I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 81

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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I had been too greedy.

I was wrapped up in the arrogance of thinking I could reconcile two opposing countries.

Using Emilia to inform the Kingdom’s Intelligence Agency of my threat and slowly persuade them and whatnot…

Damn it.

Thinking about it now, it was all so ridiculous.

They say if you lack power, your head suffers.

From the beginning, I should have just overpowered them with force.

By making Hertlocker, who was in charge of the Intelligence Agency’s overall military power, my servant.

“That technique you planted in my heart taught me something good. I’ve also planted a self-destruct technique in Emilia’s heart.”

“What?!”

I hadn’t planted any such thing.

Emilia barely slept, so there was no way I could have planted anything.

“If I twitch my finger, Emilia dies. If you tell Emilia, she dies. Of course, if I die, the technique will automatically explode. How about it? Do you feel like following my orders now?”

“You son of a bitch…”

“Keep talking. I’ll make you see a corpse with ribs spread out like angel wings.”

“Kuhk…”

Hertlocker bit his lip hard, as if unable to contain his anger.

Yes, that’s it.

I shouldn’t have treated this villain-like bastard as a person from the start.

“Just kill me instead! Kill me and let Emilia go!”

“Sorry, but I can’t do that. I need you.”

“Damn it, what is it! What?! I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything, so please, just Emilia…”

“First. Cut off the Kingdom’s support for the rebel army in the southern colony led by Duke Lorraine Philip.”

Earlier, he had been shouting loudly whether I spoke or not.

Now it seemed he was finally listening.

His posture of kneeling down respectfully was very good.

“Second. Gather and report information about Mary Ayle’s son.”

“Mary Ayle? Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. The innocent housekeeper you killed.”

“…”

This worked out well.

Using Hertlocker, I could get information about Ms. Mary’s son without having to worry about the Intelligence Agency’s watchful eyes.

That pocket watch.

I must deliver it.

Because I promised.

“And third. Let’s get along well from now on.”

“What?”

As I held out my hand, Hertlocker, who had been listening seriously, looked up at me with a disgusted expression.

Ah.

I hadn’t released his restraints.

I snapped my fingers and released all of the techniques on the restraints.

Immediately, Hertlocker tore off all the restraints with sheer force and stood before me.

Damn it…

Was this bastard always this tall?

He looked at least 10 centimeters taller than me?

“What did you just say?”

“I’m on your side, the Intelligence Agency’s side. So let’s get along.”

Don’t just use the whip, offer a carrot too.

I held out my hand with the kindest smile I could muster, trying to reassure Hertlocker.

Hertlocker stared at me with a face that looked like he might fold my waist in half at any moment, then-

“Fine. I’ll… follow your orders.”

He grasped my hand firmly.

His grip was so strong it felt like it might crush my joints, so I had to quickly pull my hand away.

Crazy bastard.

He was freakishly strong.

“Don’t move. I’ll visit you whenever I need to.”

“…”

I had gotten Hertlocker’s home address from Jin.

“Then take your time eating the dumplings and come out. I’ll be going…”

“Wait!”

As I turned to leave, Hertlocker’s booming voice turned me back around.

“Emilia… Emilia is my everything. She’s my only family. So…”

“What happens to Emilia will depend on how you behave. So work hard, okay?”

“…”

After giving him plenty of motivation, I left the house.

With this, I had succeeded in bringing Hertlocker under my control.

Of course, that was assuming he believed in the technique planted in Emilia’s heart…

Judging by the fact that he didn’t smash my face earlier, he seemed to believe it completely.

I could use him quite effectively until I was discovered.

Though it would be difficult to hide it from him forever.

“Hmm.”

Coming outside, I realized this house was in quite a good position.

It was hard to believe there was a house underground here.

“This house is amazing, right?”

“…”

When I turned my head, the pretty boy I had seen earlier was grinning.

It was Jin, as expected.

“It’s not bad. Is it yours now?”

