No Dark Secrets In This Book

Episode 41

The investigation that followed was just ordinary. When I explained the situation to the police, the charges were dropped. The end. Rather, I was recognized for the merit of capturing a famous assassin organization and received a medal of honor. It was a capture that sent them to the afterlife, not a typical capture, but they still gave me a medal.

‘The sweetness of power…… It’s sweet…….’

Most of the bodyguards died, and only the big shot was hospitalized in a coma. After barely hearing that news and being cooped up in my room for about three days while taking the antidote, my condition improved.

During that time, Ryuseong took pretty good care of me. However, he became less talkative, but since these events were quite hardcore for the soft Ryuseong from the beginning of the original story, I decided to be considerate of him.

At least he didn’t tease me.

‘Since I was lenient, I should smack a kiss as soon as the detoxification is over.’

But I decided not to pounce on him since there was still residual toxicity in my body. By the way, the family head, who I thought would be the most hysterical, unexpectedly didn’t come to see me. He just sent a letter.

‘I thought he would fly off the handle asking what the hell I was doing.’

Only after reading the first sentence saying he was sending a letter because I hadn’t checked my phone for three days did I realize I had been continuously staying in my room without going out since capturing the assassins on the day we announced our contract dating.

‘……Huh? Then.’

Others will think the couple who defeated the assassins threatening their love like Romeo and Juliet spent three days and nights in passionate nights?

How can there not be a single correct statement?!

‘Unfairly—!’

Although it was fortunate that public opinion turned to gossip consumption mode even without my scheme, there was something even more unfair.

‘What, what? Come home with your report card after the midterms are over?’

Indeed, while I was recuperating, the midterm season had already begun.

‘—Then what about my grades?!’

***

During midterms, we take exams on what we learned during the theory period, and during finals, we take exams on practicals. And the midterm season is so hectic that no one visits the sick out of consideration…….

‘Fuck…….’

The midterm season mentioned here refers to the 4 weeks before the midterms. Why is it the midterm season when it’s 4 weeks before? It’s because this is when the Academy’s answer key finding project begins.

This is a long-standing tradition of the Academy.

‘You can do anything as long as you unearth the answer keys hidden by the seniors!’

What if you find fake dummy information? It means you’re a loser who hasn’t even built connections to discern whether this information is real or not, and if you don’t find anything, you’re a loser anyway. In the first place, the exams are not designed to be at a level that college students can solve.

Why would the Academy’s students create a tradition of finding answer keys and stake their lives on it?

‘…..Because there’s hell in there.’

Do you believe that problems that only graduate students should attempt are constantly given to 1st-year students, and the scope even covers all the essential requirements of a raider?

‘Moreover, if your grades are low, you’ll be expelled immediately……!’

Trying to find answer keys even though they are not the actual answers is a desperate attempt to reduce the study scope.

That’s right. There are reasons why the Academy is considered the academy with the highest competition rate. Because you have to survive this bullshit to get the tag of an Academy graduate, it becomes a prestigious school that produces the strongest graduates.

‘You’re saying I have to be at least 2nd place here, is this a joke…….’

But sometimes there are exceptions. Special people who don’t have to live so fiercely.

‘I’m not studying. Because I won’t be cut.’

……Is it an illusion that my blood pressure is rapidly rising as I recall the lines from the original?

That line belongs to Shin Myohan. She is a shaman, and to avoid being expelled even with the lowest score, you need to have irreplaceable qualities like her. Innate talent, inspiration.

Come to think of it, to ask Shin Myohan what the white light I saw that day was and where my eyes were dazzled, I have to read the book she was burdened with, but come to think of it, I haven’t read a single one.

Is it natural since I forgot?

But what’s important now is not Shin Myohan.

‘Without answer keys, I’m screwed.’

I am someone who only relied on finding answer keys and only did survival studying. I desperately studied only the essential elements necessary to save my life and slightly postponed the parts without practicality, but it’s unbelievable that I’m three days behind! But since I realized it at dawn, it was too early to rush out now. If I didn’t want to get caught by Ryuseong or the guardian statues and get my butt whipped, it was better to refrain from going out at dawn.

I made a plan to attend the morning lecture and devote myself to searching for answer keys from then on.

‘Let’s draw the Academy’s floor plan.’

Obviously, since the Academy is a space that can also be used as a fortress during wartime, the internal space is kept confidential from the outside. As such, I didn’t have the floor plan in my hands, but it was stored in my brain.

I drew it on a pad with my hand, made a floor plan, analyzed the structure, and listed the dummy information scattered on Everytime. Assuming everything was false and fake, when I ran a simulation, I started to get a little sense of where the answer keys might be.

