30 Years after Reincarnation, it turns out to be a Romance Fantasy Novel

Chapter 201

“This is the first time I’m seeing your face in person.”

“…Y-yeah, I guess so.”

“No need to be nervous. Just for Shy Boy’s sake, I have no intention of harming you.”

“Uh, by Shy Boy, do you mean Derrick?”

“You catch on quick.”

“Hehe, well, it’s a perfect nickname. I should start calling him that too.”

“……”

“What’s with that look?”

“Oh, nothing. Just thought Shy Boy finally met his match. You two have the same talent for making people nauseous.”

“!!”

“You can do whatever you want in front of me, but tone it down in public. It’s honestly annoying.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

She reacted like an innocent schoolgirl.

She had no problem standing tall before a crowd of thirty thousand, but the moment the topic of romance came up, she finally acted her age.

‘I thought he was the one getting bossed around, but now that I see her like this… maybe it’s mutual.’

Watching her blush, Ihan had a sudden thought—maybe she liked Taechang even more than he liked her.

Good thing Taechang wasn’t here right now.

If he were…

…he might’ve gotten a flick on the forehead.

They say jealousy blinds men and makes them pathetic, but Ihan had no problem being honest about it.

That was the healthiest way to deal with it.

And then—

“So, I finally get it now. Why Lady Irene, Lady Levi, and the three from the swordsmanship department all joined the student council out of nowhere. This was your doing, wasn’t it, Instructor?”

Her eyes, reminiscent of mystical amethysts, gleamed as she nodded to herself, as if she had just pieced together the puzzle from the past few days.

Her assessment was complete.

Muttering to herself, she began laying it all out.

“Lady Irene doesn’t enjoy the spotlight. Neither does Lady Levi or those three. And yet, all of them suddenly decided to knock on the student council’s door? That seemed odd, but if you were behind it, everything makes sense now… Hmm. So, does that mean something big is going to happen during this exam?”

A guess.

“Like the monster attack during the midterm evaluation…? Oh! I see! It’s not a terror attack—it’s something shady happening at the academy! You assigned those three powerhouses to the student council as an extra layer of security!”

An analysis.

“Which means the target could be… Lady Irene? Lady Levi? Or maybe even me? Feels a bit arrogant to say it myself, but there aren’t many people in the academy who’d be considered more valuable than us. Ugh, but there’s too little information to be certain.”

A judgment.

“So, what can I do to help?”

“……”

…She had just dumped all of that on him in a matter of seconds, leaving Ihan no room to explain anything.

All he could do was sit there and listen.

And after hearing everything, he was left utterly speechless.

“…You figured all that out on your own? What are you, Holmes?”

“…Who’s that?”

“A legendary detective who could solve cold cases without leaving his seat.”

“Oh my, I’d love to meet someone like that! But, more importantly, let’s talk about the plan. How are we handling this?”

“…No other questions?”

“Why waste time questioning when we should be solving the issue? Efficiency is key, Instructor. Efficiency.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, just realizing there are way too many geniuses in this place.”

“?”

…Taechang’s doomed.

Ihan was sure of it.

***

To gain admission to the academy, applicants had to pass a total of five tests.

The first was the written exam.
The second was the special aptitude assessment.
The third was the practical exam.
The fourth was the first interview.
And the fifth and final test was the second interview.

Most unqualified applicants were eliminated during the written exam, but the special aptitude assessment—designed to evaluate individual abilities, including mystical talents—offered a second chance. If an applicant demonstrated exceptional value, the academy might overlook their poor written exam scores, giving them an opportunity to make up for it in the practical and interview stages.

Of course, throughout the academy’s long history, fewer than fifty students had ever been admitted through the special aptitude route. In reality, failing the written exam almost always meant failure overall.

And now, thirty minutes after the written exam had concluded—

“This… this has to be a mistake! There’s no way I failed!”

“Do you know how much money my father paid? How dare they fail me?!”

“Those goddamn bastards…!”

Nearly half the applicants had been eliminated.

Those who failed the written exam erupted in rage, causing disturbances left and right. The exam proctors and security guards, long accustomed to such outbursts, swiftly moved in to subdue them. Their expressions conveyed utter boredom—this was a scene they had grown sick of witnessing year after year.

“Kunta’s head hurts. Was this test even meant to be passed?”
“The questions were at a level that anyone who studied properly could answer. We even tailored them according to the applicants’ chosen departments. If they still couldn’t pass, that just means they didn’t prepare properly. Of course, they failed.”
“Kunta, you’re lucky you got in through the special aptitude route.”
“Kunta is happy to be a barbarian!”

Kunta, a mystical race warrior who had devoted everything to combat prowess, was exempt from such exams. His face radiated pure contentment.

But despite his carefree attitude, he had actually scored perfect marks in both the practical and interview assessments.

It wasn’t widely known, but Kunta had entered the academy ranked third overall, just behind the valedictorian and salutatorian—Roen and Irene.

…Not that he himself cared about his ranking.

“The swordsmanship department’s practical exam—is it going to be a sparring match like last year?”
“Unlikely. They change the format every year.”
“Hmph. What kind of test did the Instructor prepare this time?”
“Kunta thinks Instructor did nothing. Assistant Instructor probably prepared everything overnight.”
“……”

That made sense.

Their instructor was diligent in many ways, but paperwork wasn’t one of them.

