Academy competitions took place every six months.
They served as an indicator of an individual's practical combat prowess, as well as a metric for each academy's academic achievement and overall strength.
The students' rankings were put through a weighted calculation and directly translated into a ranking for their respective academies. The operational funds provided to each institution by the Academy Union would then increase or decrease based on that rank.
For minor academies with little support from external kingdoms or noble families, these funds are a literal lifeline.
While the amount provided by the Academy Union was just enough to maintain the pretense of fair management, there were plenty of academies that desperately needed every cent.
...For example.
Izelin Academy, which had just sent me a letter, was one of them.
As its name suggested, it was a small academy sponsored by the Kingdom of Izelin, a nation located in a disputed territory. It had once been run quite soundly, but I knew that the kingdom's recent wars had devastated its finances, making it difficult to keep the academy operational.
I unfolded the letter and read the details.
[To the Esteemed Student Council President, Roen Devalis.]
The greeting was a world away from the curses and condemnations that filled the other letters on my desk.
[Greetings. I am Eleina Izelin, the Student Council President of Izelin Academy. The reason I am sending you this petition is none other than...]
The contents of the letter were exactly as I had expected.
To summarize, Izelin was in a conflict with its neighbor, the military power Jerome, and the repercussions had spread to the Academy Union.
Jerome Academy was apparently not only continuously harassing Izelin's students and disrupting their studies, but was also poaching talented students and pressuring others to drop out. As a result, Izelin was struggling to maintain its ranking for the upcoming competition. Their operational funds were at risk of being drastically cut or suspended entirely.
If that happened, Izelin Academy—already suffocating from a lack of funds—would be forced to close its doors.
One might ask if it was necessary to be so petty within the halls of an academy, but the Union was no pure place of learning. It was a proxy battleground for various kingdoms and families. This level of intrigue and scheming was nothing new.
In fact, it was an utterly natural phenomenon.
After all, obstructing the growth of an enemy nation's future talent was the most certain and efficient means of attack. Furthermore, there was a clause prohibiting military conflict between Union member nations, so it seemed Jerome intended to use this loophole to shut down Izelin and have it expelled from the Union.
It was a preliminary step to total war.
She must be truly desperate to ask a scoundrel like Roen for help.
I could sympathize, to some extent, with the plight of the Student Council President who had penned this letter. On the surface, this was merely a conflict between academies, but in a broader sense, it was a matter of state between two kingdoms.
That made it difficult for other academies to intervene.
In the end, Eleina had sent a request for help to me—the Student Council President in the most neutral, albeit precarious, position. She might have also calculated that a good-for-nothing like me, cast out by his own family, would face little political burden for getting involved in a dispute between kingdoms.
"Hmm."
I placed the letter on the table and sank into thought.
...I have no obligation to help them.
Survival of the fittest was the natural order of the world. I had no reason to help them, nor any duty to do so. Besides, this was a historical event that had occurred in the original game. There was no need for me to intervene and create a crack in the timeline.
Moreover, I currently possessed neither the authority nor the power to resolve their dispute. Such was the reality of the current Student Council President.
However, I looked at the letter in my hand and smiled.
I was going to get involved.
Was it because I was some kind of saint? No. I was motivated by purely practical reasons.
Because, sleeping within Izelin Academy, was one of the Academy's Three Great Divine Artifacts: the [Cognitive Acceleration Stone].
The [Cognitive Acceleration Stone] is a legendary-grade item that momentarily and drastically accelerates one's thoughts and reaction speed.
In the game, it was implemented as "bullet time" or a temporal rift, making the entire world slow down while the user moved at normal speeds. I couldn't be sure, but it was highly likely that the reason Jerome Academy was targeting them was for this very stone.
I'm busy, but I can't let a golden opportunity like this slip by.
I quietly clenched the letter.
Student Council President Roen. Though not born of pure goodwill, it was time to do something befitting the title for the first time.
*
The next day.
I headed to the Seintea territory to attend my Divine Studies lecture.
Separate from the Izelin Academy matter, I still had to fulfill my duties as a student. After finishing my morning routine of exercise and mana breathing, I boarded the tram bound for Seintea.
Seintea, the Celestial City.
Teeming not only with Elena—a candidate for sainthood—but also with apprentice priests and holy knights, Seintea Academy was practically enemy territory for someone like Roen.
The people of Seintea are fanatics who would lay down their lives to exterminate demons.
If my half-human, half-demon lineage were to be discovered, I would have no room to complain even if I were immediately beheaded and my head displayed at the academy's main gate.
But that wasn't going to happen.
My preparations are perfect.
I had fully restored the durability of Derod's Ring, and I was also wearing Arin's Pendant, which concealed my mana. Furthermore, the lecture I had chosen was purely theoretical. Since many students from other academies who couldn't use divine power also attended, there would be no instances of actually channeling energy.
In modern terms, it was similar to a chapel service or a lecture-style sermon.
And paradoxically, by signing up for Seintea's Divine Studies lecture, any suspicion against me would only weaken. After all, no demon in their right mind would walk into Seintea to take a class.
Although I had temporarily shaken off Elena's suspicion, she must have had her reasons for judging me as she did. This was my chance to escape her gaze completely.
Clank—
As I boarded the Seintea-bound tram, the car filled with the murmuring voices of students staring at me.
"Roen? What's that bastard doing in Seintea?"
"Didn't you hear? At the cafe the other day..."
"Really? With Lady Elena?"
"I'm telling you! He must have used some vile trick to lure the President out."
"If anything had happened to her..."
