How many zeros in 10,000?

Four, obviously.

‘Why the fuck is it not…?’

Philip stared at Lucas like he was looking at a lunatic.

The Lucas before him strolled into the classroom with a blank face, as if nothing had happened today, only to freeze in front of his seat, slump down, and clutch his head.

And then he asks some bizarre question about how many zeros are in 10,000?

Even someone as clueless as me knows that.

‘But he says it’s not four?’

Is he messing with me?

Or did something go haywire during the exam?

Maybe he burned through all his luck and wits today and snapped.

Philip shook his head, feeling the unease of facing a madman. Whatever’s going on, it’s best to steer clear of Lucas.

“Ha… haha, ha…”

Lucas, slowly raising his head, started laughing like a crazy person. Philip, getting goosebumps, instinctively glanced at Florian beside him. Florian was also staring at Lucas, visibly startled.

Was no one else witnessing this freak show? Philip looked around, but it was just him and Florian.

Lucas muttered with his signature emotionless eyes.

“…Enough. It’s worth a challenge…”

No idea what he’s talking about, but it feels like something that shouldn’t be challenged.

‘Fuck, I don’t know what’s going on, but he’s talking to me, so I’m screwed today.’

We usually just pass notes silently, but sometimes he tries to talk like this. Sure, Lucas is a decent guy—he didn’t tell anyone about my bet during the second training—but given what I’ve done, things can get dicey.

‘So…’

Forget roll call, I’m out.

Philip’s face darkened as he grabbed his bag and stood.

At that moment, something yanked his left arm hard.

“…Gah…!”

His reflexive yelp drew the students’ attention.

Lucas was looking up at him with clear eyes, the earlier madness gone.

“What’s wrong, Philip?”

“Uh, nothing…”

“Where you going? Sit. The professor’s coming soon.”

“…….”

Philip sat back down, unable to argue.

His usual indifferent tone carried an odd warmth. Something was definitely up. Philip’s guard shot to maximum.

“Philip.”

The low call made Philip flinch.

Lucas, staring at Philip who was avoiding eye contact, continued.

“You’re still wary of me.”

“…….”

Philip was dumbfounded.

How could he not be?

The Empire’s top university ranked Lucas above Leonard as the exam’s top scorer. And the Imperial Court welcomed him with open arms.

From his expression and tone, Lucas seems to treat his current situation like a casual stroll to the Imperial Court, but it’s not that trivial.

Lucas is following in Adrian Askanian’s footsteps.

Adrian has a natural ability to lead others, even unconsciously.

I don’t know how that’s possible. All I’ve heard from adults is that creating opportunities without being swayed by circumstances is the mark of a leader, and Adrian has that quality.

Watching the broadcast, I realized—honestly, I don’t get the rest, but the third exam for Teams 1-3 was driven by Lucas. I vaguely understood what the adults meant.

‘…The mage the Emperor wants.’

That pathetic guy at my feet is now a mage the Imperial Court has its eyes on.

He’s sitting next to me, but he’s in a different world, and he’ll only drift further away.

How could I not feel the distance?

Everyone in the school probably feels the same unspoken gap. Toward Team 1, especially the top-ranked Askanian.

And he’s asking if I feel distant? Isn’t he proud of his achievements? He’s probably puffed up with confidence now, thinking his classmates look like idiots, and he’s asking *this*?

Then, Lucas, who’d been observing Philip without looking away, spoke abruptly.

“If I made you uncomfortable… I’m not sorry, but it’s a bit absurd. You’ve got a lot to feel guilty about, so I get why you’re uneasy. I haven’t fully forgiven you, and I can’t shake the thought that your past actions were pathetic. Even now, I think your character and self-esteem are the only things in this world that never change. But since we’re here, I’d like to build a decent relationship while we’re face-to-face.”

“Huh? Say that again, slower.”

“Philip. Like I said before, we’ll keep seeing each other until university. So…”

Did we agree to that?

Sure, Askanian unilaterally said he “planned to” once.

But the thought was brief. “So” what?

What’s this tight-lipped guy getting at with such a long wind-up? There’s definitely something.

He clearly said before he had no intention of forgiving me. He’s saying it again now, so maybe…

‘Is it time for revenge?’

Now that he’s entered the Imperial Court, burying someone like me would be easy. Since we’ll keep seeing each other, is it time to pay for my sins? Or stay here and play lackey?

Philip’s eyes trembled wildly.

Lucas, watching Philip’s expression and pausing, curled his lips into a smirk. A confident, relaxed smile I’d never seen in our first year.

“Congrats on Team 2.”

