“Oknodie. The princess wants to consult the male student, Jaku, about Oknodie. Want to go with me?”
“I want to!”
Feeling intrigued by Titosso’s suggestion, I went to find her, and indeed, something thrilling was about to unfold.
“There’s no way to talk about secrets with the person involved! You fool, Titosso.”
“Uuuh, I’m sorry, princess!”
“I told you I’m not a princess anymore, you fool.”
“That’s just how it sticks in my mouth! What can I dooo…”
While Arcadia was scolding Titosso fiercely, I approached Jaku and extended my hand.
“Can I see the letter?”
“Sure.”
━━━
I already know that you are a scholarship student at the Wahyhiemhai Foundation.
I also know that you feel indebted to Oknodie.
If you want to repay that debt, follow the guidance of the child who hands you this letter and come to where I am.
I hope you’re not thinking of refusing.
I have already grasped your lecture schedule and assignment status, and I also know your social relations are awful, so you don’t really have a schedule coming up.
━━━
“Wow, that’s harsh! Hitting a friendless kid with the fact that they have no friends!”
“…Don’t you think that’s the worst thing to say right in front of them? And don’t casually treat me like a friendless person. I have friends too.”
“Who are your friends?”
“I can’t say.”
“See? You don’t have any after all.”
“…”
Though Jaku pretended to be cool, I had already predicted the mindset of this quiet first-year extra NPC.
“You’re afraid that if you say it, that friend will also be treated as a scholarship student by the Foundation, right?”
“…!”
Jaku stepped back, clearly startled, with cold sweat dripping down, showing he was totally freaked out.
“Hmmm… Could it be someone I know?”
“Ah, no.”
“Don’t lie. I saw you hanging out with a mob in a club before.”
I teased him, poking him in the side with my finger, and Jaku’s expression turned pale.
Seeing that, Arcadia shifted her target from Titosso to me and scolded.
“Di. A female student shouldn’t be leaning in and whispering to a male student to make him all fidgety; it’s not proper.”
“Yes~.”
“Ugh. Feels like this has always been the case. Well, now that I’m here, I’ll say it outright.”
Arcadia realized she had failed the secret game and decided to reveal her true thoughts.
“I suspect that the Foundation has given a massacre order for Di.”
“Whaaat!?”
“Be honest. Your testimony might help in one day allowing you to become independent from the Foundation.”
“Bullsh*t.”
Jaku replied sarcastically.
“Don’t talk as if it’s someone else’s problem. Do you think the Foundation will just sit by and watch a scholarship student leave their care? There will definitely be repercussions.”
“But we have the Academy.”
“Yeah. The same Academy that attacked your Sebiche Ducal House until it became a Count’s family. Do you really think they would let Oknodie go so easily?”
Arcadia had a face like someone who had been told off for spending money on a phone game, suppressing her sadness.
Zzzzzt!
“Ugh!”
“Jaku. No more bad words!”
“W-were you planning to kill me, you damn little monster!!”
“Hey!”
“I-I got it wrong.”
As Jaku lifted his hands in surrender, he immediately declared his defeat. Who knew he’d act out after just one hit?
“Older Sister Arcadia. I don’t care if you’re a princess or a countess.”
“Di…!”
I had known from the start.
If I failed the event, I would fall to the level of a commoner or a slave, and even if I succeeded, I would still be relegated under the ducal house.
The Sebiche family would only return to the ducal family after Arcadia graduated and achieved great success, being commended by the king to become a duchess.
“But still, if you ask me whether the Foundation gave a massacre order, all I can say is I don’t know! I think they probably didn’t!”
“You can’t dodge your own issue… Does that mean you can’t answer? Are you afraid that if I intervene in the Foundation’s affairs, you might be in danger? Don’t be ridiculous! Di has intervened in dangerous matters involving our ducal house, but I can’t? This is just unfair!”
I understood her feelings, but it was truly a difficult situation.
“I really don’t know?”
Did the Pierrot Masked Group really give a massacre order to my original owner?
Given no one seemed to recognize me, I thought it unlikely.
But then again, it seemed plausible that scholarship students had passed through them.
Yet recalling my first day possessed at the inn when I met Jona made me think otherwise.
My feelings were just like looking at a stock chart without knowing whether it would go up or down.
“So you’re going to keep dodging forever? Just because something seems a little dangerous, you’ll throw yourself into danger alone without telling us? Is that the life you plan to continue?”
Tears shimmered around Arcadia’s eyes.
