I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind
Chapter 358

“Emergency!”

“Super emergency!”

Yuridia and Victoria spun in circles, causing an absolute commotion.

Well, from their perspective, it made sense. After all, a major incident had just unfolded before their very eyes—Nade had kissed the back of Luna’s hand.

“H-However, having a rival in love might not be a bad thing. A rival can keep you on your toes.”

“T-That’s true, but the problem is that the opponent is far too strong. To think it’s someone a million times more handsome than Zero… This isn’t just a rivalry, this is a crisis!”

A million times more handsome? These girls really loved to exaggerate.

Five times… No, maybe ten times, that I could accept.

“…Uh, yeah, sure.”

Nade visibly flinched.

Any woman would normally blush and squirm in his presence.

But not only was Luna not blushing, she was looking at him like he was pathetic.

No wonder he was thrown off.

‘Sorry, buddy, but that doesn’t work on our Luna.’

Luna treated men like they were mere stones on the ground.

No matter how handsome he was, he had zero chance of stealing her heart.

…Now, if he had tried luring her with food, that might’ve been a different story.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence fell over the scene.

Nade, having failed spectacularly, was in a state of confusion.

But he wasn’t the only one confused—I was just as thrown off.

‘What the hell am I supposed to do now?’

The event was supposed to start with Nade kissing Victoria’s hand.

Now that the target had changed to Luna, the route I knew might not apply anymore.

Sparkle, sparkle—

Just as I was pondering my next move, I felt a pair of piercing gazes on me.

Yuridia and Victoria were watching, their eyes practically glowing.

They were clearly expecting something.

‘Zero! Now’s your chance!’

‘Ahem! Declare to everyone that Luna is your woman! Defeat your rival and claim your love!’

…That was what their eyes were saying.

Sorry, but Luna isn’t my woman—she’s more like a cat.

A great partner, aside from her temper.

“…”

…Wait.

Now that I think about it, this could be a good opportunity.

The goal of this event was to expose Nade’s true nature and shatter his mask.

‘There are three things Nade hates.’

Being ignored.

Losing.

And having his plans disrupted.

In that case…

“Keke, I told you not to walk around with filth on you.”

I pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped Luna’s hand.

“F-Filth?”

The reaction was immediate.

Nade stammered, his face turning red.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. See here? There was soot on her hand.”

“…I don’t see anything.”

“That’s because I just wiped it off. Still, I am rather upset about what you just did, Nade.”

“I see. So… were you two in a relationship?”

Nade’s eyes bored into me, as if a sliver of hope had appeared.

His gaze, at first full of optimism, soon twisted into something else entirely.

Disbelief.

‘You’re telling me… I lost to this guy?’

The look of someone who couldn’t accept that he had been defeated by… well, this face.

“You gave your hand away without my permission. I’ll have to punish you for that. Prepare yourself, Luna.”

I gripped her hand tightly and pulled her close to my side.

Luna raised an eyebrow and whispered.

“What the hell? Why are you overacting all of a sudden?”

“Keke, think about it. You really think that guy isn’t involved in all this?”

She narrowed her eyes, immediately realizing who I was referring to.

“…You mean that bastard is connected to the kidnapping?”

“It’s just a suspicion for now. But isn’t it strange? Even as the baron’s son, why would he bring so many knights with him? Something’s off.”

“Hmph… That’s true. And honestly, for a barony, he’s got way too many knights.”

“Keke, and let’s not forget how suspicious his face is. The more good-looking someone is, the more scheming they tend to be.”

“Hah, I guess that’s true. At least with you, it’s obvious you’re shady. People would start off by doubting you.”

…That was a compliment, right?

Getting praised but feeling bad about it… What a strange feeling.

“But what does all this have to do with you acting like some cringy love-struck fool?”

“I’m trying to break his mask.”

“His mask?”

“Yes. He may be an adult, but he’s still young. If we provoke him enough, he’ll slip up. He might even say something about Dolores.”

“…I get it. So what do you want me to do?”

“Judging by his attitude, he’s probably never truly been loved. If we provoke him using love, he’ll definitely react.”

“…Doesn’t really seem that way to me. The rumors say his father, Baron Kelven, dotes on him endlessly.”

“Rumors are just rumors. The only time we ever saw Baron Kelven was on our first day here. If he were really such a doting father, wouldn’t he be visiting his son more often?”

Luna didn’t respond, but she clearly understood what I was getting at.

Then, without hesitation, she leaned in close—so close that she pressed her body against mine and wrapped her arms around my arm.

“I’m sorry. I let my guard down without realizing it. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

A soft, gentle voice. A bright, refreshing smile. Even the way she leaned in and acted coy—

‘Is this really the Luna I know?’

But—

“She didn’t fall for the temptation! As expected of Luna!”

“Oh~ Hohoho! Love is about inner beauty, not outer beauty! This was the obvious outcome. I never doubted it for a second.”

…It seemed like, to everyone else, Luna was acting just as she normally would.

The Luna who practically ripped people apart like meat and this prim, proper Luna—they looked the same to them.

What a mystery.

“Kh…!”

Nade staggered, pressing a hand to his face.

His most hated thing—losing.

And not just losing—losing horribly to an ugly guy.

Of course, he was in shock.

It seemed like I was on the right track. Now, all that was left was to finish him off.

“S-So you already had someone. I must have committed a great offense.”

“Keke, it’s fine. It was just a greeting, after all. Right, Luna?”

“Of course. If anything, I’m more worried about you. It was my mistake for not handling myself properly and letting him take my hand… That must have been so painful for you. I’m truly sorry.”

