The World's Strongest and Most Evil Noble Strives Humbly and Diligently ~ Using Knowledge of the Original Story and Unique Magic to Avoid a Destruction End ~ - Chapter 13: Redrick Magic Academy

Chapter 13: Redrick Magic Academy

――February 15, Year 1015 of the Holy Calendar, early morning.

Three years have passed since then, and now I am 15 years old.

No, I have become 15 years old.

Soon, the “Main Route” will begin to move.

The scenario made by the protagonist, for the protagonist, because of the protagonist, is about to start.

“Phew…”

After washing my face in the luxurious bathroom of the Heisenberg estate, I slapped my cheeks with both hands to refocus myself.

It has already been six years since I was reincarnated into the world of Ronzorkia.

I have worked carefully to survive the harsh Hollow Route and reach a happy ending.

I abandoned my natural laziness and arrogance, choosing instead to be humble and diligent in my efforts.

“So it’ll be fine. I’m sure it’ll be fine…”

Muttering as if to convince myself, I took a deep breath to calm my racing emotions.

(But still… it really is uncanny. Well, of course, it’s the real thing, but still…)

The mirror in front of me reflected the fully grown Hollow von Heisenberg.

Dark crimson medium-length hair, with only the back grown long and loosely tied with a hair ribbon.

Cold, condescending eyes—jewel-like deep red irises—a sharp, well-defined nose—an annoyingly perfect face.

By the way, my height has reached 170 cm. My view of the world has gotten quite a bit higher.

As I stared at my own reflection in the mirror, the wall clock chimed Gong, Gong.

“Oh, it’s already this late.”

I quickly returned to my room and packed my things.

“Examination ticket, check. Writing utensils, check. Sword, check—good, all set.”

Today is the entrance exam for Redrick Magic Academy.

In the Klein Kingdom, there are three royal academies:

Redrick Magic Academy, Bulfrin Swordsmanship Academy, and Grecia Magic Sword Academy.

The protagonist of the original story attends Redrick Magic Academy.

The original Hollow also attends Redrick Magic Academy.

Following this pattern, I chose to apply to Redrick as well.

(Honestly, I did consider it—a route where I go to a different school from the protagonist.)

A villainous noble’s natural enemy is the protagonist. If I understand that, then there’s no need to approach him on purpose.

(But if I take a path too far from the Main Route, who knows what kind of unpredictable chaos might happen…)

If that happens, my greatest advantage—my knowledge of Ronzorkia’s original story—would become useless.

Hollow von Heisenberg is a person despised by the world.

Even if he does nothing, just walking down the street invites all sorts of death his way.

(Unknown death flags are much harder to deal with than known ones.)

So, I made the bitter decision.

I will follow the original story and attend the same school as the protagonist.

Of course, I’m not going in unprepared.

I have a perfect countermeasure for dealing with the protagonist.

“—Orvin, I’m heading out.”

“Please take care.”

I boarded the luxurious Heisenberg family carriage.

By the way, my father and mother weren’t there to see me off. Actually, they’re not even at the mansion.

The two of them are handling government affairs in the royal capital and will be away for about a week.

Settling into the carriage’s guest compartment, I gave a signal through the partition window, and the coachman slowly urged the horses forward.

On the way to Redrick Magic Academy, I gazed out the window and considered my plans.

(For today at least, everything will be fine. I won’t be encountering the protagonist during this entrance exam.)

Right now, my focus should be on carefully following the Main Route.

(The original Hollow was the first in the academy’s history to score a perfect mark and was accepted as the top student.)

That means I need to achieve a perfect score and secure the top spot.

Though, honestly, that’s not too difficult.

After all, I already know this year’s exam questions.

First was the written exam.

With my knowledge of the original story and the countless forbidden books I had read, it was laughably easy.

(Alright, perfect score guaranteed.)

Next was the practical exam.

The task was to make it through a forest filled with monsters.

If I used Void Walk to connect the entrance and exit, I could clear it instantly, but of course, I wouldn’t do anything that flashy.

Since I had already completed the original story, I obviously knew the safe route where no monsters appeared.

