Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Say "I Love You"!
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An uninhabited island near the Academy.
The preparations for the exam—labeled as the final but essentially a survival test—were proceeding smoothly.
In the designated control zone on the island, Erendel was swinging her staff, drawing intricate magic circles in the air, while Kasian stood beside her with his arms crossed, offering commentary.
"Hey, make the barrier stronger."
"Shut up. It's already triple-layered. Even a dragon couldn't break through."
"I'm not worried about monsters getting out—I'm worried about the kids deserting. There are always a few who swim away, you know? We have to seal off the escape routes properly."
"Is this a test site or a prison?"
"Education only truly takes shape when there's no place to run. Enough chatter—do it."
"Fine, fine! You're such a picky bastard. No wonder all your adjutants ran away back in the day—with an attitude like yours."
"No, they all died in the line of duty."
"Ah..."
Erendel's hand froze mid-motion.
"Sorry... Let's not talk about it."
The two bickered constantly, acting like they wanted to devour each other, but when it came to getting work done, they matched each other's movements with chilling precision. They seemed to know the next step without even speaking.
'Guess a comrade is still a comrade...'
Dane, who had been dragged along as a nominal assistant but was really Slave No. 1 hauling luggage, sat under a tree's shade with his chin propped up, watching the scene.
He'd heard that this elf named Erendel had been in that old demon senior's party 500 years ago.
As a fellow transmigrator from the same homeland, Dane had heard plenty of "Back in my day..." stories from Kasian.
Tales of chewing rotten bread in the trenches while catching some sleep, the time he first developed black magic and got into a collar-grabbing brawl with the saintess, camping in front of the Demon King's castle until his mouth went numb, and so on.
At first, it sounded just like a discharged veteran's war stories, so he'd let it go in one ear and out the other.
But as he listened, he couldn't dismiss it entirely. No matter how much of a scum bucket the guy was personality-wise, his feats etched in history books were undeniably real.
[Subjugation of the Demon Army that Advanced to the Capital]
[Teamed Up with the Elf and Saintess to Subjugate the Plague Lord]
[Subjugation of the Shadow Lord]
[Subjugation of the Demon King]
And countless other miraculous victories besides. It was ironic that the man now scheming to trap students was actually a living myth, the savior of humanity.
'Well, with skills like that, no one dares touch him no matter his personality. Plausibility backed by raw power... not face, power.'
Honestly, at this point, Dane almost pitied the demons who'd faced that senior. From their perspective, having one of the hero's party members spam corpse explosions and black magic must have been utterly bewildering and terrifying.
But more importantly...
'Isn't that exactly what it looks like?'
Dane's instincts as a former romance fantasy reader were screaming.
The atmosphere was off. It wasn't just camaraderie—the weight of time felt different.
Kasian had returned to his original world and come back in what felt like a single day to him, so his emotions were preserved, but Erendel was different. With her ageless elf body, she'd watched the empire change while waiting alone for 500 years.
'Let's check.'
His curiosity as a romance fantasy reader from his past life kicked in. Plus, she had the transmigrator perk: the status window skill. A cheat ability that showed basic info and favorability on characters.
It was meant for simping over hot male leads, but...
'No reason not to use it here.'
She narrowed her eyes and focused on Kasian.
'Yeah, as expected, nothing shows.'
It was the result he'd anticipated. Whether because he was another transmigrator or something else, the status window couldn't even recognize him.
Honestly, he wasn't that curious anyway. That guy's head was probably filled with sadistic thoughts on how to cruelly deploy demons to make the students suffer.
Her gaze naturally shifted to Erendel beside him.
Ding-!
"Holy shit..."
Dane's jaw dropped. Favorability 90? That wasn't just flirting. In the dating sims from his past life, 90 meant endgame—basically married, just waiting on the proposal.
'Whoa... true love. A 500-year-old crush. Shouldn't that be designated a cultural treasure? Pure, devoted love?'
And the recipient of that love, Kasian himself?
"Hey, Erendel. Pass me some water."
"No hands? No feet? It's right there."
"Ah, my hands are dirty from working. Just hand it over."
"God, I can't live because of you..."
He was utterly clueless. He didn't have the slightest inkling why this woman, after 500 years, cursed him out yet did everything he asked.
War hero, they said, but his romance radar was in the negatives.
"Sigh, that dense idiot..."
Dane thumped his chest in frustration. That guy's romance cells must have all burned up storming the Demon King's castle.
He claimed romance fantasy genres were dead, yet here he was embodying the biggest cliché: the hopelessly oblivious dense male lead.
And in the worst way possible.
Yeah, with that face, those skills, and being in the hero's party, it'd be weirder if women didn't stick to him. There were probably truckloads of similar cases 500 years ago.
Moments later, Kasian finished up, wiped his sweat, and approached Dane.
"What're you staring at so intently? Feeling respect well up watching your senior work?"
Dane looked up at him with utter pity in his eyes.
"Senior."
"Yeah?"
"Senior... back in the day, people must've called you oblivious a lot, right? Said you were so dense it made them pop a vein? Your comrades never clutched their necks in despair?"
"What...?"
Kasian's brow furrowed.
"What bullshit. I was sharp as hell. If I wasn't quick on the uptake, I'd have taken an arrow to the face and died on the battlefield ages ago. My danger sense is razor-sharp."
"..."
"Hell, back then I could sense demons hiding just from their presence..."
