Chapter 59 - Special Exam

"Did you sleep well, Young Master?"

"Ah, Kania."

The next day after safely returning to the academy from the forest, I woke up feeling remarkably refreshed.

"I slept really well today. Truly."

Waking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up to the dormitory ceiling instead of the rickety ceiling of the secret base or the sunlit sky felt surprisingly stable.

"Did you really sleep well?"

"Yeah, I told you, I slept great this time. Thanks to the trial ending early, I didn't dream at all and got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a deep night's rest."

Even as Kania kept pressing, I replied with a soft smile, but she frowned and shot back.

"Then, all those times before when you said you slept well... that was a lie?"

"Uh... is that how it comes across?"

As I averted my gaze and mumbled evasively under her sharp question, Kania sighed and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Young Master, there's no need to hide such things from me. I am your one and only..."

- Creak...

Just then, as Kania took my hand and continued, the dormitory door slowly opened, and someone entered.

"Ah, hi?"

Irina, stepping into my room, blushed slightly at the sight of Kania and me holding hands, greeting us awkwardly. Silence fell over the room for a moment.

"...one and only confidante, even if not the sole one, but your utterly devoted subordinate."

Breaking the silence, Kania finished her sentence with a subtle glare at Irina.

"Uh... anyway, I've finished all the procedures. So from today, I'm your personal maid."

As Irina said, her official status from today was my personal maid.

Initially, Irina insisted on quitting the academy to become my exclusive servant, but I desperately talked her out of it. Quitting would hinder her dream of becoming a grand mage, and it would undoubtedly mess up the scenario too.

After much persuasion, she switched to wanting to be my temporary attendant and live in the same dormitory, but this time Kania desperately intervened. For the record, I don't know the exact reason or what passed between them afterward.

All I know is that after hours in the room, Kania emerged with a cold smile, while Irina looked utterly dejected.

In the end, unable to become my exclusive maid or temporary attendant, Irina took her last resort: getting hired as a maid in the noble dormitory.

Of course, working as a dormitory maid while remaining an academy student violated school rules, but by slipping Dean Lionel a modest "gift," we cleverly circumvented it.

Thus, she took up residence in the empty room right next to mine and became my on-call personal maid, rushing over whenever summoned.

"Still... this feels kinda awkward. Even if there was no other way..."

"So, Irina. Why on earth did you insist on this choice?"

Irina, fiddling awkwardly with her first-ever maid outfit, put on a serious face at Kania's piercing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠question and replied.

"About that, there's something you two need to know."

She sat in a chair, took a deep breath, and dropped a bombshell.

"To cut to the chase: right now, Kania, you're under suspicion, and Frey, you might get assassinated soon."

Kania and I blinked in shock, and Irina sighed before finishing.

"That's why I infiltrated as a double agent to somehow improve the situation."

Even after Irina finished, Kania and I stared blankly for a while before exchanging glances and muttering.

"So I was under suspicion. No wonder the intel coming my way has been so spotty lately."

"Yeah, I was wondering when the assassins would show. Guess the difficulty's spiking now."

As we both pulled gloomy faces, Irina eyed us cautiously and continued.

"First off, Kania, the princess suspects you."

"Princess Clana?"

"Yeah, she's not fully convinced yet... but she's highly suspicious of you switching sides and is hunting for proof."

Kania's expression hardened as she replied gravely.

"Makes sense. No matter how subtly I pass those ambiguous secret documents... if it keeps happening, even Clana would notice."

"Right, I've seen her muttering about oddities in the docs you send."

As Irina chimed in, Kania twirled a fountain pen she'd pulled from her pocket, lost in thought.

"And the princess is preparing your assassination too, Frey."

"Princess Clana's plotting the Young Master's assassination?"

Kania stopped twirling her pen, frowning as she cut in.

"Wasn't Clana's plan to utterly ruin the Young Master first before killing him?"

"Yeah, it was."

Watching the two casually discuss something terrifying, I wondered if getting exposed might actually be a blessing, when Irina glanced at me and went on.

