The final semester grades were posted on the bulletin board in the Imperial University plaza.
In fact, it had already been a few days since they were posted, but I was just now checking them.
“Congratulations.”
A dry voice came from beside me.
Erwin was busy lighting a cigarette with magic, smoke curling up into the air with an *ugh*.
“Cough! Cough! Ugh······.”
“Why are you smoking a cigarette you can’t even smoke well?”
“Because I’m not feeling great.”
“Why are you feeling bad?”
“Because our master has the top position; it makes me annoyed. Why?”
“Tsk······.”
Not only was he not happy for me, but he was also a worthless servant.
“Phew······.”
Suddenly, I recalled the numb sensation in my right hand and took a look at it.
It was filled with calluses and scars, yet there wasn’t a single wound.
I had deflected an annihilation cannon and received an enormous output magic spear, and I was perfectly fine.
As a reward for maintaining the top position all semester, I was granted the auxiliary function of the internal circuit, which strengthened the extremities of my body.
At this point, I could be considered virtually invincible.
I would likely be able to easily block a Majin’s attack as well.
“Thanks for finding me a house. It even has heating. My siblings have been sleeping well at night because of it······.”
I had gotten Erwin a small house.
Even though I wasn’t exactly a tycoon, I had enough economic power to support two or three families, so it wasn’t a stretch.
Looking at Erwin, he was still coughing and passionately smoking that cigarette.
I felt like I had seen him smoke before, but seeing him like this now, it seemed cigarettes didn’t agree with him at all.
“Oops.”
*Crack!*
I snatched Erwin’s cigarette and crushed it into my fist.
The cigarette crumbled into dust.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t smoke. It’s bad for your health.”
“Humph······. Are you trying to take away all my joys in life?”
“You didn’t even smoke it because it was tasty.”
“······.”
It was annoying to see him trying to force himself to smoke when he didn’t even enjoy it, so I just took it away.
It reminded me of my past self who tried to force himself to smoke after Aria died.
“Show me your hand.”
I opened my fist over Erwin’s palm.
The last remnants of the cigarette fell onto his hand, ashes mixing with the dust.
“Now go throw it away.”
“······.”
“Why? You look like you have something to say. Go ahead.”
“It’s nothing······.”
Erwin, who had shown a displeased expression, eventually turned around and trudged away.
I had intended to call him back if he secretly dropped it on the ground, but disappointingly, he didn’t do that.
In the past, he used to complain about every command, but now he followed them obediently, and it felt oddly empty.
“So, vacation starts now······.”
The first semester had ended.
It really had been way too long.
So much had happened and changed in just one semester that it was confusing to reflect on it all.
‘I’ve come a long way.’
Still, I accomplished a lot during this semester.
I had crowned Aria as Emperor and obtained the title of ‘Regent.’
Considering that I was just a nobody commoner at the start of my embodiment, I’d say I had indeed come a long way.
In the original story, it took Hertlocker three years to achieve what I had done in just half a year, and it seemed that the antagonists were quicker to react as well.
Thanks to that, threats that would appear later also surfaced within this half-year.
That didn’t mean there were no remaining threats.
It could mean that there would soon be threats unknown to me, ones that didn’t appear in the original work.
I needed to stay alert.
‘Maybe I’ll just tidy up the Empire and then prepare for the offensive.’
With Aria at my back, I should be able to eradicate the pesky bugs eating away at the Imperial Court.
Then slowly prepare for the war with the Majin.
The question was how Alexia and Tiltitz would react.
It was uncertain whether they’d side with the Majin or help us, as the original work never clearly revealed their stances before going on hiatus.
‘The ending is near.’
I could see the end.
The words of the one who created this world surely meant that once I reached the ending, I could return to reality.
Yet recalling the nuance of what was said back then, it felt like it would consider both a bad ending of human extinction and a happy ending of fending off a Majin invasion as equally valid conclusions.
As long as I didn’t suddenly die, it seemed the criteria for an ending were quite flexible.
If that was the case, I could just maintain my life somewhere while humanity crumbled and still be able to return······.
‘That won’t do.’
There was no way I could accept that.
This was the place I had fled to after failing to write despite my efforts; how could I give up here after being granted so many embodiment perks?
If I did, I would truly become a person who couldn’t do anything right.
I would end up being a life loser, knowing only how to give up until the very end.
What might seem like a minor wish to others was precisely the reason I had desperately run to see the ending.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, I heard a *clank* sound coming from somewhere.
I thought most of the students living in the dorm had gone home. Who could it be?
I turned around and saw Trie carrying a bag piled high with armor.
I couldn’t help but approach her in disbelief.
“Trie. What’s that?”
“Oh, teacher! These are the equipment I left at school. I hardly used them during the semester, you know? Hehe.”
“······.”
Among them, I noticed a few weapons I recognized.
However, most were unfamiliar, like morning stars, hammers, short cavalry spears······.
It was as if all the knight’s equipment was stuffed inside.
Why on earth had she left these at school?
When a crisis occurred back at school, she had rushed up with only light armor.
“What are you going to do during the vacation, teacher?”
“Well, let’s see······.”
How about a purge of the nobles skimming off the national finances and reforming the Imperial Army?
I figured I might fight occasionally if attacks came in between.
It felt a bit inappropriate to express that.
That wasn’t the kind of thing friends would talk about.
“I’ll probably have a laid-back schedule, taking it easy while studying.”
That was a lie.
Now that I maintained the top position for the semester and had received rewards, there was no need to keep my grades at the top of the class for the second semester.
From the second semester onward, I was likely to see my grades plummet.
“Hm. Oh, I see. By the way, have you heard the news that the Schultenburg castle has been newly built?”
