The academy, now fully immersed in the exam period, was quite bustling.
"Yeah. I've been in line since 7 in the morning, but it was full right in front of me."
The student heading to the library replied with a grim expression to the question from the one returning.
"Oh, then there won't be any seats elsewhere, right?"
Why the library, usually so spacious, becomes so crowded during the exam period.
It must be because even the students who usually avoid books like the plague have gathered here.
Why do they have such useless stamina?
Even if you go out at 5 in the morning to stand in line, the non-study students are already there.
Some of them even brought sleeping bags and stayed overnight in front of the library!
To that extent, it seemed their purpose was not to study but to secure a seat in the library.
It was as if the roles had been reversed.
Sighing deeply at this reality, an unnamed academy student said,
"Then I guess I have to go to the cafeteria again."
"Come on, just go to the classroom. The cafeteria is already full."
"Ah... I don't want to go to the classroom because the assistant professors are there."
Sighing deeply, the unnamed academy student slowly made his way to the classroom.
Meanwhile, as all the students were devoted to their studies,
Damian's situation was not much different.
In the first-year student cafeteria.
Damian, Chenbi, and Phurion, who managed to secure a seat, were sitting at a table, deeply engrossed in their studies.
The pens scratched against the paper.
The sound of paper rubbing against paper.
It was a scene where it was hard to tell if it was a cafeteria or a library.
It was a truly unfamiliar sight, and among them, the most unfamiliar was Damian.
Damian, with wide eyes, scrutinized the practice exam questions.
His mouth was tightly closed, and his eyes meticulously examined the text on the paper.
If it weren't for the movement of his eyes, he would have looked like a statue!
"I've finished them all!"
After holding his breath for a long time, Damian's mouth suddenly opened wide.
The students in the cafeteria turned their gazes to him, but since it wasn't a library, no one said anything.
"Let me see. Chenbi, can you grade this part for me?"
Phurion and Chenbi familiarly took the two-page test and started grading.
When the grading was finished,
Chenbi looked up at Phurion.
Phurion also looked at Chenbi.
Their gazes, filled with a strange sadness, crossed, while only Damian remained innocent.
Chenbi was the first to speak.
"Phurion, how was the part you graded? The part I did... I got them all right."
When Phurion spoke, Chenbi clenched his fists tightly.
A vague sound, neither a shout nor a swallow.
Then, he clasped his hands and muttered to himself.
"I got them all right? I got them all right?"
"Yeah, you got them all right."
Even as he answered reflexively, his voice was filled with emotion.
Phurion looked up at the sky.
After all, they were just basic questions.
'They're not that difficult.'
The academy exam questions would be much harder.
But there was a reason why Chenbi couldn't express his joy.
Was Chenbi the only one? If it weren't for the last bit of dignity, he would have shouted in joy, but he was holding back with extreme effort.
'Really... it was a hellish week.'
The week passed so quickly, it felt like the word 'hell' was pronounced too quickly.
What kind of humiliation and adversity did they face during that time?
Every day, every moment was a period of contemplating what 'patience' truly meant.
- But, think about it. If you do it this way...
Why, why, why, why, why, why, why!
What's the point of accepting and solving the problem? The questions kept leading to more questions, endless and without end.
'A time that cannot be spent without sweat, blood, and tears.'
Testing the limits of patience, balancing between responsibility and the desire to relax.
To others, it was just 'basic,' but to Chenbi and Damian, it was an 'extreme' time.
Phurion nodded at Chenbi, whom he had suddenly made eye contact with.
A sense of kinship had grown between them.
It was as if their souls had been poured into this growth.
This sense of satisfaction was short-lived.
Phurion clenched his teeth, thinking of someone.
None other than the culprit who pushed him into this abyss of evil, Aster.
'I am doing my duty, but where are you and what are you doing?'
Aster had been quite diligent in guiding Dalia.
During the after-school hours, he would take time to check Dalia's magic.
Although neither Dalia nor Aster explicitly stated how the lessons progressed, it could be said that they fulfilled their basic duties.
After all, it was a weekday.
He had been content with that.
However, according to what Dalia told him yesterday...
- I have to do it alone tomorrow.
He had to leave the academy for a while due to some business.
