I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

The exams at Yoram are divided into two parts.
A written exam testing combat theory, and a practical exam measuring actual performance.

He wasn’t just anyone—he could use the power of the Hero. The practical exam, he could manage. He could handle that somehow.
“Lady Hero.”
[Hm.]

“We’re not allowed to bring weapons into the exam room, right?”
[...Just give it up and start memorizing quietly.]
As expected of the continent’s most prestigious institution with a long and proud tradition. Their countermeasures against cheating were thorough.

Before entering the testing area, students were subjected to a meticulous body inspection, and only academy-issued pens and paper could be used.
Rules designed to block all sources of cheating from the start... just plain ruthless.
[Ruthless...? Sounds more ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ like they’re just doing their job properly.]

“It’s ruthless for me, isn’t it?”
Carlyle groaned, staring at the mountain of textbooks and scholarly journals piled in front of him.
If this wasn’t the continent’s top academy, he would’ve never believed the sheer volume of information he was expected to process.

Starting with basic subjects like imperial history, language, and culture...
To military tactics, weaponry, logistics theory, martial arts, advanced cartography...
Truly, they had every kind of subject imaginable.

[...Is that really that much?]
“...”
[I was able to memorize it all the day before—]

“I get it, you’re amazing, now shut up.”
The Hero knew nothing of human suffering.
Every time she opened her mouth, it was like she wanted to rub it in.
[You say that, but you don’t seem too overwhelmed yourself.]

“...Be quiet.”
Well—there was some truth to that.
He wouldn’t call his memorization ability exceptional, but after so many regressions, the amount of data already stored in Carlyle’s brain wasn’t small by any means.

Even if someone told him to memorize all this at once, most of it was information he already knew, so it was doable, more or less.
The only concern was how difficult the actual exam would be.
[Hm... I can probably whip up a sample test. I did graduate, after all.]

“You couldn’t have said that earlier?!”
[...You’re welcome. That’s what that means.]
Thankfully, with her help on top of everything else, this wasn’t an utterly impossible situation.

“Well, if it’s just this much, I can probably manage somehow—”
But just then—
A very dangerous thought flashed through Carlyle’s mind.

“...Um, Lady Hero.”
[Hm?]
“I’ll be okay, but... what about Vespa?”

[...]
He had just remembered—Vespa had been officially registered as a student recently and had begun attending lectures.
It was probably thanks to the professors who had noticed her talent in magic and strongly recommended her enrollment.

Vespa seemed to interpret that as finally being able to do what she’d always done without worrying about appearances. But regardless, being a student now meant she also had to be evaluated.
And—
Gray was nothing if not fair.

Whatever the process, if someone became a student and ended up disgracing her, she wouldn’t hesitate to plant a dropkick in their face.
[Go check on her, quickly.]
“Roger.”

Carlyle hurried to find Vespa and asked about it, only to be met with an absolutely unbelievable answer.
“...What’s a regular evaluation?”
“...”

“Uh, what exactly are they evaluating?”
It was over.
She was going to die too. This woman had the flashing sign of academic death floating right above her.

She might’ve been in even more danger than Carlyle himself...
“Um... Should I be studying or something?”
She didn’t even realize how perilous her situation was. That alone multiplied the danger several times over.

“...Vespa, let’s study together.”
“If you say so, I’ll do it!”
This was the first time Carlyle had ever been grateful for her loyalty stat being this high.

No matter what he said, she’d smile brightly and agree without hesitation.
Just like that, Carlyle’s workload doubled in an instant.
Now, on top of managing his own grades, he had to coach Vespa too.

Still—up to this point, it was manageable.
Just pull a few all-nighters and burn through his stamina, that was all. It was still within the range of what he could cover.
Cramming the night before the test—everyone’s done that at least once, right?

...That is, unless someone had knocked on his door that evening.
“...Your Highness?”
When Carlyle opened the door, a tiny girl with violet hair that barely reached his waist was standing there.

Her huge, round eyes were glistening with tears.
“U-um, I-I’m sorry, but...”
Cuddling a whole stack of books in her arms, Princess Illia stammered out her words.

“I... I can’t understand a single word of this...”
“...”
“C-could you please help me, even just a little...?”

...Well, of course. She was a child.
Wasn’t Yoram being far too cruel, forcing something like this on a little kid?
[...Do you even have the bandwidth for this?]

Bandwidth? That’s not the point...
It was obvious she had no one else to ask, and after agonizing over it for ages, she’d finally come to Carlyle.
He couldn’t very well turn his back on a child in such a harsh situation.

“Yes. I’ll teach you what I can.”
Carlyle Belfast.
His suffering had now tripled.

