I Possessed the Villain’s Childhood Friend – Chapter 50

“Aike. The answer to this question is ‘none.'”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

It’s been just over a month since I started to relax in front of Reina and the others.

The Crown Prince confidently stated that there would be no issues, but of course, I couldn’t help but worry.

And as expected, rumors began to circulate at Arcana.

I had seduced Reina.

Reina was straddling both sides.

It was said that the Crown Prince was being threatened by Reina, among other things.

However, there were also truths mixed in, like the Crown Prince not seeing Reina as a romantic interest.

Regardless, such rumors spread quickly.

Fortunately, however, Sophia, Helen, and Atal only looked surprised and didn’t find us strange at all.

“Reina. When there’s a difference in content between ‘The Entire History of the Aiter Continent’ and the textbook, the answer would be to align with the textbook, right?”

“It doesn’t matter either way. The professor is aware of that part, and he mentioned that there’s no definitive answer, just a difference in interpretation.”

“How do you know what part I’m talking about?”

“I bought an extra copy because I wanted to read it, too. You’re talking about page 237, right?”

“…That’s right.”

And about two weeks passed.

Before I knew it, no one at Arcana was bringing up such topics anymore.

There might have been whispers behind our backs, but at least those things never reached my ears or Reina’s.

As I was surprised by that fact…

‘I told you, right? It would be fine.’

The Crown Prince shrugged and smiled.

Of course, that didn’t mean the distance between Reina and me changed significantly.

After all, our relationship was that of childhood friends.

★

“That’s wrong, Miss Sophia. The Martires Order holds a very important position in the Empire, but they don’t impose their faith. That’s why there are no related liberal arts courses at Arcana.”

“To be precise, they’ve disappeared. It was once classified as a major. Well, that’s a story from a long time ago.”

“Ugh.”

As I turned my gaze, I saw Sophia with her head buried in her hands.

It looked like her head was spinning from the nonstop influx of knowledge from both sides.

But it couldn’t be helped.

She asked Reina and the Crown Prince to teach her, after all.

She had to tough it out.

I silently offered a light prayer.

That no matter how tough it got, she could hold on until the end.

“Aike, what’s considered the greatest turning point in the history of the Empire due to the appearance of Magical Beasts? I heard the friendship with the Sumel Kingdom had the biggest impact.”

“The interaction with the Sumel Kingdom was felt primarily by the nobility. But the emergence of Magical Beasts began to clearly define the role of Knights, turning over every aspect of the Empire, such as distribution, social status, and economy.”

“So it means the extent of the impact is important.”

“Exactly.”

We were all gathered in the library, studying.

Today, the attendees included me, Reina, Sophia, Atal, and the Crown Prince.

Helen had already left right after class, saying she had prior engagements.

Probably for a duel.

The final exams were now just a week away.

Fortunately, the make-up classes had ended last week, so there was plenty of time to review.

The problem was that since we were combining it with the midterms, the range of the exam was beyond imagination.

Of course, the professors said the exams themselves would generally be easier, but the fact that the study scope was now increased didn’t change.

Under normal circumstances, we probably would have studied separately.

‘Lady Reina, could you teach me some study tips?’

However, thanks to Sophia’s request, we ended up gathering like this to study.

The basic structure had Reina and the Crown Prince teaching Sophia the subjects she was struggling with, such as politics and etiquette.

While Atal, Helen, and I studied alongside them, asking each other questions whenever one of us had weak points.

I was strong in history, Atal in etiquette, and Helen in economics.

And Sophia was responsible for preparing snacks we could eat during breaks.

But with this arrangement, the Crown Prince, who had the highest score in the entrance exam, and Reina, who had the second-highest, would end up having no personal study time.

‘Teaching Miss Sophia makes me feel like I’m studying, too, so it’s okay.’

‘I’ll have plenty of time to study afterward.’

The responses I received were truly genius-level.

Regardless, the gatherings continued for these reasons.

“…I think it’s all ruined.”

Sophia sighed as she stuffed a pastry into her mouth.

It was a familiar lament I heard every time the gatherings ended.

“The scope is too wide to memorize.”

Honestly, I completely agreed with that statement.

At Arcana, we took a total of four lectures in our major, and the exams were held separately.

And for liberal arts, we had exams in history, politics, economy, and etiquette.

In other words, there were eight exams we had to take.

Plus, the major would also have a practical exam, meaning we had to take nine exams in total.

Of course, the practical exam didn’t require extensive studying.

Still, having to study for eight subjects with such an expansive range was tough.

It was true that we needed to catch up after our downtime, but with so much to cover, motivation dwindled and memorization became harder.

“…I hope the exams finish quickly.”

At Sophia’s last words, Atal, and surprisingly, even Reina and the Crown Prince nodded in agreement.