"I'd literally kill him."
"..."
A torrent of insults rained down on me, accompanied by stinging glares. Their reverence, which bordered on obsession, was enough to send a chill down my spine. Even in Eredor, Roen's infamy caused a stir, but this was far worse. It seemed to be because of the time Elena had called me to the cafe.
Well, Elena is practically an idol to the students of Seintea.
If anyone were to harm her, they wouldn't survive the day, regardless of who they were.
After tuning them all out, a few stops past Eredor, a female student with a radiant aura boarded the tram.
It was Elena.
Elena calmly scanned the tram, and upon spotting me, she greeted me with a pleasant smile.
"Oh my. Roen. What a coincidence."
...Coincidence, my ass.
I knew her entire lecture schedule and travel times. I didn't know her intentions, but it seemed she had abandoned her usual route just to get on this specific tram.
"May I sit next to you?"
"No."
"I wasn't really asking for permission."
"Just like last time, you seem to have a great deal of interest in me."
"Perhaps I do."
"..."
And with that, Elena deliberately sat in the empty seat next to me.
While I needed to interact with Elena—a major character in the story—I didn't need to be this close. Being near her would only drain my ring's durability faster. But since I couldn't exactly run away, I quietly listened to what she had to say.
"I'm sorry about what happened last time. I don't think I was able to apologize properly."
"Don't worry about it. I got something out of it, too."
I mentioned the bet from last time, reminding her that she still owed me.
"I'm glad to hear that. So, what do you plan to use the wish ticket you received from me for?"
At the words "wish ticket," the tram instantly fell silent. I could see the students perking up their ears, waiting for my next words.
I glanced around before speaking quietly.
"I think I'll have a use for it in the near future. Be ready."
"Alright. But please don't make an unreasonable request. Nothing beyond my abilities, or anything that would force me to act outside my capacity as a student or a priestess."
"Rest assured. It will be a reasonable and feasible request."
"Good."
*
I arrived at the Seintea territory with Elena.
A vast circular plaza was surrounded by beautiful arched stone buildings. From this central point, the academy buildings radiated outwards. The structures, which metaphorically expressed the divinity of God on this land, were breathtaking.
If I had to describe the atmosphere here in one word...
It's like Vatican City.
Though, to be fair, I'd never actually been to Italy.
"What do you think? Isn't it magnificent?"
"Mm."
When I nodded, Elena began to explain excitedly.
"Some say that our magnificent buildings in Seintea are similar to the Eredor style, but that's truly a foolish thing to say."
Honestly, I can't really tell the difference.
I kept the thought to myself. Sometimes, silence is golden.
"That arch-shaped structure is a metaphor for the form that supports the heavens..."
Elena went on to explain the grandeur of Seintea's architecture and the various styles that exalted God's name, but her words went in one ear and out the other. If the Divine Studies lecture I was about to take was anything like this, I couldn't guarantee a passing grade.
Surely a proper class wouldn't be this tedious.
A short while later, the group of students, including Elena and me, arrived at the lecture hall.
It was a grand hall, built like a chapel. A brilliant chandelier hung from the high ceiling, and colorful light streamed in through massive stained-glass windows. As we entered, the magnificent sound of a pipe organ greeted us.
"I suppose we have to part ways for a moment. Please go and sit on the right."
Long wooden pews were arranged in rows. The female students were all seated to the left of the central aisle, while the male students were seated to the right. Even students from other academies, like myself, were segregated by gender.
I looked at the two sections and shrugged.
So they separate the sexes.
It was a fitting measure for a religious group with such a conservative culture. But paradoxically, Seintea's system required priests and holy knights to form pairs and manage their grades together. Since most female students chose the path of a priestess and most male students became holy knights, this naturally resulted in mixed-gender pairs. It was said to be an essential process for fostering cooperation and virtue.
However, Elena had yet to choose a holy knight to partner with. Because of this, she was taking a significant penalty to her grades, but she was making up for it with her superior divine power and understanding of the scriptures.
When the time came, the pipe organ music ceased, and a professor in priestly robes appeared.
He was Cardinal Andrea, dispatched from the Holy Kingdom, and the professor in charge of this Divine Studies course. With a cold expression, he quietly closed his eyes and clasped his hands. At that, all the students stood up and followed his lead.
"Welcome, everyone. Let us thank the Lord for granting us another day. Let us face the day with joyful hearts."
"Yes, Professor."
"Let us pray."
After the prayer, the professor signaled for the students to sit and began the class in earnest.
"Today, please open your scriptures to page 33. The commentary is on page 97."
In the silence, only the sound of pages turning echoed through the hall. The atmosphere felt more like a church service than a lecture.
"Come to think of it..."
The professor glanced over the students, his gaze stopping on me.
"I see a new face has joined the lecture. Your name?"
To Andrea's question, I answered calmly.
"Roen. Roen Devalis."
The moment I stated my name, the quiet chapel filled with murmurs. The professor raised a hand to silence them.
"Everyone, quiet. Student Roen... ah, here you are. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The professor, who had been running his finger down the roster, found my name and nodded. It seemed he had forgotten about me, likely because I had missed several classes while bedridden.
Professor Andrea closed the attendance book, looked at me, and spoke in a cold, level voice.
"Very well. Then I would like to ask you one question. It is customary to ask this of students from other academies who attend this lecture, so you do not have to answer if you do not wish to."
"Yes."
As I nodded, Andrea looked at me with sunken, piercing eyes.
"Roen Devalis. For what reason did you sign up for this lecture?"
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