The Third-Rate Academy Villain Who Refuses to Become a Beggar

At about 20cm tall, the size of a small doll, Wooden had a lightweight magic engraved on it, so if it stayed still, no one would doubt it was just a display model.

It would be best to keep it in a pocket dimension, but Wooden, having been in there once, strongly objected. It never wanted to go back to that place where there was nothing.

'Even though we made a contract and I engraved the mark of obedience on the golem, treating it that way wouldn't be good in the long run.'

There was no need to overthink such matters. Spirits, for all their magical complexity, operated on fundamentally simple emotional principles. Contract or not, magical binding or otherwise, if they developed an aversion to something, that aversion remained steadfast and immovable. Their feelings weren't complicated by the layers of social obligation or calculation that humans wrapped around their own desires.

Although the magical contract meant Wooden couldn't physically escape his grasp or authority—the binding runes saw to that with absolute certainty—it was painfully obvious that if the golem's motivation and contentment diminished, its performance would inevitably deteriorate. A reluctant servant, even one magically bound to obey, would never match the efficiency and ingenuity of one that served willingly. This was a principle that extended beyond mere magical theory into the practical reality of maintaining magical constructs with developing egos.

'Carrying it on my shoulder is out of the question...'

It would be ridiculous to advertise that he had made an ego golem, and he didn't want to invite gossip by carrying a golem on his shoulder at his age.

"Wooden, shrink smaller."

<Kung?>

Wooden instantly shrank. About 1cm. It was the smallest form Wooden could take.

Click, Gerhard connected the joint protruding from Wooden's head to a necklace.

It was a form inspired by how Aint carried his sword as a necklace.

<Kung kung!>

As if uncomfortable, Wooden struggled.

"If not in this form, you'll have to stay in the pocket dimension. This seems better, doesn't it?"

At the mention of the pocket dimension, Wooden stopped moving.

<Kuuuung?>

"Yes. If you stay quietly attached to the necklace, I'll never put you in the pocket dimension. Not always, of course, but I'll let you free when it's just the two of us."

Between the boring pocket dimension where nothing existed and being constrained in movement but able to sense the outside world.

Wooden chose the latter without a moment's hesitation.

And so, a necklace was added around Gerhard's neck.

==

The academy had many facilities for students.

Especially, individual training grounds, group training grounds, drill fields, and arenas for personal training or duels were always open for use.

"..."

"..."

And there were two students using one of these places.

Aint Armian. The eldest son of the old imperial family, the Armian family, and, known only to a very few, the nemesis of demons who had slain a demon.

Facing him with a sword was Veriana Kalproten.

A descendant of the most famous knightly family in the Empire, excluding the Grand Duke families.

A heavy silence hung between them.

A gentle breeze blew, and a leaf fell between them.

Immediately after that, both students pushed off the arena floor simultaneously.

Clash!

As the swords collided, a shockwave spread in all directions.

Ariadne Florian, who was observing the duel with their permission, lightly waved her hand to disperse the shockwave heading toward her.

"..."

She focused intently on the arena, her chin resting on her hand, her expression impassive.

The second and third-ranked students in the first-year Knight Department.

The fact that she was observing their duel was proof that her time at the academy hadn't been wasted.

Even though it was a reward earned from fighting a demon.

'Becoming friends with Aint Armian has been my biggest achievement.'

In the battle against the demon, Ariadne had clearly witnessed Aint's prowess.

His brilliant destruction of evil made her fully understand why the Armian family was called the nemesis of demons.

She had initially approached him simply because he was considered the most inferior among the Grand Duke families.

Although it had yielded results, Aint was still a pearl in the mud.

'So is Veriana Kalproten.'

Although not a Grand Duke, the Kalproten family's prestige was far from insignificant.

But it wasn't entirely to her liking.

Why was that?

"Senior Gerhard Goldenheim..."

Yes, that was why.

"It's strange...?"

He was clearly different from others she had met so far.

"Usually, they would have opened up by now...?"

Yet why was she still on edge during conversations with Gerhard Goldenheim?

He was still cautious of her.

Neither the idiot who couldn't return home for fear of his father, nor the old prince she thought was worthless but turned out to be the most valuable, were wary of her anymore.

'Am I under the illusion that I'm being taken advantage of?'

When transporting the branch of the Mother Tree.

When the branch of the Mother Tree was completely corrupted.

And with the ego golem too.

In the end, everything had gone according to Gerhard's wishes. Though the summoning of a demon due to the Mother Tree's branch was probably unexpected even for him.

She shook her head.

It must be an illusion. The Yacht Club invitation and new connections.

While she did follow Gerhard's wishes, she had gained more.

Part of the Mother Tree's branch would have been corrupted anyway, and the ego golem was made by Gerhard in the first place.

'Yes, that's right. But his wariness of me is not an illusion...'

"Ariadne!"

"Danger!"

Ariadne snapped out of her thoughts at the sharp call.

A wooden sword that had been in someone's hand until just now was flying toward her in a long arc.

It contained some aura, and if she took the hit mindlessly, she could sustain a significant injury.

'That's Veriana's.'

Aint still had his wooden sword in hand, while Veriana's torn grip was empty.

Ariadne extended her hand. The aura in the wooden sword was diminished by spirits and naturally absorbed into her hand.

"Aint won, I see? As expected, he's different from someone who can't go home because he's afraid of his dad!"

"You...!"

"Didn't pass out this time?"

"You damn pointy-eared brat!"

Ariadne let out an incredibly innocent laugh.