How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 127

In a room that felt like it had been swept by a fierce storm, I sat alone, reflecting on what had just happened.

“How much exactly are you asking for?”

When I asked for compensation in money, Princess Francia responded in an irritated tone. I nodded and answered immediately.

“Fifty thousand gold. Ten thousand as a down payment, forty thousand upon completion.”

And then.

“You crazy bastard.”

Slam! Bam!

Princess Francia could no longer hold back and spat out those brief but impactful words before disappearing, closing the door behind her.

“Well, it wasn’t that difficult a request, was it?”

Even though she’s a member of the royal family, fifty thousand gold shouldn’t be too hard to come by, right? After all, it’s said that the tuition fee for an ordinary noble student for one semester is around two thousand gold. For commoners, it’s twice that amount, four thousand gold.

Of course, simply paying four thousand gold in tuition doesn’t cover everything. There are additional costs for textbooks, dormitory fees, and various other expenses, which would bring the total to around five thousand gold.

With the academy’s curriculum divided into three semesters per year, it means spending at least fifteen thousand gold annually.

Calculating it that way…

“There are three years left until graduation, so that’s forty-five thousand gold just in tuition. Honestly, I’m not left with anything.”

Of course, all these calculations are purely from my perspective. Princess Francia must have a completely different way of calculating things. I did this to provoke her, after all.

“If it works, great. If not, even better.”

I hummed a happy tune as I muttered to myself. More than anything, seeing Princess Francia’s face twist in anger was quite satisfying.

‘She’s been annoying me a lot lately, so it feels really good to see her like that.’

I never intended to participate in the “Novice Challenge” event anyway.

“Why would I do that if I’m not crazy?”

Despite being a tradition to honor the myths of heroes and the first dean, attracting numerous freshmen each year…

‘The number of people who actually pass is very small.’

Even…

“Even the mighty protagonist Kyle failed that quest.”

In the early part of the original story, it was an event that dealt with Kyle’s first failure, which came as quite a fresh shock to the readers.

“Was the mission to cut a strand of hair from the Northern Grand Duke?”

The Northern Grand Duke, one of the absolute masters. Asking for a piece of his hair was essentially a death sentence.

But our protagonist Kyle took on the challenge.

“And he got utterly crushed, like a dog.”

Of course, that failure was a turning point and a valuable lesson for Kyle, motivating him to further improve his skills.

‘A talented individual already loved by the world, working hard?’

“Yeah, you go catch the Demon King, Kyle.”

Anyway, diving into such an event recklessly would be extremely foolish. Especially with Princess Francia’s personality, I might end up suffering terribly.

“You can deal with it yourself.”

Thud.

Muttering to myself, I threw myself onto the bed, using my hands as a pillow, and stared at the ceiling.

“It seems like there might be an unexpected butterfly effect.”

In the original story, Princess Francia didn’t participate in the “Novice Challenge” because she had become the new student council president.

“Hmm.”

I felt slightly uneasy, but what could one person’s participation change that much…

Suddenly sitting up, I nodded to myself and muttered.

“Yeah, it could change things.”

Even I have a basic learning capability after enduring so much unwarranted trouble.

However…

‘The “Novice Challenge” scales its difficulty based on the abilities of the challengers.’

So, no matter what happens, it won’t cause any major changes or variables to the overall content.

“And unwarranted trouble always happens to me. Since I’m not participating in the event, nothing should happen. Yawn.”

Flopping back onto the bed, I slowly drifted off to sleep with a long yawn.

***

“Crazy bastard.”

“Lunatic.”

“A truly crazy idiot, dumbass sea cucumber!”

Bang!

Princess Francia, throwing a pillow on the floor, expressed her anger with a sigh.

“Isn’t he completely out of his mind? Fifty thousand gold?”

Thud!

As she threw another pillow, there was a knock on the door.

“Your Highness, are you all right in there?”

A voice came from one of the guards outside her dormitory.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Well, that’s a relief, but there have been constant noises…”

“It’s nothing to worry about. I’d like to be alone today, so please leave me be.”

“Oh, yes. Understood.”

Hearing the slightly raised tone of Princess Francia, the guard responded hurriedly.

Thud!

“Phew.”

Taking a deep breath, Princess Francia sat on the bed, her face flushed red, and spoke.

“Kamon, that bastard is really a son of a bitch.”

She had thought long and hard before going to Kamon Vade’s dormitory. Although she didn’t want to, given her current situation, she absolutely needed to pass the “Novice Challenge.”

‘I had no choice.’

Therefore, she had swallowed her pride and personally went to lower her head. But what she got in return was mockery and ridicule.

“Is fifty thousand gold the name of some household dog?”

Though the amount Kamon mentioned wasn’t an astronomical sum, nor was it unmanageable for a princess, it was still a burdensome amount to use recklessly.

“That bastard did it on purpose.”

Princess Francia, convinced that Kamon’s proposal was meant to ridicule and mock her with an impossible condition, bit her lower lip hard.

Grinding her teeth, she knew that having voluntarily withdrawn from the student council president election had left a stain on her career. She had to restore her authority and honor through the “Novice Challenge.”

“Phew, calm down. It’s just annoying, after all.”

It was just frustrating to deal with Kamon’s filthy intentions.

“It’s not the first time, anyway. Yes, ignore him. Ignoring him is the best option.”

