The back of my neck tingled throughout the lecture. There was no need to look back to see whose gaze it was. It must be Ruslan's gaze, and it must certainly be Ruslan's gaze.
Since Arias showed me a subtle favor, he's probably more interested in her than me, so he wants to tear me to shreds. The original Ruslan also gnashed his teeth at the original Frax because of a previous incident.
It's probably going to be a little annoying for a while.
Especially during fencing class tomorrow, I think he might try to trip me up without even realizing it.
It didn't matter. With the strength I partially received from Asti, the probability of Ruslan defeating me was converged to zero anyway.
Even if a grown Ruslan with various power-ups is possible, the current Ruslan will not be able to beat me. Even though it looked a bit sloppy, Asti's power was real.
Ruslan must have put in a lot of effort after getting beaten up by me a month ago, but since I was basically cheating on him, there was no way he would hit me before the end of Chapter 1.
Now that I think about it, it's time for the first chapter to begin.
The novel I wrote partially adopted the game format, divided into chapters by main plot, and created a final boss for each chapter... Looking at the timeline, this was chapter 0. This is the prologue part of the novel.
In other words, the part in the prologue was where Frax harassed Arias in various ways and caused a commotion. And in this prologue part, we had to make Ruslan a little stronger so that he could defeat the final boss of Chapter 1 with his own strength.
So what I had to do... was to use Asti's power to harass Ruslan and his companions in various ways.
First of all, I was thinking of just copying what the original Frax did, but I wasn't sure if I could do it well. It seemed to be very successful in arousing their hostility... but the problem was how to harass them.
The commotion of the demon world rift that was about to occur was enough to bother Arias a little, but it was not connected to the hidden piece.
In other words, it was an incident that was completely useless for strengthening Ruslan. It's just a small thing.
But I got the general idea. Originally, Frax and Asti actively took advantage of the rift to heighten unrest within the academy.
Then I had to pull it too. Don't worry about failure. It is better to aim for the right timing than to fret unnecessarily. Even if you fail, just give the hidden piece to Ruslan.
First of all, the first hidden piece was a fairy fruit that greatly heightened Ruslan's senses. With that one hidden piece, Ruslan can become noticeably stronger.
It was a fruit that had amazing benefits even if eaten by a person without talent, and for Ruslan, who had tremendous talent, there was no need to mention its benefits.
However, the 'sense' of the fairy fruit also included the ability to adapt to magical power. In other words, it makes a big difference depending on whether you receive it early or not.
The earlier you take it, the more effective it will be, so it had to be given to Ruslan as quickly as possible to help him get stronger.
The problem was that he would probably try to wield his enhanced power against me, so I had to hold on somehow.
In short, not a single piece of lecture material has entered my mind at this point. I was staring blankly at the blackboard and concentrating on writing, but my thoughts were completely elsewhere.
I may or may not fail this academy, but the world is going to end soon anyway, so I don't have time to focus on this.
And because the culmination of Frax's accumulated efforts was still shining, it seemed like it would be enough for now to just take notes lightly without spending any study time.
....The back of my neck still tingles.
Sure. They were still looking at the back of my neck. Especially Arias Winslet.
It looked like it was ready to use lasers in its eyes, so I inadvertently looked away. Arias is a heroine I carefully designed, so I had affection for her and various emotions, but I didn't show it outwardly.
It is better to firmly sow hostility in him than to take pity on her and ruin things. Rather, being completely indifferent and not showing the slightest interest will actually stimulate her more.
Why is it that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference?
Arias will also develop a lasting attachment to Frax that is not hers, and that attachment will soon turn into resentment toward Frax.
If Arias becomes stronger through that anger, it will be a welcome thing for me. She also had to be right next to Ruslan and help him.
Anyway, what I had to do was simple. First, bring Asti to the mansion, then release her into the secret place where the fairies lived and open a rift there.
... If two crack-related incidents occur in a row, surveillance will become more stringent, but it won't be much of a problem for Asti anyway.
"This concludes today's lecture. You must have been bored, but thank you for your hard work."
While I was lost in thought, the lecture ended at some point. The history professor smiled bitterly at the half-asleep students, got up and left the classroom.
The lecture continued after that, but I couldn't absorb it properly because I kept thinking about what would happen later. Time passed and before I knew it, the lecture was over.
Everyone headed to their respective dorms, groaning that they were bored to death.
And at that time, they were returning to their lodgings.
A strange vibration swept through the classroom. A tremendous magical power stirs. The moment I felt that magical power stirring, I felt that Asti had made her move.
Not only me but also several students who were sensitive to magic were looking around nervously with their eyes wide open. This sudden surge of magical power was a clear sign that a crack was opening.
"Ha what?"
"Wait a minute, doesn't that mean a rift is opening?"
"Are you imagining? A crack, what a crack? How big is the church inside the academy?"
Chaos swept the academy. It was only natural that something happened that broke common sense.
This went against the common sense that rifts cannot occur in places influenced by the church.
There was a huge church inside Celsius Academy. Its scale is among the top in the Tillantis Empire, and there has never been a rift within the academy until now.
In that situation, it was clear why they could not accept this situation.
Of course, the common sense they believed in was actually an illusion.
It is true that it is difficult for cracks to occur in places influenced by the church. However, if a being that surpasses the power of the church opens a crack, even the power of the church cannot prevent the crack from opening.
Simply put, the seemingly indifferent Asti was a high-ranking demon from Hell. And it's not just barely holding its own.
Fallen Angel Astoros.
She was originally a Seraph, one of the highest angels even in the high heavens.
However, after the fall, she rapidly weakened and had no choice but to become a high-level demon lord rather than a great demon lord... At this point, when the novel is still early, there is almost nothing that can stop her.
Naturally, then, the influence of the Church had no significance for the rift opened by such a presence.
Of course, the monsters that come out of there might not be of a very high rank... but the news of a crack appearing was enough to send the students into a state of panic.
Soon, news spread throughout the academy that a rift had developed in Marronnier Hall, a dormitory housing only the brightest female students.
And then news came that demons were pouring out of the crack, and they were subdued by the Celsius Academy Discipline Committee sooner than expected.
Of course, there were 0 casualties. No one was injured.
The demons were so pathetically weak that it was said that the Discipline Committee was in chaos.
We did this to legally kick Asti out of the dormitory, so if there are many casualties, it will be more difficult for us. If you meddle and search everywhere to find out why the crack opened, Asti and I will be in trouble.
It's tied up very neatly now. I left the academy with a satisfied smile, and as soon as I left the academy, I saw Asti smiling similarly.