"But after the 'commoner dormitory raid' last time and this 'holy undead knight' incident, the princess changed her mind."

"...How so?"

"If she can kill you secretly and discreetly, she'll do it as quickly as possible."

I stiffened briefly at that, then smirked.

"No big deal. Even if Clana expands her influence fast... she won't have enough power to threaten me within a year. So the assassins' level will surely be..."

"The princess allied with the Moonlight family's elders."

My heart sank at that, and I turned serious.

I could handle an assassination plot Clana cooked up alone. But if she'd joined forces with the Moonlight family's elder council, that changed everything.

It meant the elders—who'd made assassination their trade since the family's founding—were stepping in for real.

Sure, they'd already ordered Serena to kill me, but dragging in other factions meant their plans were seriously derailing.

For the empire's shadow—the Moonlight family—to ally with anyone, even a princess like Clana, was unprecedented.

"They're probably targeting your birthday party next week. I risked it all to convince her to let me in as a spy to block that... but whether it worked is anyone's guess."

"Hmm..."

As I mulled that over, Irina, who'd shared the extra intel, gazed at me softly and murmured.

"So, be careful. Don't go dying pointlessly."

With that, she looked away shyly. It was so cute I chuckled, then curiosity struck and I tilted my head.

"By the way, how do you know all this? Clana wouldn't share everything, right?"

"Ah, well..."

Irina answered nonchalantly.

"...She did share the assassination plan, but the Moonlight alliance? I found that out myself."

"How?"

"Stole a letter."

I blinked blankly, then asked incredulously.

"That's not the kind of info you just steal easily."

Irina beamed proudly.

"Grew up poor as dirt... so I'm pretty good at swiping stuff."

"Come to think of it, our first meeting was when I bumped into you dashing down the street with bread."

A memory surfaced, and I grinned.

"You got so mad when it rolled into the gutter that I bought you like five times more... don't tell me that bread was..."

"H-Hey, I had to eat somehow!"

As Irina flushed and stammered excuses, Kania, who'd been sitting quietly, cut in abruptly.

"This isn't the time, Young Master."

"Huh?"

"We need to plan our next moves and strategies now. No more variables."

I nodded solemnly, and Kania pulled out a notepad, firing questions.

"First, tell me about anyone who could become a threat going forward. I'll... investigate them in advance."

"Hmm..."

Recalling the prophecy book, I began.

"Future threats, excluding the main heroines... would be the sub-heroines, naturally."

"Sub-heroines?"

"Yeah, like Isolet... or Ariane, Irina's friend."

Irina flinched, while Kania jotted notes gravely.

"Oh, and next year, the academy gets the info guild leader's daughter who rules the underworld, the Sun God Church's youngest paladin, and a princess from a minor western kingdom—all sub-heroines."

As the list grew, Kania gripped her notepad tight and whispered.

"...So many?"

I chuckled.

"That's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the normal route. On the Villain's Path, they're as tricky as the main heroines."

"Haa..."

Sympathizing with Kania's sigh, I offered good news.

"But I'm already on good terms with the info guild daughter... so that one's covered."

"Understood. Then, what's the next main quest?"

Kania's icy glare cut me off, sending a chill down my spine. I quickly summoned the system window.

"...Raid the slave market?"

Kania read the floating window skeptically.

"Surely not that incident I know?"

"Can't read your mind... but yeah, probably the one you're thinking of."

Kania sighed deeply, head bowed.

"That slave market's a powder keg. Touch it wrong, and even you, Young Master, couldn't handle the fallout."

She spoke worriedly.

"We don't have to follow main quests, right? Getting too swayed by the system will cause trouble eventually. In my opinion, skip this one..."

"It's not about the main quest."

"Pardon?"

I met her gaze with resolve.

"Even if it wasn't a main quest... even if the rewards and penalties were swapped... I'd stop this incident no matter what."

"Young Master, but..."

I raised a hand to silence her interruption, speaking firmly.

"I decided this last loop. No matter what, I'll prevent the catastrophe and free the slaves."

