Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 87 - Festival - Contract (2)

Chapter 87 – Festival – Contract (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Hm, it’s not much after all.”

A pale pink droplet-shaped crystal. I was rolling it around on my palm this way and that.

I didn’t know much about ornaments, but even at a glance, it looked cheaply made. Even rated generously, it was only somewhere around middling quality.

“Um…”

The woman knelt with her hair hanging down over her face. A little earlier, she had introduced herself as Choi Seol-ah.

“Could you give it back…?”

Choi Seol-ah spoke in a creeping voice. Her tone was full of excessive humility. There was something despicable in the smile she had forcibly pulled onto her lips.

‘This bitch.’

When I narrowed my gaze, she made a little squeaking sound and pressed her lips together. The fists resting on her knees were trembling, so it was either frustration or fear.

Sighing, I turned my gaze back to the gem.

I rolled it around between my thumb and index finger and examined its color under the streetlamp. It looked almost exactly like translucent amber.

‘I thought it’d be a little different, considering it’s called the mark of the broodmare.’

The mark of the broodmare was the crystal that formed when a villain made a contract with a legion-commander-class demon. With it, they proved which legion commander they served under. I had heard that in villain society, it functioned more or less like an employee ID.

‘But that’s only the information that’s spread among the public.’

Its true purpose was as a means for the legion commander to control their villains. Inside this pebble-like gem was stored the life force of one of the contracting parties.

The moment a contract was made, two crystals came into being, one held by the legion commander and one by the contracted party. The employer’s crystal, held by the legion commander, was for transmitting magic power, while the villain’s crystal, the slave’s, was for receiving it.

That way, the legion commander effectively held the hearts of their slaves in the palm of their hand, which let them make use of them whenever they pleased. It was an intuitive and highly effective leash.

So then, some people might wonder why I had taken this crystal, which was no more than the receiving side.

Agor was already dead, so the mark no longer functioned properly, and since I had no magic power myself, it might look entirely useless.

And even if it did contain life force, it only contained the life force of the villain in front of me, which made it seem worthless.

But.

‘…At the very least, as someone who used to be a player, I can use it for another purpose.’

With a faint smile, I put the mark away. Choi Seol-ah’s eyes rolled around frantically. Her reaction told me that the choice I had made was the correct one.

“Hey.”

“Yess?”

The moment I spoke, Choi Seol-ah raised her head slightly. Deliberately mixing in an affectedly cute tone.

I stared fixedly at Choi Seol-ah. Those murky, gleaming pupils were proof enough that no humanity remained in her. Her eyes might look gentle, but inside she was probably hollow.

‘…Even so, thanks to her, I learned things I had absolutely no idea about.’

What Choi Seol-ah had just told me.

Apparently, among the villains, Leon was the one who had taken the blame for defeating Agor in my place. At first, that had honestly surprised me.

The reason was the villains’ information network. The Sword Emperor had surely kept a tight lid on things, but somehow the story had already leaked to them.

It seemed that villains had already put down deep roots throughout the Academy.

According to Choi Seol-ah, villains periodically changed their appearance, but their cover identities remained consistent.

There were hundreds of Academy personnel alone, so apparently nobody noticed if someone’s face changed a little. Still, there was always a way.

‘I’ll had to ask Ryozo to print out a list of everyone at the Academy.’

The method I had in mind for rooting out villains was simple. Memorize the faces of those hundreds of people and compare them directly against the real individuals.

It would take legwork, but I had club members. If I explained things properly, they would naturally lend me a hand.

From their perspective too, the presence of villains inside the Academy would be disgusting, so they had no reason to refuse. And if they still didn’t want to, well.

‘Then you can be the president yourselves.’

Putting an end to my thoughts, I spoke in a low voice.

“So why are you all targeting Leon instead of me?”

“…That part, I don’t really… know.”

Choi Seol-ah answered in a faint voice. When I raised my sashimi knife to her throat, she recoiled in terror even though the blade was still sheathed.

“I-I’m really telling the truth! There’s this guy among the villains, some so-called professor, and almost everything comes out of that bastard’s head. A low-ranking underling like me doesn’t really kno-know!”

“What kind of person is this professor bastard?”

“…Well.”

Choi Seol-ah let out a groan, as if reluctant to speak. I pressed the blade a little further toward the back of her neck. Only then did she confess in a voice full of tears.

“Lord Kuarn, no, that devil bastard’s subordinate. That’s all I really know!”

