I’m Just an Ordinary Clown at the Academy chapter 90

90 – Midterm Exam 10

The students, rather than being in an uncomfortable and eerie forest, found themselves in a pleasant place. They watched Loki, comfortably sipping a refreshing drink, and erupted in whispers.

“…… Where the heck is this?”

“The screen he’s looking at seems to show a forest, doesn’t it?”

“So, during the exam, was he constantly checking where we were using that?”

“Wasn’t that place originally where the professors grade the exams? But why is he there?”

Special class students were taken aback, looking at Loki, who surprised them.

Although they knew the broadcast claiming Loki’s elimination was fake, they had no idea he was observing them from the control room.

Only now did the special class students realize why they didn’t see Loki during the exam.

Encountering him in such a place was rather strange.

As all students stared at the screen showing Loki drinking his beverage and directed their attention to him, Loki, oblivious, spoke in a voice filled with ignorance.

“Why are you all staring like that? Did something stain my face?”

“………”

In that calm voice, not only other students but even the Special Class students lost their words.

In a situation where everyone was silent, unaware of their own hearts, Loki spoke up.

“Oh, are you asking about my good looks or trying to say something banal? Hearing such words too much has become tedious now.”

While students were pondering where to start negating, Clara, who had been staring intently at the screen, spoke up.

“I can guess what that place is, but how and when did you get in there?”

“Didn’t I mention I was there?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I’d love to tell you right now, but the video hasn’t ended yet.”

Loki pointed at the screen with his finger. This time, it wasn’t a scene of students observing the situation room; instead, there was a different scene.

The location was the same, but instead of carrying a drink like earlier, there was a doll resembling Loki in their hands.

And they made sounds as if they were speaking through the doll using illusions. The voice was exactly like the professor who was broadcasting.

[Loki disqualified.]

The screen went off with a scene of professors looking baffled at Loki.

“Could it be that the broadcast of that guy we heard during the exam was fake, created by him?!”

“He’s capable of manipulating even sound with his unique magic…”

The Special Class students weren’t surprised as they knew in advance, but the other first-year students were not aware.

As the students wondered if it was over, the screen, which had gone dark, lit up again.

While Clara and Sephia’s videos ended at this length, Loki’s video didn’t intend to end. Unlike Sephia and Clara, who only showed the good parts briefly, Loki’s video seemed to show all of Loki’s actions at length, as if insisting that all students see them.

Even when Sepia and Clara were taught by professors who provided feedback and explanations, they remained silent when showing Loki’s video.

I couldn’t tell if it was because Loki was in first place or if it was because of Loki himself.

Once again, Loki had a doll resembling himself placed on his hand.

Then, using screams, he began to let other students know the whereabouts of hidden students or instigate fights between students for entertainment.

“What? So, because of that guy, I got eliminated?”

“Earlier, I’m sure there was no one near me, but suddenly I heard a sound.”

“That’s crossing the line!”

It was even more chaotic this time than before.

While the previous actions were not directly related to the elimination of students, this time they were directly related.

There were even students who were about to say something to Loki when they found out they were eliminated because of him.

Of course, when Clara looked at them, they all avoided eye contact or lowered their heads.

In that way, the students watched the video until the end without expressing any complaints.

As Loki deceived Clara and eliminated her in the end, the screen finally turned off for real.

“……………”

While other students voiced their complaints while watching the video, the special class students were actually amazed from the middle.

“Is everyone okay?”

Loki pointed to the other students who were glaring at him with his finger.

“Well, there’s no complaint. You won with your skills.”

At Lucas’ words, the other special class students nodded their heads.

They knew how Loki treated Elysia every morning, which is why they understood that this wasn’t a coincidence but rather Loki’s skill.

[And with that, the practical exam comes to an end. Students, excluding these three, will check their evaluation scores through their respective professors.]

“……………….”

Despite the announcement of the exam’s conclusion, the students remained quiet, far from erupting into cheers.

In the midst of the prevailing silence, one student raised their hand.

From the expression on the student’s face, the professor could tell what they were about to say.

