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187th Episode. And then… XX appeared.

One week until the Magical Banquet. People from each academy were working hard to prepare for the grand event.

By now, most of the preparations were finished, and only the final touches remained, so the frantic pace had eased a bit.

In line with this timing, guests involved in the Magical Banquet began to trickle in.

“Has it really been five years already? It’s been a while since I visited Aligieri.”

A man with a seagull-shaped mustache remarked.

He was seated on a sofa, wearing a suit that looked extravagantly luxurious, along with a jeweled ring and a gold necklace. The man appeared resplendent, and he was Clois Delaware, the head of the Delaware Upper House.

It seemed he had money not just in his attire but also in his golden hair.

“I would like to see our Crona, but unfortunately, being in the Student Council, it seems I won’t be able to meet her.”

The woman sitting next to him, Luna Delaware, smiled as she spoke.

Luna, Clois’s wife, was also in a lavish white dress and boasted golden hair, still looking youthful for her middle age.

Crona Delaware’s blonde hair seemed to have been inherited from them.

“So how’s your daughter? Gerard. I heard she has mastered the power of ice pretty well by now.”

“Yeah.”

Clois smiled at the man sitting across from him. Gerard, the head of Chain Silver, simply wore a dazed expression instead of giving a straightforward answer.

“There’s no need to look so forlorn. We’re not that far apart, are we?”

“It just seems like every time I talk with you, I become more exhausted.”

“Hahaha… It’s a pity we can’t catch up after such a long time.”

Clois was one of the people who used to hang around with Gerard in the past, especially the one most likely to come up with clever ideas and share unknown information.

Thanks to his sharp mind, he had risen to the position of a capable head of the Upper House.

However, it seemed that he had gotten into the habit of talking too much.

If it went on any longer, it would surely put someone to sleep.

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely not fall asleep.”

The only one who managed to stay awake during Clois’s lengthy explanations was his wife, Luna.

It was easy to deduce why those two had fallen in love.

“That’s why I chose you!”

“Hehe. You have your own charm that attracts me too.”

Suddenly, the Delaware couple embraced, making the surroundings feel a bit nauseating. Gerard couldn’t help but snicker at the sight.

Then Clois suddenly turned to Gerard, his expression becoming serious.

“Ah….”

While Clois had a partner to share his life with, Gerard’s adjacent seat was empty.

Luna subtly noted this detail and moved away from her husband.

“I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have made this awkward, huh?”

“I’m fine. So there’s no need to worry.”

Clois and Luna’s expressions fell slightly.

While they themselves, along with their friend Ryudusiel, were still alive, Gerard was the only one missing his wife.

In such circumstances, it seemed Gerard looked very bitter.

“Rayla left to protect Jenny until the end. She surely didn’t regret it even at the last moment.”

“….”

“Jenny is no longer the same Jenny she was back then. With the help of friends she made here, she has been able to master the Silver Age.”

His daughter had grown and overcome the power she had once cursed.

Rayla, who sacrificed herself for such a daughter, must be smiling from a distance, without regrets.

Thus, rather than lamenting, it seemed right to watch over the growth of the children closely.

“Even if I stubbornly wished for Rayla’s return, that wouldn’t change anything.”

“Well… it looks like, as the rumors say, she has succeeded in controlling it. Anyone who wanted to see your daughter because of that ice ability had to be chased away.”

“If not, those folks would have been in danger.”

It was during the time when Jenny had not yet mastered her control of the Silver Age.

The problem was her status as a princess, which meant many noble officials wanted to see her.

Even the Crown Prince of the Empire was one of them, but he could only be sent away with no other options.

The risk of getting frozen to death if they made contact was too high, especially with the remnants of the horrific actions during the Silver Age surfacing.

“I couldn’t let something that could turn an entire village into an Ice Age be near.”

That incident being revealed was quite dangerous.

Gerard had to employ every method possible to prevent it from reaching the ears of the royal family.

Thus, even if it was the Crown Prince, meetings had to be firmly refused.

Of course, there was a risk of suspicion, but the Emperor did not want Gerard to fall from grace.

No other family was as beneficial to the Empire’s power as Chain Silver.

“But it would be wise to be cautious. Even if the Sage Monarch is wise, things still feel quite different from the past.”

“I know.”

Clunk—

At that moment, another guest arrived in the reception room. Clois, Luna, and Gerard immediately stood up upon seeing them.

They were the Emperor’s children.

“We are honored to meet His Highness the Prince and Her Highness the Princess.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Gerard and Clois bowed and greeted them instinctively, with Luna also maintaining a respectful demeanor.

“I see you all got here first.”

“It’s been a while since we last met you two.”

The Emperor’s eldest daughter, Meloine Fried Divine, and the second son, Caris Fried Divine, both in splendid dresses and suits, greeted them.

While their reputations were not bad, Gerard, who held significant power in the Empire, knew what they were really like.

“Especially a real pleasure to see you, Sir Gerard.”

“It’s good to see you too, Your Highness.”

Among them, Caris approached Gerard and extended his hand. Gerard had to suppress the urge to frown while shaking his hand.

His face was expressing its displeasure rather openly.

