No Dark Secrets In This Book

Episode 57

Ranking top 2 in the whole school in a field I haven’t even studied for 3 months? 

If I lower my goal, I can change it to just being in the top of Class 1, but even that’s not easy. It means I have to rank within the top 25 in the whole school.

Top 25 in the whole school when it hasn’t even been 3 months since starting? 

‘Save me…’

So I’ve been studying like crazy lately. Whether they fight or not, I roughly tell Ryuseong to stop them and I just eat and read books. I eat properly in the sense of putting in nutrients to keep studying.

It was the same when I returned to the dorm. When I was studying with the lamp on, there was a time when Ryuseong said this:

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Ah, if it’s bothering you, I’ll turn off the light.”

“That’s not it.”

When I looked down at him as if asking what, then he said this:

“…Sleep while sleeping.”

From my perspective, it was a ridiculous thing to say. He’s a genius so he can rank 1st in the school without pulling all-nighters, but I’m not even fucking Cassice Demillang so I’m likely to fail even if I do pull all-nighters. Sob sob…

Still, the fortunate thing is that while Ryuseong is taking all the subjects I’m taking, his practical exam score in the magic field will be 0 points. Thanks to the theoretical performance evaluation, he will get some points for the subject itself, but it’s clear that it will eat away at his average.

I was desperately studying, relying only on that fact to narrow the score gap.

‘But it’s definitely awesome to get a free ride on the honor student bus for group assignments.’

That was the only good news.

Was that why? I had no energy and no appetite like a sick chicken. It was worse when I faced group assignments that I couldn’t put off any longer. No matter how much I fly and crawl, I can’t have a proxy for the practical evaluation too.

“Uahaha. Come on. Fight, fight! Grit your teeth and fight! Scores and whatnot don’t matter, just give me a splendid battle, you rascals-!”

Surprisingly, it sounds like something the principal would say, but these aren’t the principal’s words. 

The one standing on the platform now is the brawny, muscle macho-looking Professor Ganta from the martial arts department.

Professor Ganta, whose hair shone in a chestnut color, had the same mindset as the principal. Originally, the principal was in charge of 1st year martial arts, but he went on a business trip for some project this time, so the 2nd year professor came instead.

I was curious why the principal, who is a sorcerer, was in charge of the martial arts department. Could it be that there’s no particular reason and it just turned out that way because he has a martial arts-like temperament? In the sense of disciplining students with a “shut up and fight” attitude.

When the students lined up with a resigned look and were choosing weapons, Professor Apel, who came to be in charge of barrier safety, shouted cheerfully.

“Oh, everyone. It’s hard, right? So choose magic as your major! Unlike those ignorant swordsmen, we don’t forget that the essence of the academy is ‘education’!”

“Eolssigoo. Bullshit. Look at the exam questions you give out. Is that education or a plague?”

I think I know why the Academy doesn’t call students students but cadets. If they twist people this much and still call them students, even they must have felt their conscience pricked.

Honestly, from my perspective, isn’t this education too ignorant? Is it okay to attach the concept of an academy to this kind of education? But these guys seem unable to use their brains properly, only shouting “The Academy is amazing. So I, who can’t keep up, am trash.”

No, you bastards. I’m also about to have my crotch ripped trying to keep up with the progress.

‘It’s the school that’s wrong for giving this crazy education, fuck!’

While theory can somehow be freeloaded, practice was a different story. Hiding my desire to cry, I stood in the groups the professor assigned.

Secretly, I wanted to be in the same group as Ryuseong, but the teacher said to date after class.

‘Fuck. Can’t even get some sweet deal.’

…To get to the conclusion, I lost. Even though Dietrich and Shin Myohan were on my side. No, maybe that’s why I lost.

‘Well, if a jack-of-all-trades and a shaman and a mage try to face martial arts players with martial arts, it usually turns out that way, right?’

I’ll sue the professor who divided the groups. But judging by how he’s satisfied saying it was a good fight, I might be able to get an A-, right? While I’m thinking that…

Suddenly, I saw Georges Pontant kicking a pebble that got caught on his foot.

‘That, that guy, you know. The one who tried to hide his fucking face by photoshopping it like shit.’

With his temperament of trying to make small talk and attracting wide aggro, he must have caused trouble to those around him too, so there’s no way there would be a cadet who wants to have a genuine friendship with a guy who lost his distinguished family seal.

In the end, he became an outsider in Class 1, and because of that, it seemed he couldn’t even form a group for group assignments.

Regardless of that…

‘You shouldn’t have had a shitty personality usually.’

Isn’t that something to say while being in the body of Cassice Demillang, who has the strongest personality?

