Chapter 36

The day after Professor Karen’s insane group evaluation. The academy was in chaos. Nearly half of the grade received the lowest scores, and over 70% were devastated by the evaluation; Such an event had never happened in the history of the academy.

“Did you hear?”

“Of course, I heard. The sophomores got completely wrecked, right?”

“Yeah. I took a peek earlier, and the atmosphere was like a funeral.”

“Wow… I didn’t expect that from Professor Karen, but she really went all out this time.”

“Hey, you don’t know the half of it. I heard from another professor that Karen has always been known for doing things her own way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She’s an alumna of our academy, you know?”

“I know.”

“Even as a student, she did whatever she wanted. She would skip classes she didn’t like and go crazy studying only the subjects she was interested in, and on top of that…”

“On top of that?”

“She used to drink every day, and you could smell the alcohol on her from a mile away.”

“That’s what she was like? She doesn’t seem that way at all now.”

“People change.”

“I see… But still, wouldn’t skipping classes like that get you expelled?”

“It would. But her test scores were so insanely high that she was considered too valuable to lose, so the dean turned a blind eye and somehow she managed to graduate by meeting the minimum number of classes.”

“Wow… Professor Karen is a legend, a legend.”

“That’s what I’m saying. This incident, it’s a legend making another legend.”

Professor Karen, was being re-evaluated after her past was dug up. And there was another person who became as much of a hot topic as she was.

Bang!

The door to the student council president’s office opened abruptly without a knock.Regina Erenbert, the student council president who was quietly reading a book, looked towards the door.

The one who entered was a cute-looking twin-tailed female student.Amy, a junior and a student council officer, who loved baguettes so much she had the odd nickname ‘Blessing of the Baguette’.

“President! President!”

Even as she called for Regina with urgent matters, Amy did not let go of the baguette in her hand.

“What’s the matter?”

Despite Amy’s fuss, Regina asked calmly.

Always cool and composed, she was known as the ‘Ice Cold President’.

“Did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

“The story about Professor Karen’s insanely difficult group evaluation.”

“No.”

“Hehe, I thought so, so I brought some hot news.”

Amy grinned. She also played the role of an informant in the student council. But it wasn’t that she gathered information herself. She used her close relationship with the head of the newspaper club to get information.

Thanks to that, she was able to quickly obtain fairly reliable information.

“Well, then.”

Amy pulled out a piece of paper.

It was material she had gotten from the head of the newspaper club.

“Professor Karen’s sophomore joint class was on the XXth of Xth month at Xth period. And this day’s joint class was scheduled to have a group evaluation in advance…”

As Amy began to read the material, the outline of the incident, which started with the newspaper club head’s information, was almost accurate. It seemed to have been collected from the sophomores involved.

“So, in the first test, nearly half disappeared with the lowest scores. Notably, Max’s group scored perfect marks…? Eh, what?”

Amy’s eyes widened as she read the material enthusiastically. Because an unbelievable piece of information had popped up. She thought she had seen something wrong and rubbed her eyes several times before checking again.

But the written words would not change.

“Ah… I guess they were lucky to get questions they knew…”

Eventually, Amy came up with a plausible reason for herself.

And she began to read aloud again. But,

“…Notably, the Max group scored perfect marks again? Uh, what…?”

Amy froze, speechless.

That’s why she didn’t notice. The strange gleam in Regina’s eyes.

“This can’t be happening…?”

“Amy.”

“Yes, yes…?”

“There are all sorts of unexpected things that can happen in the world.”

Regina spoke calmly, but it was an acknowledgment that it was an unexpected event.

“That’s true, isn’t it?”

Amy, who asked the strange question, still seemed out of it.

“Yes. So please continue…”

“Yes, yes, sir.”

Amy barely managed to regain her composure and began to read the material again.

But her voice was so shaky that it made the listener anxious. It was clear what state of mind she was in, But somehow, she managed to reach almost the end…

“…The final perfect scores were confirmed for two groups. Elaine’s group and Ma, Ma, Ma, Ma, Max’s…”

It was shocking, but Amy didn’t want to accept the fact, and she kept repeating one letter like a broken machine.

“Max group.”

Regina, unable to bear it, uttered the name Max herself. Only then did Amy’s mouth close.

But her expression remained in a state of panic. Regina stood up from her seat and tore off the end piece of the baguette in Amy’s hand. And put it to her mouth.

Chomp, chomp. Amy instinctively chewed the baguette deliciously. Surprisingly, Amy’s eyes returned to normal as she did so.

Only Amy and her close friends knew, but eating baguettes was her ultimate stress relief. That’s why she calmed down a bit.

“I’m sorry, President.”

Ashamed of the state she had shown, Amy blushed.

“Thank you for the news. It’s interesting.”

Regina sat on the desk.

