Chapter 29

028. The Ghost Incident at the Dormitory (4)

The days when Wolfram von Loeningen could say he was pure.

That is, before the twenty-nine-year-old burning life, Lee Youngjin, intervened and turned him into a super part-timer, Wolfram, the student council president.

His misdeeds were so outrageous they could pierce the sky, but one of the most notable was his manipulation of the Magic Department and the Knight Department to gain benefits for himself.

There is a place called the Forest of Lingering Spirits.

Located deep within the eastern forest, its main feature is that it is a farming spot for materials.

Since it is a place where one can mine Magic Logs and Magic Stones, the forest is desired by the Knight Department, the Magic Department, the Maestros, and Yggdrasil, but it is a direct territory owned by the Student Council.

Wolfram held the rights to logging, mining, and harvesting in this area and engaged in profit-making activities, obtaining countless bribes. It wasn't me, but Wolfram. Though I am Wolfram, anyway.

Then, how was the lowly Wolfram, with 2 Strength and 4 Will, able to do such things?

The secret lies in his Tier 1 skill, Royal Bloodline.

This is a skill possessed by the Loeningen family, including Eve. While it is somewhat subtle on its own, it becomes quite powerful when multiple conditions are met.

One of these is the priority in negotiations, which has an interesting effect.

It allows the user to compare their bloodline with the opponent's, and if they are superior, they can exert a kind of charisma to pressure the opponent.

To see the effect of this skill, three conditions are needed.

First, the user's bloodline must be overwhelmingly better than the opponent's. In other words, the opponent must be a commoner or a slave.

Second, the opponent's Will must be lower than the user's. The success factor is the Will status.

Lastly, a hidden condition not mentioned in the tooltip: the opponent must have some goodwill towards the user.

So, Jolp is a commoner, and as a rampaging graduate student, his Will status is lower than mine. It seems he also harbors some goodwill towards me after the donut incident.

In the end, it seems that by directly conversing with the boss, I gained the right to negotiate.

There should be no sign of aggression. If I show any, it will be an instant death ending in one second.

So, complete non-resistance. I sat down right in front of Jolp.

Let's resolve this through conversation. Words can solve everything. We are intellectuals, after all.

“I swear, by the pride of Wolfram von Loeningen, that I have no intention of attacking. Come, let's start the conversation, Jolp.”

***

Nephti was taken aback.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could block the black magic slashes.

She had said she would try, but in truth, her will was breaking, and her resolve was crumbling.

Nephti didn't have much practical experience, and this was her first encounter with such a monster. Eve's sword had broken, and the number of people she needed to protect had increased.

Then, he appeared.

Wolfram von Loeningen, so out of place that she couldn't help but ask, "Why is the prince here?"

The overwhelming pressure and aura that emanated from his body made the black magic slashes that had been attacking her moments ago retreat into the body of the entity.

Nephti's eyes widened in shock.

Despite his low stats, Wolfram approached and sat down in front of the entity, who could have killed him at any moment.

‘Prince, you are in danger. Run away.’

Nephti swallowed her words.

Here.

If she drew attention away from Wolfram, the black entity might go berserk again. She picked up the longsword dropped by the useless junior, Kulpiece, but the unconscious Eve and Kulpiece would only get in the way if she tried to attack.

‘The Guardian Formation requires a sword, so when Nephti reached for Kelter's sword...’

“I swear, by the pride of Wolfram von Loeningen, that I have no intention of attacking. Come, let's start the conversation, Jolp.”

Wolfram's words made her hand freeze. She looked at him with disbelief. He spoke calmly to the enraged man.

“Instead, don't touch those behind me. Let's resolve this between us, through conversation.”

Nephti saw it. She felt it. She was certain.

There, a prince with the demeanor of a ruler who commands all, stood.

***

It worked.

It worked, oh yes!

Now, Jolp won't touch me, Nephti, Kelter, or Eve until I attack.

I clenched my fists and took a deep breath.

The plan is simple. Hold out until Eve wakes up, or until Jolp himself is freed.

Wolfram can't fight!

There's no choice.

The useless part-timer Kelter fell, Eve fainted, and Nephti's sword broke. If Rudika were here, he might have taken a head, and if Ayla were here, she would have destroyed the dormitory in a spectacular manner. But they aren't here now.

So, Wolfram will do what he can, in his own way.

Let's try to resolve this through conversation, without giving up.

“...I, I really tried my best. Yes, yes. I really did...”

