Chapter 151: Last Class Standing (7)
A suffocating silence settled in. The principal, who had been stroking his beard, the vice principal, explaining the clean-up process to the student council after the four-person event, and the student council members, listening to the vice principal’s plan, all froze in place.
I was no exception.
‘Was there another advisor?’
Each club was supposed to have only one designated advisor, so there couldn’t possibly be a second advisor that I didn’t know about.
‘Ah.’
Suddenly, I had an epiphany. I wasn’t a real advisor after all. I was simply suffering from a delusion, convincing myself I was a club advisor. The actual advisor was someone else, and I was just a self-proclaimed advisor all along.
It all made sense now. It was utterly nonsensical for a civil servant to be a club advisor at an academy. I had been lost in delusions, and the kind souls around me had just been playing along with my fantasy.
—L-let me repeat the announcement! 1st Year Class 3 has appointed S-sir Carl Krasius, the pastry club advisor, instead of Instructor Alberto, the magical faculty member from the Magic Tower!
‘No way.’
The shaky announcement shattered my last shred of hope. My name was explicitly mentioned, blocking any escape route.
Hats off to the announcer—whoever it was—they stood strong in such a situation and didn’t shy away from their duty!
“This can’t be happening…”
Confusion flickered across the principal’s face. It was the exact expression he wore when witnessing Louise use the special magic of the Mage Duchess.
“Th-there must be a mistake.”
The vice principal quickly intervened.
“The Executive Manager is not a faculty member. He’s an outsider. It seems Erich and Louise might have gotten confused after being so close to the Executive Manager.”
The vice principal’s strained smile was almost pathetic. It was clear he was determined to stop me at all costs.
I nodded in agreement with his words. Naturally, I didn’t want to participate. Interfering in kids’ play would be a huge nuisance.
‘I can’t even hit them.’
Honestly, I wasn’t confident in managing my strength. I had often found myself hanging by a thread in fights up north, which meant I never had the luxury to master such refined fighting techniques.
Sure, I could reattach limbs after the accidental severing, but if there were only limbs left, they’d have to be cremated and sent off to Enen. That was a definite no-go.
“Uh, Vice Principal…”
But then, a word extinguished whatever hope I had left.
“…The Executive Manager is also a designated target…”
The silent student council president calmly delivered the fatal verdict.
No, judging by his expression, he did not look calm at all. His facial features twisted slightly, indicating that he too was struggling to accept the situation.
“If the Executive Manager held no position, he wouldn’t be a target, but since he has taken on the role of club advisor, he is included.”
“But the Executive Manager is an outsider affiliated with the administration, not a formal faculty member!”
“Instructor Alberto was also an outsider affiliated with the Magic Tower. Isn’t it the same case as the Executive Manager, who is here on assignment?”
To prevent my participation, they should have blocked Alberto from being involved right from the start. The implication made the vice principal mutter under his breath—after all, it wasn’t exactly wrong.
Glancing around, it seemed no one could come up with a reason to exclude me. If there was already a precedent for including outsiders as faculty, it would be tough to kick me out. Starting to craft exceptions to the rules could complicate things further down the line.
But to just honestly declare, “The advisor is too strong, so no”? What even is the benchmark for “too strong”? Frankly, the top-tier faculty members could return without a scratch even if thrown into a war! Should they really get excluded for being too strong as well?
“According to the manual, it’s possible, but, well, there’s no precedent… Still, technically, it is possible…”
As I heard someone mumbling, I turned to see Marghetta hiding her mouth behind a fan. She looked so confused she didn’t even notice my gaze.
I understood completely. When precedent and manuals restricted them, civil servants became infinitely weaker. The manual could certainly be interpreted in such a way, but the practical application had no historical support. It must be driving them mad.
…And in the midst of all this, Marghetta was also turning into a civil servant. A sad fate, indeed.
‘What a headache.’
Everyone knew who the pastry club advisor was—it was common knowledge. Thanks to this, the audience area buzzed with chatter. It was like a new heavyweight had joined the fight between two whales.
In contrast, the announcement was dead silent. Though some time had passed since my name came up, not a single word urged me to hurry down to the arena.
Really, who would even prompt me in this kind of situation?
“I’ll go.”
“Pardon?”
“Carl?”
My voice drew everyone’s attention.
What could I do? Without any valid reason to decline, it was better to rush down. Delaying the final match only dampens everyone’s spirits.
Even if it felt like those spirits had already been crushed hundreds of times over.
“I’ll be moderate. I have that much common sense.”
