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202. “Prince, It’s Time for a Trip~”

Prince Caris wore an expression of complete bewilderment.

He looked like a young man who had just been betrayed by his family and sold into slavery, crying out in despair.

Given what kind of person he was, such a reaction was entirely expected.

“You, you’re… not Jenny Chain Silver!”

Caris shouted while attempting to cover the bleeding part with his hand.

I, now disguised as Jenny, looked at him and grinned wickedly.

“My name is Radon! The Scammer!”

Then I revealed my true form and shrugged my shoulders.

[Degradation Rate Decreased: -290%]

[+29000 Credits]

Prince Caris’s eyes widened in shock. The drop in degradation rate felt sweet.

I knew him well.

Caris Fried Divine. He was beyond just being a womanizer; he was obsessively infatuated.

He had fallen in love with Jenny at first sight and desired her. It wasn’t just the rampage of the Silver Age that tormented Jenny during their childhood.

– “I just want to hold her hand, please.”

He would say he wanted to see Jenny whenever the time was right, but Gerard was too busy refusing him, citing an unexplainable illness.

And that served as a convenient excuse to drive away the rampaging Caris of the Silver Age.

But would I have to face that pervert if he were to be controlled?

Still, it wouldn’t be acceptable to just hide away in a room for life without ever getting a grip.

Jenny was afraid of that.

For now, she had just momentarily forgotten Caris due to the happy life at the Academy.

“Hey, Prince. Did you think I was Jenny?”

“Cough…!”

I knelt down and looked down at him.

Caris looked like he was about to burst into tears with his bloodshot eyes.

“Yeah, I understand your feelings. If you went on a blind date thinking someone looked like a beauty but turned out to be a bald old man, you wouldn’t feel great about it.”

Or if the girl you were promised in a game turned out to be a guy with a pot belly and a full beard, it would feel exactly like this.

There were countless incidents where someone disguised their voice as a female online to con money out of people.

Truly a crime that would make even Satan weep.

– Of course, that’s not to say I’m innocent.

“But you know, aside from Jenny, there are plenty of other girls around you. Do you lack any common sense in that thick skull of yours?”

The women he had preyed upon before were not few. He was beyond the level that could be called a Casanova.

Among the women he had assaulted, there were even casualties.

“Common sense? I don’t know who that is, but… what do you know?! It’s only natural for them to offer themselves to me! Just like the laws of nature!”

With his bleeding body, he still rambled on.

Well, he avoided the vital spots.

Swoosh!-

Aisha’s steel-like wings sliced through Caris’s hands.

“Graaaah!!”

That wasn’t surprising at all.

I knew well how he thought.

He believed that the things he did were just natural disasters, like floods from heavy rain or crops wilting from the heat.

How could I not be afraid of that?

In truth, he could have been spared from becoming this way since childhood.

`If only that “thing” hadn’t possessed Emperor Kamain’s body.`

He had a chance to grow up well, but he was mentally restructured by the corrupted emperor.

Ultimately, his inherent bad nature awakened, causing him to become obsessed with women.

Even his older sister, Princess Meloin, fell from grace in a similar manner.

At this point, the only sane members of the royal family were Princess Mirona and her concubine mother.

“Putting that aside, just tell me one last thing.”

“What…?”

“How does it feel to kiss a total stranger who isn’t Jenny?”

“Waaah!!”

He flailed again, retching and spitting.

The scene of being aroused and then realizing it was a man was one I had seen somewhere before.

『This reminds me of when I was assigned to protect a prisoner.』

`You got that right.`

Anyway, his state wasn’t pretty.

He was screaming like he had lost everything, enduring both physical and mental damage.

Without his hands, he couldn’t use magic, the one advantage he had.

However, his mouth was still working.

“You… will regret this. You surely know what role I play in the relationship between our Empire and the beastfolk, right?”

He couldn’t have been unaware of that.

He was the one who performed the peace show between the beastmen and humans.

Of course, it was just a verbal peace show—its true purpose was…

“If I were to disappear… all the forces in a friendly relationship with our Divine Empire would turn into enemies. The first target would be this Aligieri. Numerous armies have already gathered around the village.”

There is no peace.

Just looking at the gathered troops makes the royal family’s schemes all too clear.

“They are plotting to devour us.”

“There is no historical issue with that. After all, this land was created by that witch!”

The witch—referring to Great Sage Dantia.

How could someone who made significant contributions to magical history be called a witch?

It sounded absurd, but it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

The fact that she encountered the ancient Evil God is known to all.

`Here, public opinion splits in two ways.`

First. They risk their lives to protect those in danger and made a pact with the Evil God.

Second. They embraced the Evil God’s power out of a desire for strength.

In truth, neither of these two is correct.

It wasn’t that she met the Evil God to protect people, nor was it out of lust for power.

Above all, the fact that she met the Evil God has become a great misunderstanding.

Because she is a descendant of the Evil God herself.

However, one thing is certain.

She undeniably spent her days as a `human`.

Still, surprisingly, many believe the latter.

“This is the land established by a witch who fully embraced the demon. The title Great Sage is merely a distortion. This academy that carries on her will is truly the land of demons!”

It’s not just Caris who thinks like this.

The claims made after the previous Demon King died have spread widely, resulting in numerous followers of that belief.

