“Ugh…”
As I open my eyes, feeling a throbbing headache, I see a ceiling and an environment all too familiar.
“…Was it a dream?”
The white ceiling I’ve grown sick of seeing and the pungent smell of disinfectant.
It seems that I am inside a hospital room, the place where I spent most of my past life.
“Ugh. Ha…”
Realizing this, my breath starts to quicken involuntarily.
Could it be that everything up until now was just a dream and I’m still in a state where I can’t even get up and walk?
If that were true, maybe it would be better to just die like this…
“You finally seem to be coming to your senses.”
“…Ah.”
“You collapsed and lost consciousness right after escaping the labyrinth.”
As I was drowning in dark thoughts, biting my lips, a familiar voice from beside me brought me back to my senses.
“Lady Meredia, it’s really great to see you again…”
“Are you repeating yourself? Seems like you haven’t fully come to your senses yet.”
“…That’s just how much I missed you. Haha.”
Seeing the most definitive proof that everything I experienced wasn’t a dream, I chuckled foolishly. But soon, my mind quickly turned cold.
‘So, the black mages were indeed trying to interfere with this year’s Talent Selection Tournament.’
Considering they had already been trying to corrupt a substitute for the saintess at the academy, it’s clear that they intend to meddle in the selection process.
If I can’t stop them outright, then the best course of action would be to take advantage of my current situation—having gained Rebecca as an informant—and crush their plans.
For that, more than anything, I need Lady Meredia’s cooperation.
“My Lady, would you mind listening to my story for a moment?”
“…What is it?”
With my thoughts clear, I began explaining to Meredia, who was sitting on a chair beside my bed with her arms crossed and legs casually crossed, everything that had happened inside the labyrinth.
“…And that is the sequence of events that occurred within the labyrinth.”
“What do you think? Quite eventful, isn’t it?”
After some time had passed and I finished my explanation, I observed Lady Meredia’s expression, waiting for her reaction.
“You’re telling me to believe that…?”
She initially looked at me as if I was speaking nonsense and was about to speak further with a sharp gaze.
“…No, never mind. As ridiculous as it sounds, I’ll believe you.”
However, after pausing for a moment, she unexpectedly changed her stance and kept her response brief.
“That was quicker than I expected.”
“I just don’t think you’d be lying at this point.”
When I asked about her reasoning, slightly bewildered, Lady Meredia shot me a doubtful look, but her voice was calm and composed.
“Right? Haha…”
“I’m barely restraining myself from strangling you right now, so could you stop laughing?”
For some reason, I found her words touching, so I smiled again—only to hurriedly shut my mouth at the chilling remark.
“I thought you had suffered a fatal injury, but it turns out it was self-inflicted. That’s not even funny.”
“…I have no excuse for that.”
In my past life, even lying still felt like knives were stabbing into my body. A superficial wound meant nothing to me.
“Please, at least consider my position next time?”
Lady Meredia scolded me with a stern expression, but I noticed a faint tremor in her right hand.
From what I know, that trembling is one of her habits that appears when something triggers her trauma or when she experiences intense emotions.
“Thank you for worrying about me.”
“…Shut up.”
“You were keeping an eye on me the whole time, just in case something went wrong, weren’t you?”
“I said shut up.”
Feeling even more moved, I expressed my gratitude, but she immediately shut me down with an icy remark.
“Wait, don’t tell me…?”
“This is really… I don’t even know what to say—ow.”
Noticing that her usual irritation or killing intent was absent from her words, I grinned mischievously. But before I could say more, she smacked me in the side with her fan, silencing me.
“Anyway, if what you say is true, then it’s certain that the black mages will make their move during the Talent Selection Tournament.”
Still giving me a look of exasperation, Meredia returned to the main topic.
“Do you know what exactly they’re planning to do?”
“They’ll likely summon the demon they failed to bring forth during the previous engagement ceremony.”
“And what do they gain from that?”
“…That…”
I had been answering her questions as sincerely as possible, but when she asked this, I hesitated.
