Chapter 116
The Noble Club room was located on the top floor of the second-year central building.
In a place where the scenic landscape of Keyzen—surrounded by mountains, rivers, and ramparts—could be seen at a glance, a man walked across the carpeted floor. Second-year students who saw him whispered quietly among themselves.
An individual who could only become a hot topic within Noble.
Malcolm Randolph, Special Admission No. 10 of the first years. He had been summoned to Noble.
Swoosh.
A second-year female student waiting by the door lightly waved her hand. Malcolm gave a slight nod in response and turned his gaze to the door.
"Are you ready, first-year?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Your Highness... I mean, President. The first-year is here."
The girl opened the door.
A luxurious room was revealed, but the lighting was dim. Antique furniture, tables, and fruit set on plates all looked faded, as if drained of color.
And there, a man sat on a large chair reminiscent of a throne.
The president of Noble and the third prince of the Dresden Kingdom, Andre. He sat with his legs crossed and chin resting on his hand in a haughty pose.
"Have a seat."
"Yes."
As Malcolm sat in the chair, Andre gestured lightly with his hand. A girl dressed in a maid outfit approached silently and placed a teacup and some refreshments in front of Malcolm.
Malcolm clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘...Insane.’
This girl wasn’t a subordinate.
Andre had made a second-year Keyzen student, equal in rank to himself, wear a maid outfit and serve him like a servant.
She, too, kept her head lowered, as if embarrassed by the situation.
‘The rumors were true.’
He didn’t know what leverage Andre had over her, but if the student council or faculty of Keyzen were to find out, the school would be turned upside down.
However, even if someone exposed this and made it public, society would dismiss it as the childish prank of a foolish prince, and Andre, as royalty, would merely receive a light slap on the wrist. Meanwhile, the whistleblower would face a living hell.
Having often witnessed such absurdities in the world, Malcolm quickly adapted to the situation. He casually gestured with a flick of his hand, treating the senior girl like a mere maid.
She bowed and departed, and Andre smiled faintly, clearly pleased by what he saw.
"Do you know why I called you here?"
"I have no idea."
Malcolm answered calmly, raising his head.
"Just stepping foot in here would probably ruin Noble's reputation."
"I’m well aware. You’re the son of a vulgar gang leader, after all."
At the word "vulgar", Malcolm’s eyebrow twitched slightly, but he didn't react further.
Because the real question was why the third prince of the Dresden Kingdom had called him here.
And the story that followed from Andre more than made up for the insult Malcolm had held back.
"I’m giving you a chance to join Noble."
The maid-like girl carefully brought over a quill and a registration form.
"If you have any sense at all, you’ll realize that this is a pivotal moment that could change the course of your life."
"......."
Andre leaned forward and interlocked his fingers.
"This is a chance for that trashy gang of yours to connect with the powers of the Dark Alliance. When word gets out, your father might just go wild with joy."
Though gangs were violent criminal organizations, they needed to collude with both local and central powers to grease the wheels of business.
If they could gain access to a place full of high-ranking figures from the Dark Alliance, their gang could grow several times larger than its current size.
"...What are the conditions?"
Letting the son of a gangster into Noble was like splashing sewage on an expensive pearl.
What could justify risking the club’s external image? Malcolm figured the condition would be outrageous.
"Nothing much."
Andre smirked.
"Your opponent in the upcoming duel evaluation is Special Admission No. 1, Simon Follentia, isn’t it?"
"Yes, that’s correct."
"That guy rejected our invitation to join Noble."
Andre ran a hand through his hair.
"It’s humiliating beyond words. With other students, we’d just let it slide, but for the first-ranked special admit to reject Noble and join another club? That hasn’t happened in twenty years. Twenty years. A very important tradition has just been broken."
Andre ground his teeth.
"Of all times, it had to happen under my leadership."
"......."
"External pressure is already coming in like crazy. At this rate, I won’t even be able to face the former presidents after I graduate."
Andre leaned back against his chair with a tired expression and let out a deep sigh. Then he picked up a wine glass and took a sip.
"So, what I need to do is get revenge?"
"No. Not revenge, but uphold tradition."
Andre’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"Isn’t there a perception here in Keyzen? Beware of Noble. If you make an enemy of Noble, things turn ugly. Even if everything seems to be going well, once you’re marked by Noble, everything starts going wrong. I’m merely reenacting those well-known traditions."
Andre took something from his coat and tossed it to Malcolm.
It was an artifact bearing the seal of the Dresden royal family.
"Senior, borrowing another’s artifact during a duel evaluation is against the rules..."
"It’s not a loan."
Andre grinned.
"This is an advance payment. From this moment on, that artifact belongs to you. You may register it under your name at Keyzen."
"...!!"
Malcolm’s mouth fell open.
"In front of all the spectators, use that artifact to completely crush Simon. And the moment the duel ends, make this gesture."
Andre waved his hand, tracing the letter R.
It was the symbol of the Dresden royal family.
Exactly. The message was clear—defeat Simon, then credit the victory to Noble and Andre.
"I understand what you’re saying."
From Malcolm’s standpoint, there was no reason to refuse.
The unfolding situation was also easy to read.
