Sigh....
I had not let out such a deep sigh even when I had suddenly possessed a character inside a novel.
Even if I had possessed a Chairman who bullied students, it was not easy to feel that fact firsthand.
But when that karma came full circle and returned to me in the form I hated most... there was no way not to sigh.
“So, you are saying that I ordered today’s duels?”
“Th-That is not it. The duels with Emma Novician were entirely my own idea. I thought this was the surest way to ruin Emma Novician, as you ordered....”
“What exactly was the order I gave? Tell me again.”
“You said, ‘Drive Emma Novician out of the academy. I will contact Professor Tuvan.’ Professor Tuvan gave me a enchantment scroll, so I understood it could only mean that I was to duel her....”
The more I questioned him, the clearer the truth became.
Surprise, it was all your fault.
There was barely any room left to suspect that Gess Alep might be lying, but....
[ Gess Alep ]
[ Traits / Weak Against the Strong, Strong Against the Weak; Born Actor ]
[ Special Note / Due to the penalty of Trait - Weak Against the Strong, Strong Against the Weak, he is currently in a state where he can speak only the truth. ]
After reading the status window’s explanation, which proved that Gess’s frightened appearance was the unvarnished truth, I could not continue entertaining that suspicion.
“...First, I revoke the order I gave at that time. There is no need to touch Emma Novician any further.”
“I-I will obey your order. Then, how will I be... punished...?”
Rather than answer Gess, I glanced at the secretary standing quietly at attention in the corner.
Considering that he was working to keep the Chancellor from discovering the report, the secretary clearly seemed to be the Chairman’s man. In the original story, he had always taken the Chairman’s side as well....
Still, there was no harm in being cautious.
“......?”
However, the brown-haired secretary merely looked at me with the same expressionless face.
His face did not show the slightest interest in the conversation he was hearing. I fixed my eyes on Gess again.
Gess trembled like an aspen leaf, looking terribly frightened of whatever punishment might come down upon him.
At the sight of him, who looked ready to faint at any moment, I nodded inwardly.
‘House Alep was backed by the House of the Marquess of Calyps. It is only natural that he would be afraid.’
Even if he possessed strength beyond that of an ordinary person as a knight aspirant, he was still a young student.
The most frightening people in the world were one’s parents. It would not be strange for someone capable of controlling those parents at will to seem like something incomprehensible beyond fear itself.
If that was the case, then the choice I had to make was....
“Gess Alep. Since you violated the academy regulation that forbids duels within the academy under any circumstances, I sentence you to campus service without free time until your graduation.”
...Naturally, I was going to make use of him.
“I will handle the matter of the scroll. You will keep silent about it. In exchange, you will help me under the pretext of campus service.”
“W-Will no harm come to my house?”
“Yes, provided that you cooperate properly.”
“I will! I will cooperate properly! Please just tell me what I must do!”
Gess rushed forward, his face lighting up as though he had been terribly worried about his house.
I opened my mouth in the most chairman-like voice I could manage... in other words, a voice befitting a petty villain.
“Emma Novician, Chris Baha, Caelis Secunde, Silia Orez....”
All of them were students who had appeared in the report the secretary had given me, students whose talents had been forced to break because of the Chairman.
I intended to use Gess as my eyes to prevent these students from suffering unfair bullying or humiliation like Emma had today.
However, there was one more student who needed watching for a reason different from the previous four.
Perhaps the most important student for the future to come.
“...And Medio.”
The name of the student prophesied to one day take my head.
Feeling my mouth go dry, I continued.
“The first four are already enrolled, and the last one will enroll next semester. Until you graduate, keep watch over all five of them and report to me whenever anything unusual occurs.”
“Emma Novician, Chris Baha, Caelis Secunde, Silia Orez, Medio... Yes, I have memorized them!”
Perhaps because of his Born Actor trait, Gess looked extremely reliable as he nodded.
Still, the Chairman’s accumulated karma was too great for me to trust appearances alone.
Even Gess, right before my eyes, had followed the Chairman’s orders and ended up being disciplined by the Chairman.
