I Became The Academy’s Joker Character

Chapter 5

—–CROW—– 

Immediately after Oz crossed the border.

Some of the mages, belatedly realizing this, began to murmur.

Among them, some were preparing to cast magic.

“Phew… Phew…”

Oz simply watched the scene, catching his breath.

It was difficult to breathe. It wasn’t a physical problem.

It was because of the chilling encounter with the girl a moment ago.

‘How was she there? Why did she let me go? What does the march mean?’

Oz, seemingly confused, recalled the recent events, endlessly questioning himself.

Nothing made sense.

The tension of facing the border.

“Gentlemen of Spellergy. You wouldn’t be thinking of firing those threatening spells into Helios Empire territory, would you?”

As Oz was gasping for air, a calm voice came from behind him.  Oz subtly curled the corners of his lips at the sound.

At least for this moment, he didn’t have to worry.

“…Cease fire.”

The man who appeared to be the leader of the attackers ordered his subordinates, who were preparing to cast magic, in a low voice.

His expression was creased in annoyance.

“Indeed, they wouldn’t dare declare war against the empire.”

“How brazen.”

Black hair that reached her waist and a black tail swaying between her legs.

Her ears were hidden by her military cap, but she surely had the beast ears characteristic of the demi-humans.

Oz, looking up at her with [Contemplation] activated, saw her identity displayed as a string of text in his vision.

An SR-rank character from the Imperial Intelligence Agency, , with striking red cat eyes.

[SR Blending Cat]

Lucia Punisher

She warned, arms crossed.

Behind her, dozens of imperial soldiers had already gathered.

“That man is our Spellergy’s…!”

“Spellergy’s? What is he to you?”

Lucia aimed her pistol at the mage who shouted indignantly at her and questioned him back.

A rare smirk played on her usually expressionless face.

Seeing this, the man who appeared to be the leader stepped forward towards Lucia.

The two stared each other down across the border line.

“That man is a criminal who has committed a grave offense in Spellergy.”

“Oh, really? He doesn’t look like such a bad guy to me.”

“…You know who he is, don’t you? This isn’t something even the empire can easily overlook.”

Oz was a central figure in his nation.  If such a person defected, there was no telling what secrets might be leaked.

“Well? I don’t know.  Perhaps you could tell me what would happen if we didn’t overlook it?”

“That…!”

The leader of the attackers tried to shout but was momentarily speechless. There was no way communication could break down this much.

It was clear that they were aware of Oz’s situation beforehand.

“We’re of the mind to accept defectors regardless of their position. If you have any complaints… why don’t you file a formal protest with the empire?”

It was a ridiculous argument.

But now that Oz had crossed the border, the empire held the initiative.

If they missed him here, even with further negotiations, Oz would have disappeared by then.

‘And the empire would just offer an insincere apology.’

It was a common occurrence.

The coercion only the strongest nation in the world could afford.

However, he couldn’t back down from this. The target was too important.

Losing him was a loss in itself.

“Then I’ll prove it with the unique mana signature of mages… No, wait… Could it be?”

The leader of the attackers desperately tried to come up with a solution but was once again speechless.

All mages from left a mana signature like a fingerprint.

Even the [Demon King] was no exception.

But he hadn’t intended to actually prove Oz’s identity with that.

It was to buy time.

No matter what he did, the other side wouldn’t accept it anyway.

If a high-ranking official from arrived at the border in the meantime, there might be room for negotiation.

But even that was impossible.

Seeing this, Lucia smirked and said, “I’ve been watching, but he didn’t use magic even once while breaking through the encirclement.”

Oz hadn’t used magic even once while crossing the border.

Not only could he not stall by analyzing his mana signature, but he couldn’t even claim that he was a mage.

“Perhaps he isn’t even a mage? Then what are you trying to prove?”

“Th-That’s!”

“Nothing? Then we can take custody of this ‘civilian,’ right?”

“…Damn it.”

Clap clap clap clap──

“Oh… As expected of Oz. I wondered why you broke through empty-handed, but so that was the reason.”

At that moment, the red-haired girl who had been watching the situation from behind clapped and smiled.

She was clapping as if genuinely impressed.

Everyone present felt a strange sense of dissonance and stared at the girl.

‘Who is she…?’

Yes, everyone felt it.

No one there knew the girl’s identity.

Not even the attackers from .

“Hee hee.”

The most out-of-place girl in the group waved at Oz.

