episode_0028

Aria looked at the girl approaching them, her air thick with mystery.

‘…What is this woman?’

I couldn’t help but be surprised.

That would be the case, since Aria had absolute pride in her own beauty.

Because the other person was a beauty who could make even her nervous.

‘Was there a person like this in the Academy…?’

A beauty of that level would have been known by word of mouth even before her return, but Aria had no idea who she was.

‘Wait a minute, I definitely remember seeing that person somewhere… .’

As she recalled her memories, she was able to immediately recall who the other person was.

Well, he was a person that was hard to forget.

The fox who appeared during Eugene’s entrance exam and stole the words “she’s pretty” from his mouth before he did.

“… Saintess?”

“Oh, do you know me? Well, I’m not the kind of person who can be hidden just because you hide me.”

Being too famous is also a problem.

“That’s right, I’m a saint of the church? Where, should I write it in my own handwriting?”

Saint, Aria’s eyes widened venomously at Rene’s natural and innocent question.

“Unfortunately, I am a person who does not collect useless things in the world.”

“… Useless? You are quite a sensitive sister, aren’t you?”

“I have a name called Aria Floris, and I have no reason to call you sister.”

The moment Aria nonchalantly accepted Rene’s words.

The saint’s eyes turned sharp immediately after hearing her name.

It was just for a moment, but it gave off an ominous… aura that was so strong that it was almost colorless to even call it murder.

This quickly caught Aria’s attention, as she had been trained in high society.

She too could not help but open her eyes wide in inexplicable hostility.

“Oh, I’m sorry. When I heard your name, I felt really bad for a moment.”

“… That’s rude of me to say, something I would never expect a saint of the church to say. And didn’t I tell you not to call me ‘sister’? ”

“Whatever you think, Sister, doesn’t matter? You have no right or power to tell me what to do.”

“Ha! You’re really funny…? I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt this bad toward someone.”

“Oh my, we’ve gotten along. I don’t know why, but I don’t like you, sister?”

The two people glared at each other with beautiful smiles on their faces.

Aria herself didn’t know why, but she felt a deep sense of disgust towards the saint before her.

Yeah, that awful feeling of xenophobia.

And the same goes for the person in front of you.

Soon, the saint’s gaze turned to Julian behind her.

“Would you please clear the way? I have something to do with the brother behind me.”

“Why should I do that? This is the person I’m carrying around?”

“As it is written in the Bible, you can tell his character from the way he speaks. Taking him with you… People are not objects, right?”

“Well… I don’t know where you left them, but aren’t the priests you dragged around during the entrance exam similar?”

“The brothers who followed me returned to the headquarters of the religious order? And for them, it was an honor to serve me, a saint, so it was different from the case of the oppressive sister.”

When two people are fighting with each other, throwing daggers at each other with no end in sight.

Julian, who had been quietly closing his eyes behind me, regained some of his motivation and stood up with his usual lively eyes.

“… Yeah, I can’t drag this out any longer.”

After muttering to himself like that, he cast a dry gaze at the two women who were still arguing.

“I’m going, if those two are going to follow me, do whatever you want. Or, have they been like that for a thousand years?”

Julian calmly crossed the entrance to the snowy mountain and started walking towards the entrance.

Aria and Rene looked at each other for a moment, then followed each other without saying who would go first.

***

‘… the plan went awry.’

A student mixed in with the crown prince’s group.

The only freshman who asked Eugene a question scratched his head in annoyance.

Up until now, it has been customary for the academy’s class placement tests to be decided through competitions between students.

Sometimes the content was upperclassmen versus freshmen, and sometimes freshmen versus freshmen… .

In any case, there was no difference in the fact that students competed against each other.

‘But suddenly this year’s exam content is different from previous years.’

With that thought in mind, Sejak looked at the crown prince who was protected by the students like a bodyguard.

He was a descendant of a noble faction that was at odds with the crown prince.

At the time when the competition for the throne was still ongoing, the noble faction that had been supporting other successors found themselves cut off from their support once the crown prince was crowned.

That is why they wanted to do whatever it took to tarnish the crown prince and bring him down before he could ascend to the throne.

The order given to him by the upper echelons of the aristocracy after he passed the academy was to humiliate the crown prince through sparring… .

That directive became a bubble when the content of the test itself changed.

But that doesn’t mean they can just give up. This was a major issue that would determine their future.

So, somehow, I decided to hang on to the crown prince and make him fit for this test.

‘The Crown Prince of the Empire is in the lowest class? That’s bound to be controversial.’

If you don’t have teeth, use your gums.

If he could not publicly shame her, he joined the Crown Prince’s group with the intention of at least tarnishing his reputation.

‘That doesn’t mean it’s a good choice to immediately become a companion to the Crown Prince.’

If you do something like that, you might be questioned by the faculty and staff later about the reason for your actions.

Then, there is a risk that the nobles’ plan will be exposed.

‘But if I only had this ability, I could naturally bring down the crown prince without being caught.’

Before entering the academy, when I went to the upper echelons of the noble faction to receive instructions.

Powers granted by a suspicious black-robed figure introduced to them.

That’s right, the ability to smear pheromones on a target to make them entangled.

Originally, it was a power that was supposed to be used during the practical assessments in the midterms and finals, but… it would be better to use it when you can.

Sejak took advantage of the moment when his party, exhausted from repeated battles, was resting and approached the crown prince.

“Hwa, Your Highness the Crown Prince! Your noble body is covered in dust. Would you not grant me the honor of wiping it off?”

“Hmm…? Is that so? Okay, just take a look. Instead, treat it with care as if it were your greatest treasure.”

“Of course, Your Majesty! I would consider it an honor to my family!”

Sejak lay flat on the floor and carefully dusted the crown prince’s trousers, using every last bit of his power with each gesture.

“My humble body has cleansed itself of its filthy nature, Your Majesty.”

“Really? I’ll praise you. Then, go back to your original position.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Sejak turned his body with his head bowed and smiled invisibly.

Because he had no idea what was about to happen to him, and he still managed to squeeze the arrogant crown prince to his limits.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

Now, all that was left to do was to wait for the right time.

***

[Hey, Mr. Monster? I have something to tell you urgently. One of the entities on the mountainside is chasing the student.]

Observing the situation of this entire space from the outside.

I nodded nonchalantly at Professor Rollin’s voice ringing in my head.

“Yes, I know. He already fell for the senses I laid out.”

[You said that the demons that come out from the middle are quite dangerous…]

“That’s right. From there, it’s a section where they start securing territory as a single entity, unlike the beginning where they gather together to secure territory.”

In other words, it also meant that they were confident that they could win even if the opponent invaded their territory and attacked them.

[Then, is it okay if I don’t help the student? The one being chased was the crown prince student…]

“The dean has instructed us not to intervene because it is a test, and only to intervene in unexpected situations. We cannot help you because it is dangerous and you are in danger of failing.”

Even if he was the crown prince, it was not something that could be given special treatment.

[If you say it was an unexpected situation…?]

“Just because they are demons living in the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean that they are all impossible to deal with at the student level. However… .”

There are also some guys who are difficult to deal with at the level of the average freshman.

If those guys who belong there head towards the students even though they haven’t even invaded their territory… .

At that time, it would be an unexpected situation.

“So? What kind of devil is that that’s heading towards the students?”

[I, I’m not very knowledgeable about demons, so I don’t know the name. But it looks a bit strange. The head looks like an owl, but the body is like a bear.]

“… owlbear.”

I had a thought, “Why of all things…?”

Well, that bastard was a solitary territorial demon except during the breeding season.

“I have to step forward.”

…because he was the culprit who gave his friend an indelible trauma.