Relying on my hazy memory, I followed the path and reached the goal first, completely unharmed.

With both the written and practical exams, I was the top candidate.

At this point, achieving my goal—perfect score and top admission—was practically certain.

One week later, early in the morning.

As I was eating breakfast in my room, my maid, Sistie, entered.

“Master Hollow, a letter has arrived from Redrick Magic Academy.”

“Hmm…”

I melted the wax seal with magic and took out the document inside.

Hollow von Heisenberg

We hereby grant you admission to Redrick Magic Academy.

Additionally, you are the first in the history of our institution to achieve a perfect score.

As such, we believe your skill and intellect are most fitting to represent the incoming students. We request that you give a speech at the entrance ceremony. Further details will be sent later.

Inside was my certificate of acceptance.

Well, of course.

I had the original story’s knowledge—failing would have been harder.

“U-Um… how was it?”

Sistie asked hesitantly.

“Naturally, I passed.”

I flicked the certificate with my finger, making it flutter in the air before landing neatly in her hands.

“A-Amazing…! To be the top student at the prestigious Redrick Magic Academy… as expected of you, Master Hollow!”

“You’re exaggerating. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Not at all! This is an incredible achievement! You should be more proud of yourself, Master Hollow!”

“Heh, thanks.”

“I only stated the obvious.”

After six long years, I had finally reached a point where thanking my maid didn’t surprise her.

(It’s been a long journey… such a long journey…)

A storm of emotions swirled within my chest.

If the loyalty of my retainers dropped below a certain level, I would trigger the Rebellion End.

So I carefully adjusted my behavior every day, softening my attitude little by little to avoid raising any suspicions.

As a result, my reputation among my subordinates had skyrocketed.

I had crushed a major death flag while also solidifying my position as the next family head.

It had been tough, but the rewards made it all worth it. The outcome was a huge net positive.

“Well then, I should go report this to Father and Mother.”

“Yes! I’m sure they’ll be delighted!”

Leaving my room, I headed to my father’s office.

Inside, my father, Daphnes, and my mother, Layla, were both present.

“Father, Mother, I have been accepted into Redrick Magic Academy.”

I said this as I presented my acceptance letter.

“I see.”

Without even looking up, my father continued working through his paperwork.

Seeing this, my mother let out a deep sigh.

“Dear, Hollow passed his entrance exam, you know? And look, he even got top marks. Can’t you at least say something?”

“This is only natural for the eldest son of the Heisenberg family. There was no need to come and report it.”

“You’re actually happy about it, but you’re saying that again… I saw it, you know? You secretly bought a good luck charm for passing the exam in the royal capital.”

“Wha—!? D-Don’t say something so ridiculous! That was, uh… yes, it was for health! I was worried about your health!”

Father suddenly stood up, his face turning bright red as he denied it.

But it was obvious to everyone that he was just making excuses.

After sitting back down roughly, he cleared his throat in an exaggerated manner.

“Hollow, I heard you passed Redrick, but that’s just the starting line. What matters is what you accomplish there. Do your best not to bring shame to the proud Heisenberg name.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And also… well, uh… congratulations on passing.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

That night, the Heisenberg family held a grand celebration party for the exam success.

■

April 8, Year 1015 of the Holy Calendar.

Today is the entrance ceremony for Redrick Magic Academy, followed by the first class.

As the top scorer, I was supposed to give a speech representing the new students…

But Hollow von Heisenberg is a lazy and arrogant noble scumbag.

There’s no way I’d do something as annoying as an entrance speech.

As soon as I received my acceptance certificate, I sent a letter to Redrick’s headmaster, politely declining the offer.

At 8:00 AM, I arrived at Redrick Magic Academy and immediately started moving.

One hour until the entrance ceremony starts.

Before that—more precisely, before the protagonist arrives—I need to crush a certain event.

(The event happens around 8:00. The protagonist arrives at 8:20. I have about 20 minutes… I need to hurry.)

I walked quickly yet gracefully towards the gymnasium, spotting a group of students ahead.

Two students in black uniforms and five students in white uniforms were in a heated argument.

