It was clear at a glance. The weapons laid out before us weren’t imbued with magic or sacred arts like ancient relics, nor did they bear the royal insignia. However, each and every one of them was of such high quality that renowned generals and the Royal Guard knights would wield them. Ordinarily, such items would never fall into the hands of mere students.

But so that’s how it is.

Void, without a word, had already picked up a weapon. He drew it from its sheath, examined it, then returned it before reaching for another.

However.

For a brief moment, Oujin and Riona’s eyes had sparkled, but they must have thought the same thing I did. We stood motionless behind Juanere.

She must have sensed our hesitation. Tilting her head slightly, she spoke.

“Aren’t you going to look? I brought them for this reason.”

Oujin voiced our doubts aloud.

“…Is it really okay for just us to receive them?”

That was it. Even though others faced the same danger as us, they were far less experienced and had no choice but to fight with dull, inferior weapons. It felt wrong for only us to be given such an advantage.

Of course, if we wielded these weapons, the mortality rate among our classmates would drop significantly. If they hadn’t been shattered by the homunculi’s strikes, if they had been able to pierce dragon scales, the situation might have turned out very differently.

And there was another issue. Riona slumped her shoulders and muttered.

“Ahaha. Now that I think about it, I don’t have the money to buy anything.”

Even though I was a prince of this kingdom, I was currently masquerading as a rural noble. The allowance Kilpus had given me was barely enough to cover tuition and living expenses. Just a single one of these weapons likely cost as much as a commoner’s monthly salary.

Void, who was currently assigned to my protection as a mercenary, might be able to squeeze some funds out of Kilpus, his employer, but the rest of us had no such means. Myself included.

Void turned around.

“Don’t worry about money. These were donated by a certain noble benefactor. As long as you’re not picky about weapon types, there should be enough for every year of the upper division. — Right, Miriola?”

“That’s right. Besides, our trade company made a nice profit from this deal too.”

Riona murmured under her breath.

“Could it be… His Majesty?”

“Even if you know, it’s sometimes better to pretend you don’t. Little assassin, you should learn not to speak every thought that crosses your mind.”

“…Ugh… Yes, ma’am…”

So, as expected.

Even Kilpus hadn’t been able to stop the Dungeon Curriculum. If he had used his authority to shut it down, The chairman’s true identity might have been exposed.

That was why it couldn’t be funded from personal pockets. It had to be a donation from a noble benefactor. Politics truly was infuriating.

Oujin questioned Void.

“Has the school officially accepted them?”

“Nope. Still in the ‘behind-the-scenes’ phase.”

“Behind-the-scenes?”

Void smirked wickedly, placing both hands on his hips.

“Yeah. The official decision will be made in a few days. It’s all staged, though.”

“Ah.”

Riona raised a finger as if realizing something.

“So, a certain noble benefactor makes a donation, and our chairman accepts it?”

“That’s exactly it.”

Juanere and Void burst out laughing simultaneously.

“That bastard is insane. There’s no reason to refuse.”

In other words, this was Kilpus orchestrating his own scheme. He gave it away, only to receive it back himself.

“From the school’s perspective, there’s no reason to turn down something for free. Both the supporters and opponents of the curriculum among the instructors have no reason to object either. And to think, the head of a nation is orchestrating something this ridiculous. Well, thanks to that, our trade company made a decent margin.”

Void and Juanere patted each other on the shoulder, laughing. They truly had the air of people from the slums.

And they got along suspiciously well. Using my father’s money to have fun, huh? At least increase my allowance while you’re at it.

Juanere shot me a mischievous grin.

“Oh, and by the way, this is an investment. We expect returns from whatever you bring back from the rare dungeon. Both your noble supporter and our trade company.”

“…Understood.”

In that case, refusing would be the greater rudeness.

We exchanged glances and nodded. Oujin gave Riona a wry smile.

“This country is starting to scare me a little.”

“Right? It feels like they just push forward with whatever crazy ideas they come up with. Makes you wonder if Egil ever had a chance at winning.”

“…”

However.

I’d appreciate it if people stopped treating my father like a madman… but honestly, Kilpus was absolutely crazy.

At first glance, he seemed like an earnest, rigid person like Oujin, but then he had Riona’s cunning, with an even more unhinged way of thinking than Void, and the decisiveness to turn his ideas into reality faster than I ever could.

Maybe the fact that he wasn’t gifted with swordsmanship was divine intervention. Otherwise, he would have been utterly uncontrollable.

And perhaps that very invincibility was what defined our era—the era of Kilpus and Blythe.

“Heh…”

“What’s wrong, El-tan?”

“No, nothing. More importantly, let’s pick our weapons.”

Riona and Oujin nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Right. — Once again, thank you, Juanere.”

Juanere spread her arms wide and puffed out her chest.

“Of course! Given that you’re the top contributors to the curriculum right now, I think it’s only fair that you get first pick. Go ahead, take your time and choose whatever you like!”

With Juanere watching over us, we each began to wander around, picking up weapons as we pleased.

Lili didn’t seem to be involved in this matter, but she would likely question Void about his late-night escapades. Well, if it was Lili, telling her wouldn’t be a problem.