Completing the quest spared me from becoming a cold corpse. However, no reward was given either.

The Monkey, in response to my request, literally crumpled the “moment of X-Class’s victory” itself and shoved it into reality. Naturally, this foul play—going far beyond mere crude trickery—was caught red-handed by the System.

…Hey, you damn monkey! Is this how you handle things? That was way too extreme! There should be a limit to making dreams come true.

If I didn’t have the compulsion to maintain my character roleplay, I would have grabbed someone and burst into tears.

‘I just closed my eyes for a second, and an entire week flew by.’

Truly, gods are not to be trusted. They have no consideration for the fragile minds of mere humans.

I clearly hadn’t been here during that time, yet the kids were going on about how it was “thanks to me.” No one found this situation strange.

Honestly, shouldn’t they be terrified? Isn’t the genre shifting to horror?

I’d like to think that surviving thanks to a cheat code is a good thing, but the overwhelming sense of incongruity gives me goosebumps.

“Professor, please accept it. I want to return this honor to you.”

At the very least, my mind settled when I saw the tournament trophy offered by the Protagonist.

Right, let’s just consider that expensive-looking Magic Core embedded in there as the quest reward. Wasn’t surviving the whole reason I struggled so hard in the first place?

Acting true to ‘Chris,’ I accepted the trophy silently with an expressionless face.

“…!”

The faces of the Protagonist and his friends instantly brightened. I get what they’re misunderstanding, but…

I didn’t accept it for the honor, kids. I need the item. I have to open a new dungeon with that.

Still, I don’t feel bad about it. From their perspective, they’ve practically written new history. No matter how blunt and ill-mannered ‘Chris’ is, I can offer them at least a word of encouragement.

‘Above all, you guys are going to have a lot more work to do soon.’

This is motivation for that.

“…You weren’t trash after all.”

“…!”

“But get cocky and you’ll die, you little mice.”

Kids. You just went from trash to bugs… is it really okay for your faces to be brimming with such emotion?

“S-stop stating the obvious all the time! We’ll keep… working hard… you know…”

It’s amazing how this teary voice belongs not to the Protagonist, but to the Princess.

Well, the Princess must have gone through a lot. Plus, he’ll finally be able to meet his little sister soon, so it makes sense he’s overwhelmed with emotion.

“Angelina, here’s a handkerchief. Don’t cry on such a good day…”

Leaving the Healer’s comforting words to the Princess behind, I turned around.

The kids might celebrate their victory with an after-party among themselves, but I don’t have that kind of leisure.

I looked at the quest window that had been glowing in my vision for a while.

[Main Quest: Request of the ■arth God 2-3]

[Let’s go on the second ■ield trip. Defeat the boss monster with your students.

Success Reward: Teacher’s Grace

Failure Penalty: You’ll die if you fail anyway.

Time Remaining: 7 Days 00 Hours 00 Minutes 00 Seconds]

Look at how suddenly half-hearted it became. It seems to be seriously sulking.

‘Even so, it didn’t even specify the location. Of course, given my situation, that’s actually a good thing.’

To get the real Angelina… I mean, the Real Angelina back, I’ll have to face a boss-level monster anyway.

‘Also known as the Snow Queen.’

It’s a common name. After all, the Snow Queen is the most iconic fairy tale that comes to mind with ice and snow. The author of <Hero Rampage> also took inspiration from there.

Of course, the fact that this world’s Snow Queen kidnapped the Real Angelina to suck her dry of mana is a bit grotesque.

According to the novel’s description, it probably looks like a giant mosquito made of ice and snow…

‘My revulsion just spiked.’

I don’t like bugs. Among them, mosquitoes are the worst. Once again, I need to stay safely in the back.

I walked out of the arena, thinking.

First, the urgent matter is the quest. I need to catch the boss mob within a week.

The next thing to resolve is, naturally, Narrow Eyes.

At first, I thought he was just an extra whose name didn’t even appear in the main story.

But to think he’s a character who doesn’t even appear at all. Could he be someone who was transported to this other world like me?

‘…Should I sing the national anthem in front of him? No, there’s no guarantee he’s Korean. Should I ask, “Do you know Earth?”‘

Of course, none of that fits my character roleplay, so it’s ultimately dismissed.

If it were up to my heart, I’d just grab Narrow Eyes by the collar, shake him, and ask what the hell he is.

