Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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261. Aligieri Academy (3)

A cold slash mixed with a red energy swept through the village.

It was a meaningless destruction since half of Papias was already in ruins due to the awakening of the Evil God, but the utter annihilation of that numerous army held great significance.

“That’s impressive…”

Jenny, who had severed Harkel’s arm, mumbled as she gazed ahead.

It was astonishing how the army, which had swarmed like a horde of ants, was instantly disbanded by her.

Considering they were units hired by aristocrats, it was even harder to believe.

She had single-handedly wiped out that entire army. Without any help from the professors.

“Is this the power that Mother wielded?”

A whole village had been completely devastated.

Of course, it seemed meaningless as it was already a destroyed village, but Jenny’s slash had scattered all the debris of the ruined buildings.

That attack extended over a kilometer. It demonstrated a destructive power befitting high-level magic.

“We didn’t even need to step in; it ended before we could act.”

Principal Kaiden opened his mouth while watching the enormous scene.

It was a relief that it concluded so quickly without needing their intervention, but he couldn’t shake the thought that their premonition of battle before their summoning might have gone to waste.

For now, they decided to focus on protecting the students.

Meanwhile, the other faculty members set out to investigate what had transpired in Papias.

“Looks like it’s not over yet.”

“Indeed….”

Kaiden and Cage Department Head mumbled while staring at the sky.

A torn rift in dimensions was still visible there.

They could feel the clash of two gigantic energies colliding within the rift.

It was a force so overwhelming that if they intervened carelessly, there would be nothing left of them.

At this point, they could only watch and monitor the energy.

If one of the two were to emerge victorious and descend here, there was no guarantee it would be on their side.

“Ruska, are you okay?”

Once the situation settled to a degree, Jenny dashed over to Ruska.

Although Ruska had been stabbed, the bleeding had stopped, and thankfully, he seemed to be okay.

“Me? To die from just a single stab wound?”

“Well, it’s only natural to die from that! Do you have any idea how terrified I was?”

Harkel’s blade had pierced Ruska’s abdomen perfectly.

The wound was so lethal that it wouldn’t have been unusual for a regular person to drop dead on the spot, and Jenny was understandably shaken.

Of course, Ruska was a Yoro tribe member, so he was still breathing, but had it been his heart instead of his abdomen, he might have truly died.

“By the way, you used my blood.”

“Oh… that?”

The red sword swung when she unleashed her slash just before. It was made from Ruska’s blood, which was scattered on the floor.

Since that was the only accessible blood nearby to manipulate, her hand instinctively reached for it.

Moreover, the barrier that had blocked Harkel’s charging sword was also formed from Ruska’s blood.

“I can’t deny that it helped.”

“How dare you use my blood without permission!”

“Is that why you were so angry?”

The two exchanged awkward glances, quickly turning their heads away.

Around them, the situation was beginning to settle down.

Angela and Nebia were being protected by the class advisor, and Mirona had not left the side of those students.

Mary was, as usual, beaming with a smile.

Except for the fact that the sky was still dark, things were progressing rather well.

“Th-thank you.”

“What?”

“Thank you for taking the stab for me.”

Jenny cautiously opened her mouth, glancing around.

Ruska quickly realized she was shy about expressing her gratitude openly.

“Why are you embarrassed?”

“What? You’re the most embarrassed here!”

“What?”

“Don’t you remember?”

Jenny was referring to that day during the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident.

When the truth of all the events was revealed and rain poured down like a waterfall, Ruska had been curled up against the wall.

He still remembered what he had said then, in his despair.

[Go ahead, do as you please.]

Mentioning that made the confident look on Ruska’s face crumple like paper.

“Shut your mouth!”

“Why? I was just stating the facts.”

For Ruska, it was indeed a shameful past.

He was blinded by revenge and acted like a lone wolf, having even cut off the tail of his only little sister.

In the end, after learning the full truth, he broke down, sitting on the street like a stray dog.

It was unfortunate, but all of it had stemmed from Ruska’s own actions.

A literal dark chapter of his life.

“It’s been a year since that day…”

Ruska, filled with heat, sighed as he recalled that time.

Time really flies. It felt like just yesterday that he had regretted it all.

With everything that had happened since then, it felt like he had forgotten how much time had passed.

If he could meet his past self… How would that past self react to seeing the present him?

Of course, it was thanks to that time that he was who he was now, but if they were to meet, he would definitely want to say something.

‘Never cut off Angela’s tail.’

There had been a way to extract blood using a syringe, yet at that time, Ruska had recklessly sliced her tail, causing her to bleed.

Given that, even if he were to give advice, the chances of it being followed were slim.

Back then, his vision had been narrow due to a desire for revenge against Papias fueled by his mother’s own vengeance.

But…

“What expression would my past self make if he saw this scene…?”

The utterly devastated Papias Kingdom left Jenny speechless as well.

The destruction of the Papias Kingdom, once Ruska’s deepest desire, was now a reality, and he smiled bitterly at it.

