Shaara had been spending more time alone with Atlas lately, thanks to the Hunting Festival.
This was because her information had become increasingly necessary to Atlas.
A time that was solely hers, without being shared with others.
Shaara felt pleased that the shorter the periods of their one-on-one meetings, the stronger the feeling that she was needed by Atlas grew.
At the Academy, servants belonging to prestigious families were not allowed.
There were many reasons for this, but the main one was that there had been individuals who brought numerous servants along and acted as if the Academy were their private villa, causing disruption.
Thanks to this, everyone at the Academy, regardless of their family background, had to rely solely on their personal merits and abilities.
Naturally, the professors at the Academy were from quite influential families, and since most chores were handled automatically by golems, there were limitations on what individual students could do, but a few students with overwhelming backgrounds were different.
Prigia had the absolute power to command most of the professors at the Academy like pawns.
And the value of the information shared by the core professors of the Academy was beyond imagination.
It was Atlas alone who noticed early on that Professor Buckingham had a bad feeling about this year’s Hunting Festival.
As soon as Atlas saw Shaara, he mentioned what he had done.
“I’ve already made my move against Buckingham. I’ve scared him sufficiently, so it’s unlikely he’ll act… but let me know if you sense he’s having second thoughts.”
“You’ve already taken care of that? I’ll keep an eye out.”
While she mentioned that it was better to take the initiative if he had noticed anything, she thought a certain amount of preparation time would be needed; the speed was astonishing.
She hadn’t even perceived any commotion occurring, yet he had swiftly handled one professor—truly the Atlas she knew, Shaara thought.
The security at the Academy was famously strict, second only to the Imperial Palace, yet Atlas always acted as if nothing mattered.
“I hear you’re not participating in the Hunting Festival.”
“That’s right.”
Atlas replied casually.
“Aren’t you even curious why?”
“If it’s your decision, I’m sure there’s a thoughtful reason behind it.”
Truthfully, she was curious about why he wouldn’t participate. If he did, victory would be all but assured.
In the case of the Hunting Festival taking place in the Black Forest, Shaara was confident that no one could rival Atlas.
After all, the place where Atlas had “trained” Shaara was deep within the Black Forest.
Shaara also knew well how dangerous the deep parts of the Black Forest were—poisonous creatures, venomous plants… and dangerous monsters thriving abundantly in that hellish place.
However, Atlas had entered deep within while dragging along Shaara, who was no more than a burden, and he didn’t just stop there—he trained her.
It was an incredibly perilous task.
During the training, Shaara had shed an immense amount of secretions like sweat and blood and had screamed with all her might.
She knew that monsters and wild beasts were sensitive to such scents and tended to gather around them.
It wasn’t that monsters had been absent either.
Shaara had personally witnessed the remains of an assassin she had hired being devoured by the dark creatures of the Black Forest, with only partial bits left behind.
In such a dangerous place, Atlas had conducted hours of training while carrying a burden without succumbing to the poison of the venomous plants or insects.
Shaara recalled that she had neither been bitten by poisonous insects nor scraped against toxic plants, nor did she remember dangerous monsters lurking nearby.
If they hadn’t said so, one might easily mistake it for merely a garden near the Academy.
Though a few monster corpses and the devoured body of an assassin strongly indicated that it was indeed the Black Forest.
In such conditions, she wondered how many could hold out without injuries at the Academy.
But she was sure it wouldn’t be any of the students.
She was curious about why he hadn’t participated in the Hunting Festival, which seemed like an assured victory, yet she had no intention of asking him directly.
She could only surmise that there was something she wouldn’t be able to understand given her current state.
“I heard instead of going, you’re running a tea house in your class.”
“Woodville had so much enthusiasm. You’d be surprised at how much they’re pouring it in just because they’re the fourth class…”
Atlas laughed heartily as he recounted the event of Woodville turning dough into coal.
He seemed to be having quite the time.
At the mention of Woodville, Shaara’s eyebrows twitched.
It wasn’t that the Woodville family was bothersome.
It was just that she had no intention of taking a merchant of commoner descent who merely aimed for mass production seriously, but it irked her that they were in the same class as Atlas.
It upset her that a woman from a family of no merit, who hadn’t even received proper education, could be in the same class simply based on that fact, potentially bringing Atlas into conversation.
However, she made sure not to show it.
She was certain that Atlas wouldn’t appreciate that.
All she could tolerate was the camaraderie that formed during the period of the Hunting Festival.
After all, she was enduring even the women who stuck around him all day long.
“What are you planning to do in Class Four, Shaara?”
“I don’t have any grand plans. I wouldn’t want to be a burden to Atlas.”
