The group of totally not evil cloaked individuals looks over at me and then back to Garus.

  “What?” Garus asks.

  “Lord Garus, how are you in two places at once?” asks one of the cloaked individuals.

  “Is there a mana leak in here or something? Of course, I can’t be in two places at once,” he says.

  One of the cloaked individuals walks over to me and rips the hood of my cloak off. At the sight of me, the group gasps.

  “It can’t be. The Chosen One. How did you get in here?”

  I begin to let out a hearty laugh. “It seems you’ve all fallen into my trap. Isn’t that right, Garus?” I [Lie].

  Garus gives me the most confused look possible. “What?”

  “Exactly, what do you think you are doing in our school? The dishonor you have brought to our schools' great names and to your family's names. Garus told me that there was a sliver of hope for you all to reform, but I’m starting to think that he was being idealistic,” I monologue as I walk over to Garus and subsequently the door.

  “Really, thank you, Lord Garus,” a cloaked individual says.

  “Stop. Do not be swayed by this Devil’s tongue. He’s an inferior that should not hold the prestigious title of The Chosen One,” another cloaked individual says as he takes out an expensive-looking dagger.

  Rolling my eyes, I walk over to him. “Really, you’re going to use this ‘dagger’ to kill me? This thing doesn’t even look like it could kill a piece of paper.”

  The dagger-wielding individual is taken aback. “How dare you insult the Sacrificial Dagger. This is an artifact that has been passed down since the time of the First Chosen One. A Devil like you should tremble in awe of the sight of this dagger,” he says, gloating on and on.

  “Really, that’s actually really cool. Can I see that?” I ask as I put my hand out.

  “Of course you would recognise its greatness,” he says absentmindedly, handing over the dagger.

  “Wait, be careful-” Garus says, trying to warn me.

  The moment the dagger touches me, a dark energy crackles around me.

  The cloaked individual lets out an evil cackle. “You’ve fallen for my trap!! Only those with superior blood may wield the Sacrificial Dagger! All others will fall!”

  I watch as the dark energy crackles around me and then seemingly dissipates. Must’ve not been a very powerful curse if I somehow managed to resist it.

  The cloaked individual continues to cackle to himself until one of his minions taps him on the shoulder. “What? Can’t you see I’m relishing the moment? We’ve killed the Devil.”

  The minion whispers to him. “What do you mean he’s alive? He’s obviously-” the leader says as he looks over at me.

  I give him a small wave. “Hi. So, this ‘dagger’ doesn’t really seem as cool as you were making it out to be,” I say, taunting him.

  “How? You should be writhing in pain, wishing for the sweet release of death,” the leader says as he takes a step back.

  With a devilish smile, I pocket the dagger. “Obviously, it’s because I’m The Chosen One,” I say as I walk back to Garus.

  Garus gives me a look that’s somewhere between astonishment and constipation. Looking down at him, I give him a wink, which confuses him even more.

  “What if there are no inferiors and superiors?” one of the cloaked minions asks.

  “Blasphemy! We are the superiors. The Sacrificial Dagger recognised us as such,” another minion retorts.

  “But the Sacrificial Dagger also recognised the Devil. What if basing our entire view on life on a random dagger was a bad idea?” another minion asks.

  “You dare question the gift of our God?!” another minion accuses.

  The group of cloaked individuals quickly descends into a screaming match.

  “Quick. Let’s get out of here while they are distracted,” I whisper to Garus.

  Garus nods as we slowly creep out of the Cooking Club room. The moment we exit the room, we burst into a complete sprint. The halls blur past until we make it out outside.

  Garus takes a moment to catch his breath. “Why were you impersonating me, Devil?” he asks between breaths.

  “Didn’t you hear me earlier? We were working together to dismantle that obviously evil group of cultists,” I say.

  “I’m asking what you were really doing. Not the lie you told those idiots.”

  “Idiots? They seemed to like you, and they certainly speak like you. Aren’t you friends?” I ask, prodding him.

  “I would never be friends with those idiots. They rely on a dagger to tell them they’re better than everyone else. I know I’m better than everyone else. There’s a difference,” Garus says, finally catching his breath.

  “If you say so. I don’t think it would be wrong to say that you guys are different leaves from the same tree. Maybe you should think about why these guys were so adamant on getting you to join them,” I say as we walk back to Azalea Hall.

  “They just wanted the money and power that comes with my position. Everyone does,” he says, whispering the last part to himself.

  “If it’s any consolation, I couldn't care less that you’re a Duke's son,” I say, kicking some snow.

  “Archduke.”

  “What?”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I’m the son of an Archduke,” he corrects.

  “What’s the difference? Do you own an arch or something?” I ask.

  “No. A Duke is a noble title. An Archduke is a royal title. Our authority is second only to the Imperial family,” he explains with a slight hint of annoyance.

  “Really? How does one become an Archduke?”

  “There are two ways. You can either prove yourself during a time of strife as the Aster’s did, or you can be related to the Imperial family like my family is,” Garus explains.