Jaku, who hadn’t shown any signs of this overwhelming sorrow when discussing the fallen Sebiche family, now bore a heavy sadness in his gaze.
Hng!
I hadn’t intended to make Arcadia sad.
But there was nothing I could do.
Events that would give me many points from her were not on the schedule for the foreseeable future.
“Sure.”
A player driven by affection shouldn’t let an NPC drag them around.
Sometimes, you must be cold, and sometimes resolutely stubborn.
Knowing where to draw the line is vital to maximizing your gain on a veteran route!
“Di…”
I waved goodbye to the shocked face of Arcadia.
“I have things to do, so I’ll go ahead! It was good seeing you today!”
I lightly dashed off like a ghost, disappearing in an instant.
The dazed expression on Arcadia’s face was followed by a look of despair.
Truly, only those with demonic talent and corresponding mismatches, known as the “children of the housekeeper,” are chosen.
As the chief scholarship student at the forefront, Oknodie had coldly drawn the line with Arcadia.
“Do you wish for a sincere reliance between a Foundation human and you? How foolish.”
“You didn’t have to go that far. Do I need to further torment the injured Arcadia?”
Good-hearted Titosso was unsure whether to chase after Oknodie or comfort Arcadia, ultimately staying at Arcadia’s side, glaring at Jaku.
Of course, her naturally harmless appearance, like a small animal, looked utterly non-threatening.
That kind of weakness sometimes can display unexpected power.
Jaku felt a jolt of discomfort in his chest.
It was the sound of conscience screaming.
“Bullsh*t.”
When the conscience screamed, those who followed its call never became scholarship students.
They either failed the entrance exam or were eliminated in the internal validation tests conducted on prospective scholarship students before that.
Get weak, and you fall behind.
Fall behind, and receive harsher orders.
What awaits is nothing but death.
“Don’t you all think yourself to be selfish?”
“Where’s Arcadia being selfish?”
“You don’t even realize how immense the reality of the Foundation is and you dare to demand that they engage in treachery? That alone is something that shouldn’t be done to Oknodie. Even more so to me.”
“Coward.”
“Can you return that line to Oknodie?”
Titosso stuck out her tongue and turned away.
“Let’s go, Arcadia. There’s no need to talk to such a super coward.”
Arcadia, being dragged weakly by Titosso, shouldn’t appear pitiful.
By doing this, neither of us would gain anything.
Jaku, having kicked the floor in frustration, followed the two.
“Wait a minute.”
“What is it, Mr. Super Super Coward?”
“I’ll reveal the Foundation’s next move.”
“Eh?”
“If you want to save Oknodie from the proper Foundation’s grasp, stop their next move. If you can’t manage even that, then give up gracefully. Don’t ever bother Oknodie or me again.”
Arcadia’s powerless gaze regained some vitality.
A hopeful expression flooded Jaku’s heart with frantic signals.
Hope is a term used for the worst despair buried deep within Pandora’s box of sealed despair.
Uncalled-for sympathy would only plunge these fools into greater danger.
Yet still, he couldn’t withstand the voice of his conscience.
“Next week, a grand sports meet will be held at the Academy. The Foundation plans to injure all upper-class students during the sports meet.”
“Are the upper-class students all targets, no matter who they are?”
“Yes. This is a common order sent to all lower-class scholarship students. Even if you fail, there won’t be repercussions, but if you succeed, it’s an opportunity to boost the Foundation’s evaluation.”
He slipped up.
Even knowing that if one became suspicious and started searching for suspicious individuals, it would bring them to the Foundation’s attention first, he still revealed it.
Once he crossed this line, it was better to fully immerse rather than half-heartedly pull away.
“I’ll give you a hint. The Foundation wants the students of the Academy to despair. It is much easier to reach out and use students who are in despair. The quickest way to spread despair is to accelerate the balance collapse between the border region and the empire.”
“So, the targets are upper-class students from the border region. That’s what you mean, right?”
“Yep. That includes both Oknodie and you, Arcadia!”
Titosso’s outcry led Arcadia to realize something.
Perhaps it was a realization that should not have been discovered.
“If it doesn’t matter who, then it means no one would mind if I became the target. If I deliberately show vulnerabilities… scholarship students threatening me will increase like moths to a flame, right?”
“That could be.”
“Thank you for the opportunity.”
“Well…”
Jaku pondered.
Whether this would be a chance to validate his ability to stand against the Foundation or a chance to end her Academy life that Oknodie had graciously permitted.
The day of the grand sports meet, where these results would be revealed, began to loom ominously over him.
