After enjoying a not-so-date date at the amusement park with Erekaya… or rather, Kaya, the final exam week approached in the blink of an eye.

From Monday morning to Friday afternoon, a comprehensive assessment consisting of written and practical exams would take place over five days.

While I had either been squaring off against Count Seryas, or had ended up in the infirmary, staring blankly at the ceiling due to the aftereffects of using Exceed, or had been busy having fun at the amusement park with Kaya right after my recovery, none of that was a problem.

Because in my mind, there existed a living answer sheet that would spit out answers the moment it saw a question. Essentially, the written exam was akin to free points.

Based on my expectations, I thought I could score nearly full marks on the written portion.

In truth, most people around me were well aware that instead of preparing for exams, I was busy having fun. I considered just going through the motions for this final exam, but knowing that I’d have to cling like a trapped spirit to the student council in the future, it was essential to achieve good grades, so I decided to put in maximum effort for the exam.

– …To be precise, it’s not that you’re putting in the effort; you’re merely copying down the answers I provide, aren’t you?

I brushed off the grumbling of the ghost in my head who seemed to have some complaint yet again.

Thus, I easily breezed through the written exams from Monday to Wednesday, which felt like an endless marathon, and only the practical exams from Thursday to Friday remained—

“Hmm…”

Surprisingly, the practical exams yielded equally lackluster results.

“…The exam is over. It took a mere 1 minute and 30 seconds to hunt the troll, didn’t it?”

As Jin looked down at the wriggling troll beneath his feet with a rather bland expression, the supervising professor, glancing at Jin with a hint of disbelief, spoke up.

“Even if it’s not an adult, for a first-year just starting out to take down a troll with just two fists… This is truly unrealistic.”

Though a troll was set up for the purpose of the final exam evaluation, the goal of this assessment was not merely to defeat the troll.

It was focused on how well the student could devise a countermeasure against the troll and what kind of resistance they could put up—not on an exam designed for someone like Jin to just take down a troll head-on.

Of course, the first-year student before my eyes was on a different level than regular students.

While it wasn’t publicly known, Jin was a descendant of the Seven Heroes and had been a monster in the first practical class when he obliterated an ogre.

Under such circumstances, it wouldn’t have been surprising for Jin to easily defeat a troll. In fact, if Jin had struggled and embarrassingly lost to a troll, it would have been even more surprising.

However, what the professor was paying attention to wasn’t so much that Jin achieved victory over the troll itself.

‘Bold. It’s as if he reminds one of a seasoned hunter who has experienced countless barehanded fights.’

Though it couldn’t quite compare to an ogre, a troll is still a predator that holds a significant position in the natural hierarchy.

The only reason such a troll can reign as a predator in nature is its astonishing regenerative ability.

This is not simply about healing injuries; even if a limb gets blown off or a life-threatening injury occurs, the troll can revert everything back to its original state due to this almost cheating-like regenerative capability.

And precisely that regenerative power is one of the main reasons why those facing trolls for the first time find them exceedingly difficult to deal with.

Even if limbs are torn off, or if one sustains injuries that would make a human scream in unbearable pain, trolls do not hesitate to attack their enemies.

Because from the very beginning, they rely solely on their regenerative power, believing that giving up their flesh to take their opponent’s bones is their primary combat strategy.

Thus, no matter how much students have been trained in their families to hunt monsters since childhood, those lacking practical experience struggle tremendously against trolls.

Yet Jin was different.

Before facing the troll, the first thing he prioritized was to shatter the troll’s legs and then crush its head until its regenerative abilities were entirely depleted.

He targeted the mobility first and attacked the vital points that would rapidly exhaust its regenerative power. This was, without a doubt, a textbook method for tackling a monster like a troll.
…Except for one small flaw.

“Ugh!”

“I think I’m going to be sick…”

The students who had finished the exam early were either grimacing at the sight of the troll sprawled out in front of Jin or struggling not to show their nausea.

Well, it was only natural. When would the noble children of fine lineage ever witness such a horrific sight as a troll’s head being half-crushed?

However, neither the professor nor Jin, the one who had created that sight, showed any sign of emotion. It was as if they had witnessed countless scenes like this before.

‘Not skilled, but accustomed. This difference is considerable.’

I truly wondered what experiences he had gone through before enrolling at Nineveh that led him to display such calmness.

And despite being a magical beast, how had he cultivated the decisiveness to stomp on its head and take its life without the slightest hesitation?

Yet, even though he was a professor, his authority to interfere with students was limited, so he set aside his curiosity and spoke to Jin in a calm tone.

“Candidate number 13, Jin, full marks.”

It seemed clear who would take the top spot in this final exam as well.

On Saturday, when all written and practical exams were over, the academy festival, which could be regarded as the highlight of the academy, was set to begin on Monday.

Of course, it wasn’t particularly good news for me.

While regular students would take the weekend to relax their minds after finishing their exams, I would be extremely busy with academy festival preparations as a member of the student council.

Even now, I was sitting leisurely on a bench in front of the dormitory, but I was in a dire position where I’d have to rush to the student council room for a meeting about the festival in about an hour.

“Damn it, why is standing required for a meeting that’s just going to be about children’s nonsense anyway?”

– Don’t complain about things that are already decided. Besides, any excuse to face me at this time is a pretty good thing, don’t you think? Given how rapidly our relationship has been progressing lately, I mustn’t miss this opportunity to continue moving forward.

As Erekaya replied with a lackadaisical tone to my meaningless grumbling, I posed my question to her with a hint of suspicion.

“By the way, you… I mean Kaya. Don’t you think something’s been off lately?”

After Erekaya asked me to call her “Kaya,” I decided to refer to her in the present moment as Kaya.

Honestly speaking, distinguishing between future Erekaya and current Erekaya was quite bothersome and annoying.

I felt there was a need to differentiate between the two in some way, but since the current Erekaya asked to be called Kaya, I happily accepted that proposal.

– Off, you say? What exactly is?

“Well… I think it would be quicker to look for what isn’t weird. I may be clueless when it comes to romance as you say, but even I can certainly tell that the relationship between me and Kaya isn’t normal.”

According to the information I had gathered, Kaya was the little princess of Pendragon and the chairperson of the student council at Nineveh, a figure admired by all students, ethereally positioned as a flower on a cliff that no one dared to approach.

Given her background and status, and her unique chill that forbade not only males but also females from approaching her, it was said that no one had dared come near her during her years at Nineveh.

Although I was also socially awkward, the reason I lacked friends was due to my unruly personality, whereas Kaya had actively pushed others away by her own will.

In other words, despite both being socially awkward, we were fundamentally different in terms of our respective standings.

Yet now, this Kaya was brightly smiling at me whenever we met, willingly joining me for the amusement park date even though it was my suggestion, and even asking me to call her by a nickname?

No matter how much of a clueless idiot I was when it came to romance, I could definitely sense that this was crossing a line!
“…But why?”

No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t find an answer. Up until now, my interactions with Kaya included a few private conversations, shopping together for student council supplies, gifting her a necklace, and going on a date at the amusement park.

The pace was far too fast. It had taken less than a month to go from starting conversations to exchanging gifts, and it was within that same time frame that I had received her permission to call her by a nickname.

And while a month might sound reasonable, the actual instances of us having meaningful conversations or spending time together were scarcely countable on one hand.

Could it be possible that, for some unknown reason, Kaya had encountered some factor that made her fall for me?

If that were the case, it would explain everything perfectly, but—

– No, I really don’t think so.

“What?”

– Don’t get the wrong idea. From my perspective, I don’t seem to have any particular feelings for you at this point.

Erekaya’s tone bore a hint of discomfort, as though something was bothering her.

– Anyway, they say that men mistakenly think that if a woman is nice to them, it must mean she has feelings for them. And that seems to apply perfectly here. Logically, how could anyone fall for a guy they’ve only known for about a hundred days and barely spoken to?

“Well… Still, we’ve been dating recently, and you even asked me to call you by a nickname…”

– That’s purely because we’re both student council members and I don’t want to awkwardly ignore you or blush in front of everyone. So don’t read too much into it. In my view, there’s still a long way to go before anything develops between us.

Erekaya’s certain tone suggested that she found my assumption that I had already charmed Kaya quite displeasing, which made her end her statement with a slight drop in her voice.

…But why was she so displeased, and what was she angry about? Was it so frustrating that I had jumped the gun before anything even started?

“…Was I just overthinking it? I mean, logically, it wouldn’t make sense for such a thing to happen anyway.”

As I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment for getting ahead of myself, Erekaya finally let out a careful sigh, as if relieved.

– Yes, everything is just a product of your delusion. So make sure never to voice any thoughts about whether I might have feelings for you or anything like that. Women despise men who carry unfounded confidence.

“Alright, I got it.”

I obediently accepted Erekaya’s somewhat dubious advice. After all, she had never lied to me or said anything strange before, so I figured this was true as well.

– So keep this in mind. Until I say it’s alright, you shouldn’t trust any other women. This applies not only to me at this present moment but also to girls like Altina von Rudel Seryas or Claire Delphin Mascarena.

“Why are you bringing them up all of a sudden…?”

Ever since I received a prophecy from Serika about my messy relationships with women, I strangely felt increasingly uneasy whenever conversations involving other girls came up…

– That’s not what’s important right now, is it? The main point I want to make is that, at this moment, the only ally you can count on is me. I am the only one who understands you, a man who aims to save the world by defying time.

– So remember this: currently, the only woman you can trust is me.

“…Alright.”

As usual, I nodded along to Erekaya’s “advice” with conviction, believing firmly that she would never say anything misleading to me.