“Yeah. Some crazy family built it secretly underground, saying they had to prepare for the end times. I was the first to discover that the family had died suddenly from a drug overdose, so I snatched up this underground house after that.”

“I’ll buy it.”

“Yeah. I was planning to forcibly add it to the request fee even if you said you wouldn’t buy it. I don’t need it anymore.”

“…”

This woman’s mindset was really…

But I could understand.

She couldn’t keep using a house that had already been discovered by Hertlocker.

“Then shall we settle the request fee? Here!”

“…”

Her face looked strangely bright.

When I took the paper Jin handed me, it unfolded endlessly downward.

This wasn’t like a receipt from a group dinner…

I almost fainted when I saw the total sum at the bottom.

“Perhaps this would work?”

“Nah. A shabby ring like this won’t do. Maybe if you brought ten thousand of these.”

“…”

Of course.

This one wouldn’t recognize the Ring of Miracles.

In the end, I had no choice.

Because I didn’t have this much money.

If I withdrew all my investments from the Holy Knights and Shayden, it would be more than enough, but that would be truly stupid.

The only option was to ask a reliable ally.

“Will you pay in full or in installments, customer?”

“Charge it in full to Irene von der Lichtenburg.”

“Hmm? To the Countess of Lichtenburg?”

“Yes. She’ll pay if you say it’s my bill.”

“Hmm…? Well, alright. I’ll trust you.”

Jin looked at me suspiciously for a moment, but soon regained her smile.

When she came to report the completion of the request earlier, she had seemed in a bad mood, but now she looked cheerful again.

Did she have bipolar disorder?

“Schlus Hainkel. At first, I really disliked you, but now I kind of like you.”

“I don’t remember doing anything to make you like me.”

“Oh, you did. Paying in full without negotiation. You’re my favorite type.”

“…”

I had forgotten.

The Crows usually set quite high request fees.

Knowing this, clients usually try to negotiate, and typically the price is reduced to about half the initial offer…

I had completely forgotten about this setting.

So I ended up paying double the request fee.

Since Jin was said to overcharge even more severely, I might have paid close to 10 times the proper amount.

But it didn’t matter.

Because I wasn’t the one paying.

Rather, it was a good thing that I gained Jin’s favor by using someone else’s money.

Or did I just look like an easy mark?

Well, it was all the same.

Wasn’t it similar?

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“Ugh… I can’t concentrate…”

In a dark room lit by an oil lamp.

Iris took off her glasses and slumped over her desk.

Even though midterms were right around the corner, she couldn’t concentrate on studying at all.

“Is it because I feel empty?”

She brought her hand to her chest, but all she could feel was her collarbone.

Was she unable to concentrate because the cross she had worn for over a decade was gone?

While it surely had some effect, Iris knew that wasn’t the real reason.

“Haa…”

It was because thoughts of Schlus kept coming to her.

She had said harsh things to him.

She had made him angry.

Perhaps she had made him hate her…

Of course, she didn’t regret it.

It was something she had to say eventually.

But she didn’t have the courage to be hated by Schlus.

That was why she had left him the cross.

Hoping he would remember her.

Hoping he would recognize her, even belatedly.

But she knew it was futile.

If he was going to recognize her, wouldn’t he have done so the moment they first met?

Iris knew all too well that he wouldn’t remember with just a small cross that could be found in any souvenir shop.

“I’m really a coward…”

She had clearly thought that as a saint, it was okay to be forgotten.

No, in fact, she had thought that way until quite recently.

She had never once wished for gratitude from those she had helped.

But now she craved that gratitude so desperately.

Gratitude from just one person.

If only he would remember her, she would be so happy, beyond measure.

She would be elated to the point of flying, but that wouldn’t happen.

Because he was too busy to remember such trivial things.

Because he had lived such a hard life.

All she could do was silently watch and support him from behind.

Occasionally redirecting him when he walked towards death…

If she could just do that, she would be fine with being hated by him.

That was what she had clearly thought.

But now, why did her heart ache so much…

“I’m not even a saint…”

A saint who shouldn’t expect rewards was desperately waiting for gratitude.