...So much for getting a decent night’s sleep anytime soon.
***
[I’m glad to hear you’re doing well, Gray.]

Gray gave a half-hearted nod as she listened to Lionel’s voice over the call.
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s me we’re talking about.”
[...Right. I suppose so.]

It was a statement that conveyed absolute trust—the kind where, if something was making her unhappy, she’d just remove the source entirely and be fine.
Satisfied with the report, Duke Chasefield brought up another point.
[By the way, how’s Carlyle? Everything alright with him?]

“...”
Gray went silent for a moment.
[Gray? Did something happen?]

“He’s been very helpful. It’d probably be inconvenient without him.”
[...]
On the other end of the line, Lionel drew in a sharp breath.

[D-did something happen between the two of you?]
“What?”
[How can you say something like that to another person? Are you two in some kind of special relationship? Don’t tell me you—]

“Dad. Stop talking nonsense.”
...This man had been swimming in noble society for decades, and yet his imagination was absurdly vivid.
You’d think he was some blushing teenage girl reading romance novels.

[You surprised me. It’s the first time I’ve heard you say something like that about a man.]
Actually, it was the first time she’d said that about anyone, male or female.
[Then what about him?]

“What?”
[Does he seem interested in you at all?]
“...”

God, Gray thought, her expression darkening as she stared at the communicator.
Was this really one of the Empire’s top warriors? He sounded more like a gossipy old aunt.
“I don’t care about that stuff. Stop making a fuss.”

She rubbed her aching temples as she replied.
[Still, I’m glad that young man’s by your side.]
But in the end—he was still her father.

[You’ve become much brighter.]
“...What?”
[Before you received the Holy Sword, and even right after, it always felt like you were being crushed. You never seemed to have any peace of mind.]

“...”
[I’m glad that you’ve regained some balance, leaning on that young man.]
...And somehow, he had a sixth sense for reading this kind of thing.

Gray stayed silent, still clutching the communicator, until Lionel let out a chuckle and added,
[Ah, if he really is such a good man, I hope something good happens between you.]
“...”

[The way he takes care of you like that, I’m sure he has feelings for you. Don’t you think?]
“...I’m hanging up now.”
Gray slammed the communicator back in its cradle.

With a long sigh, she flopped onto her bed.
Lionel’s words echoed in her mind.
“Feelings,” huh.

...It was a foreign emotion to her.
He must’ve meant romantic feelings between men and women.
Something she’d never experienced. And frankly, had no desire to experience.

“...”
Ugh, whatever.
Frowning, Gray abruptly got up from the bed and stormed out of the room.

She’d tried to think it over, but it only made her mind spiral.
At times like this, the best solution was swinging her sword until her head emptied out.
That’s probably why—

She ended up running into Carlyle, who was struggling to carry a ridiculous stack of books out of the library.
“Yes, Vespa, if you could handle those over there... Your Highness, one moment, be careful—!”
“Kyaaah—!”

With a scream no child should ever make, Princess Illia tumbled over in the hallway, trembling as the books spilled everywhere.
One book rolled across the floor and landed at Gray’s feet...
“...”

Gray’s gaze slowly flicked between Carlyle and the others.
“...What are you all doing?”
Seriously—what was this in the middle of the night?

She tilted her head and asked, and Carlyle answered with a smile.
“Vespa and Her Highness seemed to be having trouble with their grades, so I offered to help.”
“...Hmm...”

Gray gave a slow nod.
What could she say?
He really did look after everyone.

He was already busy enough tending to her, and yet he still took care of others in his spare time.
“...”
“Young Lady?”

Carlyle blinked at her gaze.
But Gray didn’t respond—she just kept staring at him.
“The way he takes care of you like that, I’m sure he has feelings for you.”

For no reason at all—
Lionel’s earlier words echoed in her mind again.
She brushed them off as nonsense. She didn’t even fully understand what it meant for someone to like someone else.

And yet—
“...”
She felt a surge of irritation.

Why?
Why did this guy treat everyone else just as well?
Gray’s brow furrowed deeply.

She didn’t like this.
In that case—
“I’m bad at studying too.”

Carlyle’s face froze.
Not just him—everyone present was struck silent by the same reaction.
...No.

Say something that actually makes sense.
Carlyle knew very well what kind of intellect this woman possessed. “Bad at studying” his ass.
“Young Lady, what did you just say?”

“I said I’m bad at studying.”
“...”
But she clearly had no intention of backing down. Not even a little.

And what she said next only confirmed it.
“Teach me too.”
“...”

“Where are we meeting?”
The Defender of Humanity—
Joins a study group.

...I’m so screwed.
The cute little study circle instantly turned into a horror show.