‘Should I really tell her about the Demon King and the Hero now?’
In most routes of the original story, Meredia was manipulated by the black mages and ultimately became the Demon King who brought about the world’s destruction.
Even the curse currently afflicting her is likely related to that, based on my knowledge.
While Lady Meredia trusts me considerably now, knowing that she’s cursed and knowing the truth about the Demon King are two vastly different things.
If I handle this poorly, I might end up touching her reverse scale and losing her trust in an instant.
“I don’t know why you’re hesitating, but I can take a guess.”
As I remained deep in thought, Meredia, who had been silently observing me, spoke up first.
“There’s something or someone in the academy that absolutely must be eliminated, isn’t there?”
She arrived at a conclusion close to the truth without me even saying anything.
As expected, she’s just as quick-witted as she is powerful.
“Don’t worry. Whatever your plan is, I’ll cooperate.”
“…Thank you?”
Bracing myself for further interrogation, I was caught off guard when she simply accepted my answer without prying further.
“If it’s about screwing over those black mages, all the more reason to help.”
“Of course. No doubt about that.”
“…But really, do you not know why the monsters obeyed your command?”
Just as I was about to feel relieved, she asked another question.
“If you’re hiding anything related to black magic…”
“……”
“I won’t forgive you. No matter who you are.”
She leaned forward, placing both hands on my bed, and whispered coldly, her gem-like eyes glowing red.
“…I know you have doubts, but I swear, I’m innocent in this matter.”
“That almost sounds like you’re admitting you weren’t innocent in other matters.”
“That just means this is an exception.”
For a moment, I could clearly feel a deadly aura from Lady Meredia, something I usually never sensed from her.
“I think it was just a temporary phenomenon. The summoning circle went haywire and called forth monsters in large numbers, and they must have mistaken me for their summoner for some reason.”
“Even if that’s the case, there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again… Wait.”
In the middle of her sentence, Lady Meredia’s gaze dropped—not at me, but to the floor beneath her.
Curious, I followed her line of sight.
—Squeak…!
A small spider-like monster peeked out from the shadows cast by the sunlight streaming through the window and tapped against her foot.
I blinked in stunned silence.
—How dare you… radiate killing intent?
Wait, isn’t this the one that was unusually clingy toward me in the labyrinth?
I thought all the monsters disappeared when the maze collapsed… so why is it here?
“Um, My Lady, this is…”
……
“My Lady?”
Flustered, I turned to explain, but before I could, Meredia suddenly climbed onto the bed without a word.
“…Ah.”
Then, she grabbed the blanket covering me and yanked it up with a stiff expression.
Watching her, I suddenly remembered a detail from the setting book—her fear of spiders.
One of the few humanizing traits about her was that she was terrified of arthropods—especially spiders.
—Hehe. Scary, aren’t I?
The problem wasn’t just that Lady Meredia feared spiders; it was that she had more than enough power to obliterate an entire hospital wing if she saw one.
“Don’t just stand there. Get inside.”
To prevent such a disaster, I hastily commanded the spider peeking out from my shadow.
—If you ever need me again, call upon me, human…
Fortunately, before Meredia could unleash a barrage of spells, the little creature slowly sank back into the shadows and vanished.
But apparently, it wasn’t the only uninvited guest in my hospital room.
“Lady Meredia told us not to let anyone in, so I almost got a leg cramp just waiting outside… Huh?”
“…Hic.”
At that moment, the door swung open at an unbelievably bad timing.
Princess Katarina entered, followed by Cecil and Lady Adele, both carrying a basket of fruit. But upon stepping inside and seeing the scene before them, their eyes went wide, and they froze in place.
In the silence, Adele let out a weak gasp and dropped the basket she was holding, causing the fruits to roll across the floor.
“So… it wasn’t about one of them blackmailing the other? They were actually… like this?”
Beside her, Cecil murmured with a blank expression that didn’t suit her at all.
“W-We seem to have misunderstood something.”
“Wait a minute.”
