Chapter 66: The Exam Concludes

"Debi?"

"……For now, just stay quiet."

Whether this thing was actually going to be useful was a problem for future-me to solve.

I stepped outside the cave immediately and spotted something glittering nearby. Why hadn't I noticed it before? No, I’d been in such a frantic rush that there was no way I could have seen it.

I crouched down, and a massive hoard of rings came into view. There were twenty of them in total.

We were near the mountain’s peak. I’d reached this height using Unnatural, and Olynn had arrived via the monster he’d subjugated. Stumbling upon this place would require a monumental coincidence; otherwise, only those capable of flight like us could possibly reach it. Even a guy like Carta wouldn't be stupid enough to use something as conspicuous as Flight Magic here.

Who could have left these? By process of elimination, it had to be Teacher Milk. I could practically see her getting bored of scattering the rings and just dumping the pile in one spot to get it over with.

"Wow, that’s amazing! Congratulations!"

Olynn turned a beaming, genuinely happy smile toward me just for finding them. Good grief, did this guy not have a single greedy bone in his body?

"……Half are yours."

"E-Eh?! Why?! Are you sure?!"

"Of course I am."

No matter how much of a villain I pretended to be, I wasn't about to steal someone else's credit. Subjugating the Demon was only possible because of him.

I handed him his share. There was likely very little time left in the exam, but for some reason, Olynn just stood there, staring fixedly at the rings in his palm.

"What are you looking at?"

"……I was just thinking. If I have this many, maybe I can share them with others. I mean, there might be people about to be expelled, right?"

Hah… what an idiot.

It was a sentiment perfectly in character for him, though.

"Even if that’s true, why do you feel the need to go that far? Do you have some burning desire to be liked by everyone?"

"……No. It’s just, the only reason I was able to become an honor student and make it this far was because I was given the time to grow. I think if everyone else had that same time, they could become strong too."

Hah. What a classic Olynn response.

Well, whatever. What Olynn did with his property was his business. I had no right to interfere.

"Do whatever you want."

"……Hey, Weiss-kun? I have a favor to ask."

"Huh?"

"Since I taught you how to subjugate that monster… maybe as a thank you?"

"What?"

"Could you help me find Cecil-san…?"

"Excuse me?"

And so——.

"Here you go! Just one, okay?"

"Yessss! Olynn, seriously, thank you so much!"

"Alright, next person!"

"Oh man, I’m saved… thank the gods…"

There stood Olynn in front of the cave, wearing a moronic grin while handing out rings to the bottom-tier losers who were on the verge of expulsion. It was so stupid. A completely meaningless act of charity.

Worse yet, he’d actually had the gall to ask me to find Cecil for him. This guy… he could be surprisingly pushy when he wanted something.

"To think you’d suddenly show up and ask me to use Telepathy to summon everyone with zero rings. That’s not like you at all, Fansent-kun."

"……I owe Olynn a debt."

Well, building up some credit with him wasn't a bad move. If I wanted to learn how to handle this Demon, I needed Olynn. Looking at the long game, I judged this a bargain.

"By the way, what… is that monster?"

"Debi?"

"……It’s a Demon."

"A Demon?"

Cecil poked it with a finger, and for some reason, the Demon looked absolutely delighted. I didn’t know if this thing was male or female, but it certainly seemed to be a social butterfly.

"Hey, Weiss-kun, how about this one?"

"……This guy’s a zero, too."

"Thank you!"

And then Olynn had the nerve to use me as a human lie detector. The rings were imbued with mana; one look with my Dark Eye made it crystal clear if someone was hiding a stash or not.

Seriously, what a softhearted fool.

He was all smiles now, but once we got back, I was going to summon him to help me so many times he’d wish he’d been expelled. He’d better be ready for it.

"Okay, that’s the last one!"

"Olynn, you're a lifesaver!"

But Lilith never showed up. She shouldn't have been able to move well after our encounter. Then again, her pride was ten times higher than anyone else's.

And then——.

[Time limit: 5, 4, 3——]

The announcement from the Magic Bird rang out. Based on the results alone, I was undoubtedly the top of the class. My position as the ace of this term was secure.

But man, I was exhausted.

"Wha—Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!"

Suddenly, Olynn let out a scream. I looked over and saw that the mountain of rings he’d been holding had vanished. Did this idiot really…?

"Don't tell me you gave every single one away?"

"……It looks like it……"

[2, 1, 0——. Rings are now being automatically collected. Any rings acquired after the time limit will not be counted. Please gather in the courtyard.]

The Magic Bird’s announcement signaled the end of the ordeal.

…You absolute moron.

---

"Man, that was brutal. My clothes are basically rags now."

"That might have been the hardest test yet… I’m dead on my feet…"

"Oh, really? I thought it was quite easy."

