Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

28 – Midterm Evaluation (3)

Upon passing through the portal, a wave of dizziness hit, and

I briefly closed my eyes. When I opened them, the landscape had shifted.

If I had to describe it in a word: forest.

Yes, a colossal forest.

The Academy professors and assistants were visible nearby.

The noisy clamor of the streets had vanished without a trace, replaced by

stillness and green—

that was what my eyes saw and what I felt.

Interspersed with the occasional chirping of insects and whisper of wind,

each step produced a rustling sound as the grass crunched beneath our feet.

Released, for just a moment, in this open space,

an overwhelming sense of liberation washed over me.

That lingering feeling was cut short, as

a beautiful voice, seemingly resonating throughout the entire island, spoke.

“Greetings, esteemed Academy cadets.”

In response, the voices of the cadets

echoed throughout the forest.

She, the Empire’s most renowned mage,

and the Academy’s Dean, was a figure of great renown.

“From this moment forward, the Academy’s mid-term evaluation will commence.”

“Whatever means you employ, surviving longer than your peers

will guarantee you a favorable score.”

“Even if you find yourselves under attack threatening your very lives,

there is no need for undue worry.”

“For the bracelet you each possess will absorb any attack

deemed lethal on your behalf.”

“Of course, upon receiving such an attack, the bracelet wearer’s data

will be relayed to the Academy, resulting in immediate disqualification.”

“Therefore, it is strongly advised that you keep the bracelet on at all times;

removal of the bracelet from the body will also result in disqualification.”

“Any act of betrayal against your teammates will result in the entire team’s failure;

the remaining number of cadets can be ascertained via the bracelet.”

“Those who wish to withdraw need only remove their bracelets;

the instructors will then escort you from the forest.”

“Eliminating the forest’s beasts or other cadets will accrue

additional points accordingly.”

“Then, I wish all of you cadets the best of safety.”

With those final words, the resonating voice ceased, and a timer appeared

on mine and Rianna’s bracelets, as well as likely all the other cadets’.

The timer displayed: 4 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes.

Likely meaning we need to endure for five days.

Scarcely a moment had passed after the timer’s activation,

when the sounds of explosions erupted from several directions.

Doubtless, cadets already engaged in combat.

Having already pre-arranged our course of action with Rianna,

we planned to eschew any conflict.

“Uhm… shall I gather some fruit?”

“Please. I will set up the tent.”

“Understood!”

There were simply few other options.

Neither Rianna nor I possessed exceptional combat prowess

within the Academy’s ranks.

Our plan was simple: endure and evade, striving for survival.

Occasionally hunting down forest beast to eliminate that would secure

more than enough bonus points.

Fortunately, being skilled in both Creation and Transmutation,

we anticipated minimal difficulty surviving, provided we avoided battle.

And so, my duties naturally included vigilant

perimeter surveillance,

I erected the tent near the river, deciding to set traps a short distance away.

Back when I was an assassin,

what kept me from getting caught faster than the others

was disguising things as accidents using traps like these.

Though, in the end, I was caught and torn apart.

Even if the traps were lethal, the bracelet the Academy provided

would prevent death, so it didn’t matter.

I could easily make simple landmines,

and poisoning the leaves was permissible,

which meant I could wreak havoc to my heart’s content.

Thinking that, I began crafting the traps,

and the time it took wasn’t as long as I’d expected.

I set up landmines around the tent,

poisoned leaves, dug pits and laid down iron rods,

creating all sorts of snares;

it was clear that even approaching the area would incapacitate most students.

Aside from that, I laid out snares made of steel wire,

and rigged crossbows to fire when the wire was cut.

I resolved to set up every trap I’d ever learned during my assassination days.

Satisfied with my handiwork,

I returned to the erected tent, only to find Lianna already there,

having picked a bunch of fruit and munching away.

Then, seeing me, she waved,

gesturing for me to eat.

“Where’ve you been?”

“Just had some business to take care of nearby.”

“Hmm… really? Eat this!”

The fruit she offered me was ripe and red like an apple,

but small and round like a strawberry.

It was a fruit I’d never seen before,

so I hesitated for a moment before eating it.

Noticing my reluctance, she started

explaining about the fruit.

She went into detail, starting with the fact that it was called a “Belphy,”

and that the ripe ones were red.

