Chapter 54

54. Merit Awards (3)

"Wait! A detailed explanation is needed!"

As soon as I sat down after receiving the medal, Gordner shouted.

'Telion must have instructed him to do this.'

Well, it was a reasonable question.

Fighting dozens of ants is something Dike can't do right now.

If I'm stronger than Dike, we need to revise the strategy.

That's why I asked Caron.

Did I really deal with dozens of ants alone?

'Now that I think about it, it's strange. Why did they give me a medal?'

They told me not to stand out, but this is too noticeable.

It's not something Caron would think of.

If anything, he should have given me a massive penalty.

'And we should have coordinated our story. Fighting dozens of ants alone, what a load of nonsense?'

Well, it is possible in reality. With [Divine Imitation], it can be done.

'But it's impossible for the kids at their current level.'

A monster like Dike can't do it, so it's suspicious for me to do it?

It would be perfect for them to label me as a demon and burn me at the stake.

'No matter how I think about it, it's not a plausible excuse Caron would come up with...'

No matter how I think about it, the excuse is full of holes.

Perhaps sensing my gaze filled with these thoughts, Caron spoke.

"There was a path we hadn't discovered before. Zero found it and collapsed it alone to block it."

"Such a thing..."

"Is this enough of an answer for you?"

Caron glanced at me.

If anyone asks, he wants me to answer like that.

'The path I supposedly collapsed must have been set up by Caron.'

If he provides evidence, anyone would nod in agreement.

Maybe he disguised a regular wall as a path by breaking it?

"What? I was wondering where you went... You were working hard, weren't you?"

"Hehe, but someone bit my head without even knowing. What a rude person, isn't he?"

"Right. But could that person be me?"

I smiled at Luna.

Yes, that's right. It's you. Umpa dum dum dum dum~.

Crack!

After looking at me for a moment, Luna bit my head.

Sure, keep biting. It stops when it hurts~.

Of course, amidst this, the children's complaints continued to pour out.

"Even so, 10 points for the medal is too much. There's an issue of fairness in the midterm exams...!"

"It won't do any good to say that to me."

"Huh? What do you mean...?"

Caron hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"This is by the President's order."

"The President!?"

"Wait, is that the President's seal!?"

At the bottom right of the medal.

The seal of 'President Dwenner' was stamped.

'Aha, that's it.'

The pieces finally fell into place in my mind.

Not only the lie about my heroic actions, but also the implausible excuse full of holes that Caron came up with seemed strange.

'It must have been due to Dwenner's influence.'

Only then did the children fall silent.

What could they do when the highest authority of Andwood Academy awarded the medal?

They must be thinking all sorts of things in their heads.

'You got lucky, kid.'

'No casualties, so from the perspective of someone who only receives reports, they must want to give you something.'

'Considering the risk of losing your head, it's understandable.'

'Well, it was an emergency. I admit that.'

...and similar thoughts.

With no one objecting, Caron returned to the podium.

"Then, let me explain the significance of the merit awards. Does anyone know?"

"Awarding medals based on merit to boost morale, right?"

Caron shook his head.

"I'm not talking about the dictionary definition. I'm talking about the meaning and significance behind it."

It was quiet. Even the top students like Eurydia and Telion.

No one answered.

No one had taught them this.

"In fact, the place you will go in the future is not much different from here. Not much different from the Academy."

You will be evaluated and rated.

People's value will be quantified and recorded.

"Quantifying people's value might seem bad. But think about it. If you have to work with someone, what would you use to evaluate them?"

Appearance? Conversation? Morality? Expertise?

It would take a considerable amount of time.

Understanding a person is not easy.

"Quantified evaluations help in such situations. If there's something like a medal, the evaluation of that person would stand out even more."

Of course, there are people who realize this late and work hard.

But from the perspective of the evaluator, there's no way to know.

Even if someone who started late catches up, no one around them would know.

"Work hard. Your current efforts will help you grow in the future and save your life."

The children's expressions became serious.

Their first practical experience. And the first evaluation of themselves in life.

They must have realized they were too excited after the entrance exam.

"Of course, I'll help you get jobs. If your evaluation scores are good, that is."

The children laughed.

Compared to the word 'life,' it might seem lighter.

'You fools. Getting a job is so hard!'

If they knew the youth employment rate in South Korea, they wouldn't laugh.

"And one more thing. Reflect on yourself before criticizing others."

Grind.

Telion ground his teeth.

He seemed unable to control his emotions.

"I'll end today's class here. Take a good rest. Those who are hurt should try to rest even more."

The response to this was mocking.

Caron left the classroom, but no one followed.

They were afraid of what might happen if they upset Telion.

