58. Midterm exam (1)

“The exam was ridiculously difficult, you know? Our class is the lowest-ranked, but they set the exam like that. The professor is a bit of a psycho… no, I mean, seems to lack common sense,” Lucia said, excitedly chattering to me.

“Well, yeah. You don’t need to be too discouraged even if your score is weird on this kind of exam, Yulian Baekjak-nim. If the questions are that hard, the other students’ scores will be a mess too.”

Lucia was misunderstanding. She probably thought I gave up on the exam because I submitted my paper first.

For a moment, I thought about correcting her misunderstanding, but if I did, Lucia, who was walking alongside me, would be very embarrassed. So, I decided not to bother her.

It was a foregone conclusion that Lucia would be last in this exam anyway.

‘Well, and the theory lectures don’t really matter to Lucia.’

Lucia’s combat style is instinctual. A so-called genius.

She inherited the blood of another prestigious swordsmanship family, Orhain, so theoretical knowledge about combat would only hinder her when wielding a sword.

Her breathing, which I could feel as we walked side by side, was also very stable.

It was proof that Lucia was adapting to the Mana Art of Combination, the fusion technique I had newly created, without any difficulty.

Like the “sports heart” that athletes have, a special heart with an extremely low heart rate.

Lucia’s breathing as she walked alongside me, and the flow of Mana that moved unconsciously, were very stable.

‘The side effects of the Orhain style have disappeared as I thought.’

I was just thinking that it was a good thing I went to the trouble of finding and learning the secret writings in the special section of the Imperial Library when Lucia continued.

“But Baekjak-nim, aren’t you uncomfortable not riding in a carriage? Are you walking because of me…”

“No. It just so happened that I wanted to walk with you. It doesn’t matter.”

“Re-really? You wanted to walk with me… I, I see…”

At those words, Lucia’s cheeks turned red. Her previously stable breathing became very rough.

‘Oh dear. Lucia seems to have misunderstood.’

I decided to walk like this as a stroll and to give her advice, but it seems the meaning she took was different.

‘Well, does it matter?’

Lucia and I have already shared a body. And since her feelings for me are preventing her from going down the path of ruin, there’s no harm in nurturing her feelings for me.

‘And for the contract with the Archduke of Evil, Lucia will be a big help.’

Cecilia and Tricia. Those sisters were demons who worshipped the dark god Yunir. She was so accustomed to darkness that she could become close friends with such people without hesitation.

‘Soon I’ll have to reveal my true identity to Lucia.’

In other words, Lucia was the person I could reveal my identity to the fastest, except for Cecilia, who was also a demon.

The warp gate, another reward of the trial. Not only Cecilia but also Lucia would have to go there together.

‘Because there’s a quest to solve in the Demon King’s kingdom. I need her help.’

But hiding my true feelings for the moment, I shared everyday stories and arrived at Roia Hall.

I felt many students glancing at us on the way here, but Lucia, who was walking with her head down, didn’t seem to notice those gazes.

‘We’re too eye-catching, the two of us.’

I’m one thing, but Lucia was also amazing.

Lucia always wore combat attire, but she had long pink hair and a well-proportioned, slender figure. That attire made Lucia’s appearance even more noticeable.

That’s why I heard that many male students in the Combat Department admired her, but Lucia, who basically distrusted men, seemed to see those students as nothing more than pebbles on the road.

It was all because of Duke Pedro, who abandoned her and her mother. And if you survive the longest in the Lucia route in Demon King Slayer.

You could learn the true nature of Duke Pedro, who was like the final boss.

The ruler of the South. And the owner and Grand Master of the Sentiac Knights. Also, he was a demon-possessed being controlled by the will of the beast.

‘Of course, no one has entered the final battle phase with Duke Pedro because of that difficulty.’

Still, combining the circumstances through multiple playthroughs, I could tell that he wasn’t an ordinary human.

It was an unresolved plot point, so that assumption might be wrong to some extent, but it wasn’t a wild guess.

‘So, I have to go back to the Weitern Mercenary Corps. I have to trace back from that assassination squad.’

So, what I have to do with Lucia. Unfortunately, it might be more bloody than romantic, but today wasn’t the time to talk about that.

I sat on a bench next to Lucia. Lucia, who had unconsciously moved too close to me, became aware of the other students in the Combat Department and slightly distanced herself.

‘If someone didn’t know the situation, they’d mistake us for a date.’

And gathering her legs shyly, she sat down and I said to Lucia, who still couldn’t say anything.