When there was no sign of her explanation ending, I just

brought the Belphy to my lips. It was much

sweeter than I’d expected, and my pupils widened involuntarily.

Pleased that I liked the fruit she’d picked,

She pressed more fruit upon me, urging me to eat.

Lost in the meal, I barely noticed the twilight creeping in.

The evaluation had begun in the afternoon, after all,

so nightfall was inevitable.

And now was the hour for nocturnal creatures to stir.

Our bags were filled with the kind of meat

hard to come by in the wild,

and carnivorous beasts were sure to take notice.

Thus, a night watch was in order,

and I conceded the first watch to her.

Anyone with experience of guard duty knows that

the first shift is overwhelmingly preferred.

Besides, our numbers were relatively small,

amplifying the advantages of taking the first watch.

Even so, it was her first time on watch,

I had been constantly sacrificing sleep for weeks,

and, decisively, it felt awkward for a man and woman to share a tent at the same time

so for efficiency’s sake, I would take the later shift.

A pathetic reason, perhaps, but so be it.

I could count on one hand the times I’d held a woman in my life.

Living a precarious existence as I have, I’d only known a woman’s embrace

in the fleeting, transactional kind offered in a brothel.

Relaxing and sleeping in this situation was too much for me to ask for.

So, I ushered her inside the tent.

For a long while, I listened to the crackle of the campfire,

seated on a makeshift chair. Then, a sound.

Something between a wolf’s howl

and the purring of a cat.

It was followed by the rustle of grass, moving in one direction.

I was on my feet instantly, forming a dagger in my hand.

I hurled the dagger straight toward the sound.

Better to be certain, I created another and threw it as well.

Soon, I heard the distinct thud of the daggers finding their mark.

Thunk!!

Yelp──

Confirming I’d hit something,

I rushed to the spot where I’d thrown the daggers to identify it.

A wolf lay dead, apparently killed instantly.

Under normal circumstances, I would have begun butchering it immediately, but

Now, it was merely a matter of drawing the dagger.

The rustling in the foliage hadn’t come from this direction, moments before.

“Show yourself.”

“Khehehe, your ears are rather sharp, aren’t they?”

Moonlight briefly bathed us,

and in that light, the form of a man revealed itself.

A face that could hardly be called handsome, even charitably,

and a physique that seemed utterly unfamiliar with exercise.

“…It was you?”

“Such insolence. A commoner?”

It was Derek Ruben, the same student who had been courting Lianna so relentlessly,

yet ignored every single rejection.

Where I had been utterly tense, upon seeing him, I couldn’t help but feel

the tension drain away in an instant.

My relaxed expression seemed to displease him, for his brows

creased slightly in a displeased manner.

“I don’t know what you’re so relieved about, but I only have one matter to discuss.”

“…?”

“Hand over that woman from before. She will be my wife.”

Was he still not right in the head?

If he had been rejected that many times, shouldn’t he have caught on by now?

Judging by the confidence and arrogance plastered on his face,

he didn’t seem to realize he had even been rejected.

“Didn’t she say she disliked you?”

“Hah?! Of course she’s playing hard to get.

What commoner wouldn’t want to be my wife?”

Even *I* would dislike him, probably.

It wasn’t hyperbole; even if I were an incredibly impoverished woman,

I wouldn’t want to marry that fellow.

If *I*, a man, felt this way,

I couldn’t even imagine what a woman would say upon hearing such words.

“But, why are you telling *me* to hand her over?”

“Weren’t you something like her lover?”

????

If that fellow believed Lianna and I were in a relationship,

was he saying he would take my lover as his wife?

Maybe it was just my imagination, but his golden hair seemed to

It caught my eye, shimmering with peculiar brilliance beneath the moonlight.

My expression began to contort, slowly.

And my thoughts regarding him began to coalesce into one singular idea.

*Crazy b*stard.*

*A plague on society.*

*Pure trash.*

If I couldn’t even overcome trash like *him*,

then my midterm grade was as good as gone.

And on top of that, cleaning up a piece of garbage like him would

undoubtedly be of some help to Lianna, a thought which only intensified my resolve.

Besides, I was starting to think it was about time I

tried my hand at wielding a dagger again.

That porker, if he could even be properly moved,

would make the perfect practice dummy.

Thinking that, and without any preparation, I flung the dagger at

the smirking fool’s face and bluntly spat out one word.

“No.”