Dane let out a deep sigh. The "sense" this guy meant was survival instinct, while what Dane meant was straight-up social intelligence.
"No, I mean reading people's feelings and stuff."
"Same difference. Whether they're charging at me because they love me or want to kill me, their heart rate spikes and breathing gets rough either way. Just depends if they're holding a sword or flowers."
"Whoa..."
This was real. The genuine article. Beyond saving. Interpreting love and murder through the same lens.
Kasian brushed it off casually and nudged Erendel.
"Hey, you know it too, right? I'm quick on the uptake."
"......"
Erendel's expression turned icy cold. The quill in her hand snapped in two with a crack.
"Yeah... you're so quick. Too quick for your own good. I'm just blown away."
"See? Told ya. We got a witness."
"Sigh..."
Dane shook his head and closed the status window.
[Erendel → Kasian: Favorability 90]
No matter how high the number climbed, it was useless with a busted receiver.
Then, Erendel sighed and pulled a small lunchbox from her pocket.
"Here. I bought it on the way earlier."
"Oh? What's this? You bringing food? Thanks, I'll dig in."
Kasian took the sandwich and, without hesitation, sliced it in half. He handed one piece to Dane.
"Here. You eat too. You worked hard as bait."
"......"
Dane caught the flying sandwich and glanced at Erendel's face. Her eyebrow twitched, and a bluish killing intent rose like a haze.
One bite, and he'd end up "accidentally" drowning in the Academy lake tonight, no trace left.
Dane yelled hastily.
"I-I'm not hungry! Senior, you eat it all! Erendel got it for you!"
"Huh? Not hungry? It's way past lunchtime."
"No, really! I'm on a diet!"
Dane shoved the sandwich back at Kasian.
"Hey, you need to eat well for training. You ignoring my gesture?"
"I appreciate the gesture, but my stomach's rejecting it! Please eat! Both of them!"
"Sheesh, what a weirdo."
Kasian tilted his head in confusion and took a big bite.
'Phew... saved.'
Dane wiped cold sweat and sighed in relief. Romance fantasy laws broken? Don't make him laugh. This was smack in the middle of a love-thriller.
"This is no joke..."
With the stormy prep period finally over, the day of the decisive battle dawned.
The exam proceeded on the Academy's uninhabited island as announced. The students' faces as they disembarked were uniformly grim—not excited like a field trip, but like conscripts heading to the front lines.
"Welcome to the test site, rookies."
Kasian stood crookedly at the pier, greeting the students. He smirked through an amplification spell.
"Nothing fancy. Survive two days on this island. As you know, we'll grade based on survival points plus subjugation points."
Kasian shrugged.
"You said you've done this before? It's the same method. Even rations provided."
'Same method, but with you as proctor? That's a whole different ballgame!'
Every student thought it, but none dared say it aloud.
"Before entering, grab a souvenir each."
At Kasian's gesture, Dane and Yuria circulated baskets. Inside were small brooches embedded with red gems.
"What's this?"
"Emergency escape artifact. Fresh off the line—slaves... er, mages from the Imperial Magic Tower pulled an all-nighter mass-producing them."
Kasian continued explaining.
"The goal here is growth, not pointless deaths. If you take what feels like a fatal hit while wearing it, a barrier activates and force-teleports you back here. Or you can trigger it manually."
"Ooh..."
The students' faces brightened a bit.
"But."
Kasian raised an index finger.
"Five chances per person."
"......Pardon?"
"Not unlimited retries. Value your lives and act wisely. We don't pick people who die five times."
"......"
"Alright, then..."
Boom-!
A signal flare shot into the sky.
"Welcome to hell. Enter!!"
Thirty minutes after the exam began.
The forest was quiet. Students moved in small groups, tense as they scouted the woods.
Rustle.
The thick bush ahead shook violently.
"Something's coming. Eyes on the front!"
"Stay calm. Just do what we trained for."
Finally, a massive figure emerged from the brush. Green skin, protruding tusks, crude leather armor.
"Humans..."
An orc.
The students' faces relaxed.
"Gave me a scare. Same level as last year."
Back then, maybe, but after hellish training, one orc was something they could smash barehanded.
"Hey, I'll take point. Support with magic from behind."
Just as the students relaxed and reached for their swords—
-Kieeeek!!
A ear-splitting, eerie screech tore from the forest behind the orc. The orc's face twisted in terror.
"Huh?"
Puuk-!
A black claw burst from the orc's chest.
"Guhk...?"
The orc staggered, vomiting blood. Then a shadow lunged from behind and savagely tore into its throat.
Crunch. Snap.
The gruesome sound of bones crunching echoed through the forest.
-Kerrrruk...
-Kieeeek!!
Monsters never heard of before swarmed the fallen orc like a pack of dogs amid black mist.
Hellhounds with flames in their mouths and two heads.
Demonic ghouls with twisted bodies, sharp claws on hands and feet, razor teeth.
Crunch. Snap. Crunch...
The chilling sounds rang out. The students froze, swords in hand.
Then, the two heads of a hellhound munching on the orc's leg turned simultaneously. Four red eyes fixed on the students.
-Kirrik.
-Kieeng...
The creatures licked the orc blood from their muzzles, grinning.
"Kyaaaah!!!"
"U-Uwaaaah!!"
"What the hell is that!!"
The final exam had truly begun.