Which side was she interested in? The insane difficulty of the evaluation, or ‘that’? Suddenly she had that thought, but Amy pressed it down inside.

Because it was too blatant a question.

“…It’s also shocking news.”

She said that and then slightly regretted it.

Seeing Regina as usual, she thought it was shocking news only to herself. But then.

“It is indeed.”

Regina unexpectedly uttered a word of affirmation. Amy looked surprised. She didn’t expect her to affirm.

‘She’s really hard to read…’Amy had never seen her flustered. She had never seen her surprised.

That was the kind of person she was. But one thing was certain. Since she had said so herself, that was definitely her true feeling.

“Amy “

“Yes, yes?”

“I know you’re on duty starting today, but if you don’t leave soon, you’ll be late, won’t you?”

At that, Amy checked the time in surprise. Indeed, it was a close call, just as Regina had said.

“When did it get so late? President, I’ll be going now!”

Whoosh! Amy disappeared out the door at a speed that didn’t match her stature. Regina was left alone in the student council president’s office.

She had a thoughtful look on her face as she stared into space. Then she suddenly muttered.

“…I saw it right after all.”

That look in his eyes. A calm gaze that neither feared her nor revealed any lust. A gaze that the usual Max could never have.

She read from that gaze that there was a hidden true color to Max. But she couldn’t be sure. Because he was a man who had lived too messy a life to be certain.

It was more likely to be just a bluff. But

“Is that your answer?”

Max’s first answer exceeded expectations. To the point where she felt surprised. But just that far. He wasn’t qualified yet.

Her standards were not low enough to acknowledge him for just one thing. Considering who she was, that was natural. Even though she was still a student, she was already considered one of the continent’s top swordsmen.

But still…

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Regina stood up from her desk.

“What is this?”

As soon as I left the dormitory, I felt the stares pouring in. I had never experienced this on my way to school before. It must be because of what happened yesterday.

The rumors seemed to have spread already. The school is large, but it feels small at times like this.

“Tiring from the morning.”

I frowned. I don’t mind being the center of attention, but not early in the morning. Because I lack energy in the morning.

And because yesterday was a tiring day.

“Yawn.”

I yawned once, still not fully awake, and walked on, ignoring it. Of course, I could hear the murmurs along with the stares.

“Is that rumor true? Did he really get a perfect score?”

“Yeah, I checked with a sophomore I know. It’s true.”

“I can’t believe it, though. Did he just freeload?”

“If that were the case, would there be such a fuss? They say he solved it all by himself.”

“No… No matter how I think about it, does that make sense?”

Those who couldn’t believe it. Considering my reputation so far, that would be the more normal reaction. And this was just a minor issue.

“Was he hiding his abilities?”

“Stop reading fiction, kid. Was it skill? It was just a stroke of luck.”

“No, it wasn’t luck. In my opinion, it was a leak of the exam content. The academy will be turned upside down within a week.”

“You know something. Surely someone has already reported it?”

“No, but Professor Karen wouldn’t…”

“Would the professor do it? One of the teaching assistants must have taken a bribe.”

Those who showed distrust beyond disbelief. What, a report? Investigate all you want, guys, see what comes out. I clicked my tongue.

But I wasn’t particularly worried. It was what I had expected. You can’t be satisfied with just one spoonful. It’s unrealistic to expect people to say, “Oh, that guy was actually hiding his great talent!” just because a troublemaker showed ability once.

“That’s normal.”

Of course, that was the reaction of the majority, but there must be some who see me differently. Especially those with keen eyes. Like Professor Karen or Elaine.

‘Now that I think about it, she must have heard the news.’

I suddenly thought of my fiancée, Regina. She had told me to show my qualifications. I interpreted it as the last test to see if I was qualified to maintain our precarious engagement.

A kind of ultimatum.

And I’m probably right.

‘I wonder how she reacted.

I was curious, but I had no intention of seeking her out. I’ll let her come to me. That’s the flow I think is right. The surroundings became noisier.

“Just let them talk.”

I gave up, emptied my brain, and decided to walk to the classroom. But then. I saw a familiar figure. A man who looks fine on the outside. But inside, he’s not even glass, he’s tofu-mentaly.

Allen Benesse, a team member with zero contribution. Well, strictly speaking, it wasn’t zero. He did fulfil his quota in the second test, so I could give him 0.001. And since he beat up Dennis, he could get some extra points for that.

Anyway, the important thing is that he’s here. As the saying goes, sharing pain halves it, and sharing annoying stares does the same. That’s just my thought.

“Hey.”

I called out to him, somewhat cheerfully. He flinched, recognizing my voice.

Still a timid guy.

“…Oh, Max. Hi.”

He didn’t run away pretending not to know me but turned his head to greet me. I guess there was a reward for toughening him up yesterday. I patted Allen’s shoulder.