***

Philip’s tense shoulders slumped as he stared at me.

His expression was like time had frozen. After a long pause, he nodded stiffly.

“…Tch, thanks. What’s the real point?”

“What’re you talking about? You tired?”

I burst out laughing and continued.

“We’re not on the same team, but let’s do well as part of the Imperial Second Academy Militia.”

“…….”

“Since we’ll keep seeing each other, this kind of greeting’s fine, right?”

“…Yeah, sure…”

Philip frowned briefly, then rolled his eyes and answered.

I nodded, signaling it was all good.

‘This guy just went through a whole mental saga.’

I could read it in his face. It felt like I’d become an Insight user.

If he’d voiced that saga, I’d have snapped, “You think I’m you?” but thankfully, he didn’t.

Then, Philip muttered in a small voice.

“Me too… I know it’s shameless, but let’s get along.”

“Hm?”

*Ding—!*

[Favorability +2]

‘…Easy.’

I’m getting the hang of this.

His favorability was 3 before, so now it’s 5.

Might as well use downtime in group settings to chip away at it.

Now for the real reason I called him.

I dismissed the proposal window, which had ticked up by 0.0002%, and smiled.

“Philip. You’ll keep things quiet on Team 2, right?”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’?”

I stared at him without explaining further, and Philip’s face paled again.

He’s definitely caught on to what I’m implying.

He’d have to.

It was amusing watching his face change color. I placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled gently.

“I’m not worrying for nothing, am I? You, who did all sorts of crap to me as a sponsored student dragging down the school’s reputation, wouldn’t dare tarnish the Imperial Second Academy’s name now, would you?”

“…O-Of course not.”

Philip rolled his eyes and nodded.

I patted his shoulder encouragingly.

This should lower the chances of Melvin getting bullied on the team. If Philip pulls anything, I’ll submit the report I held back at the start of the semester and get his disciplinary hearing started.

Philip nodded vaguely, looking confused. Luckily, his favorability didn’t drop. I could tell where I stood with him now.

Creak—Screech—

The front door opened, and I turned.

The chattering students shut their mouths and looked forward.

The subdued voices quickly grew loud again.

“Professor!”

“Whoa?!”

Some students couldn’t hide their laughter and jumped up.

Our class professor, looking healthier than a week ago, smiled at the students.

“It’s been two weeks, hasn’t it?”

***

To me, it felt like just a week.

I knew he’d be back, but seeing him in person felt even better. The students, spotting the professor’s face, greeted him with even louder voices.

Surprisingly, the moment he saw me, he gave me 2 favorability points.

Johannes Ron

Favorability +8 [Conquerable (Stage 4/5)]

So, it’s at 8 now.

Curious about the sudden reaction, I opened the Stage 4 window, but it only showed question marks.

Either the system can’t read his thoughts, or Professor Ron himself doesn’t know how he feels about me.

‘Interesting.’

With that thought, I listened to a student’s question.

“Do we have to attend school every day?”

“Well, probably morning roll call at least. And we need to earn minimum credits, so we’ll have to come for some classes.”

“Got it. Man, that’s so cool… I’m heading in for roll call soon. Congrats on joining the Imperial Court~”

I waved with a smile.

The student I was talking to was someone I’d chatted with once or twice in class.

‘Thanks for the 1 favorability point.’

I learned this during the last favorability mission.

Just smiling and speaking warmly can earn points from classmates who had negative favorability.

Even indifferent students toss out 1 or 2 points like that.

Then, someone tapped my shoulder from behind.

“Lucas!”

“Ulrike.”

“You got mobbed too? It’s been over 30 minutes since roll call ended—why’re you still here~?”

Ulrike stood there, looking slightly tired, bag slung over his shoulder. Like me, he’d probably been held up by students’ congratulations.

“Guess we’re all in the same boat. Let’s head in.”

“Sure. By the way, Lucas.”

“Yeah?”

Ulrike grinned.

“Our first exam together was that magic potion contest, remember?”

“I do.”

“I thought it’d be a one-off, but now we’re working together like this—it’s kinda surreal. Today’s exam was really fun.”

“Same.”

I didn’t have much else to say, so I gave the best smile I could manage.

Ding—!

Favorability +1

Unlike the window’s info, Ulrike stared at me blankly. I waited for him to speak, then shrugged.

“What?”

“No, I’ve never seen you make that face before. You used to look dead all the time.”

“You remember the weirdest stuff.”

“Who wouldn’t? You look better than I thought. Don’t go smiling everywhere—head in~”

“Alright. See you tomorrow.”

I waved and watched Ulrike’s back.

