The Demon Prince goes to the Academy - Chapter 278

Bertus was in the dorms, so it wasn’t hard to find him.

“……Master Temple?”

“Uh.”

“Why is that all of a sudden?”

“No, I just thought you were good enough to get out.”

Bertus looked puzzled.

“What, are you trying to tell me not to leave because you’re going to leave?”

So that seemed to be the conclusion Bertus came to.

I actually said to Ellen in class today, I’m going to the tournament, so why don’t you go?

“Not really, I’m just curious.”

Regardless of the likelihood, Mr. Temple doesn’t give me anything but Challenge achievement points if I win. It’s much more beneficial for me to guess the other candidates.

“I don’t know why you want to know that, but I don’t think I’m leaving.”

Bertus looks at me like I’m crazy for asking this, but he answers anyway.

Why didn’t Mr. Temple leave in the original? It’s understandable if he’s preoccupied with the Charlotte issue. Charlotte’s resurrection is probably the biggest headache for Bertus right now.

Bertus doesn’t leave.

If so, there’s no telling who will be Mr. Temple.

If you get both right, you’ll have two talents, and you’ll be in trouble.

But we can’t leave Bertus behind if we don’t want him to leave.

If I go out and become Mr. Temple, I’ll only end up with one talent from the Miss Temple side…….

In the first place, I’m not sure I’m good enough to be elected Mr. Temple.

In a way, this event has given me a shitty situation, so I want to make the most of it.

It’s a shame you only get one talent when you can get two…….

Bertus’ talent, swordsmanship, is one of Olivia’s talents.

This is a maximization situation, but Mr. Temple is opaque. Miss Temple is certain, but if you don’t hit Mr. Temple, you won’t be able to eat him raw.

How to do it…….

I don’t want Mr. Temple to be me.

What!

If it doesn’t exist, create it!

Make another tough guy besides me Mr. Temple.

You’re getting his talent for free. There are so many rare talents here that you can’t even buy for achievement points!

You can do this by making Mr. Temple a more overwhelming talent than Bertus’ swordsmanship.

Hang.

If I catch anyone, I’ll make them Mr. Temple.

If it’s ambiguous, write it off!

With a list of candidates running through my head, I headed to the dorm lobby.

Ludwig’s health.

That’s a talent for fraud. Let’s make Ludwig Mr. Temple.

As I walked along, thinking about this and that, I saw the Ganodab trio huddled together in the lobby of the dorm.

Not only the Ganodab trio, but also Heinrich von Schwarz.

He’s always been on the outs, and now he’s joined the Ganodab trio.

Honestly, that guy doesn’t look like Gano.

They were studying, too, huddled together, looking through books.

You.

I walked over to them.

“Uh, uh……. Reinhardt.”

I could see the tension in their faces as I suddenly walked up and plopped down in the only available chair around them.

“That……. to go to the bathroom?”

Heinrich had lost his animosity toward me, but he still couldn’t help but peck me a little.

“Look at me.”

They tense up at the sound of my command.

“Hmmm…….”

First, Heinrich von Schwarz.

The ability is Pyrokinesis.

We’ve already seen that you can have multiple powers, but I don’t need Pyrokinesis because of the Flame of Fury.

I wonder if spontaneous combustion will become possible as the level of speech increases, even without the flame of fire.

This is a pass.

Conor Lindt.

Talents are superpowers.

But it’s seriously flawed. He makes me feel bad for giving him that ability. When the flaw goes away, it’s literally a crazy scam, and it comes too late.

Pass this one too.

Erich de Lapaeri.

Talents are Divine Power, Constitution, and Swordsmanship.

All three are skills I don’t have, but I’m not a jack-of-all-trades.

Last.

Kaier Biorden.

Only one talent, giant horsepower.

“…….”

This is it.

Kai’er’s Giant Horsepower talent literally gives her a huge amount of horsepower.

This Khaier has an enormous amount of mana and the ability to grow mana. He’s just not good at manipulating it, so he can’t use it until he has to.

The horsepower numbers themselves don’t work for either Ellen or this guy. Ellen’s current horsepower is rank A+, and this guy’s is rank S. He’s one step ahead of Ellen.

Horsepower at S rank.

This is why they can be in the royal class even though they have a major flaw: they are useless.

There is no such thing as inadequacy.

So, if you get a talent like Giant Power, you’ll be able to use it fully, and you’ll get a ton of buffs to your powers.

