Chapter 54. Award Ceremony (3)

Chapter 54. Award Ceremony (3)

Step, step.

A female secretary who looked to be in her mid-20s appeared from the dean’s office.

She was the dean’s secretary, someone I often saw in the game. It was nice to see her again after so long.

“Award recipients, please come inside.”

The five cadets entered the dean’s office one by one.

The first thing that caught my eye upon entering was the luxurious carpet, the neatly arranged leather sofas, and the wooden table between them.

A massive and ornate chandelier hung above, casting light that blended beautifully with the sunlight streaming through the windows.

As I was momentarily overwhelmed by the lavish atmosphere, I belatedly noticed the figure sitting at the head of the room.

The dean, who had been seated all along, made eye contact with each of us before clapping his hands and speaking.

“Wow, so the talents of Victoria Academy have all gathered here! Haha!”

Clap, clap, clap.

The dean enthusiastically clapped by himself in the otherwise quiet room, only stopping when the secretary lightly tapped him on the arm.

“Oh, my bad. I get carried away sometimes. I called you here to see the awardees beforehand since I’ll be presenting the awards myself.”

The secretary handed each of us a sheet of paper.

Lucy and I received two sheets each.

The papers detailed the awards we would receive and the general movements we needed to follow on stage.

“The award ceremony will take place at 10 AM. The rehearsal should be getting set up by now, so head to the auditorium for a brief run-through. Oh, but you two, stay behind.”

The dean gestured toward Lucy and me, and the secretary exited the office.

“Please follow me.”

Elise, Moon Surin, and the second-year male cadet followed the secretary, leaving just Lucy and me behind.

“L-Lee Hoyeon, what’s going on? Why are we the only ones left?”

“It’s fine. Just stay put.”

Does she really not get it yet? It should be obvious by now. We’re receiving a separate award during the ceremony—it’s clearly for taking down Felix.

At this point, it’s not just slow-wittedness.

Maybe she’s subconsciously trying to block out the memories of Felix as a defense mechanism.

She’s likely avoiding thinking about that incident as much as possible.

If that’s the case, I actually feel a little guilty.

Once the footsteps of the other cadets faded, the dean spoke.

“As you’ve probably guessed, you two will be receiving a reward for exposing and subduing the demon Felix.”

Lucy’s face suddenly turned pale.

“W-What? W-Wait!”

Thud.

Just as she tried to speak, I firmly grasped her hand.

She turned to me in surprise, but I simply shook my head.

It was a signal to stay quiet.

Lucy hesitated, her lips quivering as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she stayed silent.

“Hmm, of course, it’s natural to feel nervous. Unlike the outstanding students, you two will be receiving your awards alongside the hunters.”

No wonder there were no outstanding students listed in our stage directions. We were receiving our awards separately. Not exactly comforting words.

Lucy’s trembling worsened.

But… something felt off.

The scale of the award was too big. Sure, capturing a demon infiltrating the academy was a huge deal, and it deserved a grand reward, but Victoria Academy wouldn’t want to publicize it this much.

Considering how they covered up my past incident, the academy was full of selfish bureaucrats.

But since I couldn’t outright ask why this was getting so much attention, I chose to stay quiet.

“So, we’ve been considering what kind of reward to give you. It’s mostly decided, but there’s still some opposition.”

Along with the stage directions, we also received confidentiality agreements.

Just how big of a reward were we getting that we had to sign a confidentiality agreement?

Seeing my tense expression, the dean gave a reassuring smile.

“Don’t be nervous. Think of yourselves as the stars of the show. Once this ceremony is over, all the rumors about you two will disappear.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

With that, the dean dismissed us to attend the rehearsal.

“I-I can’t accept this.”

Once we had left the dean’s office, Lucy suddenly grabbed my arm.

“Lucy.”

“I didn’t do anything. I was just stupidly captured by the demon, and the moment you arrived, I passed out. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. So why am I getting an award? I can’t accept this.”

Lucy’s eyes were trembling. Her rejection was stronger than I expected.

But it’s too late to say, “Actually, I caught the demon all by myself~” or to cancel the award ceremony.

★ Heroine Status Window

[Lucy]

- [ Affection: 93 ]

- [ Lust: 40 ]

- [ Appetite: 30 ]

- [ Fatigue: 35 ]

Current Status: “I can’t accept an award after making such a big mistake.”

Fortunately, she was rejecting it out of guilt toward me.