At her gesture, as if greeting him, Oz felt an inexplicable chill and waved back.

It felt like he had to.

“Well then, I should be going. I have a lot to do. If you have any last words for this boy, now’s the time.”

“…I’ll pass.”

Lucia smirked again and confidently escorted Oz away.

* * *

I was lucky. Yes, I could only think of it as luck.

The reason I didn’t use magic wasn’t some grand plan to avoid leaving traces.

I thought it would be better to trust my relatively functional legs than to draw attention with [Master of Mana], which could produce any kind of magic.

If I could have used proper magic, I would have.

Since I couldn’t, I just ran like a brute, relying on my physical abilities.

Of course, even if I had used magic there, the empire would likely have decided to take me in, but I couldn’t have been optimistic.

My value in the empire would have decreased.

“I was honestly surprised by this incident.  You’re different from what I’ve heard, Prince Oz.”

“…”

Inside the carriage heading towards the imperial capital, Lucia spoke to me with her arms crossed, as if she had just had an amusing experience.

“I never imagined that the ‘infamous’ Prince Oz wouldn’t use magic and instead sprint, even rolling on the ground, to get here.”

“…If I had done something predictable, I would have been caught.”

Even though it was unintentional, it was better to make it seem like I had planned it.

Even though the empire had decided to accept me, being underestimated wouldn’t be beneficial.

It was best to raise my value as much as possible.

Arriving in the empire didn’t mean it was over. I was still walking a tightrope.

If I made a mistake and my value dropped, I would be abandoned.

“That’s true.  Still, considering your personality, I thought you would definitely break through head-on.”

“Really? Then I must have been a good actor.”

“Hmm…”

Lucia started looking at me suspiciously. I wasn’t confident in my poker face, but it was fine.

[Contemplation – Activated]

As soon as I activated [Contemplation], Lucia flinched.

It worked.

She was pretending to be nonchalant, but her tail twitched and bristled as if uncomfortable.

A characteristic of cat demi-humans.

“If you think you know everything about me with just that, it’s a bit… disappointing.”

“…Alright, I admit it.”

It was cheesy, but this was good.

Oz’s presence with [Contemplation] activated was quite intimidating.

It wasn’t that his expression was unpleasant, but his gaze felt like it was piercing through everything within.

The point was, appearing impressive was important.

“S-So, what are you going to do now?  It goes without saying, but we can’t hide your presence forever unless you become a full member of the empire.”

Lucia crossed her legs along with her arms and continued speaking.

However, her twitching tail robbed her of any authority.

“Uh, ahem!”

Lucia seemed to finally notice that my gaze had been fixed on her tail, and she quietly uncrossed her arms and started kneading her stiff tail to calm it down.

She didn’t forget to glare at me in the process.

But wasn’t this a rare sight?  Besides, I wasn’t going to easily relinquish the advantage I had gained.

I wouldn’t back down.

“Wh-What’s wrong with it?”

A sense of urgency emanated from her touch as she struggled to control her own tail.

“L-Look… could you look somewhere else…?”

Alright, I had asserted my dominance enough.

It was time to avert my gaze for her sake and get to the main topic.

“…I plan to go to Scientia.”

“Scientia? Why? You’re not thinking of becoming a professor or playing student, are you?”

“If necessary, I will.”

“‘If necessary?’ That implies something…”

It was the best option for me right now.

If I went to the academy, I could learn proper magic.  I already had the magical knowledge, so it wouldn’t take long.

Moreover, the protagonist, the [Princess of the Fallen Kingdom], was there.

I didn’t intend to follow the original story exactly, but if the protagonist died, it would be a straight path to destruction.

I needed to observe her closely and provide support.

And lastly, even the original Oz had headed to the academy.

There must have been a reason why he chose that place instead of fully defecting to the empire.

I didn’t know the game’s ending.

I had fallen into the game on the day of the Chapter 15 update.

All I knew was that the game couldn’t be cleared without the original protagonist’s power, and that Oz had died in the game.

“A letter of recommendation…”

“I would be grateful…”

“No, it won’t be necessary. With your abilities, you wouldn’t need a letter of recommendation.”

“R-Right. I don’t need one.”

I wanted to accept it, but considering my current stance, it wasn’t a good choice.

The empire was favorable towards me now, but that favor could turn into a debt I would have to repay later.

“Well then, for the sake of our future amicable relationship, we’ll ensure your safe passage to Scientia.”

