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Chapter 15
While the rat froze under the suffocating pressure of those staring eyes, Chloe’s hand shot out like lightning and seized the rat’s wrist.
“I thought something was off with those shifty eyes….”
Anyone could tell it was an attempted nighttime robbery aimed at Rozelin’s shop points.
Since shop points weren’t just a record but a physical item, there was always the possibility of them being stolen. They’d expected it to happen someday—but…
‘Didn’t think it would be tonight.’
The moment Rozelin grumbled that she still had six shop points left, Chloe had noticed a pair of eyes fixed on their group. So she deliberately stayed awake.
After two morning wake-up calls, she already knew Rozelin was not someone who woke easily.
The rat twisted his body, trying to escape Chloe’s grip on his wrist—only to feel another hand grabbing his collar from below. Instinctively, he looked down—
“—H-HUP…!”
Only to meet a pair of murderous green eyes glaring straight at him.
“What, you’re awake?”
“If someone’s rummaging around my chest like an annoying pest, of course I’d wake up.”
Rozelin grumbled as he slowly sat up, shaking the rat by the collar.
His messy red hair, sticking straight up, almost looked like blazing flames.
“Listen here. Even when I got smashed in the back of the head with a club in a gambling den and my vision was spinning, I could still sense someone trying to steal the money I hid in my shirt. I bit that bastard’s hand clean off.”
This is why he got kicked to Northport. Chloe clicked her tongue inwardly.
“You think you can sneak away someone’s hard-earned, precious shop points like a rat? My precious meat money!?”
Rozelin slammed his forehead square into the rat’s face.
Several light sleepers stirred from the commotion, but Rozelin didn’t care at all.
If anything, he was busy engraving the lesson into the rat’s entire body: this is why you don’t steal.
‘Looks like nighttime shop-stealing is going to become more common.’
Some people would take Rozelin’s “lesson” as a clear warning.
Others… would take it as proof that stealing shop points was possible, and worth a try.
That meant only one answer. She needed to teach these delinquents a warning they would understand—in the language of delinquents.
Chloe brooded all night, her expression growing darker.
Every time she thought about it, pretending to be an actual delinquent was the hardest part of being an elite disguised as one.
***
Because she spent the whole night thinking, Chloe was able to wake her group at dawn and finish preparing for morning assembly before sunrise.
At that hour, even the seniors hadn’t woken yet—no need to panic about being tardy like yesterday.
She even body-blocked the classmate who looked ready to wash her face for ten straight minutes.
The rest of the 87th Class appeared at morning assembly in two groups:
Those who opted to show up on time in training uniforms,
and those who chose being late but came in full dress uniform.
Naturally, both groups were punished with extra drills and demerits.
After hellish running came heavenly mealtime—unless you had zero shop points, in which case it was still hell.
“Rozelin, can you hold onto my shop points for me?”
During breakfast, Feeney’s clear voice rang through the dining hall—loud enough for all 87 cadets to hear.
‘So that’s why he kept glancing at Rozelin all morning.’
Chloe smirked, instantly seeing through his intentions.
“Eh? Me? Sounds annoying. I’ll do it if you pay me a storage fee—one shop point.”
“One point is fine.”
Feeney agreed immediately.
Anyone with half an eye would notice that five people had been spending shop points openly in the dining hall.
Only Rozelin had been targeted so far, but it was obvious all five were now potential victims of point theft.
Unless the professors showered them with points during class, the rest of the 87th would certainly see the five as their prime targets.
Chloe and Rozelin could defend themselves just fine—but Feeney, Mariel, and Lucian were among the physically weaker members.
‘That’s why showing everyone that Feeney handed his points to Rozelin is the best way to keep people from picking fights with him.’
That was Feeney’s logic.
He hadn’t expected Rozelin to demand a one-point storage fee—but paying one point to avoid losing five was still a good deal.
He nudged Mariel to follow suit, but Mariel only stared blankly at the bread on her plate, mumbling, “Barley bread… barley… beer….”
This was why alcohol was the root of all evil. Even when someone tried to help her, she was too busy thinking of booze to understand she was being saved.
After breakfast, the One-Eyed Instructor handed out schedules to the 87th class.
Chloe immediately scanned the list of courses.
Northport Academy’s curriculum wasn’t much different from the Royal Central Academy’s.
First-year students took:
• Military Rhetoric
• Military Ethics
• Tactics
• Military Economics
• Group Dynamics
Their first class was Military Ethics.
“Nice to meet you. I’ll be teaching you Military Ethics for the year—Arthur Harrington.”
Not that anyone listened. The moment the cadets experienced the peaceful, quiet classroom of Northport for the first time, they sprawled across their chairs in pure bliss.
A moment where they could relax their bodies and souls!
And the professor looked nothing like the terrifying instructors—clearly much weaker. For born delinquents, responding differently to strong and weak opponents was instinct.
“Your first topic will be obedience. When your superiors give an order, you follow it, no matter what it is. That is your duty as soldiers and as cadets of Northport. Understood? Today we learn the attitude of obedience.”
Chloe sat straight, listening attentively.
Then she realized she was the only one doing so and immediately slouched like the others.
Attention drawn to her could jeopardize her infiltration. She needed to disappear into the crowd.
The lecture soon drifted into the political climate of neighboring countries.
‘At the Royal Academy, Military Ethics discussed whether soldiers should obey immoral orders. What is this nonsense? What does this have to do with ethics?’
It didn’t even connect to the topic of obedience he claimed they would learn.
Then she heard something that grated on her ears.
“Now, focus. The kingdom bordering our Empire—the Drmussen Kingdom. Currently, this nation…”
The border of the Drakenia Empire was the Duchy of Nihlen. Anyone who could read a map knew this.
‘Did Northport hire a professor who doesn’t even know basic geography…?’
Chloe raised an eyebrow. Feeney noticed too, giving her a puzzled glance.
“You there—the one who started dozing off mid-lecture.”
Whether students slept or daydreamed didn’t matter—this was the first time the professor had interrupted his own boring lecture.
The startled cadet blinked awake.
“Huh? Me?”
“Where did you throw away your reporting manners? Your attitude is disgraceful. One demerit point. What’s your name?”
“Cadet Roke Elder, 87th class!”
It was too late to fix the demerit.
The professor then asked,
“What country borders the Drakenia Empire?”
A question any seven-year-old citizen could answer.
“The Duchy of Nihlen!”
The professor chuckled, then pointed at the door.
“You are excused. Leave the classroom.”
The line instantly snapped the relaxed atmosphere in half.