Time passed, and the final exams started.

★

“Sigh.”

Two days had passed since the final exams began.

And just like that, all of the liberal arts exams were over.

“Do you think the results will be okay?”

As I sighed, Reina approached me, having already submitted her answer sheet and left the classroom.

“I think my scores will be lower than when I entered.”

“True. Overall, this was difficult.”

“What about you, Reina?”

“…I’m not sure.”

I could tell from her faint smile that she expected her exam results wouldn’t differ much from her entrance scores.

Of course, I had no intention of saying anything else about it.

I had anticipated that from the beginning.

“By the way, what about the others?”

“They headed to the auditorium first.”

“Really?”

I casually changed the subject.

“Did both of you arrive?”

In the auditorium, the students had gathered by their grades.

The white line on the left marked the first-year students.

The silver line in the center was for the second-year students.

And the golden line on the right was for the third-year students.

Reina and I stood in the left line, and there, Sophia and the Crown Prince greeted us.

“What about Atal and Helen?”

“Atal is up front, and Helen stepped away for a moment, saying she had something to do.”

Sophia, who had struggled the most before the final exams, seemed to be doing better than expected.

She smiled when I heard her say that her grades seemed good based on yesterday’s conversation.

It seemed like learning simultaneously from the top students paid off.

I should have tried asking Reina, too.

“Today’s exam…”

“Silence!”

Just as I was about to continue speaking, a voice boomed from the podium.

The owner of that voice was Ender Dean.

We all stopped chatting, casting our gazes toward him.

The auditorium, which had just been bustling, suddenly fell into complete silence.

Ender Dean took a moment to look around the auditorium and seemed satisfied with the scene before him as he nodded slightly.

“Now that we are halfway through the final exams, the end of the first semester is approaching. Earlier this year, there was an unfortunate incident, but fortunately, thanks to everyone’s efforts, including you all…”

Something felt off.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.

Reina and the Crown Prince, too.

Especially from the second and third-year seniors gathered to our right, there was a distinctly uneasy vibe.

The practical exams for our majors.

The topics for these were announced in the auditorium after the liberal arts exams were completed.

Since the goal was primarily to assess students’ performance, it wasn’t supposed to be too difficult.

For example, looking at Sophia, whose major was magic according to the original material.

During the first-year midterms, the practical exam topic was definitely the number of usable C-rank spells.

That’s how it should have been.

“Nevertheless, we must move forward. Turning our backs and running away will yield nothing. We possess that talent and capability.”

If my memory serves me right, Ender Dean had never come out to give a speech during the practical exams.

Normally, when enough students were gathered, they would simply announce the subject and it would end there.

“…I’ve gotten carried away. The subject for this year’s first semester final practical exam is quite simple.”

Ender Dean took a brief breath, then spoke.

“The subject of the exam is… a duel.”

After that final word, Ender Dean stepped down from the podium and elegantly left the stage.

No student left remaining in the auditorium moved.

As if time had stopped.

“What… what does that mean?”

But as someone voiced that question, everyone fell into confusion.

“U-uh, why is everyone acting like this?”

Except for Sophia, who had no idea what was going on.

★

“A duel.”

Ender Dean’s words were taken literally.

The grades would be determined by defeating an opponent.

It wasn’t unfamiliar for the students to duel.

In Arcana, there were separate time slots for dueling during practical classes.

People like Helen and I sometimes set aside time to duel personally.

But the reason everyone was thrown into chaos this time was simple.

Until now, there had never been practical exams conducted in the form of dueling at Arcana.

It wasn’t possible to evaluate everyone’s skills unless all students dueled against one another.

But with around 80 students, considering the differences in majors, it was practically impossible for about 40 students to duel everyone.

Because there wasn’t enough time.

Everyone understood that, so they couldn’t comprehend it.

And now, determining practical exam scores based solely on three duels with no consideration of skill disparity between opponents felt like a bolt from the blue for those students preparing as they always had.

Many students voiced their complaints directly to Ender Dean, but…

‘If an intruder were to invade Arcana again, would you still argue for multiple chances? Would you plead for leniency because you are weaker than the others?’

With words like that, he sent everyone back.

“Hm.”

To be honest, I found this to be the more comfortable option.

Since the swordsmanship major studies nearly all usable weapons.

It just happens that swords are the most commonly chosen, hence the name swordsmanship.

If they asked to showcase techniques from all the weapons learned so far in the practical exam, frankly, I wouldn’t be confident.

So I genuinely wanted to feel joy about this turn of events.

But…

“Seriously.”

Sighing, I looked at the list of names for my opponents.

Helen Oberon.

Reina Rozelia.

Leon Aigis Astria.

Well, that certainly feels like a list brimming with malice.

No way, right?

My head throbbed.