“Since you have to go to Scientia anyway, don’t make it sound like a favor.”

“What…?”

As a game character, she was bound to be involved with the protagonist.

When I said that, knowing this fact, Lucia stared at me blankly with a surprised expression.

Along with her tail, her ears, hidden under her military cap, began to twitch.

She seemed quite surprised.

“…I can’t let my guard down. How did you obtain such information?”

“I just know.”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

I really did just know.

But there was no need to correct her misunderstanding.

I didn’t know how to explain it either.

“If you’re from , you should be able to find out yourself. I’m going to sleep now. Wake me up when we arrive.”

“…Alright.”

Honestly, sleeping was a bluff.

I wasn’t brave enough to sleep peacefully in this situation.

But it seemed my body was quite tired.

I slept soundly.

* * *

After going to the imperial residence and finishing some bothersome questioning, I was secretly transported to the western part of the empire.

hadn’t made any particular moves yet.

Well, since the neighboring Chrysos Kingdom had been destroyed overnight, it would be difficult for them to focus on anything else.

“Certainly different.”

While every nation was in a state of emergency due to the collapse of the sky and the overnight destruction of the Chrysos Kingdom…

Only , an independent institution located in the western region of the empire, was enveloped in a peaceful atmosphere.

“…Right, this is the city where the [Dragon Emperor] resides.”

was ruled by Tiamat, the [Dragon Emperor], one of only five dragons in the world, who served as the academy’s headmaster.

Now that I was here, I understood that.  I didn’t even need to activate [Contemplation].

Just looking at the campus, I could feel mana that made my skin tingle.

An absurd magical barrier.

Did it rain meteors instead of rain here?

“Phew…”

It was reassuring to think I was under her protection, but considering the game’s story, I couldn’t be completely optimistic.

The collapse of the sky wasn’t something even a dragon could take lightly.

She, who had mostly stayed within the academy, would also start making frequent trips outside to investigate the truth.

And the enemies would target those moments. That’s how the game began.

“Let’s get moving.”

I stopped looking at the campus and headed towards the reception area.

I intentionally came under the empire’s protection and aimed for the entrance exam period.  Well, it was like sitting on pins and needles.

I couldn’t help it since I hadn’t completely escaped the threat of assassins.

I was fine for now, but it wouldn’t take long for them to prepare another assassin to attack me.

Being deeply involved with the empire wasn’t ideal, but without any other power, I had no choice but to rely on them for now.

“We have a lot of applicants this year.”

“It can’t be helped.”

The receptionists were probably chattering about the collapsed sky.

was considered one of the safest places right now.

It was only natural that people would flock here.

“I’m here to apply for the exam.”

“Ah…”

When my turn came, I slightly lowered the hood I was wearing and spoke, and murmurs erupted around me.

Oz’s appearance was too striking.

Perhaps because he was an SSR-rank character, he had a plausible appearance.

Honestly, I didn’t dislike this attention.  It was rather enjoyable.

“Isn’t that him?”

“I heard rumors that he escaped from Spellergy…”

Some people recognized me.

Well, was attended more by nobles than commoners.

There would be many who recognized my face.

“…The exam is in three days.”

The receptionist handed me an admission ticket with a rather indifferent expression.

Since they had checked the personal information I wrote, there was no way they didn’t know who I was.

This was probably their way of being considerate, not confirming my identity out of surprise.

“Next applicant, please.”

“Ah, yes!”

As I was leaving the reception area, I heard a familiar voice.  A voice I had heard frequently while playing the game.

“…”

“Excuse me? Could you move aside?”

“Ah, yes. My apologies.”

I quietly stepped aside and glanced at the person passing by.

Bluish-silver hair, the color of clear skies, swayed at shoulder length.

Her eyes were a deep sapphire blue, and her gait was unwavering.

Thankfully, she existed.

“Yes! My name is Noah!”

“You don’t have to shout so loudly. You can just write it here…”

“Okay! I will. Do I write it here?”

The girl who, despite having lost everything, including her country, just a short while ago, was trying to maintain her spirit.

The holder of the key, using the blatant alias “Noah.”

A Key Person, central to the story.

[KP Princess of the Fallen Kingdom]

Eleanor von Chrysos

[Contemplation] etched the string of text at the edge of my vision, definitively confirming her identity.

“Is this correct?”

“Ah, yes…”

Although it was just a brief encounter, I had finally confirmed the game’s protagonist.

—–CROW—–