I Am a Villain, So What?-Chapter 150: Pop Quiz

As soon as the door clicked shut, the frantic scribbling began.

"Elisha, do you know this one?" "...No. I’m weak at these multi-variable applied questions. What about you, Mariella?" "U-Um... it’ll take me some time to calculate the mana decay..."

I listened to the Protagonist Party struggling a few rows ahead. For me, someone who had already topped the midterms and possessed a literal cheat skill for academics, this was an easy win. There was no need to study the pop quiz.

Instead of picking up a pen, I opened a thick, leather-bound specialized book I had borrowed from the restricted section of the library.

[Advanced Human Anatomy Through Bones and Blood Vessels]

Humans are born with 270 bones, but through fusion during growth, this reduces to 206 in adulthood. 29 in the head, 26 in the spine, 25 in the chest and back, 64 in the arms, and 62 in the legs. Elves and beastmen have more, while dwarves and orcs possess denser, fewer bone structures.

I traced the diagram of the human cardiovascular system with my finger.

I didn’t care about the pop quiz. I was reading this with absolute seriousness. I needed to know exactly where to aim a bullet to cause unstoppable arterial bleeding, where to shoot to instantly sever motor functions without killing, and the precise angle needed to bypass a human skull’s natural curvature.

"Hey, Cadet Lucien!"

"...?"

I looked up from a detailed sketch of a ruptured femoral artery to see someone standing in front of my desk, clutching his pop quiz.

It was a familiar face framed by moss-green hair and round glasses.

"Is it okay to ask a question...?"

"Do as you like."

Oliver Verdant smiled brightly—a genuine, sunny smile devoid of any fear—and placed his quiz on my desk, right over my anatomy book.

"The first question on the pop quiz has me completely lost. I thought maybe you’d know the answer, Cadet Lucien!"

I stared at him. This guy. I let out a slow, internal sigh. He was acting far too friendly after our little "trip" to the Ecological Park. Looking at him now, nobody would ever guess that just a week ago, he had trembled like a wet dog at my mere presence. Conquering a dungeon together had apparently rewritten his brain to view me as some sort of misunderstood older brother figure.

It was annoying. But at the same time, having the absolute loyalty of a future Duke wasn’t a bad card to hold. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Sighing, I shifted my eyes from the anatomy book to the first question on the quiz. It was indeed a vicious problem designed to weed out the meatheads.

[Question 1:] Calculate the exact mana decay rate and structural collapse point when a 3rd-Circle [Flame] matrix is forcefully inverted into an [Aqua] matrix using a neutralizing catalyst inside a sealed, vacuum-state barrier. Provide the formula for the resulting thermal shockwave.

Oliver muttered, scratching his cheek. "I know how to calculate natural mana dispersion, but forcefully inverting opposing elements in a vacuum? The catalyst variable throws off the entire equation. Is it an exponential decay or a logarithmic one?"

I tapped my pen against the desk, I already knew the answer.

"It’s neither, Oliver," I said, pulling the paper closer and pointing the tip of my pen at the specific phrasing of the problem. "It’s a trick question."

"A trick question?" Oliver blinked, adjusting his glasses.

"Look here. A sealed, vacuum-state barrier. A vacuum lacks the ambient aether required to sustain thermal propagation. Furthermore, the neutralizing catalyst doesn’t invert the matrix; it violently strips the electrons from the Flame runes. The decay isn’t exponential or logarithmic—it’s an instantaneous phase-cancellation."

I wrote a single zero on his paper.

"The formula for the resulting thermal shockwave is zero. There is no shockwave. The lack of oxygen and ambient mana causes the spell to collapse inward, creating an implosion of raw, inert mana dust. If you try to calculate a shockwave, you fail the question."

Oliver stared at the zero, his jaw dropping. "...What?"

Even if a student had memorized the textbook, the intricate details and contradictory conditions made it incredibly easy to slip up. The professors who designed this quiz were sadistic.

"...."

The sudden silence in my corner of the room was deafening. I could feel eyes on me.

"He solved it?" "...Incredible." "Did he just correct the future Duke of Verdant on magical theory?" "That trash guy... does he have some superpower for calculations now?"

I no longer felt much from the surrounding admiration or the murmurs. My [Know-It-All] skill paired with the rigorous education I had endured from nursery to college in my past life made these calculations feel like child’s play.

"Ugh, so annoying." "Hmph! He probably just guessed!"

I ignored the whispers and gossip. They were just nameless extras in the grand narrative.

"Hey, Cadet Lucien!"

But among them were some who could be called supporting characters.

"What is it, Cadet Elisha?" I asked without looking up from my anatomy book.

Slap.

Elisha slammed her pop quiz down onto my desk, right over my reading material. Her face was flushed with frustration.

