Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day

Chapter 494: So Generous, So Forgiving

By Tuesday morning, merely one day after the dramatic conclusion of the Mock War, classes were scheduled to resume as usual.

It was nearly the end of November, so almost all of the coursework had already been completed.

The instructors and professors had little left to do but pass the time.

So they were either idly chatting among themselves and with their favorite Cadets, handing out the last few assignments and missions of the semester, or simply enjoying the luxury of having nothing particularly important left to teach.

The students were also in no mood to study.

After a week of simulated warfare, injuries, conspiracies, kidnappings, and more than a few near-death experiences, the prospect of sitting through a lecture on Hunter Ethics seemed… stupid.

My friends were different, though. Poor them.

Because we had been absent for the entire second half of our first academic year — you know, us being stuck in a Death Zone and all — my friends needed to make up for all the classes they’d missed.

Apparently, surviving in a place where almost everything wanted to kill us wasn’t considered sufficient academic credit.

So they were all engrossed in their studies, diligently going over notes and mock test papers.

I, on the other hand, had absolutely no intention of wasting my precious time studying.

Why? Because I didn’t need to. Haaah!

Since I was the first-year Ace again, it was completely optional for me to attend the final examination in December. Meaning, I could just skip it if I wanted to, and I’d still be promoted.

I’d lose some credit and would need to make up for it by taking on a few more missions than my peers, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

As such, while my friends were busy catching up on months of missed coursework, I had the glorious privilege of doing absolutely nothing.

Well, almost nothing.

“Are you listening, Samael?” Vereshia sounded frustrated. More than usual.

“Yes, yes, Lady Vereshia, I’m listening,” I waved her off as Juliana continued to work on my tie.

The three of us were in the main assembly hall, backstage. Juliana was accompanying me. She claimed she had already finished going through her study material and was fully prepared for the final exam. She did that in a day.

Let that sink in. She caught up to months’ worth of coursework in a day. Also finished her essays and dissertations.

Yeah.

Sometimes I wondered if she was actually human.

“I’m very serious, Samael.” Vereshia’s voice dragged me back to reality.

What was she fussing about, you ask?

Well, I had to give a speech and ceremoniously accept my Ace badge from a Grandmaster in a few minutes.

But the last time I spoke on a mic in front of the Cadet body… it didn’t go so well. I somehow ended up provoking them.

Which is stupid because I was only speaking what was on my mind.

“Kids these days are so sensitive,” I mumbled to myself, but Vereshia heard me. She narrowed her striking red eyes dangerously, giving me a glare that could’ve curdled milk. I sighed, “Okay, fine! I promise I’ll behave. Besides, what I did last time was my grand master plan. I wanted to unite the Noble and Commoner factions, so I baited them into unanimously hating me. It brought them together in the end, didn’t it?”

That seemed to have the opposite effect on Vereshia than I had hoped. Her right eye twitched a couple of times. “Samael.”

“Yes?” I blinked innocently.

“Do you understand what the word behave means?”

“Of course.”

“Then explain to me why your first instinct is to turn every public appearance into some kind of political incident.”

I frowned. “Okay, that sounds like a loaded question.”

The Cadet Council President snapped, “It is!”

Juliana’s fingers paused for half a second as she finished adjusting the knot of my tie before moving to correct my collar.

I glanced at her.

She was very deliberately not looking at either of us.

“Juli,” I said.

“…Yes?” was her reluctant response.

“Tell her I’m right.”

“No,” she deadpanned.

I stared at her. “Traitor. I’m surrounded by fucking traitors.”

“You said I shouldn’t lie to you.”

“That is not what I meant.”

Vereshia, apparently fed up with our nonsense, looked so close to pulling her hair out. “I swear to Monarchs if you pull some stunt! They are going to broadcast your speech, so please keep it clean and friendly. Amicable! And speaking of… how long is your speech anyway? You’d only have fifty seconds, I think.”

“Two or three lines. Not long.”

“Two lines or three lines? Confirm it. Look at your notecard.”

“Yes, yes, my notecard. So… I kinda misplaced it. But fret not, my lady. It’s all in my head,” I told her, tapping my forehead.

