Oknodie was tying up students who weren’t close to him, preventing them from crossing the river.
The guess soon turned out to be true.
“Ah, you lazy bums! What are you all doing here, still not crossing?”
Hestia, Jigoku, Lotto, Dorothy, and Rockbell were attempting to plunge into the swirling waters, trying to find a way to cross.
As soon as they dipped their feet, Oknodie’s cheerful voice echoed from somewhere.
“Oknodie?”
“Where’s that voice coming from?”
“From across the river!”
The voice sounded as lively as if they were chatting right next to them, and there was no longer any energy to feel irritated.
“Gahaha! Isn’t this amazing? Look at this talent I’ve got!”
“Oknodie, I need to speak with you for a moment. Can you listen?”
Unlike Jigoku who was simply in awe, Hestia spoke seriously.
“If you’re trying to stop me, then stop. I have no intention of forgiving those who’ve only done wicked things!”
“I heard you laid Mamok on the riverbed so no one can pass.”
“I told you it’s useless, right?”
“Isn’t there a way for just us to get through?”
Instead of scolding him for his mischief, they prioritized passing the exam with Oknodie’s power.
Dorothy, who was watching from behind, felt a little disappointed.
Hestia often showed a tendency to take care of Oknodie, just like Isabel.
She unconsciously thought that, naturally, she would guide Oknodie down the right path, just like Isabel would.
Of course, forcing someone to do something one cannot do themselves is an act of a tyrant.
Dorothy, too, wanted to pass the exam, even if it meant using her connection with Oknodie.
Isn’t it the same that the Imperial faction also attempts to block the path, letting their people through smoothly while controlling others?
“There’s no way it wouldn’t work!”
Naturally, Oknodie granted them passage.
“Wait a minute. I don’t remember allowing you to pass!”
“Are you really going to be so petty among fellow upperclassmen?”
“You’ve had numerous chances to live peacefully as students here. You missed those opportunities over the past two months.”
Oknodie warned Honor Fried Chicken with a cold voice, who was aiming for a free ride.
“If you want, you can follow me. That’s your choice. But it would be wise not to expect my ability to help you too.”
While Oknodie’s close friends dove below the surface to get through smoothly, the Imperial students remained stuck.
Honor Fried Chicken regretted attempting to block their way but quickly realized he had no time to lament as a group of second years approached from the stairs.
“What is the warrior doing? They broke through the first checkpoint with ease!”
“It should be their time, having crossed ages ago.”
“Has anyone seen the warrior?”
“Not here.”
“Wait, if the warrior isn’t here, hasn’t that person already crossed the river? The one who broke through the Mamok that Oknodie put in place, would be the warrior, right?”
“So what? Just because they aren’t visible now doesn’t mean the warrior isn’t prioritizing their grades and heading straight for the finish line!”
Unlike Honor, who specializes in tormenting others to assert his authority, Cheddar Potato Pizza was filled with strong self-love.
He didn’t need to squash others to reaffirm his position; he felt sufficient pride in himself, thus not caring about relationships with others.
With his strong individualistic tendencies, it made sense for him to head directly for the warrior’s finish line, and it wasn’t betrayal.
“If you need someone to rely on, find someone else.”
“Hmph, I guess it’s the Second Princess after all.”
Now, the only person they could count on with strength and authority was Princess Masugaki, daughter of one of the Empire’s three noble families.
They didn’t want to appear flawed in front of the royal family, but it was better to endure a bit of humiliation than to receive disastrous grades in the core courses for the midterm exam.
Of course, that only applied if the princess would take them in.
“Huh? You should take care of your own grades on your own. Pfft.”
“The princess has always set a good example and helped her classmates with their assignments, hasn’t she?”
“Assignments and exams are not the same. Don’t you know that? You’re stupid~”
“…The more of us pass, the more hands we can lend to help the princess. We’re dedicated to serving you even more proactively than before.”
“Hehe. Are you suggesting I need more than ten hands and feet? That’s gross. If you’re going to be my appendages, you better follow well♡”
Princess Masugaki chuckled, leaping into the river.
It would have been nice if she had just sunk!
Unlike the curse placed by Honor and Cheddar, the Second Princess popped her head out from the other side of the river.
Scheming.
Conspiracy.
Those using underhanded tactics were only deepening the students’ woes in the trial laid down by Oknodie.
