episode_0041

A peaceful afternoon in the pleasant early summer.

“Khhk, khkhuhk…”

An uneasy atmosphere hangs in the air within the office of the Department Head of the Naifrantz Academy’s Magic Department.

The culprit, as always, is Headmaster Amelia Freid, slumped in her chair at the desk.

She let out a sly chuckle, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

“Khahahaha!! You stupid bitch, how does it taste?!”

By now, the extremely difficult exam she painstakingly crafted would have landed on Narias Philbrog’s desk.

The initial shock of seeing the impossibly difficult exam would be quickly overwhelmed by the crushing powerlessness of the gap between her and the Department Head who orchestrated this. She would have petrified on the spot, that much is certain.

Her expression would undoubtedly be shattered. The inability to see that is a small regret.

“Kkhkuk… You should have picked your fights more carefully…!”

How much effort did she put into this?

In just a few days, she mobilized all available unofficial personnel, put together a new exam committee, and, using her own money, extracted problems on the level of academic papers from the academy’s professors. Finally, she had the instructors of the Amelia faction conduct a final review.

At first glance, it might seem that only those around her were grinding each other down and she might even seem like that type of person, but…

Amelia Freid is not that simple.

She graduated as the top student in the Naifrantz Academy’s Magic Department. Through her connections with Professor Emil Price, a rising star in the field of Pure Mana Studies, she underwent rigorous magical training at the Magic Tower and, as a result, churned out numerous papers like a machine. Her contributions are highly regarded, to the point that they formed the foundation of the Magic Department’s current curriculum. She is a brilliant researcher and sorceress.

Naturally, her position as Department Head wasn’t obtained through nepotism. Anyone who knows her character would agree.

Her tenacious personality, honed through experience at the Magic Tower, and her venomous nature that never lets go once it bites; these traits were the tools she used to ruthlessly push out her competitors and surpass even the senior professors of the academy, to grasp the title of Department Head.

She achieved all this at only twenty-five years old.

She was in her prime, both in age and looks, attracting numerous male admirers. At that moment, universally recognized and successful, she really enjoyed having it all.

However, Amelia was not satisfied.

From birth, her mother—Headmaster Natalya Freid—instilled in her the attitude to never get complacent.

A lion gives its all even when catching a single rabbit, they say. Even with her immense power, she did not stop.

She personally oversaw every stage, received reports on every situation, and handled every possible problem.

All that remained…was to watch Narias’s tears of despair, to enjoy the sight of her despair as she sees her grades.

Thump-thump-thump—!

A rough knock echoed through the room.

An Amelia faction instructor burst through the door. He was a scout sent to observe the exam hall.

“Th-the results are in, Department Head!” “Yes, yes~! What’s our Narias’s score?”

The instructor hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth, dripping with sweat.

“I-it’s… a perfect score…”

What the fuck?

* * *

Whoosh—

After relieving myself, I walked out of the restroom.

“I wonder if Ria found out yet?”

The exam lasted two hours. I finished all the problems in thirty minutes and left the classroom. Having already engaged in an in-depth academic study of Professor Price’s papers, the professor-level questions were all child’s play to me.

“Heh~ Easy peasy—”

I was slightly tired from spending some time in the library, reading books and waiting for the exam to end. After stretching and yawning luxuriously, I felt quite refreshed.

‘I wonder if Yuri did well on the exam~’

I scratched my pant-clad buttocks and waddled towards the classroom.

That’s when…

“Narias—Philbrog!!!!!”

A loud, shrill voice pierced my eardrums.

Ugh, so loud.

I activated [Mana Barrier], gently covering my ears to muffle Amelia’s voice slightly.

“Yes, Department Head. How are you?” “Good, my ass—”

She approached me and held out a piece of paper.

“What’s this?” “What do you think it is?”

Hmm, let’s see. It looks like my score… and it’s a perfect score.

“Oh, the results are out? Did you come to congratulate me?” “Congratulate you, my ass! Tell me, what kind of trickery did you pull?!” “It wasn’t me pulling tricks, it was you, Department Head.”

