"Yeah... Today is really a good day," I muttered to myself as I walked further inside the Academy grounds. "How many has it been?"
From the eyes surrounding me alone, it was clear that I did my job. I had been constantly wandering around and destroying the rats inside the commoners in a brutal way.
I was lost in my thoughts until I heard a voice coming from behind me. "Yeah, for you, at least."
Turning, I saw Senior Angela approaching. Her presence was a commanding one as if she was slightly mad, but I could see a slight satisfaction in her face.
"Senior Angela," I said, meeting her gaze.
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, a stern expression on her face. "Callius, I've been looking for you. What have you been up to?"
I considered her question for a moment before replying, "Nothing."
Angela's stern expression deepened. "It is certainly nothing. We have been bombarded with complaints all day. Do you know how many parents have contacted us?"
"Why? I didn't even do anything," I replied with a hint of indifference.
Her frustration was evident as she said, "What do you mean? You literally terrorized nearly 30 people today."
"But they're not dead, right?" I retorted.
Angela's eyes widened in disbelief. "Yes, they're not dead. But all of them are traumatized. Some of them are even refusing to use magic."
I shrugged nonchalantly. "So?"
"So!? How can you say that?" Angela exclaimed, her voice tinged with anger. "Don't you have any respect for human life?"
"I mean, I missed the point where it was my problem," I replied, my tone nonchalant.
"It should be? Don't you have any respect for human life?" Angela questioned with a hint of exasperation.
"I do. But I don't have any respect for dogs," I retorted, my indifference unyielding.
Angela fell into a momentary silence, her frustration evident. She then asked,
"And why are you blaming me now? I am just doing my job." I countered, my expression impassive.
"You are just doing your job? What is your job then?" Angela said, blocking my way. It seemed she wanted to look slightly assertive in front of others.
"Training some dogs," I replied casually.
Angela could only respond with a resigned "..." as I continued to speak.
"You seem to have the habit of not replying," I noted, a smirk playing on my lips.
"I am just speechless," Angela admitted, clearly at a loss for words.
"You will get used to it," I said with a shrug. "You didn't even see my sister yet."
"Ah... Come to think of it," She added, shifting the topic. "Now that you mentioned your sister, I guess something happened." She had a rather concerned expression about this, and seeing this, I couldn't help but sense something was amiss.
Rarely Diana would get into trouble, and this meant something big was happening.
"Something happened, what? What happened?" I asked, not being able to contain my curiosity anymore.
"Well, the rumor mill says her marriage is going to be announced soon," She revealed.
The moment I heard about this, I stopped in my tracks.
'Sigh…..I guess this was bound to happen.'
Remembering what happened in the game, I couldn't help but think everything was happening at the same time.
Angela continued, "The elves will officially announce her marriage partner on the last day of festival, where the private competition will be held, according to what the princess said. She wanted me to make sure you knew about this."
Hearing this, I looked at Angela's eyes.
"Then, what did princess say about this? Am I allowed to behave as I want?"
"She said she was going to back you up."
"What if I kill someone?"
"She said she knew you would ask about this. Unless you can force them to play as per the rules, she said she will back you up. However, if you do something that goes against the academy rules and the imperial law, she said she can't help you."
"I see….."
'This…..'
'I guess she is telling me to make it to a sacred duel, huh?'
Looking at her words, I couldn't help but shake my head.
'What a crafty woman. You really want to get my favor, aren't you?' Even if I made it something related to rules, I would still need the help of someone protecting me, even outside the academy.
And, since she will support me, I will naturally be affiliated with her as well as Diana while we will be both announced as heretics of Wraslugia Kingdom.
"What are you going to do?" Angela asked, looking concerned.
"You will see it tomorrow on your own, don't worry."
I replied, walking to my room.
'But, princess. There is something you are really underestimating. You are not the only one who wants my favor, after all. And I am a lot crazier than you think.'
"See you later, Senior Angela."
Waving my hand, I parted ways with Angela.
'I guess it is about time I use it. It is sad that a lot of students' lives will be sacrificed for this, but it is what it is. At least using this, I can save some of them.'
*******
"Sir Vicent, what should we do about this?"
Behind the hidden doors, inside a small room, a bunch of young people were gathered around the room, and all of them had a rather troubled expression on their faces.
Everyone's eyes were on the same person, his cool gaze sweeping through them.
"We can't allow this to go further. Most of our spies are already discovered, and we can't even use them anymore."
"It is all because of that Callius bastard. He is the one that was randomly picking up our spies like he already knew their identities."
Vincent's piercing gaze scanned the faces of those gathered, his expression a mask of contemplation. The room's silence seemed to stretch endlessly, broken only by the soft murmurs of concern.
"It's clear that someone within our ranks is working against us," Vincent finally spoke, his voice low and measured. "The recent breaches in our security are too precise to be mere coincidence. We must confront this issue head-on."
A young woman, her eyes darting suspiciously between her comrades, spoke with a touch of urgency. "But how do we determine who the spy is? We can't afford to accuse the wrong person. We are already short on manpower."
Vincent nodded in agreement. "Agreed. Accusations without concrete evidence will only sow more discord among us. We must act with caution."
A young man, who had been relatively quiet until now, leaned forward, his voice tinged with frustration. "Perhaps we need to rethink our communication methods. If the spy can identify our agents, they might also have access to our messages."
SWOOSH
As the shadows in his hand moved, a figure of the young man was revealed.
Vincent sighed, his voice tinged with resignation. "This is not possible." Vincent replied. "Right now we are already in a dim situation. Thanks to that bastard Callius' doing, everyone's attention is on our clubs, and I am sure he will do the same thing tomorrow too."
SWOOSH
As the shadows moved once again, this time a figure of a young woman was revealed.
"Right now, he is clearly aware of what we were planning to do with commoners just like Princess Jasmine. Since the Student Council didn't take an action, it already evident that he is protected by them."
"Then? What should we do?"
"I don't know how he can identify our spies or how much he does know. But one thing is clear: at this point, we can't let him have more material to work on. The commoner's awareness is already increasing, and they are grouping together as the response."
"They are grouping together."
"Yes. From what I heard, a small alliance started being formed around the first year named Aliya Norris."
"The daughter of the Chairman of Verdant Ventures."
"Yes. She is probably sponsoring them right now."
"Then."
"Yes. Our target will be her. We can't let the commoners group together under the lead of someone until we fuel them enough. I want it to be clean and clear, okay? Even if this could point it to us, I want her to be dead until tomorrow."
"Understood. I will make the necessary arrangements. The maids will be ready."
"Good. If it is the maids, then, we can sneak them up."
A chorus of nods and murmurs of agreement echoed through the room. The decision was made; they would embark on a mission that could change the course of their intricate game, where alliances and betrayals danced in the shadows.
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