However, just my luck, there was no point marked with the name ‘Yujin’ on the Bedallua Academy map.

He said he’d be busy for a while, so it seems he went out of the Academy.

For now, let’s prepare for the boss fight.

* * *

Inside the rattling carriage. However, surprisingly, my butt doesn’t hurt at all.

‘Wow, a ducal carriage is on a whole different level.’

I guess you could say it feels like riding a limousine in modern terms.

The interior was quite spacious, easily accommodating four people per carriage.

So X-Class decided to split into two carriages, but…

‘Why did it have to be this combination?’

The Protagonist sitting next to me and the Princess sitting across from me, I can let that slide.

But I have no idea what this guy sitting diagonally is about.

“Kekeke, Master! My ‘Emperor’s Eye’ is throbbing, which means quite an in.ter.est.ing fellow must be waiting ahead…!”

“Shut up.”

No, it’s just that you’ve worn that eyepatch for too long and it’s gotten inflamed. Put some ointment on it.

The second-year Lion, wearing a thoroughly excited expression.

He definitely went crazy from the shock of being crushed by X-Class during the tournament.

The sight of him grabbing my pant legs and begging to be taught, saying he wanted to be strong like them, is still vivid.

He happens to be the Principal’s nephew and has a personality that’s easy to exploit, so it wouldn’t be a bad thing to stay close to him.

But his madness of wanting to join X-Class even if he had to repeat a year was terrifying, so I plan to roughly appease him by letting him participate in this field training.

‘Fortunately, the Princess understood, so it was fine.’

For one, his skills are solid, and the allowed capacity for that dungeon was eight people, so there was room.

“And I don’t think Father would feel much guilt about disposing of that person.”

…The Princess’s face when he said that was a bit scary, though.

Suppressing the urge to smack the Lion, I pulled out the red Magic Core from my coat.

This Magic Core, which had been embedded in the trophy, was called the ‘Flame’s Eye’ in <Hero Rampage>, and it would be the item to open the dungeon where the Snow Queen resided. Without it, the entrance was blocked so you couldn’t enter.

“…Professor. If we follow the plan, it will go well, right?”

The Princess spoke up.

He must have complicated feelings. Looking closely, his shoulders are trembling slightly.

I put what I had been rolling in my hand back into my coat and answered.

“As long as you fools don’t mess around.”

“Don’t worry, Angelina. Even the Professor said it will go well. We’ll all do our best.”

The Protagonist provided support fire. He might not know the Princess’s circumstances, but he seemed to have noticed his anxiety.

Only then did the Princess relax his stiff expression and nod.

Hmm, if the Protagonist had held the Princess’s cold hand and comforted him here, it would have been an excellent appeal for a harem male lead.

“Master…! Is this truly an ideal ‘Boy meets Girl’ situation? Should we make ourselves scarce?”

The fact that I shared a sentiment with that Lion guy is displeasing.

First of all, there are no girls here, so drop the thought of opening the door of a moving carriage and jumping out.

* * *

‘Frozen Frost Kingdom.’

The lair where the Snow Queen resides, and a dungeon that no one has conquered in a long time.

No, its existence wasn’t even known in the first place. There was no reason for a tournament winner to carry a trophy all the way to this freezing place.

Even in <Hero Rampage>, it was a place the Protagonist accidentally discovered while fighting the Demon Lord’s army in his third year.

‘Back then, it was a complete mess because he had to fight the Demon Lord’s army and the Snow Queen at the same time.’

But right now, I only need to deal with one of them.

I had already shared the Snow Queen’s attack patterns and special characteristics with the students. Even if it has some difficulty, a boss mob whose strategy is revealed is ultimately clearable.

‘I believe in these overpowered freaks! With the Lion joining too, they should pull it off!’

Sorry! I’ve done my part! Now all I can do is pray.

The Magic Core, the Flame’s Eye, floated into the air and emitted a red light so intense it hurt my eyes. Then, a gap in space slowly opened, and a vast white snowfield unfolded before my eyes.

The Snow Queen subjugation party looked at each other, nodded, and stepped into the dungeon together.

And then.

[※The difficulty of the quest may be adjusted depending on circumstances.]

[※You are a professor. Please safely conclude your ‘class.’]

…Fuck, I have a memory of seeing this message somewhere.