…Second Legion Commander Kuarn.

Now that Lycan was sealed, he was known as the strategist of the Demon King’s army.

If that demon’s broodmare was involved, then he was definitely a troublesome opponent.

‘A guy like that is inside the Academy.’

Choi Seol-ah tried inching backward on her knees, only to get caught by me and return to her original position. With a forced laugh, she quickly added.

“Even though he hides his identity, unlike the other villains who more or less know one another in secret, there isn’t a single villain who knows who that bastard really is. So his reputation among villains is awful too. He plays at being some professor and acts like he’s so damn refined.”

Choi Seol-ah eagerly bad-mouthed him to me. She was using hand gestures and foot gestures alike as she rattled on, which meant she wanted to live that badly.

…The fact that a neat-looking beauty was groveling this pathetically to a teenage boy left me feeling deeply uneasy.

‘She’s the type I could’t trust at all.’

Suddenly, I narrowed my eyes and sharpened my senses. I focused every nerve I had onto the single point that was Choi Seol-ah.

Since I had only just awakened the sixth sense, it was sharper than ever. The wording was a little strange, but it almost felt as though I could see right through the target. It was the kind of ability that would probably fill me with self-loathing if I ever got too used to using it. In any case.

‘What I can sense is…’

Only the faintest trace, as though nothing remained but scraps of magic power. Ever since Agor died, the magic must have been leaking out more and more. Since she seemed to have relied on magic all this time, her physical abilities were nothing special either.

No matter how I looked at her, she wasn’t someone who seemed capable of becoming much of a threat. But if I just let her go, it felt like it would sour my mood.

I rubbed between my brows and thought hard. What would be the best way to handle this so people could say I’d handled it well? After a long time thinking, I finally raised my head.

The moment our eyes met, Choi Seol-ah flinched. She swallowed dryly once, then forced that disgusting smile onto her face again. I stared at her with dry eyes and then spoke in a low voice.

“Choi Seol-ah.”

“Y-yes!”

“From now on, you be a villain.”

Choi Seol-ah’s eyes widened, as though she couldn’t understand what I meant.

“…Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

“You don’t know what I mean?”

“Uh, uh. Well… I sort of feel like I do, but it’s kind of vague? I was already a villain… no, I guess I’m not a villain now that my lord is dead. Anyway, what exactly do you mean…?”

Sweating profusely, Choi Seol-ah chose her words carefully.

‘Of course she doesn’t know.’

That was only natural. Because it was a line from a movie I liked in my previous life.

Shove the fox that had slipped out of the tiger’s den right back into the den. It was the basics of intrigue, learned from film.

* * *

Having preserved her life, Choi Seol-ah fled the place as though running away.

Before leaving, she bent at the waist again and again in repeated folder bows. I knew she wasn’t sincere, but I let it pass.

Honestly, if I’d had to look at her any longer, all the things she’d done would’ve come back to mind and I felt like I would’ve drawn my sword first. I barely managed to stop my hand from grabbing the hilt as though it were a magnet.

As I keep emphasizing, I believe the best option was to talk things out with words.

Violence came next. You try words first, and if that didn’t work, then you use another form of conversation.

‘The stabbing today couldn’t be helped.’

Choi Seol-ah’s nature was exactly like a bat. Disqualified as an ally or assistant, but not bad as an informant. After thinking it over, my judgment tilted toward making use of her.

‘I’ll put her to work in moderation.’

If I used carrots and sticks well enough, I was confident I could scrub her clean. I already had the mark of the broodmare too, and if she became a problem, it wouldn’t be too late to deal with her then.

I organized the thoughts in my head. Before long it would be final exams, and right after that, vacation would arrive.

I wasn’t a particularly plan-oriented person, but you still had to at least sketch out a rough blueprint. Preparation mattered in everything; once it was over, it was too late.

I couldn’t know what that professor bastard was really thinking, but little by little, the outline of the forces behind the scenes was starting to appear.

Auditore, which would drive out the Elder Council, was already moving, and I had planted Choi Seol-ah on the villains’ side. All I had to do now was wait for the gears to mesh together. In the meantime, I planned to steadily build up my own strength.

Mining magic stones, training with the Sword Emperor, gathering information.

And on top of that, the many events. There was a mountain of things to do. I didn’t need to prepare for absolutely everything, but I had to handle as much as possible within reason.

At that moment, my phone buzzed in my pocket and the screen lit up.

Bzzz.

