On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 364

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed — Chapter 364
The Flying One Above the Running One
At last, the day had come to share final results.
The lengthy practical training.
For the students, the professors, and the Family Heads of each noble house alike, the hectic time had finally come to an end.
“The Family Heads will now enter.”
The expressions of the Family Heads as they entered the conference hall were varied.
Schneider.
Dark.
Bernard.
The faces of the three Family Heads whose lower-tier placement was all but confirmed looked decidedly grim.
They had done their best, in their way.
But they couldn’t overcome the difference in their families’ weight class.
Even though the names alone were recognizable houses, the gap in prestige and scale compared to the other three families was simply too vast.
‘Damn it, I should’ve just sat this one out.’
‘What was I thinking, volunteering for the practical training…….’
They were all filled with regret.
They’d spent money for nothing, only to exhaust their forces through the Knight Order selections.
Already knowing the results, they’d lost what little motivation remained.
The remaining three families were different.
Kundel.
Rihart.
And Renfield.
Their expressions were excellent.
Given the setting, they all tried to maintain composure, but the smiles leaking through were impossible to hide.
“It seems something delightful has happened, Lord Daren Rihart?”
Amos, who’d thrown out the jab, received a quick response.
“And Lord Amos Kundel, your smile looked like it would stretch all the way to the highest peak of the Trenia Mountain Range from the moment you entered. I trust my eyes don’t deceive me?”
Amil slipped between the words of these famous rivals.
“Ha ha, the two of you seem quite close. You were talking the entire way here.”
Talking, though it was more like quarreling.
And childish quarreling at that.
Amil, who had walked some distance behind them in the same direction, had witnessed it all.
“Ahem, hem-hem!”
“Hem!”
Both covered it up with false coughs.
In any case, the performance sharing had begun.
All results would be confirmed solely through the evaluation reports submitted in advance.
While a few words could be added, the outcomes that had been drawn could not be overturned.
Thus, the performance sharing commenced.
Still an odd sight to witness.
“I will now present the practical training results of the Bernard Family. First…….”
Family Heads going from place to place, actually ‘appealing’ their accomplishments — now that was a sight!
“You do see something new every day, don’t you?”
“Professor Elcanto, you’ll hear about it.”
“Professor Allix said the same thing yesterday.”
Elcanto and Allix, who worked well together, as well as Idel and Merhen, all rubbed their eyes and muttered uncertainly.
“Teacher Ziel is…… certainly formidable, isn’t he?”
“…….”
The two felt regret.
If they’d known it would come to this, they should’ve been nicer to Teacher Ziel from the moment he walked in.
Everyone here understood.
This current situation.
Family Heads desperately appealing their accomplishments in this farce!
That it was all created by Teacher Ziel, sitting expressionless in perfect posture at the front, watching silently!
“By the average metrics of the students, the rate of improvement ranks fifth.”
“…….”
Cold results and pointed criticism came back as expected.
“The Bernard Family’s practical training proceeded without considering the physical level of the students. The most dropouts occurred under your watch, and there were even students who gave up entirely.”
The Bernard Family Head could not bring himself to raise his eyes.
Regret lingered—wishes that she’d done better—but there was nothing for it.
It was true that they’d fallen short compared to the other Houses.
Yet there was no excuse to hide behind.
All the evaluations were already finished.
It was precisely then.
“However, there do exist positive metrics relative to the other Houses. Student satisfaction with the practical training curriculum you prepared is quite high. At the very least, students who cleared the physical conditioning standard showed substantial improvement in skill. Notably, twenty-four students demonstrated marked progress in their footwork after learning it anew.”
The Family Head of Bernard straightened, lifting his head sharply.
“Really? Is that true, Teacher Ziel?”
“Yes. The negative metrics outweigh the positive ones, I grant you. But the positive metrics are undeniable. Particularly in footwork—that’s a standard even the other Houses haven’t achieved.”
His face brightened.
The other Family Heads seemed surprised as well.
They’d expected nothing but sharp criticism to follow.
“But… we really did do well, didn’t we, Teacher Ziel?”
