Chapter 90: Let's Form an Alliance
[As time passed, the second exam of the afternoon officially began.]
[The examination room was rearranged once again, with both test-takers and proctors undergoing certain changes.]
[Those taking the test alongside you included Oberon, Melusine, Barghest, Baobhan Sith, and the French Servants from the neighboring class.]
[The proctors for this session were Saber Siegfried and Caster Merlin.]
[One was the legendary dragon-slaying hero of the Nibelungen, and the other the mentor of King Arthur — it seemed neither would be easy to deal with.]
"I'm terribly sorry, I'll be the proctor for this exam..."
As soon as Siegfried-sensei stepped into the examination room, he politely bowed and said,
"To be honest, I'm not very good at things like this. If I happen to act impolitely in any way, I sincerely apologize…"
As the dragon-slaying hero of the Nibelungen, Siegfried's Servant parameters were by no means weak — he had even once engaged in a fierce battle with Karna during the Holy Grail War.
However, due to his tendency to undervalue himself, combined with his awkward social skills and honest, introverted nature, in the eyes of students, he was the type of "teacher who often gets teased and is rather easy to push around."
In one's school days, everyone has met one or two teachers like that — not disliked, but often made fun of right to their face.
Siegfried was exactly that kind of teacher.
Of course, the prerequisite here was — you must not be a Servant with a dragon trait.
Otherwise, you would witness firsthand the terrifying power of his double special attack bonus from both Skills and NP — a clearly AoE Noble Phantasm that could still deal absurd single-target damage.
"Ahaha, so it's our class's Sumanai-sensei. Guess we can cheat without worries then."
Roland said with a big grin.
The nervous tension in his chest finally relaxed.
"Hey, show some respect to Sumanai-sensei… I mean, to Siegfried-sensei, okay? He's a Servant with a double special attack! Just because you're not a target of his special attack doesn't mean you can underestimate his strength!"
Eikou seriously reminded him.
Though he said that, inwardly he also breathed a sigh of relief.
Having Siegfried — someone relatively easy to handle — as the proctor this time was truly a blessing.
After all, Eikou himself didn't possess a dragon trait, nor was he a Lancer, so among the many difficult teachers, Siegfried was one of the most manageable.
Meanwhile, beside him, Melusine's golden eyes dimmed rapidly.
"It's Sieg… ah, I mean, Sumanai-sensei. We're doomed this time..."
Eikou thought silently: She clearly said his name right the first time, why even bother correcting herself?!
"No matter how strong I am, going up against a Saber with a double special attack against Dragons is still too much to handle..."
It was quite a rare sight — normally she always flaunted herself as the strongest dragon and did whatever she pleased, but now she finally had a taste of being on the receiving end of a class disadvantage.
Eikou thought inwardly.
How nice that Siegfried was the proctor — strong enough to keep things in control, but not to the point of hindering his cheating, and most importantly, able to restrain this naughty dragon girl.
"But still, it's fine..."
Melusine's golden eyes suddenly sharpened.
"After all, I've studied seriously this time. It's just a small-time dragon-slaying hero, nothing to be afraid of! This time, I'll definitely get a high score! And when that happens..."
She turned to Eikou beside her, her doll-like face blooming with a radiant smile.
"If I get the highest score in the class, then the one sitting next to me will be you! Just you wait and see!"
"G-Good luck with that..."
Though saying so felt a bit mean, Eikou still thought in his heart — it'd be better if the boar princess got that seat instead.
If this dragon girl ended up sitting next to him, she'd probably devour him whole.
"Hmph..."
Barghest, who was nearby, gave a quiet snort.
As the exemplary student of Britain, her academic performance was nothing to worry about — she was easily one of the top contenders for the highest score and thus the seat beside him.
"..."
Eikou could already feel the tense, storm-like competitive atmosphere building up in the examination room.
In contrast, Baobhan Sith — the Blood Princess who was usually arrogant and willful — quietly sat down at her desk this time, neatly arranging all her exam materials.
...
[You can clearly feel the atmosphere of scheming filling the exam room.]
[Melusine and Barghest are locked in a fierce rivalry, both eager to win the seat next to you.]
[As for Baobhan Sith, she seems to have her own thoughts.]
[If there's one thing they all have in common, it's that all three are brimming with confidence for this exam — they don't just want to pass or score well; they're determined to be the best.]
[The exam hasn't even officially begun, yet the smell of gunpowder is already spreading...]
[Meanwhile, you've fallen into deep distress.]
[Without Gawain's help, and no cheat sheets to rely on, how are you supposed to cheat this time?]
[Just then...]
"Hey, Eikou..."
Right when he was racking his brain for a way to cheat, he suddenly heard a quiet call.
Eikou looked up, only to see Oberon sitting not far away, signaling to him repeatedly with his eyes.
Then, while the teachers weren't paying attention, Oberon secretly tossed something mysterious toward Eikou.
Eikou quickly caught it, took a closer look——
It was… a mobile phone!
This Oberon guy is seriously impressive, he actually managed to sneak a phone into the exam room!
Eikou instantly understood Oberon's plan, hurriedly hid the phone inside his desk, and carefully unlocked the screen.
[Oberon has given you a phone for cheating.]
[Upon opening the interface, the first thing you see is a folder containing study materials.]
[When you open it, you find that it's full of questions and reference notes all within the scope of this exam.]
[Everything inside is meant for cheating.]
[As long as you can master this data and cheat successfully, you'll almost certainly make it into the top 10 of the entire year.]
Perfect, this time we're really saved!
Eikou's heart pounded with excitement, his face lighting up as he looked toward Oberon.
The fairy king wore a calm, composed smile.
"Haha, I was originally planning to send you the answers after I finished my own test."
Oberon whispered softly:
"But since the other side has a teacher who specializes in countering Servants with dragon traits, I can't exactly act openly... so, I'm entrusting this phone to you. Once you're done copying, send me a small cheat sheet too, alright? Oh, and by the way, just stick to the answer folder, don't open my loan or shopping apps — I'm afraid the bills might give you a heart attack."
"No problem."
Eikou nodded seriously.
We're in this together!
[You and Oberon have formed a mutually beneficial alliance, working together to cheat in the exam.]