Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Trust Relationship (1)

Was this far enough?

Hiding myself in the bushes and confirming that there was no one around, I grumbled quietly.

“What kind of nonsense am I doing at this age, honestly…….”

After hanging the pendant around my neck again and putting the robe into the Subspace Bag, I straightened my clothes.

Since I had acted so full of madness, they would probably handle the matter among themselves.

Considering Lloyd’s and Yulia’s positions, they would surely try to hide the fact that I had appeared.

Lucia was fairly quick-witted too, so she would match her story with the two of them appropriately…….

I had never thought the temper that had gotten me called Mad Dog in Necropia would help me like this.

Rustle…….

When I brushed aside the bushes in front of me, the entrance to the Ice Castle stood right before my eyes.

As I walked straight toward the entrance, the sweltering heat outside faded, and a cool chill swept over my entire body.

Whew, I feel like I can breathe now.

Brrr…….

The band on my wrist vibrated, then floated letters made of mana into the air.

[Damon David, passage through the joint class confirmed.]

[Calculating score…….]

[Scores will be revealed all at once once all passers have been confirmed.]

“Huh? Brother Damon.”

When I turned my head toward the voice I heard, Yulia, who had just passed through the entrance of the Ice Castle, waved her hand.

“Oh-ho…….”

Lloyd, who had walked in beside Yulia, also recognized me and raised the corners of his mouth with interest.

Yulia approached me with quick steps and smiled brightly.

“Brother, you passed too.”

When I saw her face from the front, my expression naturally went cold.

“Well… yes…….”

“Hm? You somehow look extremely tired.”

Because of you.

Because of you, okay? 

I even released Polymorph, forced myself to act like the Mad Dog with exaggerated tension, and made a complete damn mess.

After all that, do you think my face would look good?

“Ah, right… Since your band changed to Grade 3 right before class, many other students must have targeted you. Hehe, still, I am glad you passed like this.”

Her miraculous logic was insane, honestly.

Sigh, fine. It was better if she thought that way.

“But why are you two coming together? Did you form a team or something?”

When I asked out of courtesy in a tone of genuine curiosity, sure enough, a deep shadow fell over both their faces.

“Ohoho……. Me, forming a team with this corpse-handling fellow? I would rather cut off my own neck.”

“As if you are one to talk. Cut out that ridiculous joke.”

At times like this, they were strangely in sync.

“We simply agreed not to steal each other’s bands.”

“Ahem, that is right. It would be unfortunate if we pushed ourselves too hard and got eliminated, would it not?”

I know perfectly well that you lost the timing to fight because I released Polymorph and caused a scene, you bastards.

Still, I had overcome one worry. 

Judging by how they had come here together, it seemed the two of them had settled things well enough.

Though I would have to call Lucia later and separately confirm how everything had been wrapped up.

Well… I could say things had flowed according to plan to this extent.

***

The inside of the Ice Castle was crowded with passers who had arrived first.

The Holy Magic Department students gathered around Yulia.

The Black Magic Department students gathered around Lloyd.

The students who had gathered by each department chattered around the two of them, making lively conversation about this class.

Leaving those groups of students behind, I quietly slipped away and sat on a chair that had been provided, then closed my eyes.

It was to check the internal mana refined in my heart.

Flicker…….

After slowly examining my internal mana, I furrowed my brow.

…Did I overdo it using Deadly Poison Curse?

The mana I had stored in my heart was already scraping the bottom.

Since I had drawn out as much mana as possible to break through the Simplified Holy Ground Yulia had activated, it was only natural, but… because of that, it struck me even more clearly.

Even if I poured all my mana into it while I was in perfect condition, I still could not cast High-Rank Black Magic.

It was different from Black Magic Barrier, which was classified as High-Rank Black Magic.

That Black Magic had been cast by consuming the price I had given to Valak, not by consuming mana.

If Lucia’s identity had been exposed because of Yulia, my plan would have gone greatly off course.

Since I had returned to the past to change the future, things I could not predict would continue to happen like this…….

That was why I had gathered as many as 200 points in this joint class.

I had to secure a means to become stronger than I was now, so I could respond flexibly even if the future changed greatly.

Just as my thoughts reached that point.

Tap, tap.

Hm?

Someone touched my shoulder.

When I opened my eyes, Viole, who was sitting beside me, was looking at me with a mischievous expression.

“When modesty goes that far, it is an illness, you know?”

“What are you talking about…….”

Viole looked around, then whispered low enough for only me to hear.

“You earned 200 points. I asked the other kids too, and almost no one earned as many points as you.”

“And?”

“Really… are you going to act like this?”

Viole let out a deep sigh and pouted.

What was this?

She was clearly unhappy about something, but I had no idea what it was.

“Why not brag to the other kids a little?”

“Why bother?”

“Ah why booother?”

Viole repeated what I had said and sulked.

What was wrong with her?

“Your personality is too strange.”

“……?”

“You do not talk to anyone during breaks.”

“They only talk about useless things.”

Even if my body is like this, my mental age is twenty-seven, you know?

It is a bit much to force myself to play along with conversations from kids who still have not even dried the blood on their heads.

“No matter how many times I ask you to eat with us, you dodge it, saying it is more comfortable to eat alone.”

“There are too many people around you. It is uncomfortable to eat together.”

