༺ Last Class Standing (7) ༻
A suffocating silence settled in. The Principal, who had been stroking his beard, the Vice Principal, who was explaining the clean-up process to the student council after the four-person event, and the student council members, who were listening to the Vice Principal’s plan, all froze in place.
I was no exception.
‘Was there another advisor?’
Each club was supposed to have only one designated advisor. So, there couldn’t possibly be a second advisor that I didn’t know about.
‘Ah.’
Suddenly, I had an epiphany. Maybe I wasn’t really an advisor. Perhaps I was just delusional and fooled myself into thinking that I was a club advisor. The real advisor was someone else, and I was just a self-proclaimed advisor all along.
I knew it. It made no sense whatsoever for a civil servant to be an academy club advisor. I had been living in a fantasy. I guess the kind people around me were just playing along with my delusion.
— L-let me repeat the announcement. Instead of Instructor Alberto from the Magic Tower as their faculty member, 1st year class 3 has appointed… S-sir Carl Krasius… the pastry club advisor.
‘No way.’
The shaky announcement crushed my last hope. My name was mentioned clearly, cutting off any escape route.
Props to the announcer, whoever it was. They stayed steadfast in such a situation and didn’t run away from the task at hand.
“No, this can’t be…”
Confusion spread across the Principal’s face. It was the same expression he had when he saw Louise use the Mage Duchess’s unique magic.
“Th-there has to be a mistake.”
The Vice Principal quickly intervened.
“The Executive Manager isn’t a faculty member but an outsider. Erich and Louise must have been confused after spending a lot of time with the Executive Manager.”
The Vice Principal’s desperate smile was almost pitiful. I could tell he was determined to stop me at all costs.
I nodded along with the Vice Principal’s words. Of course, I didn’t want to participate. It would be too much of an inconvenience if I were to join in on kids’ play.
‘I can’t hit them.’
Honestly, I wasn’t confident in controlling my strength. I’ve had many close calls even if I fought with all my might in the north, and that was why I never really had the luxury of mastering such a delicate way of fighting.
Mistakenly hurting someone to the point of severing their limbs was one thing since they could be reattached – but if only limbs were left, then they would have to be burned and sent to Enen. That was something I must absolutely avoid.
“Uh, Vice Principal…”
But then, I heard a voice that extinguished my hopes.
“…The Executive Manager is also eligible…”
The silent student council president calmly delivered the verdict.
No. Judging by his expression, he wasn’t calm. It was slightly distorted, showing that he too couldn’t accept the situation.
“The Executive Manager wouldn’t be eligible if he held no position. But since he’s taken on the role of club advisor, he’s included.”
“Isn’t the Executive Manager an external person affiliated with the administration and not a formal faculty member?”
“Instructor Alberto was also an external person affiliated with the Magic Tower. Isn’t it the same case as the Executive Manager, who was here on assignment?”
If they wanted to prevent my participation, they should have stopped Alberto from participating in the first place. This implication made the Vice Principal mutter under his breath. After all, it wasn’t exactly wrong.
Glancing around, it seemed like no one could think of a reason to exclude me. It was hard to object once there was a precedent of including outsiders in the faculty. Creating exceptions to the rules would only complicate things afterward.
But to honestly say, ‘The advisor is too strong, so it’s a no-go’? What was the measure for being ‘too strong’? Frankly, the top ranks among the faculty could easily return unscathed from a war. So, should they also be excluded for being ‘too strong’?
“The manual allows it, but there’s no precedent… Still, it’s technically possible…”
When I heard someone mumble, I turned to see Marghetta covering her mouth with a fan. She seemed so confused that she didn’t even notice my gaze.
I understand. When precedent and manuals tied their hands, civil servants became infinitely weak. The manual could certainly be interpreted that way, but there was also no precedent for it. It must be maddening.
…And Marghetta was now a civil servant, too. It was sad.
‘This is a headache.’
Everyone knew who the pastry club’s advisor was—they knew it, I knew it, we all knew it. Thanks to this, the spectators’ stand was quite noisy. It was like a new whale was joining the fight between two whales.
In contrast, the announcer was silent. Time had passed since I was nominated, but there was not a single word urging me to come down quickly to the arena.
After all, who would be urging me in this situation?
“I’ll go.”
“Pardon?”
“Carl?”
My words drew everyone’s gaze.
What could I do? If there was no reason for me not to attend, then it’d better to go down quickly. Delaying the final match would only dampen everyone’s excitement.
Though it seems like it’s been dampened hundreds of times already.