[Do you have something to say?]

“Professor, I simply cannot accept the results of this exam.”

As one student spoke up, others followed suit, expressing their grievances.

“Yes, I was unfairly disqualified because of that guy!”

“I believe he should retake the exam, or at the very least, be disqualified.”

Sheltered behind the shield of their majority, they began voicing the grievances they had long harbored.

The first student to raise their hand and voice their discontent cautiously glanced at Clara before speaking.

“And to top it off, he lied about the time in the end. Because of this, Clara couldn’t even come in first despite using such amazing magic.”

Desire for Clara’s approval was mixed into the student’s sentiments.

‘Surely Clara must also have grievances. And if I can use this as a pretext to get close to her…’

Contrary to the student’s expectations, Clara’s expression remained cold, even her crimson eyes that gazed at the student were filled with disdain and repulsion.

“If you’re going to whine, go ahead and do it amongst yourselves to the end. Don’t involve me in your pathetic actions.”

At her chilly voice, the students voicing their grievances fell silent momentarily.

Clara was genuinely displeased. Her reason for asking Rocky what he did after the exam was not due to grievances, but purely out of curiosity.

She had been somewhat relieved after watching the footage just now, but the student’s words had put her in a bad mood.

“I felt so uncomfortable to the point where I would rather use that magic earlier and sit in the chair exhausted.

Although it quieted down for a moment after scolding Clara, the voices of the students grew louder again.

The professor announcing the scores silently endured the students’ dissatisfaction for now.

If Hydra hadn’t thought of that method, it would surely have taken a long time to convince them.

[Disqualify Rocky or retake the test?]

Students who thought their complaints were acknowledged by the professor held expectations and awaited the professor’s next words.

Of course, that was simply a misunderstanding on the students’ part.

“I really can’t understand why this is necessary. I should be the one asking.”

The method Hydra came up with in anticipation of the students’ objections was precisely.

“What went wrong? Did Rocky break any rules during the test?”

What’s the problem with what happened to Rocky, suffered by us?

The reason the professors didn’t say anything to Rocky was precisely that Rocky did not break the rules.

To say this, they showed the students Rocky’s every action in detail through video.

If you can find where Rocky broke the rules in his actions, look for it with your heart.

The professor knows that the students are trying to tear apart Rocky’s score like this.

“If we had acted like that guy, we would have survived until the end without being eliminated.”

“I would have been the first if I had been in a place where I could check the students’ positions ‘coincidentally’ like that guy until other students were exhausted.”

Because they think they could have won if they had acted like Rocky.

If they had disguised themselves as eliminated by false broadcasts, fought in a place where they could know the students’ positions, and watched.

They did not consider any of Rocky’s actions as skills.”

I simply thought I got first place by luck.

Of course, the professor knew that the students would bring up such remarks.

The professor blurted out what he had told the students to say when they made that statement.

[Well, why didn’t you do it then? It wasn’t even against the rules, right?]

“Yes? Well…”

The students remained speechless, like they were struck dumb.

Why didn’t they do it? Because if they said it, they wouldn’t have anything to say.

[Have I ever mentioned a rule that says we can’t challenge the professor before the exam? I told you not to remove the blindfold until the signal, but I never said not to move.]

“………….”

[Even though there was a barrier where we were, it was still within the forest. If you were able to find us and come in, we wouldn’t have said a word. Did any of you students notice anything other than Loki?]

Once again, the students couldn’t say a word.

They only just realized that the place they were in was inside the forest.

[When Loki made the fake broadcast, he didn’t use the microphone that professors use for broadcasting. He used his own magical tool. Have I ever told you not to use magical tools during the exam?]

The silence among the students continued.

There were many students who used magical tools among them.

Seeing the students bowing their heads in silence, the professor thought it was enough and spoke.

[Then let me ask again. What did Loki do wrong?]

“………………”

All the students who were just discussing that they had to retake the exam and disqualify Loki fell silent.

They couldn’t refute a single word, as they hadn’t broken any rules.

And so, the practical exam concluded without any issues.