Midterm Evaluation (1)

The moment I entered the classroom, what I saw was a line of women standing in formation, led by Arveda.

I didn't know why everyone was standing instead of sitting, but what I had to do was clear.

"Class will begin soon, so I'd like everyone to take their seats quickly."

I had to sort out the situation neatly.

I moved at once to set an example, and I could feel the women's gazes following me.

And at that moment, I understood perfectly why this situation had arisen.

"Today, classes will focus mainly on magitech engineering, so I'd like Estella and Arveda to sit beside me."

"It's an honor!"

"At your command!"

As soon as I finished speaking, the two women scurried over to sit beside me, and I calmly added,

"Since the subject covered in class will be different each day, I'd like to receive your help whenever appropriate."

The moment I said something implying that I would have them take turns sitting beside me.

Ssshhk.

The women who had been standing began taking their seats at remarkable speed.

So they really had been engaged in a battle of wits over who would sit beside me.

'I suppose everyone's still unfamiliar with this kind of life, so they want to sit beside someone they can naturally rely on.'

It wasn't difficult to understand, but that didn't mean we could keep things this way.

We would all have to see one another for a long time, and I wanted everyone to become friends rather than remain awkward around one another.

'But that doesn't mean I can step in and suggest that we all go on a picnic or something.'

That would be different if they were children simply trying to become friends.

But since everyone was a certain age, each of them would have a different way of forming relationships.

I couldn't disregard all that and force them to 'hold hands and get along.'

'Well, time will resolve this sort of thing eventually.'

What I had to do right now was.

"Th-th-th-th-th-then, we w-w-will b-b-begin c-class!"

"...."

I had to return the professor, who was so tense at the sight of me that he could barely speak, to his normal state.

+++++

About a month after academy life began.

'Peaceful.'

Velos Academy was raising its cadets uneventfully, without any hardships or adversity.

Perhaps it was because the black mage attack event at the entrance ceremony had been dealt with in advance.

After that, time simply passed without any special events.

Of course, the situation wasn't exactly the same as it had been a month ago.

If I had to point out one change in particular, it would be.

"Your Highness, I tried making something called a lunchbox this time. It's a modern interpretation of a traditional dish eaten by giants...."

The addition of picnic time.

Velos Academy's lunch period lasted two hours, which was quite generous.

Whenever it came around, we all gathered together to eat.

'There are no newly appearing male protagonists, and no events either. The Empire continues to grow... and this is where demonification occurs?'

As I ate the food Pavan had prepared, I tried to guess what would happen next.

'The first thing that comes to mind is the black mages eventually regrouping their strength and returning.'

It was true that I had dealt with the black mages in advance, but I hadn't eradicated them completely.

They were undoubtedly waiting for their chance to reappear.

Furthermore, the academy story itself was structured so that an incident would inevitably occur, no matter how strong the academy's security was or what supreme power was present there.

The time simply hadn't come yet. Once the right circumstances arose, the black mages would surely swarm in as though nothing had happened.

'When that happens, I suppose the main villains who appear as the story progresses will be the black mages and the demons.'

Of course, my true enemy was Mirne's system.

In a way, it was an incredibly funny setup.

'Me, Mirne, and the demons.'

You could call it a three-way battle, but there was one reason that description didn't quite work.

'I installed a mod that turned the Demon King into a handsome man and set him as the protagonist.'

In the end, I was planning to star in a dating sim with demons who could be considered enemies of humanity.

The very idea of calling it a three-way battle was absurd.

Anyway.

'For now, I should be grateful that nothing is happening and focus on the Empire's growth.'

I decided to focus on the Empire's growth unless some unusual event occurred.

Several things had arisen over the past month that I needed to pay attention to.

"The Mermaid Kingdom has started functioning normally again, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

First, the Mermaid Kingdom had begun operating normally again.

"You said the Eastern Continent was gradually being brought under control as well."

"That's correct."

Second, I had heard that the chaotic Eastern Continent was also being brought under control quickly.

The third and final matter concerned the noble title.

'I've resolved all five pacts, and the beastmen and elves have even joined the Empire, so why hasn't the noble title issue been resolved?'

I thought I had practically received recognition from all the other races.

Yet no system message related to the noble title had appeared.

'Dragons, giants, fairies, mermaids, dwarves, beastmen, elves... Are you saying there are even more races besides them?'

Until now, I had assumed I hadn't obtained the noble title because the giants had been asleep.