To be honest, he still hadn’t fully let go of his resentment toward them. It had merely diluted somewhat compared to before. They remained his mother’s enemies.

But they say life is unpredictable. He had been going through his days without worrying about that aspect.

Having lived normally without any intention, revenge had coincidentally come to pass.

Never once had he surrendered to hatred since that day.

He had caught a rat while stumbling back—what an irony.

“Thinking about it, it must be incredibly satisfying for you. Papias was a rotten country from the start.”

“…”

“But I think it’s wrong that innocent people get caught up in such situations.”

That was the error of Ruska from the past.

In the name of revenge, he had been like a beast, gnawing at not just himself but others as well.

When he had been consumed by vengeance, he had failed to achieve his goals, and had only succeeded when he let that vengeance go.

“At least it’s fortunate. You no longer have to get your hands dirty.”

“That’s true…”

Now there was no need for wrongdoing.

His chains had been completely removed, and he felt free.

With that, Ruska smiled and sprawled out comfortably.

“When my father ascends to the position of Emperor, he will undoubtedly start investigating Papias. After all, he has always viewed Papias with suspicion.”

“Then should I start calling you Princess instead of Miss?”

“That might very well be the case.”

Not “might,” but it was a clear fact.

Given the circumstances, it was a foregone conclusion that Gerard Chain Silver would become the next Emperor.

Just look at those who had resorted to filthy tactics to ascend to the Emperor’s seat.

They were now being subdued on the ground by the academy staff.

Moreover, the worst source, Harkel, had lost an arm and was rendered incapable of moving, completely out of it.

“Then, Your Highness. May I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

Upon hearing the unique title, Jenny smiled brightly.

However, Ruska’s expression turned awkward as he spoke.

“Why are you using my lap as a pillow?”

Somehow, without realizing it, Ruska’s head had ended up resting on Jenny’s thigh.

He felt an immense sense of burden from the situation.

Especially with the softness of her thigh conveyed through his scalp, he felt as though he might get lost in it.

“You two look good together.”

Professor Stella, passing by, casually remarked.

Instantly, Ruska’s face turned bright red as he lost his temper.

“Hey, get off me right now.”

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t it feel nice?”

“It doesn’t matter how it feels; what will others think if they see us like this?”

“Well… ”

Jenny pondered for a moment and quickly derived an answer.

“They’d probably think we’re just friends?”

“Shut up! Get off my head! People are going to misunderstand us as being weird!”

“What’s weird about it? It’s just friends.”

“It’s seriously…!”

Doesn’t she really know?

Ruska felt his heart was about to burst from Jenny’s lack of awareness.

Given that his wound hadn’t fully healed, he had no choice but to burn with anger. He wanted to be friends but not ‘that kind of friend.’

And then, another uninvited guest joined in.

“Hey friends! What are you doing here?”

“We’re just using a lap pillow.”

“Don’t say that proudly!”

Mary approached them with apparent boredom and asked, to which Jenny cheerfully replied.

Ruska was now even more annoyed.

“I want to try it too!”

“Okay.”

With permission granted, Mary squeezed under Ruska’s side and lay down.

What he thought would be a similar lap pillow ended up being oddly different, and Ruska was taken aback.

“Ouch! What are you doing? Get off me now!”

Despite her small size, she had an annoying amount of strength.

And it wasn’t just her.

“Hey sis! I came to check on you.”

“Welcome, Angela. Quickly, tell these kids to…”

“I want in too.”

“Hey!! Ouch, ouch, ouch!!”

Angela, just like Mary, clung to him, aggravating his wounds once more.

Just moments ago, they had been healing, and now he felt them ripping open again.

“That’s a nice sight, isn’t it?”

“What?”

Nebia, who had been watching, chimed in.

Ruska shot a fierce glare at Nebia, as if to say ‘if you’re not going to help, just get lost.’

At that moment, something began poking Ruska’s chest.

“But what’s this? It’s really big and soft?”

Mary, filled with curiosity, poked Ruska’s chest with her finger.

Seeing it up close surprised her at how sizable it actually was.

“I’m so jealous of sister…”

On the other side, Angela buried her face in that very chest.

Faced with such sudden embarrassment, Ruska’s face turned red.

It was ticklish enough to make him want to laugh, but…

“Hey, you guys…”

A greater anger than his ticklishness washed over him.

“Get off me right now.”

Ruska’s ghostly voice echoed.

But instead, Angela and Mary showed even more curiosity, doubling down on their antics.

“You brats!! Ouch!”

He wanted to throw a punch, but the pain made it impossible to move.

Was he really going to lie here helplessly while being treated like a joke?

Then suddenly, something came barreling in like a savior.

Coming this way was the giant golem driven by Baimon.

As they turned to the golem, Ruska finally managed to escape from the hell he was in.

However, Baimon’s expression, as he opened the golem’s lid, looked unsettling.

“This is bad…!”

It was a moment where happiness suddenly collided with a thunderbolt of doom.