Furthermore, I understand that once you reach Rank A, Manipulate Magic and Sensitize Magic evolve into a new talent called Dominate Magic.

When you gain Giant Power, you gain the Mastery of Power talent.

This is it.

This guy is perfect…….

“ha…….”

“Why, what’s wrong……?”

I sighed abruptly, and Kaier was fed up.

When he’s Mr. Temple, there’s nothing like it.

I patted Kaier on the shoulder as I rose from my seat.

“That’s it. It’s not your fault.”

He’s dead and risen, but Mr. Temple is a bad contemplative.

Although not really contemplative.

That…….

If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.

As a retirement……. No is no.

I had no choice but to give up neatly in front of the wall of reality.

If you meant last place, I don’t know.

I can’t do this for first place.

* * *

The one with the most coveted talent couldn’t be made into Mr. Temple because of practical issues.

I have the option to manage it and do something about it.

There…….

There are times when you shouldn’t.

Sorry to break it to you, but that’s just the way Kaier is.

Who the hell am I going to make Mr. Temple, and should I design a protagonist for once? He’s been so unimportant up until now.

When I returned to the study room, Ellen and Harriet were staring at me with fat faces.

“I’m here to see Bertus.”

“Who said anything?”

“…….”

They both seemed firmly pissed off that I was about to enter a contest.

No, you can’t be this mad at me for going to the store.

Of course……. I think a little. She crossed a lot of lines, but…….

Of course, we weren’t the only ones in the room.

There’s a guy in the corner, quietly studying by himself.

I don’t know if he is or not, but the other day he was talking and studying for a while, and when Harriet apologized, he freaked out and said it was okay and not to worry about it and broke out in a cold sweat.

A guy who suffers from extreme human cringe.

My swordplay buddy.

Kliffman.

There is only one talent, ‘Combat’.

A fraudulent all-around talent that instinctively finds the best way to win any kind of fight.

Massive hp is the talent I need most right now, but this guy’s talent is ridiculous in terms of versatility.

If anything, combat is more likely the talent I’ll need later on. I’ll get to magic control eventually.

“…….”

Only Cliff, who had been studying with his head down, looked in my direction, as if he’d gotten a chill from my gaze.

“Do you have anything to say to……?”

I stalked over to Klippmann and put my hand on his shoulder.

“Cliffman.”

“Uh, uh, why?”

“You, Mr. Temple, get out.”

Yep, that’s a possibility.

This one has potential!

“Uh-huh?”

“????”

“……?”

At my outburst, not only Cliff, but also Harriet and Ellen were suddenly flustered.

“You know, it’s about time you got your human lump fixed! Choo, choo, choo. Yes! Shock therapy, Mr. Temple, we’re gonna fix it, we’re gonna fix it, am I right?”

“Moo, moo, what are you talking about?”

Cliffman had no idea what he was hearing.

“Do it anyway, I’m the one who can do it. What about you?”

“That, that’s too sudden, I don’t know what you mean…….”

“If it’s gonna suck, let’s suck, right?”

“Why are you suddenly bullying a kid who’s just sitting there, you crazy person!”

-Bam!

“Eek!”

In the end, I got slapped in the face by Herriot.

* * *

I can’t believe I went from studying to going to Mr. Temple.

I thought it was a little too outlandish. Naturally, Cliff is baffled, and Harriet and Ellen don’t understand why I’m suddenly acting up.

No.

If you guys knew what I’m going through right now, you’d be like, “Oh, yeah, I can do that.” It’s just that it’s hard to explain.

Cliffman’s Talent Battle is a top-tier Talent, comparable to Ellen’s Mastery of Magic and Herriot’s Magic. It costs 50,000 Achievement Points to purchase.

The reward for winning a tournament in Year 1 is 10,000 achievement points, which is worth five times as much.

If I can make him Mr. Temple without going to tournaments, I might as well go all in on that.

Herriot shakes his head.

“What is it with you and your sudden desire to get him out of Mr. Temple?”

“Literally, it’s going to be a festival. I’m just trying to cure him of his disease, human melancholy.”

I say, and this time Ellen shakes her head.

“Does that fix it?”

“You’ll gain confidence. No matter what.”

“Hmmm…….”

Sandwiched between us, Cliffman stiffened and broke out in a cold sweat, as if he were being lynched. Harriet clicked her tongue as she watched him die in real time before our eyes.

“This kid is going to have a heart attack when Mr. Temple leaves if we even look at him. Do you think she can handle that?”

“…….”

