The Return Of The Exiled Villain

"Mhm... this is boring."

Gray sat quietly at his desk, staring at the clean surface in front of him as the rest of the students whispered nervously among themselves.

The large classroom was unusually quiet for once, and even the air felt heavier than usual.

Professor Otto stood at the front, his tall, thin figure perfectly straight as he adjusted his glasses.

His expression, as always, was calm but serious.

"Alright, everyone," he began, his deep voice echoing through the classroom. "The first part of your midterms will be a written exam. As expected."

Gray leaned back a little in his chair at his words.

"Figures…" he muttered under his breath.

"There will be three papers in total," Otto continued.

"Bestiary, Mana Spells, and Demonic Magic. You will have exactly three hours to complete all of them. No talking, no magic use, and no tricks. Anyone caught cheating will fail immediately."

Some students swallowed hard at those words, the tension rising even higher. Gray simply folded his arms, his eyes half-open, looking bored already.

Swish!

With a casual wave of Professor Otto's hand, three thick stacks of papers appeared in front of each student, along with a single black ink pen resting neatly on top.

The papers gave off a faint mana glow, proving they couldn't be copied or swapped.

"You may begin."

The classroom instantly filled with the soft scratching sounds of pens on paper.

Gray flipped through the pages lazily.

The first paper was Bestiary, long paragraphs describing various beasts, asking for weaknesses, classifications, and mana core structures.

'Seems simple enough,' he thought.

<A Crimson Horn Basilisk has scales resistant to mid-tier fire magic but weak to sound-based spells.

a) What is the best elemental approach to subdue it?

b) Name one spell that could effectively restrain it.>

'...These types of questions... are really damn annoying,' Gray groaned lightly as he started writing quickly the answers.

Along with that, the exam also had a few scenario questions, which Gray also found stupid, as he could probably one-hit kill them.

But since this was a scenario, and not the real world, he couldn't simply write as an answer: "Suffocate it with mana strings".

Then came the second paper, which was quite to Gray's liking since his knowledge about mana was pretty vast.

It was full of mathematical equations and casting theories, e.g:

<Write the mana equation that balances the casting flow of [Mana Burst] at intermediate level.>

Honestly, for most students, this answer could be seen as difficult since one needs to think about a compression rate, the variation caused by breathing rhythm or pulse, the stable casting point, and things like that.

But yeah...

That is, for an ordinary student, of course.

Gray solved it in two minutes.

<R: (M_core × C_rate) ÷ (O_flow + ΔV) = S_stability

M_core → total mana drawn from the caster's core.

C_rate → compression rate used before release.

O_flow → outward mana flow per second.

ΔV → variation caused by breathing rhythm or pulse.

S_stability → stable casting point (must stay between 0.8 and 1.0 for clean discharge).

So if M_core = 120 units, and C_rate = 1.5, with O_flow = 160 and ΔV = 20, then (120×1.5)÷(160+20)=0.9(120 × 1.5) ÷ (160 + 20) = 0.9(120×1.5)÷(160+20)=0.9→ Stable.

The spell will ignite cleanly with no backlash.>

'Easy~'

Gray quickly finished the second paper before going to the hardest, and final one, which was about Demonic Magic.

The questions were quite tricky, blending theory with real-life battlefield scenarios.

But Gray found them easily, nonetheless, as he continued scribbling at the same writing speed that he had been since the first paper.

Until... he stopped at the last question.

'Interesting...'

<(17) - Explain why demonic magic, while powerful, is strictly forbidden in most human nations. Include moral and practical reasons along with examples from the real world. >

Although the question was quite easy to solve, Gray's eyes were fixated on the part "most human nation".

The Utopia Kingdom came to mind as this was a human nation where demonic magic was even welcomed.

It was also the first kingdom to have humans coexist with demons.

'It's a pity that the human emperor suddenly decided to destroy their alliance; if not, the kingdom would probably still be standing until now,' he shook his head before starting to write his thoughts.

Time slipped by quickly.

The sound of pens, nervous sighs, and faint muttering filled the air.

After a while, Otto walked between the rows of desks, his shoes making quiet clicks against the floor as he watched every student closely.

