Chapter 28: Academy is discontinuing service(6)

“Ugh!”

Inside the warehouse, the shadows of the academy gathered. I burst in, ignoring the ongoing discussion about creating a fake club for our meetings, and delivered a flying side kick to Aryn. Attacking an agent from another nation was a serious breach of etiquette, but…

“What now? Where did they get hit this time?”

“Where is it now?”

“Shameful, for an Imperial.”

The others blamed Aryn, not me, for the sudden outburst. This was the power of trust. Or rather, the Empire’s complete lack of credibility. The midterm incident had barely passed, and I already dreaded the final exams and summer break.

“Wh-What is it?!”

Even Aryn himself looked up at me with trepidation, as if anticipating another disaster. A disaster? Yes, a disaster had indeed occurred. Specifically…

“This man leaked personal information!”

My personal information, to be precise. A little while ago, Senior Lorelei had recited my personal details with chilling accuracy. I’d been shocked, but upon reflection, it was strange. My information being leaked?

It was possible. The Imperial Academy had been breached so often lately that it seemed like a joke, but the Empire was still the most powerful nation on the continent. Even if Leon and Dale joined forces, they would likely lose. And the Jeyka Duchy, the most powerful family in the Empire, rivaled the military strength of some smaller nations. If they really wanted to, they could easily obtain my personal information.

However, while the Jeyka Duchy could do it, Senior Lorelei wasn’t the type. If she were, she wouldn’t have asked me to spy on Daisy. And Daisy might have become Daisy before awakening as a Saint.

So, I’d asked her directly. How did she know so much about me? And Senior Lorelei, with a nonchalant expression, had told me the truth.

“Aryn told me.”

That’s why I was here, beating up Aryn.

“Wait!”

Aryn, looking aggrieved, requested a chance to explain.

“Well?”

I listened, curious to hear his excuse.

“Do you know where I was born?”

He asked about his hometown, out of the blue.

“Why would I need to know that?”

“The Jeyka Duchy.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“My roots are in the Jeyka Duchy.”

His explanation was lengthy, but it boiled down to this:

“Is Prince Esid… completely insane?”

It seemed all ropan male leads were unhinged.

“…He’s still an imperial prince. Be careful.”

I’d just insulted the prince in front of his handler, and even Aryn couldn’t refute it. The other agents also looked dumbfounded.

“So, most of his retainers are from the Jeyka Duchy, and he’s chasing after another girl?”

“Has he given up on the throne?”

“By the way, Aryn, you’re two-timing.”

Simply put, the current Duke Jeyka was backing Prince Esid for the throne. That was understandable. That’s why he’d arranged the engagement between Esid and his daughter.

However, Duke Jeyka was supporting Prince Esid more than we knew. Most of Esid’s retainers, including Aryn, were dispatched from the Jeyka Duchy. Essentially, Prince Esid’s power came from the Jeyka Duchy. And yet, he was chasing after another woman. He was truly something else.

“So, if the young lady requests it, we have to help.”

His official superior was Prince Esid, but his true allegiance lay with Lady Lorelei. So, if Senior Lorelei requested something, as long as it didn’t involve the imperial family, Aryn had to comply.

“But we don’t have any information on Daisy.”

It wasn’t due to Daisy’s or her family’s exceptional information control. They simply hadn’t bothered gathering information on her before she entered the academy, as she was deemed insignificant. And what information they did find was easily accessible, open-source level stuff. Therefore…

“I told her you probably had the most information on Daisy, but I didn’t expect her to actually seek you out.”

He’d sold me out.

“Why me?”

“You knew about the academy attack and the dark mage hideout before Imperial intelligence. You’re the closest to the person you serve, and you’re also close to Daisy’s acquaintances. Who else would it be?”

I casually ignored his unspoken threat of being kidnapped by Imperial intelligence. Come to think of it, I would have done the same.

“And aren’t you particularly close to Miss Violet lately?”

I couldn’t tell him I was basically using her as a subordinate. If I did, Violet would be dragged to an Imperial dungeon.

“For information gathering, of course.”

It wasn’t a lie, so I could say it confidently. How could people like us ignore a walking, talking information dispenser?

“Please take good care of her.”

“For free?”

“…Didn’t I give you a lot last time?”

“That was for cooperating with the terrorist and dark mage investigations. You have to pay separately for Lady Lorelei’s care. Doesn’t the Duchy provide a separate budget?”

He looked slightly troubled, but he didn’t deny it. As expected of the Empire. It seemed I could earn more from the Empire than from my own kingdom this year.

