As the final exams drew near, the students seemed to be losing their minds one by one.
The atmosphere in the class was chaotic.
I, too, was caught up in it at some point.
Time had flown by so quickly.
Now, only a week remained until the final exams.
Until now, I hadn't found any way to dispel Diana's suspicions.
In the end, I came to one conclusion.
'I need to consider the possibility of confronting Diana.'
Of course, I couldn't fight Diana right now.
It was clear that I would lose.
Still, if I took my time, I could find a way to counter Diana's power.
In fact, Diana's power becomes worthless later in the story.
Well, for now, it wouldn't be easy to go against Diana's power.
'But, just a little further ahead...'
I could guarantee it.
I would get my hands on a way to break Diana's power.
…Though it would be best to pray that time never came.
If Diana became my ally, she would be a reliable comrade in the fight against the Six Families.
Well, judging from the fact that she wasn't looking for me, it seemed like she was planning to gather information about me for the time being.
Could it be that the Demon Clan spies in the human realm were strong enough to interrogate Peltz, the witness from that time?
By this time, Peltz would have reached the point where he had mastered Fighting Spirit.
Or at least, he would be close.
'It's not like I can erase the evidence that Diana knows…'
What could I do about having the same face and name?
All I could do was pray.
Pray that Crete and Rene wouldn't abandon me.
Well, for some reason, I didn't know why, but they didn't seem to have any intention of abandoning me.
That's why I hadn't dropped out of Sytan, even though I was under Diana's suspicion.
'For some reason, they're both being nice to me.'
Now I knew for sure.
Crete and Rene both wanted something from me.
It must be something that no one else but I could do.
Otherwise, Crete wouldn't have kept such a suspicious person like me around just because of Gu Poison.
…Or maybe it was just his arrogant nature as the head of the Bares family.
Anyway, my safety would be guaranteed for the time being.
I had already finished all the calculations.
'As long as my identity as a Bares protects me, even Diana can't touch me.'
The arrogant Bares.
The pressure that name brought was undoubtedly the greatest among the Seven Deadly Sins.
Once, there was a time like this.
[You're the Bares young lady's escort, so why aren't you by her side? It's hard to even see you two together.]
Samuel suddenly asked me this.
He had been asleep during the events between me, Diana, and Rene, so he didn't know what had happened.
I played dumb and said to Samuel.
"First of all, we have different classes, so our schedules don't match. It's not like I can go to the young lady's class every break."
[In short, you're saying you don't go because it's a bother. You're not fit to be an escort.]
Samuel's words hit the nail on the head.
I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut.
Still, I tried to make time whenever Rene asked.
…Although lately, she hadn't even called for me, let alone run into me.
I was thinking that maybe Rene needed some time to sort out her thoughts when Samuel suddenly said,
[Adel, thank your lady. If my escorts or servants had said the same thing to me, I would have given them a beating.]
"……?"
[The Bares are by no means a fallen family among the Seven Deadly Sins. At one time, they were a family that rivaled the Demon King himself. And you're living comfortably as the escort of their young lady.]
Her impression may be cold, but she's a generous woman.
That's what Samuel muttered.
Bares Crete, I didn't know his personally, but the group, the family itself, was comparable to the Demon King.
That's why I was even more curious.
Rene and Crete must know that I wasn't truly loyal.
No, how could they not know?
They didn't trust me, so they put Gu Poison in me so they could kill me at any time.
Then.
What did the Bares want from a half-demon like me whose identity they didn't know?
Judging from their reactions, it seemed like Rene and Crete wanted different things from me.
…They were a truly unreadable father and daughter.
I frowned and let out a sigh.
In the end, there was only one thing I had to do.
To become strong, and keep getting stronger, so that no one could use me.
First goal…
'Baltan.'
He was the second-ranked student in the first year.
However, the content of this final exam wasn't for the first-year students to fight amongst themselves.
It was to select representatives from each grade level and hold an inter-grade competition.
Around the time Sytan's final exams were held, the Imperial Academy's final exams would also begin.
Come to think of it, the way things were going was similar.
Well, the details of the procedures would be different.
The members of the student council would also make their mark through the inter-grade competition.
The instructors already knew, but the upperclassmen were unaware of the student council's strength.
However, this would reveal the true strength of the first-year students from both Sytan and the Imperial Academy.
‘…Though Sytan's students would be absolutely crushed.’
The development of my story was divided into two parts.
