“Where’s the carriage?”
“Sir Wayne went to fetch the coachman. No, saying he went to find a new one would be more accurate.”
The escort knights of Duke Zeppelin whispered among themselves.
The original plan had been to stay at Annwood Academy as guests for a few days.
Naturally, they had given the coachman a few days off as well, even pressing some gold coins into his hand as a reward for the long, exhausting journey.
He was surely guzzling booze at some tavern right now, and letting a man in that state drive the duke’s carriage was simply unthinkable.
“I never imagined he’d be kicked out. And by a student, at that.”
“Even if she is from the Lucid family… I have no idea how she plans to deal with the fallout.”
“I don’t think she even cares about that. Isn’t she pretty cool, though?”
“How is that cool? I’d just call her a naive kid who doesn’t know how the world works yet.”
…Well, she did look cool. They could all agree on that much.
The knight who swallowed the rest of his words checked Duke Zeppelin’s expression.
At a glance, the duke was clearly in a foul mood.
‘Of course he wouldn’t be happy after being put in his place by a student.’
They needed to leave this place at once, even if it meant driving the carriage themselves.
“Sir Wilson.”
Duke Zeppelin suddenly called out.
Knight Wilson hurried over faster than ever and bowed his head.
“You called, my lord?”
“Gather information on the children who defied me. Everything. Their hometowns, their parents, their pasts.”
“Understood.”
“And the informants inside the academy are pathetic. Replace them with new ones next term.”
“Yes, my lord!”
As if their desperate prayers had been heard, the coachman finally approached, leading the carriage.
The carriage that he had smashed earlier had long since been repaired to pristine condition.
They had even managed to conjure up parts it didn’t originally have.
That was the power of House Vyuern, the ducal house—and the power of money.
“Please, step aboard.”
Duke Zeppelin, about to climb into the carriage, stopped in his tracks.
He had disciplined his son, taught some arrogant brats a lesson, and even found a few promising talents.
Handling Rodelin’s punishment would be simple enough through Principal Dwener.
Everything had gone perfectly.
Except for one thing.
“Bring the carriage closer.”
“…? Yes, my lord.”
A carriage could technically go in reverse, but it was a cumbersome process.
So the coachman circled around in a wide loop and pulled the carriage back up in front of the duke.
It was closer than before, but not by much.
Still, he didn’t dare complain. His passenger was a duke.
“Depart.”
The moment Duke Zeppelin settled inside and gave the order, the carriage rolled out. Their destination was a town roughly twenty kilometers away.
There were closer villages, but none of them had facilities fit for a high-ranking noble.
Watching the scenery streak past, Duke Zeppelin sank into thought.
‘I ended up using my full power without even realizing it.’
He hadn’t meant to throw that second kick. His body had simply reacted to Zero’s completely unexpected counterattack.
He had almost killed a rare talent.
That was how ferocious that counter had been. But what shocked him most…
“…”
He closed his eyes, circulated his mana, and checked his body.
The mana flowing from his core hit a blockage in his right leg.
His meridians were twisted.
That was why he’d told them to bring the carriage closer.
If he had missed his footing while getting in, nothing could have been more humiliating.
“A genius… huh.”
He had heard the reports. A boy who could copy techniques, even secret arts.
But when Duke Zeppelin first heard it, he had been unimpressed.
Mimicking a technique wasn’t all that shocking.
There were quite a few people who used secret arts from other families.
‘Leang the Mimic’ was the most famous among them.
And yet, there was a reason the duke now called Zero a genius.
“To grasp the hidden principles inside the technique itself… astonishing.”
The Vyuern family’s secret art was not just about punches and kicks.
If the opponent failed to defend, it shattered the struck area; if they succeeded, it broke the part that blocked.
An absolute attack that could not truly be defended against.
It had taken Duke Zeppelin a very long time to understand the hidden essence of his house’s art.
For someone to achieve in an instant what he had built up over decades…
If that wasn’t genius, what was?
“Does he understand everything the moment he sees it? I watched it with my own eyes and I still can’t believe it.”
