After the peace talks between the Three Factions concluded, life returned to something resembling normalcy, or at least as normal as it could be for someone like Takeyo.
As he'd mentioned before, neither Tobio Ikuse nor Dulio Gesualdo had sought him out during this period. That was fine by him. It meant Takeyo could finally focus on his studies without supernatural interruptions constantly demanding his attention.
Over the past several weeks, he'd immersed himself in demonic knowledge, absorbing everything from magical theory to political history. Of course, he'd merely memorized the information, stuffing it into his head like data into a hard drive. Being able to apply it contextually, to see how different concepts interconnected... that was still far beyond his current level.
That said, when it came to Ajuka Beelzebub's particular field of expertise, the fundamentals of magic circles and spell construction, Takeyo had reached a level of mastery that he considered complete integration. Even compared to the Satan of Innovation himself, Takeyo's understanding was only getting stronger, not weaker.
Of course, during his study sessions, he'd also been consolidating his power. His Mid-Class Devil strength had fully stabilized. At his current rate of progress, reaching High-Class Devil would take roughly seven or eight more months.
However, if he factored in the sign-in rewards... he estimated it would only take half that time. Maybe even a third.
"Takeyo-san? Today's the final exam day! I'm really nervous!"
Asia walked beside him, her voice tinged with anxiety as they approached Kuoh Academy.
She hadn't gone through traditional high school education, and she'd only transferred here halfway through the semester. It was natural for her to worry about her grades.
"Asia, don't stress about it. Your grades have been solid. You'll definitely pass. As for getting excellent marks, let's focus on that next semester. After all, you've only been here a month or two."
Takeyo offered reassuring words.
The grading standards at Japanese schools were fairly lenient for determining pass/fail. As long as you scored above half the average, you were considered passing.
"Lord, please bless me so I can get excellent grades next time!"
Asia immediately clasped her hands together in prayer.
A moment later, Takeyo felt a small thread of faith flow into him.
Among all his followers, Asia provided the most abundant faith energy. Several factors contributed to this. First, as a ten-winged angel with High-Class Devil equivalent power, her spiritual weight was considerable. Second, her faith was exceptionally pure and unwavering.
Looking at her performance in the original timeline, how she'd maintained her devotion even after being reincarnated as a devil, calling Asia a fanatic believer wasn't an exaggeration.
Then there was the fact that Asia's prayers were directed specifically at Takeyo himself, not filtered through the system left behind by the God of the Bible.
Finally, Asia prayed constantly. No matter what she was doing, whenever the thought crossed her mind, she'd offer up a prayer.
Although Takeyo hadn't specifically studied the mechanics of faith power, he could sense its unique properties.
It seemed it could be used for blessings and benedictions of some kind.
"Takeyo-san? Takeyo-san? I think someone over there is watching us?"
Asia's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Someone I feel like I've seen before is standing near the school gate?"
"Hmm?"
Takeyo glanced in the direction she'd indicated. Sure enough, there was a very familiar face waiting there.
"Yo!"
The young man spotted Takeyo and raised his hand in greeting.
"Oh! You're that Mr. Cao Cao!" Asia finally remembered why the figure seemed so familiar. Hadn't Cao Cao visited them not long ago?
"Cao Cao, what brings you here? Don't tell me you're asking me to help you eliminate more dissidents again?"
Takeyo shrugged, speaking bluntly.
"Ahh, so you already figured out my previous intentions?"
Cao Cao's mouth curved upward in a slight smile. Despite having his purpose exposed so directly, he showed no signs of embarrassment whatsoever.
Because his goal had already been achieved.
"That was quite the spectacular finale, using Georg's Dimension Lost to send all those people to their deaths."
Takeyo kept his hands in his pockets, speaking with casual admiration.
That's right. The reason Cao Cao had Georg transport those people was to inflict devastating losses on the Old Satan Faction within the Khaos Brigade.
Within the organization, there was no unified leadership. The Hero Faction, the Old Satan Faction, and the Stray Magician group all maintained independent power structures.
And in this particular operation, what Georg of the Hero Faction had transported over was one of the Old Satan Faction's leaders and one of the top combat assets from the Stray Magician contingent.