That was not empty talk. 

When Yulia and Viole went to eat, quite a lot of department students went with them.

So why would I go through the trouble of squeezing in with them? 

I would rather eat comfortably on my own.

“On top of that, you confessed to a senior and got marked as a weird guy by the other kids.”

“You little, damn…….”

I had nothing to say about that one, though.

“If you keep avoiding everyone like that, who is going to try to get along with you?”

“Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

“Because you are capable, yet you do not mix with the other kids and keep drifting on the outside. It makes me feel bad for you, that is why.”

“Why do you care about something like that?”

Should I say this was very student-like?

While some people were worrying about whether war would break out or not, she was thinking about something this small. 

It felt strange.

…Well, I did not dislike it that much.

Perhaps because I had returned to the past after rolling through battlefields where corpses lay scattered everywhere, I found this kind of triviality rather pleasant.

“Anyway, that is why I was saying…….”

Viole tried to say something, but her words could not properly continue.

Brrrr.

Because the bands worn by the students, including mine, all rang at once, and blue letters appeared.

[All passers have been confirmed.]

[Score tallying will now begin.]

[Rankings will be revealed sequentially from first place.]

“Huh? Rankings?”

“This gives us rankings too?”

“Ah, damn……. I only barely passed. Am I last?”

After confirming the letters that appeared from the bands, the students began chattering loudly in surprise.

Originally, there was no need for rankings to come out as well.

However, since students would burn with greater enthusiasm only when a certain degree of competitiveness over results was attached, Saengterminum intentionally ranked them according to points and revealed the rankings to the students.

[1st Place, Yulia, 320 points]

[2nd Place, Lloyd, 250 points]

[3rd Place, Damon, 200 points]

[4th Place, Jaeger, 150 points]

[5th Place, Viole, 120 points]

.

.

.

And the results were as you can see.

“First and second place are the Valedictorians. Third place is… huh? Damon?”

“I can understand the others because they are Grade 1 or Grade 2, but Damon… 200 points?”

“Wasn’t he last in the Entrance Exam?”

“Even if his band changed to Grade 3 right before the class, how did he earn that many points?”

“Did he catch a Grade 2 or something?”

All the students began murmuring and looking toward me, but their gazes did not last long.

Whoosh.

Because a whirlwind of snow rose in the center of the Ice Castle, and Levia appeared before the students.

“This is… honestly surprising.”

Levia’s gaze, which had been sweeping over the surrounding students, fixed on me.

She looked not merely dumbfounded, but utterly incredulous.

“I did rate your grade higher, but how did you earn this many points?”

“I raked in points nicely thanks to you, Headmaster. The moment a Grade 7 kid became Grade 3, the other kids lost their minds and charged at me.”

“Listen to the way you talk. Hmm… I suppose I will have to adjust your grade.”

After glancing at me and muttering quietly, Levia soon moved the students aside and walked toward the wall of the Ice Castle.

When she placed her hand on the wall, the ice wall cracked open, and a huge door appeared.

Clank… Creeeak…….

“Everyone, come in.”

The students who entered through the door all opened their mouths wide, without exception.

“Wow…….”

“This is insane…….”

“Are all of these treasures?”

“It feels like there is nothing missing.”

Various weapons and armor were neatly displayed on display stands made of ice.

On top of that, there were colorful potions made from all sorts of rare medicinal herbs and even elixirs refined with mana.

It was quite literally a treasure vault.

Levia looked back at the students and smiled boldly.

“Now, choose.”

Waaaaah!

While the students cheered and looked around the treasures, I also turned my head this way and that, checking the items one by one.

Potions? 

Pass.

No matter how good their effects were, in the end, they were single-use consumables.

I could not waste the points I had worked so hard to earn on something like that.

Elixirs? 

Those were a bit…….

Of course, there were elixirs among them that increased one’s mana quantity.

But elixirs varied by quality.

Even if I ate the elixirs over there with my current points, my mana quantity would not increase dramatically.

In other words, they would not increase my mana quantity by a large enough margin to let me use High-Rank Black Magic that I could not use before.

Armor? 

I was not sure.

My combat style was not suited to pure hand-to-hand combat. 

Even in the previous round, I had mainly used tactics where I moved between mid-range and close range, striking and pulling back.

If I wore armor and my weight increased for no reason, it would instead become troublesome to move nimbly.

…It was definitely a weapon.

Even after thinking it over again, obtaining a weapon here was the right choice.

There were two elements I wanted in a weapon.

First, it had to have an effect that covered my insufficient internal mana.

Second, it had to be easy to carry so I could use it at any time.

Hmm… the weapon I had in mind was not on this side. 

Should I go over there and take a look?

When I headed toward a corner a little away from the center, I met the eyes of a male student who had arrived there first.

No, did he even have eyes?

“Hehe, what a coincidence.”

Jaeger Maximov narrowed his distinctive thin eyes and gave me a glance.

“You were here too?”

“The material items that seemed useful for crafting were all in the corner. How troublesome.”

Come to think of it, that guy was a blacksmith.

Since he had deep knowledge of equipment crafting, it seemed he was more interested in material items than finished products.

I answered with a jerk of my chin, then checked the displayed weapons one by one.

“Oh.”

There it was.

I reached out and picked up the weapon I had already looked at in advance.