Therefore, in addition to promising not to touch the House of Baron Alep and to erase the matter of the scroll, I offered one more reward.
“If you properly carry out what I have ordered, I swear that I will grant you one wish.”
“A request....”
“You may ask me to make the House of Baron Alep yours, or to create a position for you in one of the knight orders under the Marquess House. I have the power to grant any request you desire.”
‘According to the original story, the House of Baron Alep is full of villainous extras, so it would not matter if I handed it over.... And as a marquess, I should be able to make one position in a knight order.’
It was an offer that cost me nothing, but it would be different for Gess.
As merely the third son of his house, inheriting a title or entering a renowned knight order would surely be an enormous temptation—
“Then, could you write me a letter of recommendation for Ludicher Theatre Academy?”
—Huh?
I lifted my eyes from the tea the secretary had prepared.
When I looked up, Gess’s face was several times more excited than when I had promised not to touch his house.
He was not asking me to hand over a noble house or place him in a knight order.
He was merely asking to enter the empire’s famous theatre academy. There was only one answer I could give.
“Of course... I can.”
“...!! Thank you! I will work hard!”
As I watched him quickly leave the chairman’s office, I remembered how unusually theatrical Gess had been during the duel and swallowed the last question that rose to my throat.
...Did he really want to become an actor?
After Gess left, I once again found myself facing the status window that had appeared on its own.
[ Quest Complete! ]
[ ◆ Earn a student’s trust. (1/1) ]
[ Reward: Trait Shop Unlocked ]
The quest had completed on its own even though I had not done anything particularly worthy of earning someone’s trust.
As I struggled through the day’s work that the secretary had handed over, I stared blankly at the status window, unable to tell whether this was a dream or reality.
Then the status window directly told me that it was not a dream.
Ding!
With a cheerful notification sound, the status window expanded to a degree that could almost be called infinite.
[ The Trait Shop is unlocked as a Quest Completion Reward. ]
[ 1 ‘Trait Shop Access Ticket’ is awarded as a Quest Completion Reward. ]
[ Trait Shop List ]
Barbarian of the Cliff
Strike in the Darkness
Twenty-Sided Die
Late Bloomer
Bundle of Dire Straits
......
......
Creator of Another World
King of Pungent Animals
Noble Bloodline
......
...
The status window stretched out so long that it seemed as though it might have drilled through the floor, filled with an endless list of traits.
Just as my eyes were about to go wild at the list of traits with such dazzling names, another cheerful notification sound rang out, as though it was not over yet.
Ding!
[ You have earned Gess Alep’s trust. ]
[ Trait - Appraiser’s Eye can be used even when the target is outside your field of vision. ]
Until now, the status window had only activated when a target was within my sight. Though limited to one person, being able to activate it anywhere was a benefit, shocking in the best possible way....
‘...I earned Gess Alep’s trust? Me?’
Yet it was not as shocking as the fact that I had earned the student trust required by the quest from such an unexpected direction.
‘I thought it would be Emma Novician if the quest was completed.’
I had stepped in to save Emma, but it had not been an act of pure goodwill.
I had planned to save her from danger, gain at least one ally in this academy where nobody trusted the Chairman, and complete the quest at the same time.
But I had not even properly spoken with Emma, and somehow I had earned Gess’s trust instead.
‘That is not bad for me... not at all.’
When I thought about it, I had already made Gess my watcher. Earning his trust could only be good, never bad.
It meant I would not have to doubt the sincerity of Gess’s reports.
I ended my concerns about Gess by giving the secretary a single order.
“Tell Professor Tuvan to forget everything concerning the scroll. Delete the record of the payment from the report submitted last time as well.”
“Understood. However, the Chancellor’s office may raise concerns about the severity of the disciplinary action.”
“Campus service without free time until graduation. For the third son of a baronial house, it is a punishment harsh enough that he will not even have time to rest.”
“That is true, but....”
“Yes, anyone would think the same, so they will not bother picking at it. Above all, Chancellor Pionia... is not the sort of person who would.”
In the original story, the Chairman hated the Chancellor beyond the point of mere dislike.