Anyway, after the practical assignment, I devoted myself only to studying.

Then one day, when I turned my head absentmindedly, I thought I made eye contact with Georges Pontant for a moment, but I decided to ignore it.

“…”

Because starting today, the long-awaited exam begins.

***

There’s a unique atmosphere on exam day. A strange tension and an anxiety that pokes the solar plexus. And the solemnly tidied air and the faculty’s appearance. Somehow it feels like you have to chat quietly, you shouldn’t run in the hallway, you shouldn’t enter other classes, in a bleak and sharp atmosphere, students are flipping through textbooks. Bloodshot eyes search through textbooks, hoping to newly create even a single concept to be used in the exam.

But Cassice Demillang isn’t looking at the textbook. As if he’s a person from another world, he’s only looking out the window.

In the classroom filled with all sorts of sounds. The clicking of ballpoint pens. The tearing of spring notebooks. The sound of inserting mechanical pencil lead. The sound of swallowing saliva that feels annoying even when it resonates loudly, footsteps approach, covering all that noise.

Click. Click. Click.

The shoe sound that rings out at regular intervals is tidily sharp and plain. The heavy and solid sound, seemingly from men’s shoes, draws out students’ cold sweat with each step. Ah, please give me a little more time. Someone mutters alone without even realizing it, but no one can tear him apart. Because everyone has the same thought. Please give me a little more time. Cassice Demillang’s pale face that doesn’t seem to sympathize with their pleas at all. When his violet eyes flash brightly and aim at the front door of the classroom.

Click.

The wooden door creaked open. Through the open door gap, the corridor looks like pitch-black darkness. 

The professor who squeezes through it is wearing gray clothes and holding a box with both hands. A box made of iron. A box for transporting exam papers. The iron is cold, heavy, and solid. The professor speaks in a voice like rusted iron.

“Now close your books.”

At his words, some cadets sigh without realizing it.

To the cadets who are making an expression like Munch’s Scream, as if it wouldn’t be more terrible than this even if the devil said he would take their souls, the professor says again.

“Close your books and stand up.”

It was a natural instruction as the professor had to go through the process of magically shuffling the desks to rearrange the students’ seats to prevent cheating, but to the cadets, the professor seemed to have no human heart.

But there were also cadets here who had completely different intentions than the average or the norm. For example, those who realized certain information through connections or power networks with seniors.

‘The Academy allows cheating!’

‘Until you get caught!’

…It may sound crazy, but it’s probably true.

This bizarre information was also provided by that senior who told them about D3.

While Ryuseong was away at the practice room, there was a chat about how your punishment wasn’t because of the duel but because of the exam paper, and somehow it turned into a conversation about cheating.

‘No, no no, senior. Cheating is originally legal until you get caught. You can’t say only the Academy allows cheating, right?’

‘Ha, you didn’t know this! The professors at the Academy don’t catch cheating even if they notice it! That’s the difference!’

‘…!’

Actually, Cassice Demillang wanted to ask how that sophistry of saying everything is assassination as long as you don’t get caught is any different.

But the cadets were enthusiastically writing down the senior’s explanation.

‘This is close to a tacit agreement. Should I say it’s a gray area? As long as the cadets don’t notice and report it, the professors don’t take action. That means!’

‘Means?’

‘It means you can use all your mana and inner energy for cheating as long as there’s no team kill!’

Cassice Demillang wanted to tell them that we’re not taking a ninja exam. But the cadets he hung out with had already decided to cheat, shaking hands with each other and talking about excluding team kill from the cheating plan.

‘Crazy bastards…’

At the same time, Cassice Demillang also thought this:

‘What if they steal a look at mine?’

Honestly speaking, the person who studied the most at this school seemed to be Cassice Demillang. Then there could be no rational basis for them not to target his exam paper.

‘…’

Cassice Demillang made a certain resolution and didn’t tell anyone about it.

It goes without saying, but his stupid but seemingly kind friends seemed to have guessed that Cassice Demillang wouldn’t join the absurd cheating plan. They practically begged Cassice, saying they won’t look at his exam paper, so please just keep his mouth shut.

Honestly, they seemed like crazy bastards, but it was also ambiguous to neglect the guys who got an A+ on the freeloaded group assignments without removing his name, so he nodded.

‘Are the kids losing their minds because the school is too tough?’

No matter what words of caution followed, Cassice Demillang, who was spinning the exam sign pen engraved with sorcery, suddenly understood. He came to the conclusion that the reason the cadets are out of their minds is definitely because of the Academy, no matter what.

Then, from some point on, an ominous bell sound bleakly fills the school.

It’s the exam start bell.