The two continued their war of nerves until the students left.

As Elias just kept grinning, the Class 1 student, getting creeped out, abruptly stood up first.

“We have to go together. Huh? If we fail now, it’s definitely your fault, so do I have to accommodate you?”

“……”

I stopped Elias, who was herding the Class 1 guy out.

“Elias.”

“Huuuh~?”

There are now 4 days left until the exam, or 3 days in terms of actual time.

The key is whether they can fix their ruined teamwork and demonstrate their skills within that time.

Of course, when it comes to Elias, I’m not worried at all.

“Good luck. I’ll be expecting great things.”

Elias’s lips curled into a wide grin.

“Ah, what if we do better than your team~?”

“Worry about starting first.”

“Yeah, see you later! Wait for me in the dorm~”

I nodded.

Elias skipped dinner and went straight to the training ground.

And, the rumor spread throughout the school like wildfire, thanks to the students and professors who attended the disciplinary hearing.

“*He did that?!”

“No, he didn’t really go there just to fool around? I don’t get it.”

I didn’t intend to listen, but this was the only topic wherever I went.

It seemed because that Class 1 guy had scattered flyers all over the school, the students’ interest had already soared to the heavens.

He truly dug his own grave.

More importantly….

Suppressing a dry laugh, I entered the dormitory.

‘It spread, but…’

Due to his usual conduct, it’s not being easily accepted.

But although his impression is thuggish, his attitude slick, and he seems thoughtless, Elias had been publicly attacking Pleroma and acting for the citizens since last year.

The general public would likely accept it without issue.

‘Still, there’s no problem.’

The students who watched the disciplinary hearing in the conference room are excitedly spreading the story around.

Whatever Elias’s reputation at school, the things he has done so far don’t just disappear, so even the students who find it absurd now will gradually come to accept it.

And, now I have to go train again.

Changing back from my uniform into training clothes, I warped to the familiar training ground coordinates.

Leo, whom I had seen earlier in the disciplinary committee meeting room, had already arrived.

“You’re here?”

***

“Good work. Your response sense seems to have improved a lot.”

Leo smiled with the most refreshed face I’d seen from him this month.

Finding it absurd, I just dropped my head to the floor. Since my entire body was already plastered to the ground anyway, this position felt much more stable.

I tapped the floor weakly with my finger.

Leo, understanding my intention, asked.

“Hm?”

“…Th…is…”

Only a thoroughly raspy voice came from my throat.

Giving up on speaking with just my throat, I used Divine Power.

—“Hey, you bastard.”

“Ah, this method again, it’s been a while. But why?”

“Hoo…” (Sigh)

What does he mean, why? I can only laugh.

Did I do something annoying today?

I don’t know why training with this bastard always makes me reflect on the past.

In other words, he trained me like he was facing some mortal enemy.

‘It was fine today.’

Could the partner issue still be bothering him?

But that’s no reason to be angry.

And that happened last Friday, and I trained with him over the weekend too.

It was definitely normal until the weekend, but today, Monday, the training intensity suddenly skyrocketed like crazy.

‘…Did he find out I’m training separately with Tsheringen?’

But again, that’s no reason to increase the intensity.

—“Hey. Did I do something wrong?”

“What could you have done wrong? Why did you think that?”

—“Even if I said your training method was alright, isn’t it basic human decency to leave at least a minimum amount of stamina?”

“That’s true. Was it hard? Sorry.”

I turned my head to check his face.

He was smiling in a very textbook manner for someone supposedly sorry.

‘Sorry, my ass.’

Like Elias earlier, his soul seemed slightly elsewhere. Meaning, his head was filled with nothing but thoughts of magic.

He intended to push me hard from the start.

Günter, getting chewed out by Elias right now, probably feels the same way.

‘Normally, I would’ve just cursed once and ended it.’

But hearing that this Magic Power wasn’t Luca’s but manifested due to my own aptitude started making me feel a sense of crisis.

Honestly, until now, I didn’t care if Leo was crazy about magic or not. The Magic Power he chased for over 10 years belonged to Luca, not me.

‘But if the magic I’m using now manifested from my aptitude, that changes things.’

The magic I used in Adelbert’s body, though crude due to lack of adaptation, still had different properties from Adelbert’s. For starters, the number of colors was different. I could also use Divine Power.

That means there’s definitely a difference between Luca’s magic and mine too.

Yet, Leo currently can’t distinguish between the two.

Honestly, even if the magic I use is mine, and Leo considers my Magic Power academically perfect, nothing much would change externally.

But is a madman called a madman for nothing?

I have absolutely no intention of revealing it, but even if he found out I wasn’t from this world, as long as the Magic Power remains, he seems likely to use me as research material.

‘If this passion doesn’t cool down, I should send him to graduate school.’

This fanatical passion should be poured into research, not end at admiring someone else’s Magic Power. It’s a national loss.

