I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 8

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
“Iskandal. What’s taking so long……”

Hertlocker’s words trailed off as he entered the barrier. The gruesome scene that unfolded before him left him at a loss for words – a pale woman lying in a pool of blood and a headless corpse.

“What in the world……”

Hertlocker walked over to Iskandal’s corpse with a deeply furrowed brow and examined it. The severed neck was a complete mess.

It certainly didn’t look like it had been cut with a blade. Moreover, the severed head was nowhere to be seen.

“Ah.”

Hertlocker let out a sigh as he surveyed the surroundings.

Scattered all around were dirty, bright red pieces.

It was only a moment later that he realized those were fragments of skull and brain.

In other words, Iskandal’s head hadn’t been cut off. It had exploded. It had violently collided with something and shattered into pieces from the impact.

However, there was not a trace of mana in the vicinity. Aside from the very faint mana emitted by the barrier, there was no sign that any spell had been activated.

This meant it wasn’t magic…… but was it possible for a human body to generate this level of force?

“Hmm……”

The blood had cooled considerably. It was clear that at least 5 minutes had passed since the culprit left the scene.

There was no point in pursuing them now, as catching them seemed unlikely. And even if caught, Hertlocker didn’t feel confident in confronting them in his current state.

He quickly abandoned the idea of tracking them down.

“This is bad.”

An irregular enemy had appeared. An enemy possessing at least Main-level combat power. They might even be an actual Main, although the chances of that were extremely low.

Judging by how they had entered the perception-blocking barrier and committed the act, it was unlikely to be a coincidence.

There was a high probability it was someone who had caught on to the activities of the Kingdom’s Intelligence Agency.

No wonder things had been going suspiciously smoothly lately. Starting with his failure to gain admission to the Imperial Academy, the Intelligence Agency had been facing a series of crises.

It seemed the Empire was slowly catching on and taking countermeasures.

It was about time to send Emilia back to the Kingdom. Even if she was unwilling, it would have to be done by force.

“By the way, how long will it take to clean all this up……”

Standing in the middle of the scene, surrounded by blood and flesh, Hertlocker let out a deep sigh.

***

An unexpected situation had occurred. The death of Iskandal. In the original work, Iskandal had survived until the final chapter.

There were no plans for his death either.

I had killed off a character who was supposed to live until the very end of the novel, and at an extremely early point before the Imperial Academy had even started……

However, this wouldn’t cause any serious problems. Throughout the original work, Iskandal’s role wasn’t significant; he merely took care of all sorts of miscellaneous tasks for the Intelligence Agency.

The absence of Iskandal wouldn’t distort any important events.

After all, he was a character created solely for my convenience, to minimize the blood on the protagonist’s hands.

But that didn’t mean there would be no impact going forward. All the dirty work Iskandal had been handling would now fall onto the protagonist.

One of the reasons the protagonist had been able to regain his emotions and rehabilitate in the original story was because he had fewer opportunities to kill……

Now, there was virtually no chance for Hertlocker’s redemption. He had pretty much become a true villain. That fucking bastard.

“What should I do with this?”

I looked at the pocket watch in my hand. A pocket watch with hands that weren’t moving, likely broken.

[Pocket Watch]

[Condition: Broken. Needs repair.]

[Description: An ordinary pocket watch, nothing special.]

Immediately, the ability ‘View’ activated, and subtitles appeared. There was no particularly helpful information.

Ms. Mary had pleaded with me. To please deliver it to her son, no matter what. The problem was, I had no idea who that son was.

I could only speculate that his last name might be Ayle.

But how many men in the world had the surname Ayle?

I couldn’t exactly go around asking and searching for him, as it would make the Kingdom’s Intelligence Agency and that bastard protagonist suspicious of me.

I had no choice but to search quietly on my own.

“It’ll be difficult right now. Maybe I’ll try to find him during the break.”

I had no intention of breaking the last request of the person who saved my life.

I had to find a way to deliver it to him, no matter what. By the way, this pocket watch…… I felt like I had seen it somewhere before. It was probably just my imagination.

I placed the pocket watch in a small box and put it in the safe.

“Haah…… Fucking hell, this sucks.”

Come to think of it, the entrance ceremony was in an hour.

