I stopped in the middle of the hallway and spun around, facing the Protagonist Party head-on.
They halted imdiately, watching cautiously. They knew they had stirred up a hornet’s nest.
"What are you guys?" I snapped, letting the polite, distant facade drop completely. "No, forget the cadet titles—what is this? A joke? A prank?"
I slipped entirely into informal speech. I needed to calm down. Getting angry in the middle of the corridor would only draw more attention. But my harsh tone was enough to make the Protagonist Party tense up, their hands twitching toward their respective weapons out of sheer habit.
"You know I avoid you," I hissed, stepping closer. "You know we don’t get along. Yet you still hijack my club application? Why?"
Mid-sentence, my eyes caught a flash of trembling blue. Mariella was shrinking behind Bordon, her face pale and frightened, clutching her staff like a lifeline.
I stopped. I clenched my teeth, the anger deflating slightly.
"...Haa."
I let out a long, exhausted sigh. I couldn’t bring myself to be genuinely harsh when she was looking at like a frightened lamb about to be slaughtered. Not after she had taken the fall for the slums explosion.
"Whatever," I muttered, turning away. "Do what you want. Play club mbers if you have that much free ti."
"Wait."
Kael called out to . His voice wasn’t defensive; it was dead serious.
I paused, looking back over my shoulder.
"You used us too, didn’t you?" Kael asked, his golden eyes locked onto mine.
What was he talking about? The club mber count?
"You used us in the Fern Kingdom incident," Princess Celestia chid in, her arms crossed. "You knew the Primordial Treant was there, and you knew we would follow you."
"...."
I stared at them blankly. I didn’t ask you to follow , did I? You literally stalked through a poisonous forest.
"And you used us during the terrorist attack at the The Park," Kael continued, taking a step forward. "You were the one who invited us there, knowing exactly what Infernus was going to conspire. You set the stage so we could handle the frontline while you sniped from the shadows!"
I slowly blinked.
I gave you those tickets because I didn’t want to go and they were expiring.
"Like you said before, our business is settled," Kael said, his voice lowering into a dramatic, heroic register. "So there’s no need to hate us this much. And... we know what you’re really up to, Lucien."
Kael gave that sa knowing, solemn nod from the staff room.
"If we work together," Kael offered, extending a hand. "Couldn’t we do better? You don’t have to carry the burden of the fallen Empire alone."
Not just Kael, but Bordon, Elisha, and even Mariella had serious, resolute expressions on their faces. It was as if they were collectively saying, ’We know your dark, tragic secret. We are your allies.’
My mind went completely blank.
Their delusions had evolved into a terminal disease. They had sohow convinced themselves that my sheer laziness, coincidences, and System-driven looting were actually the calculated moves of a 5D-chess-playing tragic hero.
I had absolutely no obligation to clarify this ss. In fact, trying to explain it would probably just make them think I was being "modest" or "protecting them from the truth."
"...Do whatever you want," I repeated, my voice devoid of all life.
Ignoring the Protagonist Party’s extended hands of friendship, I opened the classroom door and walked to my seat in the back corner—my neutral zone.
Behind , the party returned to their seats with complex expressions.
"Does this an Lucien agreed?" Bordon whispered loudly.
"Well, it’s an ambiguous reaction," Celestia noted, tapping her chin.
"But he didn’t tell us to get lost, or threaten to shoot us," Elisha pointed out, sounding oddly hopeful. "So... I guess he accepted us into his inner circle?"
...What the hell were they misunderstanding now?
Even replaying the conversation in my head, I couldn’t figure out how they turned my utter exhaustion into a tacit alliance.
****
[The Grand Auditorium]
Ti passed, and the closing ceremony officially began. The entire student body gathered in the massive, vaulted auditorium of the Imperial Academy.
With the first, second, and third-year cadets, alongside the teachers, assistant professors, and faculty staff, nearly a thousand people were present.
"Hm, is that the third-year head teacher?" "Oh, yes! Vice Principal, you called?" "Is everything ready for the broadcast?" "Yes, Sir. We’re just waiting for the Principal to arrive."
Disgusting.