Especially when it came to Assistant Instructor Damian Follet—he dumped every clerical task on him without hesitation. In fact, tormenting Damian with excessive paperwork seemed to be a personal hobby of his.

“Poor Assistant Instructor.”
“What’s worse is that he still has two more years of this.”
“If I ever have to start over from the bottom, I’d rather join a mercenary corps than become an assistant instructor.”

The trio shared a moment of silent sympathy for Damian Follet, imagining him as an undead, drained of all energy.

That is, until—

“Quit messing around and get back to work, Mr. Arno, Mr. Kunta, Mr. Garland.”

Had it not been for the firm yet gentle voice of a young woman.

“Bear’s here?”
“Yes. I just finished overseeing most of the first test. It was tougher than I expected.”

Levi Jeanne d’Arc.

Serving as a substitute proctor, she had been patrolling the exam grounds, and she now looked visibly exhausted.

Physically, she still had plenty of energy. But mentally, she was drained.

Well, that was natural.

With thirty thousand applicants to oversee, exhaustion was inevitable.

…And yet, when it came to pure stamina and endurance, Levi ranked among the top students in the swordsmanship department.

For her to look this worn out, there had to be an additional reason.

And, unsurprisingly—

“Did you find any suspicious individuals?”
“Around twenty or so.”
“That many? I only managed to identify twelve.”
“The fact that you found that many while proctoring the exam is more impressive.”
“Agreed. You’re something else, Lady Levi.”
“Y-you guys are exaggerating…”

Levi blushed at the praise.

She looked embarrassed but also pleased.

“But still, the temple is really crossing the line this time. To think they’d pull this kind of stunt inside the academy… It’s unforgivable.”

The momentary embarrassment vanished, replaced by quiet anger.

Levi wasn’t the type to badmouth people easily. But right now, she seemed unable to contain herself.

It was understandable.

The kingdom was already dealing with back-to-back crises.

Even with everyone working together, it still wouldn’t be enough. And yet, instead of lending their aid, the temple was busy strengthening their own power—resorting to these underhanded, criminal tactics.

That was more than enough to enrage her.

“…It seems Lady Levi has quite a bit of resentment toward the temple.”
“That’s unexpected.”

She had always appeared to be a devout believer, yet her hostility toward the temple was obvious. Seeing this, the others blinked in surprise.

“I called upon the gods countless times as a child, but they never answered me. So I stopped looking for them. These days, I go to Instructor instead.”

“……”

They had stepped on a landmine.

A wave of guilt washed over them, as if they had unintentionally dredged up painful memories.

But Levi didn’t seem to care.

She simply stated—

“We need to push harder and root out the bad guys. At the very least, we can’t let innocent applicants get caught up in this mess.”

Levi was doing everything in her power to achieve the best possible outcome.

“…Y-yeah. We’ll do that.”
“Kunta will work hard.”
“Man, there’s never a quiet day, is there?”

[The Seed of the Saintess.]

A natural ability to earn people’s trust.
A commanding presence that drew others to follow.
An innate gift, bestowed by the heavens.

Even those with the talent to become heroes could only be led by someone like her.

Naturally.

—

Meanwhile, as Levi and her group worked to root out the temple’s potential infiltrators, on the other side of the academy—

“I’ve found them.”

Irene Windler had just located her target.

***

"That… so, you're saying she’s the Duke’s ‘real daughter’?"

"Yes! That’s what I’m telling you!"

"……."

"Well? Now that you’ve seen her, you get it, right?"

"…Yeah. She does resemble him."

"See? I told you!"

The fledgling recruit was babbling excitedly, but Ihan completely understood the sentiment.

‘She really does look like him.’

Like that damn Duke.

Irene Windler had handed him a telescope, but Ihan didn’t need it. Even from this distance, his vision was sharp enough to see the woman clearly.

Unlike Irene’s long, flowing hair, this woman had a short bob, her locks a rare shade of golden blonde.

The noble houses of Pendragon flaunted a variety of vibrant hair colors, but silver and gold were particularly uncommon. Among the academy’s students, the only one with such striking golden hair was the fledgling standing next to him.

Yet, this woman’s golden hair was just as vivid.

Perhaps because of its rarity, quite a few applicants and proctors were casting glances in her direction. When Ihan focused on their lips, reading their murmured words—

"Wow, she’s gorgeous."
"A real beauty…."
"Still, compared to that senior from earlier…."
"Ah, yeah, no contest there!"

…Typical men.

"Instructor?"

"…It’s nothing."

"??"

Ihan kept his mouth shut, scrutinizing the woman a little longer.

‘…Her eyes, her presence… she does resemble him.’

If she were standing next to the Duke, she might even look more like him than the fledgling recruit beside him.

And yet, Ihan felt it instinctively.

‘Why does she feel so artificial?’

Her appearance was undeniably similar.

Her presence and energy waves bore some resemblance as well. Even her scent had faint traces of the Duke’s.

‘But something about this…’

It felt wrong.

Yes, she looked like him, but she didn’t feel like the Duke’s daughter at all.

Was this just his own bias talking? His personal disdain clouding his judgment?

‘No. That’s not it.’

If he had to put it into words—

It felt like staring at an eerily well-crafted uncanny doll.

A doll. Artificial. That’s why he was so certain.

That woman—

‘She’s a fake.’

And not just any fake.

??She came with a nightmare attached.

At that moment, Ihan finally understood how the Magic Tower and those lunatic cultists had planned to get their hands on Galahad’s Cursed Sword.