Chapter 9

“Good. Thanks to the artifact catching them off guard, we were able to finish him off with relative ease.”

Carlo’s true power lay in his storm‑like lightning discharge and the rapid Blink movement that accompanied it.

Using his signature ability, Double Casting, to execute fast hit‑and‑run tactics was a proven battle style that earned him first place in the Department of Magic.

If Luina hadn’t defeated Alia quickly, the outcome could have easily turned.

“No matter how I think about it, using an artifact seems a bit unfair…”

“If there really was a problem, the assistant professors would have stepped in.”

“Good point.”

Luina nodded as if conceding the point.

“Either way, thanks to that, we won.”

“But still, even while the magic was raining down, you never took your eyes off Alia.”

“Didn’t you tell me to do that?”

“Coming from the one who said it, how sweet. But did we really have that much trust between us?”

“With time, it would have to become more than that. But for now, our connection was purely transactional, tied to money.”

“Whether it existed or not, once they paired us, I thought I had to trust you.”

That wasn’t the only reason, of course. In the duel, Fernan had already proven his worth. That’s why she thought he must have had a plan.

She just didn’t expect that plan to involve using an artifact.

“Look who’s acting like a knight. So, where to next?”

“Obviously north. But first, we should rest and rebuild our strength in a safe spot.”

“I have potions. Plenty.”

The two began heading north at a steady pace.

Not far off, a pair of eyes fixed on them.

***

“…That’s unexpected.”

Professor Grad of the Department of Knights narrowed his eyes.

Carlo and Fernan. Luina and Alia.

Grad had assumed Carlo would have the highest win rate in the first pair, and Luina in the second. After all, academy ranking wasn’t decided like poker.

Rank was a clear indicator of skill. Fourth place was better than tenth. The top student was better than second.

Naturally, he expected Carlo to eliminate Fernan first and then press Luina for victory.

“An artifact, huh…?”

Grad stroked his chin.

He really didn’t think using an artifact was wrong. This training exercise aimed to simulate real combat, and unless it was truly malicious tactics, almost everything was allowed.

He just didn’t expect someone to actually use one.

“Just as expected from a Pellenberg. If he has that much money, he could at least leave me a few pouches of coins.”

Either way, setting the artifact aside, using metal to neutralize lightning magic wasn’t a bad approach.

“Perhaps Rosalia’s method.”

A style aiming to maximize efficiency with minimal investment by leveraging the nature of magic and elemental traits—just as Professor Rosalia advocated.

“Interesting.”

He chuckled.

***

Grrrr.

The northern mountains weren’t just full of rocks and trees.

Goblins, kobolds, gnolls, orcs, trolls… even ogres. It was a haven for mountain and forest monsters.

The professors had deliberately led the students to the southern zone of the northern region to prioritize student conflicts. But once they moved past that, they began facing the region’s native beasts seriously.

With a roar, Luina’s sword sliced open a troll’s chest. However, it regenerated so fast the blow seemed insignificant.

“Decapitate it in one strike!”

“I already know that!”

Luina whirled in the air. The troll’s crude club whizzed past.

A deep scar marred the ground where it struck. At that moment, the earth beneath the troll’s feet rose. It lost balance, and Luina’s sword sliced its neck cleanly.

She wiped the blood off her blade and held her breath.

“Are you tired?”

“I’m fine.”

Fernan chanted a spell. A basic cleansing magic washed the blood from Luina’s armor and face.

But that wasn’t the end. Some mana seeped into the troll’s corpse, contorting its body like a wrung-out rag.

“…Was that really necessary?”

“ troll blood is one of the key ingredients for potion‑making.”

“I know, but shouldn’t you be above worrying about stuff like that?”

Fernan replied while pulling an empty glass vial from his subspace.

“Money is money, no matter how small it is.”

“That’s why everyone says you’re too obsessed with it.”

“It worked out. I got you on board, didn’t I? That’s a gain.”

“…”

Fernan sealed the vial, now filled with blood, and stored it back in subspace before changing the subject.

“All set. Let’s move on.”

“Yes.”

Fernan and Luina continued north, and before they knew it, the final day of the training exercise arrived.

“How many did we take down? Seven? Or was it eight?”

Eight pairs. Hopefully we get bonus points.

“You’ve completely lost your mind over grades.”

“I have a reason I must become the best student.”

He already knew. She aspiring to become a Royal Knight.

Not all, but most Royal Knights were graduates who’d ranked first in the academy.

That’s why being the top student in the Department of Knights was often seen as the minimum requirement to become a Royal Knight.

As they chatted and progressed calmly, they reached close to their destination with exactly one hour remaining before noon.

Fernan and Luina suppressed their presence as much as possible.

“Can you feel them?”

“There’s quite a few.”

At least twenty. They’d moved north treating every student they found as a potential source of bonus points, but it seemed a good number of students didn’t think the same. There were several groups of more than two people gathered.

A fragile peace held, where everyone watched each other carefully.

Just by looking, you could tell something was about to happen. They said if you got ahead or delayed too much, you’d lose points.

“So a clash will happen soon.”

They could’ve eliminated everyone and moved ahead quietly, but the opponents were all academy students. If those students banded together and attacked them, it’d be their team eliminated.

So, for now, they decided to wait until the moment, until the chaos erupted.

It was obvious this peace wouldn’t last much longer.

The commotion erupted about thirty minutes later.

“It’s Almon!”

“Prince Ludger is with him too!”

It was a shout from the west.

Fernan and Luina turned their heads—and immediately understood why they appeared with such boldness.

“Their numbers…”

“They gathered all the students from the start?”

Not that they hadn’t fought. There were faint signs of battle on their armor and swords.

They must have fought moderately, leaving some alive to entice them to their side.

