Chapter 222
“Congratulations. You’ve successfully completed your first year at Academia as the top student.”
A private conversation with Rikeion’s Chancellor Heigel.
Out of nowhere, Heigel broke the silence with that one sentence.
Just as I had brought the teacup to my lips, I carefully set it back on the table and offered a modest smile of gratitude.
“Of course.”
“You always seem quite confident.”
“With results like this, why should I bow my head?”
I lightly waved the “branch of Yggdrasil” that I had placed on the table.
A token of my achievement and a highly valuable item.
After Heion’s surprise announcement at the exchange event, Arha and I were called to the center stage to receive the branch of Yggdrasil.
Academia is me.
Rikeion is Arha.
The moment Arha reached the semifinals, it was essentially a foregone conclusion that she would receive the branch.
I was in the same boat.
Even if Arterion had won the finals, it wouldn’t change the fact that I received it.
After all, how many differences in Cattia have I amassed so far? Just because I lose, would I not receive it?
As I pondered this, Heigel asked, “Is there something you wish to create? While some students simply use it as it is, it would be generally better to have a suitable form in all aspects.”
“I’m thinking of creating a weapon.”
“A weapon… Since you’re Heion’s mentee, you’ll likely have the sap of Yggdrasil… and with the Schugenhartz family’s wealth, you’ll be able to obtain top-grade Mana Stones, so that’s a good choice.”
“Yes, that’s about it.”
I smiled brightly and let the conversation flow.
“Sorry, but the materials for the weapon don’t end there.”
Why else would I go after Arcane? Getting that guy as the weapon’s ego weapon and obtaining the Judgment Weapon is the final form.
It seems it will take more time before I can get the Judgment Weapon, so I plan to visit the Terrarium after leaving Rikeion to entrust the weapon’s creation.
I hadn’t used a weapon until now, so it’s sure to feel quite different once I have it in my hands.
If possible, I want to hold the completed form as soon as I can.
Well… still, I need a bit more time.
Sipping the warm black tea refreshed my mouth.
I felt that the congratulations might be over now… and it seemed like it was about time for him to get to the point.
“I was quite surprised when Vargan knocked on the door to the ‘Hidden World.'”
Is this where it starts?
I guessed his intentions and followed the flow to speak.
“My shallow inferences just happened to hit the mark. You, Chancellor Heigel, are the remarkable one here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you the one who’s been leading all these situations? I feel I’d like to learn a thing or two about your meticulousness and planning.”
“No, not at all. It’s nothing extraordinary.”
Heigel tried to lighten the atmosphere with a humble smile, but recalling the quick calculations behind that smile made him seem anything but innocent.
He tried to lighten the mood with a subtle smile, but the memory of rapid calculations behind that grin made him seem less than innocent.
If he didn’t want to say it himself, I might as well say it for him.
“Just judging by what I can guess, you’re quite the strategist, aren’t you?”
“I was just quietly occupying this seat.”
“That’s because the others were busy doing their part.”
He had just been sitting there, giving orders.
Based on the information I had gathered so far, I began to speculate on his plans.
Once he set foot in this hidden world, he must have known I could see through everything.
So this was a sort of inspection. He presents the problem, and I provide the answers – a form of entertainment for both of us.
We both decided to acknowledge and enjoy it.
“After discovering the existence of the Formists hiding in the Academia, you were certain that Rikeion must be the same, weren’t you, Heigel?”
“It was highly plausible. There’s no guarantee that only we would avoid the wave, after all.”
“Right. So later, when you set out to investigate, you accurately pinpointed a suspicious student who turned out to be a follower of the Goddess Church and extracted information from them. Honestly, even finding out that the Goddess Church exists is no small feat, so your observation skills must be remarkable.”
“That was just luck. I gradually increased the number of surveillance spells to observe Rikeion and happened to find a student reacting particularly sensitively. After all, since the Goddess Church is a collective, there are bound to be exposed weaknesses.”
‘Of course, he was pretending he was aiming to observe Rikeion when in fact he was trying to elicit a reaction from the Goddess Church.’