And when morning came.

“……Do as you please.”

Ryuseong tried to stop me from already wanting to be active, but he gave up. Since I still had to take the antidote consistently, I originally didn’t want to go out either, but once I made up my mind, he probably knew I wouldn’t listen to him no matter what he said.

When I arrived at the lecture hall with such hasty steps, the dumbasses approached me with a meaningful expression.

“Duke Cassice, you didn’t even turn on your phone. There was something to tell you.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, have I been forgetting about the phone that was turned off then until now? Since I can search and manipulate everything with a pad, I end up not turning it on because it’s annoying to check missed calls or texts. I nodded my head indifferently with a nuance that it turned out that way because it was annoying to explain.

Anyway, if I had been with the idiots for those three days, it would have been obvious that the news of my injury would have spread like wildfire. Even if the absence seemed suspicious, it was better than the injury being exposed.

But then Diedrich suddenly put a USB in my palm and whispered softly in my ear.

“It’s the answer key.”

……?

No, wait a minute.

‘What?’

Ryuseong glared at me, but he wasn’t important. I also quickly brought my lips to Diedrich’s ear.

“You got it fast……?”

“Haha, even if I’m a 2nd year, what wouldn’t I give to offer to the Demillang family?”

“……”

I looked around at them, and the idiots were all standing as if it was natural. Only Capone seemed furious that she couldn’t directly deliver the answer key to me, probably because she lost at rock-paper-scissors again. But my inner thoughts were similarly furious, so I had no time to comfort her.

‘Fuck, really, wow, I’m serious.’

I unknowingly wanted to grab a spear.

Even though I’m not originally someone like this, their attitude as if it was natural critically hit me and pissed me off. Originally, I would have been someone who would have just said, “Fucking thank you. Power rocks. So sweet.” when receiving something like this.

‘But guys, I made an effort.’

I said I made a plan!

‘I used my brain, so why are you making it useless—!’

That’s right. The emphasis was on this.

But whether I faced reality or not, the world went on well without me….. It means that during the three days I was absent, the martial arts department’s lecture began after completing the orientation.

“Now! Are you adapted, you bastards! Pair up! And fight!”

“……?”

By the way, the principal was in charge of the 1st-year martial arts lecture. I’m curious why the grand wizard is in charge, but at such a principal-like start, I couldn’t find anything to say and only answered inwardly.

‘No, I’m not adapted yet.’

While I was standing there dumbfounded, the students really started pairing up and fighting among themselves. In other words, it meant that the individual field control barrier in the martial arts lecture hall began to operate. The sight of students entering the barrier one by two and clashing wooden sticks with shouts was a culture shock.

Is this really the 21st century, you damn principal!

“Ah, you over there, use this and spar with Ryuseong. No using energy on weapons and no magic. Since it’s basic weapon training, go all out, got it?”

A wooden stick was thrown at me. I caught it, but it was hard to understand. I was doubly dumbfounded.

‘Why is it a given that I’m paired up with Ryuseong?!’

I wanted to go crazy and make a fuss, but I raised one hand and asked politely.

“……Would it be difficult to pair up with another student?”

“That’s right. Everyone else has finished pairing up.”

“……”

“And you two are the only ones who can handle each other, aren’t you?”

Is it an illusion that the vocabulary is oddly cheap?

But when he went as far as to say this, it was also awkward to ask for an easy win by having him bring out a pushover.

“You all know how to hold a stick and swing it, right? Try going all out!”

But as Cassice Demillang, it’s a blow to my pride.

I swung the stick taller than me in the air a few times. The feeling of it sticking to my palm wasn’t too bad, but I thought it was uncertain whether I could apply it in real combat.

Thanks to Cassice Demillang’s crazy talent, I thought using mana was manageable. However, I was still afraid to actively move my body in real combat because I hadn’t used it yet. I know this body performs better than Jeong Ian’s body in the present life, but my cognition and thinking are drawing a limit line.

Until now, unlike Cassice, didn’t I just stand there differently in all the sparring and only use magic? It was all a matter of cognitive ability. The inner languages whispering that I wouldn’t be able to do this kind of movement were blocking my limbs and slowing down my movements in real combat.

Knowing that I couldn’t break through that, I thought the principal who threw me a stick was cunning. Especially considering that I, who was the most disadvantaged, had to stand in the most superior position.

But complaining was a luxury like gold leaf, and I was wearing rags right now.

Whether it worked or not, I had to fight.

“I will personally judge here. Ready, start!”