The central hall of the dormitory was crowded with second-year students from the Department of Magic.
"Luca!"
Elias waved and approached. Far away, Leo, who was talking with his friends, glanced this way.
Judging by their expressions, thankfully, they didn't seem to have heard about what happened earlier.
"How could you arrive with just 1 minute left~? Weren't you curious?"
"Of course, I was curious."
Forty-eight students participate in the second exam, and only twenty-four of them advance to the third.
Among the eight teams, the top four teams in order of score are granted bonus points for advancing to the third phase. Since the bonus points are quite significant, if you don't make it into the top 4, you should just consider it over.
Ultimately, competition between teams takes precedence, so it's impossible not to be curious about the team member announcement.
Standing in front of the empty notice board like the other students, I quietly spoke to Elias.
"Elias."
"So formal~"
"..."
He probably meant for me to call him by a shorter name, but I can't bring myself to do that here.
"What did you do after the exam today?"
"What do you mean? Watched you and the class president fight."
"…And after that?"
Elias looked puzzled, then whispered in my ear.
"Why ask when you know?"
"You stayed in that building the whole time, right?"
"Yeah."
I nodded, indicating I understood.
Earlier, Elias had followed us to the response headquarters, and all three of us only returned to the school at six o'clock.
If Elias was continuously in the headquarters building while Leo and I were out in the field, then Elias has an alibi regarding the Adelbert incident.
Leo was with Nicolaus, so naturally, he does too.
But I have no alibi.
'I need to ask Narce for some advice.'
I have to be careful.
Drugging Adelbert with Pleroma's potion had two goals.
First, to kill him.
Second, to turn him into a Pleroma.
In this case, the second goal poses a tremendous risk to me.
Having been considered a Pleroma until now, I am the most likely suspect in this matter.
Also, the culprit has plenty of reason to try and frame me.
"Oh!"
A shout arose from among the students.
The list of second-phase participants was being written on the notice board with Magic Power.
[Team 1: Narce Farnese / Leonard Wittelsbach / ….]
"Huk…" (*Gasp*)
"What the."
Right from the first paragraph, some students exchanged glances.
"Wow~ Team 1 is the best right from the start."
Elias's mouth fell open.
I inwardly had the same reaction.
"That team's bonus points are basically guaranteed. I hope I end up on the same team as you, Luca!"
"Yeah, me too."
Of course, that would be great.
If I'm with Elias, the bonus points are guaranteed.
'I hope I get picked well.'
Since it's team activity, after all….
No matter how good an individual is, if they can't blend into the team, they are mercilessly pushed back.
The criteria for teamwork are also extremely strict.
I admit it. I didn't know I would be doing the group project myself and set the standards ideally.
'Well, even if I have to do it, people's lives are at stake, so it can't be helped.'
While nervously watching the notice board, our names didn't appear even as Teams 2 through 5 passed by.
"Hmmm~"
Just as Elias, bored of standing still, draped his arm over my shoulder, the list containing my name was written.
[Team 6: Lucas Askanian / ….]
"Oh, Luca's finally up!"
[Yulia Tsheringen]
When that name was written next to mine, I unknowingly let out the breath I had been holding.
For some reason, Elias started laughing like crazy, tilting his head back. No, actually, I roughly know the reason.
I turned my head the other way to avoid Leo's gaze.
Momentarily, my eyes met Tsheringen's. He, who had been looking surprised with raised eyebrows, gave a gentle smile.
'Good.'
The corners of my mouth turned up automatically as well.
As long as the teamwork isn't a complete disaster, we're in the running for bonus points.
[Melvin Klokner / Florian Osterhagen / Heike Ainsidel / Philip Göring]
'Oh.'
Interesting combination.
Though it includes an annoying bastard and another whose surname triggers trauma.
I clenched my left hand, which had been broken in Osnabrück, and shut my mouth.
Anyway, there's no relationship that would cause a fight with me.
This lineup is top-tier.
Just then, Tsheringen approached me, smiling.
"We're on the same team, Lucas."
"Looks like it."
"Let's do well for the next two weeks."
Tsheringen extended his hand.
Shaking hands again now is a bit funny, but since the bastard wanted it, I shook his hand briefly.