“Let’s go together.”

“…Yeah.”

He didn’t stutter, so it must be working. He has grown. But.

“What, what, what’s this?”

He was startled by the stares suddenly directed at him and began to stutter again. A weak guy. He needs to grow more.

“What do you mean what? Don’t you remember what we did yesterday?”

I did it all with Riviera, but since we’re in the same group, I said ‘we.’ That’s why not just anyone can be a leader.

“Of course, I remember.”

“The rumor has already spread.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Yeah, dude. We’re celebrities now.”

“Huh, huh.”

Startled, Allen couldn’t even manage his expression properly. Anyway, the important thing is that the attention was divided. I’m the most noticed because I’m a notorious troublemaker, but Allen is also a member of the team that got a perfect score.

Naturally, he would have some degree of attention. People will think Allen also contributed.

“Who is that guy?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t you know him?”

“Ah, it’s Allen. Allen Benesse.”

“That Benesse? Then is that guy the good-for-nothing eldest son of the Benesse family?”

“Probably? I heard that Shadow like guy got a perfect score with Max this time.”

“They were in the same group? What a trashy combination.”

Allen, with tears in his eyes. I silently patted his back. Allen, you really have a terrible reputation. It’s okay, extras live like that. You’re an extra meant to boost your brother.

“Then was he the key player?”

“I doubt it. They say he’s not even worth the dirt under his brother’s nails.”

“Cough, cough…”

Allen almost coughed up blood. I understand, Allen. The dirt under the nails was too harsh. It’s true, but still too harsh.

“Hey, he’s still the legitimate heir of the Benesse family.”

“Yeah, he makes more sense than that Max guy, right?”

Heheh. Enjoy it, you 0.001 contribution guy. I lightly (?) hit him on the back, telling him to get a grip. Why is he making a dying sound when I hit him lightly? Well, anyway, as expected, sharing the aggro made me less tired.

Just like this to the classroom… Huh? I spotted another familiar figure. This time, it’s not an extra. It’s a named character. A Four dimensional named character. I quickened my pace to close the distance. The distance closed as I followed.

At that moment, I locked eyes with Riviera, who had turned her head. As soon as she saw me, she made an obvious face of annoyance and tried to run away at a faster pace. But I was quicker.

“Where are you running off to?”

My hand grabbed her bag first.

She shook her head and clicked her tongue. Then she asked.

“What again?”

“We were a team.”

“The evaluation is over.”

“We were a team.”

“The past is the past. Pathetic.”

“Enough, let’s share the aggro.”

“Refusal.”

“It’s okay. You’re already involved. Thanks.”

I mimicked her way of speaking childishly. Huh? This is kind of addictive?

“Keuk, remember, I will definitely remember.”

Riviera pouted her lips in warning. That look. It was just cute. ‘Ah, is this a bit too much?’ I reflected. Even though I know exactly who she is, I can’t help but approach her when I see her.

Why? Because her reactions are interesting. I keep approaching her without realizing it because she reacts. And that weakens my vigilance against her. I need to correct this. A small mistake can end a life in the game world.

I need to be vigilant, especially when dealing with a named boss like her. Of course, it’s too late for this time, but that guy…?

“do you know her?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Who’s that again?”

“I really don’t know.”

“Was there such a person?”

As expected, she’s famous for her lack of presence, so no one even knows her face properly. But still. Now that she’s involved with me, her presence can only increase. Whether that’s a gain or a loss for me, I have no idea.

“Ah, I remember.”

Who is it?

“It looks like the girl who was getting extorted by Max’s gang.”

Ah, embarrassing. It’s not even my doing, but now that I think about it, there was a girl in Max’s group who looked frail and unnoticeable, wasn’t there?

“Unnoticeable and frail-looking? That fits.”

“Wow… That’s pitiful. Is he bullying her even during class time?”

“… You guys, if I could bully her, would I be living like this?”

“Cheer up…”

Allen, who had approached at some point, spoke to Riviera out of the blue. His understanding expression was somewhat annoying.

“You too.”

Riviera, feeling unfairly treated, retorted.

“Yeah, I’ll cheer up too.”

But Allen took it in a good way and even smiled as he responded. Even Riviera, the great, seemed to give up in the face of Allen’s ignorant response, unable to continue her words.

“… … That…the meaning is…”

“I know, I know. Thanks.”

An unexpected natural enemy? I barely held back my laughter. Meanwhile. …

“…So, does that mean that team got a perfect score?”

A guy who raised a fundamental question.

……..

………………….

The surroundings were engulfed in silence.

Whiiing.

Only the sound of the wind could be heard.

We were silent too.

It wasn’t the atmosphere to say anything.

“It was a very beautiful morning.”