Chapter 6: Secrets Behind the Mask

“So what is it that you’re going to show me?”

Arthur is looking at me suspiciously.

“Haha, wait just a little longer.”

While saying that, I was secretly concentrating magic power at my fingertips.

Just a fingertip sounds insignificant, but in reality, it was enough magic power to destroy a country and then some.

I spread my palm in front of Arthur’s face, put my thumb and index finger together, and then flicked.

Snap!

A cheerful sound rang out.

Ordinary people would be angry if I kept dragging it out, saying I’d show them something and then just snapped my fingers, but Arthur couldn’t.

Well, because I stopped time right now.

Only I can move right now.

It consumes a lot of magic power, so I can’t maintain it for long, but it’s enough to manipulate this naive student’s memories.

..I feel like I’m losing my conscience.

Is it a side effect of the mask?

So, to ease my guilt a little, I released only the Holy Sword from the time stop.

“Holy Sword.”

I held the Holy Sword and thought about what to call it, but decided to just call it Holy Sword.

“..What are you?”

If the Holy Sword could make an expression, it would definitely be an expression of astonishment.

Even his voice was trembling greatly.

“Even the Goddess wouldn’t be able to manipulate the time axis of the entire universe..?”

What, I’m wasting a lot of magic power.

I could have just stopped this planet.

“….Keep it a secret that I’m manipulating this boy’s memories.”

The Holy Sword jumped in the air and shouted.

“Are you trying to change Arthur’s memories! Are you trying to make a fool of the Holy Sword’s owner!!”

The Holy Sword was being noisy, so I punched it.

Clang!

With a refreshing sound, the Holy Sword was embedded in the floor.

“Ugh..I’m sorry, Arthur…”

I put my hand on Arthur’s head, concentrated a little magic power, and pulled out colorful threads from Arthur’s head.

When I pulled on one of the threads, scenes that Arthur remembered appeared.

“From this red thread to the yellow thread.. It seems to be a memory from the hotel that could cause misunderstandings.”

I took a dagger from my pocket, cut the threads, and attached other memories.

After a long time of work, and as I started to feel stiff from using too much magic power, I decided to check Arthur’s modified memories once more and release the time stop.

Okay, Arthur went to the teacher to hand him a forgotten chocolate.

The teacher gratefully accepted it, then Arthur asked for a duel. They agreed to have a duel someday, then he signaled with his eyes during the speech to suggest a duel.

He agreed, and that’s how he got to this gym.

This was the limit of my imagination.

“Okay, Holy Sword, you’ve memorized all the scenarios, right?”

The Holy Sword trembled and said.

“Arthur..please remember the truth unconsciously..”

I snapped my fingers once again.

Snap!

Along with the familiar cheerful sound, sounds I hadn’t heard before began to be heard.

The sound of a bird singing from somewhere.

The sound of people walking around.

I was the one who stopped it, but the sound that could be heard again was moving.

“Uh…Teacher?”

Arthur grabbed his head for a moment and spoke to me.

There was no doubt, distrust, or anger in his voice.

There was only confusion, trust, and respect.

Success.

“Arthur, are you feeling better?”

“What..what happened?”

Okay, it’s time to appeal to my intellectual side.

If I think like this, the filter changes the words intelligently even if I just talk nonsense.

“You suddenly grabbed your head during the duel. It seemed like you had a headache, and a bad posture, or alcohol, smoking, or caffeine intake, are some of the main causes of tension headaches. You wouldn’t have been drinking or smoking recently, and you don’t prefer coffee either, so it seems your posture is the problem. A good posture for your health is…”

“Ah..yes, I understand.”

Arthur avoided my words and checked his watch.

Then he said with a surprised expression.

“Did we spar for an hour?”

An hour, most of which I spent beating you up, but well, it’s a duel.

“Haha, has it been that long already?”

Arthur continued to look at his watch and then asked me.

“So which class did you go to say hello to?”

That one word from Arthur was more than enough to make my heart drop.

“..What do you mean by hello?”

Arthur had a puzzled expression and tilted his head.

“You originally get assigned a class, did you not get it because you suddenly warped?”

Oh…

“Arthur?”

“Yes?”

I reached out and grabbed Arthur’s hand.

“We didn’t spar, we were patrolling outside to figure out the route the monster came in from.”

Arthur had an expression of understanding and smiled.

“Of course!”

I smiled and said, even though Arthur wouldn’t have seen it.

“Good.”

Snap!

As always, magic was cast as I snapped my fingers.

This sight of the surrounding scenery passing by like a revolving lantern is really beautiful.

If only I didn’t get motion sickness.

After arriving, I pushed Arthur into Class 5 of the second year and went on my way.

“..This is the prestigious academy…..”

The classmate next to me said dreamily.

I came here to see my sister, but they came here to achieve their dreams.

I don’t ignore or despise them.

Rather, I’m more pathetic.

To be a prince and come to the academy for that reason.

I felt a little disgusted with myself and replied to my classmate.

