Midterm Evaluation (8)
If you were to ask the students of Ramielli Academy who they respected the most, they would ponder for a moment.
It could be the professors in charge of each subject, the First Prince, the Second Prince, or even the name of a senior who had guided them.
However, if you were to ask who among them received the most respect, everyone would think of one person.
The headmaster of Ramielli Academy, Lotto Estonia.
He was currently sighing deeply at the mountain of letters piled up on his desk.
"...This is from Count Daif, Marquis Solnandi, and this... Well, it had to happen. Yohaiden, Eustia."
The formidable names written on the letters were enough to make the headmaster clench his buttocks.
Why would so many nobles gather just to watch a sparring match between first-year students?
At least during the entrance ceremony, there was a month of preparation time, but this time, there was none.
It was next week.
Not just the children of noble families, but active nobles of the Empire were flocking in.
It was a completely unexpected visit from the parents.
There was no need to investigate who was behind this.
The headmaster stared blankly at the midterm evaluation plan submitted by Zeke Clayman.
"As soon as they found out it was an open sparring match, they immediately invited the nobles..."
His head throbbed.
A few strands of snow-white hair fell onto the desk.
"I thought the only outside attendee would be the Captain of the Royal Knights, and even that was a headache...!"
Zeke Clayman, who had been quiet all this time, was now running rampant as if to gain momentum.
Inviting the nobles like this meant encroaching on his teaching authority, so it was a malicious move to make things bigger.
Well, it's not like there are no cases where outsiders are invited to evaluation classes. That's why Dios' side had invited the Captain of the Royal Knights.
Sigh—
The headmaster let out a long sigh.
"I shouldn't have accepted the First Prince's request in the first place..."
Headmaster Lotto Estonia, respected by many students.
He had faced a crisis only once during his tenure.
And at that time, he owed a debt to the First Prince.
It was back when Ilios was still a first-year student.
There was an incident where a noble from a Marquis family had bullied a commoner excessively.
As always, the students kept quiet about it.
That's why it was discovered too late.
The bullied student posted a large placard on the main gate of the academy, filled with resentment and anger.
[Where is equality in Ramielli?!]
The placard caught the attention of the students with its powerful first sentence.
The content revealed the harm the student had suffered at the hands of the Marquis's child.
It argued that the 'equality' that Ramielli boasted of had long since degenerated and that commoners were no different here than outside.
And the following point was a criticism of the headmaster.
'Ignoring equality like this in Ramielli Academy is the same as ignoring the will of the previous Emperor. This essentially boils down to the responsibility of the headmaster, Lotto Estonia. He is still aware of the inequality but has chosen to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, taking no action. Where is equality?!'
The placard, ending with that sentence, instantly sparked outrage among the commoner students.
Those who had taken discrimination for granted began to recognize their own inequality and unite.
In response, the noble students also formed an opposing faction, claiming that the lowly ones were banding together, and this was the most dangerous polarization in Ramielli's history.
It was then that the First Prince, Ilios Leonine, appeared.
There was no noble student of higher status than him, and as a descendant of the previous Emperor who advocated 'equality', even the commoners couldn't treat him carelessly.
He, the pinnacle of the students, stepped forward and spoke.
Just one sentence.
'It is the will of my ancestor.'
The nobles, though dissatisfied, had no choice but to nod their heads as they couldn't be accused of treason against the Imperial family.
And the commoners cheered and were moved by the First Prince.
In truth, things weren't exactly equal even after that, but the nobles and commoners learned to leave each other alone, treating each other like chickens and cows.
That's how Headmaster Lotto was forgotten in the minds of the students.
However, the First Prince did not forget him.
He went straight to the headmaster's office and extracted a 'favor'.
'...But to think he would use that favor here...'
His request was to change Zeke Clayman's midterm evaluation to an open sparring match against Dios' class.
And the invitation of the Captain of the Royal Knights was made in Dios' name, making it legitimate on paper.
'An invitation from the Captain of the Royal Knights...'
Whatever he was planning, it felt ominous.
For now, the headmaster has just received a proposal from Instructor.
Dios regarding the midterm evaluation, and he was waiting for Zeke to inform him of it.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Headmaster, Instructor Zeke Clayman is here to see you."
"Let him in."
* * *
It was still early, before the sun had even risen.
Summoned by the headmaster to his mansion, Zeke Clayman visited the headmaster's office for the first time in a long while.
The headmaster looked much more exhausted than the last time he saw him.
'Hmm, must be busy. Take care of your health, old man. You're at the age where your knee cartilage starts to ache.'
If the headmaster had heard his inner thoughts, he would have flipped out.
Zeke bowed his head.
"Headmaster, it's been a while."