“I’ll be moderate. I have that much sense.”
“I trust the Executive Manager, but…”
The Principal’s gaze returned to the arena. His face seemed to say that while he trusted me, whether he could trust the two whales there was another matter.
After a moment of silence, the Principal cautiously spoke up.
“I’ll trust only you, Executive Manager.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
I’m going to end this war, no, this inter-class competition.
All eyes were on me as I made my way down to the arena. It wasn’t exactly the kind of attention I welcomed.
“Oh, oppa.”
1st year, class 3. When I joined Louise’s team, she came running up to me.
Are you the contractor who summoned me?
“What am I going to do with you if you call me all of a sudden?”
I suppressed the sarcastic remark that almost leaped out and tousled Louise’s hair instead.
Of course, an original member had suddenly dropped out from Louise’s perspective, so it was unavoidable. But since I was also called out of the blue, I was entitled to a bit of grumbling.
“I’m sorry…”
Seeing her just lower her head without a word, my heart settled down.
Yes, Louise must have been desperate to call for me. They would have carefully picked the team members long before the inter-class competition, but it all fell through, and almost every competent faculty member was already picked up by other teams.
And since the last 4-person event was delayed, the pressure must have been huge. In the end, she called me, the most familiar option.
“Hyung. Actually, it was me who suggested it.”
‘This bastard.’
My calm heart exploded again.
The way he awkwardly scratched his head proved that it wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t just to cover for Louise, but because he genuinely suggested it.
“You called me because there was no one else?”
“No. I called you because they said that the outcome is obvious anyway, so I should just call anyone.”
With those words, Erich looked away. Following his gaze, I saw Rutis and Lather.
‘So he was provoked.’
The picture became clear. In a situation that was already complicated by having to decide who to nominate, hearing something like, ‘You’re going to lose anyway, so just call anyone,’ would definitely make anyone lose their cool.
So, Erich really just called anyone. It was less a high strategy and more a move made out of spite, one made to give those idiots a taste of their own medicine.
“I guess they were confident no matter who came.”
“…Yeah.”
So, part of the responsibility for this situation fell on them.
That eased my conscience a bit.
***
Why does my life have to be like this?
‘Am I just unlucky this year?’
It had to be. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be happening. Even in last semester’s practical exam, I was paired with Prince Rutis, and now, the same impossible situation happened during the inter-class competition.
Having Prince Rutis and Prince Lather participate in the four-person event was within my expectations. It was something I was mentally prepared for, so it was less shocking.
And those two weren’t just high in status but also skilled. We planned to fight moderately and then let the remaining two decide the winner.
“Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. This was too much to bear. Even bracing for the princes was one thing, but having someone even more daunting appear was just unfair.
The man who seemed out of place stood in the 1st year class 3’s camp, his brow furrowed and his arms crossed without any weapon in hand.
‘The Prosecutors’ Office’s Executive Manager.’
Part of me wanted to declare a forfeit right away. Standing in the same arena as foreign royalty was already a big step, but the Prosecutors’ Office’s Executive Manager? This must be some kind of joke.
But as a noble, I can’t afford the disgrace. Even though everyone knows and wouldn’t blame me for my feelings, I can’t be the one to forfeit first in an official match.
People might sympathize upfront, but they’d surely say, ‘It’s an academy-organized match, so was forfeiting really necessary?’ behind my back. I’d be instantly branded a coward.
“Charles.”
I heard Robert’s voice next to me.
“We’ll go as planned.”
I nodded at that. That’s right. The situation had changed, but that would make our strategy shine even more.
I looked to my left. They might be foreigners, but they were still royalty. Mishandling them could label me as ‘the noble who disrespected royalty,’ forever barring me from high society.
I then glanced to my right. Truthfully, this person, whom I’ll probably never see again after graduation, is scarier than foreign royalty. Offending him could lead to immediate inspection, and he’s young enough to dominate the empire’s power circles for decades.
“Are you ready, Charles?”
“Of course, Robert.”
Since we were caught between untouchable people, our course of action was clear.
Engage quickly with the other team. Avoid Prince Rutis, Prince Lather, and the Prosecutors’ Office’s Executive Manager.
Then, self-destruct. If untouchable people were present, the best course was to vanish before even making contact with them.
‘Fall quickly.’
Being the first to forfeit was unacceptable, but being the first to be eliminated was somewhat bearable.
If anyone had a problem with that, then I’d like to see them take my place.
‘Damn it.’
No matter how I thought about it, my luck this year was terrible.
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