I don’t know about Mr. Temple, but I think you’ve hit the nail on the head.

There are times when Harriet verbally abuses her kids without realizing it, and this was one of them.

Herriot’s personality has changed from the original, but sometimes you have to say something that feels like the original, and this is one of those times.

“Well, yeah……. Someone like me……. How am I supposed to go to Mr. Temple……. There must be a lot of people who are way better than me…….”

It was Cliff’s best defense.

“No, you’re undervaluing yourself too much.”

I don’t know about Kai, but you have potential, and I’m not saying that for nothing. I know it’s an excuse to say that the human doldrums might be cured, but it’s not like you can’t get frustrated with Cliff when you’re the only one watching.

And I can’t make things that shouldn’t be, but I can make things that are!

Write it off!

It’s a mental drain just talking to him, let alone talking to anyone.

In fact, he can’t even play most of his skills in practice matches. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from beating me overwhelmingly, as he does in practice matches with Ellen.

At first I panicked and didn’t do anything, but then I got hit with a punch and was knocked out, and the rest is history.

“I think it’s all part of getting better. You tend to be too nervous, and you shouldn’t be. I mean, look at me. I’m overconfident about a topic I know nothing about, and I’m ramming it down your throat.”

“I love how you put it so bluntly……. Yeah.”

“……I don’t think it’s something to brag about.”

Cliff was the only one to hear it, but Harriet and Ellen were furious.

You guys go away! We don’t need you! You’re making her more nervous than she already is! She’s crying and looking like she’s gonna throw up!

……But isn’t this just bullying?

Shouldn’t we stop?

Although…….

It’s an opportunity I can’t pass up.

I only see a frozen Cliff.

He’s the tallest of the first-year students, and technically, he’s a handsome guy with a rather cold demeanor. From a distance, he gives off an unapproachable vibe, but when you get right up to him, he’s a little nervous.

That’s good enough for me, honestly.

“What do you think?”

I looked at Ellen and Harriet and asked if my opinion had limits after all.

The possibility of Cliffman becoming Mr. Temple.

“ugh, ugh…….”

As they both stared at Cliff at my words, his expression grew more distressed.

“I don’t think …… is going to be eliminated.”

Herriot’s honest answer.

“I think so.”

Ellen’s response.

Klippmann’s blush deepened at the unexpected compliment. I stood up and put my hand on his shoulder.

“I see. I’m telling you to do it because it looks like it’s going to be me, and I’m telling you this to humiliate you for nothing.”

“Well, at least…….”

That’s not quite right.

We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t cry if we force him up on stage in this state. If he cries and becomes the butt of everyone’s jokes, it will scar his psyche forever and he may drop out of Temple.

You might end up abandoning a child altogether.

It’s a shame, but I think it would be better to put a guy like Ludwig up there who would float away if someone pushed him.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Sorry to bother you…….”

Eventually, you realize that pushing them further is only going to harass them, so you apologize and try to stop.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Reinhardt all of a sudden, but……. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“…….”

Ellen interrupted.

This is not good enough.

I don’t think it’s just a person-to-person relationship. Cliffman is a guy that I can’t play against, and I’m just covering for his overwhelming talent.

He had his own practice matches with Ellen and practiced strengthening his powers, but he was too nervous to practice at all.

Due to a lack of confidence and trepidation, I said things that shouldn’t have been done.

“You know what?”

“……Yes.”

Cliffman keeps his head down and nods subtly. He knows that fixing that part of him is something he needs to do.

“I don’t see why you need to go to Mr. Temple, but if it makes you feel better about yourself, that’s not a bad way to go.”

“I wonder if it is…….”

“Yes.”

Ellen stares at Cliff, still emotionless.

and…….

Ellen is better than me…….

“If you don’t want to fix it, I don’t know, but if you want to fix it, you’re going to have to do something.”

“…….”

I had intended to send Cliffman to Mr. Temple for a completely different reason, but suddenly Ellen was on board.

“……I’ll think about it.”

And Klippmann seemed desperate to fix that part of himself after all.

-Drat!

With that, Mr. Cliffman rose to his feet. I, Ellen, and Harriet stared up at him, dumbfounded by his sudden rise.

“Where are you going all of a sudden?”

At Herriot’s question, Klippmann covered his mouth and began to stumble.

“Well, I’m feeling a little under the weather…….”

“Ah.”

“…….”

This guy.

Is this really good?

I wonder if I’m doing something wrong.

Cliffman staggered out of the room.