I unwrapped the bandages on my right arm and struggled to put on my school uniform. My arm throbbed with pain. I had to go now. To the den of madmen.

*

“It seems everyone has gathered. Then, let us begin the entrance ceremony for Freya Imperial University.”

I had read a novel like that before. A novel where the author became embodied within their own work. The writing skills were so good that I was captivated, despite the author being a newcomer.

But around chapter 15, the writing and story quality suddenly collapsed, and eventually, around chapter 20, it ended with an “ah, it was just a dream” ending.

If I closed my eyes now and opened them again, would I find myself back in my room?

“…… Ah shit, reality.”

“Shh! Shut up, human!”

It was a futile hope. This novel would need at least 300 chapters before reaching the ending.

In other words, I would have to spend at least the next 5 years in this damn world as Schlus Hainkel.

“…… Now, we will have a speech from the top admitted student.”

“Ah.”

At the head professor’s voice echoing through the microphone, I froze.

Speech? Come to think of it, I vaguely remembered describing a very brief speech in the original work.

But I hadn’t been informed of anything about the speech.

“Schlus Hainkel. To the podium.”

“Yes.”

Would there be a script in front of the microphone when I got up there? I slowly climbed the steps, receiving the gazes of hundreds of people.

I hadn’t done many presentations even during my school days, so I wondered if it would go well.

“Huh.”

A sigh escaped my mouth as I stood in front of the microphone, taking Ludwig’s place. There was no script or anything.

I glanced at Ludwig, but he didn’t seem to have anything to convey to me.

“Pfft.”

“Hehe……”

At the frivolous laughter, I turned around.

Some of the professors sitting behind the podium had their heads bowed, trying to hold back their laughter. Now I had a rough idea of what was going on.

Those bastards were supposed to inform me about the speech. They had deliberately kept quiet to make a fool out of me. Damn them.

I ended up having to give a speech without any script.

“……”

I brought the microphone close and looked down.

All the first-year students, numbering over a hundred, were staring at my face. Their expressions ranged from displeasure to contempt and disdain.

This sucks a bit. Who would want to be possessed by a commoner’s body? I tightly gripped the microphone, brought it close, and opened my mouth.

“Hello, everyone. I am Schlus Hainkel, the top admitted student. I feel honored to stand on this stage on such a blessed day.”

Perhaps it was because I was a writer. The conventional opening of a speech immediately came to mind and flowed out smoothly.

The slightly worrisome point was that it was coming out without any filtering. I hoped I wouldn’t say anything strange.

“A commoner as the top student……”

“He must have cheated.”

“Ah, this is so annoying. Why did a lowly commoner have to be in our class-”

Not long after I started the speech, some students in the front row began to chatter. Did they think their voices would be drowned out by mine and go unheard?

I can hear you loud and clear, you bastards. Just as I was inwardly cursing at them-

“As you all know, the Imperial Academy is not only the best university in the empire but also on the entire continent. Such a university-”

“That cheating bastard. Tsk.”

“Hah…… I believe no one would suspect that such a university would admit a commoner who committed fraud as the top student. Even if it were true, I wonder if they realize they’re spitting on the university they themselves have entered.”

“……”

I ended up doing it. Provoked by the constant gossip, I lost my temper and started to drift.

When I came to my senses, I found myself staring directly at the nobles in the front row who had been chattering enthusiastically, and they had their mouths tightly shut, looking up at me.

As I paused for a moment, a chilling silence enveloped the auditorium. It was fucked. But since it was already fucked, I thought it might not be bad to go all the way.

“Don’t try to find the reason for your failure to achieve the top spot elsewhere. It’s because your own abilities were lacking. Is it still unacceptable that a commoner is at the top? Then take it from me.”

“……”

Before I knew it, the speech had turned into something akin to a declaration of war.

The guys in the front row who had been talking non-stop gradually lowered their eyes as the speech(?) continued, and eventually couldn’t even make eye contact with me.

“I will make a promise here today. If anyone manages to take the top spot from me even once during the first semester, I will voluntarily drop out. So if you believe you are superior to a commoner, please prove it with your skills. Don’t wriggle around behind my back in an unseemly manner.”

“Head Professor! Get him off the stage!”