As we moved to the courtyard, the lowerclassmen came shuffling in. Allen and Duke looked like they’d gone through a meat grinder; they only had five rings each. Surprisingly, Shari had ten. Then again, magic traps and monsters were a good match. If she used her spirit powers, she could probably sniff out the mana signature of any ring. Or perhaps she had an Artifact I didn't know about.

"Weiss, how did you fare?"

Cynthia had five as well. Not bad.

"Yeah, it went alright."

"Debibibi?"

"……And this monster is?"

"I’ll explain later."

It was going to be a pain in the ass if everyone started grilling me. And wait… was this thing planning to hover next to me forever?

"What’s with that little devil? Isn't it kind of cute?"

"Shh! You want Weiss to kill you?"

"But can't you feel that insane mana coming off it?"

Lilith was nowhere to be seen. Don't tell me she didn't—

"……I’ve arrived."

At that moment, Lilith limped out of the forest. She held a single ring in her hand. She was staggering, looking like she might collapse at any second. Cynthia rushed over to her side and began chanting Recovery Magic.

…Of course she made it.

"Lilith, well done."

"Ehehe… it makes me happy to be praised. But next time… I won't lose."

The reason she hadn't responded to Cecil’s summons was likely because she wanted to stand on equal footing with me. Lilith was always by my side. When things got dangerous, she and Cynthia were the ones most at risk. That was why I was so hard on her.

In a way, I’d actually been okay with her being expelled—I didn't want her in the line of fire. If she went back to the House Fanscent estate, the danger she faced would plummet. And yet, I’d been selfishly wondering if I should drag her into my dangerous future just for my own convenience.

But Lilith understood perfectly. Even knowing the risks, she wanted to stay by my side.

I guess… this is for the best, then.

"Still, Weiss-sama, you’re just too strong. I really gave it my all, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Fufufu, I wish I could have seen it."

Cynthia seemed to catch the drift of our conversation immediately. Instead of getting angry, she just smiled. Lilith and I had fought a serious duel. Regardless of the outcome, there was no bad blood between us. That feeling had clearly reached both of them.

They really were great girls.

Then, Teacher Milk stepped forward.

"Well done, everyone. The detailed point tallies will be released later. Dinner has been prepared. You’re allowed to sleep until noon tomorrow."

The carrot after the whip. This was one of the few things I actually liked about Noblesse.

"Yessssssss!"

"Best news ever!"

"I’m going to sleep right now…"

Honestly, this system was effective. It made even a demon like Teacher Milk look like an angel.

"To my surprise," Milk continued, "there were zero people with zero rings. Not a single person is being expelled. My projections suggested we’d lose quite a few of you, but you’ve done well."

She glanced back at me as she turned to leave. Seeing as she wasn't surprised by the Demon's presence, I wondered… did she fight one too? But if she had, she shouldn't have been able to leave the barrier. Was there an escape route I didn't know about?

Interesting.

"Phew… I’m beat."

Behind me, Olynn let out a massive sigh of relief.

Back when the countdown was reaching its end…

---

『Olynn!』

『Eh?!』

I had tossed him a single ring at the last second.

『Weiss-kun……』

『You idiot. Good grief, have some limit to your selflessness.』

---

I didn't know exactly how many points he’d lost by giving away his hoard, but if that Teacher Milk said the numbers were close, his points must have tanked. Olynn had only just become an honor student, so his cushion was thin. The chance of him being expelled was incredibly high.

And if he were gone, it would be a huge problem for me. Especially with the battle against the Demon King on the horizon.

But this was strictly a one-time thing. I wasn't going to help him again, no matter what. He was probably the only person, past or future, who could ever make me work this hard.

This debt is going to be massive.

"Olynn, if you’d had zero rings, you would have been expelled on the spot."

"E-Eh?! Thank goodness…"

Teacher Milk had timed that comment perfectly, as if she could see right through us.

Close call.

"Ehehe. Weiss-kun, peace!"

"…………"

Olynn flashed a carefree smile and gave me a V-sign. Maybe helping him was a mistake after all.

At that moment, Cynthia quickly stepped between us. It looked like Lilith had recovered enough to walk.

"Now then, let’s go. It’s time for dinner, Weiss. You mustn't let your eyes wander, Weiss."

"R-Right."

"Weiss-sama… um… how was our fight?"

"You were strong. Seriously, where did you learn a move like that?"

"When I was little! Ehehe."

"……Wait, what?"

Tomorrow we were scheduled to tour Chuko Town. Even though it was a "school trip," for lowerclassmen, it was only a two-day, one-night affair. I’d thought it was too short, but the schedule was proving to be way too dense.

"By the way, Weiss-sama, what’s the deal with that monster? It’s been flapping its wings right next to your face this whole time."

"……I’ll explain later."

Once I’d eaten, I was going to sleep like the dead until noon. For once, I wanted to truly indulge in my laziness.

"Debibibi?"

Hey… this thing was going to sleep too, right?