“Luna…”

“Zero…”

Urgh.

I felt something rise up in my throat, but I forced it back down with sheer willpower.

Luna, who had lifted a hand to pretend to wipe away tears, continued.

“Besides, we have a life we need to protect, don’t we? It’s only natural to be careful.”

“…?”

Wait.

Luna.

Isn’t that going a little too far?

Of course, the life she was talking about was Dolores.

But to everyone else, who didn’t know that—

“W-Whaaat!?”

“S-So you finally did it! N-No! My easygoing academy life…!”

Growl—

Ron collapsed to the side.

The ground thumped loudly beneath him. Looked like he really had fainted from the shock.

—Kyaaaaaaah!!

A massive cheer suddenly erupted from all around us.

I looked around in confusion.

Between the bushes, along the road, inside and even on top of buildings, even the girls near Teron—

They were all shrieking in excitement.

‘S.L.A.C…?’

Short for the Supporters of Love Aid Club.

But in reality, it was more like the Society of Love-Addled Crackpots.

These were their members.

They’d been hiding and eavesdropping on our entire conversation.

The whole world was SLAC.

The world had officially lost its mind.

“Godmother! The title of Godmother belongs to meeeeeee!”

“Hisss! I already told you, that position is mine!”

Smack, smack!

Round two of the Weasel vs. Marten showdown began.

…And how was I supposed to clean this mess up?

…I had no idea.

Well, that was a problem for future me to deal with.

Good luck, future me.

“Ugh…”

Maybe it was because all eyes were now on us, but Nade’s body swayed violently.

Even to me—a guy—his movements seemed graceful, almost beautiful.

But even that wasn’t enough to steal the crowd’s attention.

Teron quickly stepped in to support the about-to-collapse Nade.

“Nade. Please, get a hold of yourself. You, of all people, can surely find a truly fine lady.”

Nade’s eyes flickered with hope.

But the problem was—

Near him stood your boy Raymon.

“Y-Yeah, exactly! You even look kind of like Zero, don’t you? So I’m sure you’ll find someone great!”

Crack!!

Raymon’s words—saying that Nade and I looked similar—

That was the final blow.

The last piece of Nade’s already cracked mental state shattered into dust.

“GRAAAAAAAHHH!!”

…Wait.

Did he shatter? Or did he just get obliterated?

Well, whatever. The plan had succeeded.

And in all my 18 years of playing, this was the fastest I had ever cleared this event.

‘Normally, this would’ve been a long, drawn-out mental battle with exhausting conversations.’

But Raymon had just one-shot it.

The scary part?

Raymon had zero bad intentions behind it.

I needed to remind Luna, too.

No matter what—do not make an enemy out of Raymon.

“I-I must be going now.”

Nade covered his face with one hand as he spoke.

It was obvious.

His mind had been so utterly wrecked that he could no longer maintain his usual expression.

The face behind that hand—

That wasn’t the usual Nade.

That was something that had made a deal with a Demon.

“You’re leaving already? We could talk a little more…”

“There are security concerns I must attend to. Please, enjoy your tour.”

Luna, still nestled against me, tapped my arm.

She was asking if we were really just letting him go.

Of course not.

But there was no need to stop him either.

Because my role in this event—

‘Ends right here.’

Smack—!

An egg suddenly came flying from somewhere and splattered on the ground.

A black liquid seeped out of it, staining the dirt.

From its pitch-dark color, it was clearly a completely rotten egg.

The knights immediately formed a protective wall around Nade.

“Who’s there!?”

“If you really want to know who we are, then it’s only right that we tell you!”

A soft but firm voice rang out, drawing everyone’s attention.

The leader of the Trash Sprout Defense Squad—Adel.

He stood proudly atop a wooden crate, draped in what looked like a patched-up cloak made from old, tattered clothes.

“Ha… Those little punks.”

Luna let out a deep sigh.

And judging by her word choice—

It was clear that Adel wasn’t alone.

Whale and Acela peeked out from behind a box, waiting for the perfect moment.

Had they drawn attention sooner than expected?

As soon as all eyes were on them, the two quickly leaped out and struck a pose.

“To prevent the destruction of our village! To protect the peace of our home!”

“Y-Yeah! We are…”

“The Trash Sprout Defense Squad!!”

Clap, clap, clap—!

The only sound in the plaza was my applause.

Not because I clapped particularly loudly—

But because everyone else had fallen completely silent, making my claps stand out all the more.

“H-Hey, guys… What do you think you’re doing…?”

“You threw an egg at the young master… and a rotten egg at that.”

“This is bad. Where’s Jod? Where are their parents?”

The villagers started murmuring amongst themselves.

Even if this was a small, unimpressive barony, and even if Nade was just a baron’s son, a noble was still a noble.

Throwing a rotten egg at someone of noble status—

That was an offense punishable under the law of insulting nobility.

No one could argue against it.

In fact, punishing them was expected.

That was how the nobility maintained their authority.

“H-However, he’s the young master. Surely he wouldn’t punish mere children.”

“That’s right. It was just a prank! And it didn’t even hit him.”

“He’ll definitely forgive them.”

“We’ve spoiled them too much because they’re some of the only kids in the village. They need to be disciplined properly this time.”

Naturally, the villagers sided with the children.

Partially because they were young and naive—

But mostly because they believed Nade was a kind person.

Nade’s lips slowly parted.

“Take them.”

He ordered.

Then—

The hand covering his face shifted slightly.

Through the gap, the corner of his mouth curled upward.

“And cut off their arms. Immediately.”

–TL Notes–

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