Nodding, Princess Francia calmed herself and began to organize her thoughts with a clearer mind.

‘There’s no immediate problem or complication.’

“So, focus solely on passing and succeeding in the “Novice Challenge.”

Though she couldn’t assemble the optimal, perfect team she originally envisioned, missing one person like Kamon Vade wouldn’t be a huge problem.

Recalling the team members she had recruited and organized, Princess Francia nodded again.

“It’s regrettable, but it can’t be helped.”

Finally, with some of her pent-up anger dissipating from her recent outburst, she flopped onto the bed.

She gradually fell asleep on the soft bed.

* * *

“Hey, did you hear about that?”

“What? Did another problem come up?”

“No, it’s about the Novice Challenge rumors.”

“Oh, the Novice Challenge? Why, what’s going around?”

“Apparently, Princess Francia…”

Flance Imperial Academy is a place where rumors spread rapidly. Students constantly chatter about various gossips and rumors for their amusement.

And this time was no different.

“What? Kyle, Chelsea, and Fabian? They all teamed up? Then…”

“They’ve formed the strongest freshman team.”

Bren and Lois muttered as they nodded, having heard the news from other students. At that moment, Elliot, carrying drinks in both hands, approached and asked, tilting his head.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“We were just talking about the latest news about the Novice Challenge.”

“The Novice Challenge? Oh, it’s that time of the year again?”

Elliot replied with a smirk, prompting Lois to comment with a strange expression.

“What’s with that? It makes you sound really old.”

“Lois, you still haven’t been beaten enough, huh?”

As usual, they bickered playfully among themselves, and I quietly fell into my own thoughts.

‘So this is how things are unfolding.’

I had roughly predicted there would be some butterfly effect, but I never imagined they’d gather all the strongest freshmen.

‘She’s really determined this time.’

I briefly recalled Princess Francia, who had visited me the other day.

“Wait a minute. So they’ve gathered all the rumored strong freshmen. Kamon, haven’t you heard anything?”

Instead of Lois, who had become the butt of the joke, Elliot asked after hearing Bren’s explanation. I shrugged and replied briefly.

“I heard.”

With that answer, all three of them turned their eyes to me.

“What? What did you hear?”

“Did you also get a proposal, Kamon?”

“Unbelievable. Did the princess really come to see you, Kamon?”

I nodded lightly in response to their rapid-fire questions.

“Yeah, but I turned it down.”

“What?”

“I have no intention of participating in the Novice Challenge.”

At my firm answer, Bren, Elliot, and Lois stared at me blankly. Then, after a moment.

“Sss, well. That’s understandable.”

“Yeah, Kamon, there’s no need to take the hard path. Lois, are you going to participate in this challenge?”

“Me? Uh, probably.”

Their reaction to my answer and behavior, as if it were no big deal, made me chuckle without realizing it.

‘What’s with these guys…’

I thought they’d be a bit more surprised or shocked.

Slllurp.

“Ah, refreshing.”

At that moment, Elliot, who had taken a big sip from his drink through a straw, spoke up.

“There’s no need to laugh about it. The Novice Challenge is a personal choice. It’s not strange if someone chooses not to participate.”

“Yeah, I’m not going to do it either. There’s no point in getting hurt for nothing, and there’s no real reward for doing it.”

I could only nod at Bren’s words as he scratched the back of his head.

The Novice Challenge, an unofficial event at Flance Imperial Academy, stimulated the spirit of challenge and competitiveness among the young students. While it bestowed great honor upon those who succeeded, the participation rate wasn’t that high.

The difficulty of the challenge was one issue, but the fact that there was no tangible reward other than honor also played a part.

Successfully completing the challenge didn’t come with a large prize, treasures, or a title. It simply granted the honor of being a freshman who passed the Novice Challenge.

Oh, of course.

‘I heard there’s a club that only those who pass can join…’

After the protagonist Kyle failed in the original story, that club remained a mystery, buried in secrecy. The general consensus was that it was just a plot point the author forgot.

While I was deep in thought, Lois muttered in a light voice.

“So, I’m the only one here participating?”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

“Ha, even Cecilia was worried that the number of participants for this Novice Challenge was much lower than usual.”

Bren tilted his head and asked.

“Does that have anything to do with the student council?”

“Not really. It’s not a problem, but within the student council, the participation and success rates of the Novice Challenge are considered a symbol of competitiveness.”

Elliot responded casually.

“But what can you do? It’s a personal choice.”

“True.”

“You know, our year had a participation rate of over 70%, and the success rate was over 10%.”

“What? Did you participate too, senior?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Lois and Bren exclaimed with dumbfounded expressions as Elliot answered so matter-of-factly.

“Then why do you sound so proud! Anyone would think you succeeded in the Novice Challenge!”

“Yeah, I was really surprised for a moment.”

Elliot, with a victor’s smile, mocked them.

“If our year did that well, it’s as if I did it. If you’re upset, make your year do the same!”

“Damn it. I can’t argue with that.”

“Me neither…”

Seeing Bren and Lois’ frustrated faces, I couldn’t help but laugh quietly.

But exactly three days later…

“What? Damn, what is this!”

“This is incredible.”

“Participation rate of 95%?”

News broke that nearly all first-year students at Flance Imperial Academy had decided to participate in the Novice Challenge.

—————–

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