousand Changes. The Third Prince was simply terrible at chess.
“My, my. You really are no match for me. That said, your skills seem to have improved a lot.”
“That’s right. I’m not the Ban Trash I used to be anymore. I’ve changed.”
“……”
“What about you, Your Highness? Have you changed? Or are you still the same as before?”
The Third Prince fell silent for a moment.
Then he burst into hearty laughter.
“Haha. What a strange question. As you can see, I’m still the same pathetic good-for-nothing.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. As you can see.”
“Understood. As we agreed, I’d like to ask you for something. Please play another game of chess with me.”
“Why bother when you’re no match for me?”
“This time, though, I want you to give it your all. That’s my condition.”
“!!”
The Third Prince’s face stiffened.
He looked furious.
“Ban, I know what you’re thinking. You’re trying to provoke me. It won’t work.”
Tap!
The Third Prince’s finger moved a pawn.
“Fine. I’ll play in earnest. But if you lose, get out of my sight this instant and never show your face to me again.”
And so the match began.
This was a game of an entirely different sort from the last one.
The Third Prince didn’t fall behind at all. He pressed me fiercely.
A rook took a knight, then a bishop threatened the queen, and a pawn worked a miracle.
After a fierce back-and-forth that made me forget to breathe, the game was decided.
“……”
Astonishingly, I had lost.
The Third Prince’s hidden skill was so tremendous that it surpassed even my Versatile Talent of a Thousand Changes.
“Haha! What do you think?! Now that you’ve lost, never come near me again—!!”
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
“…What?”
I looked at the Third Prince, a smile on his face, and continued.
“What was it like to show off your skill without caring what anyone else thought? Wasn’t it fun?”
“……”
The Demon Blade.
An ominous blade.
There was one reason why he had been given such a nickname, despite being a member of the Imperial Family.
It was because of a prophecy.
-This child will bathe the entire Imperial Family in blood and become a great emperor.
A prophecy made by an Ascendant who had guarded the Imperial Family for hundreds of years.
And the prophecy was true.
In the scenario, the Demon Blade Third Prince would ultimately kill everyone in the Imperial Family and ascend the throne as emperor.
‘That’s why I didn’t want to get involved with the Demon Blade.’
The path to the throne.
I didn’t need to imagine how terrible its hardships would be to know.
And the worst part was—
‘The Third Prince would have to commit patricide.’
To bathe the Imperial Family in blood meant killing countless blood relatives with his own hands.
That was why the Demon Blade Third Prince hid his true nature and pretended to be a wastrel—and why it was difficult for me to intervene carelessly.
‘Even if it’s for the sake of the world, how can anyone push him into doing something like that?’
That would be one thing if the Third Prince were cold-blooded.
What’s more, the blood relatives he had to kill included far more than just the Second Prince, the Apostle of Ouroboros.
Many of them were people he had genuinely been close to.
I would never forget the sight of Mikhail, the Third Prince, sitting on the imperial throne in the latter half of the scenario, weeping alone and sobbing his heart out.
That was why.
It was why I had started thinking about a way for both of us to win.
“What exactly are you trying to say? That I should stop this clown act and show what I can really do? Do you even understand what it means to run your mouth like that?!”
“You misunderstand. I have no interest in the Imperial Palace’s affairs. Whether Your Highness shows your abilities or not.”
“Then?”
“I simply want Your Highness to be happy.”
“…What’s with that suddenly nauseating nonsense?”
A way for both of us to win.
For starters, I’d decided not to push him forward.
Even if he chose to follow his fate, he had to make that choice for himself.
Above all—
“I simply want Your Highness to do what you truly wish to do.”
“……”
“Do you not want to attend the Academy? Then I’ll help you quit, without hesitation. But is that really what Your Highness wants?”
The Third Prince fell silent.
“Isn’t the truth that you want to attend the Academy too? Just like any other ordinary person?”