“Yes. Do you doubt it?”
“No, it’s just—even at the midterm evaluation, and all through, I kept hearing bad things. Now at the end you’re saying there are positive metrics, so…”
“Then, I didn’t see them. But now I do. I’m telling you what I see.”
Ziel’s assessments spared no House.
Schneider and Dark were no exception.
“The Schneider Family curriculum provided strong motivation by distributing one sword to each student. Yet that motivation didn’t translate immediately into skill advancement. However, they cultivated the fundamentals of swordsmanship well. Rather than teaching new techniques, they achieved considerable success in developing the swordplay students already knew.”
“The Dark Family curriculum shows low overall results. Simultaneously, however, they achieved high gains in student physical conditioning. Given the weight physical strength carries in swordsmanship, this is a positive metric.”
Critical assessment followed by evaluation of positive aspects.
The Family Heads ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth could brighten their expressions precisely because of this approach.
And for some reason, they began to like this teacher called Ziel.
After days of nothing but criticism, one compliment and suddenly everything felt different!
“Next is third place.”
With the announcement, the remaining three Houses grew tense.
“The Rihart Family curriculum placed third.”
Damn.
Daren couldn’t say it aloud, only muttered it under his breath.
He’d expected it, but hearing it directly felt different.
Amos, naturally, exulted silently within.
“There’s only a marginal difference from second place, the Kundel Family. In several metrics, they actually exceeded other Houses.”
“Oh!”
“They received high marks for transmitting Swift Swordsmanship and then, having adapted that technique to suit what the current students had learned, they transmitted only the necessary portions and verified the results.”
This was a synthesis of student and professor evaluations. Daren’s decision to transmit Swift Swordsmanship had proven quite effective.
“Particularly, the consideration of versatility in Swift Swordsmanship—how it could synergize when applied to other swordplay—received very strong praise.”
Daren’s mood brightened again.
‘That’s right, Swift Swordsmanship over Heavy Sword Technique, naturally!’
“However, taking into account that a considerable number of lower-tier students ultimately failed to adapt Swift Swordsmanship, the score was reduced somewhat. That concludes my assessment.”
There were minor regrets, but still.
This had significantly elevated the Rihart Family’s prestige.
Especially the students who successfully learned Swift Swordsmanship would feel infinite gratitude toward the Rihart Family!
Among them was none other than Delev Kundel himself.
The one known as Kundel’s greatest talent!
‘He must be getting along well with Celia.’
Daren let his gaze drift slightly toward Amos.
“Next is the Kundel Family curriculum.”
The final assessment followed.
The Kundel Family received much the same evaluation as Rihart.
Successful application of Heavy Sword Technique.
Yet a relative shortfall among some lower-tier students.
“Professor Allix, don’t you think the two Houses’ evaluations are somehow similar?”
“Shhh, he’ll hear. Don’t you know, Professor? Those two Family Heads hate it when people say they’re alike.”
The two professors’ murmurs echoed something true—the evaluation contents really were quite similar to one another.
“The Kundel Family ultimately recorded second place. That concludes my assessment.”
“Are there no further areas for improvement?”
So Amos asked what Daren had not.
To give the impression of exerting maximum effort!
‘Some things never change, from childhood to now.’
Berhal noticed the intent and shook his head slightly in silence.
Fair point.
Where else could you see two Family Heads from such a massive house behave like this?
“There is one.”
“Oh? What might that be?”
“We need to expand the scope of Heavy Sword Technique disclosure.”
“W-we’re already sharing quite a lot…….”
“If Heavy Sword Technique is to serve as the foundation for student development, we require a broader scope. The Kundel Family’s Heavy Sword Technique provides considerable help even at the fundamentals level, but had we disclosed it more broadly, the students would have benefited far more. Depending on circumstances, the possibility of placing first could have risen by fifteen percent or more.”
It was a question that hadn’t even broken even.
The disclosure of Heavy Sword Technique within basic parameters was already something done against opposition from within the Family!
And now they wanted him to reveal more!
‘If I just keep quiet, maybe I’ll at least keep half.’
