Exhausted from walking and running to the academy, and traumatized by the event, I watched the race for a while before collapsing and falling asleep.
I was awakened a few times by the shouts and screams of the elves along the way, but my exhaustion allowed me to sleep well.
I wonder how much sleep I got.
"Hello...."
"Ugh, ugh...."
"Mr...."
"Ten more minutes...."
"Mr. Hadean!"
I woke up angrily at the shaking hand and looked up to see the headmaster crying.
"What, what is it?"
I looked around quickly at the suddenly frantic headmaster.
The elves were causing a ruckus, tearing apart the slime races banners in all directions.
'The race is over.'
Which meant.
'You've blown it, and you've finally choked the life out of the Academy!'
I grinned.
The Headmaster covered her face with her hands and cried!
'Now I can go back, and they won't ask me why I came back now that the academy is dead!'
The dream of building a family is nice, but it's not the only path.
Instead of living in this hell, I would love to do something more productive in upcoming three years.'
I grinned wickedly, and grabbed headmaster and started say the words that I would say to her after we lose today.
Yup, I practiced loosing script for this very moment.
"Headmaster, Please calm down, There is no need for you to waste your precious tears on this!"
"Ahhhhhh....B-But.... Ahhhhhh"
"Please don't say anything, you don't have to say anything, I already know what happened."
"First thing we should do now is let's return to academy and think of our next move. In worst case scenario, We might have to considering closing down the academy but it's worst case scenario, So don't worry....."
At the moment, when I was in middle of my script which I was practiced more than dozen, a magical amplified voice boomed out all around me.
—The winning Slime of this race is Fleetslime.
I turned my head as if I had been slapped by those words.
"What, what!"
At the same time, the tremor I felt in the shoulders of the principal I grabbed intensified.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph!"
"What the hell...."
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!"
The principal, who was laughing like a madman, grabbed my hand and exclaimed with flashing eyes.
"You did it, Mr. Hadean!"
"Ahhhhh...."
"Our plan worked! It worked!"
That's when the moderator exclaimed in an impressed tone of voice.
-And, to everyone's surprise, there is only one person who predicted Fleetslime victory! So, Fleetslime has requested to shake hands with the person who believed in him! If you bet on Fleetslime, please come to the front of the World Tree!
"Aaaaah!"
"Professor Hadean, I'm so happy!"
"Aaaaah!"
I screamed, clutching my head.
'This is how not supposed to happened!'
As the announcement echoed through the sacred grounds of the World Tree, I stood frozen, clutching my head in disbelief. My carefully crafted losing script, rehearsed to perfection over countless sleepless nights, was now utterly useless.
How had this happened?
How could this have happened?
The headmistress, still gripping my arm like a lifeline, was practically vibrating with joy. Her radiant elven features, usually so poised and serene, were now twisted into a manic grin. "Hadean, you absolute genius! You believed in Fleetslime! This is your moment!"
"I didn't believe in anything!" I snapped, my voice cracking under my breath.
"How the hell the slime who was at last spot suddenly won? Damit! I even picked up him on purpose so that he would lose but in the end he won!What part of this looks like believing?"
The crowd of elves was parting, creating a path that led directly to the base of the World Tree. At the end of it, surrounded by a shimmering aura of victory, was Fleetslime—an ordinary slime that somehow managed to do the impossible. It jiggled in place, its gooey body reflecting the light of the tree like some divine entity.
And now, it was looking directly at me.
"Professor Hadean," the magically amplified voice continued, "please step forward and meet your champion."
"Champion?! This is madness!" I muttered under my breath.
My legs, however, betrayed me, moving as if compelled by some higher power. Or maybe it was the headmistress yanking me forward with surprising strength.
Either way, I found myself stumbling toward the slimy creature, the cheers of the elves ringing in my ears like some twisted victory march.
When I finally reached Fleetslime, it extended what could only be described as a pseudopod—a gelatinous, quivering appendage. The crowd erupted into deafening cheers, chanting my name as though I were some hero of legend.
"Hadean! Hadean! Hadean!"
I glanced at the headmistress, who nodded encouragingly, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Go on! Shake his... hand?"
This couldn't be real.
It had to be a dream.
But the cold, slimy texture of Fleetslime's "hand" against mine told me otherwise. The crowd exploded with renewed fervor, and the headmistress clapped so hard I thought her hands might fall off.
"You've done it, Hadean! You've saved the academy's reputation!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking with emotion.
"Saved? I didn't even want to be here!" I shouted, yanking my hand back and wiping it furiously on my robes. The elves, oblivious to my frustration, were already planning celebrations, tossing garlands and glittering leaves into the air.
As I stood there, surrounded by the chaos of elven jubilation, a sinking realization washed over me. This victory wasn't just an event; it was the beginning of something far worse.