No, I intended to end it briefly, but Tsheringen didn't let go and leaned closer, asking quietly.
"So, what happened with Leonard?"
"What about it?"
"Everyone was curious about who won."
Tsheringen's face, asking that, held a mischievous look.
Now I noticed other students were also glancing between Leo and me.
"Who knows."
"Haha, glad it wasn't a situation requiring hospitalization. You ended things well with words, right?"
I nodded.
How come this bastard also thinks fighting Leo would lead to hospitalization?
There's almost no one in this school who could fight Leo and win.
"Ah…. Damn it."
Just then, I heard Elias let out a short sigh beside me.
Looking at the notice board, the announcements for all 8 teams were complete.
Far off, I heard Leo gathering his teammates.
"Shall we go decide on a meeting time too?"
Tsheringen gestured with his head towards his room.
Although it was free time, we needed to greet our teammates to grasp the team dynamics as soon as possible.
***
After deciding on a meeting time, I came to the school hospital again.
I thought visiting wouldn't be allowed since it was 10 PM, but since the system runs magically without staff anyway, I could enter and exit until the building doors locked.
Knock knock—
[Come in.]
Adelbert's weak voice came through.
He said he came to the hospital right after the exam due to the aftereffects of being pushed to the brink of *Vitriol*.
Quietly opening the door, a dark room with no light other than the glow from the streetlights outside came into view.
"Why are you sitting gloomily without the lights on?"
"It's time to sleep."
"The Club President is coming soon too, you said."
"That's… true."
Adelbert had apparently called the Drama Club President here because he had something to discuss. I knew because the President had told me.
He nodded and turned on the stand lamp on the bedside table.
'Hmm.'
After the light came on, I checked the bastard's expression; it wasn't particularly dark.
His score this time, I heard, was 6th out of 25 teams, 8 points.
Converting the score to a grade, it barely scraped a 2+.
'Even if it's borderline, this is pretty good.'
It definitely wasn't a score you could call bad.
However, even though it was three grades higher than the previous 3+, it was still a low grade for Adelbert.
Seeing the bastard's surprisingly calm expression despite this, I asked.
"Are you okay?"
The bastard didn't answer.
After a long silence during which I watched the students wandering outside, he answered softly.
"No."
"..."
He continued, muttering as if talking to himself.
"I felt angry."
"Why?"
"I felt sorry for the friend I worked with, and sorry for myself…. No, I was disappointed in myself."
Usually, after being pushed to the brink of *Vitriol*, one is hospitalized, observed continuously, and treated.
But the bastard went straight to take the exam without time for that.
There's nothing to be disappointed about. Getting a 2+ under those circumstances is quite good.
Besides, the previous 3+ is strongly imprinted in the students' minds, so now that he's climbed to 2+, they probably think the bastard has regained his skills.
Just then, Adelbert suddenly spoke up.
"Senior, have you ever experienced this? The position you believed was yours suddenly belongs to someone else overnight, and now you have to look up at that spot."
Often.
It's reached the point where I feel nothing anymore.
"It might not be an unfamiliar sentiment to you, Senior, but in our era, academics isn't just simple learning but a tool to prove one's investment value. And I always thought I strove to defend the value befitting my position."
Not surprising.
It's harder for children thrust into politics from birth *not* to develop such a mindset.
He paused for a beat and continued.
"I thought I was walking the right path."
"And people with low grades aren't walking the right path?"
"..."
After a long pause, the bastard nodded.
"That's what I thought. Regarding the method of effort."
"Your belief shattered overnight."
"Yes."
The bastard smiled faintly.
"As royalty, I must be someone not shameful to be seen by the subjects, and possess the value to be entrusted with guidance. I told you this before."
I nodded.
Adelbert continued speaking without hesitation.
"Perhaps my excessive despair wasn't because of that."
"..."
"It's just as you said, Senior. The reason I thought His Majesty, Her Highness, and Sir Nicolaus would be disappointed in me was probably because I despised myself and was thoroughly disappointed in myself. Not because of royal duty or anything, but because I couldn't believe I had fallen to a position I arbitrarily judged as wrong."
I nodded silently.