“…What are you—”
“If that weren’t the case, you wouldn’t have enrolled in the Academy in the first place, would you? Honestly, it would have been far better not to come here if you wanted to put the rest of the Imperial Family at ease. You came to the Academy anyway because you couldn’t let go of the idea, didn’t you?”
I looked the Third Prince straight in the eye as I spoke.
“Don’t worry about the Imperial Family’s scrutiny or the prophecy. If Your Highness wants to enjoy the Academy, then do that. I’ll be your umbrella.”
“…You will?”
“Yes. I’m your homeroom professor, so it’s my responsibility to protect you.”
“!!”
Silence settled over us once more.
The Third Prince clenched his lips tight.
“Ban, who do you think you are? Have a few impressive accomplishments gone to your head lately? You’re still nothing but Ban Trash.”
“Isn’t it even better that I’m Ban Trash? If Your Highness associates with someone as politically insignificant as me, the suspicious eyes on you will ease even more.”
“!!”
The Third Prince looked as if he’d been caught off guard, as though he’d never considered that.
“That doesn’t mean I’m completely insignificant, though. You said earlier that I’d changed, didn’t you? I can certainly manage to protect Your Highness while we’re at the Academy.”
That wasn’t a lie.
I knew all too well what kind of trials the Demon Blade would face.
Truthfully, I wanted to stay out of the Demon Blade’s affairs as much as possible, but if it seemed like the Demon Blade couldn’t handle things alone, I could at least offer some help.
“There is one condition, though. Your Highness must follow my instruction, too. It’s a student’s duty.”
“……”
“You don’t need to worry about showing your abilities, either. I can pass them off as my own accomplishments. I’m going to become the Empire’s greatest professor, after all. Even if Your Highness does well, everyone will think it’s thanks to my excellent teaching, not pay attention to you. Instead, the rumor will be that Ban Ecclesia, the great professor, even improved the grades of the wastrel Third Prince.”
In the end, the Demon Blade burst out laughing.
“Haha! You really are entertaining. Very well. I’ll start attending the Academy properly. But don’t get the wrong idea. I just think it’ll be amusing to watch you.”
‘That’s it!’
It had turned out exactly the way I wanted.
‘For now, everyone except Susan is under my instruction. Now I just have to get them all top marks.’
It wouldn’t be easy.
Of course, apart from Van the Wretch the Second, they were all geniuses with extraordinary talents.
The problem was that each of them was only a genius in their own field.
‘…They’re all hopeless at the core subjects. Libel and Katrinne, of course, but also Julia—and even the Demon Blade right in front of me.’
For the record, the Demon Blade was clumsy. He was good at things that required brains, but useless at everything else.
‘There’s no way ordinary teaching will work.’
The problem was that I couldn’t be sure whether Julia and Wilhelm, let alone the Third Prince right in front of me, would obediently follow my instruction.
They still didn’t truly follow me.
‘I have to make them follow me completely.’
I needed an opportunity.
As it happened, the Third Prince asked me a question.
“By the way, is there anything fun to do? I heard the classes are having a get-together soon. Is our class doing anything?”
The subtle anticipation in his voice made it clear that, true to his secret longing for Academy life, he was looking forward to the get-together!
“It seems each class is going to visit a famous spot nearby. Of course, it’s not as if I’m interested!”
“We’re going on an outing, too. I’ve already picked a place. I even got permission from the mayor of the Free City.”
“Oh? Where are we going?”
-Kkyu?
Not just the Third Prince, but Mari, too, looked at me with eager anticipation.
But the moment they heard my next words—
“Are you insane?! You’re saying we’re going to have our get-together at a place like that?! Do you want to die?!”
-Kkyu, kkyu?
It was only natural they’d react that way.
The place I’d chosen for our outing was absurd beyond belief.
“Our class’s get-together will be held in the depths of the Underground Waterway.”
It was the worst Inaccessible dungeon in the Free City.
Here, I planned to instill in the members of my class a sense of respect for their professor.