He had woken up early in the morning, secured a seat in the cafeteria, and prepared to devote the entire weekend to Damian.
'What could he be so busy with?'
Aster, the vagrant from the Black and White Zone.
It wasn't a derogatory term.
When he challenged Aster over the 'one-hit kill' incident, he realized his prejudice was shattered.
Ah, status isn't important.
Status is an illusion, and the fist is right in front of you.
The expansion of thought brought by violence, perhaps.
Aster, the vagrant from the Black and White Zone, had no family.
According to what he heard, the only connections he had were with the Blando family and the academy.
Even then, it ended with Chenbi and Damian.
What kind of business could he have?
'He must be skipping out...!'
Phurion clenched his teeth, swallowing his frustration.
The memory of being beaten was so vivid that he still shuddered...
'I'll see about this. You damn bastard!'
Even though he was sold for two macarons, he was fulfilling his duty. How dare he?!
Of course, he couldn't say it to his face, but he couldn't help feeling frustrated.
Phurion took a deep breath to calm himself and looked at Damian.
"Then... let's try the next problem."
Phurion handed over the prepared questions.
Perhaps he had found some interest in studying.
Damian nodded with a cheerful face.
Silence fell over the three of them again.
Damian buried his nose in the test paper, while Phurion and Chenbi reviewed the concepts they needed to teach him.
Meanwhile, at that moment.
On the rooftop of a building in the center of the city of Hagen.
A boy dressed in a stealth suit landed lightly.
So itchy that he stopped tracking and scratched his ear.
'Someone must be cursing me.'
This wasn't just a coincidence.
They must be cursing him with all their heart, with genuine hatred.
Whoever it was, it was obvious.
Far away, the spire of the academy.
'That bastard Phurion...'
Although he had lived a life with more shame than pride, there was no one else who would curse him like this.
Well, it wasn't entirely accurate.
He just wanted to hit the bastard and needed a good reason.
Aster turned his gaze from the academy to the road below.
The busy citizens of Hagen, as usual.
Among them, a young doll.
Deve was walking, tightly clutching a thick envelope, looking extremely anxious.
'Well, he has every right to be anxious.'
Aster recalled the meeting between Deve and the seller a moment ago.
Deve and the seller, who had confirmed each other's faces.
The seller was an assistant professor from the academy's basic class, and Deve had received the item he wanted from him.
How could he not be tense?
From Deve's perspective, it must feel like carrying a bomb in his arms.
The sight was so pitiful...
You can't help but hate someone, even when you feel sorry for them.
But, Aster suppressed his impulse.
How to deal with Deve. Or, more broadly, how to deal with Evelyn.
Many thoughts crossed his mind.
But no suitable solution came to mind.
'If I could, I'd burn down a few Goldrin branches and destroy 310 gold...'
But what would be the point?
It wouldn't be fun... No, it wasn't about fun. It was about making them repent.
Even if he resorted to violence, they would only feel wronged, not repent.
'And most importantly...'
Aster immediately sprang up as Deve disappeared from his sight.
He soared high and landed lightly.
Aster kept Deve in his sight and continued his thoughts.
'There must be buyers out there.'
The exam was less than a month away.
Finding buyers in that time? Impossible.
If it were him, he would have secured the buyers in advance before obtaining the item.
So, they were also targets to be eliminated.
That's why he was doing this tedious tailing.
Aster yawned from boredom while keeping his eyes on Deve.
Aster looked down at the crystal ball in his hand.
A fist-sized crystal ball reflecting sunlight.
'...I'll find their weakness.'
A video recording artifact.
He could always cause trouble, but the opportunity to find the Goldrin's weakness was rare.
He had already recorded the meeting between Deve and the seller.
When Aster had leaped over a few more buildings, Deve stopped in front of a building.
In the heart of the heart of Hagen...
A high-end restaurant that even ordinary nobles couldn't afford.
The 'G' mark on the sign suggested it was owned by the Goldrin.
When Aster realized this,
A middle-aged man came out of the restaurant and greeted Deve.
After a brief conversation, the middle-aged man led Deve inside.
Evelyn de Flanchet, a model student with excellent academic performance, good behavior, and harmonious social relationships.
It was time to face the reality.