I sat in the back row with Class A, taking in the revolting adults scattered around the VIP seating. The Vice Principal who had eagerly tried to hold a disciplinary committee to expel , the corrupt head teachers who took bribes from nobles, and the instructors who gave venomous looks whenever our eyes t.
Those vermin. One day, if I got the chance, I’d wipe them all out...
No. I couldn’t.
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t do that. Who would protect Lily, Irina, and Alicia then? If it were just , I wouldn’t care if I rotted in an Imperial prison or rolled in the filth of the slums as a wanted criminal. But I had people relying on now. A household. A genius Alchemist girlfriend.
’Calm down,’ I repeated to myself, forcing the dark thoughts away. ’Don’t get worked up. Getting angry now won’t do anything.’
I took deep breaths to steady my mind, letting the ambient mana in the room wash over .
"Ahem. We will now begin the First Sester Closing Ceremony."
The Vice Principal took the microphone at the podium, his magically amplified voice echoing off the high ceilings.
"First, the Principal will enter. Everyone, please welco him with a big round of applause!"
At the emcee’s cue, thunderous claps and cheers filled the auditorium.
In the center of the grand stage, spatial mana warped. A glowing blue portal opened, and an old man with a white beard that reached down to his waist stepped through.
A war hero of the Chaos Era and the continent’s greatest Archmage. He was the Principal of the Imperium Academy.
But he wasn’t alone.
A flash of brilliant, unmistakable gold stepped through the portal right behind him.
What in the world? My eyes narrowed. Princess Rumina? The First Imperial Princess and the head of the Empire’s Intelligence Division? Why was she here? Was I dreaming, or was my luck just this abysmal?
"Today, Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Rumina, has joined us to personally congratulate the cadets who successfully completed their first sester!" the Vice Principal announced, bowing deeply.
My already foul mood grew even fouler. Royalty ant politics, and politics ant trouble.
Regardless of my feelings, the ceremony proceeded with agonizing slowness. First, we recited the ’Imperium Academy Cadet Oath’ in unison. Then, we sang the ’Humanity Alliance Anthem.’ Finally, we observed a suffocating three-minute mont of silence for ’The First Emperor Hard and the martyrs of all nations.’
"Next, the Principal will deliver his address."
The atmosphere in the room shifted. If the previous events were re formalities, this was an honored mont for the cadets to see a living, breathing legend speak.
Truthfully, I was slightly interested too. The Principal of the Imperium Academy was a major character. In the latter half of the Asteria Online storyline, he sacrifices himself gloriously to protect the Academy from a Demon Duke invasion, bringing tears to the players’ eyes.
The old Archmage stepped up to the microphone, clearing his throat.
"Greetings, cadets. This sester, too, I can feel the fervent passion of your diligent efforts. With clear skies above and the scorching heat of sumr pouring down upon us, your tireless endeavors will surely be proven by your future achievents. And our teachers will strive to keep pace with your blazing youth..."
I slumped back in my chair.
I wasn’t excited anymore. The speech was a copy-pasted, bureaucratic snoozefest.
I checked my watch. Not even a minute had passed. It was going to be a very long afternoon.
****
While the thousands of cadets suffered through the sweltering heat of the grand auditorium, the atmosphere in the VIP Faculty Antechamber was drastically different.
The room was aggressively cooled by high-grade frost crystals. Plush velvet sofas lined the walls, and the scent of expensive imported tea filled the air.
"Phew, the Principal’s address is a bit long today, isn’t it? You can certainly feel his... care for the cadets, though."
"Tell about it. But seeing a living legend in person isn’t entirely boring."
"Exactly. Such a respectable figure."
The sycophantic chatter flowed easily among the senior staff. Even behind closed doors, few on the continent dared to speak ill of the Imperium Academy’s Principal, even jokingly. The Archmage’s power was absolute, and his temper, when provoked, was legendary.
The Vice Principal sat idly on the finest leather sofa, her legs crossed. She was currently painting her sharp nails a deep, blood red, nitpicking at the junior teachers who were diligently cleaning and organizing the room’s archives.
"Hey! You missed a spot on the chandelier!" she snapped, pointing a wet nail at a trembling junior instructor. "Dust properly! Do you want the Crown Princess to see this filth when she enters?"
"Y-Yes, Vice Principal! Understood! Right away!"
"Hmph. Incompetent fools."
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