Vanir's pen tapped quickly on the table as he turned the paper over for the dozenth time. He had already answered the easier questions, as he only had to describe what he had observed during the experiment. Unfortunately, that alone wouldn't pass the exam. The speed of his tapping increased as he clenched his teeth. The questions themselves were meaningless. Why should he know how the bombs exploded? He was a noble, not an artisan.

‘Are you angry?’

‘No,’ Vanir replied to the demon as he randomly circled a letter on a multiple-choice test.

“Hey,” someone murmured. To his right, the boy with green spiky hair and a white bandana leaned over to the pink-haired girl and nudged her with his elbow. He slid his paper over to her and tapped a specific question. The girl adjusted her glasses and studied the paper carefully. Both were his teammates, assigned until graduation. Despite his and other Imperial students' complaints, each team must consist of one student from the Empire, the Union, and the Orient.

“No, oxygen supports combustion. Hydrogen is the fuel,” she spoke quietly.

The boy thanked her and continued to fill out his paper. Hearing this, Vanir turned his paper over and wrote ‘Hydrogen.’

‘Oh! I know the answers!—’

NO. The word cut through the demon's offer, and silence fell again, except for the scribbling of pens on paper. Soon, Vanir filled in the remaining questions with answers and handed his paper to the pink-haired teammate. As always, he would bribe the teacher for the grades. With that, they were ushered out, marking the end of the class. It was time to find the way out of the Academy. For the most part, the demon had remained silent until it asked again.

‘What are you doing?’ it asked. ‘You've been acting very, very suspicious, you know.’

Vanir didn't answer, frustrated. Half an hour and he found no hidden passages, no extra gate, not even a ladder to climb through. The academy was completely walled in, and the only way in and out was through the front gate. Standing before the ramshackle hut of a gardener, he turned his head from side to side before commanding the demon to open the door. As expected, it was locked.

‘On your left, there's a row of pots filled with dirt, try digging into the third one with your finger,’ the demon said. ‘There should be a spare key inside.’

Vanir gritted his teeth but didn't comment on the order. He told the demon to pick up a trowel and sift through the dirt. Sure enough, he noticed the glint of a key. He had it tried on the keyhole and it fit perfectly. The door groaned as he entered, dust and cobwebs covering the entire room. Of course, he avoided touching anything.

‘So, what are we looking for?’ the demon asked again.

Vanir eyed the rusted and dust-covered tools but found nothing to aid his escape. "None," he said and headed for the exit. The demon closed and locked the door and began to scold him that he should the key to the pot. He ignored it, but the demon simply took over his lower body, much to his chagrin.

‘Are you... trying to find an exit?’ it asked as Vanir tugged on a vine and snapped.

'What prompted the question?

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‘Well... you searched the gardener's hut, looked at the bottom of the well, and tugged on the vines. Those were the things I did on my first playthrough when I needed to escape the academy.’

Vanir just frowned but responded. It used another unfamiliar word.

‘Go to the labyrinth garden behind the academy. There's a hole in the wall you can squeeze through,’ the demon said cheerfully.

Vanir groaned but did as he was told. He would just have to put up with the demon for a while until it was banished. The demon led him through the garden, tall green bushes for walls with white benches scattered around. He saw a few males and females kissing. Such scandal should have them expelled.

They walked for a while until they reached a dead end, a concrete wall. The demon instructed him to look at his side, a wall bush, and to look under it and find a patch of missing grass. There was a missing patch of grass.

He knelt to get a better look.

“You expect the great ME to CRAWL through that tiny hole?" Vanir replied vehemently, his pride refusing to squirm on the dirt. It was undignified. "Absolutely not.”

‘But it's the only way out, Va-’

"NO."

Vanir turned on his heels, already looking for alternatives. He would rather wait for the weekend than blemish his dignity. He was about to lift his foot when he saw her. A golden hair inherited from their father, and blue eyes from their mother. The one person he did not want to meet right now, not until he had dealt with the demon possessing him.

"Brother-" his sister almost blurted out before closing her mouth. She regained her composure, bowed, and curtsied to him. "Greetings, my lord. If I only knew that you would like to visit the garden, I would be honored to show you around." The two students accompanying her, one from the Union and one from the Orient, turned pale and curtsied hastily, if awkwardly.

“I see that my sister Charlotte has made some friends. But do tell if Father would approve this friendship with their, questionable origin.”

"Mary, Brenda, I would like to accompany my brother alone," she smiled at them.

The two nodded frantically and left, the grass rustling as they scurried away. Cowards, he thought. Charlotte never once took her eyes off Vanir. When she was sure that the two had left her vicinity, she approached him and stood in front of him.

“Congratulations, I heard your win was one-sided.”

Vanir straightened his back. “Hmph, but of course, these monkeys stood no chance against the great me.” He attempted to cross his arms but failed, so he decided to walk past her. His sister followed beside him. “You had better win your match. Father doesn’t like the family be tarnished, just because you felt pity.”

“Your worry is unfounded brother. I won and made it to the final combat examination.”

“That is to be expected from a Cambern,” Vanir said as he headed for the men’s dormitory, breaking off from Charlotte. “I will be heading back to my room. You better not lose your match tomorrow.” He turned his body to look straight at his sister. Charlotte saw him eye to eye and didn’t back down.

“I won’t,” Charlotte said, firmly. “The same goes for you, brother.”

“That is to be expected from the great me. I will never lose.” For losing was worse than death, he left with those words unsaid.

In the middle of the night, when Vanir was sure everyone was asleep, he opened his eyes and got out of bed. He went to the closet. ‘Grab my cloak,’ he ordered.

'Hnnn~ Are we leaving?' it asked in a hoarse voice, much to his surprise.

The demon moved his hand and pulled the handle. It croaked softly and his hand remained still in the air. ‘Farthest corner to the left,’ he instructed, and the demon picked the black cloack. As Vanir headed for the door, he told the demon to grab the candelabra.

‘No need, I know the way blindfolded. The light might attract attention.’

Vanir gritted his teeth as he couldn’t refute its reason. "Get. It." He enunciated each word, but he still didn’t trust the demon to lead the way.

His hands moved to retrieve the candelabra. With a small push of mana on his fingers, a spark lit the three candles. He walked straight to the door and the dark hallway greeted him. He stepped forward, heading straight for the hole. For his future, he needed to get rid of his greatest threat as soon as possible.

The Demon.