Chapter 25

“Impressive! Truly, Your Highness the Princess.”

“Who are you?”

Chloe realized everyone’s gaze was on her as she almost bit her lip, quickly adjusting her expression. It was one of her bad habits to chew on her lips when nervous or when things didn’t go her way. Amidst the crowd, she felt an illusion that the Man in the Monkey Mask was smiling at her.

Actually, he might have been grinning for real. Whatever it was, the applause just now had shifted the atmosphere entirely. The Princess’s attempts at persuasion had turned into a mere band-aid, and the gathered crowd was bound to move according to the will of the Man in the Monkey Mask. Chloe unknowingly glanced upwards, but there was no one to be seen.

Of course, that was to be expected. That mysterious maid named Catherine wouldn’t easily reveal herself. Her force was, after all, Chloe’s last line of defense. If she resorted to force to sort out this damn situation, Chloe’s reputation would take a hit.

But if she didn’t step in, she’d lose her voice in the Student Council too. Even if her reputation took a slight hit, she absolutely couldn’t lose that voice. Apatem Academy was like a small continent, and if she failed to hold power there, her father would never even glance her way.

Damn it, Chloe muttered under her breath as she glared at the Man in the Monkey Mask. At that moment, he started to walk forward slowly.

“I can’t reveal my filthy name to the noble Princess, so just call me ‘Monkey,’ for isn’t a commoner like me merely a beast to royal blood?”

His words were a clever jab using the gap in their social status. Chloe had no rebuttal for that remark. To acknowledge it would be absurd, but denying it would invite attacks from the arrogant nobles. Given the current societal atmosphere, Chloe had no choice but to keep silent.

“Hmmm, silence, huh? Well, that’s fine. However, Your Highness, trying to silence the voices of students doesn’t look good at all, does it?”

“I never tried to silence anyone. I’m merely trying to persuade you all.”

“Persuasion? Do you think we students perceive it as persuasion? Or do we feel it’s merely intimidation due to the Princess’s power?”

Is that so? Well, it does seem like a possibility. Eh, isn’t that a bit too much? There was a murmur among the students. Just as Chloe thought they’d stopped short of outright backlash, a shout rose from within.

“Right!”

“This is intimidation through power!”

“Convince us as fellow students! This is cowardice!”

“What…?!”

Voices rising from an unseen corner. The crowd began to unify their opinions. The gentle crowd transformed back into a ferocious pack with the skin of wolves. Chloe found herself chewing her lips again.

“Students! Let’s ensure our voices are heard against the highborn nobles and the Student Council!”

Damn, should I call for help? Just then, something surprising happened.

Thud—! With a sound of leather thumping, the Man in the Monkey Mask flew through the air and crashed down. He didn’t move, either unconscious or pretending to be. The crowd that had been about to surge froze in an instant, and there stood a lady in puffy nightwear, lifting her long legs. While everyone was distracted by her perfect figure revealing from beneath the loose attire, the woman murmured quietly.

“Oh dear, what a mistake.”

“…”

#

No, it really was a mistake. I turned my head away, feeling the weight of everyone’s gazes on me. After such a long time of sneaking in, my misstep on where to place my feet had led to this trouble. And of all places, I fell right where the Man in the Monkey Mask had been. I wondered if this was what the Princess had ordered. Glancing at the students, their eyes were filled with ferocity.

How dare they suppress our leader with violence? Their gazes were those of fear. Yikes, that’s terrifying.

Of course, I could easily subdue a truckload of untrained commoners. But most of them were nobles. They might be lower nobility, but they were nobles nonetheless. If any of them got hurt, it’d create annoying aftereffects.

But our Young Lady would surely protect me, even if it would be a hassle. I needed to subdue without causing any injuries if possible. I couldn’t use my dagger. I withdrew the dagger I had tucked on the outside of my thigh and handed it over to the Princess.

“Use this if anything goes wrong.”

“If you give me a weapon, you…”

“It’s inappropriate to swing a weapon at untrained commoners.”

With a straight face, I said that, so maybe she mistakenly thought it was a serious situation, as she lightly tapped my shoulder.

