“Alright. All preparations are complete.”
Koom.
Nikolai, who set his bag down on the desk, smirked.
Today was the day of the grade simulation test.
For this day, he had trained his skills tirelessly.
The old him who used to claim math wasn’t practical and thus abandoned it was no more.
He had been reborn through Julia’s teachings.
“Getting into the top ten is all I need. I’ll certainly accomplish this.”
He had made a clear promise with Schwarz Dragania.
If he placed within the top ten in St. Sophia’s grade exam, he would be taken on a field trip to a forest full of monsters.
It was an opportunity for a private meeting with the Duke, who was famously known for never making private appointments.
Didn’t someone with the Duke’s abilities owe it to the world to at least pass on his knowledge, if nothing else?
Nikolai intended to absorb the Duke’s strength directly.
Specifically, he wanted to focus on knowledge and expertise regarding monsters.
Even if the Duke himself had forgotten about the promise by now, Nikolai was determined to keep it in mind as he advanced forward.
“Everyone, please be silent. Though this is a simulation test, it is an important exam. I hope you all take it seriously. Cheating will be severely punished, so it is absolutely forbidden. I will now distribute the exam papers.”
The test began soon after.
With a calm mindset, Nikolai fiddled with his pen on his hand.
‘Hmph. Schwarz, you’ve made a mistake.’
Thinking again about the content of the promise, Nikolai’s lips curled up.
The condition of the promise was that Nikolai had to place within the top ten in the St. Sophia grade exam.
It was just the grade exam, not the graduation exam or a specific year exam.
This meant that they would have twelve attempts up to the 12th grade.
‘I’ll settle this in the first grade exam.’
The first-year test is taken before even a year has passed since enrollment.
Thus, Nikolai, who prepared beforehand, should have plenty of time to climb the rankings.
Planning to confirm his position in this simulation exam, Nikolai was…
“Alright, here are your test results. They’re posted on the wall, so please check.”
“Eh…”
That afternoon, Nikolai was hit by a profound shock.
After scanning from the top, he finally found his name after scrolling down for quite a while.
25th place.
His rank was the 25th among the first year.
Startled beyond measure, Nikolai froze, unable to utter a single word.
‘This can’t be…’
Since there were a total of 8 classes in the first year, that meant there were at least 3 students in his class with better results than him.
Nikolai hastily glanced around.
In his vision appeared the commoners and half-humans he had always considered inferior.
The thought that these people, on their first test, had surpassed him, a member of the royal family, was overwhelming.
However, the biggest shock was yet to come.
“Who’s in first place?”
“Some Tiamat from Class 3?”
“Tiamat? How come the name is so intimidating?”
Nikolai had to doubt his eyes.
In first place was Tiamat.
That short, unusual, almost eerie name was at the top.
With an astonishing total score of 497.
Missing only one 3-point question, she outpaced the second place contender by over 30 points.
‘Full score? She nearly scored full marks?’
In the history of St. Sophia, there had never been anyone who scored a perfect mark in the grade exams, not even in simulation tests since their difficulty was usually similar.
“Someone from Class 3 said Tiamat got the first question wrong in listening, right?”
“What? Why?”
“She woke up too late.”
“…”
That she missed perfection because of such an absurd reason was completely unacceptable.
Nikolai felt anger rising from his chest.
This wasn’t the way things should be.
He could not let this stand.
Clamping his teeth tightly together, he resolved.
‘I must learn how Tia studies…’
He decided to follow Tia around to observe her study habits.
Though imagining it made him blush and feel extremely embarrassed, there was nothing to be done.
To develop his skills, he would have to discard all pride and everything else.
*
“Prince! How long must we continue standing here?”
“Just a little longer, stay still.”
In the middle of the corridor.
Since early morning, Nikolai had been sitting on one of his classmate’s backs to peer through the window into the Class 3 classroom.
All the people surrounding him were nobles’ children who were loyal to the royal family.
They would die for Nikokai’s word.
“Ugh…”
Nikolai frowned as he stared at the back seat in Class 3.
Tia had been at school for 20 minutes already.
Since arriving, she had stacked her textbooks at a suitable height, laid her head on them, and slept soundly, drooling.
‘Morning rest… serious study will start once classes begin.’
Nikolai nodded as he etched Tia’s actions into his mind.
This was a student who had never appeared before in the grade exams with near-perfect scores.
Not even the smallest of habits could be overlooked.
“Prince! The class is about to start!”
“Ch…”
Reluctantly returning to his classroom, Nikolai stomped his feet in frustration.
He had instructed one of his followers in Class 3 to observe Tia’s words and actions and report them back.
But it was frustrating to not see it with his own eyes.
After the long class was over, Nikolai immediately went out to the corridor to find the Class 3 follower he had assigned.
Exchanging codewords, the two finally met face-to-face.
“Report now. No details should be missed.”
“Uh… she was sleeping.”
“What? Are you joking?”