When Shaara heard that Atlas wouldn’t be participating directly in the Hunting Festival and would be opening a tea house in his class, she had decided on items so as not to bring down Class Five.
Since Class Five said they were running a “tea house,” Shaara thought Class Four could quickly set up an attraction-like facility.
However, when she heard Atlas’ laughter, she was caught off guard.
“Then that’s just boring.”
“Boring…?!”
She was surprised that instead of suggesting to help his class achieve the number one sales position, he had said something completely different.
Atlas said with a cheerful smile,
“Do your best. So long as it’s not some mudslinging and slanderous battle, aim for the number one sales position across the Academy.”
Hearing that, she realized.
Oh, that’s why he isn’t participating in the Hunting Festival.
He finds it boring when victory is assured!
In that case, Shaara thought she should go ahead and proceed as she had learned from her family.
“… If that’s what you want, I’ll revise my plans.”
Then Atlas suddenly dropped a bombshell.
“I was curious which would win if Prigia and Woodville faced off.”
“?!”
The question of which side would win sent chills down her spine.
Was he considering weighing the two against each other?
What if Woodville won this Hunting Festival? What would happen then?
Would he think Woodville was superior and, perhaps, deem her unnecessary…?
Dark, ominous thoughts unfurled in Shaara’s mind like a vivid nightmare.
She imagined another woman standing in front of Atlas, rather than herself.
Dressed in a manner excessively focused on flamboyance, with an uncomfortably thick fragrance, and hair that swung like tails each time she moved her head.
Dorothy Woodville was envisioned to be having a private conversation with Atlas in her stead.
Atlas was laughing just as he had when recalling what happened with Woodville moments ago.
As her anxiety peaked, Shaara stood up and knelt on the floor.
“I will definitely win..! I will prove my worth. So… please don’t abandon me!!”
Atlas seemed a bit surprised by Shaara suddenly kneeling but quickly calmed her down.
————————————–
Shaara Prigia is a trainee.
She’s not number one, but more like number two, and what she’s being trained in is becoming a “person.”
She suffers from Antisocial Personality Disorder, unable to empathize with others, disregarding their rights and morals, while leaning toward pursuing her own benefit.
This had been thoroughly learned by her, whether it was innate or acquired.
She had coldly calculated to only behave in ways that brought her benefits, and even if her actions provoked anger in others, she felt no emotions whatsoever.
I worked to change that nature of Shaara.
I had her undergo intensive learning for a day, despite her being taught not to empathize with the emotions of others.
It was quite a high-impact shock therapy, but the results were quite good.
Psycho paths often commit wrongs based on ignorance of why their actions are wrong.
Since they cannot empathize with others, what they believe to be right is always deemed right.
Consequently, what’s right and what’s wrong was injected into her body over the span of a night, leading to remarkable improvements in her state.
Her attachment to herself was also evidence of her recovering state.
“I will definitely win..! I will prove my worth. So… please don’t abandon me!!”
To kneel and beg not to be abandoned was not something befitting a young lady of the Prigia family.
She seemed to think of it as a scale tipped between whether they should be curious about who would win when facing Woodville.
That said, kneeling out of doubt seemed to indicate a growing dependency fueled by the formation of attachments.
But that too was a good sign.
Being mindful of others and appealing to their emotions meant she was beginning to empathize with human emotions.
“I would never abandon you. Once I take you on, I’ll never let you go.”
As I felt her heartbeat, I noticed Shaara, who had been on the verge of tears, slowly regaining her composure.
“Is… is that really true…? Even if I become useless… even if a better subordinate appears, you won’t abandon me…?”
“I’m not associating with you because you’re useful.”
It’s true that Shaara was talented, and I had already received help from her multiple times, yet the reason I kept her close wasn’t just that.
Rather, it was certain that if I left her alone, she’d cause even bigger trouble.
She had tried to kill me, caused harm to those around me, and was destined to one day become a traitor, selling her country to demons, but I knew where her actions stemmed from.
She had been taught to live that way because of her parents and the people around her, and I was curious about how she would change if she received proper education.
So, I chose not to kill her and educated her instead.
What began as an intention to mold a human was yielding quite good results.
Due to her position, it might seem like nothing much changed in front of the other students, but the improvements in her demeanor before me brought me satisfaction.
“You are…”
During this occasion, I felt a specific signal from within my pocket.
“… Wait a moment.”
I pulled out the parchment I had kept in my pocket.
Words began to appear on the parchment.
What was connected to this was Professor Buckingham.
[There will be a meeting tomorrow.]
It was time to hunt those little rodents.
