‘But maintaining that was hardly as easy as it sounded.’

The novel described just how severely the Princess suffered from obsessive compulsion. It even mentioned that the physical pain from forcibly suppressing growth with magic was far from negligible.

“How do you know that name?”

The Princess asked in a voice still raw from crying.

I replied with an expression befitting Chris—one that said, ‘Your gender is of absolutely no concern to me; I simply find this tedious.’

“Does that matter?”

“……Haa.”

The Princess let out a quiet sigh.

“You really are something……. Never mind. Whatever you’ve learned, pretend you don’t know. My father won’t stand for it.”

A haughty tone, as befitting the Ice Princess. Yet the tearful tremor lingering at the edge of those words was impossible to hide.

“……I don’t want to lose you too, Professor.”

Everyone who had known ‘Andante’ had vanished. Duke Serif was not the kind of man to leave the seeds of a threat lying dormant.

The protagonists might be spared to some degree, but for extra-tier supporting characters, there was no mercy.

‘……It’s genuinely terrifying all over again.’

You really can’t judge people by their appearance. Wasn’t this person twice as dangerous as Natasha?

I shook my head lightly and spoke.

“You lot were the same last time—how stupid can you be?”

“……?”

“You must think I’m someone who’d let himself get pushed around.”

“……!”

That’s right! Regardless of my own fear, ‘Chris’ was canonically the strongest. This wasn’t at a level for students to worry about. So why do they keep worrying about my wellbeing?

‘Either these kids are just that affectionate, or my persona has gone slack. If it’s the latter, that’s a serious problem.’

Perhaps it was time to start showing the persona more strictly. And while I was at it, I should also establish some backing.

‘Duke Serif’s arrival may be unfortunate for the Princess, but for me, it could be an opportunity.’

At this point, I could no longer curry favor with either the Holy Emperor or the Demon Lord’s side.

But continuing to hold out alone was somewhat untenable, so I needed to take out at least one insurance policy.

‘The Serif ducal house was one of the few powers that hadn’t aligned with either the Holy Emperor or the Demon Lord.’

Of course, I had no intention of fully attaching myself to him or wagging my tail. ‘Chris’ had to at least appear to be a lone wolf…… and considering what he’d done to the Princess, I had no favorable impression whatsoever. I had at least a modicum of pride.

I simply planned to make him owe me. Using knowledge that only readers of <Hero Rampage> would possess.

My circumstances might be infinitely inferior compared to others, but I’d show that I wasn’t a Transmigrator for nothing.

“Andante.”

“You should call me Angelina.”

“Lead X-Class to victory in the academy tournament.”

“……What?”

“Then I’ll let you see your sister.”

“……!”

I’d free the Princess while I was at it.

* * *

[Quest Complete! Please select one from the gift packages below as your reward.]

->Frozen Hero’s Sturdy Shield♤

->Succubus’s Secret XX♡

->Super Popular Heartthrob’s Fluttering~ Cape☆

Why was every option this thing gave me like this?

Had it still not learned that clumsy emoticons only bred resentment?

‘Unlike Route, pressing it doesn’t bring up any description.’

Absolutely unhelpful, as always.

Going by the names alone, the first was probably defensive gear.

I figured one would show up eventually. I already had evasion, attack, and healing covered.

The second…… is she insane? Choosing that would probably change the genre and rating entirely.

The last one seemed like a purely cosmetic item. Or maybe, being a cape, it was evasion-based?

‘I should pick the one most befitting Chris.’

When in doubt, it was best to follow where the persona pointed. I moved my finger.

[Reward Received!]

The moment the notification appeared, the next quest window immediately popped up before my eyes, as if it had been waiting.

[Main Quest: Request of the Earth God 2-2]

[You already know that the first-semester exam at Bedallua Academy is being replaced by an academy tournament, don’t you? Naturally—it’s a big event, after all. Professor, lead your class to victory! If you can, that is.

Success Reward: One Chance

Failure: Become a Cold Corpse

Time Remaining: 14 Days 00:00:00]

The quest happened to overlap with what I was already planning to do.

I’d have loved to rejoice at such fortune, but something nagged at me.

Setting aside the fact that the ‘System’ was blatantly revealing its ongoing surveillance of me—

‘If you can, that is.’…… That was a clear provocation.