“No, Your Highness. How could that be? She slept throughout the class, so there’s nothing to report. She cleverly positioned her face behind the person in front and slept, never getting caught by the teacher. It was impressive skill.”
“…”
Nikolai was left speechless.
How could one sleep during the class after oversleeping before?
He wondered if Tia was staying up all night at her place?
‘There must be a strategy. A type who sleeps during classes and then studies intensively after.’
But Nikolai didn’t give up on following Tia around.
During break times, he never let Tia out of his sight. During classes, he gathered reports from his several followers and cross-checked them to verify.
The result of the investigation was as follows.
“Just sleeping? Does this even make sense?”
“I’ve heard some half-humans belong to species that sleep a lot, Your Highness.”
“But that girl isn’t a half-human!”
Tia simply slept a lot.
Not just morning sleep or naps but just sleep.
No matter whether it’s during class or breaks, she would just fall asleep instantly the moment she settled into her seat.
Her awake time was significantly less than her sleep time.
And when she was awake, all she did was play.
Chat with classmates or go out to the playground and run around.
If not, she teased the great spirit in the birdcage or played around with Zizi.
“Muu…Thuris, you don’t have bread on you again?”
“But… that’s actually something I carry from the snack shop…”
“Hey, did you hear that? My stomach growled! Tia’s hungry.”
“Okay, I’ll bring it…”
Nikolai was shocked by Tia’s unexpected ruthlessness.
Manipulating her classmate of demon descent to procure bread—Tia was a student who could casually do such things.
“Hmm. That doesn’t seem right.”
However, after observing Tia continuously, Nikolai felt the need to rethink.
The hatred towards demons in the school had intensified due to the demon assassin infiltration incident.
But Tia’s attitude didn’t seem to demonstrate any particular hatred or attempt to harass Thuris.
Instead, it appeared to be a message to other students.
“Anyone who touches Thuris, my subordinate, better be prepared for trouble.”
Clearly, it was to ensure Thuris was under her protection.
Nikolai admiringly reached that conclusion by himself.
“So when does she study…?”
Regardless, Tia had not even once cracked open a textbook or attempted to study so far.
He had only witnessed aspects that didn’t match someone ranked first in his grade.
Thus Nikolai approached lunchtime without any findings.
“Your Highness? Why are you throwing away your uneaten lunch tray?”
“You all take your time.”
Upon receiving lunch and just about to settle down, Nikolai threw away his tray.
He witnessed Tia leaving the cafeteria with her face covered in food crumbs.
Ah, it makes sense then!
The mystery was finally about to be solved.
Tia intentionally ate and slept while playing, leading others to let their guard down and luring them into underestimating her.
Certainly, she must be intensely studying whenever she was out of sight!
As expected, Tia was not heading back to the classroom but to a different building.
“Hey Tia, you’re here again?”
“Mwuhahaha! Good afternoon, teacher!”
She’d arrived at none other than the library.
After greeting the librarian, Tia cheerfully and quickly disappeared inside.
“Hm? You’re…”
“Shh. Be quiet.”
“Hehe. You’re here to follow that girl? How cute.”
“Please be quiet…”
“Uh-heehee. Alright. I’ll keep quiet.”
Desperately silencing the librarian, Nikolai quietly headed in the direction Tia had disappeared.
As he carefully moved through each bookshelf, he suddenly froze in his tracks.
His mouth hung open as he saw an unexpected scene.
“Muuuu…”
On a sofa basked in bright sunlight, a doll-like girl lay asleep.
Without noticing, Nikolai stood there, enchanted by her sleeping face but quickly regained his senses and hurriedly hid behind the bookshelf.
Peering through the gaps of the books, Tia’s face appeared endearing.
Though he thought she wasn’t his type, now looking, it slightly felt different.
“You’re not studying here at all!”
But the important thing wasn’t that right now.
Tia merely sought places with good sunlight during lunch and continued to sleep peacefully.
How Tia managed to achieve such grades remained a profound mystery.
“Muheeh! I worked hard today too! Now it’s time to go home and play!”
“…”
Even in the afternoon after lunch, none of this changed.
Tia simply endlessly repeated eating, sleeping, playing, and sleeping until it was time to go home.
It was inexplicable how she managed to boast a sense of accomplishment as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
Nikolai, watching her leave school, muttered absentmindedly.
“I have to visit her house.”
“What? Your Highness?”
“I must see with my own eyes what exactly she does at home…”
Now, there was only one possibility left.
Tia must be studying tirelessly at home.
With that decision made, Nikolai resolved to visit the Dragania villa.
“Did the prince fall for her?”
“Seems like he’s fallen hard in love…”
“Unstoppable. Planning to barge into her house… quite a bold move.”
However, his followers had a different interpretation.
Watching as Nikolai spent the whole day following Tia, it now appeared he intended to visit her house.
They could only perceive this as a sign of romantic interest.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely wrong either.