*

Only a few days remain until the Magical Banquet.

With just a week left, preparations were nearly complete.

Invited guests and participants had already arrived and were waiting for the festivities to begin.

Word had it that several members of the royal family had already reached Aligieri.

Our Newspaper Department was slowly approaching the end of all tasks, but—

“So why do you have this?”

The manuscript of the Nobel Records that the Newspaper Department was set to present at the festival.

I had entrusted it to Muto, who then passed it to Nebia.

So why were Luska and Angela here holding it to bring it to me?

A peculiar thought flashed through my mind.

“Actually… Nebia gave it to Crona, and then I got it back from Crona,” “And then I received it from Angela.”

In short, it had gone through the Student Council. Is that what this means?

Those guys had gone around in a relay to write the manuscript.

Including the fox sisters standing right in front of me.

Is this alright?

“I heard it was originally yours. Is it really okay to write it like this?”

“Crona and Nebia said it was fine… So my sister and I wrote some parts together.”

I took back the manuscript from Luska and Angela. Upon a quick inspection, it didn’t seem to have any torn or missing pages.

The problem lay in its contents.

It was hard to guess what would be included since it involved me + spirits + the Student Council + the fox sisters.

“Well, whatever… It doesn’t matter. As long as we fill the pages on time, that’s what counts.”

“But there are several other authors besides us, right? Don’t you think it’ll end up being a hodgepodge that’s hard to follow?”

“Well, I don’t think it matters too much. Besides, the literary club won’t expect us to write something proper anyway.”

This was a hectic time, intertwining the festival period with evaluation periods.

As much as I and Senior Trisha were not able to complete our missions, this situation required two things to be managed simultaneously.

At such times, it was unlikely for the students to write it properly. So, as a result of Trisha directly contacting them…

“They said we could just write freely. No need to worry about filling the pages either.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“But this is a manuscript for the festival exhibit. If the content is a mess, won’t your Newspaper Department be ridiculed?”

“There’s always a way around it. We just need to keep the specific club that wrote it anonymous.”

“Sigh…”

Luska clicked her tongue, displaying a look of disbelief.

Honestly, even I found it to be a rather underhanded tactic.

Without a pen name, one cannot arbitrarily criticize the authors, but publishing it without even releasing the bare minimum of the names is not in the spirit of fairness.

But…

“I’ve heard that they did something similar last time during the martial arts festival. Even so, people just laughed and went, ‘Haha… of course, this is something the kids wrote.’”

Apparently, they poured some effort into their writing back then, even if not as much relay-style as us.

And yet everything passed by smoothly without a hitch.

After all, not everything prepared for a festival consists of students’ works.

Just like how famous celebrities are invited to college festivals, there are main events at the Magical Banquet too.

Among everything else, people tend to be attracted to those.

“Anyway, we wrote up to 90%. Now it’s just up to you to finish it.”

“Thanks for your help.”

“Then, Radon oppa. We’ll be off now to attend to some matters.”

“Alright, I’ll make you some rice balls later.”

Angela would be meeting the guests as a Saint, while Luska seemed to be assisting the department head.

I returned to the dormitory to review the manuscript I had just gotten back.

I laid the manuscript out on my pillow and lay back on the bed.

‘I wonder how they really wrote this…’

With a sense of half-doubt, I closed my eyes.

Suddenly, a new world unfolded before my eyes through the contents of the manuscript.

It wasn’t just any ordinary manuscript—it was the Nobel Records, hence the unusual effect.

Of course, this was not something to obtain easily.

Several hours later, I opened my eyes again… and expressed my thoughts.

“Holy crap.”

That was no exaggeration.

Though I had anticipated it being mediocre… this was off-the-charts bonkers.

Initially, it started dark, as the spirits had written it—depicting a grim story of humans perishing.

It then made a sudden genre shift.

The protagonist, who had just been killing people, suddenly proclaimed love for humanity and fell in love with someone. Thus begun the cliché morning drama.

Then suddenly, it turned into a bleak narrative…

And then from there, it became a feel-good story…

‘How many times did it drift?’

What’s even more ridiculous is that a character inspired by Jenny showed up without any coherence whatsoever.

That character too fell in love with the protagonist…

This part was obvious who wrote it.

‘This is why you shouldn’t recklessly change the production team.’

This was exactly what happened when a well-planned film tanked because of a change in director.

It swerved off course and shot straight into outer space.

Moreover, it was peppered with sensational content just to make it entertaining, shockingly so for kids.

“How on earth do I fix this ending…”

Determining the climax now rested in my hands.

Yet, it was too late to wrap everything up with just this last part.

In times like these, the best method is to give up on fixing it and instead surf along the provocative content.

Preferably with something shocking enough to turn everything upside down.

‘It’s not impossible.’

There’s no other choice.

I’d have to resort to unconventional methods.

With that theatrical theme in my mind, I rose from my bed and sat at my desk.

I laid out the manuscript in front of me, picked up a pen… and began to write.

This was the cheat key comparable to instant ramen seasoning in the realm of novels.

———————

And then, at that moment.

A ninja appeared.

———————

If there is a more thrilling development than this, come forth and show me.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.

 

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