In truth, X-Class winning the tournament wasn’t a difficult feat. Since it was organized by grade, the overwhelming strength of X-Class’s overpowered group among the freshmen was inevitable. As demonstrated in the previous sparring match with Class Y.

And yet, for the time limit to be this exceptionally generous……

‘I’m getting a rather grim premonition.’

And this kind of intuition had never once been wrong.

* * *

“This tournament…… will be held regardless of grade.”

The students’ jaws dropped.

Surprised? Yeah, I had the exact same expression when I first saw the announcement.

It seemed the grading system would change accordingly, though.

‘I don’t care about grades! What I need is victory!’

I’d already talked a big game to Duke Serif last time.

Without the winning team’s privileges, I couldn’t go find Angelina, and Chris’s omnipotent persona would be shattered.

‘That absolutely cannot happen.’

For someone like me who truly lived for the aesthetic and would genuinely die for it, the persona was life itself.

“I-I have confidence in my abilities, but beating experienced upperclassmen……!”

“B-But! If you wish it, Professor, I’ll do my best for the championship!”

“It’s good to aim high, but don’t overdo it, okay?”

The Model Student clutching his head, the Protagonist burning with determination, and the Healer smiling gently.

“No. We win unconditionally. I’ll lead you.”

……And the Princess, wearing a face that looked ready to kill someone.

Still, this time it wasn’t for the sake of the perfect Angelina, but for her own desire, so it was a relatively healthy motivation.

One thing was certain, regardless.

These kids had to grow stronger over the remaining two weeks.

‘In other novels, they find hidden pieces and experience explosive growth. Did <Hero Rampage> not have anything like that?’

I’d have to rack my brains.

That was urgent too, but something else was bothering me more immediately.

‘The voice that always piped up to cause trouble around this time is gone.’

Twin-braid. One of the two-person duo that, alongside the Model Student, never let a moment go silent—was observing a vow of silence today.

Her expression was vacant, and she looked like her spirit had left her body…… Had something happened?

“Dolce, try persuading Angelina. There’s someone from the Tot family in the third year, right? Our senior is really scary, isn’t he?”

“…….”

“Dolce, are you sick?”

“…….”

The Model Student was one thing, but to not even respond when the Protagonist asked—had Twin-braid’s mental state crumbled too, following the Princess?

Did these sunfish chicks take turns causing trouble?

Then, Twin-braid opened her mouth.

“Hey~ Did you know? They say a ghost appears around the Academy at this time of year.”

“Huh? What’s with that out of nowhere?”

“Back in the day, people used to die during the tournament~ Maybe it’s the spirit of one of them.”

“Agh, stop! You’re giving me goosebumps!”

If anyone else had said it, I would’ve dismissed it as pointless scary stories during class.

But a ghost story coming from Twin-braid was significant.

‘Something must have happened to the twins.’

And as if to prove that suspicion true, Twin-braid stopped showing up from the next class onward.

* * *

“She just vanished suddenly—maybe Dolce really was taken by a ghost?”

“That’s impossible, so just train. You’ve still got a long way to go before 300, right?”

“……Or maybe she ran away because Angelina’s training was too scary!”

The training grounds at this time of year were bustling with students preparing for the upcoming tournament, regardless of whether they were in X-Class.

Quite a few students turned back due to the lack of space, a testament to just how fervent the academic zeal at Bedallua was.

X-Class…… was training like mad from morning to afternoon, thanks to the Princess having secured a spot since dawn.

“I can’t afford to look after those who’ve given up on classes! We need to work hard so we can win even if it’s just us!”

Seeing her take on even my responsibilities made me feel a bit guilty……. Well, I did at least watch over them from the sidelines.

“Professor, am I doing well……? I’m trying my best to handle my mana as calmly as possible.”

“If you were hopeless, I’d have told you to quit long ago.”

“……! The fact that you haven’t said anything means I’m doing well! Thank you!”

See? I even gave advice(?)……

Watching the kids train and coasting on easy street was nice and all, but the more I watched, the more certain I became.

‘This won’t do.’

The tournament allowed seven members per team. We were already short on numbers, and losing Twin-braid, a solid fighter, was a severe blow to our combat strength.

Somehow persuading her to come back was the only way I could properly fulfill my role as a professor. I checked Twin-braid’s location on the map.

‘She’s been wandering the school gardens for a while now.’

As if…… searching for something.