“As long as you don’t kill anyone, I’ll protect you.”

“How generous.”

Thank you, I thought as I dashed into the crowd. I was looking to find the one stirring up trouble now that they seemed to be aware of the situation.

“Charge! There’s only one enemy!”

“Let’s get our will across!”

“Don’t forget the fallen Monkey!”

They probably thought they were involved in some righteous movement, but no, they weren’t. This was merely the fussing of those who didn’t get good grades. Just a way for them to vent. Not every student who performed poorly was acting this way. It was just a select few who wanted results without any effort coming forward and stirring the pot.

If that guy’s doing it, I will too. Just those kinds of crowd psychology led to other undesirable characters. I clenched my fist and swiftly knocked out the loudest instigator.

“Cough?”

“O-Over here! There’s a filthy dog of the Princess!”

“Who are you calling the Princess’s dog? My master is someone else.”

With a pout, I began to knock out the students lunging at me one by one. When the maid told me how to handle a one versus many situation, I didn’t realize why I needed to learn that back then. But wow, thank you SUZAN…

With a thud, another student fell with a gasp. Honestly, this body felt too agile. It could showcase movements just as I imagined. Even in a world without magical powers, I occasionally moved in ways that defied humanity.

Since there were barely a hundred of them, it was simple. I could make a good number of them faint and cause the group to disperse. With the instigators taken down, the collective momentum started to dwindle.

“Ugh…”

“What do you plan to do now? Thankfully, our Princess is a merciful one. If you repent now, it might end with a light punishment.”

“Light punishment, you say?”

“Well… it’ll likely be cleaning the classroom.”

“What? I’ve never even cleaned my own room!”

“Is that something to brag about?”

These noble brats. Sure, a few commoners were mixed in, but since most were nobility, cleaning a classroom likely felt like a pretty heavy punishment. Growing tired of it, I brought the Princess, who had been staring blankly behind me, in front of me.

“Um, yeah?”

“Your Highness, please deliver your verdict.”

Thud, thud, make it authoritative, Your Highness. I hoped for a concise but heavy punishment.

“Hmm, if you surrender now, I’ll treat it as just a warning.”

“R-Really?”

“I swear it on the honor of the royal family.”

At that surprisingly heavy vow, the students’ faces beamed with hope. All the instigators had already fainted in my hands, and with the Man in the Monkey Mask down too, the students were like debris afloat in the water. Once the first student began to surrender, the rest quickly followed suit.

“That’s one problem down.”

“Now, about that Man in the Monkey Mask… oh?”

“What’s going on?”

As I approached the place where I sent away the Man in the Monkey Mask, he had already vanished. He had been there just a second ago? This was uncanny. The Princess’s expression faltered as she seemed startled. Yet, she quickly composed herself and whispered to me.

“A suspicious individual?”

“I didn’t see anyone.”

“Is it possible there’s someone stronger than you in this academy?”

“Well, I never received professional training, so there are undoubtedly better assassins everywhere.”

“…”

The Princess gave me a look as though she was thinking, ‘This guy is kidding, right?’ But was it a look of someone seeing something odd? It was a bit embarrassing being looked at that way. With a straight face, I slightly tilted my head.

“Well, it can’t be helped. If I get too caught up worrying about what I’ve missed, I might lose what I’m holding on to. For now, let’s focus on sorting out this situation. You, go check on Young Lady Lilian.”

“Yes.”

“What?!”

As soon as those words left my mouth, she tossed off her nightgown. The sudden action shocked the Princess, who stared at me in surprise. But underneath it was a maid outfit. I wanted to smile a little in moments like this, but my facial muscles had long gone numb from work.

“Underneath was a maid outfit.”

“…Are you not embarrassed by the gawking crowd?”

“It’s not like I’m wearing panties, so it’s not embarrassing.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

Hmm, wasn’t that a fitting comeback for this moment? Even if she appeared as a cold and cruel flawless maid, sometimes she could make mistakes. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I said nothing and hurriedly left the scene.

“…Hah.”

I thought I heard a deep sigh from the Princess echoing behind me, but if she didn’t stop me, it should be fine. I picked up my pace as I thought that.