(Good, I made it in time. No, this is perfect timing!)

I let out a sigh of relief and calmly slowed my pace.

As I got closer, I could hear their conversation.

“Hey, you guys are just ‘white uniform’ commoners, right?”

“It’s only natural that you step aside for us ‘black uniforms’!”

The students in black uniforms were acting all high and mighty.

“Screw that! What makes you guys so great!?”

“Y-Yeah! You were just born with special magic, that’s all!”

The students in white uniforms fought back desperately.

(Haha, the exact same lines as the original story.)

I had experienced this countless times before, but reliving the original story like this never got old.

It made me feel more than ever that I was truly living in the world of Ronzorkia.

Now then, Redrick Magic Academy is an extreme ‘classist society.’

Students are divided based on whether they have innate magic or not—either into the “main course” or the “preparatory course.”

Those blessed with innate magic wear black uniforms as main course students.

Those without innate magic wear white uniforms as preparatory course students.

Since the distinction is clear from appearance alone, a strong sense of superiority and inferiority forms between the two groups.

As a result, conflicts between white and black uniforms happen every year.

(If I remember correctly, this fight starts because the black-uniformed main course students provoke the white-uniformed preparatory students, and the latter take the bait…)

This quarrel would eventually escalate into a full-blown fight, and right in the middle of it all, the protagonist—who has a knack for getting dragged into trouble—would show up.

Before he even realizes it, he’d be drawn into the chaos, and with his overwhelming strength, he’d take down the two main course students.

That would earn him the trust and admiration of the preparatory students and even the recognition of a teacher who happened to be watching.

In other words, this was a classic “protagonist boost event” at the beginning of the story.

(Sorry, but I’m not letting that happen!)

If I put an end to this meaningless fight before the protagonist arrives, his reputation won’t improve.

With that in mind, I stepped forward to break up the fight.

“Listen up! I am Franz, the third son of Count Thomas, a family that has produced countless outstanding holy knights! A Count, you hear!? And I even possess an elite-class innate magic! Do you understand? You pathetic white-uniformed trash are nothing compared to me from the moment we were born!”

As Franz continued to boast,

“H-Hey… look at that…”

“That lazy, arrogant noble scumbag…!”

“This year’s top student… Ranked number one…!?”

The preparatory students who noticed me stepped back with tense expressions.

And that retreat—their fear towards me—was mistaken by Franz as fear of him.

Feeling emboldened, he sneered,

“Haha, that’s right! Don’t you dare resist again, you lowly peasants!”

With a dramatic sweep of his arm, his right hand smacked into my chest.

“Ah!? Who the hell do you think—!?”

“You look like you’re having fun. Mind if I join in, Lord Franz?”

“Ho-Ho-Ho-Hollow von Heisenberg!?”

Franz’s mouth foamed as he stepped back—once, twice, three times—with a small, pitiful movement.

He was clearly shaken, but… well, that was understandable.

My Heisenberg family stands at the top of the five noble ranks—‘Duke.’

Franz’s Thomas family is in the middle—‘Count.’

The difference in status between our families is higher than the heavens and deeper than the sea.

“W-Well… while we’re in this school, our social status doesn’t matter! Here, you and I are both just first-year students at Redrick! Don’t act so high and mighty, you spoiled, evil noble brat!”

Maybe he was trying to cover up his pathetic display earlier, or maybe his tiny pride had been wounded… Whatever the reason, Franz was acting quite aggressive.

Technically, what he said was correct. “While enrolled at Redrick, students are treated equally regardless of noble or commoner status”—this was a clearly stated rule.

But dude, weren’t you just flaunting your noble rank a minute ago?

And the moment we step outside this school, the noble hierarchy still exists.

A mere third son of a Count picking a fight with the heir of one of the four great noble families… not exactly the smartest move.

As I was thinking that—

“Hollow von Heisenberg!”

Franz suddenly shouted and threw his white glove onto the ground.

Wait… isn’t this that thing holy knights do to challenge someone to a duel?

No way, he wouldn’t be that stupid—

“I challenge you to a one-on-one duel!”

Ah. He’s an idiot.