If she had refused because she hated anything related to Felix, I would’ve had to consider canceling the award ceremony for her mental well-being. But this wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

That meant there was a way forward.

“Lucy…”

“I’m sorry. I really am, but this is just… too much.”

“Lucy. Do it for me.”

“…”

“If I say I caught the demon alone, all the attention will be on me. People who are jealous might even try to target me.”

Honestly, seducing heroines will already draw enough attention, so I’ve given up on avoiding it.

Besides, I’m not even sure if being in the spotlight would actually put me in danger.

But Lucy had no way of knowing that.

“…Alright.”

“Thank you. For thinking of me.”

“No, it’s fine. Receiving an award is good for me too. It’ll be a nice addition to my career record!”

Lucy gave in to my persuasion.

Now that she understood receiving the award would help me, she seemed more at ease.

*

“Next, we will have a moment of silence to honor the hunters who lost their lives subduing the gate.”

A solemn background melody played as the audience bowed their heads in silence.

“Wow, this is nerve-wracking.”

“Don’t be nervous. It’s not a big deal.”

Lucy and I were waiting backstage for our turn.

“Not a big deal?! We’re up right after the next group! Ugh…”

“Well, yeah.”

After the awards for the hunters who contributed to subduing the gate, it would be our turn.

But why aren’t those hunters here yet? It should be their turn soon.

“A-Young, wait a second. It’s just a meal with colleagues. Why are you being so cold?”

“Sorry, I’ve been really busy lately.”

“A-Young, wait!”

Just then, voices entered the waiting area.

The names and voices were familiar.

Soon, a woman with long black hair and porcelain skin entered the room.

“Haah, seriously. Huh? Hoyeon?”

“A-Young, hello.”

“Oh, right! They did say they were awarding the cadets who took down the demon today! How could I forget that?!”

This damn academy must have kept the information from Lucy and me alone.

They really handled things like absolute trash.

“A-Young! Hm?”

A man who entered behind her frowned when he saw me talking to Baek A-Young, his expression clearly disapproving.

He looked me up and down, then smirked slightly, as if reassured.

“Ah, so you’re the star cadets—no, the students—who supposedly took down a demon?”

“…”

How could someone be this obnoxious right off the bat? The moment he realized I was just a cadet, he completely dismissed me. I already didn’t like him.

“I’m Kang Yechan. I’m receiving an award alongside A-Young. I’m an A-rank hunter and work with the association.”

“I see. Nice to meet you. A-Young, you didn’t mention you were receiving an award today.”

I ignored Kang Yechan’s words and spoke to Baek A-Young instead.

“Oh, well, they told me to keep it a secret. No one outside should know I’m receiving one.”

“But aren’t a bunch of people from the association here? If it were just you and that guy missing, wouldn’t it be obvious?”

“Huh? You think so?”

Seeing Baek A-Young mumble to herself made me chuckle.

She’s unexpectedly innocent—aside from her questionable preferences.

“Haha, so you two know each other? Where did you—”

“Next participants, please get ready!”

“Ah, I have to go. See you later!”

“Yes. Good luck!”

Baek A-Young and Kang Yechan followed the guide onto the stage.

I didn’t see them at the rehearsal earlier, but I’m sure they’ll manage.

“Lucy, let’s get ready. It’s almost our turn.”

“Okay. But… how do you know the Saintess?”

I was starting to get worried that Lucy was using this award ceremony to piece together my connections with various women.

“I met her while doing volunteer work over the weekend. I’ll tell you later.”

“Volunteer work…? You really live such a diligent life…”

“It’s just a hobby.”

Every single thing I do is to seduce women, but Lucy was looking at me as if I were some great person.

Since this was a good misunderstanding, I decided to let it be.

“Next cadets! Please come forward!”

“Let’s go.”

“…O-Okay!”

She looks extremely nervous. Hopefully, she’ll be fine.

“Ugh!”

Seeing Lucy so tense, I gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

“Relax. It’ll be over in no time.”

“Uh… Okay.”

- Next, we will present awards to the cadets who took down a demon.

We slowly stepped onto the stage.

At first, bright lights welcomed us. Then, I saw the overwhelming crowd.

The sheer number of people watching made me wonder why we were even receiving an award here.

Among the audience, I could spot all the academy cadets, high-ranking officials from the association, and top executives from major guilds. Every major faction had sent representatives.

We walked forward and stood before the dean.