In Cao Cao's eyes, they'd been nothing more than lambs to the slaughter. Using Dimension Lost to transport multiple troublesome individuals at once had been a spur-of-the-moment decision he'd made after learning that Takeyo possessed the power to instantly kill Vali's Juggernaut Drive form.
He'd manipulated these individuals, people who threatened his leadership within the Khaos Brigade, into walking straight to their deaths in one fell swoop. It ensured his faction's dominance over the organization.
This was the King's Strategy.
You must first secure the domestic situation before confronting external threats. That was precisely why, in the original timeline, the Hero Faction only made their major moves after the Old Satan Faction had been almost entirely eliminated.
Naturally, Takeyo had seen through Cao Cao's machinations.
But he didn't care. To complete his sign-in objectives, he'd needed to defeat those demon lords anyway. And not just defeat them, annihilate them in an overwhelming display of power.
Of course, there were other considerations beyond that.
He knew that Cao Cao was merely the praying mantis stalking the cicada, while Rizevim Livan Lucifer was the oriole waiting behind them both.
"So, are you here to hold a memorial service for them?"
Takeyo yawned.
Hearing the phrase "seventh-day memorial," Cao Cao paused for a moment, then chuckled. He'd just remembered that like himself, Takeyo also had bloodline connections to the Eastern lands.
"No, I just came here to deliver someone."
As soon as Cao Cao finished speaking, layers of dense fog began rolling out from behind him.
A blonde girl emerged from the mist, her eyes lighting up with excitement when she saw Takeyo.
"Yang!"
She threw herself directly into Takeyo's arms like a bird returning to its nest, tears of longing streaming down her face.
"Alright, Jeanne. Welcome back. Everything's fine now."
Takeyo gently patted her head. Before this, Jeanne had mentioned she needed to return to her hometown. Apparently, she'd finished whatever business she had there.
"Well, the delivery is complete. I'll be taking my leave now, Jun Takeyo."
Cao Cao turned and began walking back toward the mist.
"I will definitely accomplish things that earn your recognition, Jun Takeyo. This is the hero's destiny."
After leaving that parting declaration, Cao Cao's figure disappeared into the crimson fog.
"Well then, it seems we're going to have another person living at our house?"
Takeyo raised an eyebrow.
"Hai!"
Asia tilted her head slightly, processing what Takeyo meant. Did this young lady named Jeanne intend to live with them?
One hour later, Takeyo sat in the examination room.
After explaining to Asia his relationship with Jeanne, and why she carried the name Jeanne, he'd finally entered the actual testing process.
Sitting in the exam hall, Takeyo allowed himself a confident smile. The smile of someone who knew they'd ace every subject.
Just as that smile formed, he heard the familiar sound of the sign-in system triggering.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for triggering a plot sign-in! Sign-in level: Silver!]
[Sign-in plot: The Difference Between Academic God and Academic Tyrant!]
[Plot description: The majesty of an Academic God cannot be challenged!
Although this past month you've ridden dragons, signed contracts with magical girls from other worlds, slain gods, and annihilated demon lords in single combat...
...Your status as the first-ranked student is unshakeable!
The difference between an Academic Tyrant and an Academic God isn't something mere effort and cramming can overcome.
Go forth and claim first place in this examination!]
[Sign-in time limit: 7 days]
[Remaining sign-in time: 7 days]
"Isn't this basically asking me to bully people? Well... I suppose I've never given first place to anyone else anyway."
Takeyo gripped his pen. Taking first place for himself? Wasn't that simply the natural order of things?
"Nee, Takeyo-kun? Takeyo-kun?"
Xenovia, seated behind him, reached forward and poked him in the back.
"What is it?"
Takeyo turned around to look at her.
Could it be...? A suspicion began forming in his mind.
"Takeyo-kun, I heard your grades are really good? Could you give me a little help during the exam?"
Xenovia's eyes were filled with hope, the classic expression of an Academic Struggler looking up at an Academic God.
"Oh? You want my help? Xenovia, you do realize cheating on exams isn't exactly appropriate?"
Takeyo's mouth curved into a knowing smile.