His gaze lingered on Gray for a moment, noticing the boy's relaxed posture and quick writing speed, but he said nothing and continued walking.

"Ten minutes left," Otto finally said, looking at the big clock on the wall.

Gray had already finished everything by then. He leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed, watching the other students struggle to write their last answers.

RIIIINGGG!

When the bell finally rang, Otto clapped his hands once.

"Time's up. Put down your pens."

The papers vanished instantly, flying from each desk toward him, stacking neatly into three glowing piles on his desk.

He looked around the class one last time, his sharp eyes scanning everyone.

"This concludes the first part of the midterm," Professor Otto said, his tone calm but heavy enough to quiet the entire room.

"You have one hour to rest. The next part…" He stopped mid-sentence, a faint smile curving his lips. "…will be physical."

The room went silent again.

Gray smirked lightly.

"Finally," he stood up from his seat before heading out of the classroom, ignoring the countless glares on his back.

Of course, he could recognize a few of them, like Leon, Maelis, and Selina... especially Selina.

Her gaze burned like fire; it wasn't hard to guess why. Ever since his relationship with Lyra became public, Selina's patience had been... thin.

"Gray~!"

He didn't even have to look to know who it was. A moment later, two soft mounds pressed against his arm, making him glance down with a faint smile.

"Lyra," he called out in surprise.

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Blee~," she stuck out her tongue playfully. "Not really~. I was just on my way to the cafeteria and happened to pass by. I didn't expect your class's exam to end right now."

Gray raised an eyebrow, then bent slightly and brushed his lips against her forehead.

"Then it must be fate, huh?" he murmured.

"If that's the case, then let's not waste it~." Lyra giggled softly, her fingers tightening around his arm.

The cafeteria was already half-full when they arrived, the smell of bread and warm sugar drifting through the air.

"Gray, I want something sweet~." Lyra hummed softly beside him as she tugged his sleeve.

"You always do."

"Mhm~."

They stopped by the counter, and she pointed at a cream-filled pastry with sparkly eyes.

"That one!"

Gray bought two, one for her, one for himself, and they sat by the window, the afternoon light spilling across the table.

As soon as Lyra took her first bite, her cheeks puffed up adorably.

"Mmm~! It's so good! Try it!"

He leaned closer and took a small bite from the side she was holding.

"Yeah… not bad."

"Not bad?!" she gasped dramatically, pretending to glare at him.

"This is perfect!"

"You're too easy to please, Lyra." Gray chuckled, watching her pout.

"And you're too serious," she replied, poking his cheek with her spoon. "Lighten up once in a while, Mr. Genius."

He smirked and leaned closer, whispering, "You're saying that while still holding my arm, you know?"

Her face turned a light pink.

"S-so what? I'm cold!"

"Sure you are."

Their small teasing continued quietly for a moment, until suddenly...

Clack!

Two trays slammed down beside him at the same time, one on the left, one on the right.

Gray froze.

Slowly, he turned his head.

To his left, Selina, eyes narrowed just enough to look calm but not harmless. To his right, Selene, wearing a strange, cold yet fox-like smile.

Neither of them said a single word.

"Ahh… hello?" Lyra asked softly, blinking between them in confusion.

Before Gray could answer, another cheerful voice echoed nearby.

"GRAY! My bro! How ya doing?!"

Ronan.

Of course.

The loud chatterbox dropped his tray right in front of Gray and sat down with zero hesitation.

And right behind him came Lira, silent as always, her emotionless gaze fixed straight on Gray as she took the seat directly across from him.

Gray's smile twitched.

Once.

Twice.

Then it froze completely.

'Fuck... what kind of situation is this?'

In front of him now sat:

—His girlfriend, Lyra, who still holding his arm.

—Selene, a fucking yandere mermaid.

—Selina, the girl he'd hooked up with.

—Lira, who clearly likes him but never said a word.

—And Ronan, who was exactly important, but he thought that they were best friends and had no clue what was going on.

It was a disaster waiting to happen.

One wrong word, one wrong glance… and the table would explode.

But as if to ease his thoughts, a funny thing came to his mind.

'Selina and Selene...'

He exchanged glances between the two of them.

'Lira and Lyra...'

He almost laughed in realization.

'What a coincidence... pftt...'