He must have meticulously shortlisted individuals in advance and closely monitored their responses.
Black-hearted folks like this always tend to hide part of the truth when they speak.
As someone who values honesty and integrity, I find it utterly baffling…
Well, anyway, let’s move on.
“After discovering the follower of the Goddess Church and extracting all the information, you killed the student who transformed into Altife. While I can’t pinpoint where and how you did it, the fact that there was no noise or rumor about their expulsion makes it quite obvious.”
“Hmm… could you say a bit more?”
“In the process, you rapidly increased the number of surveillance spells, almost covering most of Rikeion. No, to be exact, you openly showed that you were observing them.”
“What was the reason for that?”
“You wanted to instill a sense of alertness. From the perspective of the Formless Faction hiding within Rikeion, suddenly losing one of their followers and then seeing an evident increase in the surveillance spells would have made them cautious.”
“…But wouldn’t that be a bit odd? If you want to find the followers, making them alert could lead to them hiding more, making them harder to find.”
“You do know what happens when you corner a rat, right?”
I continued, smiling brightly.
Partly because I found it amusing how Heigel stubbornly maintained ignorance, but also because I resonated with the deviousness of enjoying this situation.
Heigel pretended to ponder thoughtfully before speaking.
“…Are you implying that they’ll bite?”
“Precisely. That’s why you requested the Heroes from the Central Church and orchestrated a joint final exam with the Academia.”
To corner them as much as possible, leaving no escape routes.
In other words, he was ensuring they would have to act, whether they liked it or not.
Heigel nodded slightly, showing a degree of comprehension.
Yet, he still spoke with a natural air that his doubts were far from settled.
Heigel nonchalantly states, “The question remains entirely unclear.”
“To elaborate, I was aware of the situation at the Central Church, which was preparing for Gamigin’s subjugation, so it wasn’t difficult to corner the Goddess Church forces lurking in Rikeion. But what does the joint final exam with the Academia mean? Is it related to pressuring the Goddess Church?”
“It is related.”
“How so?”
“Does it not create the right timing and backdrop?”
The Goddess Church forces, having failed to achieve the collapse of Rikeion, would have no choice but to make a second choice.
And Heigel was the one providing this ‘choice.’
“This final exam had surprisingly no intervention from the judges. Strange, isn’t it? Usually, even in a grading match at the Academia, if a serious injury seemed imminent, intervention would often occur to pause the event.”
Even during the class battle that took place in the first semester, wasn’t there a rule against touching the back?
“But this final exam was different. Was it because Rikeion’s policies changed? Simply thinking that way seems insufficient given the degree of damage the students suffered. The schedule was also quite tight.”
The tournament was set up so that they would fight without proper healing. A short period of two days.
On the surface, it was claimed to be for adapting to real combat… but accepting that without question would be unreasonable.
Instances where students like Liam and Leon fainted and collapsed were indeed frequent.
“So… you’re saying I intentionally created a situation for the students to be seriously injured, allowing the Goddess Church to take advantage of this opportunity to ambush talents?”
“That’s correct.”
“Isn’t that a bit far-fetched? I’m an educator, after all. I wouldn’t stoop to such unethical behavior as using students as bait…”
“Heigel, have you forgotten something I told you?”
You can only pretend not to know for so long before it becomes infuriating.
“It’s a bit of a game, but if I try this hard to act like a saint, even I would feel a bit annoyed.”
“What did I say?”
“You asked me to teach Arha, didn’t you?”
That ‘teaching’ was violence.
Dressed up nicely as instruction. He asked for Arha to be overpowered militarily during the tournament.
“In other words, you asked me to injure Arha, Heigel. For the cornered Goddess Church, this was a prime opportunity to cut off the budding genius who could hinder them in the future.”
This is why this guy is a strategist.
Using me to reform Arha’s attitude and maneuvering the Genius, her, as bait for the Goddess Church forces to act.
Creating profit in two areas with one transaction.