Daren turned his head away with an aggrieved expression and let out a stifled laugh.
Not only had he failed to break even—now it looked like at the next practical training, he’d end up disclosing the secretive aspects of Heavy Sword Technique as well.
“……I will give it serious consideration.”
Though Amos had wrapped it up with diplomatic language, he already regretted it.
He should have stayed quiet.
“Lastly, the Renfield Family.”
But he didn’t know.
That there existed a Family which transmitted Swordsmanship itself properly, beyond mere fundamentals.
“The Renfield Family achieved overall first place in this practical training. In particular, the guidance provided by Family Head Amil Renfield to lower-tier students was highly effective. By directly teaching the Renfield Family’s Swordsmanship, the directional focus of lower-tier students’ technique became clear, and…….”
The other five Family Heads were astonished.
‘They disclosed their Swordsmanship?’
‘The Family Head taught it directly? No—transmitted it?’
Listening to the details, it was true.
They had transmitted the Renfield Family’s Swordsmanship.
The exact scope of transmission was unclear, but from what was being said, it seemed they had transmitted a considerable range.
Breathing techniques and Swordsmanship were secrets among secrets.
If one were to weigh their value, Breathing Technique held slightly higher standing, but the importance of Swordsmanship was hardly inferior.
Especially Swordsmanship—it’s not something one can simply replicate by watching. Each movement requires precise allocation of Mana, and power varies by subtle points of execution!
Yet they had disclosed it.
‘These Northern bastards have ambitions that are no joke…….’
‘Are they trying to expand Northern influence down here?’
Whether transmission of Swordsmanship alone would accomplish that was uncertain, but seeing it as the start of something, the logic wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
Family Heads were not fools.
They did needlessly escalate things through mutual interference, but these were all people hardened by the vicious political maneuvering of the Capital!
‘Now the Family that first joins hands with the North will be victorious?’
‘Something is definitely happening in the North.’
What had been a venue for presenting results had now become a scene of fierce political gamesmanship!
“All of you Family Heads have worked hard. We are grateful for your sponsorship. Thanks to you, many students have developed and been able to hone their Swordsmanship.”
That ‘source’ of it all—Ziel—conveyed his gratitude matter-of-factly.
Only then did the Family Heads realize.
The one they needed to join hands with was not the North.
This vast chessboard.
This fierce competition!
And the one who had created all of this!
It was time to join hands with Teacher Ziel.
Which was why Daren moved quickly.
“Department Head, do you have a moment?”
Immediately after the evaluation ended, Daren approached Berhal.
“What is it, Family Head Daren?”
“Ah. Well……I happened to hear talk of an external exchange tournament with Telvir Academy, and I thought I’d mention it.”
“Ah, you’ve heard. Yes, that’s what’s been decided.”
Daren spoke carefully.
“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to propose that our Rihart Family become the primary sponsor of that external exchange tournament…….”
Daren was certain.
This was finally his turn to elevate the Family’s prestige!
“We won’t spare any support. We’re thinking of handling everything—education in preparation for the exchange tournament as an extension of the practical training, as well as providing the venue and equipment, all from our Family.”
But the answer that came back left him aghast.
“That’s the problem. All the other Families have made the same proposal.”
“……Really?”
“Yes. I’m not sure how everyone heard the news so quickly…….”
“…….”
Daren wanted to weep.
Politics, it seemed, was far more complicated than he’d imagined.
But there was one thing Daren didn’t know.
‘Rihart was the fastest to hear. I was planning to ask them last.’
In truth, Rihart had been the first among the other families to inquire about it.
Berhal had personally summoned all the rest and asked them directly.
About the External Exchange Match.
It just so happened, by coincidence, that Rihart fell last in that order.
‘So Teacher Ziel’s method really does work that well?’
Berhal was now employing the very approach Ziel had suggested during practical training.
Indeed, politics was much like any other game—there was always someone faster, someone more clever above you.
And at that moment.
Ziel, who was being deeply misunderstood as the architect of this entire scheme—
“We will now begin the distribution of Praise Cards.”
He had brought the news the students had been waiting for most eagerly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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