Observation, insight, adaptability—and who knew what else he needed to possess to pull that off.
It was overwhelming talent. Even calling him “one of the best” fell short.
In the history of the empire—no, across the entire continent—no one with such talent had ever existed.
And that would likely remain true no matter how much time passed.
“A once-in-all-history prodigy…”
It wasn’t just his talent that was impressive.
‘His endurance. That’s not something you can cultivate easily.’
When his fist shattered, and even during the treatment afterward, he hadn’t so much as flinched.
Most kids would be screaming by the time their leg was rendered useless.
‘Is he simply used to pain? Just what kind of life has he been living… I’m curious.’
Pain and misfortune made life hell, but those who overcame them gained ironclad mental fortitude.
The problem was that very few people survived that process.
In other words, he was a talent that could not easily be found.
“And he seems to be well-liked.”
Getting others to risk their lives for you wasn’t something just anyone could do.
All the more so when the opponent was someone they couldn’t possibly defeat.
Yet those kids had stepped forward to protect Zero.
‘Those children are impressive enough… but compared to that boy Zero, they fall short.’
His ability to pick teammates was excellent as well.
Rezé.
The Leria family, known as the Calamity of the South. He hadn’t expected their daughter to be attending the academy.
‘To have a hunter who eats demons for breakfast under his command… astonishing.’
She might look frail on the surface, but the blood of a hunter flowed inside her.
The blood of hunters who threw feasts with demon flesh and blood.
“They must have fought a brutal, bloody battle before she submitted. It’s a lifelong regret that I couldn’t watch.”
Remembering an incident he once had with those people, Duke Zeppelin gave a small shiver.
For now, he decided to set that girl aside. Get tangled up with her the wrong way, and nothing good would come of it.
Next was the girl named Luna.
“…”
Duke Zeppelin had seen it.
The moment Luna’s sword, swung with everything she had, met his fist, pink flames had flared between them.
It had been brief, but unmistakable.
“That was aura…”
It would be some time before it fully blossomed, but the fact that she had reached that point at fifteen alone put her far above the passing line.
She was on par with the hunting dog Daike for now, but since she had already manifested aura, Luna’s future value was far higher.
“It was a fine color too, full of pride.”
It was probably just coincidence, but he couldn’t help being reminded of the head of the Lester family.
Duke Zeppelin leaned back against the seat.
Teron and Daike.
Zero’s group and the Golden Class.
Top-grade magic stones and Dwener.
The pile of problems back in his territory and his dealings with Duke Aziz.
His to-do list was a mountain, but right now Duke Zeppelin’s mind was filled with only one thing.
Zero, that unfathomable boy…
“I will make him mine, no matter what.”
“Should I call a priest?”
“No need. Worry about your own wounds first.”
Teron slumped onto the sofa as if collapsing. Daike took a seat on a nearby chair.
“Sit on the sofa. It’s not like anyone’s watching.”
“…This is more comfortable for me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
No chair could be more comfortable than a plush sofa.
They were currently in Teron’s dormitory, one of the academy’s few detached buildings.
It had originally been built as a guest house, but the academy had allowed him to use it by citing his chronic illness.
A bright detached residence, high-end furniture, even a private garden tended for him.
Yet Teron was in no mood to enjoy any of it.
He knew full well that he owed all of this to his family’s influence—and that he was expected to pay it back in kind.
Teron thought back to the conversation he’d had with his father just moments ago.
“It ended more easily than I expected. I don’t know if I should be happy about that…”
Normally, Daike would have ended up like Zero had, and at Teron’s own hands at that.
But thanks to Zero and his group stepping forward, that disaster had been avoided.
“The duke must have understood as well.”
“Hm?”
“Ah… I mean the reason you haven’t managed to dominate the academy, Teron.”
Yuridia and Victoria were problems, but Daike could have handled them on his own.
The real problem was Zero.
He had already suspected it, but what happened earlier had made it crystal clear. Zero was—
—a being completely outside the norm.
‘A once-in-a-generation genius.’
Teron recalled the phrase Duke Zeppelin was always repeating.