“No.”
“They say it’s the largest castle on the continent! It’s decorated in the latest style and is super pretty, and the accommodations are great!”
“What are you trying to get at?”
“E-Enough! I’m asking if you’d like to come visit Edengard······. If you came, I could treat you like a distinguished guest for the entire vacation! There’s a massive library that would be great for studying too······?”
Trie was looking down at the ground, too shy to meet my gaze.
Was this her first time inviting a friend over?
“Sure. I’ll come visit.”
“Really?”
“If I have some free time after finishing things with the Imperial Court.”
“Oh right. You accepted a position, didn’t you······.”
It seemed my becoming ‘Regent’ had already spread widely throughout the Empire.
I hadn’t intended to keep it a secret, but I hadn’t publicized it either, so the speed at which rumors spread was astounding.
“I’m not rushing you, but······ it would be great if you came and stayed a while.”
“Why?”
“Just because. Also, there’s a wedding hall in our castle now! Every year, more than 100 couples get married there.”
“Hmm. Sounds like a good business.”
“Of course! By the way, in Schultenburg, people can have weddings without needing to schedule an appointment.”
“So?”
“Just thought you should know······.”
“······.”
Wait. Is this what I think it is?
Even someone as clueless about women as I was couldn’t miss such an obvious invitation.
And it was all the more confusing since it was coming from Trie of all people.
Could it really be true that Trie, who seemed to have fighting on her mind all the time, was thinking about love?
In the original work, Trie hadn’t even recognized her feelings until the very end when she ended up with Hertlocker, so what was this connection with me······?
‘Is this Schultenburg’s strategy?’
That must be it.
This was clearly a ploy by the Schultenburg family to seek an alliance through marriage with me.
Seeing her blush and fidgeting made it perfectly clear.
She was forcing herself to act awkward because she didn’t want to do such a thing.
Now the mystery was solved.
‘Marriage with Trie······.’
The Schultenburg family was undoubtedly a powerful one.
They had considerable wealth and could swiftly convert it into military strength with mercenaries.
However, there were hardly any high-ranking nobles in Schultenburg, and few had ventured into the magic community, so their political power was weak.
Now that I had enough strength and could somewhat control the Imperial Army, forming an alliance with Schultenburg wasn’t as beneficial as it would be with Lichtenburg or Flechette.
Since an alliance through marriage could only be made once, I needed to consider it carefully.
‘Why only once?‘
Suddenly, an epiphany struck me.
Did I really need to limit myself to just one marriage?
I was secretly engaged to Emilia already.
The age-old tradition of only marrying one person had long since broken under my calculations.
If I could forge alliances with Schultenburg, Lichtenburg, and Flechette through marriage, wouldn’t that be immensely beneficial for uniting the Empire?
“Alright. I’ll come right after I finish. Can I look forward to it?”
“Yeah! Right now, the flowers are in full bloom, and Edengard looks beautiful! You absolutely have to come!”
With that, Trie’s face brightened up, and she waved her hand before taking off with her bag.
I couldn’t help but notice how noisy that *clatter clatter* was.
It was as if she was walking around with a portable armory.
If a commotion broke out, I felt like she could fully equip five infantrymen with that.
‘Wait a minute. Just how heavy is that?‘
In the middle of my chuckling thoughts, I suddenly felt a chill.
Was she really carrying all that weight on just one shoulder?
Was it even possible for a human shoulder to bear that load?
Watching Trie walk further away, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Hainkel.”
Once I entered the mansion, Emilia bowed her head in greeting.
She was all tidied up, her maid uniform neatly buttoned up to the top, using honorifics like a pro.
It seemed we had a guest.
“Hehe, I came for a visit, Schlus.”
“Iris.”
Suddenly, Iris peeked out from behind Emilia.
In the past, this would have completely thrown me off.
Iris was one of those who were hard to deal with back in the day.
But not anymore.
With Emilia, I could comfortably open up and chat more than with anyone else.
“Tea is ready.”
“Thanks, Emilia.”
“Not at all.”
Seeing them chat and laugh, it seemed the two had been sharing a good time while I was gone.
There was nothing wrong with them becoming friends since they’d be seeing each other for a long time.
“Schlus. I heard some news.”
“What kind of news?”
“I heard you’re going to behead all the major ministers?”
“Where did that rumor come from······.”
I almost choked on my tea.
Do you really have to kill someone to clear out a bunch of nobles?
I merely planned to replace them, but I was curious who spread this rumor around.
If possible, I wanted to meet that person directly.
That guy felt highly likely to spread fake news.
“So it was a lie, huh, hehe.”
“Of course. There’s no way I’d enforce terror politics in such an unstable situation.”
Sure, everyone seemed to gaze at Aria with admiration at official events, but her approval ratings were slightly shaky in reality.
Probably because a young female emperor was unfamiliar to the people.
So they needed to establish dominance early on, while avoiding brutal acts.
“I really appreciated it this time, Iris.”
“Oh? What do you mean by that?”
“If I hadn’t been able to take the final exams quickly, it would’ve been a huge problem.”
I sneaked a side glance and found Emilia gazing at me coldly.
Her eyes seemed to threaten me, as if warning that I ought not to mention anything about her.
Thanks to Iris, I could’ve saved Emilia, yet I had no way to directly express my gratitude.
“Besides, if it weren’t for you, I would have lost the top spot.”
“Hmm······. If you’re really grateful, could I ask for compensation?”
“Compensation? I’d want to give you whatever I could.”
*Swoosh.*
Iris stood up, smoothing her skirt, and walked over to sit beside me.
Then she leaned in close to my ear.
“Then, could you be my husband for just one day?”
“······?”
I froze in place.
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