38
Shukros Yeonga nodded in understanding, her face turning bright red.
With steps faster than light, head deeply bowed, she left the lecture hall.
She might trip like that.
By the way…
“Is it finally all over?”
I said that and looked at the window that appeared before my eyes.
[Received excellent grades on the midterm exams.]
[School reputation is increasing! The students who heard your presentation now show ‘neutrality’ instead of ‘disgust’! But this is still a tiny improvement! Keep pushing yourself!]
[As a reward for smoothly passing the midterm exams, all stats increase by +1!]
I felt vitality rushing through my body in an instant.
A smile involuntarily formed on my lips.
Is this the realm of a +1 stat increase?
Yes.
Taking a deep breath, exhaling slowly, clenching my fist, looking up at the sky, I said,
“……Once again, I’ve survived.”
I survived.
Looking back, wasn’t this midterm exam truly a series of intense battles?
From villains suddenly challenging me on the street, magical showdowns with my fiancée, to catching a thief who stole herbs, the dazzling midterm exam finally came to an end.
Praise yourself for surviving through all that turmoil.
“But when you think about it, isn’t this just a hurdle to overcome naturally?”
After all, this is just the midterm exam of the second year of high school.
In reality, Reyna didn’t casually stretch and say, ‘Oh, the exam is finally over,’ did she?
Having just crossed a small hill on the long road, my ‘ending’ is still far off in the distance.
“So, I shouldn’t get lost in this sense of achievement.”
Just because one exam is over, there’s still a mountain of things I need to deal with.
Now that the midterm exam is over, Act 2 will come knocking…
“Ah.”
Act 2, yes, Act 2’s stage is… well…
“Salenium Sports Festival.”
“I thought you weren’t interested, but Adrian knew about it too.”
What?
Who is it?
Raising my head, I was slightly surprised by the unexpected figure.
“Oh, sorry for coming without notice like this.”
“No, I was just a bit surprised. But what’s up?”
“Is it strange for me to come looking for a junior?”
White hair and red eyes.
Lumen Ribens, a 3rd-year Knight Department student.
No, Her Imperial Highness, the 6th Princess of the Empire, personally visited the Magic Department lecture hall.
* * *
“How did your midterms go?”
“Of course, fine. And you, senior?”
“I don’t even need to say.”
“Is that so? You’re the undisputed top student. Come here. This way.”
I took Lizerilias, no, Lumen, to the reception room behind the empty Magic Department lecture hall.
“So, there are places like this in the Magic Department? It’s a nice spot.”
“Let’s save the admiration for later. So, why did you come looking for me, senior?”
Curious.
In fact, I can’t stand the curiosity.
If Lumen Ribens came to find me, it must be because there’s another problem brewing.
In other words, the original plot is twisting once again.
Whether something good or bad is happening, I needed to find out quickly what was going to happen next.
Moreover, when it comes to matters involving Lumen Ribens, they always seem to be intertwined with the noble families of Salenium Saga like sausages on a string.
“I don’t necessarily have to come find a junior only for business, but…”
Running a hand through the tangled white hair, he crossed his arms.
“….Well.”
In that case, please go back.
No, wait.
Actually, I know.
With those crossed arms, pretending not to care but with ears perked up, there’s definitely something to say.
He doesn’t want to speak up himself, so he’s throwing a sign at me to hurry up and ask.
Tsk.
Is it about the Princess?
People can be so bothersome.
“If there’s no urgent matter, I’ll head back first, senior.”
“Wait a moment!”
She said that and, startled by her own voice, looked around before lowering her volume.
“The Selenium Athletic Festival is about to begin.”
“Well, yes.”
“Will Adrian participate?”
“Well, he might join in one event, but he mostly plans to watch from the sidelines.”
Even so.
One event must be completed.
For sure.
[Sudden Quest!]
[Compete in any event at the Athletic Festival and achieve 1 victory!]