Vereshia just took a deep breath. Then another. And another. Thankfully, before her head could explode, Juliana moved away from me and fished out a folded paper from the pocket of her capris, handing it to her.

“That’s his speech. I prepared it myself. So if he sticks to it, there shouldn’t be any problem,” she told her, her gaze falling on Vereshia’s neck— or more specifically, a simple sapphire pendant there. “Oh, that looks nice.”

“Hmm? Ah, thank you—” Vereshia started, but suddenly flinched. “Wait, what do you mean if he sticks to it?!”

“It’s time for me to submit my dissertation to the Alchemy Society. See you both.” Juliana turned and left as if deciding whatever was going to happen wasn’t her problem anymore.

“Wait!” Vereshia called after her. “What do you mean—”

“It’s time for my speech,” I said, snatching the folded paper from Vereshia’s hand before leaving her dumbfounded and walking out to the stage.

The entire assembly hall came into view the moment I stepped through the curtains. It was packed.

Hundreds of Cadets filled the seats below, their uniforms creating a sea of black and white and gray beneath the enormous Academy crest hanging above the stage.

The noise died down almost immediately upon my entry.

I could feel hundreds of eyes turning toward me. Some were curious, others were excited, and many were openly hostile.

Ah. Nostalgia.

This was exactly how my last speech had started.

I walked toward the center of the stage, doing my best not to look at the broadcasting camera drones hovering above the podium.

Right next to the podium, a tall man was standing in wait. His presence was imposing.

He was draped in an austere black robe, and his face was hidden behind a golden mask fashioned to resemble a fearsome, single-horned demon, with the number ‘1’ engraved on its chin.

That was a Venerable. A Grandmaster.

The rumours surrounding the Grandmasters painted them as powerful Hunters, nearly on the same level as the five Monarchs themselves.

I didn’t doubt those rumors, though I also knew they were overly exaggerated.

Politely nodding to the Venerable, I took my position in front of the mic.

Vereshia had emphasized one particular detail about five times when we were backstage.

Keep the speech clean and friendly.

Easy enough.

I unfolded the paper Juliana had written my speech on as a backup in case I lost my notecard… as I did. There were only three lines written on it.

I stared at them for a few silent moments, then I stared up at the audience before looking back down at the paper.

…Yeah.

No.

This was definitely not going to be enough.

I cleared my throat. “Good afternoon, Cadets. I’m honored to accept the title of Ace once again. I swear to dutifully serve my peers and never misuse my power.”

I could practically see the shock and surprise splashing over some of the Cadets’ faces who were expecting some shenanigans from me.

Some people even had their mobiles out in hopes of recording something interesting. Instead, they got a textbook PR statement. They looked disappointed.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Vereshia peeking from behind the curtain, her shoulders visibly dropping as she let out a sigh of relief.

Silly girl. She really thought she was in the clear.

I slowly folded the paper, slid it into my breast pocket. Slowly, a devious grin stretched across my lips. “Now that the official, legally mandated garbage is out of the way, let’s talk about reality. Some of you fuckers sided with my sister instead of me. Why? Because she had two royals on her side and you wanted to curry favor with them. It’s fine. I understand. But my sister has lost. She’s currently recovering from a very thorough, very public humbling. And those two royals you all desperately bent over backward to please? I crushed them as well. So, to everyone who bet on the wrong horse: how does the dirt taste?”

“Samael!” a harsh, frantic whisper echoed from behind me. I could tell Vereshia was vibrating with rage.

I ignored her. “Now I’m a very reasonable guy. All my friends say I’m generous and forgiving. So I’m willing to offer you all maggots who betrayed me a clean slate. What must you do to get in my good graces? Simple. First, you will apologize. Loudly and preferably on your knees, but I’m willing to negotiate.”

A few Cadets stared at me in utter disbelief. It was obvious they were new transfers, not used to my antics.

My grin only widened at their pitiful reaction. “Second, you will swear your eternal loyalty to your new ruler, your Tyrant! And third… I expect tributes.”