CHAPTER 39: RANKINGS

After dinner I slept like the dead.

Not just tired — completely emptied.

The moment my head hit the pillow last night, my consciousness dropped like someone yanked the plug.

No dreams.

Just black.

When morning came and sunlight cut through my curtains, my whole body felt sore — shoulders especially — the after-effects of sprinting around and getting grazed by a C-class monster.

I washed up, changed, and went downstairs.

The diner’s ground floor still smelled like newly polished wood, but the kitchen was already alive with the soft sound of a pan heating.

Lily was at the stove, apron tied neatly, hair pinned back.

She moved with confidence now. Yesterday she was just a good cook.

Today — she actually looked like staff.

She glanced at me and bowed lightly.

"Good morning, Boss."

"Morning," I said, taking a seat. "So? How was yesterday?"

Her face brightened immediately.

"It went far better than I expected. I followed your instructions. Alicia and I went to the merchant association first thing. There — just as Boss said — we met Miss Reena. She handled all the paperwork for us."

"We hired three waitresses," Lily continued, "and two kitchen helpers. Three silver a month for each waitress, five silver a month for the kitchen helpers."

That was even cheaper than I projected.

"And Reena suggested advertising," Lily added. "So we paid one gold coin for a one–month notice slot near the guild’s bulletin."

One gold for a month of exposure was... honestly dirt cheap for a fantasy world.

"And customers?" I asked.

"At first none. Not until near afternoon," she said, "but once the first group tried food, it spread fast. By evening we were full seats. And Miss Reena came with her whole office circle. Most of them ordered steak bowls and fried chicken."

So word-of-mouth already took root.

"Totals?" I asked.

She opened a neat little ledger and turned it toward me.

"Total sales yesterday came to nine silver and forty copper."

That was... for Day One?

Not bad. Not bad at all.

"Ingredients for yesterday cost one silver twenty four copper. Estimated daily labor cost comes to one silver flat when divided by month. Mana stones and utilities: thirty copper."

I did quick mental math.

9.40 silver (sales)

– 1.24 silver (ingredients)

– 1.00 silver (labor allocation)

– 30 (utility/mana)

= 6.86 silver net profit

I leaned back, lips twitching.

"Six silver, eighty-six copper profit on day one... not bad."

Not bad at all.

That was almost 70 hamburgers worth of profit in Earth terms.

And this was without academy masses discovering the place yet.

Lily straightened her posture, proud — like she’d just reported a military conquest.

"And today," she added, "Reena said she will bring even more guests."

Of course she will.

If good food exists — women’s social networks become the deadliest marketing weapon in any universe.

I tapped the counter once.

"Good work. Keep following that pace."

Lily bowed.

"Yes, Boss."

*****

I kept staring out the window, drumming my fingers lightly against the desk, as if that would make her walk in faster. I wasn’t anxious — just annoyed. And those gazes from the front row weren’t making it any easier.

Kael, glaring like I’d personally insulted his ancestors.

Celestia — strangely quiet — occasionally glancing back, expression unreadable.

Mariella and Elisha kept stealing looks too, but quickly turning away if I met their eyes.

Annoying.

I shifted slightly, eyes half-closed.

Sigh... why is the princess staring at me like that?

I didn’t sleep with her fiancé. I just demolished her pride. Big difference.

But I didn’t get time to think further because the door slid open.

Instructor Samantha walked in.

Instant silence.

We all rose — she motioned for us to sit — and her eyes immediately locked on mine when she spoke.

"I have your results. And I must say... I am very surprised."

Of course she was looking at me when she said that. Who else?

Some students whispered.

"What? Does she mean the princess?"

"She could be talking about the ducal heirs—"

But then Samantha raised her clipboard.

"Before I announce, keep something in mind. Every movement inside the dungeon was thoroughly recorded by surveillance artifacts. So, after rank announcement, we’ll review your performance — what you did wrong, what you did right, what nearly got you killed, and so on."

Murmurs instantly broke out around the class.

"What? We were being monitored?"

"I didn’t see anyone watching us!"

Of course they didn’t.

’Obviously we were being monitored,’ I thought, resisting the urge to snort.

These practice dungeons are used by the academy every single year. Knights and Hunters sweep them beforehand — and they embed Viewing Crystals into the cave walls. They’re basically fantasy surveillance cameras — magical lenses that record everything in their field of vision.

It’s not exactly a secret.

But apparently, common sense is rarer than mana stones in this academy.

Samantha raised her voice slightly.

"This wasn’t a free–for–all playgrounds. Every decision, every tactic — was observed."

She shuffled the sheets.

And so, the ranking announcement began.

"Rank 10 — Group 7: James 20 points, Mia 27, Adrian 33, Villed 21."

A wave of sympathetic groans.

Next.

"Rank 9 — Group 5: Andy 35, Joss 30, ..."

And so on — names, points, shocked reactions — until she finally reached the top three.

"Rank 3 — Group 2: Bordon 77 points, Mariella 82, Elisha 80, Ray 71."

A ripple ran through the classroom.

"Wait— they’re only third?"

"Then who’s second?"

Everyone knew which two possible groups were left — but the idea itself was absurd enough that no one dared say it aloud. The Princess’s elite group... and mine.

A bunch of bottom-tier misfits.

There was no way.

No sane person would even entertain that possibility.

...until Samantha spoke again.

"Rank 2 — Group 1: Celestia 90 points, Kael 92, Arnold 76, Sia 73."

Gasps exploded like landmines.

"WHAT—!?"

"Second!? Princess Celestia is second!?"

That left only one group.

Only one absurd conclusion.

And I could practically feel the entire classroom swivel toward me.

Samantha didn’t even pause — she just continued in the exact same calm voice:

"Rank 1 — Group 10: Lucien 100 points (+30), Ariana 67, Livia 65, Ren 71."

Silence.

Then—

"WHAAAT—!!?"

"HOW!?"

"WHY!?"

"HOW DID LUCIEN GET FULL MARKS!?"

"And thirty bonus points!?"

"Did he pull strings?!"

Ridiculous theories and denial erupted like a riot — but the ones sitting in the very front — Kael, Celestia, Elisha, Mariella — the ones who witnessed the C-rank Silverfang Wolf — they didn’t speak.

They knew why.

They knew exactly where those extra thirty points came from.

Samantha snapped her fingers sharply — a sound like a whip crack.

"SILENCE."

The classroom shut up instantly — airtight, tense, trembling.

She looked around slowly — gaze balanced, authoritative — and when her eyes reached me, she held there for a heartbeat.

"In today’s grading — the academy factored not only monster count," she said, "but also battlefield judgment — risk management — and real contribution to survival."

She lowered the clipboard.

"For those who are confused why Group 10 earned first rank — you will understand after we review the footage."

Oh yes.