As I just stared into space without answering, Leo activated healing magic.

[Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.] (3 John 1:2 KJV)

“Giving medicine after causing the illness?”

“Hmm?”

“Forget it. So what’s up today?”

“Nothing special. Just that what you showed during the joint training today was a bit unexpected.”

“So you wanted to confirm it?”

“Something like that. Sorry. I got competitive without realizing it.”

At those words, I let out a light laugh.

He noticed.

Though he pushed me harder than usual today, I minimized my magic usage.

He definitely sensed that too.

‘Now I’m starting to get it.’

He’s still puzzled about why I only used my body during the joint training this morning without using magic properly.

He must have wanted to grasp how I move, even if just one-on-one.

“No wonder you attacked like a victim today.”

“Hmm. So you have no intention of telling me? Today’s method was just following Tsheringen’s instructions, right?”

“Well, it’s exactly what you’ve seen usually.”

“I’m curious about the strategies you devise, Lucas.”

He means situational judgment ability.

Normally, maybe, but even if it’s Leo, he’s on another team now, so there’s no need to reveal it.

Leo pushed me today to find out if our team was hiding something, so let’s call it even.

“Who knows, check on exam day.”

“Hmm…. I look forward to seeing how your team trained.”

“No, don’t expect anything.”

Saying that, I warped back to my room.

And, as soon as I entered the room, I found Narce sitting in the corner, eating snacks with Pai.

“Lucas, you’re back~?”

“Here again.”

Aren’t you dropping crumbs?

As my gaze fell on the snack case, perhaps interpreting it as wanting some, Narce took out a snack and extended his arm.

Taking off my coat, I accepted the snack and ate it.

‘Wait, this guy should know everything I’m thinking, right?’

He just gave it to shut me up.

“Haha, exactly~ I’ll clean up thoroughly before I leave.”

“Okay. And read moderately.”

“Come to think of it, Narce can read thoughts now?”

Leo, who had followed me, asked.

“Seems so.”

“Ah, only Lucas’s~ I don’t know about the others.”

“…You can only read my thoughts? Why only me?”

“You’ll have to be careful about your thoughts now too…”

“Careful or not, he’s always thinking about Pleroma anyway, so what~ He’s perfectly suited for the Cardinal position.”

He doesn’t think about God for even a single moment, yet he’s suited?

“Because there are plenty of people who commit all sorts of sins while thinking of God. Someone who commits wrongdoings, invokes God, and doesn’t even repent isn’t devout but rather blasphemous. History is covered in such rationalized sins, isn’t it?”

“Hmm.”

Sounded like a religious person.

As soon as I thought that, Narce gave a questioning smile.

Ignoring his laughter, I sat down and spoke to Leo, who was reading the newspaper article about the Primrose Path story.

“Come to think of it, you look happy. You looked dumbfounded when Eli was ripping his clothes earlier.”

“…How could one not be dumbfounded…. It’s just, impressive how cleanly he handled it despite being on bad terms with His Majesty the Emperor.”

Well, he’s royalty fundamentally.

It’s difficult for an organization within the Imperial Family to defy the will of its master.

Simply put, it’s like asking if I could butt into an organization within the Askanian family.

‘Of course, the problem is that the relationship between the Emperor and Elias isn’t exactly smooth.’

Elias seems to have handled this issue well on his own.

Elias must have stormed into the Security Headquarters right after visiting the gambling den, and without giving the Security HQ time to report to the Emperor and make a decision, he must have just pushed them, shouting it was urgent.

Seeing as he obtained the investigator credentials after turning the Security HQ upside down, this is the only possible route.

Just then, light flashed at the room entrance.

“Oh, what. Everyone’s here.”

Elias greeted us and naturally lay down on my bed.

He was in pajamas, looking like he had just finished showering.

Still grinning, it seemed the training ended cleanly.

“Ah~ Refreshing. This is the life.”

“How was it?”

“How was it~? Did those guys have any other choice?”

Elias said with a relaxed smile.

“You didn’t threaten them in some weird way again, right?”

“Aw, what do you take me for~! But Luca, you’ve been drinking that often lately.”

Elias looked around, trying to find something to change the subject, and pointed at the cola on my desk.

It was the bottle I hadn’t finished this morning.

“Have I?”

“Yeah. Every time I come to your room, there’s always one half-drunk bottle on the desk.”

Just because I felt nostalgic.

Actually, in reality, I never touched regular drinks that weren’t zero-calorie.

Partly because I needed to manage my weight for my job, and partly because I didn’t particularly enjoy putting things in my mouth.

‘Didn’t think much of it back then.’

If anything, I started drinking things here that I never usually drank.

Though the design looks excessively like something that belongs in a museum now, perhaps I unconsciously sought it out because it felt familiar anyway.

Just then, I sensed someone outside.

*Knock knock—*

My eyes met my friends’ again.

