I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind
Chapter 357

Step, step.

A series of heavy footsteps echoed as a group of people emerged.

They were the Trash Village’s Knights. A little over a dozen in number.

Among them were the dignified knight, Pjol, and Bickerd, who had anger control issues.

“That bastard…”

Luna placed a hand on her sword’s hilt, heightening her vigilance.

It was a natural reaction. After all, these were the ones who had kidnapped Dolores.

‘As if time wasn’t already against us, now they’re swarming in. No wonder she’s on edge.’

But such a strong reaction wouldn’t help.

“But we don’t have time. With so many instructors around, wouldn’t it be better to expose the kidnapping and subdue them now?”

“We still don’t know who’s pulling the strings behind this or how far their influence reaches. More importantly, Redington is nowhere to be seen. Even if we arrested them all in this situation…”

There was no guarantee that Dolores’s life would be spared.

Realizing this, Luna slowly removed her hand from her sword. Clearing her throat, she muttered.

“Ahem. So why are they gathering like that?”

A deliberate attempt to blend into the situation—her own way of acting as if she knew nothing about what Pjol and Bickerd had done.

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘Luna’s growing in her own way.’

The old Luna would have charged in headfirst without a second thought. But now, she was beginning to think things through.

She was gradually becoming a reliable comrade, someone I could trust to watch my back in the final boss fight.

Well, she still had a long way to go.

Maybe she noticed my thoughts because Luna shot me a glare.

“What are you grinning about?”

“Keke, nothing at all. It seems the knights are here because of that person.”

The knights, lightly armed and scanning the surroundings, were not the main focus of attention. The gazes of the onlookers were directed at a young man walking among them.

The son of Baron Kelven and a man hailed as the embodiment of an angel—Nade.

“Briole, has everything been well?”

“Oh my! How could anything go wrong? Business has been thriving lately, and I owe it all to you, young master.”

“Haha! Why would that be because of me? It’s thanks to all of you working hard for the territory.”

Nade chatted warmly with a few villagers.

Seeing this, someone nearby remarked with admiration.

“You seem quite close to the people of the territory.”

“It’s only natural. Overseeing the land and its people is one of a noble’s duties.”

“But remembering each person’s name? That’s not common. You’re remarkable.”

The group that arrived with Nade wasn’t composed solely of knights.

There were also academy students and instructors among them. To be more precise—

“Alex? Raymon?”

“Look over there. Teron and Daike are with them as well.”

Emerging from the foliage, Yuridia and Victoria eyed them warily.

Alex and Teron—a rather unusual combination, one might think.

But in truth, the two were closer than they seemed. Alex naturally got along with his peers, avoiding unnecessary conflicts.

‘And Teron had taken a liking to Alex since the beginning of the semester.’

The protagonist’s charm worked not only on allies but even on enemies.

While I had been busy forging my own connections, Alex and Teron had also been forming their own bonds.

‘Now that things have completely soured between me and Teron, he’s probably focusing more on Alex.’

Alex was one of the top four strongest first-years.

If Teron succeeded in recruiting Alex while the neutral faction was shrinking, many of the neutral students would likely follow, strengthening Teron’s faction.

He’d be able to take another shot at claiming the throne.

“A-Amazing. The nobles at the academy are always fighting, but Teron is right next to him.”

“…”

The problem was that along with Alex came Raymon, pure evil incarnate.

But Teron probably considered that a small price to pay if it meant securing Alex’s allegiance.

Noticing us, Teron placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder and flashed a triumphant smirk.

A warning. A message meant for us: ‘Once we’re back at the academy, let’s settle the score.’

Of course—

‘That’s not going to happen.’

Alex was the protagonist of this game.

No matter what, he wasn’t designed to fall under a villain like Teron.

Not that Teron realized that. I almost felt bad for him.

But I shook off the thought.

I had my own problems to deal with.

‘Of all people, I got dragged into a death game. I’m the most pitiful one here.’

Being considered one of the ugliest guys around didn’t help, either.

In reality, I wasn’t exactly on Nade’s level in terms of looks… but maybe somewhere beneath that.

Way beneath.

…Yeah, probably deep in the abyss.

Huh? Wouldn’t that make me a sea squid?

You wouldn’t say that if you saw Nade in person.

Even Victoria, the imperial princess with an aloof demeanor, was sneaking glances at him from behind her fan. That said it all.

“H-Hiiik!”

Maybe it was Nade’s dazzling appearance, or perhaps it was the sudden crowd gathering—

But Rezé bolted into a back alley and vanished into a box.

The box seamlessly blended into the surroundings, leaving only the eerie alleyway in sight.

‘When did she even make that box?’

A box that perfectly replicated the back alleys of Trash Village. I’d thought this before, but Rezé was an impressive rabbit in many ways.

Of course, her personality completely buried all those strengths.

I wanted to run over and rip the box open right then and there, but I held myself back and shifted my focus elsewhere.

