Chapter 11
The Vice Principal frowned.
As Martin, half-resigned, turned his head, a pink chick cautiously raised its hand among the disciplinary committee mbers.
“The investigation of evidence, the questioning by the prosecution and defense, and the statent process were all omitted… And, uh, the final statent too…”
The voice grew quieter.
She had raised the issue because it seed odd, but the atmosphere overwheld her.
Yet, she said everything she needed to.
Anger flashed across the faces of the Vice Principal, the head teachers, and several other instructors.
“Who are you?” the Vice Principal demanded, looking down at her from the judgnt seat.
“I-I’m Hailey von Lua Etrande, a student teacher,” she stamred.
“A student teacher? Why is a student teacher here?”
“W-Well… I ran into Cadet Martin on the day of the exam while leaving school… Other teachers thought I might be needed…”
Under the Vice Principal’s intimidating questioning, Hailey trembled, her voice tinged with tears.
“Other teachers? Who? …No, never mind. That’s not important.”
It was clear that teachers outside the Vice Principal’s clique, aligned with the four major ducal families, hadn’t been inford.
Sensing the situation unraveling, the Vice Principal hurried to proceed.
“No need for that. The circumstantial evidence against Martin is sufficient. The decision has already been made from above. Ahem! I will issue the verdict again. Martin von Targon Ulvhadin, as of this mont—!”
“Wait a mont, Vice Principal,” a new voice interrupted.
This ti, it was Hailey’s companion.
“I understand the situation, but are you really going to pass judgnt without any proper procedure, as Hailey said?”
The Vice Principal sighed. “Why are there so many uninvited guests today? Who are you? Another student teacher? You lot disregard the Academy’s rules like dogs, leaving speechless. Above all, coming here under Perception-Disrupting Magic is grounds for discipline. Remove it at once!”
At the Vice Principal’s stern warning, the companion silently dispelled the magic.
As the Perception-Disrupting Magic lifted, the bare face revealed beneath the robe was that of a resolute and righteous knight.
Perhaps the strongest knight in the world.
A woman who had once been the commander of the knight order most trusted by the current Emperor of the Imperium Empire.
It was Hectia von Villemon Hartman.
“…Teacher Hectia?” the Vice Principal muttered, staring blankly.
Of all people, it had to be Hectia. Even soone like the Vice Principal, backed by the four major ducal families, couldn’t afford to cross her lightly.
The whole point of secretly gathering only the Vice Principal’s trusted allies for the disciplinary committee was to avoid Hectia’s interference.
He had even instructed one of the teachers to keep her distracted, but they couldn’t even manage that simple task!
Fury surged within the Vice Principal, but the die was already cast.
“I’ve said it multiple tis, but the evidence is clear,” he insisted.
It wasn’t clear. It was re suspicion.
Yet, many teachers nodded in agreent.
Why? Because they all shared the sa mission.
If the trash Martin returned to the Academy, expel him.
That was the order from the patriarchs of the four major ducal families.
Martin’s actions in such a short ti were utterly deplorable. Even teachers unaware of the ducal orders would naturally support his expulsion, or so they thought.
“I cannot accept this,” Hectia declared. “There’s not a single piece of direct evidence. It’s all suspicion.”
The Vice Principal’s anger boiled over at the repeated interruptions.
“A textbook was found, wasn’t it?!” he snapped.
“A textbook could easily be in a desk drawer.”
“Don’t you know the rule that textbooks aren’t allowed at your seat during an exam, Teacher?!”
“Of course, it’s common sense, but to my knowledge, no such rule exists. Not just Martin’s desk—other students likely had textbooks or reference books in their drawers too. No one inspects drawers or issues warnings before an exam.”
“Teacher Hectia!” the Vice Principal growled, clenching his teeth.
“I said it’s already been decided from above…!”
“I don’t know about that. I’m simply doing my duty as a teacher. Isn’t it natural for a horoom teacher to protect their student from baseless accusations?”
“Teacher Hectia!”
When Hectia refused to back down, the Vice Principal shouted, but Hectia cut him off, exuding an intense aura of authority.
“…You’re the Vice Principal of Imperium Academy, yet you dare try to intimidate ? Have you lost your wits?”
The Vice Principal nearly fainted, as if confronted by a red tiger baring its fangs, but he gritted his teeth and held on.
“Or what? Are you questioning my competence as a supervising teacher? Saying I couldn’t even detect a first-year cadet’s cheating? Or perhaps that I condoned it? Are you trying to tarnish my honor?”
To openly deny Hectia, a woman trusted by the Emperor, could have dire consequences.
The Vice Principal’s mouth froze, as if it had never been authoritative.
“…No, that’s not it.”
“Not inspecting drawers is a deliberate trap, isn’t it? A bait to weed out students with improper character early on. It’s sothing we teachers implicitly allow. A textbook in a desk alone doesn’t constitute circumstantial evidence. Why does that count as proof of cheating? Why rush to conclude everything with just that? I don’t understand the intentions of you, Vice Principal, or the disciplinary committee.”
“….”
It was over. To think Hectia would show up and sabotage things like this.