She was disqualified as a saint.

In fact, she wanted to throw away the title of saint right away.

She wanted to tell him everything, to steal his heart.

She was confident it was possible.

Because objectively, she had quite an attractive face and body.

But she couldn’t do that.

“Hic… Haa… Let’s study.”

Because there were still many people in this continent who needed help.

Besides, he had a suitable partner…

For everyone to be happy, she just had to grit her teeth a little.

Iris picked up her pen again with a bitter smile.

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‘Is this guy really crazy?’

At the Lichtenburg mansion.

Erica kept examining the grade report while munching on cookies.

It was a report summarizing all of the grades from the tests and practical sessions so far.

Among them, one person stood out prominently – Schlus Hainkel.

He hadn’t lost first place in any practical session or test.

While it wasn’t very significant compared to the midterms in terms of grade reflection ratio, it was still an impressive performance.

‘He must be really crazy.’

She heard he took first place in almost all Battle Magic classes too.

She also heard he couldn’t get all of the first places there because of one monster who was on a different level.

Even considering that, it meant Schlus was evenly mastering both theoretical magic research in Elemental Magic and combat using mana in Battle Magic.

This wasn’t just being well-rounded in literary and martial arts, it was reaching the peak in both.

‘There’s only one way to overtake him.’

If Schlus messed up the midterms, there might be a chance.

But if someone as flawless as Schlus messed up the midterms, that would be strange in itself.

Even those who had been dismissive of him at the beginning of the semester would have sensed that much.

But there was a way.

Making it so that Schlus had no choice but to mess up the midterms.

For example, kidnapping him on the day of the midterms and releasing him the next day…

“What am I saying…”

Erica messed up her hair as these terrible thoughts occurred to her.

She couldn’t do that.

How could she, as the proud young lady of the Lichtenburg family, do such a vulgar thing?

“Someone will do it though.”

But the fact that she thought of it meant others could easily think of it too.

Those middling students who saw Schlus as a thorn in their side would surely try something.

Well, that was all something Schlus had to deal with.

He should have been prepared for that much when he entered the Imperial Academy as a commoner.

“Nngh… Is this right?”

Thinking it over once more, Erica sighed.

Was it okay for someone to be attacked just because they were a commoner?

Of course it was unfair, but did Schlus have to endure it all on his own?

Maybe she could help him a little.

Of course, not with any ulterior motives, but because as a noble, she should eliminate unfairness…

“Eeeek?!”

Just then, a sharp scream echoed through the corridor.

It was her mother’s voice.

Erica jumped up and peeked her head into the room where the sound came from.

“Mother. Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

“Is it because of Schlus?”

“…!”

She saw her mother’s body flinch.

It seemed she had hit the mark.

“Mother…”

“Why are you suddenly mentioning that child’s name? Hoho, it’s not. It’s really not.”

“I see.”

Well, even if she asked like this, her mother wouldn’t tell her the truth.

Erica gritted her teeth and closed the door as she left.

That bastard Schlus had clearly said it.

That he would play with her mother a little and then discard her.

“Damn it…”

Thinking about it again, there was no reason to help such a guy.

Meanwhile, in the Countess’s office, Lady Lichtenburg was-

“He must really be crazy…”

She couldn’t control her body trembling as she looked at the request fee settlement form.

50 million Tirions.

If she added a little more to this, she could buy a luxury house in the New City district.

She was curious what kind of insane task he had assigned to a Crow to result in such a fee.

– Schlus Hainkel said the Countess’ would pay on his behalf.

And she was supposed to pay all of this, in full.

Since it was Schlus Hainkel’s order, she couldn’t refuse.

“This bastard…”

She scribbled her signature with tears in her eyes and sniffling.

At first, he started by giving her light punishments, but his demands seemed to be growing bigger and bigger.

How much would he demand next time…

Just imagining it made her future seem bleak.

“Sniff.”

The lady’s pitiful sniffling sounds echoed throughout the house.

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