His speech was as incoherent as a middle-aged man who had drunk four bottles of soju. Good, I have a rough idea of his mental state.

“I see. Keep talking. You can speak freely.”

“Huh, ...uh. But, do you know? Graduate students don't get any recognition, no matter how hard they work. Yes, yes.”

I can't say I know. If I do, it might come off as dismissive, or if I pretend to know nothing, it might make things worse. So...

“I'm sorry, I don't know much. What's difficult about it? It would be helpful if you could explain.”

“...That's the thing. Graduate students study voluntarily, so according to the strict laws of the Loeningen Empire, they are not considered students. They don't receive support as protected individuals.”

“I see.”

“Ha, ha, and they are not considered employees either. Because they are still learning, they don't receive support as social members. So, we are neither employees nor students, just aging, non-human beings!”

Bang! Roar!

Oh, a rock just grazed my head.

If this continues, I might really die.

I'm sorry, Nephti. If you're even a little late, I might really be done for.

Eve shows no signs of waking up. That useless student council president...!

“I just wanted a degree, or a graduation ring. Or, I wanted to be a freshman again. What should I do now, Prince? I...!”

“Hmm. I see.”

Don't ask me what to do.

It's a truly pitiful story, but there's nothing I can do.

“What should I dooo!!”

Oh, the black magic is flying.

This is the final phase of the 1-1 boss. The rage-induced berserk.

This is the instant death pattern that appears if not caught within the time limit.

I see it here.

“I will kill you.”

Oh, he's even saying the lines.

In the original, the area attack comes next, the freshmen building collapses, and it's over.

“I will kill the professor and burn this rotten Jefrin to ashes. I will kill everyone!”

“You're being too extreme. Calm down.”

“Grrr! No one has ever recognized me. Tonight, the professor will die!”

Well, the professor dying doesn't really affect me, but I might die first?

Despite the fear, the skill Royal Bloodline doesn't allow me to lose composure in any situation. So, I just sit and watch Jolp's berserk.

Then, from a distance, the sound of something rushing towards us.

The knight I had been waiting for.

A knight who stakes his beliefs and is never late.

A knight who earned 300,000 rin in just 5 minutes.

“Prince Wolfram!! Are you safe?!”

“I'm still safe. The items?”

“Here they are!”

Nephti threw the items to me, and I reached out to catch them.

It wasn't difficult to catch them. My Dexterity is 10!

I looked at the items in my hand and faced Jolp, who was about to lose control.

“No one has ever recognized me. I don't have a degree, a diploma, or a graduation ring!”

“I see.”

Phew. This is the really important part.

A homage to the final battle of Jefrin 1-1.

Instead of the fallen part-timer Kelter, I, who played as Kelter, say this to the fading ghost.

‘We cannot stop.’

And then,

‘We will carry your regrets with us.’

And the fading spirit replied to the light warrior.

‘Thank you.’

A common ending. The ghost finds peace, and the protagonist resolves.

It's just a bit twisted.

It might work.

I took a deep breath, infused the skill with magic, and spoke.

Wolfram's magic is 3, but it should be enough.

【Royal Bloodline】 is activated.

The skill has switched to 【Active】 mode.

Negotiations will now consume 【Magic】!

The 3 magic points won't last long.

“【I will give you this.】”

“...What?”

Wow, that one sentence just drained all 3 magic points. Crazy body.

My head is spinning, but thanks to that, the skill was effectively activated, and I managed to stop Jolp's berserk.

I take a deep breath.

Every word from now on is crucial.

“I will give you this, in the name of Wolfram von Loeningen, the prince with the Royal Bloodline. This is your graduation ring.”

I have no real authority,

but I made a fake graduation ring with my Dexterity 10,

and I'll give it to you.

“I will give you this degree, in the name of Wolfram, the student council president.”

Now, you're just an ordinary student,

nothing special, but take it. I wrote it myself.

“Take it, Jolp. You have worked hard enough.”

“Ah.”

What Nephti brought.

It was the fake graduation ring and forged degree I had made to sell to graduate students to improve their Dexterity.

But the last words were sincere.

Instead of magic, I infused them with my Strength. I could say them.

“【Congratulations on your graduation. You have worked hard.】”

“Ah, uh. Ahhhh.”

Immediately after.

The black magic behind him began to fly.

His face, which had been screaming, calmed down. The black magic scattered, and from within emerged a graduate student with a peaceful smile.

I left a parting message for him.

“Find peace.”

In the next life, don't go to graduate school.