But it was fine. Even if this failed, the four major ducal families wouldn’t punish him too harshly once they knew Hectia was involved.
“Other than ‘it’s been decided from above,’ is there any other evidence?” Hectia pressed.
“…None.”
“Then…”
Before Hectia could say more, the Vice Principal shot to his feet, seizing control.
“Ahem! I’m dissolving the disciplinary committee! The trial to expel Cadet Martin will, ahem, be postponed!”
With that, he clamped his mouth shut and stord out of the courtroom with large strides.
“Ahem!”
“Hmph!”
The three head teachers glared at Hectia as they followed suit.
As the disciplinary committee abruptly fell apart, the other teachers, sensing the mood, began slipping out one by one.
Hectia, too, silently observed Martin before leaving.
Hailey, who had sparked the disruption, lingered as if reluctant to go, glancing at Martin in the defendant’s seat before being swept away by the crowd.
Sitting alone on the stage of the ruined disciplinary committee, I sank into silent monologue.
‘So that’s how it is.’
I thought I’d done well, acting like a protagonist in this novel’s world, but I was just an extra after all.
In reality, I was an extra who could only wallow in jealousy and frustration over my pathetic talents.
Here, too, I couldn’t even be a supporting character, let alone a protagonist.
‘I’m exhausted.’
Whether by luck or fate, I escaped expulsion.
It was a bit disappointing.
During the committee, a tempting idea had crossed my mind: if I joined the forces of destruction and stood at the forefront of the world’s end, wouldn’t that be better?
But then, Lilac’s face flashed in my mind.
Even if I clung to destruction to survive, I had no way to protect her.
So, that plan was shelved indefinitely.
But if, just if, this world truly cornered and tried to take everything from , I would side with destruction.
‘It was wrong from the start.’
This is the world of the novel I wrote, but nothing here stems from .
I, who envied Recola, could never love the characters he created in his world.
‘To think I only realize this after all this.’
Sitting alone in the defendant’s seat, I was already broken.
I decided to close the door to my heart.
***
You achieved the top rank in the Imperium Academy High School Division’s first-year midterm exam.
Despite being the center of an unprecedented large-scale disciplinary committee, you avoided expulsion.
Two individuals have developed sympathy for you.
The majority of the Academy’s mbers have intensified their contempt and wariness toward you.
Due to your significant influence on the Academy’s public opinion, you have earned 1,250 points.
“Ha…”
A mocking sigh slipped through my twisted lips.
Lying in an empty room with my eyes covered, I listened to the system’s taunts.
Know-It-All (Lv 1) detected that the sounds outside the door belong to Lilac and Sebastian.
Lilac and Sebastian, seeing their master wounded by malicious hostility, couldn’t easily approach.
The kind-hearted maid was surely holding my favorite cheesecake, fidgeting nervously outside.
A faint laugh escaped .
‘They were there.’
Lilac. An extra who loved soone as insignificant as .
Unlike Martin, she wasn’t a character I created, nor was she one of Recola’s.
The spotlight ant for protagonists never suited .
Loving this world was a flawed choice from the start.
It’s Recola’s world, after all. His, of all people!
…So, I’ll love only myself.
Martin and Sebastian, whom I created, and Lilac, who wasn’t defined by Recola.
‘And I’ll survive sohow.’
Even if I’m destined to die, I refuse to do so in this world.
Not in Recola’s world, of all places.
If I must die, I’ll die in Earth’s filth, not here.
Twisted, warped, distorted emotions enveloped .
In the malice I conjured, I found solace.
Sure, call it juvenile.
The advice of soone who’s never struggled in the hell of inferiority is no different from a dog’s barking.
‘I was a fool.’
Martin befriending the protagonist’s group?
loving Recola’s creations?
Such protagonist-like notions and actions were never ant for .
A loser has a loser’s way, a defeated person’s thod.
‘I need a weapon.’
A weapon to survive the storm of others’ malice.
I shot up from my seat, pushed aside the carpet, and pried open the floor.
I broke the seal on a hidden box and flung it open.
The weapon I’d taken when I fled the Ulvhadin Family, a long, sleek hunting rifle, was waiting for .
Countless skills from the original story flashed through my mind.
“I’ll acquire skills.”
You can consu points to acquire skills.
The system signaled its readiness.
“Movent.”
Consud 400 points to acquire Movent (Lv 1). 850 points remain.
“Firearm Comprehension.”
Consud 5 points to acquire Firearm Comprehension (Lv 1). 845 points remain.
Martin von Targon Ulvhadin receives a significant enhancent bonus for all firearm-related skills.
“Strength, Agility, Endurance, Mana.”
Consud 50 points to acquire Strength (Lv 1).
Consud 50 points to acquire Agility (Lv 1).
Consud 50 points to acquire Endurance (Lv 1).
Consud 50 points to acquire Mana (Lv 1).
My vision shifted dramatically, and energy surged through .
It was as if my worn-out muscles had been replaced with cutting-edge synthetic ones, strength coursing through .
“Lastly… I’ll test the perk skill Wild Instinct.”
My vision flipped, and the room transford into a training ground.
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