*
Yufi asked her dear friend.
“Are you sure it’s okay to leave Oknodie alone?”
“You heard it, right? He promised with his own mouth.”
“I’m just saying because it feels so suspicious.”
Ishtar and Yufi prepared to confront Oknodie, determined to take him down by the river.
However, to their relief, Oknodie willingly opened the way for them.
“Go ahead.”
“You’re willingly giving up the lead?”
“I have things to do here!”
This child is hiding something else again.
“If I were to beat you and pass?”
“You’d regret it! Those who followed right behind would happily rush straight to the finish line.”
At Oknodie’s words, the replies came from Ishtar and Yufi standing at the rear of the stairs.
“If that’s your strategy, I’ll play along.”
Even without a voice as cold as ice, Northern Grand Duchess Irene made the air drop a few degrees with her presence.
Had she appeared alone to cooperate with Oknodie, they would have fought, but there were many more following behind her.
With C-group’s Kasia, sparking voltages behind her.
The rest of C-group following closely behind.
If Oknodie bound them and Kasia and the others passed in line, the top six would be certified.
Letting go of first place to Masugaki, who aimed to go beyond being co-valedictorian and to take in promising talents was a huge burden.
The warrior isn’t anything special.
We can do this.
What if such a notion arises?
Of course, she knows.
The only one who could match her in strength as a warrior is Oknodie.
But even fragmentary rumors could tarnish her prestige and name value.
The cunning nobles of the Empire wouldn’t miss this opportunity, using it to undermine her support and help their families instead.
The thought of managing all this fuss over not finishing first in the midterm exam brought Ishtar significant fatigue.
“You don’t have to end things here.”
“Right?”
“But I can’t just pass by witnessing that ominous power controlling monsters. You’ve stirred my duty as a warrior.”
“Then how about a light contract?”
“A contract?”
“Saintess Yufi, your ally, can notarize with the god and proclaim a divine decree to establish a credible verbal contract.”
“What are you going to demand notarization for?”
“I won’t challenge you until I’ve sent 100 passers before I attempt the next trial. In exchange, Warrior, please go through the finish line as you are. Don’t come back to harm me.”
“…An unrestricted contract holds no meaning. What’s the penalty for breaking the promise?”
At Yufi’s question, Oknodie shouted, as if he had thought of it from the beginning.
“The saintess who serves the headless Golgotha has an incredibly strong [Beheading] function, right? If you break the rules, feel free to multiply the [Beheading] damage I take by 10! However, if you and the saintess break the promise, you’ll also receive a multiplied 10x [Beheading] damage from me.”
“!!”
“Why are you placing such conditions? What do you gain by letting us pass and staying behind to send 100 through the third interval?”
“Um, I don’t think you need to know that!”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m saying I won’t tell you. Would someone like you spill every thought to those who dislike you?”
Yufi shot a glare at Oknodie.
“There’s no worth in listening. We can just disregard that suspicious proposal.”
“…Let’s accept it, Yufi.”
“Ishhtar!”
“I know too. I sense there’s something suspicious about Oknodie. But starting a fight here would only harm our grades.”
The penalty for breaking the contract was a 10x damage.
Receiving critical damage equal to a regular hit.
There would be no chance of violating the contract at that risk, considering the odds.
Oknodie strongly expressed his willingness to follow through with the contract.
Eventually, Ishtar and Yufi signed the contract, and they began the third interval.
…More precisely, they wanted to start right away.
But they couldn’t.
“Instructor, where did our mounts go?”
“My mount is a beautiful horned stag.”
At the exam venue’s boarding storage.
Seeing the empty storage, the instructor replied casually to the surprised duo.
“I don’t know.”
“…Huh?”
“It should be somewhere in the forest.”
The instructor apathetically pointed toward the woods they needed to traverse on their mounts.
“The completion of the riding phase is measured by riding from the starting point to the finish line. If you can’t retrieve your mounts, the record won’t be recognized.”
“Why are our mounts not in the storage and spread out somewhere in the forest?”
“The first one who arrived broke us all.”
Oh, so that was it.
It was all a ploy to buy time while he issued a divine decree to establish the contract for his own agenda.
That naughty child.
That cunning brat.
That evil Dark Princess!
Ishtar and Yufi realized they had been thoroughly played by Oknodie and were anxiously pacing, distressed.
