Ch.188187. Graduation Exam (1)

# 187. Graduation Exam (1)

At that moment.

In the Babylon Kingdom, a military council for upcoming battles was in full swing.

The leader of this meeting was, of course, Bael.

Normally, everyone would try their best to align with the king’s opinions.

However, this time was slightly different.

“What I mentioned in the previous meeting, where does everyone think we should go with that?”

“..?”

“Is this for real..?”

Everyone was bewildered by the question.

That Bael, the Demon King, asking for his subordinates’ opinions… this was unheard of.

Unable to believe what was happening, Agareus stared with wide eyes and asked him:

“Your Majesty… is this perhaps a dream?”

“Shut up and answer. I want to hear your opinions quickly.”

Moved by Bael’s words, he immediately shared his thoughts.

“My goodness… I believe we should head toward the Orion Kingdom. Without Your Majesty, facing the Emperor would be nothing short of suicide.”

“What about the others?”

No one else voiced a different opinion, seemingly agreeing with Agareus.

To be honest, it seemed like no one had the courage to contradict Agareus’s words.

Except for Lilith.

“Would it be too much of a gamble for me to participate?”

“To be frank, yes. It seems they can communicate without any spatial constraints.”

“Such troublesome fellows.”

“However, if all of our executioners participate, I believe we could manage even without Your Majesty.”

But those words were far too arrogant.

First, it was conditional on not facing the Emperor, and it only considered their own strength without accounting for the enemy’s forces.

Lilith, unable to let this pass, voiced her opinion.

“Isn’t that incorrect?”

“The other side only fears Your Majesty when your passive skills [Lord of the Demon Castle] and [King of Demon Kind] are activated. Without them, we’re at a disadvantage in terms of power.”

“Then… what’s your thought?”

Besides Agareus, Lilith was practically the only one who could speak without fear before Bael.

She stood up abruptly.

“First, entering from just one direction is too risky. If we all go together recklessly, there’s a high chance we’ll all die together.”

Going all together was an even bigger gamble than having Bael participate.

If they won, they’d win the war outright, but if not, the opposite would happen.

“So?”

“We should split into at least two groups. That way, they’ll have to divide their forces too. And I believe Your Majesty should also participate.”

Bael was invincible when his passive skills [Lord of the Demon Castle] and [King of Demon Kind] were activated.

But even without them, he wasn’t weak by any means.

He was at least on par with the Emperor of the Kainis Empire, if not stronger.

“Even without those skills activated, Your Majesty is still Babylon Kingdom’s strongest force.”

“What do you all think of this opinion?”

But again, like before, few could contradict Lilith’s opinion.

Moreover, this time even Agareus seemed to favor her view, remaining silent.

Watching him just sitting there, staring at Bael, Lilith thought:

‘That guy could just ask him to participate directly… he’s so frustrating.’

Both Lilith and Agareus, for different reasons, wanted him to participate.

And their earnestness reached him.

“I’ll consider it, since everyone seems to want that, and I think it’s the right choice too.”

It was a truly unfamiliar sight.

‘Is something wrong with him?’

He wasn’t usually like this.

Normally, these “meetings” were just times when he’d issue commands like “We’re attacking on this date, so be prepared.”

But this time, for whatever reason, there had been some change in his demeanor, making it somewhat resemble an actual meeting.

‘Has he perhaps sensed some crisis?’

Whatever he had seen, it wasn’t a bad change for Lilith.

Since he had started listening to his subordinates, it would be easier to make him move as she wanted.

Lilith expressed her gratitude:

“I am deeply honored, Your Majesty.”

***

Lilith sat in her chair, listening to my story and looking at me.

“So, as you said, we’ll be splitting into two groups.”

“You don’t know how they’ll be divided yet, right?”

“Yeah, that hasn’t been decided yet. But Phenex will definitely want to be on your side.”

That’s not bad, but it’s not enough.