[Ryozo: where r u?]

“Ah, right.”

Because of the unexpected incident, I had been away from my spot for too long. I tapped out a reply with my index finger using the old keypad input.

[Me: bathroom for a sec]

The moment I sent it, I heard another rolling ringtone.

[Ryozo: u making it from scratch or smth? why so late ㅡ.ㅡ]

My index finger paused for a moment. It didn’t seem like the sort of word choice that suited a refined young lady from a good family.

‘Well, this is the kind of girl she is.’

…Then again, wasn’t it always technically made from scratch? Letting out a dry laugh, I sent back another reply.

[Me: coming now]

[Ryozo: bring melo]

[Me: I’ll get u bibibik]

[Ryozo: eww old man]

I sent the message and brushed off my backside.

At that very moment.

Po-ong, the sound of a celebratory shell reached my ears.

Naturally, my gaze followed the sound.

Po-ong, pa-ang!

Once again, a streak of light shot upward across my vision and burst apart.

Then came the colorful sparks scattering across the black sky. I stared blankly as shards of light sprayed out like fountains.

“Good thing I didn’t go back to the dorm.”

I tilted my head far back. Fireworks kept embroidering the black canvas above.

Birds and elephants, along with phrases written in various languages, were drawn across the sky. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer scale and splendor of it.

‘At least when it comes to scale, they really know what they’re doing.’

At the Academy’s festival, those fireworks held great meaning. They were meant to honor the predecessors who had become stars, offering up the cadets’ blessings to them. It was an ancient tradition that had never once been broken since the Academy’s founding.

“Maybe I should’ve told the others to come with me.”

I scratched my head. Being alone had led to some unexpected gains, but it felt like I had missed something more important.

I suddenly started moving. If I hurried, I could probably rejoin them before the fireworks ended.

Tap.

My footsteps heading downhill felt light.

Pa-ang.

Another burst of bright color exploded behind me.

The afterglow lit up the night scenery and announced the end of the festival.

* * *

As if it had been waiting, time rushed past like an arrow.

As though the festival of those past days had been a dream.

And once the event for youth came to an end, what awaited us was.

“Ah, another test. Another damn test.”

Weapon scratched at his temple with the eraser end of a pencil. His brows were narrowed in irritation.

At the seat beside him, Ryozo was slumped over like a strand of seaweed.

Bzzzz.

Chloe was chasing a fly with her eyes. Her pupils moved quickly.

“Damn it, why is the test range this huge again? Isn’t this basically trampling all over student rights? President, what do you think?”

Weapon slapped down three textbook-sized teaching aids with his palm. The mountain of books shook. For the record, those were the material range for this final written exam. I nodded in agreement.

“No, seriously, why are they making finals written-only? We also have a practical, don’t we? Haah, this is seriously driving me cra-”

“Ah, shut up already!”

The one who cut off his endless whining was Ryozo’s voice. She glared at Weapon with fiercely upturned eyes.

“How much longer do we have to listen to you whining? Just shut your mouth and do it. Why are you chattering so much you won’t even let people sleep, huh?!”

“Hey! Am I the only one taking the test? Ryozo, you’ve got it too. How the hell are we supposed to memorize all this insane volume? There’s not even enough time just to rea-”

“I’ve already memorized all of it, though?”

“…What?”

At Ryozo’s blunt reply, Weapon flinched. Ryozo tilted her head as if to say, `What, is that a problem?` At that, Weapon’s face turned red as a carrot, and just as his lips were about to part.

Bzzzz. Smack.

The sharp sound of flesh striking flesh. Chloe’s spicy little palm cracked Weapon across the cheek.

“……?”

“Uh, uh.”

Weapon’s head had turned far to the side. He covered his left cheek with a bewildered expression. Judging by the tears gathering in his eyes, her hand must have hit quite hard.

“I-I’m sorry. There was a fly on your cheek, Mr. Weapon, so I just…! I-I’m really sorry!”

Chloe apologized quickly with an apologetic look. Weapon, still not fully with it, only worked his lips soundlessly, and Ryozo wore a crooked smile at the sight.

At that moment.

Ding-dong. You had a message.

Mail desu! Rollin.

Phone notification sounds rang out all at once.

Excluding Weapon, who still looked dazed, we all checked our phones.

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[Announcement for the 2034 First Semester Final Practical Exam]

Due to certain circumstances, we were informing you that the contents of the previously scheduled practical final exam had been changed as follows.

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