A male instructor followed behind Amelia. He seemed to want to stop her, but couldn’t lay a finger on her. Whenever he tried to speak, his words were drowned out by her roaring voice.

“Head—” “Tell me! How did you manage to answer all the questions in that super-difficult exam I made, using all sorts of tricks?!” “Hee hee… Do you really want to hear it…?”

I deliberately lowered my voice, creating a serious atmosphere.

The instructor and the Department Head swallowed.

Gulp-

“Then I’ll tell you… The method I used is that I read each problem, solved it, and checked the answer. I repeated this process for every single question.” “I asked how did you do it?!” “It was just easy?”

Even after I explained honestly after teasing her a bit, Amelia didn’t seem to understand.

“Questions made by a team of excellent professors… were easy…? ” “I usually study using the papers of those professors, especially Professor Price. Besides the Academy exams, I’ve had about 10 years of experience in personal magical research.” “No way… no way…!!”

I scratched under my armpits, which had been itching from being pressed by my bra strap for a long time.

“Shall I take the remaining exams in front of you, Department Head? I don’t mind.” “Kreugh…!!”

Amelia clenched her fist, and the paper containing my exam results crumpled in her hand.

It’s a piece of paper, so it is what it is.

“Are we done now? This brainwork made me hungry so it is time for lunch. Oh, you are here anyway, would you like to eat together?” “Fuck off, you bitch!!”

Whoa! Fuck off.

Without thinking, I instinctively covered my crotch with both hands.

Before I could retort with “I already did that,” she turned and swaggered down the hallway with her trusty lackey.

Kkht, khkuk…

‘I won this round…’

The laughter she’d suppressed even when sure of victory. Once Ria admitted defeat, it spontaneously burst out.

Well then…shall I cheer up and take my remaining exams after lunch?

* * *

Stagger-

Lulu, who had been dozing off, let go of her chin and her head slumped down.

“Huk—”

She opened her eyes and came to her senses, noticing the other instructors busily moving around in the staff room.

It was the first day of the exams. The midterm results were about to come out, so everyone was busy with grading and processing the scores.

Why is this instructor like this?

“…I’ll help, too.” “No, Instructor Valentine, you can rest a bit.” “Why—”

The explanation—something about Instructor Valentine working overtime on the review—didn’t register in Lulu’s ears.

The answer was simple.

Grading wasn’t simple manual labor.

While multiple-choice or short-answer questions with clearly defined answers qualify as manual labor, most questions were essays. As the scores could change drastically depending on the grader’s abilities, the creator of the exams usually also takes on grading.

How many questions did Lulu make?

Even a snail or an earthworm without fingers could count them. Since she didn’t create any questions, naturally, she couldn’t grade them either.

What about explaining the intent and grading criteria of the exam?

Next is the issue of trust. The examiner, such as an instructor or professor, gives the task to usually someone they can trust.

So, in this spacious staff room, how many people trust Lulu?

Ask a snail or earthworm. It will answer while vigorously shaking its slimy head from side to side.

The staff room was clearly full of people.

Teaching assistants quickly flipping through exam papers, engaged in simple manual labor. Instructors checking for errors in the problem and reviewing their criteria. Professors pondering over the extremely creative solutions and curious answers.

Everyone was diligently performing their assigned tasks.

In other words, Lulu had nothing to do.

Having nothing to do is peaceful and great for non-working people.

But for Lulu, who can feel the atmosphere of the staff room through her skin, this time was like hell.

Everything except her mouth was telling the people around her that she didn’t belong there. In their expressions, in their eyes, in their speech, and in their attitudes.

She could only feel it acutely.

That she had no one on her side here.

Where did it start, when did it all change?

Nothing made her happy, made her excited, or gave her strength. She simply huddled on her desk, shoulders slumped.

Just breathing, just her heart pounding. Just passively continuing her life.

There’s only one reason. The single driving force that has helped her live through this hellish world until now.

She’d lost her libido.