It was a move made assuming most students would be hiding near the goal.

“Just as expected of a prince…”

Always showing off. Fernan clicked his tongue.

“What should we do?”

“It looks like all the attention is on them right now, so instead of dealing with them, it’s better to use this chance to get even closer to the goal.”

Just in case, it would be wise to take some precautions as well.

Fernan began to move stealthily.

“There’s nothing here.”

Ludger examined the surroundings. There were presences here and there, but none of the people he was looking for. The pairs Luina Bercheff and Fernan Pellenberg.

Carlo Deneb and Alia Torta.

They were the pairs he was watching most closely.

“What kind of person is Fernan?”

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Despite being only in tenth place, Your Highness seems to be paying him unusual attention.”

Ludger chuckled at Almon’s words. Luina, who held second place, was understandable. But it was a veiled way of asking if someone like Fernan, barely in tenth place, deserved such a level of caution.

“Isn’t it strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“The Pellenbergs attacked the Bercheffs. Everyone who matters knows that. They exerted great financial pressure on them. Even though they maintained a façade of restraint, such maneuvers between two marquis houses clearly exceeded the limits.”

The influence of the Pellenbergs was so great that most simply kept silent. But they paid a high price for it.

Interfering with the guardian of the north was not something even the Pellenbergs could do lightly.

“But then, suddenly, Fernan visits the Pellenberg estate and becomes Luina’s partner.”

“So the two houses reached some kind of agreement.”

“That’s the assumption.”

“But what could they really achieve just by becoming partners…”

“Exactly.”

Being partnered didn’t necessarily mean anything special. Still, Ludger wanted to undermine their results, even if just a little.

Though it might seem insignificant now, the Pellenbergs always think long-term. That’s why the best way to deal with them is to extinguish even the smallest spark.

The partnership with Luina was clearly aimed at improving his grades.

“Isn’t it suspicious that someone who’s been hiding his true ability is now teaming up with Luina?”

“Are you saying Fernan has been hiding his abilities?”

“Yes.”

That’s why he suspected, why he was cautious, and why he wanted to foil their plans. A sly smile formed on Ludger’s lips.

He looked at the 14 students following him and said:

“Go. Find everyone hiding ahead and eliminate them.”

He added one more line.

“We’ll be the ones to take the top ranks.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Let’s go!”

“Some of us fought with all our might, and others hid like rats? You’re all dead!”

A clash broke out between those who followed Ludger and those who didn’t. Watching the chaos as dozens of students clashed, Fernan let out a dry laugh.

As expected of Ludger. Sweep everyone away first and then sort through the ranks of his own followers.

“What do you think will happen?”

“Everything will go according to Ludger’s plan.”

Although the opposing team was more numerous, Ludger’s group had superior quality. The outcome was obvious.

“But what if we intervene?”

“Is it really necessary? We can just watch quietly and head to our destination when the time comes.”

“They say the best victory is one won without fighting. Look. They’ve been fighting so much that only five minutes remain. That means we’ve won.”

“…Unfortunately, it’s too soon to be sure.”

Luina placed her hand on her sword hilt. Fernan turned his head at the sight and his expression hardened.

“Ruina? Fernan?”

“When did they get there?”

“Were they hiding the whole time we were fighting?”

The battle had ended before they even noticed. The eight remaining students loyal to Ludger panted as they watched.

“Fernan. Why were you sneaking around like a rat?”

Their leader, Ludger, slowly approached.

“Trying to take first place.”

“We didn’t give you permission to take first.”

“That’s not something anyone needs permission for.”

“At least now it is.”

Attack. At Ludger’s murmur, the students charged.

In response, Fernan struck the ground with his staff and began to chant. A magic circle began to glow.

No, it had already been drawn.

“Huh?”

“What is this…?”

The magic circle under the students’ feet lit up.

“Nap.”

A hidden mana amplifier lent its power to Fernan. A massive surge of mana.

Rumble!

“Run!”

“Bre—!”

Boom!

A huge wall rose up and swallowed all the students. Then the ceiling closed, blocking even the sky.

Not a single exception.

“…!”

“…!”

Explosions echoed within the dome. As it trembled, Luina nodded.

“You were right after all.”

“I’m exhausted.”

“You even brought magical reagents with you.”

When drawing the magic circle, he used magical reagents to enhance its quality.

Combining a mana storage device, an amplifier, and those reagents, he created a magical prison powerful enough to trap ten students.

“Keep the use of the storage device, amplifier, and reagents a secret. I want that to be my trump card for now.”

“Didn’t Carlo and Alia already find out?”

“They’re not idiots. They won’t tell anyone. After all, they’re competitors too.”

“I understand.”

Even so, that was pretty cunning. Luina murmured.

“But how long will it hold?”

“Let’s hope it lasts until time runs out.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“What do you think?”

“They’d have to face the wrath of ten furious students—including the top-ranking knight cadet and the second-ranking magic cadet.”

“They’d be screwed.”

───!

With a deafening crash, the dome was pierced.

“It’s broken!”

“How many times did they have to hit it? Was Fernan really that strong?”

“Are all tenth-rankers like this?”

The students, pale-faced, muttered anxiously.

“…We were completely fooled.”

Ludger laughed bitterly.

He didn’t think it took that long, but by the time the dome was destroyed, Fernan and Luina had vanished. It was clear they’d left at the exact time.

“They really were hiding their strength, just as you said, Your Highness.”

“Told you.”

Ludger ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“I won’t lose next time, Fernan.”

Gritting his teeth, he turned to Almon.

“Let’s go, Almon.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ludger shouted.

“We lost first place, but aside from Fernan and Luina, nothing has changed. As promised, we’re still among the top ranks, so let’s continue accordingly.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Yes!”

Naturally, Ludger was the first to enter.