— Geniuses are not people you can defeat. So don’t you dare think about trying to imitate them.
Of course, Teron had never truly understood.
He had met people praised as geniuses from time to time, but his honest impression had always been, “That’s it?”
So he had assumed that he himself was a genius, or at least close enough.
And every time he did, Duke Zeppelin would say:
— That’s only because you haven’t met a real genius yet.
Was his father being too harsh in evaluating him?
Teron, who had thought of himself as a genius, had never understood those words. But today, he finally did.
A genius was something fundamentally different from ordinary people, something indescribably special.
‘If a natural disaster took human form, would it look like him?’
Geniuses were like natural disasters that could not be stopped.
That was why Daike seemed to think there would be extenuating circumstances.
But Teron knew better.
That would never count as an excuse.
— Then how do you defeat a genius?
— You don’t need to. In the first place, they’re not something you can beat.
— Then what should I do?
— You control them. Make the genius your hands and feet.
Geniuses still had desires and dreams.
Duke Zeppelin had methodically exploited those desires and taken many geniuses under his wing.
Geniuses were to be ruled.
That was his teaching.
‘But I couldn’t do it.’
He had more than enough reason to be scolded.
Hadn’t he tried his best?
No. He should have succeeded, one way or another.
That was the duke’s doctrine, and the path Teron was meant to walk.
“If the duke personally steps in, recruiting Zero should be easy. We just need to support him.”
Teron’s anger flared at Daike’s carefree remark.
“So I’m supposed to be happy? Even after ending up like this?”
“What? No, I just—”
“I trusted you and staked everything on you. And now you want to switch to recruitment? Do you have no pride at all?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“You’re the real problem here. If only you could use aura…!”
Teron, in mid-rant, snapped his mouth shut.
No matter how angry he was, he shouldn’t have jabbed at Daike’s greatest weakness.
It wasn’t something he should do as his master… or as his “friend.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s the truth.”
Daike still couldn’t use aura, but he was an unprecedented genius who had reached the realm of Five Stars at fifteen.
He was a talent among talents.
And yet, he still hadn’t been acknowledged by Duke Zeppelin, who cherished talent.
His lowly birth, his inability to use aura, and…
“Even now… what if you honored the tradition?”
“Daike! I told you never to bring that up again!”
“If it means you can be recognized, Teron… that’s enough for me.”
It was the Vyuern family’s tradition, their coming-of-age ritual. Teron had not gone through it.
If he did, he would finally gain the recognition of the duke and the family.
Of course, Daike himself would not live to see that day.
Teron shot up from the sofa and gripped Daike’s shoulders tightly.
“…I was wrong.”
“Teron…”
“I’ll figure something out. So don’t ever say that again.”
Teron’s eyes were fixed straight on Daike, but Daike’s gaze kept darting around the room.
He was nervous that the duke might have ears planted here.
Daike answered quickly.
“Got it. Just calm down. Let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing, same as always.”
“…Yeah.”
How long would the two friends have to keep pretending to be master and servant?
Teron and Daike could only hope.
That the end would come as soon as possible.
“…I’m exhausted.”
“You should rest. It’s been a rough schedule.”
They had only just returned from Trash Village.
Even without the duke’s visit, they would have been at their physical limits.
Teron’s eyelids drooped, threatening to close. Through his hazy vision, he saw something black.
Something shaped like a snake, larger than a bug but smaller than a beast.
Teron jolted upright.
It wasn’t a snake. That thing was—
“Kihihihit! How do you do?”
—a demon in the shape of a serpent.
–TL Notes–
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I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 460
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I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 462
2 thoughts on “I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 461”
theodor says: June 7, 2026 at 2:53 am
Hearing the Duke praises make the tribulation of the last few chapter worth it
And the Reze recruitment episode were hectic just not in the way the Duke imagine
I doubt the Leria family really eat demon though
To caught both the interest of both the father and the son…I think Zero will struck a deal soon
And coming of age ceremony that kill Daike seem way too wateful,Would Teron inherited Daike talent or awakened hidden power Uchiha style or something?
And finally Demon contract!