“Is the exam preparation for the Combat Department going well?”

“Yes? That… our department’s exam is… something you have to endure with your body… so I think it will be okay somehow…”

“With your skills, Lucia, it shouldn’t be difficult. However…”

I cautiously advised her about the evaluation of this Combat Department exam. Of course, I already knew the contents of the exam through Demon King Slayer, so it was solid advice.

In a way, it might be difficult for her, who had been ostracized in the Combat Department. As expected, Lucia’s complexion wasn’t good after hearing my advice.

“Then I hope to see you in the Golden Squad.”

“Yes! Baekjak-nim!”

But at my words, she nodded her head very faithfully, answering.

‘If only Erti were this obedient.’

As expected. Erti, whom I had muted in advance to meet Lucia, grumbled unhappily.

---

The week of the midterm exams passed busily. It was already Thursday, the fourth day.

The second-year students of the Combat Department were now gathered in the Pantheon’s Colosseum. Usually, most of the training took place in the training grounds of Roia Hall.

But today, the exam was said to be held in a special evaluation area created here. It was the Dungeon of the Beast.

“Then that’s all for the explanation. All of the second-year class will enter this Dungeon. Other than the precautions I’ve told you, you’ll have to think, judge, and act on your own. Do you understand!”

“Yes! Instructor-nim!”

The students answered loudly to Instructor Darren’s words. Soon, all the students of the Combat Department’s first class entered the Dungeon.

‘Ugh. I feel nauseous.’

Eric, a student in the Combat Department and a swordsman. He was from Essenmund. A man from the North, famous for being aggressive and brave.

He was also a student at the prestigious academy, Pantheon, so his skills were excellent. But in fact, he always lacked confidence. He felt the same way ahead of today’s evaluation.

‘It’s not that I’m very lacking. But honestly, it’s not like I’m outstanding.’

In his hometown of Renau, he was called a swordsmanship genius. But that place was a very rural area compared to Lineheim, the capital of Essenmund, or the nearby Harsen.

At least 100 years ago, it was a truly desolate rural village. It had grown quite a bit because it produced the husband of the famous Lion Sword Empress.

Anyway, really talented swordsmen usually did that. They were selected as apprentice knights of the White Night Knights long before they made a name for themselves in Renau.

Eric had taken the test to become an apprentice knight of the White Night Knights several times, but he failed.

Still, he couldn’t give up on that dream, so he came to Pantheon in the Imperial Capital, far from Renau.

There were some achievements. Although the student representative was Leaf. And Fabian, who was always cocky but had excellent swordsmanship skills, was the next best after him, most students acknowledged Eric.

But even in this distant place, Eric’s confidence didn’t increase easily. It wasn’t because of the outstanding students from the Imperial Capital or other parts of the Empire. It was because of his fellow countrymen.

‘It was because of Uriel-gyeong and… the Lord.’

Probably in Essenmund. And if you were a swordsman of Eric’s age who hoped to join the White Night Knights, there was no one who didn’t know that name.

Uriel Klein. A genius who joined the White Night Knights at the youngest age. Moreover, she was only one year older than him. Already a 5th Circle swordsman who emitted Aura.

Of course, until last year, she had quietly stayed at Pantheon as the Lord’s bodyguard.

So, in the Combat Department, her story wasn’t told as much as in Essenmund. Besides, she wasn’t a student.

No, there was a story.

Because of Uriel’s outstanding appearance. And the position of being the bodyguard of the Lord, who was a hooligan. She was often the subject of lewd jokes among the Combat Department students.

‘What do they think of Essenmund women?’

A proud knight of the White Night Knights. Even if there was an order from the Lord, who was the successor of the Frontier Count. There was no way she would carelessly offer her body at night.

And if you were a knight famous in Essenmund, she was a knight who had absolutely no interest in men. There was absolutely no way that the nonsense that she was mixing her body with the Lord could be possible.

‘Uriel-gyeong is not that kind of person. She must be a virgin. She’s not married.’

Of course, the only person who could possess that great Uriel-gyeong would be the Lord. But Uriel’s personality was famous for being upright. There was absolutely no way that there would be anything vulgar with the Lord, who had a fiancée.

Anyway, that great person had only guarded the Lord last year.

This year was different. The Lord, who was famous as a hooligan even in Pantheon, had become very different from last year.

‘He’s completely sane.’

So, Uriel also received the opportunity to train personally at the Roia Hall training grounds from him.

‘After that, the guys who brought up nonsense about Uriel-gyeong disappeared.’

