There’s no such thing as kindness without reason.
Even if it exists, it's not something you'd offer to a complete stranger.

This was a lesson I learned the hard way after arriving in this world.
Moreover, people who look pristine on the outside are often the most dangerous.

When someone has an odd appearance, people instinctively become cautious.
Those who approach with ill intentions know this all too well.

In that regard, this girl, Fiona, was a top-tier danger.

Even if she’s not a scammer, she’s still trouble.

I know that Fiona isn’t a con artist. You can tell just by looking at her followers.

She’s probably from some high-ranking noble family.

“Y-You don’t know who I am?”
“Hmm, my knowledge is a bit limited…”

I’d heard bits and pieces about the new arrivals at the training center.
But matching names with faces? I hadn’t spoken to many people, and I certainly hadn’t gone out of my way to socialize.

If I tried to get close to anyone, I’d probably just be met with contempt for being a demon sorcerer.
Better to stay holed up in the training grounds practicing magic bullet shooting or studying magic in the library.

“No! I mean, really?!”

Fiona’s pale face flushed with a blend of surprise and embarrassment as she failed to get the answer she wanted.
She turned to Leif, hoping for a different result.

“Surely you know, right? Fiona McManus? Doesn’t that name ring a bell?”

When she first said her name to me, she put the emphasis on “Fiona,” but now she was emphasizing “McManus.”
Her family name must be more famous than her first name.

Leif, trying hard to remember, let out a thoughtful hum as she pressed her fingers to her temples.

Fiona’s eyes sparkled with a glimmer of hope.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for her.

You’re in for disappointment...

This is Leif we’re talking about.
Even within our team, she’s the embodiment of cluelessness.

“I feel like I’ve heard it… somewhere…”

As expected.

“How could you not know?! You’re in Res Rimen! The McManus family is the ruling grand duke family! We’re descendants of the great Rovard!”

Fiona’s voice was more shocked than angry, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Leif finally seemed to remember, her face lighting up.

“Oh, right! The grand duke family is called McManus! Wait… does that mean…?”

Sigh
“Yes, I’m Fiona, the grand duchess.”

Once again, she placed her hand gracefully over her chest, returning to her aristocratic posture.
But her expression had changed from before—now it was tinged with fatigue.

“I’m sorry for not recognizing you, Your Grace. That was very rude of me…”
“Forget it. If I wanted special treatment, I’d be walking around with a bunch of handmaidens.”

Her casual attitude didn’t fit the usual image of a noblewoman.

Alejandra was like that too.

Maybe true nobility is about honor and dignity rather than looking down on those below you.

Even though she’s from the most prestigious family in the city, she’s acting this way.

I guess using formal speech even though we’ve just met is a sign that she’s different from the usual nobility.

The “nobles” I’d encountered before in this world would cut off a slave’s hand for daring to touch their carriage or rip out a servant’s tongue for answering back.

For someone in her position to treat others with respect… maybe there’s hope for Res Rimen after all.

But still, that’s one thing. This is another.

Knowing Fiona’s high status only makes me more cautious.

“There’s no need for someone of your stature to help me, Your Grace.”
“Hmm… well…”

Fiona hesitated, as if there was a reason she couldn’t quite say.

I think I know what that reason is.

From the start, Fiona had brought up Alejandra when she approached me.
Her interest wasn’t in me—it was in Alejandra.

Now that I think about it, I remember Fiona glaring at Alejandra when she spoke to me once.

In other words, Fiona wants to interfere with Alejandra.
She wants to support me so I can win the bet against her.

It’s like using your enemy’s enemy to your advantage.
…Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic.

Let’s just say, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

While Fiona hesitated, Leif suddenly blurted out,
“Come to think of it, weren’t you here the other day—”
“Ahem! Ahem! More importantly!”

Fiona quickly raised her voice, cutting off whatever Leif was about to say.

“So, do you need my help or not?”

Whatever Leif was about to mention must’ve been pretty embarrassing, considering how flustered Fiona seemed.
Despite her usually poised demeanor, she was clearly rattled.

I was curious, but some things are better left private.
A public display of embarrassment wouldn’t be right.

I’ll ask Leif about it later when we’re alone.

Anyway.

“I appreciate your offer, but…”

If I accept someone’s help, I’ll need to repay them.
If I don’t, that help becomes a debt.
It’s fine if it’s family or close friends, but…

Fiona and I definitely aren’t that close.

So, what can I offer Fiona in return?

Winning the bet with Alejandra?
Well, that benefits me too, so it doesn’t really count as repayment.

And it’s not like I can give her a material reward either.

Should I try to negotiate? Maybe grab her hair and say, ‘Please teach Roman magic’?

Yeah, no.
That’s something a cute red-haired girl would do, not me.
Alejandra might be better suited for that role.

“I don’t have anything to give in return, Your Grace.”
“Hmph, do you really think I’d expect anything in return? As someone who has learned more, it’s my noble duty to teach those who are lacking.”

Fiona scoffed, folding her arms with a resolute confidence.

Her words were laced with a noble pride that made it clear she wasn’t lying.

“Oh… wow.”

Clap clap clap.

For once, I was genuinely impressed.

So this is what noble duty looks like.

Not some condescending lecture about how everyone else is uncivilized, but a sincere sense of responsibility to enlighten others.

I had to applaud that.

When I started clapping, Leif, who had been quietly observing, awkwardly joined in, clapping along with me.

Hearing our applause, Fiona’s shoulders straightened proudly, and her chin lifted slightly.

“So, you’re really just going to help me?”
“Of course!”

To be honest, I didn’t fully believe her.

Her real motive was probably to stick it to Alejandra…
But that’s something I was planning to do anyway.

Might as well make sure I do it right.

I weighed the pros and cons of accepting Fiona’s help versus rejecting it.

Even without her, I was confident I could win the bet.

But.

There’s no reason not to accept her help.

As a demon sorcerer, I’m already an outsider in the magic community.
Why worry about what the academies think?

It’s much better to have the backing of a grand duchess.

I’d get her guidance, build a valuable connection, and win the bet.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the right move.

My decision was made.

“Should I call you ‘Master’?”

§

After my lesson with Fiona, the Grand Duchess and Magic Instructor, I was heading out of the library.

Before we split off to go to our respective dorms, I turned to Leif.

“Hey, Leif.”
“Yeah?”
“What was it you were going to say earlier?”

“Oh, that?”

Leif clapped her hands together as she spoke.

“You didn’t notice? She’s been coming to the library for a few days now. I think she was waiting for the right moment to talk to you.”

She was waiting for the perfect timing to talk?

I thought she was all bold and confident, but maybe Fiona’s got a cute side to her after all.

“Oh, and keep it a secret, okay?”

I mean, she’s already told me, so it’s not much of a secret now.

But sure, if I pretend not to know, it’ll stay a secret.

“Got it. Our little secret.”

Does that make Leif and me secret friends now?

§

Life settled into a simple routine.

Morning academic training, afternoon practical training, sparring with Ray to work on body enhancement, magic lessons with Fiona in the library, and finally, evenings spent with Seir working on magic creation back at the dorm.

Honestly, I couldn’t think of a more productive way to spend 24 hours a day.

And then, the day arrived.

“We will now begin the completion exam.”

Exam day.

Just like training, the morning was reserved for academic testing.

It reminded me of my old school days.

That same feeling when the teacher handed out the test papers.

“Ugh… I’m doomed…”

Leif, the classic under-prepared student, muttered her defeat beside me.

“This is what you get for not studying.”
“I-I was going to!”
“Which means you didn’t.”

Ray, ever the blunt one, hit Leif with the cold, hard truth.

Leif groaned, clearly regretting her lack of preparation.
Meanwhile, I was just amused by the conversation.

“Quiet. The test papers will now be distributed. Anyone caught talking after that will be considered cheating and immediately disqualified.”

At that, Leif clamped her mouth shut with a muffled “Mmph!”

Even if she thought she was going to fail, disqualification was still a no-go for her.

And so, the test began.

As the papers were handed out and the sound of pens scratching filled the room, I didn’t start writing right away.

Instead, I skimmed through the questions.

Then I smiled.

Lucky.

I knew the answers to all of them.

§

While the completion exam was underway, preparations for the real test—the skills assessment—were happening outside.

Mosley, the ecology instructor, was in charge of the written exam.

The director and the four other instructors were focused on the skills test.

Most of the setup work was being handled by Aaron, the illusionist, and Marc, the senior instructor and barrier specialist.
But the other two also had roles to play.

“Davenport, stay at the center and be ready to intervene if necessary.”
“I understand.”

Davenport, the instructor responsible for combat training, was tasked with mediating if any physical altercations broke out among the trainees.

“And Lindsay, you’ll be assisting Aaron.”
“Of course~”

Lindsay, an alchemist, would be helping Aaron with the test setup and handling any injuries.

“Remember, this test must go perfectly. Especially… well, you know.”

The director didn’t say any names, but the instructors all knew who he was referring to.

“…The written exam is over.”

The director spoke with a hint of tension in his voice as he received a magical signal from Mosley.

“We’ll start right after lunch. Get ready, everyone.”

The instructors dispersed.

Since they had already eaten, they headed to their respective stations.

Marc and Aaron moved to the control room.
Davenport descended underground.
The director prepared to join Mosley and lead the trainees.

As they walked away, Lindsay, still smiling, muttered to herself.

“That’s right~ We can’t afford any mistakes. Especially not with him.”

She had waited too long for this day.

There wouldn’t be any mistakes.

Not a chance.

§

The provisional license test would take place underground, where we had done our previous survival training.

Of course, the layout and difficulty would be completely different.

“We’re almost at the end!”

Leif shouted excitedly, her energy through the roof.
She’d checked her answers against mine and was thrilled to find that all her guesses had been correct.

It seemed that in exchange for sharing knowledge, I’d somehow received good luck in return.
The law of equivalent exchange was alive and well.
Maybe Leif should quit spiritism and try alchemy instead.

“Roman’s spacing out again.”

Ray, noticing my silence, spoke up gruffly.

Ever since my magic lessons with Fiona, I’d been preoccupied with thoughts of magic creation.
During training, I hadn’t really needed to do much since Ray could handle most of it.

I guess Ray had been doing all the heavy lifting, not me.

“Hey, Roman. It’s time to snap out of it. Stop daydreaming about magic and focus on the test. Don’t you have a bet to win? We need to hurry.”

“It’s not that.”

But that was only during training.

I’m not the type to get distracted during an exam.

“Then what is it?”
“Something feels off.”
“Huh?”

Ray let out a dry laugh, as if I’d just said something ridiculous.

But I was serious.

Things were going too smoothly.

There were no tricks or cheating challenges during the written exam.
And the afternoon skills test, while harder than the training sessions, was going far too smoothly as well?

That doesn’t make sense.

“Isn’t it common for something to go wrong during a test like this?”
“You… what do you think the instructors are?”

Ray gave me a disapproving look.

But I wasn’t basing my suspicion on random guesses or stuff from novels and comics.

That might have been where it started, sure.
But my real reasoning came from elsewhere.

“I’ve had a weird feeling for a while, but it’s only recently that I became sure of it.”
“Sure of what?”
“That lizard we caught the other day. The cliff basilisk. There’s no way it should’ve gone down that easily.”

The cliff basilisk had reappeared during the last survival training before the final test.
It wasn’t supposed to show up until then.

In ecology class, we’d been warned that cliff basilisks were apex predators of the first floor of the Abyss. Many rookie explorers fell prey to them while scaling the walls.

And we had gone after it ourselves on the very first day and killed it.

But there was no mention of it afterward. It was just swept under the rug?

“Something’s definitely going on.”

As I explained, both Ray and Leif’s expressions grew more serious.

“…You have a point, but it’s too late to turn back now.”
“Yeah. We’re already in too deep.”
“W-We just need to finish quickly before anything happens! Don’t forget about the bet!”

Leif, apparently unsettled by my words, urged us to hurry.

“Let’s pick up the pace.”

Ray, taking the lead, quickened her steps and marched ahead.

Then—

Rumbleeeee—!!!

The underground floor shook violently.

The ground trembled, the walls bulging and shifting unnaturally.

This was definitely not a normal part of the test!

“Everyone, get together!”

I shouted, but my voice was drowned out as the underground chamber began to collapse.