“These cadets have set an exemplary standard for society by eliminating a demon infiltrator at the academy, displaying responsibility and justice… Thus, we present this award. Cadet Lee Hoyeon.”

“Thank you.”

I received the certificate from the dean with the utmost courtesy and tucked it under my left arm.

“Lucy. The same applies to you.”

“T-Thank. You. Very. Much.”

“…?”

“Heh.”

Somewhere in the audience, someone let out a scoff.

Lucy’s face turned red, spreading all the way to her ears as she received the certificate.

Does she really get that nervous in front of a crowd?

“This concludes the commendation ceremony.”

With the dean’s declaration and applause, the ceremony came to an end.

For me, it only lasted about a minute, but for those academy cadets sitting there, how boring must this have been? My condolences.

Clap, clap, clap.

The hall filled with enthusiastic applause from the cadets.

As the thunderous clapping settled, the dean spoke again.

“As the dean of Victoria Academy, I cannot help but admire the spirit of these two cadets.”

Wait, what? I thought we were done?

“I deeply regret that such an incident occurred in an institution meant to foster safe learning. I acknowledge our failure in handling the situation, and the burden unfairly placed on students.”

Lucy and I exchanged bewildered glances, and even the audience looked confused by the dean’s unexpected remarks.

“But before that, I would like to reward these two students.”

The dean took a breath before making his next statement.

“Victoria Academy will open its treasure vault. Each of you will be granted one treasure.”

Murmurs filled the audience.

The academy’s treasure vault. Honestly, I’d only heard about it in the lore—I’ve never actually seen it.

Supposedly, it contains various artifacts and valuables accumulated over centuries… but that’s just a rumor.

“Victoria Academy always stands by its cadets and upholds the truth. Some troubling rumors have been spreading about the heroes who eliminated the demon. Let me make it clear today—Victoria Academy does not engage in manufacturing stars. That is all.”

Oh, so this was why they said all the rumors would disappear after the ceremony.

Well, if the dean says it himself, most of those rumors will vanish.

Of course, there will still be those who refuse to believe it. But those kinds of people would call it a scam even if they saw me kill a demon firsthand.

After the speech, Lucy and I were escorted back to the dean’s office.

“Well done. Lucy, you seemed quite nervous up there.”

“S-Sorry.”

“Hahaha, it’s fine. I was the same way at your age.”

Now that the ceremony was over, the dean seemed much more relaxed.

Unable to hold back my curiosity any longer, I asked the question that had been bugging me.

“Dean, may I ask you something?”

“Hmm? Of course. Ask anything.”

“Why are you doing so much for us? From the academy’s perspective, this doesn’t seem beneficial at all.”

This was the doubt I had been harboring. The dean raised an eyebrow at my question, then let out a sigh.

“Why do people make threats if they don’t plan on following through…?”

“Huh?”

“Professor Im Sol is looking out for you a lot. I’ve never seen her act like this before.”

The dean looked genuinely tired as he spoke.

“Oh…”

Finally, I understood the real reason behind this grand award ceremony.

*

“Alright, this is the academy’s treasure vault.”

The dean stood beside a bookshelf in his office and traced a magic circle in the air.

With a low humming sound, the bookshelf slid away, revealing a hidden chamber.

“Because of its location, we had to make you sign a confidentiality agreement. I hope you understand.”

Well, I never would have guessed it was hidden here.

“Alright then, Hoyeon, you choose first.”

I slowly stepped inside the vault.

Various weapons were displayed inside.

[Millennium Sword]

[Glacial Gauntlets]

[Flame of War]

.

.

.

“I don’t need weapons…”

No matter how things turn out, my goal is to fight from a safe distance.

I moved past the weapons toward the deeper part of the vault.

There, I found a collection of artifacts and magic tomes.

“Oh… This is it. The real treasure is hidden here.”

A classic treasure vault rule.

The best thing is always something that looks like trash, something no one has bothered to touch.

And if I can convince them it’s worthless and grab a second item, even better.

“By the way, what’s with Professor Im Sol looking after me like this?”

She had really gone out of her way to support me, and yet all I ever thought about was satisfying my libido. I suddenly felt a little guilty.

‘Next time, I should bring her something genuinely useful, not just fool around.’

As I rummaged through the artifacts, my eyes landed on a dusty magic tome tucked away in the corner.

“Found it. A hidden gem.”

The treasure I had been searching for finally revealed itself.

Chapter end