However, such ideologies do not hold sway in this Empire, so they exist outside the borders.

They are precisely the opposing forces, including the external beastfolk of this chapter.

“So you’re planning to demolish all of this. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Especially since tomorrow is the birthday of the witch Dantia. On such a day, the symbol of the witch, Aligieri, will be torn down. It couldn’t be more historic.”

That’s nonsense.

The previous Demon King was the one who branded her a witch.

And the present Demon King is the one in possession of Emperor Kamain’s body.

You could easily guess why Caris was spouting such things.

“The royal family that has achieved that history will truly be reborn in justice. After all, my father is a Sage Monarch. It’s only natural to crush the land of the witch.”

“Ah, I see. Demolishing is one thing, but what happens to the residents here when the army comes rushing in?”

Dantia is actually a witch?

Well, I could accept that it’s possible. Humans often make common mistakes, leading to misunderstandings.

However, there is still a way to determine whether she has any humanity left during the process of achieving that goal.

Caris spoke with blood-stained lips.

“The residents? They facilitated the revival of this witch’s land. It’s only natural for them to die.”

His bloodied lips were wearing a smile.

A mad move to execute even if there was a slight fault.

Just because there’s one reason to kill doesn’t mean you can take a life when there are nine reasons not to.

No, in fact, the residents here aren’t even worth a fraction of one.

In short, it’s a sociopathic mindset.

“So, you’re saying that just being part of this village gives them a reason to die?”

“Exactly! This is the judgment of our chosen family! There can be no flaw in this!”

Caris spoke, his face warped with both pain and a grin.

But I responded with a smile of my own.

“Then what about you, the one who graduated at the top of the class here and elevated the status of Aligieri?”

“What…?”

Caris’s expression hardened as he froze for a moment.

He was a graduate of this academy.

He had achieved the top rank with excellent magical skills and had brightened the reputation of this academy with that achievement.

“Since you graduated, the status of the academy has risen. It’s now a prestigious institution known for having graduated a prince.”

“….”

“The standing of the land of the witch has increased because of you? This is pure irony.”

His logic itself was riddled with contradictions, even just from the fact that he attended.

If this place were truly the land of the witch, why did he even come here?

Are you seriously saying this was the only place a prince could attend?

“Enough with the nonsense. Let’s get this started.”

“What, started?”

“What do you mean? The execution.”

He’s to be executed for graduating at the top of the class.

It is exactly as his logic dictates.

But, the actual reaction of the person concerned was quite the sight.

“Stop! This can’t be happening! I’m a chosen one, a bloodline of a Sage Monarch!!”

“Muto.”

Wow, claiming to be a Sage Monarch’s bloodline. A chosen one, huh.

He repeated it like a parrot.

If he’s really that chosen one, he should be sent on a trip to the `Demon World`.

『I’m curious what it’s like to be a member of the royal family.』

“Don’t do this! Nooo!!”

Muto’s mouth expanded greatly.

The mouth became large enough to swallow Caris whole.

Crunch!-

『Delicious!』

Muto, having swallowed him, stood upright with satisfaction.

If he had two arms, he would have naturally clasped his hands together in a gesture of post-meal prayer.

And, indeed, Caris’s memories flowed into my mind.

`This is manageable now.`

The vast information being injected into my mind was now bearable.

And I looked toward the arched window that seemed to be empty.

“It’s time for you to come out now.”

The moment I said that, someone stepped out from behind the curtains that covered the window.

With blue hair and lake-like eyes… it was Gerard Chain Silver.

“Is it really okay to do this?”

Gerard spoke with a deeply contemplative expression.

It was understandable. Despite his flaws, Caris was the crown prince of this Empire.

Killing royalty would undoubtedly be a serious crime.

But… he couldn’t blame me for anything.

If it were the real Jenny, she would be preparing for the tactical martial arts event tomorrow by now.

“Anyway, I think I’ve got an idea of the royal family’s true intentions. I’ve suspected it for a while now…”

Although there was only a day left, I had to come up with a plan.

Outside the village, there were forces opposing the Great Sage laying in wait.

I never expected that all of the prince’s actions leading to friendship with the beastfolk were merely a foundation for that.

“Tomorrow, during the tactical martial arts event, all the dignitaries will gather. What would happen if the representative of the beastfolk were assassinated among them?”

“I don’t want to think about that.”

Gerard immediately made a face of horror.

A very simple pretext could lead to a great war.

If something goes awry from this point on, I have to somehow defuse the bomb that could destroy everything.

“By the way, how did you manage to disguise yourself as Jenny?”

“Oh, it’s thanks to a spirit’s ability. It requires a part of the person’s body to change, so I had to ‘borrow’ a few strands of Jenny’s hair.”

“Without any cost?”

“Cost… of course, there was one.”

I had tried to pull it out secretly, but got caught and ended up getting a smack on the back of my head.

I showed Gerard the handprint on my back.

Upon seeing that, Gerard nodded and smiled.

“Hahaha. I’ve received a few of those from my wife too.”

“….”

“Anyway, what will you do now?”

Gerard is one of the few who knows that I’ve been cursed.

That’s why I could trust him.

“What will I do?”

I transformed into Caris, who had just been devoured by Muto.

“It’s time to prepare for the final game.”

Surviving as the Academy Scammer.

 

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