Everyone was silent after seeing the Lion Heart Sword that Uriel-gyeong unfolded. You couldn’t help but feel intimidated by her genius skills.

Eric also lost more confidence after confirming the reality of the Lion Heart Sword.

Of course, the pervert Fabian tried to approach such Uriel and flirt with her. But of course, he failed and only got a lot of scolding.

‘That’s not important. I already knew that Uriel-gyeong was such a great person. But what really surprised me was the Lord and Lucia.’

That’s right. Uriel, who had already returned to the White Night Knights. She was no longer in sight, so there was no reason to stimulate Eric’s inferiority complex.

The problem was those two. Yulian and Lucia.

Even until the first year. The two people who were not mentioned at all in swordsmanship. Now, they showed great prominence in swordsmanship to the extent that even the student representative, Leaf, could not keep up.

‘Anyway, even if Lucia is like that. How about the Lord… after all, the blood of Reinhardt cannot be deceived.’

Lucia, who was always talked about for her appearance rather than her swordsmanship skills like Uriel. But anyway, she participated in all the training of the Combat Department in the first year.

It meant that she satisfied the strict standards of Pantheon and was able to advance.

But the Lord in the first year was different. After being greatly humiliated by Instructor Darren, he had never entered the Combat Department.

‘And if you were a person near Harsen. You would have known that the Lord’s swordsmanship skills were terrible.’

His hometown, Renau, was also a small city belonging to Harsen, the territory of Yulian Baekjak-nim. There was no way that rumors about the Lord would not spread.

Of course, now Yulian was proving that all those rumors were nonsense.

‘I never thought Hans-hyung’s words would all be true.’

In fact, the men of Renau were unique among the people of Essenmund.

Because of the legendary coachman who became the husband of the Lion Sword Empress 100 years ago. Even now, many men try to become closer to horses than swords.

And Eric’s older brother, Hans, was once again a successful coachman in Renau. He became the exclusive coachman of the Lord, who was the next Frontier Count.

‘There are no young ladies in the Reinhardt family right now… Hyung was very disappointed.’

It meant that he couldn’t become like that legendary coachman. Anyway, Eric shook his head violently.

Now he was in a Dungeon where he felt nauseous due to the influence of the Demon Force.

And in front of his eyes. There was the person who made Eric lose his confidence.

“Please take care of me. Eric.”

Yulian reached out his hand to Eric.

---

“T-thank you! Lord-nim!”

Eric, the student of the Combat Department standing in front of me, was startled. He didn’t know what to do with the hand I offered. He bowed his waist sharply.

‘Awkward.’

I lowered my hand slightly. I hadn’t had any particular interaction with Eric in front of me. But I had a connection with him.

Eric was from a small town called Renau near my territory, Harsen. It was the very village where Erti and I spent time in the Trial of Roia.

‘It has now grown into a city, not a rural village.’

The coachman who became Atlin’s husband. The hometown of that coachman. And it was also the hometown of Hans, my exclusive coachman.

Eric was Hans’s younger brother.

‘Hans always complained about Eric.’

Hans often cursed that he was a guy who couldn’t even get into the White Night Knights. Besides, the tuition fee for Pantheon was quite expensive. Hans had been covering Eric’s tuition fee all along.

It just so happened that Yulian before possession had also beaten Hans. So, I gave Eric a scholarship with Harsen’s budget for my exclusive coachman.

I said to Eric.

“There’s no need to be so stiff. Here, we’re just fellow students.”

“I… I can’t do that. Lord-nim is the Lord of my hometown… and the person who gave me a scholarship so that I can attend Pantheon… so…”

“If you know that, calm down first. Aren’t we in the middle of an evaluation now? And other students are watching.”

And another female student was watching that scene with interest. Her name was probably Maria. Of course, she was also a female swordsman from the Combat Department.

So Eric and I. Including Maria, we were one group for this midterm exam evaluation. All of this was randomly assigned. So, being in the same group as Eric was unexpected.

And Maria, although not as much as Eric, gave me a polite greeting.

“Please take care of me. Yulian Baekjak-nim.”

I nodded my head in place of a greeting.

Anyway, these two were people I had to take the exam with.

‘And to prevent Cardinal Grius from complaining. I must get first place in this evaluation.’

The difficult evaluation that Instructor Darren made with his head wrapped. But I already knew the hidden evaluation criteria of this exam.

And at this moment. I came up with the most ideal strategy that I could accomplish with these two people in my head.