"I don't know why no one ever told me this. To be okay with breaking others' expectations, I first needed to break the expectations I had for myself."
"You'd figure it out yourself like now, so why would someone else bother telling you?"
"Haha…."
He lightly wiped his face and spoke as if letting out a sigh.
"It's alright now. It's frustrating to think 'if only it weren't for the drug,' but I couldn't have done better than that today."
It's obvious he isn't satisfied.
The anger of wanting to find the person who drugged him immediately is visible in his eyes and tone.
But I couldn't sense the fear of the Emperor or the Crown Prince like before.
'Did he have some self-reflection after nearly succumbing to Vitriol…?'
Amazing.
I wasn't being sarcastic, just genuinely surprised, feeling the pace of his development.
He now looked at me with serious eyes.
"Senior. Sir Nicolaus is…"
"..."
"Is he you?"
I smiled lightly.
"No."
"..."
The bastard just blinked, then shook his head.
"Right. That was a pointless thing for me to say."
He let out a light laugh, then looked at me again and said.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to take the exam and properly sort out my thoughts."
*Tiring—!*
Favorability +1
He wasn't the type to give points away so easily.
Anyway, from my perspective of trying to raise the bastard differently, this is a good thing.
This much means he's starting off differently from his past self, who clung to the Crown Prince's expectations and lived thinking the Crown Prince's goals were his own.
"Alright."
As I answered simply with a smile, someone knocked on the door from outside.
Adelbert raised his voice and said.
"Ah, you must be here. Come in."
"Hello~"
The club president entered the room.
After a very long exchange of greetings, Adelbert got to the point.
"I heard the regular performance schedule is two weeks from now. It overlaps exactly with the second exam."
"Yes, that's right."
Right.
That's why everyone avoided the lead roles with lots of lines.
Adelbert spoke, looking troubled.
"President. I'm truly sorry, but… I won't be able to act in this play."
"What?!"
"..."
"I'm sorry. But, with my current stamina, I just don't have the confidence to memorize all those lines. Instead, I can cover the preparation costs, would that perhaps be possible…?"
After experiencing *Vitriol*, it's normal to be hospitalized for a week and observed.
He was immediately put into the exam only because he's a mage and recovers quickly, but resting is the right thing to do.
However….
The president, frozen with his mouth open, barely managed to speak.
"Th-Then the main role is vacant…"
"Couldn't we find an understudy from outside?"
If we get the lead from outside, there's no point in it being our school's performance…
I placed a hand on Adelbert's shoulder.
"Junior."
"Yes?"
"There are things money can solve, and things it can't."
"Ah, well, that's true, but…"
But the president's eyes had already subtly shifted towards me.
"..."
***
The next morning, at the appointed time, I went to the Team 6 meeting room.
And the lead role… I didn't say I'd do it.
The president is persistently trying to rope me in, but I don't give a fuck.
We'll find another way. Whether it's getting a memorization tutor or me re-editing the entire script, there must be a way. If not, honestly, entrusting it to some other bastard isn't a problem either.
'Who the fuck drugged Adelbert…?'
Now that I think about it, that bastard is messing everything up.
Resting my forehead on my hand, lost in thought, Tsheringen clapped his hands, drawing attention.
"Everyone's gathered."
Naturally, our team took shape with Tsheringen leading.
I looked around at the stiff-faced team members.
I was satisfied with this combination, but actually, besides me and Tsheringen, everyone else looked unhappy.
The reason was clear.
Resting my chin on my hand, I looked towards the end of the table.
A lanky bastard with neatly swept-back black hair avoided my gaze.
'That bastard must be Florian Osterhagen.'
Philip's friend, one of the guys who tried to make me eat Pai at the beginning of the semester.
Philip, sitting next to him, also looked distinctly uncomfortable, likely because of my presence.
And Melvin looked unhappy because he was teamed up with those two. Philip's group doesn't treat gentle-natured kids like Melvin very well. That hasn't changed.
And, the last one.
I looked at a student with dark blonde hair and gray eyes.
Heike Ainsidel.
That one, at least, seems relatively unfazed. But being the only one from Class 1 in Team 6, he did look a bit surprised when the announcement was made.