“I trust the Executive Manager, but…”
The principal’s eyes shifted back to the arena. His expression read trusting me, but still weighing whether he could trust the two whales stood there.
After a moment of silence, the principal finally opened his mouth cautiously.
“I’ll trust only you, Executive Manager.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
I was about to end this war—no, this inter-class competition.
Everyone’s eyes were on me as I made my way down to the arena. It wasn’t exactly the type of attention I welcomed.
“Oh, oppa!”
In first-year Class 3, upon joining Louise’s team, she came running up to me.
“Are you the contractor who summoned me?”
“What am I supposed to do with you calling me out of nowhere?”
I tried to fight back a sarcastic comment that was on the tip of my tongue and instead ruffled Louise’s hair.
Of course, from Louise’s perspective, the sudden departure of one of the original members left her no choice. But since I was also called out of the blue, I figured I was entitled to a little grumbling.
“I’m sorry…”
Seeing her drop her head in silence made my heart soften.
Yeah, Louise must have been utterly desperate to call for me. They probably selected their team members long before the inter-class competition, but when it all fell apart and competent faculty members had been snatched up by other classes, she had to settle for the most familiar face—me.
“Hyung, actually, it was me who suggested it.”
‘This bastard.’
My calm heart exploded again.
His awkward head-scratch was not false; he wasn’t just covering for Louise, he genuinely suggested it himself.
“You called me because nobody else was available?”
“No! They said the outcome was obvious anyway, so just call anyone.”
With those words, Erich glanced away. Following his glance, I spotted Rutis and Lather.
‘Provoked, indeed.’
The puzzle pieces fell into place. In a situation that was already tangled with figuring out whom to nominate, hearing something like “You’re going to lose anyway, so just pick anyone” would surely make anyone’s temper flare.
Thus, Erich just called anyone. It wasn’t a strategic move; rather, it stemmed from pettiness to give his rivals a taste of their own medicine.
“It seems they were confident no matter who stepped up.”
“Yeah.”
So, part of the blame for this situation rested with them.
That lightened my conscience a little.
*
Why does life pull these stunts on me?
‘Is this year just cursed?’
It couldn’t be otherwise; this was too absurd. Last semester’s practical exam paired me up with Prince Rutis, and now, the same unthinkable pattern during the inter-class competition!
Having Prince Rutis and Prince Lather in the four-person event was well within my expectations. I was somewhat mentally prepared for this, so it wasn’t as shocking.
And these two were not just high-ranked folks, but they were also incredibly skilled. We planned to duke it out moderately and let the remaining two decide the champion.
“Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. This was simply intolerable. It was one thing to brace myself against the princes, but to have someone even more daunting appear was downright unfair!
There stood a man who seemed out of place in the camp of 1st Year Class 3, frowning with his arms crossed, holding no weapon whatsoever.
‘The Prosecutor’s Office Executive Manager?’
Part of me wanted to raise a forfeit immediately. Standing in the same arena as foreign royalty was already a considerable feat, but against the Prosecutor’s Office Executive Manager? That’s gotta be some kind of joke!
But as a noble, I can’t afford to bear such disgrace. Even though everyone would understand my feelings, I can never be the first to forfeit in an official match.
People might express sympathy openly, but I knew behind my back they’d say, “It’s an academy-organized matchup, was forfeiting truly necessary?” Suddenly I’d be branded a coward.
“Charles.”
I heard Robert’s voice next to me.
“We go as planned.”
I nodded in agreement. Yes, the situation had indeed changed, but that would only enhance the brilliance of our strategy.
I looked left. They might be foreign nobles, but they still were royals. Messing with them could slap a label on me as “the noble who disrespected royalty,” barring me from high society forever.
Then I looked right. Honestly, this person, likely invisible to me after graduation, was much scarier than foreign royals. If I offended him, an inspection would be imminent, and being young, he could dominate the empire’s power for decades.
“Ready, Charles?”
“Of course, Robert.”
Caught between untouchable beings, our course of action became painfully clear.
We’d engage quickly with the other team. Avoid both Prince Rutis, Prince Lather, and the Prosecutor’s Office Executive Manager.
Then, self-destruct. If there were untouchables in play, the best move was to vanish before making contact with them.
‘Fall swiftly.’
I couldn’t bear the title of the first forfeiter, but being the first eliminated…that was somewhat manageable.
If anyone had objections, I’d gladly tell them to step in my shoes.
“Damn it.”
No matter how I thought about it, my luck this year truly seemed abysmal.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.