"Help me with this one too!"

The question she thrust forward was even more brutal than Oliver’s. It asked to calculate the stress load on a physical bowstring when channeling a dual-elemental [Wind] and [Lightning] spell, factoring in the friction coefficient of wyvern-gut string.

Of course, I had already finished the calculations in my head the second I glanced at it.

I looked at the paper, then slowly looked up at Elisha’s demanding expression.

"Why should I?"

Elisha blinked, caught entirely off guard. "...What?"

"I’m asking why I should help you," I said flatly, leaning back in my chair. "Oliver asked politely. You just slammed paper on my desk like I owe you a service. I’m not your tutor, Lady Ravenscroft."

"This...!"

Elisha’s face turned bright red. Her pride as a Ducal Heiress clashed violently with her desperate need to not fail a pop quiz in front of the class. Just as she was about to retort in frustration—

"S-Sorry, Cadet Lucien..."

I saw a small figure peeking out from behind Elisha’s back. Mariella.

She was clutching her staff, looking at me with those large, timid blue eyes.

I stopped.

I owed Mariella. During the shadow stalkers incident in the slums, she had taken the fall for my explosion. She claimed she had accidentally detonated a top-grade mana stone—an artifact exclusive to the eldest daughter—to cover for my [Big Bang] card and Divine Bullets. Her reputation was in tatters because of me.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Give me the paper."

"Y-Yes?" Mariella squeaked, handing over her own quiz, which had the same question as Elisha’s.

I tapped the second variable on her sheet.

"This question requires the fundamental principle of the Von-Neumann Ether Cycle, the father of thermo-kinetic archery dynamics." I explained, pointing to her flawed equation. "You don’t calculate the physical friction first. You calculate the enthalpy of the Wind spell’s dispersion. The Lightning element superheats the air, creating an updraft that negates the wyvern-gut’s natural friction by 40%. The answer is 12,000 Newtons of force. Write it down."

Mariella scrambled to copy the formula, her eyes shining with gratitude. "T-Thank you so much, Cadet Lucien! I was completely stuck!"

"Hah... really."

Elisha let out a hollow, incredulous laugh, watching me explain the complex formula to Mariella with infinite patience, while completely ignoring her.

"Are you kidding me? You help her, but not me?" Elisha crossed her arms, fuming.

Before I could deliver a snarky comeback, a sweet scent of vanilla and alchemical herbs wafted over.

"Lucien. Are you handing out free tutoring sessions now?"

I looked up. My entire demeanor shifted instantly.

Ariana walked over, her crisp white summer uniform perfectly complementing her ivory hair. She pushed her glasses up her nose, looking at the crowd around my desk with a mixture of amusement and territorial possessiveness.

"Only for paying customers," I said, the cold edge in my voice melting into a smooth, teasing drawl. I leaned forward, resting my chin on my hand. "But for you, Lady Solmere? My rates are highly negotiable."

Ariana’s cheeks dusted with a faint pink, but she didn’t back down. The confidence she had gained over the past few weeks was shining through.

"Oh? And what is your rate for the last question on the quiz?" she asked, leaning over my desk, perfectly aware of the proximity.

"For you? A kiss per formula seems like fair trade."

Gasps echoed from the surrounding students. Elisha looked like she had just swallowed a lemon.

Ariana smiled, a soft, genuine expression that made my chest tighten. "Then I might have to fail the test on purpose, just to require extensive remedial tutoring tonight."

"My study is always open for you," I replied, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

The blatant, unapologetic flirting was too much for the audience.

Elisha’s hands balled into fists, trembling with sheer indignation. Her violet eyes darted between my gentle smile toward Ariana and the cold, indifferent glare I had given her moments ago. The stark contrast in treatment was a massive blow to her pride.

"Unbelievable," Elisha hissed, turning on her heel. "He’s a two-faced, arrogant jerk! Let’s go, Mariella!"

She stomped back to her seat, radiating an aura of absolute fury.

Mariella trotted after her, looking worried. As Elisha slumped into her chair, grinding her teeth, Mariella patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"It’s okay, Elisha. Don’t be too upset."

"I’m not upset! I’m just annoyed by his blatant favoritism!" Elisha snapped.

"Well..." Mariella tilted her head, trying to be the voice of reason. "It’s not like we have that much of a good relationship with Cadet Lucien. We’ve called him trash and pointed weapons at him multiple times. So... it is completely natural for him to treat his girlfriend much better than how he treats you."

Elisha froze. She slowly turned her head to look at the petite healer.

"Mariella."

"Yes?"

"Are you trying to comfort me, or are you just actively rubbing salt in the wound?!"

Mariella flinched, shrinking back into her seat. "I-I’m just being objective!"