She interfered with his work at every turn, and although they had enrolled in the academy together as classmates, her talent was hundreds of times greater than his.
That was why I did not dislike Chancellor Pionia.
Anyone who had read <I Became the Academy’s Final Boss> would likely agree that it was impossible to hate a capable chancellor struggling against a wastrel villain like the Chairman.
In any case, I felt only favor toward Chancellor Pionia, so I did not consider the secretary’s concern important.
“Rather than spend time on such a trivial concern, think about how we should erase the scroll’s traces.”
“...Yes, understood.”
The secretary left in accordance with my order, and I was once again alone in the chairman’s office.
I had only been able to steal glances at the Trait Shop because I was worried I might look insane. Now, I properly looked through it.
[ Trait Shop List ]
Barbarian of the Cliff
Strike in the Darkness
Twenty-Sided Die
Late Bloomer
Bundle of Dire Straits
......
......
Creator of Another World
King of Pungent Animals
Noble Bloodline
......
...
No matter how many times I looked at them, the traits felt dazzling.
Unable to hide my excitement, I read the description of the trait called Twenty-Sided Die among the countless options with a pounding heart.
[ Twenty-Sided Die ]
[ When there is nothing else you can do, try trusting your luck. ]
It was a trait that rolled a twenty-sided die for me only once, whenever I wanted.
A high number granted good fortune, while a low number granted misfortune. After reading the description of such an endlessly ambiguous trait, I quietly looked away.
‘If possible, I should choose a trait useful for staying alive. Something more useful than this.’
My goal was clear.
To survive Medio, the bastard who would enroll three months from now!
That was why I needed to obtain a trait necessary for survival. Something a little more practical than a trait involving dice.
“If possible, it would be best to get a combat-related trait—”
[ 1 ‘Trait Shop Access Ticket’ will be used. ]
—?!
At the status window that suddenly appeared, I sprang from my seat with a cry of alarm.
‘I have not even done anything yet?!’
I had not been planning to use it yet, nor had I even decided what to choose.
Then why in the world was the ticket being used on its own!
As I floundered in the unexpected situation, the status window displayed a new message as though telling me to calm down.
[ You used 1 ‘Trait Shop Access Ticket’ and drew a new trait! ]
[ Great Success! ]
[ Trait - Noble Bloodline acquired. ]
“.........”
A fanfare and blaring trumpet sounds rang out as I stared emptily at the glittering status window.
I had wondered why the ticket had been used when I had not even chosen a trait yet....
“...It was not a purchase ticket. It was a draw ticket......!”
Yes, come to think of it, it was an ‘access’ ticket. Nowhere had it been called a ‘purchase’ ticket.
But if that was the case, should it not have been called a shop at all...?
I sighed and glared at the status window.
However, as always, the status window merely scattered sparkling light and decorated the air.
In the end, I was the first to give up.
“Let’s at least read the description....”
[ Noble Bloodline ]
[ Nobility is inherited through generations. ]
The trait I had drawn was, as its name suggested, the kind that made its possessor noble.
More precisely, it made the possessor’s actions and way of speaking noble—or aristocratic.
This was a world where a strict class system existed. I had possessed a high-ranking noble after being an utterly ordinary modern person.
Considering such circumstances, it was not a trait I could call complete garbage. Still, that did not mean I was not disappointed.
“It would have been nice if I had drawn something like Creator of Another World or Barbarian atop the Cliff.”
Leaving behind traits whose names practically proclaimed how good they were, I had drawn Noble Bloodline instead.
With a sigh full of regret, I dismissed the Trait Shop list from before my eyes. That was when I found a red piece of paper resting in one corner of the desk.
“......?”
If my memory was not wrong, that spot had been empty just before I opened the Trait Shop.
Of course, I might have overlooked it because the desk was messy. But no matter what, would it not have been impossible to miss a sheet of paper so red it resembled blood?
I unfolded the paper with eyes full of curiosity.
「 When the moon has passed overhead. At Gentle Morning. With Persona. 」
An unknown invitation welcomed my curiosity.