Andre had suffered a blow to his pride and was now under external pressure. So, he wanted Simon—who had boldly rejected him—to pay the price, restore Noble’s authority, and use Malcolm as his pawn.
It was perfectly understandable. In this world, a noble’s pride was more precious than life.
"With all the recent drama, I’ve been holding back, but it seems that’s no longer possible. We must show what happens to those who defy us—through the downfall of Special Admission No. 1. Soon, everyone will understand. That Simon Follentia was never fit to join Noble in the first place."
Now, Malcolm could clearly see the picture Andre was painting.
"I’ll follow the order, but wouldn’t it send a stronger message if you personally crushed him, Senior?"
"You clearly don’t understand class."
Andre chuckled.
"And more importantly, there are professors who favor Simon. The fact that the Curse Research Club and Sadam personally tried to recruit him means Professors Bahil and Sillage are backing him."
"Understood. Then I’ll crush him head-on, through a legal route."
Malcolm downed the hot tea in front of him in one gulp. Then he took the artifact and tucked it into his coat, tracing the R-shaped crest of the Dresden Kingdom.
"In front of everyone, I’ll show that Noble is still alive."
Andre grinned slyly.
"That’s the spirit."
* * *
Simon couldn’t focus on class at all today.
And for good reason.
"Simon! Gellen said your subspace artifact is finally complete. He told you to come pick it up today!"
Because at last, the Overlord-exclusive subspace was complete.
Even during class, his mind was filled only with thoughts of the artifact. His body may have been in the classroom, but his spirit had already gone to Rochest.
As soon as the day’s classes ended, Simon rushed straight to the Mutant Club room.
"Senior! Hurry up!"
He pestered Benya to get ready, then used Kevin’s stable route to slip out past the walls.
"Wow, I didn’t know Keyzen had a place like this! You’re still a first-year, but you know your way around!"
Benya, crawling through a narrow tunnel, exclaimed in amazement. She looked around curiously at the stalactites and trickling underground streams, then looked ahead and said,
"Simon! Can I go first?"
"No."
"Huh? Why not?"
"...Ahem, anyway, you can’t."
Eventually, the two made it safely through the narrow tunnel and arrived in Rochest. The rendezvous point was a quiet clearing on the outskirts of the city.
"Miss! Student Simon! I’ve been waiting for you."
Gellen placed a bowler hat over his chest and bowed his head. It seemed his hair had thinned even more, leaving the top of his head completely bare, but Simon pretended not to notice and returned the greeting.
"Gellen! Is it really finished?"
"Yes, I stayed up day and night, but I’m glad I met the deadline! Here it is."
Gellen held out a ring case. Simon took it immediately and opened it.
If the previous subspace ring had been prism-colored, this one radiated a brilliant golden hue.
Simon shoved the case roughly into his pocket and hurried to put the ring on, but Gellen added,
"Ah, you must wear that ring on your left hand."
"Really?"
Simon did as instructed and slipped it onto his left hand.
"Then let’s test it right away. The motion pattern to open the subspace is to let your left hand hang naturally, then open your fist, close it, spread your index and middle fingers simultaneously, close again, and then open your fist one more time and close it."
Simon nodded and followed the sequence exactly.
Then, vwoooom!—a sound echoed as the subspace opened behind Simon.
"Wow!"
It was a perfectly sized fit for Overlord. In any case, Simon only planned to store Overlord in this subspace, so it was more than enough.
Simon took Overlord out of the original subspace, and with Benya and Gellen’s help, transferred it into the new one.
Pop!
Fwoosh!
As Overlord entered, a magic circle lit up beneath the subspace floor. Soon, the entire subspace lit up like a bright room.
"Let’s keep the main subspace on for now to analyze its structure. Now, everything’s ready. Please pour Darkness into the ring."
"Okay!"
As Simon infused the ring with Darkness, elegant black patterns appeared on its previously smooth, empty surface.
"First, the basic function. This ring reads the user’s intent. Recognize that you want to open a subspace within five meters around you."
"That’s all it takes?"
"Yes, it is."
Simon gulped and looked over his right shoulder. Then—
Vwooom!
The subspace opened instantly. Simon instinctively controlled Overlord’s thoughts.
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
From the opened subspace, Overlord’s leg stretched out.
"Wow!"
Benya gasped in amazement and clapped, while Gellen nodded in satisfaction.
‘The thoughts are transmitted smoothly without interruption. It really is different.’
Simon looked back.
There was a hole in the floor directly beneath Overlord’s torso, and Overlord was pushing its leg through it.
When Simon used his will to retract the leg a bit, he saw it pull slightly back into the hole from the subspace. It was proof the two spaces were properly connected.
"How’s the mental connection?"
"It’s great! Absolutely perfect!"
After a few more tries, Simon felt it was beyond perfection.
He didn’t even need to give a separate command for Overlord to insert its leg. Just opening the subspace mid-air and issuing an attack command was enough, Overlord inserted the leg by itself.
He could completely clear his mind of preliminary actions and focus solely on combat.
"I watched countless images of Student Simon handling Overlord, over and over, and thought hard about what would be the optimal method. This is the result."
"...Haha, I’m kind of touched."
"But, you shouldn’t be surprised just yet."
Gellen’s eyes sparkled.
"The most important function of this subspace is what comes next!"
Superb.