The first part was the Demon Realm invasion arc.
From the beginning to the middle of the story, the students of Sytan invaded the human realm.
That's why I intentionally didn't portray the demons as strong.
They were just characters who would become prey to the main characters.
No matter how strong Baltan, Diana, and the heads of the Seven Deadly Sins were, they wouldn't even be a match for the main characters in the latter half of the story.
The members of the student council had no limits to their growth.
But Adel, the strongest villain, was different.
He was the only villain who possessed power comparable to that of the student council members.
Of course, as the story progressed, all sorts of opportunities would flock to the main characters, so he couldn't win in the end.
And the members of the student council were truly gifted.
Unlike Adel, who only embraced darkness.
Therefore.
‘…Darkness must become strong enough to drive out the light.’
It shouldn't be the light that illuminates the darkness, but the darkness that swallows the light.
In order to do that, I had to reach 'that realm' and master Fighting Spirit.
I hadn't even gotten a feel for Fighting Spirit yet.
And it was still too early to reach that realm.
I could reach it temporarily if I used the Demon God's Mark, but…
'Hmm.'
I suddenly summoned my status window.
: Race - [ Half Demon ]
: Tendency - [ Chaos ]
: Talent - [ Position Exchange 'IV' ] [T/N: Previously it was mentioned VII, which seems to be a mistake from the author’s end.]
: Trait - [ Interest ] [ Absorption ] [ Killing Intent Ⅳ ] [ Pitch Black ] [ Mana Manipulation Ⅱ ] [ Eye of Arrogance ] [ Telekinesis III ] [ Sword Lacquer III ][ Samuel ]
: Mana - [ 4671 ]
'My growth is certainly fast.'
I couldn't help but marvel.
I was already approaching 5,000 mana.
Not only that, but both Telekinesis and Mana Manipulation had increased by one level.
If my total mana exceeded 5,000, the proficiency of Position Exchange would also increase by one level.
Even now, Position Exchange was an incredibly powerful skill.
If it leveled up, it would make a huge difference.
And if I reached 10,000…
I might even be able to reach the realm I so desperately desired.
Of course, the amount of mana alone wasn't the only way to reach that realm.
It wasn't like I could reach it just because my total mana exceeded 10,000.
Still, I was getting closer…
“Heh.”
I couldn't control the corners of my lips that were rising on their own and let out a chuckle.
Samuel spoke in a bewildered tone.
[You're driving me crazy. Can't you just pick one, smile or frown? Are you bipolar or something?]
“Shut up. You think you wouldn't be laughing if you were in my shoes?”
[…You're definitely crazy.]
I didn't care even if he insulted me.
Think about it.
When I fell into the Bares' secret realm, I was worried about figuring out Rene's true identity and was even regretful that I had used 100 mana.
But now, I have close to 5,000 mana.
Remarkable growth.
It felt like I had grown so much that I was about to laugh again, but…
“Stop chattering and focus.”
Ares' voice rang out.
It was time for Ares' swordsmanship class.
So I stopped laughing and looked at Ares.
Ares gathered all the students together and began to speak.
"You all know that the final exams are coming up soon, right? In this class, we'll be starting training where you'll spar against each other in preparation for the finals."
Sparring against each other.
I felt indifferent.
There was no one who was as strong as me or even close, except for Samuel.
Even Samuel was currently parasitizing my arm, so there was no one who could match my level.
…Maybe I was being a little arrogant.
But what else could I do? It was the truth.
As I was clicking my tongue in regret, Ares continued his explanation.
"Well, we'll match you up according to your level. I've arranged it so that you'll be sparring with someone of a similar rank. I'll put you in pairs, so get ready."
Ares said so and began pairing us up.
The student with a similar rank to me…
Was her.
'Come to think of it.'
Fron must have gotten a perfect score on the swordsmanship test as well.
I didn't know why she was hiding her skills, but maybe I'd find out this time.
What was Fron hiding?
And how strong was she?
I looked at Fron, who was standing near me, as Ares called our names.
She was holding a single wooden sword for training.
"……."
But instead of moving, Fron just trembled, her shoulders shaking.
It wasn't like we were fighting to the death, just light training.
I was about to say something, wondering why she was trembling so much when...
"……!"
Fron suddenly twisted her body.
She dashed away.
And then, she ran off somewhere, covering her mouth with her hands.
Watching her, I blinked my eyes.
"……What was that?"
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fron what is your secret...
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