At least Vassago, Marbas, or even Agareus should come to our side to make things easier for the main force.

“It would be better if Agareus stays with you, away from Bael.”

“You want to kill him first?”

“We can’t kill Bael anyway; he’ll avoid death at all costs.”

Since we don’t know what kind of insurance he might have, targeting the relatively easier Agareus makes sense.

Besides, unlike Bael, Agareus isn’t skilled in magic.

“If we can just kill him, things will go much more favorably for us.”

“Will it go according to plan?”

“That’s impossible to know.”

No matter how perfect the preparation, battles and wars are unpredictable.

There are no absolutes.

Variables will always exist, and our job is to minimize them.

“That’s unexpected… I thought you’d say it would definitely work.”

“You just need to do your part well.”

“If it comes to that, we just need to kill those bastards together, right?”

“Winning is the issue. Most of our forces will be invested in the main group.”

Still, there will be me, her, Marco, and Karina at least.

Depending on later information, more might be added.

That was the minimum force.

“Not bad, actually.”

“What is?”

“Nothing.”

“By the way… you seem really busy lately. Is something going on?”

Unusually, Lilith brought up a topic about my daily life.

She wasn’t normally one to talk about such things.

After taking a sip of sweet fruit juice, I looked at the majestic figure of the Academy visible outside the café.

“It’s the graduation exam now.”

“Graduation? Already?”

“Yes, can’t you see my uniform? I’m still a student.”

“That’s surprising. Is this exam difficult?”

“Not really. You know Marco, right?”

When I mentioned that, Lu, who had been quietly listening beside us, tilted her head.

Then she finally spoke.

“I know him, but so what?”

“I just need to beat him to pass.”

“Is that possible?”

“He’ll use a cheap mass-produced sword and won’t use skills against ordinary students.”

“But not against you?”

“Haha…”

She’s right, I’m not ordinary. Or rather, I won’t be treated as such. I asked for it myself.

I wish I hadn’t said that now.

I sighed, thinking about my vague actions from the past.

“You’re going to get crushed.”

“Can’t you win?”

“What nonsense… in my current state, I’d lose a hundred times out of a hundred.”

“Really?”

Still, I can’t give up.

One way or another, I need to graduate with top honors, and since I’ve already made that statement, I have to take responsibility.

“I should at least be able to wound him.”

“Good luck, but don’t get hurt pushing yourself too hard.”

“Are you worried about me?”

Hearing that question, Lilith’s cheeks turned red, and she turned her head away.

“No… not really. We’re just on the same side, so don’t get injured and miss training. You’re not bad now, but you still have a long way to go.”

“Your tongue is quite sharp. Well, see you next time. Oh, right. Take this.”

I handed them an object.

Lilith and Lu couldn’t even touch this new technology that didn’t exist in their country.

They just stared blankly at the object in my hand.

“Won’t you take it?”

“Why… this? Isn’t this that magical tool humans use?”

“So we can contact each other easily without having to meet like this.”

Hearing that, Lilith finally accepted the phone.

Then she randomly touched the screen.

Of course, the phone wouldn’t respond normally, so I had to take out my own phone and explain everything step by step.

“This is the home button, when you press it…”

After about two hours of explanation, my mouth and back were in considerable pain.

It hurts.

So I immediately stood up.

“Is this enough? I think I need to head back to the dormitory now.”

“Of course.”

“And make sure no one finds out about those. It could cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”

They’ll probably just keep them somewhere safe since there’s no use for them other than communication.

“Well, I don’t know when, but I’ll see you next time.”

With that farewell, I returned to the Academy visible before me.

At the main gate, a woman seemed to be waiting for me.

As soon as she spotted me, she spoke in an uncharacteristically low tone.

“Where have you been? The graduation exam starts tomorrow.”

“I’m not up until the third day anyway.”

“Still, you should be preparing as much as possible…”

“You’re one to talk…”

I reassured Aelin, who was showing unusual concern.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll handle it just fine.”