Chapter 34: The Headmaster's Decision
The door to the headmaster's office slammed open as the instructor rushed inside, breathing heavily. His grip on the report and maps was tight, his pulse still racing from the sprint across the academy grounds.
"Headmaster, you need to pull the official records," he said immediately. "The Abyssal Valley Annihilation. You need to compare Jessica Moran's solution with the imperial military reports. We figured it out."
The headmaster, unbothered, barely glanced up.
"...Jessica?"
The instructor froze.
He had expected shock, disbelief—anything except that.
"...You knew?" he asked, voice uncertain.
The headmaster sighed, finally setting his pen down and folding his hands together.
"Isn't it obvious?"
___
The instructor didn't immediately answer.
Because now that he was thinking about it—really thinking about it—the signs had been there from the beginning.
A girl with no magical sensitivity who could track a buried relic's mana signature.
A girl who survived an expedition that should have killed her, reportedly 'struggling to pull her sword free' after every kill, meaning she had to fight off entire waves of monsters while unarmed.
A girl whose ability with a blade was 'instinctive' and yet already surpassing trained duelists.
A girl whose survival, if accurately reported, meant she would have had to be a tactical genius just to avoid being overrun.
The headmaster had assumed the reports had been exaggerated.
But maybe—
Maybe they hadn't.
And then there were other things.
The headmaster exhaled, shaking the thoughts away. He wouldn't say it aloud. But Jessica Moran was a problem.
A manageable one, for now.
___
The instructor forced himself to refocus. "What do we do with this information?" he asked finally.
The headmaster leaned back in his chair.
"That depends on whether you want to give her more tests."
The instructor stiffened.
"There are other unsolved battles from that era," the headmaster continued, watching him carefully. "Twenty years of engagements where even the highest levels of military intelligence have no answers. Battles where we only know how we lost, not the details of how. The demons kept their mouths shut."
He tapped the table lightly with his fingertips.
"If you test her further, she will solve them. That is inevitable."
The instructor opened his mouth to protest—but paused.
Because he knew it was true.
Jessica's answer wasn't a fluke.
She had logically unraveled one of the most frustrating gaps in human military history.
If they kept testing her, she would do it again.
And again.
The instructor swallowed. "You want to use her to reconstruct the missing war records?"
The headmaster smiled faintly. "I want nothing. But you're the one debating it, aren't you?"
The instructor frowned.
"That would... elevate her beyond just a student."
"It would."
"And the Moran family—"
"Would receive the credit."
Silence.
The instructor finally understood.
___
The Moran family had been unofficially suppressed for decades.
It was never declared outright, but it was understood.
The Morans should, by all rights, be a Count family, not a Baron family.
But that wasn't allowed to happen.
For reasons only the Emperor himself knew, the Moran name was kept stagnant—respected but politically stagnant, never allowed to rise.
And now...
Now they were facing a decision.
If they continued testing Jessica, they would be giving her credit for every unsolved battle she solved.
And the headmaster would not allow her work to be claimed by anyone else.
Her name would be attached to all of it.
Which meant—so would the Moran family.
If they pushed this further, they would be directly opposing the Emperor's suppression of their influence.
___
The headmaster's gaze was calm, but sharp.
"Choose carefully."
The instructor exhaled.
He understood.
This wasn't about a student solving a tactical puzzle.
This was about whether they wanted to push against an unspoken imperial decree.
Because if Jessica kept proving herself at this level—
She wouldn't be a Baron's daughter for much longer.
___
Meanwhile, in the imperial court, First Prince Alistair von Aurelius sat in his private study, reviewing the latest reports.
A military officer stood before him, his expression tense.
"Your Highness," the man said, "the calculations were correct."
Alistair exhaled through his nose. "Exactly correct?"
The officer hesitated, then shook his head. "Not exactly."
Alistair narrowed his eyes. "Explain."
"...Her calculations might have been more precise than what was originally used."
Silence.
Alistair leaned forward.
"More precise?"
The officer nodded. "Yes. The original plan worked, but even in demonic war records, the strategy was listed as risky—a desperate measure that had the slimmest chance of succeeding. But the way Moran outlined it..."
He hesitated.
"If the demons had placed their collapses in her exact locations, they might have had fewer casualties while executing the same maneuver. It is... unnerving."
Alistair sat back in his chair, fingers tapping against the wooden desk.
Jessica hadn't just matched the strategy.
She had optimized it.
If the demons found out that a human noble girl had recreated their general's tactics and improved upon them, they would not be pleased.
Alistair exhaled, standing up.
"Has the courier left?"
The officer shook his head. "No, Your Highness. They were awaiting your final confirmation."
Alistair nodded.
"Send them immediately. Now."
The officer didn't question it. He simply saluted and left.
Alistair watched him go, then turned back to his papers.
This would not go unnoticed.
By sending the report before the demons could confirm it, he was instigating something.
They would have to respond.
And when they did—
Alistair would be ready.
___
Jessica had no idea what was happening behind closed doors.
She was completely unaware that her tactical exercise had escalated into a political maneuver between humans and demons.
She had no interest in the imperial court, noble suppression, or the future of her family's political standing.
Right now, she was just focused on preparing for her combat evaluation.
She had one goal: Don't get annihilated by Edgar's Thunder Magic.
That was all she cared about.
But the world was moving against her now.
And she didn't even know it yet.
[End of Chapter]