[Reward: Stat increase by 1 depending on the event.]
This is something I can’t miss.
Moreover…
The protagonist of this Athletic Festival is Erhan.
Whether it’s the Blue Team or the White Team is randomly assigned in each game, but no matter what, they will sweep through everything.
I just need to clear the sudden quest and then hang back.
Explosions during the relay race, rocks shooting up, thunderbolts spreading from the sky… I don’t want to be where flames erupt during the tug-of-war.
A romantic battlefield where the School of Magic and the School of Knights cooperate, dividing into the Blue Team and the White Team for a grand showdown.
That is the Selenium Athletic Festival.
“Are the seniors participating too?”
“Of course, they need to uphold the honor of the School of Knights.”
“Are the 2nd and 1st years having fun? Participating in tug-of-war, breaking rocks, playing… and the 3rd years are joining in?”
“Oh, no? I-I never said I was participating. Adrian…”
Was it so obvious that I was going to participate?
“…There shouldn’t be any problem. It’s made for everyone to enjoy. It would be nice if we could relieve stress that way.”
“Oh, well, then…”
Alright.
The main topic is about to come up now.
With a light cough, Lumi calmly brought up the conversation.
“Two nights ago, a letter arrived for my older brother… no, for the 5th Prince of the Empire.”
No.
Why bring up the 5th Prince out of the blue?
Lumi continued.
“Word has reached the palace that Melwood’s fight is intertwined with the demons’ intentions. I thought we could hold out for about a semester, but the information spread faster than I expected.”
“Well, that’s…”
What had captivated Melwood was the demons’ intentions.
So, in a way, the situation was inevitably conflicting with the ‘contract’ that Rejelirias had made with the royal family, but she decided to step forward.
“What happened?”
“It was nothing major. They just asked if he planned to come under their command now that it seems he may have violated the ‘contract’.”
“Does Senior plan to accept that?”
“…Of course, I plan to decline.”
Saying so, Lumen looked at me and spoke again.
“Adrian, do you know that Lord Lutellus is also from Selenium? He was in the Department of Magic. If you reject the proposal, he mentioned visiting Selenium during the Sports Festival. He said let’s meet up for once.”
“What?”
This is quite a serious matter.
“Senior isn’t currently concealing his identity, right?”
“That’s correct. So, he must be pressuring me in this manner.”
I see.
Prince Lutellus, using his position, offered her a choice.
From Noble mtl dot com
You have violated the ‘contract’.
Hence, you won’t be able to live as ‘Lumen Reevens’ anymore.
Either come under his wing, or reveal your identity in front of people.
Once it’s revealed that ‘Lumen Reevens’ is actually the ‘Princess Rizelirias,’ it’s obvious how she will be treated.
Running away and pretending to be a commoner at the academy while challenging the royal authority.
If you challenge the royal authority, eventually, you must reveal your identity, but being exposed by others rather than by choice is the worst scenario.
“…Adrian, I’m sorry for reaching out to you. Can you help?”
On second thought.
The current representative of the Knight Department and the 6th Princess, Rizelirias, is naturally a knight.
She prefers giving help rather than receiving it, is honest and upright.
Honorable, kind, and excels in martial arts.
Naturally, she is far from the intrigue, politics, and deception of the royal court.
So.
Given her personality, she would have pondered day and night on how to handle this matter on her own.
But in the end, she couldn’t come up with an answer and must have reached out to me for help.
Because I will be her closest confidant in the future.
I calmly organized my thoughts and spoke.
“There’s no reason not to help, Senior.”
To think the 5th Prince appears at this moment.
The situation is already tangled, but her seeking help is advantageous for me.
I will make her the Empress of this empire.
“If I have ‘violated’ the ‘contract’… does that mean Senior can no longer act as Lumen Reevens?”
“That’s right. Moreover, now that information has reached the palace, I must properly decide on my path.”
The Sports Festival is a grand event where Selenium students and outsiders alike gather.