He was well aware of Xenovia's academic struggles. For her, passing the minimum threshold was going to be significantly harder than it was for Asia.
But was there anything in it for him?
"I know cheating on exams isn't good, but... but I only just started attending school!"
"Next semester! I'll study hard next semester! Takeyo-kun, please help me!"
Xenovia felt like if Takeyo didn't assist her, she'd be completely doomed on this exam.
"It's not impossible for me to help you... ahem... Just remember to come to the sports equipment warehouse after the exam."
Takeyo spoke softly into Xenovia's ear.
Ahem. While home was certainly enjoyable, there was a different kind of excitement to be found in the equipment warehouse.
"Okay!"
Xenovia's face flushed bright red for a moment before she agreed.
What else could she do without blushing? Should she say something like "I was hoping you'd ask"? Cough, cough. That would be far too improper for a lady.
Throughout the morning and afternoon sessions, Takeyo breezed through each examination with ease.
Only six subjects required testing, and some had already been completed in previous sessions. Today only covered the final three subjects.
"Phew!"
Takeyo handed his completed exam paper to the teacher and walked out with absolute confidence.
The moment he stepped outside the classroom, the sign-in completion notification appeared.
Even though the other students hadn't finished their exams yet, Takeyo's first-place position was already guaranteed. After all, if achieving a perfect score didn't secure first place, then who possibly could?
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the plot sign-in! Sign-in level: Silver!]
[Sign-in plot: The Difference Between Academic God and Academic Tyrant!]
[Plot description: The majesty of an Academic God cannot be challenged!
...
Go forth and claim first place in this examination!]
[Congratulations to the host for receiving reward: Aura of the Learning God]
[Aura of the Learning God: The legendary aura of ultimate scholarly achievement. Increases learning efficiency to 1000% of the original rate!]
"Oh? Now this is genuinely valuable."
Takeyo's eyes widened slightly with interest.
This was truly excellent. His learning ability was already extraordinary, and with the Learning God's Aura amplifying it, he'd be like a tiger gaining wings.
Takeyo waited at the entrance of the sports equipment warehouse for Xenovia's arrival.
"Takeyo-kun? I'm here!"
Xenovia appeared, speaking in a hushed voice.
"Good. Come on in, Xenovia."
Following Takeyo's lead, Xenovia slipped quietly into the equipment warehouse.
"Bang!"
She closed the door with a forceful slam.
In truth, such caution was unnecessary. After all, Takeyo was the type of person who came fully prepared.
"Whoosh!"
In an instant, Takeyo deployed countless magic circles throughout the space.
As it turned out, his precautions had been prescient.
Since Takeyo had provided Xenovia with answers, she'd also finished her exam early.
Shortly after they'd both left, two girls met at the entrance to Takeyo's examination room.
Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory. They'd both submitted their papers five minutes ahead of schedule and had come directly to find Takeyo's classroom.
And then the two girlfriends simply stood there, staring at each other.
"Rias, what are you doing here?"
Sona pushed her glasses up her nose, the light reflecting off the lenses revealing a steely determination.
The kind of determination displayed when confronting a rival.
Sona had always thought that she'd arrived first in Takeyo's life.
Unfortunately, if she'd known about the relationship between Takeyo and Rias, she'd probably have said, "Obviously I came first!"
Or perhaps, after Takeyo did the same things with her that he'd done with Rias, she'd exclaim, "Why are you so skilled at this?!"
"Sona, shouldn't I be the one asking you that question?"
Rias showed no signs of backing down.
Although she'd arrived later, she knew that Sona's strength hadn't yet reached High-Class Devil level. In Rias's mind, she'd accomplished an impressive feat of overtaking her childhood rival.
Speaking of which, shouldn't she be grateful to Riser?
Without Riser pushing the situation to a crisis point, her relationship with Takeyo wouldn't have progressed so quickly.
"If you're waiting for Jun Takeyo, he already finished his exam and left."
Just as the two queens of Kuoh Academy stood locked in their silent confrontation, a cheerful girl's voice came from the classroom doorway.
The girl adjusted her braided hair, her glasses glinting with the light of someone who sees through everything.
"Takeyo-kun, you're truly a sinful man."
☆☆☆
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