Rezé wasn’t what mattered right now.

‘The important thing is that the event I’ve been waiting for has finally started.’

That’s right. It wasn’t a coincidence that all the key players had gathered in one place. This was the signal for an event to begin.

Normally, this would be an event I didn’t need to be particularly tense about, but the situation was a little different now.

Because of the added variable—rescuing Dolores.

‘It doesn’t seem like the story has changed.’

The Trash Sprout Defense Squad—no, Trash Sprout Thieves event had been a new addition, but that only lasted until Nade appeared.

Ever since his arrival, the story had been proceeding exactly as I remembered.

Judging by the movement of their lips, right about now…

“I heard you’re from the esteemed Vyuern family.”

“That’s correct. I may be lacking, but I am doing my best to protect the Empire’s eastern lands.”

“Incredible. I can barely manage to take care of a small territory like this.”

“You flatter me. If anything, Nade, you are far more impressive. I merely make use of the existing infrastructure, whereas you are spearheading new businesses.”

“Haha! You’re making me blush. Please, if you see any shortcomings, don’t hesitate to point them out. Developing this land is my humble dream.”

“Hm… How about constructing a road to the nearest city? It would boost both trade and tourism. The initial investment would be significant, but such things are necessary.”

“Oh! That’s an excellent idea. As expected of someone from the Vyuern family!”

Escorted by knights, offering guidance, receiving flattery—

Perhaps it had been a while since he’d received proper noble treatment, but Teron’s lips curled upward in satisfaction.

It looked like his battered ego was finally being restored.

The problem was that he was currently hanging around with pure evil, none other than your boy Raymon.

“A-Amazing. Teron, you’re actually pretty smart, huh?”

“W-What nonsense is that? He’s from the Vyuern family! Of course he’s intelligent.”

“R-Really? I didn’t know. His grades aren’t that great…”

“…What?”

“I-I think Zero’s smarter. He’s strong, and his grades are better than Teron’s.”

“Zero?”

“Yes! H-He’s my friend! He may not look great, but—”

Suddenly, Raymon started singing my praises.

Nade’s expression soured, and Teron’s face twisted into an outright grimace.

“You must be mistaken. My midterm scores were higher! That bastard was 18th! And I was 5th!”

“T-That’s because of penalty points!”

“Doesn’t change the fact that I ranked above him!”

“B-But you’re still not first, so can you really be called intelligent? There’s at least… one, two, three… people ahead of you.”

“It’s four, not three! Can’t you even count properly?”

“O-Oh, I see. Wow, being able to count so perfectly… Teron, maybe you are smart after all.”

Thunk!

Teron clutched the back of his neck. Looked like his blood pressure was spiking.

Man, getting high blood pressure at such a young age…

Maybe this world didn’t even need blood pressure medication. After all, with a living blood pressure treatment like Raymon around, who would need pills?

“H-Haha… W-What a delightful joke. Annwood Academy has quite the sense of humor.”

“It’s not a joke, though…”

Raymon pouted while I fell into thought.

My name had come up, but it wasn’t enough to say the story had changed.

‘Raymon’s comments change depending on midterm rankings.’

Usually, he’d mention whoever ranked first, but it also varied based on his level of affection.

There was a 50% chance he’d bring up Alex, the protagonist, and the rest of the time, it was either Yuridia, Victoria, or the player character.

So it wasn’t particularly strange that my name had come up.

“Oh? Z-Zero!”

Raymon spotted me and started hopping excitedly.

As expected, Nade’s group slowly began making their way toward us.

This was all going according to the story.

Now, Nade was going to approach Victoria and try to charm her by kissing the back of her hand.

‘Using his good looks to win people over and clear suspicion… What a scumbag.’

That’s right. Nade, son of Baron Kelven—

He, too, was one of the hidden masterminds. No, calling him the real mastermind might be more accurate.

Either way, toying with people’s hearts using that pretty face of his?

As a fellow handsome man, I could never forgive him.

Guys like him were the reason genuinely kind and good-looking people like me ended up getting lumped together with the scum.

‘Time to put you in your place.’

The goal of this event was to shatter the false mask Nade wore and expose his true nature.

Since my personal feelings happened to align with that goal, I was more than happy to give it my all.

‘The moment he kisses Victoria’s hand, I’ll make sure he regrets it.’

I had already mastered all the possible dialogue routes.

And among them, I was going to use the most brutal one.

As I licked my lips, waiting for Nade to lean in and kiss Victoria’s hand—

‘Wait… Why is he walking toward me?’

Nade had been heading toward Yuridia and Victoria.

But then, he suddenly hesitated.

And instead—he started walking toward us.

Then—

“I never expected to find such a beautiful lady here… Truly astonishing.”

Nade kissed the back of Luna’s hand.

…Hey.

Why the hell are you trying to flirt with her?

–TL Notes–

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