“Haha..I guess so.”

The expression of the classmate sitting next to me turned pale in real time, and he stuttered.

“Ah..Yo..Your Highness, if you answer me, I’m using informal language! I’m sorry!”

Then, like almost every student who has seen me, he bowed his head to the ground.

And all the students looked at me.

I smiled and waved, but in reality, I was more tired than amused.

The fact that my status as a prince hinders relationships.

The fact that people of the same age, or even older, take a submissive posture toward me.

At that moment, the teacher, who was 20 minutes late, opened the door with a bang and walked in solemnly.

He was a striking person with a crow mask and neat clothes.

Is that person the homeroom teacher of our class?

The one who crushed the monster’s head during the speech with one hand without even looking at it?

“Nice to meet you.”

He’s using honorifics to me again.

It’s the same old repertoire, so I don’t have anything to say anymore..

“Students.”

…?

“I’m Teacher Pest, who will be your teacher.”

There were three questions in the teacher’s words that I couldn’t solve.

First, why does he use honorifics to all students?

Second, why is he not only using honorifics but also being polite?

Lastly, why didn’t he say his last name even though he has the title of Marquis?

I already knew through background checks that the teachers at the academy were completely corrupt.

Among them, only the swordsmanship teacher and the former nurse were normal.

Then, is this person someone I can trust?

A question arose.

Born in the imperial palace, I asked about everything I was curious about and grew up, so I raised my hand this time as well.

“Teacher, why didn’t you say your last name?”

Many students looked at me with surprised eyes, perhaps because I used honorifics or because I asked a question.

The question I asked might seem bold to anyone, but I asked it with pure curiosity and doubt.

“Ethan.”

The teacher spoke to me in a calm voice without any excitement.

He didn’t add “Your Highness”…?

“There’s nothing I hate more than seeing someone brag about what they inherited just because they were luckily born as a member of a certain group.”

The teacher paused for a moment, crossed his arms, and said.

“In my case, it’s something I received for my achievements, but it can be unpleasant depending on the person, so I said it that way. I hope that was a sufficient answer.”

I quietly said yes and sat down.

The teacher, as if nothing had happened, started introducing the academy.

It felt a little unfair that he treated my question like a passing remark in his daily life.

It might have been just words to him, but to me, it was a lesson about the life I’ve lived.

His lesson seemed to tell me not to worry too much about being a prince, and that things would work out if I just kept trying.

He was the first person to give me a lesson.

He was the first person, besides my family in private, to call me without the title of Crown Prince.

As I was lost in thought, a student with several buttons undone on his uniform and clothes torn here and there muttered quietly from behind.

“…How unlucky.”

To even say such things to the teacher.

Are such guys called bullies?

My sister told me to throw a fire punch at such guys, but I had no intention of causing trouble and just felt unpleasant.

With that thought, I glanced at the bully for a moment and looked at the teacher.

When I looked at the ‘bully’, there was a loud noise.

Crash!

Surprised, I turned around to see white powder fluttering in the bully’s place.

“..Student, it’s chalk now, but next time…I’ll leave it to your imagination what I’ll throw.”

The bully’s face turned pale as he collapsed.

He doesn’t seem to have fainted.

He must be scared.

After a brief commotion, just as the proper orientation was about to begin, the student I had paid the most attention to during my background check raised his hand.

Alex.

A commoner, but his physical abilities surpass those of nobles passed down through generations. Through constant effort, he entered the academy as the second-highest ranked student this time.

He’s a so-called hardworking genius.

Of course, I’m the top student.

“Teacher, when is the duel?”

Ah, I forgot.

The tradition of the academy is a duel with the teacher.

Teacher Pest seemed embarrassed.

He touched his mask once and said.

“I don’t like to see students get hurt, can’t we just skip it and say you won?”

All the students seemed to want that, but I couldn’t accept it.

“We have the right to learn something from the teacher’s power!”

I raised my hand, looked at Teacher Pest, and spoke energetically as my sister had told me.

Then, Teacher Pest chuckled once and started writing something on the blackboard.

Top 5 restaurants if you make me take out my weapons.
Restaurants for everyone if you make me use magic power.
Be prepared if you take off my mask.
Your life is in danger if you take off my gloves.

What does this mean..?

Teacher Pest looked at us and said.

“As I wrote, that will be the reward.”

The students began to stir.

That’s understandable.

Of course, it also means a restaurant, but in the Empire, “restaurant” is a title for a craftsman’s house.

It means that places that sell tasteless food are not considered restaurants.

It was my great-grandfather’s grandfather’s father who made such a radical idea into law.

..It’s a little embarrassing.

Teacher Pest spoke in an even lower voice than before.

“I dislike having my mask taken off for personal reasons, but the gloves are because of the skill’s effect. Please don’t take them off.”

After saying that, Teacher Pest snapped his fingers as if satisfied.

We were teleported to the gymnasium.

…Was large-scale teleportation of about 40 people this easy?