“Indeed, just look at how Erlich, who was under the control of an artificial spirit, ambushed the exhausted Arha right after her match with Alicia.”
“……”
“It’s as if Ferangis was just waiting to step in and stop her. Given that space was under the ‘blessing’ of the Vice Student Council President Jeraman, the traces would not escape outside.”
It would be hard to explain if they weren’t prepared in advance.
Well… since Ferangis is ranked 2nd in the Hero Ranking, it’s not surprising that he would see through everything and react quickly—although I have no retort for that.
Had they been able to closely monitor the Goddess Church’s movements so easily, the forces from the Goddess Church inside the Academia and Rikeion would have been ousted long ago.
This is what you call retroactive reasoning.
By the way, the fact that Arha isn’t with the Goddess Church is likely confirmed since Heigel was the one who first discovered her, and this guy can examine brains.
The one who discovered it was Heigel, and since he can examine brains, it’s definitely been confirmed.
So it was possible to use her as bait.
That should suffice.
“What do you think, Chancellor Heigel? If my reasoning is wrong, feel free to point it out. Actually, it would be better if you did. Otherwise, you might seem like a merchant who sees students merely as tools for creating ‘Chancellor’ Heigel, a true educator.”
I gave him a sweet smile as I watched him.
I had been smiling throughout our conversation, but this smile was the only genuine one.
Was he parched, or was he withholding his response?
He lifted his teacup and took a sip of the cold black tea.
A moment of silence filled with the aroma of tea lingered in the room.
Lowering his teacup, Heigel quietly gazed at me.
Then, apparently satisfied with my response, he slightly curled the corners of his mouth upward.
“Vargan is a more cunning student than I had heard.”
“I’ll gladly accept the compliment.”
“I’ve never seen someone use the expression ‘gladly accept’ like that before.”
Heigel shrugged his shoulders as if feeling weak. His mouth continued to move.
“Vargan’s thoughts are correct. I used the collaborative final exam at the Academia to eradicate the Goddess Church forces within Rikeion, and I was able to provide my student Arha with the nutrients for growth. Everything went exactly as planned.”
He began to paint my face with flattery, acknowledging my deductions.
Usually, I would have dismissed such façades, but this time I found his excessive act of playing the saint rather displeasing, so I nodded appropriately and acknowledged his words.
In fact, he wasn’t wrong about anything.
Thus, the conversation led to the main point.
“…I would like to make another proposal to you, Vargan.”
“What is it?”
“How about transferring to Rikeion? I can prepare for you to bring your servant, Alicia, along.”
“Are you scouting me?”
“That’s about the gist of it.”
“I refuse.”
“Oh my… no pretenses at all. I haven’t even proposed any benefits yet.”
Heigel wore a visibly disappointed expression.
Even in our previous conversation, I couldn’t let my guard down.
As if it were for my sake, he made the availability of Alicia joining me seem like an advantage, but wouldn’t a genius like Alicia want that too?
His way of speaking is somewhat similar to mine… no, it’s so different that it feels foreign.
…But actually, that wasn’t the reason I refused; there was another reason.
“Thank you for the proposal, but I still have work to do at the Academia.”
“Work…? Hmm.”
“After that work is done, if your intentions haven’t changed, I will consider it.”
Of course, that wouldn’t happen.
I said it out loud anyway.
By the time that happens, he definitely won’t ask me. I can guarantee it.
Heigel leaned back as if to withdraw his foot from the conversation.
“Well, if you say it like that, there’s no choice. It seems Vargan’s will is firm, so I cannot force it. I hope your endeavors go well.”
“Thank you.”
It was time for me to take my leave.
The tea had gotten cold. The small talk had come to an end.
I needed to start getting up to handle the remaining schedule, but…
—Bang!!
Just as I was thinking that, the chancellor’s office door burst open nervously.
An ill-mannered female student shouted without courtesy.
“Hey! When the heck are we gonna fight?! I’ll be waiting forever like this!”
The genius of Rikeion, Arha.
She couldn’t hold back any longer and dashed out.
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