The wrinkles on the headmaster's forehead twitched.
"Indeed... It's been a while."
"Yes, it has for me as well."
"...I'll get straight to the point. What in the world were you thinking when you did this?"
"What do you mean?"
Zeke asked innocently.
"Why did you invite the nobles without consulting me?!"
"Then why did you change the midterm evaluation without consulting me?"
"...Didn't I tell you it was my request?"
"That's why I submitted the lesson plan in advance. You were the one who changed it to an open sparring match and even invited the Captain of the Royal Knights. So I also invited the nobles I know."
The headmaster sighed at Zeke's retort, not backing down an inch.
'Damn it. You're so smug! And you know a hell of a lot of nobles!'
In the end, all he could do was glare at this damned man.
"Is that what you called me here to say?"
"...Sigh, what's done is done. There's nothing we can do about it now."
The headmaster said, pressing his temples.
"How long do you think the midterm evaluation will take?"
"Hmm... Probably about an hour."
"So you're saying we should gather all these nobles, have them watch the kids' swordsmanship practice for an hour, and then send them back?"
"Can't we?"
"Don't be ridiculous!!"
The headmaster, once again enraged, snapped.
"We need to prepare an event that will last at least three hours, such as a banquet or a speech. And we have only three days to do it."
"Hmm, I see. So what should I do?"
"...Since you started this, you'll prepare it. The academy's budget won't be nearly enough."
"Hmm, prepare... Prepare..."
Zeke scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Will this be enough?"
Zeke pulled out a strange stone from his pocket and placed it on the headmaster's desk.
The headmaster's eyes, which had been apathetically examining what Zeke had taken out, widened in shock.
"Th-this is! A magic stone!!!"
Especially these days, with the shortage, the price of this rare item was skyrocketing!
"With this, I can hire people to do the preparations."
Zeke grinned mischievously.
"By the way, do I have to be the only one to pay for this?"
"..."
"I expect you to get the same amount from Dios. We're preparing this together, so I can't be the only one taking the loss."
'To be precise, from the First Prince.'
The headmaster frowned at Zeke's words, but he eventually nodded.
"And Dios has made a proposal."
"A proposal?"
"Yes. Since it's a competition of skills, but the strongest on Dios' side is male, and most of the strongest on your side are female, they suggested that the male students use wooden swords and the female students use real swords."
A chuckle escaped Zeke's lips.
'Yeah, that's just like you, you bastard.'
At first glance, it might seem like a very advantageous proposal for Zeke, but it wasn't at all.
The First Prince heard about the progress of Zeke's class from Yuri every day.
Zeke's class had only started practicing with swords a few days ago, and even then, it was with wooden swords, not real ones.
It was highly likely that giving real swords to those who weren't yet accustomed to them would only hinder their performance due to the pressure.
'Of course, that's what you think.'
Zeke readily nodded.
"Yes, let's do that."
"Then that concludes our business. You may leave now."
"Yes."
Zeke left the headmaster's office.
* * *
After finishing the discussion about the midterm evaluation, Zeke headed to the training grounds for his morning training.
As soon as he entered the training grounds, he felt a sense of違和感.
Zeke narrowed his eyes.
'Hmm?'
Faint footprints on the floor.
The training grounds were always filled with students' footprints, making it difficult to distinguish other footprints, but they were clear to Zeke's eyes.
In his previous world, discerning whether a monster had passed through a location a few days or hours ago, and identifying the type of monster, was an essential skill for survival in the Dave Continent.
'I just need to look at the ones on top.'
Moreover, each person's gait leaves a trace, as if reflecting their personality.
Selena, surprisingly, walked with a rather bold stride, while Iriel's steps were small.
Soi tended to step deeply, and Rosnante had a slight outward gait.
And then there were the firm, efficient steps.
'These are Yuri Gilbert's. Probably from last night.'
Despite her efforts to leave as little trace as possible, such as tiptoeing, her weight was concentrated on one point, causing the front of her shoes to be deeply imprinted.
'I knew she would do it eventually.'
Zeke had anticipated that the First Prince would try something, so this was rather welcome news for him, who had decided to take Yuri away.
'Well then, let's see what kind of mischief you've been up to. That guy really goes all out in every way. The Captain of the Royal Knights, real swords, and even Yuri.'
He was impressed by the First Prince's thoroughness, refusing to tolerate even the slightest deviation from his plans.
At the end of the footprints was a water bottle prepared for the students.
Zeke picked up the water bottle and brought it to his mouth.
He could have spat it out as soon as he sensed something was wrong, but Zeke just swallowed it.
Gulp.
Gulp.
'You brought something interesting, didn't you?'
Zeke smirked.
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