I had cast sound-proofing magic on the door, so the conversation shouldn’t have leaked out.

I stood before the door, then, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding, pulled my hand back.

[Senior.]

Hmm.

Thought it was the club president, but it’s Adelbert.

I opened the door, then froze.

“……”

The club president was standing next to Adelbert.

‘Didn’t exactly consider the possibility of them coming together.’

Adelbert already looked half-soulless.

I don’t even need to see to know how things unfolded.

“What’s this?”

“S-Sorry…. The president asked me to come.”

Actually, earlier today, I did tell him we’d talk later and brushed him off.

Didn’t realize ‘later’ meant just a few hours later.

Adelbert pushed the president aside and whispered to me.

“Senior. By any chance, do you know why the president’s complexion is like that…? I thought he had a health problem.”

“Who knows.”

Looks like even Adelbert thinks the president looks like a wreck.

Well, the play is less than two weeks away now, and there’s no lead actor, so it’s inevitable he’d end up like this.

No one would be mentally sound when a performance scheduled months in advance is about to be canceled.

‘Well, undoubtedly, they tried entrusting Adelbert’s understudy role to other guys, but none of them had the memorization skills.’

Still, two weeks should be doable.

It’s not like the 40-minute play during the festival; this one is close to two hours, so the burden seemed significant.

The school placed too much burden on an arts club composed of students crazy about entrance exams.

Everyone just came to make fun memories, not to recite two hours of lines.

‘But that applies to me too.’

Plus, I still have the problem of my mindset not being fully new-generation yet.

First, I have a prepared logic, no, method.

“Sorry for coming so suddenly. Junior , do you have time right now…”

“Yes, I do.”

It was something that needed to be properly concluded eventually.

To lead the negotiation well, I smoothly adjusted my expression and said.

“President. Let’s revise the script again. Editing it focusing on the romance elements increased Rosalind’s importance, right? Then increasing the family feud story should solve it?”

As the talk seriously turned to the play, the president’s eyes grew intense.

“Ah, actually, I considered it. Because the first-year understudy kept failing to memorize…. But most audiences coming to see this play come for the romance. Everyone has expectations for each play, right? Just like no one comes to Hamlet wanting to watch two hours of romance.”

Hmm.

He’s right.

I stroked my chin, pondering.

But if that’s the problem, it’s barely a problem at all.

“In that case, let’s change my role to the male lead. Let’s increase my lines and reduce Rosalind’s. If romance is needed, we can just make a male lead version, right?”

“Oh…?”

“The original work describes Rosalind’s inner thoughts more, right? So let’s twist it once. Seems like we could generate quite a bit of buzz.”

Tempted, the president’s eyes regained some life.

Smiling, I delivered the final blow.

“I’ll handle the adaptation myself, so President, just focus on your role. You also have the second most lines, right?”

“That’s… true, but.”

But?

Struggling to maintain my smile, I tilted my head.

The president gave a soulless smile.

“Actually, there’s a reason I keep seeking you out, Junior .”

“What is it.”

“We’re screwed.”

“What do you mean, screwed?”

The president didn’t speak for a long moment, so Adelbert spoke instead.

“…He said the performance date has been moved up to this Friday.”

“What?”

“The exam schedule was moved up this time, right? It was originally set for the second exam day.”

“What does the performance have to do with the exam?”

“If you want to rest, you have to rest on the day the exam ends. That day is the Club Arts Festival.”

“……”

It is kind of a festival day.

Then couldn’t they just postpone it until after the third phase is completely finished?

Why can’t they push it back?

‘I need to know the reason for this.’

Anyway, assuming they proceed with this schedule, let’s think.

Adaptation has to be abandoned.

And the school probably thought casually, ‘It’s been announced for months, what’s the big deal moving it up a week?’, but anyway, since they broke business ethics first, it’s not a problem even if we notify them we’ll shorten the play to one hour.

‘But if it’s Friday, that’s practically 3 days away.’

Even if the performance time is reduced, 3 days…

The problem is that no one has properly memorized that role’s lines so far.

“So I thought about it. If perhaps you could tell me the reason why you dislike taking the lead role, Junior , I could try to improve things where possible… Is there perhaps a reason?”

“There’s a slight emotional issue.”

“Why?”

“……”

What does he mean, why.

I just gave up. There’s no way to persuade these new-generation bastards.

“Alright. Let’s just go.”

***

Thus, the day of the second exam arrived.

Time flew by incredibly fast.

Well, it was only natural, as there were countless things to do in just three days.

‘For now, put thoughts of the play aside.’

It’s time to focus on the exam.

Just then, an announcement sounded in the examination hall.

[Team 1, please enter.]

“Leo’s team is first.”

Tsheringen, waiting in the seat right next to mine, muttered to himself.

Soon, he asked with a smile.

“Not nervous, Lucas?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep