Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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112. Hell Training (1)

As night deepened, the banquet began to wind down. Eventually, all the nobles departed, bringing the festivities to an end. Naturally, the cleanup was left to the retainers.

Since the party ended, the Layered ones had disappeared without a trace. It seemed they realized that, after such humiliation, it was best to leave unnoticed.

Yet, for some reason, I felt that this wasn’t quite over. For one, there was no guarantee we wouldn’t see Markray, who had enrolled for the next semester, on campus, and beyond that, things felt sparse.

It felt as if one had passed through a place they didn’t recognize, left tarnished by their presence. Still, considering how much they suffered, it was unlikely they would make a scene.

However, Saint Nebia was rather unexpected.

The greedy figure who would claim anything she got obsessed with ignored me completely.

Considering her frantic pursuit to obtain what she desired, it was quite shocking.

Even though it was hard to gauge her true intentions, she was ultimately a villain. She probably met Jason during the party and exchanged some form of communication.

They were plotting to collaborate and steal from the Archive in the main story.

‘By the way… they must have run into each other by now.’

At this very moment, it was finally time for our protagonist, Lyman, to encounter the princess for the first time.

Imagining the princess, having encountered a man’s body for the first time, collapsing with a nosebleed, made me chuckle. However, knowing her background made it both funny and tear-jerking.

The third princess, Mirona Kirien Divine, belonging to the Divine Empire’s royal family.

She was a new playable character for the 2nd-year season and the true heroine of this game.

It is, of course, expected that one with royal blood would be treated with deference. But that was all.

The whimsical emperor had once fallen for a beautiful maid. Mirona was born from that fleeting romance, but she became a concubine who had to endure pressure within the royal family.

Since her birth wasn’t anything significant, she didn’t carry much influence.

Mirona was merely a child born from infidelity. Under the pretense of comforting the volatile empress, the emperor didn’t show affection towards either her or her father.

She was treated like trash even by the first princess and second prince, who were almost like siblings to her.

It wouldn’t be strange if she were cast aside by the palace at any moment. Thus, she wasn’t well-known among the imperial citizens.

People didn’t pay much attention when Mirona roamed freely outside. While enrolling her in Aligieri’s academy might appear considerate, it was merely a ploy to achieve results using her.

‘She’s called a princess, but she’s essentially a tool.’

Lyman, bloodied with excitement, placed the unconscious Mirona in a safe spot and slipped away.

He must have been quite surprised. After all, a girl who looked just like his deceased lover from thirty years ago suddenly reappeared.

However, having decided to let go of past attachments, Lyman left the scene. Later, the awakened princess would tell the guards who found her.

That she saw a suspicious pervert.

‘I don’t think she’s in a position to say that, considering she was the one getting excited and bleeding from her nose…’

Thus begins the story of how they would meet again in the next semester and become entangled.

It was also a moment of light descending upon Lyman, who had been drenched in gloom. Whether it would lead to a bad ending or not depended on her fate.

“I really hope the two of them end up happy.”

The most unfortunate part of this game was indeed the ending. There wasn’t a happy ending to satisfy the players’ desires.

Regardless of the route taken, one of the two had to be sacrificed at the end, and just thinking about it made me sigh.

“It’s so tragic… immensely…”

Lying sprawled on the bed, I murmured my feelings. In that state, I gradually closed my eyes, wrapping up the day.

*

Even after the baptism ceremony was over, the vacation period was still leisurely. A mere handful of days had passed amidst dozens.

The number of invitees with business at Jenny’s mansion was low. Everyone had left except for a few nobles still needing to discuss matters.

Our parents and younger sister had been brought in to help clean up after the event.

‘Must be because they’re indebted to her; they’re quite diligent.’

Angela boarded the Magical Train with a greeting of gratitude, and the side-eyed Nebia cast a glance at me.

They left, saying they would see each other at the opening ceremony… and everyone saw her off.

The expansive courtyard of the now-empty mansion, fully cleared after the event.

Thanks to having a good friend, I was able to use the space freely. As long as I followed the rules, it wasn’t too much of a drawback.

What I had to do here was to test out the abilities I recently acquired. In truth, it was less about ability…

[Trans Card (Activation)]

“Radon, what was that just now?”

Jenny watched in awe as I executed the move without being a wizard or any prior preparations.

“Hey! My friend transformed into a wizard just like me!”

Thus, it could easily be misunderstood by Mary, who was merely innocent.

I explained to them about this magic—or whatever it was.

A new method of crafting magical devices I learned from my battle with Heidern, utilizing the space-time material as a material, could be made using Mosria’s remains.

Of course, I didn’t mention that part while explaining. Instead, I claimed I learned the crafting process hidden away in our home.

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -4%]

[+ 400 Credits]

Right, that was a lie.

Anyway, this trap card enabled me to teleport using the power of distorted time and space. The cards themselves were about the size of standard playing cards, divided into exactly two.

One was placed under the tree, and the other under my foot. The moment I stepped on it… I found myself moved underneath the tree where the card was placed. Jenny and Mary, who witnessed the scene, were quite intrigued.

“What a unique setup!”

“I want to try it too!”

Jenny rubbed her chin in observation, while Mary suddenly raised her hand, rushing over like a child eagerly waving for a teacher’s attention to a question.

But why would she ask for help when she could do it by herself at any time?

Reluctantly, I handed the card to Mary. To do so, she had to run and retrieve the card from the tree a distance away.

While the ability seemed useful, it was significantly complicated.

It wouldn’t be possible to automatically recover it like Thor’s hammer, would it? Unfortunately, due to the card being the medium, it came with risks.

If I lost that, all the effort I put in would go to waste. Plus, I had already used up the only remains of Mosria as a material.

Right now, I was practicing over and over to handle it as skillfully as possible.

From Mary’s reaction, it seemed like it was her first time holding it. Part of me worried whether she might cause some trouble again…

Swish! Swish! Swish!—

My eyes widened in disbelief. The glorious sight astounded both me and Jenny.

The instant Mary acquired the card, her form vanished. She reappeared, vanished again, then vanished once more in rapid succession.

Treetops, the mansion roof, atop a patrolling knight’s head, the garden fence, and now a bridge over a frozen river in the courtyard.

She flitted around the mansion, appearing and disappearing every second.

This time, she moved to the frozen river, and with incredible gleefulness, began spinning like a figure skater worthy of national representation.

It was oddly unexpected, but knowing Jenny was in danger, I yelled for her to come out quickly.

It was dangerous to stay on the ice for too long.

Upon hearing that, Mary exclaimed she understood and then gestured to me.

“Huh?”

A surge of magical energy like a card flew toward me and struck me. I jolted, briefly thinking she was going to attack me with a shuriken, but it didn’t hurt.

Instead… my body slipped.

“Ugh!”

My foot, which was supposed to be on a clean ground, was now on an icy surface. I had slipped on the ice formed by the river’s freezing and collapsed!

Regaining my senses, I found myself transported to the river where Mary had been. Meanwhile, Mary had settled in the spot where I had been standing.

“What the heck is this all of a sudden?”

As I managed to lift my butt up, I shouted. Immediately thereafter, I teleported back to where I originally was.

Mary stood there, still grinning foolishly.

“Ha ha ha! How was that? Fun, right, friend?”

“Yeah, you little brat. Thanks for making things so ridiculously fun.”

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -1%]

[+ 100 Credits]

It seemed even sarcasm was overshadowed by the lie.

My butt still stung. Plus, I almost froze thanks to slipping on the ice.

“But how did you do that just now?”

“Easy! You just have to become one with the magical device.”

To become one with the magical device… I had seen that example before.

Jenny and Luska automatically summon their weapons, after all.

What she just displayed appeared to completely disregard the downsides of magical devices.

Moreover, the card that struck me was merely a mass of magical energy. It wasn’t like she actually threw a real card.

“It’s just like that! Like… hey!”

Suddenly, Mary grabbed her chest. To my surprise, the Trans Card I had given her slowly emerged from her body.

It looked like it was absorbing her and then separating again. Just how did she manage to absorb it like that?

“In other words… you can make the power of the magical device your own! Of course, depending on the type of magical device, some can, and some can’t, but this card is fairly easy to handle.”

In reality, the original power of all magical devices mostly comes from human magic.

Magical devices that enable all kinds of conveniences, artifacts enhancing combat merits, all these magical tools imbued with power have been born through human effort.

Even ancient relics or legendary artifacts were ultimately created by ancient beings. If one’s capability stands up to it, they can use such levels of magic by their own means.

“In the end, whether it’s the magical device or magic, they share the same root because they were both made by humans.”

As she continued to teleport while lecturing, Mary’s attempt at acting dignified seemed rather ambiguous.

Does she think she’s some glamorous teacher?

“Of course, that doesn’t mean it can be easily learned. Just like a person wishing to become a saw blade can’t magically transform their arms into saw blades no matter how hard they try. To do so, you need to integrate the magical device into your body.”

What she absorbed and then spat out a moment ago seemed to be that very process.

“Do you want to give it a try?”

Mary asked with sparkling eyes. My answer was obviously ‘yes.’

It would be a waste to lose the ability of a Trans Card that combines teleportation and movement.

“Ha ha! Great! Then how about I teach you while we have some fun together?”

She seemed to enjoy it. After all, she had previously accompanied me to control the Silver Age, too.

Just as I was about to feel relieved… Jenny grabbed my shoulder.

“Radon…”

“Why the sudden seriousness?”

Jenny spoke with a look of complete fright.

“It’d be better to cancel it now, even at this point.”

“Why’s that?”

“I’ve seen no one good among those who learned magic from Mary. I know because I experienced it.”

Hmm… thinking back, she wasn’t wrong.

After all, not a single student approached Mary within the academy.

However, I couldn’t waste the vacation like this. You gain nothing without suffering in the first place.

“I can teach you instead.”

A mysterious man walked over and said. The moment I turned my gaze that way, I widened my eyes.

Jenny immediately recognized who it was and stood politely.

He was bound to be famous. He was the owner of the largest magical organization in the Empire, the White Magic Tower.

“Master White Tower! When did you…?”

“A moment ago, I was watching.”

Tailly Ryu-dciel, the Master White Tower, gazed intently at me.

A youthful face that looked fit for someone nearing their fifties. The pink-haired girl beside him looked refreshing.

“Dad, what brings you here? Have you finished everything?”

“No, it seems I need to stay here for a while. I came to tell you that.”

“Can I stay here too?”

At my innocent sister’s question, Tailly nodded cheerfully. He smiled at Mary, who was excitedly jumping around.

Just as expected of her father; he seemed quite used to it. Honestly, it would be better for her to be like that than to appear pessimistic.

“If it’s about merging with a magical device, I can teach you.”

“Are you seriously carving out precious time for me, Master White Tower?”

He was one of the great mages who had defeated a Demon King alongside his wife thirty years ago. His standing within the Empire goes without saying.

No matter how much I was just a friend of his daughter, when weighing time invested in me against time invested in the world, which way would the scale tip?

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that important time, as you’ll be spending it here for a while. You know that already.”

“True, but…”

“And there’s no need for an introduction for you, either. I already know all about you.”

Well, since I was a friend of his daughter, it was likely he knew about me beforehand.

For some reason… being taught by him seemed far superior to learning from Mary.

At least this side could ensure normal conversation.

“Your name was… Radon Crawler, right?”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

“Right, you made significant contributions alongside our Mary in controlling the Silver Age.”

“That’s too kind.”

Just then, at the moment of continued praise.

“And you gifted my daughter such things.”

“Huh?”

With a snap of his fingers, two books materialized in Tailly’s hands.

Upon closer inspection, they weren’t books but novel records…

[You and Me Tico]

[King of the Dressing Room]

Titles that felt all too familiar sent chills down my spine.

Why had I forgotten such an important matter? That I absolutely should never meet this man!

“Thanks to these two books, I had some interesting experiences. I was pondering how to repay you… and it turned out like this!”

Did that instant repayment sound alarmingly like revenge?

I felt instinctively that, no matter what, I had to watch out.

The determination to train me mercilessly under the guise of instruction was written all over his face.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.