****

In exchange for regularly reporting on Senior Lorelei’s activities, I made a simple contract with Aryn, the Jeyka Duchy’s temporary contact. Ha. Earning foreign currency even while away from my kingdom. Was there a more loyal subject than me? Living such a busy life, with 24 hours a day barely enough…

“It’s finally here.”

The final exams were just around the corner.

“Still, she said nothing major will happen.”

According to Violet, the final exams were an internal academy arc. No terrorist attacks, just love and competition among the students. In other words, a wholesome event where the ropan male leads would compete for Daisy’s attention through the exams. External conflicts would occur during summer break, in the Holy Kingdom, so this was a breather arc. So, I let my guard down.

“You must have a good match with Prince Ellen in this exam.”

The Sword Emperor suddenly appeared and dragged me away. Seriously, shouldn’t he be taking care of his grandson? That Little Sword Emperor got crushed by me again yesterday!

“Well, let’s have a light spar today.”

“…”

I tried to resist the tyrannical professor, but it was futile. The Swordsmanship Department was filled with his followers, and even the academy administration was wary of him. And thanks to the Magic Department’s head professor being thoroughly humiliated in the recent terrorist attack, despite all the extenuating circumstances, the balance of power between the Swordsmanship and Magic Departments had shifted slightly. In other words, my actions had strengthened the Sword Emperor’s influence, and I had to pay the price.

“Hahahaha!”

The Sword Emperor laughed gleefully as he pummeled his sparring partner. That sparring partner’s name was Adam Smith. Me. It was incredibly unfair.

And then…

“I will prove myself in this final exam.”

The final exam event wasn’t just about the Sword Emperor. Senior Lorelei looked at me with a fiery gaze that didn’t match her cold expression. She should be directing that passionate gaze at the imperial prince, not me. Maybe then their relationship would progress. When I tactfully suggested this…

“…It’s a bit embarrassing.”

Unlike me, a third party, she seemed embarrassed to act that way towards her fiancé.

“I heard the Magic Department exams will combine two grade levels this year.”

She said it was new information, but Violet had spoiled it for me a month ago. First and second years would be grouped together, and third and fourth years as well, for mock battles. Naturally, seniors usually defeated juniors.

But in the first and second-year matches, the first-years would win more often. It was a development meant to showcase the talent of this year’s freshmen and herald a new era for the Imperial Academy.

“And in that, I intend to fight Daisy.”

And it seemed the academy arc’s main male lead, Prince Esid, and the villainess (?), Lorelei’s, plotline would proceed as in the original. Here, Daisy would defeat Senior Lorelei using pure magic, not her Saintly powers. And then, Senior Lorelei would continue to lose until their fourth year, when she would finally acknowledge Daisy during the midterm exams.

“I want to win.”

But seeing her desperate expression, I couldn’t refuse to help. The Jeyka Duchy was paying me generously; how could I turn a blind eye?

“First, Daisy is…”

I thought about Daisy’s abilities. According to Violet, she was a cheat character, talented in all magic attributes. So talented that she even had immense potential in dark magic, to the point where the demon king would kidnap her as his consort.

“She’s talented in all attributes.”

“…”

Was it just my imagination, or did Senior Lorelei’s expression darken slightly? Her specialties were water and wind, weren’t they?

“Uh, well, and…”

I tried to recall other details. Holy magic was forbidden in the exams, but the Saint’s passive skills would activate automatically.

“Low-level magic is automatically nullified by divine protection. And she has some resistance to higher-level magic.”

Besides that, she could disrupt curses, weakening them naturally, was immune to various curses, had an aura that purified curses, and her natural healing ability was so high that minor injuries healed instantly. What the hell? Even Prince Ellen wasn’t this overpowered. And…

“She’s strong.”

“…I could tell that from your explanation so far.”

“No, that’s not what I mean…”

I remembered the aftermath of the battle with Silence. Waking up to the sound of Daisy slapping someone.

“Her basic combat skills… are not ordinary.”

The image of Daisy mercilessly beating up Violet, who’d dared to strike her first, was still vivid in my mind.

“…Honestly, she should transfer to the Swordsmanship Department.”

“…Is it that bad?”

I nodded with a serious expression. I meant it. The next time the Sword Emperor dragged me for training, I would quietly suggest it. Wasting such talent on magic was a crime against humanity.

Think about it. Immune to low-level magic, highly resistant to higher-level magic, immune to curses and hexes, provides buffs to nearby allies, and heals minor injuries instantly. A front-line knight like that…

Even Joan of Arc wasn’t this broken. In terms of individual influence, she would surpass even Prince Ellen after he became a Sword Master. However…

“…”

Senior Lorelei’s expression was so dejected that I had no choice but to provide mental care until she left.