"...I see."

Seeing my unyielding will, Kania's stiff expression softened into a gentle smile.

"If that's your decision, Young Master, I'll follow it dutifully. As your subordinate."

"Thanks, Kania."

I smiled back warmly. Irina, watching quietly from the side, piped up timidly.

"Um... I'll help hard too."

"Yeah, thanks, Irina."

I greeted her too, got out of bed, and headed out.

"Alright, time for class."

Back to boring lectures.

.

.

.

.

.

"Today marks the end of the first semester. And with it, the special exam begins."

Something was off.

I'd planned to kill time in the usual dull classroom, but Isolet announced a special exam.

"...What the hell?"

"No idea, myself."

I asked Kania, who'd entered with me, who looked equally puzzled.

"Um... special exam?"

A commoner student raised a hand, and Isolet replied calmly.

"This special exam, starting today, is to reselect students dropping from Class A next semester."

Nobles and I paled.

"Wh-what does that mean!"

"The last final exam dropouts were all commoners, right?"

"This is power abuse! Even as a prestigious professor, this is...!"

Nobles rose in protest like a swarm, but Isolet shut them down coldly with one line.

"...An imperial decree."

Nobles fell silent instantly. Isolet smirked.

"Thanks to certain someones buying scores with money and bribes... innocent talents dropped out, and the imperial family was pissed."

"Th-then..."

"Instead of an investigation, they chose a re-exam. So I comply. Objections?"

Of course, none dared. Objecting would mean defying the empire.

In the chilly silence, I rolled my eyes, pondering.

'Something's fishy...? Was the imperial family ever this clean and conscientious?'

The current palace was a cesspool of intrigue and corruption, puppeteering most state scandals.

They'd likely overlooked the final exam scandal too.

So why this decision now?

'Clana's doing?'

I glanced at Clana— she looked just as baffled. Even with her growing faction, she lacked pull for this.

Most officials couldn't override the establishment either.

'Empress? First Prince? First Princess?'

Those who could snap fingers for this... but no motive fit.

"Ugh..."

Head throbbing from speculation, I gave up and asked Isolet.

"So, what's the exam?"

Isolet ignored me, starting anyway.

"Today's special exam is a team battle."

Kids murmured at "dungeon" and "team." Isolet silenced them with a glare, scanning the room.

"Teams as always: nobles vs. commoners. Each gets one commander."

She placed a ballot box on the podium.

"Commanders by vote. Nobles and commoners, elect yours now."

Distributing paper, nobles sneaked glances at me.

'Yeah, they won't pick me.'

Rumors tied me to the Demon King's army; even power-hungry nobles wouldn't vote for hated me.

Maybe rising star Clana?

"Time to tally."

Lost in thought, Isolet rapped the box.

- Shuffle!

Chalk on the blackboard moved automatically, writing results.

"...Ha."

My predictions shattered simply.

'Nobles are dumber than I thought... commoners smarter.'

Despairing amid my packed schedule plus unwanted command, Isolet checked the board calmly.

"Good. Effective today: Frey Raon Starlight commands commoners; Clana Solar Sunrise commands nobles."

Silence fell again.

"Professor? What do you..."

"No mistake. For this vacation-long special exam, Frey leads commoners; Clana leads nobles."

Everyone froze in shock, too stunned to murmur.

"Now commanders set, time to reveal the exam."

Isolet eyed them coolly, lips curling.

"From now until vacation's end: protect your commander to win."

Chaos erupted in confusion; Isolet added quietly.

"Winning team's commander gets to select some dropouts."

.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the back alleys.

"So, what the hell's the Demon King's intent?"

"She's hidden her identity this long, making us uneasy enough... this is too much."

"Unacceptable. How can a non-demon, non-monster..."

Hooded figures grumbled in a dark room.

"Quiet! Quiet!!!"

The man at the head slammed the desk, silencing them.

"Her Majesty's command..."

The Demon King's second-in-command glared coldly, eyeing the photo all held, declaring lowly.

"...From today, this man is one of our highest executives."