'…Is he related to *that* Ainsidel?'
Ainsidel is a Prussian noble family, so it's quite possible they share the surname.
Though I can't be sure if the bastard I met was really from that family or an imposter.
At least visually, he doesn't resemble that guy.
Perhaps because Ainsidel's hair is white, or maybe due to his relaxed way of speaking, he actually gives off more of an Elias vibe.
'Let's check the status window.'
Heike Ainsidel
Favorability -2* [Unconquerable]
Title: ―
Health: +6
Mental Power: +3
Magic Power: +5
Skill: +4
Impression: +2
Luck: +1
Traits: ―
Not bad, but worlds apart from the stats of the Ainsidel I saw.
Besides the high probability of being related, there didn't seem to be a significant connection.
'Anyway…'
Unconquerable?
This is the first time I've seen this among those I've checked.
'This makes me want to try.'
A bastard with the surname Ainsidel, of all things, shows up as unconquerable?
Does it mean Favorability can't be raised? It seems to imply there's a clear limit.
The thought of reaching stage 5 of conquerability and naturally visiting the mansion to find out if he's related to the Ainsidel from Osnabrück doesn't disappear.
'While I'm thinking about it, shall I check the team members' Favorability?'
Quickly shifting my gaze so as not to arouse suspicion, I opened all the Favorability windows.
Yulia Tsheringen
Favorability +3 [Conquerable (2/5)]
Florian Osterhagen
Favorability -3* [Conquerable (1/5)]
Philip Göring
Favorability -1* [Conquerable (1/5)]
Melvin Klokner
Favorability +7 [Conquerable (3/5)]
Right, not bad.
These scores are decent enough to work with after raising the Charm trait today or tomorrow.
'It might not be bad to significantly raise the Favorability of my teammates to improve our synergy.'
Especially Yulia and Melvin.
But that's that…
"..."
Suffering mental shock, I closed all the windows.
It wasn't because of the values.
Just looking at all this at once made me question where I was and what I was doing.
'Hoo…' (*Sigh*)
I feel like having a cigarette for the first time in a while.
Just then, Tsheringen, leaning back comfortably with a relaxed expression, looked at the 2nd phase team announcement sheet and said.
"The teams likely in the running for bonus points are mainly three. Team 1, our team, and Team 8."
Even in this insanely chilly atmosphere, the students glanced around and nodded.
"Team 1, as you know, has Leonard Wittelsbach and Narce Farnese. Our team, needless to say, you know, and Team 8 has Elias Hohenzollern and the current 1st place student from Class 1."
The other five teams besides these three lack top-tier students.
"First off, Team 8 seems most likely to experience discord first. What do you guys think?"
"..."
Tsheringen's tone was dry.
The higher the rank, the bigger the bonus points.
He must have mentioned other teams not just to be satisfied with being in the bonus point zone, but to aim higher.
While everyone was just exchanging glances, having lived together as friends for over 10 years, I nodded.
"Probably."
In Team 8, five members are from Class 1, and Elias alone is from Class 2.
It's the exact opposite situation from our team.
And, Class 1 students generally don't like Elias. If he had gotten along well there, there would have been no reason to come to Class 2.
Elias has essentially been teamed up with five enemies.
'He needs to do well.'
Anyway, I want to be teammates with that bastard.
Well, he'll probably do fine without me worrying… but I look forward to seeing what kind of temper he'll show in the process.
"The exam is in two weeks, but there's a joint training session organized by the student council in a week. Let's gather information about the other teams on that day. And…. it would be good to figure out now whether our team should show our true capabilities on that day or not."
Tsheringen's smile made me burst out laughing.
"Confident, aren't we."
It doesn't seem like the time to consider that already.
The case for not showing our skills implies it's okay to be underestimated by other teams, no, rather, because we are outstanding, we need to lower the guard of other teams.
Smiling lightly, I asked.
"Wouldn't it be better to decide after checking our teamwork?"
"True. We'll know immediately once we actually work together, but if there are elements of discord like in Team 8, it seems best to cleanly nip it in the bud. So…"
Tsheringen raised his hand halfway and beckoned.
His gaze was already fixed on Philip.
"Anyone here not get along with each other?"