“I-If that’s the case, we’ll just be on our way. Please, enjoy yourselves.”
Displaying an unusual quick-wittedness, Katarina turned bright red, grabbed Cecil and Adele, and began backing out of the room.
“…I’m going to lose my mind.”
Rumors about me were already turning into bizarre urban legends among my household staff. Now, I might become everyone’s favorite gossip.
*****
A few minutes later.
“Ahem, ahem.”
“……”
“So, uh. Did you finish… your business?”
Katarina re-entered the room, still dressed in her disguise as a man, and cleared her throat before speaking in an oddly suggestive tone.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
“No need to explain. I completely understand…”
“…Just get to the reason you’re here.”
Meredia, still sitting on the chair beside my bed, crossed her arms and glared daggers at me, her voice icy. Katarina flinched but managed to respond.
“Well, I came here not just for a visit but also to deliver some news.”
Ignoring Meredia’s freezing stare, I focused on Katarina’s words.
“First, your appointment as a judge has been unanimously approved by the academy board.”
“I see. That’s good to hear.”
“Of course, that’s only if you recover in time for the tournament.”
“That won’t be a problem. I might look worse than I am, but I can get up and walk just fine.”
To prove my point, I spun my arm in circles, showing that I was perfectly functional.
“That’s a relief. Now, onto the main issue…”
Katarina hesitated for a moment before finally delivering the bad news.
“The Holy Kingdom has requested to attend the Talent Selection Tournament as observers.”
“…What?”
Even Meredia, who had been glaring at me, widened her eyes at this information.
It seemed this was news to her as well.
“Sir Whitney, I need a word—”
“There’s no need to whisper. Lady Meredia is on our side.”
“…Then I’ll be direct. Are you sure this is okay?”
Katarina abandoned any pretense of secrecy and asked the question bluntly, her expression tense.
“It’s already difficult enough to smuggle the Saintess into the academy, but now we have to deceive the Holy Kingdom too?”
Of course, to Katarina, who had unexpectedly ended up on the same side as me, this was a disaster.
“…Your plan will still work, right?”
“Your Highness, there’s nothing to worry about.”
In reality, she had no reason to be concerned.
“This was part of my plan from the very beginning.”
The Holy Kingdom’s request to observe the tournament was something that had happened in the original story.
In other words, I had already accounted for it.
“To be precise, this is how the Saintess will infiltrate the academy.”
“…How is that even possible?”
“Ahaha, well…”
Looks like it’s time to contact my people at the mansion.
“There’s a way. Trust me.”
With all preparations in place, it was finally time to face the events of the Talent Selection Tournament head-on.
*****
That night, at Count Lingard’s office.
“Oh? What kind of liquor are we having tonight—Huh?”
Hestia, who had become somewhat accustomed to these summons, entered the office with slight anticipation. But upon stepping inside, she stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening.
“Welcome!”
“What… is this?”
Inside, Parsha, Runiel, and even Bergen—who had been busy stirring up trouble in the underworld—were gathered, silently watching her.
“Our master has finally given the order!”
“…?”
“We’re just following instructions , so don’t blame us too much, alright?”
“W-Wait, what are you…!”
Before she could react, Runiel swiftly grabbed her arms from behind.
“Whew. This will be over quickly, so just bear with it.”
Bergen, standing up with a reluctant expression, pulled out a metal toolbox from his coat.
Hestia’s eyes darted around in panic.
“W-What are you doing to me?”
“Hey, knight. Hold her down tight so she doesn’t struggle.”
“…Understood.”
And just a few seconds later—
“HIIIK! AHH! I-It tickles!”
“…We might need to gag her too.”
“W-Wait, mmph—! Mmph!!”
The eerie noises that started leaking from the office that night would later become another chapter in the infamous rumors surrounding the Lingard estate.
「…If you hear screams coming from the office, cover your ears and walk away immediately.
Nothing that would cause screaming ever happens in the master’s office.」
—Excerpt from Sasha’s Memoirs, Page 17.
Cliche Novel 