"...It smells."

"Huh?"

Luna's mutter about the smell.

At the same time, her gaze followed Caron's back.

Does she suspect something? That Caron cares for her?

'How could the clueless Luna notice?'

Admittedly, I did receive too many points.

A whopping 8 points.

While being overshadowed by Alex, who received 12 points, and Eurydia, who received 9 points.

The optimal score for achieving a high rank in the midterm exams.

'Caron, you were too obvious!'

If Luna noticed, it's all over.

I was preparing an excuse for Caron.

Luna frowned.

"I've felt this way from the beginning, but it's clear now. I've smelled this somewhere before. But... when was it?"

But what came out of Luna's mouth was completely unrelated to the current situation.

Of course, she couldn't have noticed.

Our Luna is a clueless kid.

"Miss Luna."

"Huh?"

"There's no smell. What are you talking about? Unless you're a dog."

"...Okay. Let a dog bite you once."

"Huh?"

Turning my head, I was greeted by Luna's wide-open mouth.

* * *

"Hehehe."

In the President's office of Andwood Academy.

The 18th President, Dwenner, hummed a tune.

"I wonder if you received my gift well, Zero."

Dwenner recalled what happened yesterday.

Hearing about the incident at the ant nest, he was anxious, and then Caron arrived.

It was natural to hold him responsible.

He was the one who led the children to the ant nest... no, the responsible party.

"Hey! How could this happen! How careless were you!"

The children could have died.

This was not a simple accident.

Thus, Caron had no choice but to bow deeply.

"I'm sorry. It was my negligence for not checking thoroughly."

"Will being sorry end your teaching career?"

"..."

"Hey? Are you going to ignore me now?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"Why do you do things that make you sorry?"

"...I will be more careful."

"In my time! I checked everything thoroughly!"

"I will do that from now on."

"Hey! How could this happen! How careless were you!"

"I'm sorry. It was my negligence for not checking thoroughly."

"Will being sorry end your teaching career?"

"...?"

The same routine started to repeat.

For a full 30 minutes, the same scolding, or rather, venting of frustration, continued.

But Caron was fine.

After all, it was an event that happened due to his lack of thoroughness.

For Caron, who had experienced everything, this level of reprimand was nothing.

Except for one thing.

'This guy... doesn't even realize he's repeating the same thing?'

The funny part is that President Dwenner didn't realize it at all.

That the same conversation had been repeating for 30 minutes.

He didn't even know what he was saying.

How could there be a more incompetent person?

"In my time... "

The same words repeated again.

Caron decided. He had to leave this office immediately.

Patience is a basic trait for a spy.

But Dwenner had drained Caron's patience.

In just 30 minutes.

'Change the topic.'

What topic could divert the attention of this incompetent Dwenner and allow him to escape?

Caron's mind started to work furiously.

More furiously than when he escaped from the supposedly inescapable Kelt Castle 15 years ago!

'I have to sell him.'

The most annoying person. Zero.

Since he dreams of being a rat, he would try to align his story as much as possible if something unexpected happens.

"Hey! How could this happen! How careless were you!"

Timing was easy.

Dwenner was just repeating the same thing.

"Actually... there was a hidden space."

"Hidden space?"

"Yes, that's right."

He wasn't talking about the hidden space leading to the ant breeding ground.

He was talking about an artificial space he created to deceive people.

After sending the children with the instructors, he returned to the ant nest and erased Zero's traces.

Footprints, hair, the smell of the tracking scent.

After that, Caron was left with a dilemma.

The external problem was solved, but an internal problem remained.

'The instructors' gaze is the issue.'

No one saw Zero.

Others might say it's no big deal, but it was a significant problem.

Imagine the meeting to assign merit and demerit points.

"Next is Zero. He wasn't in my area."

"Me neither."

"Same here."

"That's strange. He's not on the list of runaways?"

The instructors' eyes are not blind.

They diligently monitored the children amidst the chaos.

But no instructor saw Zero?

It was bound to be suspicious.

In the end, what Caron chose was.

Bang!

Crack...

Breaking the wall to create a new space.

'In the midst of chaos, a new path was discovered, and Zero was trapped there. I found and rescued him.'

In a life-or-death moment with dozens of ants chasing.

'I collapsed the entrance with force to block the ants.'

A smooth but believable story.

With the evidence right in front of them.

The stone wall was a different color because it was newly created, but it didn't matter.

The ant nest was under his control.

Information could be controlled as well.

"Hmm... If that's the case, it couldn't be helped. To find a hidden space amidst the chaos... "

"It was my negligence for not checking thoroughly."

"No, I was too excited. By the way, what was the name of the student who was trapped?"

"Zero."