“With that, I wish fortune upon the future of all the students of the Imperial Academy. This concludes the speech by the top admitted student.”

“……”

By the time even the professors at the back were becoming noisy, I quickly ended the speech(?) and stepped down from the podium.

On the way back to my seat, I glanced and saw the professor who had been giggling earlier glaring at me with a distorted expression.

I tried my best to ignore it and looked up at Ludwig, who had returned to the microphone. I thought he would say something to me now, but-

“…… Next, we will have the admission approval from the chairperson.”

Unexpectedly, he moved on without a word.

This was truly surprising. I thought Ludwig would try to humiliate me in any way possible. Still, it was a relief that it went well.

As I felt reassured and started to relax my tension…… for some reason, I felt piercing gazes coming from all directions.

***

“What insolent words are these! You put him on stage to give a speech, and he insults the nobles instead! Head Professor! That guy, Schlus or whatever his name is! Punish him immediately!”

After the entrance ceremony ended and all the students had left, Relic was holding forth in front of the other professors in the auditorium.

His face remained as red as it had been during Schlus’ speech.

“Professor Relic.”

“You’ll punish him, right? Right?”

“Professor Relic.”

“…… Yes.”

At Ludwig’s lowered voice, Relic, who had calmed down a bit, responded.

The fact that Ludwig repeated the same words meant that he was in a foul mood.

“I believe I clearly instructed you to inform the top student to prepare a speech.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Did you inform him?”

“I, I did.”

“Really?”

“……”

Relic, who met Ludwig’s cold gaze, lowered his eyes. Ludwig certainly possessed a power that made people feel intimidated, even among fellow nobles.

Despite Relic’s intention to argue against Ludwig’s repeated questioning, he made eye contact with Chairwoman Alexia, who was sitting alone at the back.

She had her legs crossed and was staring this way with a faint smile on her face, as if finding it interesting. Cold sweat began to trickle down the back of Relic’s neck.

It was impossible to lie in front of that woman.

“I didn’t. Inform him…… I apologize. It was my mistake.”

Relic finally confessed the truth, and Ludwig let out a deep sigh.

No wonder Schlus had looked around in confusion when he stepped onto the podium. Of course, there was absolutely no agitation in the expression of that dead-eyed man.

After all, how could someone with the mental strength to withstand the Barrier of Fear without any trouble be agitated in any situation?

“Then, does that mean the entire speech was improvised on the spot?”

“It seems so. As expected of a lowly status, if they can’t prepare in advance, they can only utter such vulgar words.”

“…… Tsk.”

Ludwig, who no longer wanted to listen, clicked his tongue and turned away completely.

‘Honestly, I was a bit impressed.’

I thought he would end it uneventfully with a dull opening. I never dreamed he would drop such a bombshell.

One of those bombshells was the declaration that if he lost the top spot during the first semester, he would drop out.

It was probably more shocking to the new students than the fact that a commoner had been admitted as the top student.

After all, there had never been a single person who voluntarily left the Imperial Academy they had worked so hard to enter.

But to Ludwig, it didn’t sound provocative at all. The condition for maintaining the top spot throughout the first semester was originally set as a condition for advancing the dormitory and living expenses.

It was merely raising the stakes again. There was no additional risk for Schlus to lose. Moreover, the line he recited in the middle,

“Don’t wriggle around behind my back in an unseemly manner.”

It not only mocked the new students who were gossiping but also Relic, who had deliberately not informed him about the speech. In fact, Relic was literally ‘behind’ Schlus at that moment. It was a poignant criticism in many ways.

‘Fairness’ was one of the virtues most emphasized by nobles, so they couldn’t even reprimand him for talking nonsense.

The fact that Relic could only make crude criticisms like he was rude or had no class, without being able to say anything about the content, made that clear.

‘He’s no ordinary madman.’

If it was this chaotic from the entrance ceremony, how much of a commotion would there be when the semester actually started?

Just imagining it made Ludwig feel dizzy. Holding his throbbing temples, Ludwig made eye contact with Alexia. Alexia smiled brightly and waved at him.

‘Well, of course. Who brought that guy here?’

The guy Alexia had given a perfect score to. There was no way he wouldn’t be a madman.

Only then did Ludwig somewhat understand.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