As for the dwarves, I thought I hadn't received their recognition because of the issue with the eternally burning flame.

But now that I thought about it, something unknown to me seemed to exist regardless of those matters.

'Come to think of it, looking at the Crown Prince's memories, there was a playthrough in which all five pacts had been resolved... He must have tried to obtain the noble title then as well.'

If the difficulty hadn't been considerable, the Crown Prince wouldn't have spoken as though he absolutely had to obtain it.

Indeed, the noble title itself was one of the means by which someone could be recognized as an important figure in the world.

From Mirne's system's perspective, it clearly wanted to block it at all costs.

'I called it achievement grinding, but it must be the sort of title that would be troublesome if someone else obtained it.'

Or perhaps it had simply been a title for completing achievements before, and the situation had changed.

After cutting through the system once before and deleting its function for forcing absurdly contrived plausibility,

there was no way Mirne's system would quietly watch my presence grow even greater.

The key question, then, was exactly 'how would it refuse to sit idly by?'

An event was about to occur that would let me find out soon enough.

[ Velos Academy's first-semester midterm evaluation will begin soon. ]

[ A special reward will be granted to whoever places first in the first-semester midterm evaluation. ]

'A midterm evaluation.'

Come to think of it, Mirne had enrolled at Velos Academy as the unequivocal lowest-ranked student.

'I need to make sure her ranking doesn't change.'

I needed to make sure she graduated last as well.

+++++

After graduating, cadets who enrolled at Velos Academy.

were required to work in the Empire for a certain period of time.

There was no greater loss than raising them well in the Empire only for them to immediately leave for somewhere else.

Of course, most cadets had decided to be buried in the Empire from the moment they entered Velos Academy.

But a tiny minority planned to return to their homeland as soon as that required period ended.

And cadets with such intentions would not receive an 'Imperial citizen' designation.

That difference created an enormous gap in their studies.

Because cadets who received the 'Imperial citizen' designation benefited from every effect currently present in the Empire's Tech Tree,

while those who did not were treated as foreigners and could not obtain any Tech Tree benefits whatsoever.

Therefore.

"Huh? Huh?"

"Some cadets will need to study steadily on their own. If you cannot understand Introduction to Magitech Engineering, which could be called the most basic of the basics... failing the year will be inevitable."

Mirne was currently unable to keep up with any of the academy's classes.

The first problem was that the level was completely different from the academy classes she knew.

The academy that was supposed to be built in Mazerin had not been this advanced.

It was merely a setting for a romantic comedy to unfold.

In other words, it had not been an environment where academics were treated seriously.

But.

'Why is this so difficult?'

The level of Velos Academy's classes was excessively high.

And the cadets' level was no different.

Regardless of whether they were on the academic or martial track, everyone studied magitech engineering as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

When class ended, they naturally began self-study without anyone telling them to.

"...W-who wants to hang out after class?"

"When do we have time to play? We need to think about escaping the last-place class as quickly as possible."

"Exactly. How can we play? We only get one chance to change classes every six months... What if I fool around and can only move up one class at a time? I didn't work myself to death to enter Velos Academy just to get halfway up. I have to reach Class 1 before graduation and catch His Highness the Crown Prince's eye."

"I heard that the cadets in Class 1 are sometimes given words of encouragement by His Highness the Crown Prince. I'm... I'm so envious it brings tears to my eyes."

"You said you're Mirne, right? The Crown Princess of Mazerin? There are plenty of royals here besides you, and I'm royalty too. If you can't break your old royal habits, you'll live in the last-place class for the rest of your life. Get a grip."

The romantic-comedy academy atmosphere Mirne had dreamed of could be considered completely extinct.

Naturally, in such an atmosphere, Mirne.

"Ah...."

Instead of planning to study just as hard as everyone else, she found herself wishing this situation were all a dream.

And that thought remained unchanged.

[ The other side has made a move. ]

[ A black mage is preparing to invade Velos Academy's midterm evaluation. ]

[ The Fortuitous Encounter Sensor has activated! ]

"It's finally moving."

This led to the occurrence of an academy event.

'I've been waiting for this, Mirne.'

The Crown Prince smiled deeply as he watched the system message floating before his eyes.

And when Pavan saw the Crown Prince smiling like that,

"...Mm-hmm."

she very quietly scooted her backside over beside the Crown Prince.

It was a moment during the picnic.