If my identity is going to be revealed anyway, it’s best to create a splendid debut stage.
At that moment.
A message came to mind.
[Princess Rizelirias’s ‘Ultimate Debut’ event has occurred.]
[During the ‘Sports Festival’ period, help her reveal her identity and lead public opinion to successfully summon her participation in the royal race.]
[Rewards:
– One random compensation for Princess Rejelirias
– Random draw ticket for lower-grade equipment
– Title ‘Producer of the Princess’
– Skill ‘Director of Two Faces’
– Immediate increase in favorability level to level 5 for ‘Princess’ Rejelirias Daderus de Sallenias.]
[Regardless of success or failure, after the quest is completed, the name ‘Lumen Reverbs’ will be changed to ‘Rejelirias’!]
The ultimate debut.
This is a quest that must be embarked upon in Act 4 to enter the Rejelirias route.
Well, if the system is offering such tremendous rewards, there is no reason to decline on this end.
“Um, are you really helping me…?”
“But this is something I can’t do alone. Of course, the cooperation of a senior is necessary.”
“Yes, that’s right. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
Saying that, she plopped down on the floor.
“Sigh… I was worried you might refuse. Now, the tension has, s-slightly eased. Thank you, Adrian… Thank you so much.”
Hmm.
That’s about it.
“Isn’t it proper for a vassal to show loyalty to their lord?”
“Uh, ugh!”
Why is she reacting like that?
Her face turned red.
* * *
Before I headed back, Evnis maintained the top position with a clean sweep.
Erhan, on the other hand, held the second position with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss.
In the original work, Erhan was supposed to defeat Evnis and secure the top spot with 5 consecutive wins, but instead, he lost to Evnis and remained in second place.
The reason for that was me.
It’s another turning point in the story because of me.
But the strange thing is, while trivial things keep changing, the big picture always remains the same.
It’s amazing how that works.
As I headed back to the dormitory, I organized my thoughts.
‘The Athletic Festival’ is the starting point of Act 2.
The story of Act 2 goes something like this:
While the protagonist Erhan enjoys the Athletic Festival.
At the beginning of Act 2, a character with the highest favorability towards Erhan is kidnapped by the ‘Forces of Darkness.’
Erhan notices this and, along with his comrades, directly confronts the ‘Darkness’ to defeat the boss and rescue the kidnapped character, creating an emotional and thrilling narrative.
Yes.
From here on, direct encounters with the ‘Implication Market’ and similar forces of darkness in Sallanium begin to occur.
I don’t know who will be kidnapped.
I have no idea who Erhan is interested in right now.
Moreover.
The boss in Act 2 is no pushover like Melud. And until the 5th Prince of the Empire appears at the sports festival…
It seems like quite a bit of preparation will be needed.
Not only me, but those close to me also need to change.
Becoming stronger can’t be a bad thing.
“Only Milije and Kalen have decent gear to use.”
Kalen has a shield he obtained in the dungeon.
Milije has a magic book where a dark spirit resided and a dagger that pierced a dark spirit.
Then, the most lacking person here is…
“Reina, huh.”
Just as I said that…
I spotted her standing in front of the dormitory.
Continuing to wander near the entrance of Merin Hall, she saw me, smiled broadly, and walked towards me.
“Adrian! When did you arrive?”
“Um.”
“Just saw Shukros sprinting over there! It’s refreshing!”
She said that, took my hand, and laughed.
“Adrian, I’m glad I trust you. I’m happy to be your fiancée.”
“Is that so?”
Yeah.
The future is the future.
“No matter how much my family tries to force a breakup, I’ll always be by Adrian’s side! I’ll even run away if needed!”
The present is the present.
I cleared my mind of distractions for a moment and smiled back at her.
As we smiled.
Wait.
What?
Run away?
“Oh, that was a slip of the tongue. Forget about it. hehehe.”
Doesn’t seem like a slip of the tongue.