  “So, you and Penelope are related?”

  “Yes, the Princess and I are cousins. Her father, the Emperor, is my uncle. How do you not know this?” Garus asks as we enter Azalea Hall.

  “It’s not really something I needed to know. It still isn’t. It’s not important to me. After all, it’s far removed from me,” I say as we start to split up.

  “Aren’t you friends with the Princess and aren’t you The Chosen One?” he asks, dumbfounded.

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “It… has everything to do with you. You’re going to end up hanged if you don’t figure this stuff out,” he says with a hint of worry.

  “You don’t have to worry about me, Garus. I can take care of myself,” I say as I walk away.

  “I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about myself. Are you listening? Hey…” he says as his voice trails away in the distance.

  I guess he really is related to Penelope. I’m going to have to deal with that group of cultists eventually. After all, they really did have some sort of artifact from the era of the First Chosen One. Speaking of, what do I do with this thing? It’s apparently ‘rejected me’, but why can I still use it? Well, I guess I can’t use whatever [Skills] it has. So, it’s just a very old dagger… Guess I’ll hide it in my pillow.

  “Are you listening, CJ?” Hopper asks as I wait patiently for my triple patty burger to arrive.

  “Sorry, Hopper, zoned out. What did you say?” I ask half-listening.

  “I asked you what we are going to do about the Princess. She had us tracking a giant for the entirety of class today. We got lucky we didn’t find one today, but we can’t be lucky every time,” Hopper complains.

  “There’s not much we can do. We told her we’d fight a giant once we reached [LvL. 10],” I say as one of the cafeteria staff members brings my triple patty burger.

  “We technically agreed that all of us had to be [LvL. 10]. Guess what, CJ, I’m [LvL. 9],” he says as my mouth waters.

  “I’m sure we’ll [Level Up] before we find the giant. After all, didn't you say that giants are surprisingly good at hiding for such big creatures?” I say as I get ready to take a bite.

  “Yes, they are, but I’m a great tracker, so it’s only a matter of time until we find one,” he says while giving himself a pat on the back.

  I nod as I take a savoring bite of my triple patty burger. The cheese melts in my mouth. The spicy meat dances on my tongue as I savor the taste. This is good, but why is it spicy? I’m not complaining. It actually enhances the flavor, but why does this taste familiar?

  Huh… Well that’s odd. I explicitly asked them to not add poison to my food, but it surprisingly tastes good.

  “Everything okay, CJ?” Hopper asks as he goes to take a bite of his salad.

  Before he can take a bite, I grab his spoon and take a bite.

  “What was that for, CJ?”

  “Huh. Your salad isn’t poisoned,” I say absentmindedly.

  “I would hope not. Why would you even think that?” he asks as he takes a bite of his salad.

  “Well, my burger is poisoned.”

  “What? Are you okay?” he asks, looking up and down.

  I take another bite of the burger. “Yeah. I have a [Skill] that deals with poison. It actually enhances the flavor of the burger.”

  “You’re insane,” Hopper says.

  “I know.”

  As we talk, Garus slams his tray down on the table.

  “Hello, Garus. How’s lunch treating you?” I ask.

  Garus furrows his eyebrows. “You want to know how lunch is treating me? Try some.”

  I look down at his uneaten steak. “Well, I’m not one to turn down free food,” I say as I take a bite of his steak.

  “Spicy. I see they also poisoned your food,” I say as I move his steak onto my plate.

  “This is what I was warning you about. You made enemies, and now I’m getting caught up in it,” he says.

  “Fine. I’ll deal with it. Now, how do I do that?” I ask myself.

  Garus lets out a groan. “You need to pulverize that cult out of existence. I recommend violence.”

  I think back on the number of cloaked individuals. “Hmm. I’m thinking of a less violent alternative.”

  “Less violent? Violence is the only language people understand,” Garus says.

  Hopper takes another bite of his salad. “You could ask the Student Council for help. Also, when did the two of you become friends?”

  “Last night,” I say.

  “We are not friends. We are just on the same side for this. After we’re done with this, I don’t want to see you again,” Garus says, protesting far too much.

  “We’ll see. Hopper, what's the student council?” I ask.

  Hopper looks confused for but a second before he realizes who he’s talking to. “Outside of the professors, they hold the most sway in the school. It’s basically a small government body made up of a bunch of students. You can usually get in contact via the first-year representative,” Hopper explains.

  “Who’s that?”

  Hopper and Garus look at me.

  “What?”

  “They’re saying that you’re the first-year representative. Well, technically, we’re both the first-year representatives,” Penelope says as she sits at the table.

  “Why didn’t I know about this?” I ask as I take another bite of the poisoned burger.

  “That’s because I’ve been doing all the work. Didn’t want to worry your little head about it. So, what kind of trouble did you get yourselves into?” she asks, looking at us.

  “Well… You’ll find this really fun. Hilarious even.”