‘Man, just exchanging congrats gets me 1 point each.’

So far, I’ve collected 35 points.

It couldn’t be easier.

‘If only I didn’t have to gather 10,000…’

I let out a hollow laugh.

It’d be a lie to say it’s not daunting.

I’m not about to let a 30-point opportunity slip away after a month.

Last time, it was 500 favorability for 25 points.

Now it’s 10,000 for 30.

Is the system trying to cut my nose off while I’m watching? Is it a “quit if you don’t like it” mindset? Or just not handing out points easily?

‘I was thrown off at first…’

But now it’s clear.

This demand isn’t different from before.

The only difference is it focuses more on the masses than individuals.

Lucas Rene Askanian’s stage has now expanded to all of Berlin. The 10,000 points reflect that widened scope.

In the end, it’s saying to win over the unspecified masses.

If that’s the case, I’m already confident.

“Shall we go?”

I approached Narce, who’d been waiting for me to finish talking.

Even as Narce grabbed my hand and warped, I closed my eyes and kept thinking.

‘Still, I can’t underestimate it.’

The 1,000 students at school and Berlin’s 20 million people are on different scales.

But fortunately, there’s an opportunity.

“Oh, right. I’ll come by at 6 tomorrow. That cool?”

Opening my eyes at Narce’s words, I realized we were already at the mansion’s entrance.

I nodded.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Haha, we just took an exam, and now we’re prepping for the inauguration tomorrow—kinda harsh.”

Narce laughed, leading me into the mansion.

The Eszett inauguration is on Monday, the 12th. From the evening of the 12th to the morning of the 13th, a celebration for all Imperial Second Academy Militia participants will be held.

‘Perfect.’

If the rules are the same as before, this favorability proposal only tracks changes from people I can easily access.

Someone in Baden reading an article about me and forming a good impression wouldn’t count toward the 10,000.

So, I need to use the inauguration day to meet Berlin’s masses directly.

“Whoa?”

Narce, opening my room’s door, let out a surprised laugh.

“Hey, they’re here~”

“You’re here?”

Elias waved a liquor bottle in greeting.

A sigh-laden greeting followed. Leo sat far off, looking resigned, and the reason was obvious.

The table was lined with unfamiliar bottles of alcohol.

“Why’re you guys 30 minutes late~?”

“30 minutes? It’s only 11:30.”

“Exactly. Only 6 hours and 30 minutes left to drink.”

“…….”

We really had to stay up for 6 hours and 30 minutes.

It wasn’t all drinking, despite Elias’s intentions.

‘If there’s time to drink, I’d rather analyze the situation.’

The system didn’t throw this proposal out for fun. I can’t be complacent just because it’s similar to before.

And at 6 a.m., I understood why I got this proposal.

[Lucas Rene Askanian, 2nd in line for Anhalt Duchy, enters Imperial Court]

[Imperial Second Academy’s Team ‘Eszett’ to launch on the 10th]

[‘Pleroma as the Empire’s guardian?’ Berlin Anti-Pleroma League harshly criticizes Imperial Second Academy]

[‘Too much unconfirmed… ideological vetting needed,’ Berlin Gymnasium Teachers’ Association expresses concern]

[Anhalt Education Union: “Imperial Second Academy’s decision unacceptable”]

Today’s Imperial Newspaper and various local papers, bought in advance, were quickly inscribed with mana-written text.

‘Hm.’

As expected.

The problem is, this means I might have to abandon this proposal.

As I silently scanned the papers, Elias, sprawled on the bed, noticed and snatched the paper from me.

“…Ugh~ Why are these people at it again? Didn’t we see the same reaction before?”

“Haha, yeah…”

Narce, sitting beside Elias, read the paper with an awkward expression, glancing at my face.

No need for concern. I shook my head.

“It’s temporary.”

“Huh?”

“It won’t last long. Like you said, Eli, it’s a topic they’ve already burned through.”

Elias, thinking I was being overly optimistic, shook his head.

“Still, it won’t die out on its own until the spark’s snuffed, Lucas.”

True.

So, how about trying a different approach?

I don’t need to keep running around forever.

Winning favorability by being friendly is great.

But that’s one thing. Do I always have to rely on my attitude?

If there’s another tool, why not use it?

I’d prepared a card for a day like this, one I hadn’t played yet.

Before the inauguration prep, I grabbed my file of collected data and headed back to school.

It was my first time at the faculty residence.

Knock knock—

“Professor Stefan Traut.”

Saturday morning, 9 a.m.

I knocked on Professor Traut’s door.

“Lucas Rene Askanian.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep