Chapter 27
Forge the Alliance, but I Hold the Blade
The next morning at breakfast, the atmosphere among the students had shifted.
Originally, students mingled freely across dorms, treating the academy as a shared adventure.
But now, with rumors spreading that Akacoin and point rankings were a ploy to turn students against each other, wariness took root.
What once felt like casual dorms now appeared as factions—identities, even proto-nations. The shared dining hall now buzzed with quiet suspicion.
Crown Prince Rudolf had declared an all-dorm alliance, but no one truly believed it would last. Not even Rudolf himself.
“Alright, everyone! Sit separately by dorm and whisper sweet nothings to someone above your status! Even better if you’re rivals—love that defies borders is the most radiant!”
Succubus Queen Sadia was once again overseeing breakfast, seemingly thrilled to play her role in ‘student life guidance,’ even though actual lectures hadn’t yet begun.
Just then, Lorenzo Medici Mazdari, head of Notos Dorm, raised his hand.
“What is it, Lorenzo?” Sadia asked.
“Would it be permissible to season the food? Add some salt or pepper, for example.”
“Oh, that’s allowed. But… do you even have any? We banned servants from smuggling those in.”
No sooner had she given permission than Lorenzo pulled out a handheld pepper mill from his robes.
With deliberate care, he ground pepper into the bland vegetable soup.
Amazingly, the sharp, savory aroma wafted across the hall—even from a distance. The students’ dulled palates, starved of sugar and salt for even a day, reacted intensely.
And Lorenzo wasn’t the only one. Other Notos students revealed small tins of seasonings, sprinkling salt, sugar, and pepper into their meals.
“Huh?”
“Wait—this smell is… sweet?”
“These little punks,” muttered Sadia, quickly realizing what had happened.
“They’ve got spices and seasonings! Is that sugar?”
“No way this disgusting soup tastes better just with a dash of spice…”
Students watched, half curious, half skeptical, as Lorenzo took the first bite. Slowly, he brought the spoon to his lips, inhaled the aroma, examined the appearance, and finally tasted it.
Everyone held their breath.
“…Better.”
The moment he spoke, Notos students eagerly dug into their meals.
It was still terrible food—but now at least tolerable, thanks to the seasoning.
“Wait—aren’t they openly breaking the rules?! And no one’s stopping them?” protested Karl, Duke of Oxbach and head of Boreas Dorm.
Sadia just scoffed.
“You disappoint me, Karl. At this rate, I won’t even be able to drain your energy.”
“What…”
“If you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime. Mages are meant to challenge reality. Didn’t you hear Maglam yesterday? The school exists to exploit you.”
“…”
Did she really just say that?
But with eyes burning brightly, Sadia declared:
“Rise up, boys and girls! Rebel against oppression! Let your youth blaze with the fires of revolutionary love!”
“Wait… you’re the oppressor here.”
“Oh, of course I’ll oppress you. Where’s the fun if there’s no resistance?”
“So that’s how it is… Damn, so this is what academy professors are like? Lorenzo… you knew all along, didn’t you? I’m impressed.”
Karl now realized Lorenzo had fully understood the academy’s ecosystem from the start—even the motives behind its foundation and the tendencies of its professors.
Sending four students to the punishment room? That had been a calculated sacrifice—to secure a smuggling route.
“But wait—we’re in an alliance. Aren’t we supposed to be cooperating, not competing?”
“Yeah… So what now?”
Students from the other dorms—especially the small-population Euros Dorm—grew anxious.
If the alliance broke down, the smallest dorm would suffer the most.
And Notos Dorm had just made the first aggressive move.
And that wasn’t the end.
After breakfast, during maintenance time, the dorms received visits from their servants.
All wore startled expressions.
Idnia quickly asked the black wolf spirit for details.
“Master, we’ve got trouble. Just as you warned, the southerners made their move.”
“What happened?”
“They… bought out the general store in town!”
“…What?”
Idnia was stunned.
In the original Awakening Girl Concert, Lorenzo had established a smuggling ring and black market to control the Akacoin economy.
But he never bought up town property.
This time, he’d gone much further.
‘Hmm. The timeline is diverging. Is it because I stepped off the villainess path? The butterfly effect is intense.’
Still, Idnia was impressed by Lorenzo’s unpredictability.
“We did get the items that Saintess candidate wanted…” said the wolf spirit.
“Ah, right. Let’s give them to her.”
She called Mari over.
“Here’s the product list and receipts you asked for.”
“Th-This is expensive. I-I mean, thank you. I just…”
Mari was overwhelmed by the steep prices.
“Prices in Blackcow are skyrocketing. And now that the store owner’s changed, everything’s in chaos. I bought secondhand when possible.”
“Did the prices change after the southern students bought the store?”
“Not yet. But they will.”
“Right—no reason to buy a store if you’re not going to raise prices.”
Mari gasped.
“What?! They’re going to buy the town and raise prices?! The other dorms won’t stay quiet. Especially Karl—he’ll explode!”
Bloodshed between students suddenly didn’t seem impossible.
“It’s fine. You’re just not familiar with the academy structure yet. Besides, we have Professor Maglam’s class soon, right?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry, Mari. At the very least, I’ll protect you and the Euros students.”
“…Lady Idnia.”
Mari flushed red.
‘Ugh, she’s supposed to be my rival, but… Lady Idnia is just too cool.’
While others panicked, Idnia remained calm—like this was nothing.
How could they be the same age and seem worlds apart?
Mari truly felt the difference in class.
“Ha. Well played, Lorenzo Medici Mazdari.”
Karl stormed up to Lorenzo as soon as he heard the news.
“What’s the issue?”
Lorenzo feigned ignorance.
“You couldn’t have done this without planning. You bought the town’s store? So the four students sent to the punishment room were just pawns? You’re no fool.”
“Prince Karl, let me give you some advice—never underestimate anyone. It’ll serve you well in life.”
Mentioning “underestimating people” right to their face was offensive enough.
But Karl didn’t take it badly. In fact, he seemed to appreciate Lorenzo’s bluntness.
“Thanks for that. But let’s get real—Blackcow shops still pay taxes to the academy. How much?”
“20% of revenue.”
“So even if you hike prices, the academy just gets more taxes. Isn’t that against your whole ‘student rights’ cause?”
“Indeed. Which is why I’ll make this clear:
Do not break the alliance.
Do not attack Notos Dorm.
If anyone does, we will retaliate. And I believe it’s obvious now that we’re capable of doing so.”
“…So that’s your play? As long as you’ve got justification, you don’t even need to profit? Fine. For now, you win.”
Karl admitted defeat and backed down—for now. But judging by his tone, he wasn’t done.
The alliance hadn’t even faced any professor interference yet, and it was already on shaky ground.
After a dramatic morning, classes began.
In Baroness Byulem’s session, students again watched the horrifying illusion crystals—and then came the quiz.
A rapid-fire round of questions to test how well they’d digested an entire textbook in one day.
“An entire textbook in one day? After yesterday’s burnout?”
“My body still aches…”
“This is inhumane…”
And yet, one student raised her hand every single time.
“Yes, Miss Isolde Folchen?”
“That’s the incantation for ‘Spirit Pacification.’”
“Correct! One point to Miss Folchen!”
Isolde dominated the quiz. As the daughter of the same political faction, Baroness Byulem clearly favored her.
Thanks to the quiz alone, Isolde earned three merit points.
She’d already received two for entering top of her class—now she had five.
And just like that, she surged to the top of the rankings.
Zephyros Dorm’s total now stood at nine, leaving Euros behind.
All the students had sworn to resist the academy together. But Zephyros had no intention of giving up the lead.
Even if Notos pushed hard with underhanded tactics, as long as Zephyros held the lead, they could wait out the alliance until the others broke first.
