Chapter 237

Several hours after the duel, Sebastian faced a grim reality.

-Thunk!

With a fierce punch, Sebastian was knocked to the floor.

“…Cough.”

“You useless brat. Can’t you stand up straight?”

Cordo, arms crossed, glared down at his son.

As Sebastian quickly got back up, punches and kicks rained down on him once more.

The armored knights and staff merely watched from behind Cordo, stony-faced.

Minutes later, perhaps due to the release of pent-up frustration from the beatings, Cordo finally calmed down enough to speak.

“You lost again! This time, it must have been a total disaster…!”

“…”

Cordo kept his arms crossed, still glaring at his son.

“Sebastian, you are a shame to our family.”

A voice full of contempt echoed in Sebastian’s ears.

“Think about it—if what’s hanging from your shoulders isn’t just decoration, how did you lose to a typical first-year kid? Do you know how much money and time have been spent on your education and equipment? Just the basic gear and training alone amounts to millions of credits wasted.”

“Is that all? You were given top-grade relic equipment that can’t even be bought from the market. Exclusive armored suits that are not available to anyone else!”

As Cordo continued his tirade, he couldn’t hold back his rage and shouted.

“And you still lost? To just one girl? You worthless garbage! You’re less than the scraps stuck in a Skullcat’s teeth. A pathetic loser!”

Shame boiled inside Sebastian, choking him up. He hung his head low, fists clenched.

Cordo stepped closer, looking down at his son.

“You not only lost our family’s honor to that girl but also brought greater shame upon yourself. You were defeated by an ordinary female student in front of everyone.”

He spat out the words venomously.

“You are useless.”

At those words, Sebastian’s head shot up. He looked up at his father with eyes full of shock and desperation.

“Father, I’m sorry, I—”

“Sorry? What good would that do?”

Cordo cut him off harshly.

“No excuses are needed.”

“I’m sorry.”

Sebastian felt suffocated by his father’s coldness. He managed to exhale.

“I have no face to show. I will take full responsibility for this issue on my own. I swear—”

Cordo laughed as if incredulous. There was no warmth or kindness in his gaze as he looked at his son.

“Swear? Responsibility?”

He turned his back dismissively.

“Speaking of which, I should mention now that as of this moment, Sebastian Restraid, you are dismissed from your position as the heir of the Restraid royal family and clan.”

Sebastian’s complexion turned pale. The shock from his father’s words hit harder than the slaps he had just received, causing him to stagger backward.

“F-Father! This can’t be happening. I—”

“Stop deluding yourself into thinking you’re special just because others are dumb. There are plenty of other kids who can take your place.”

Cordo replied icily before striding toward the airship docking area.

His subordinates followed behind, unconcerned with the fate of the former heir.

Even after Cordo left, Sebastian stood frozen for a long while.

As the commander took a seat on the airship, the secretary general beside him spoke up.

“We will proceed with selecting the next heir as planned. By the way, what should we do about that Violet girl?”

“What do you mean, do what? We need to investigate her thoroughly.”

“Are we going to take care of her?”

“Take care of her? What nonsense are you spouting?”

Cordo looked at his subordinate with a baffled expression.

“She may be reckless and lacking in etiquette, but we need to be clear. That girl just defeated the next heir of the Restraid family.”

After pushing aside the fury and despair brewing in his chest, Cordo recalled the earlier scene. Violet’s combat power exceeded expectations.

“That student insulted the royal family’s name, didn’t she? Is that alright?”

“It’s very displeasing. Absolutely dreadful! This is why we need to keep her close.”

A newly awakened student defeating an armored knight. The path of that monstrous potential was uncertain. Perhaps a creature could emerge that could rival the spear projection from the west Polaris.

“We’ll turn that pesky girl into one of our pests. By any means necessary.”

After winning the duel, I felt the dramatic changes in my situation at the academy day by day.

Whenever I walked through the campus or passed through the halls.

Even when eating in the dining hall, countless gazes were fixed on me.

“Wow, look over there. Isn’t that the girl who fought with Sebastian-senpai?”

“Yeah, yeah! Her name is Violet, right? What year is she?”

“They say she’s a first-year. To have that level of skill already…”

Hearing whispers around me made my face flush.

Moreover, some first-year students who shared classes with me came up, each wanting to talk.

“Hey, you’re the Violet who won that duel, right? I watched that duel! I’m a fan!”

“Eh?!”

“Me too! You were so cool! Especially when you smashed with that armored halberd! Want to take a picture with me?”

“Hey! Me too!”

Just like that, students’ attitudes changed 180 degrees overnight. I could only stand there, dumbfounded.

“What on earth is going on?”

“I don’t know!”

Walking down the street, even some daring upperclassmen showed interest in me and approached.

“Wait! Hey… Violet! It’s you, right?”

As I exited class, a group of people approached me.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Nice to meet you! Have you heard of the Rain Company? It’s my father’s clan. After graduation…”

“Junior, one of our relatives is a director at Elysium. If you’re interested, please contact us…”

“Um, excuse me, please let me pass!”

I barely squeezed my way through the crowd.

After school, when I headed to the Baking Club room for club activities, the same thing happened again.

As soon as I opened the door, Narisa-senpai approached me, her face flushed with excitement as she started talking about the duel.

“Violet! Congratulations! I watched the duel video. You were amazing. I had no idea our club member would be so strong and brave…”

“Yes, Senpai… But would it be possible to ask questions about the duel later? I’m hungry…”

“Video?”

Since I had been bombarded with questions from people recognizing me, I was utterly exhausted. I flopped down flat on the desk, and Narisa’s voice turned cautious.

“I’m sorry. You look really tired. How about I make something you’d like to eat today?”

“Really?”

I was so happy I nodded my head.

“Okay, then…”

Just then, the door burst open, and other students from different clubs flooded into the Baking Club room.

“Here she is!”

“I told you I was right!”

“What are you guys doing here?”

Narisa-senpai was taken aback and tried to shoo the unexpected guests away, but they forcefully pushed their way in.

“Violet! What do you think about joining our swordsmanship research club? I’m—”

“Hey! Move! Don’t bother the junior! Sorry, she’s a bit clueless. I’m the head of the combat magic club. By any chance…”

“Enough, junior! Do you want to join the student council? We always welcome your application!”

I couldn’t stand the waterfall of attention and panicked, bolting out of there.

“Goodbye!”

A few hours later, I was sitting with friends in a quiet café somewhere in the academy, spilling my frustrations.

“Why is everyone treating me like this?”

I spoke as if I still couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

In response, my friends lightly teased me.

“You idiot, think about it! You fought with a prestigious clan heir in front of everyone and even won! There’s no way the rumors wouldn’t spread.”

“I also heard others asking when the rumor about being Violet’s roommate started. What kind of student is she?”

After Kalia and Daphne chided me, Irene also chimed in lightly.

“You should give up on staying quiet for a while. That duel video has leaked, and there’s no one in the academy who doesn’t know you now. From students to professors, everyone was shocked. They didn’t expect you to be that strong.”

The duel video! I remembered that everyone was talking about seeing my video earlier.

“What does this even mean?”

“Don’t tell me you actually don’t know?”

My friends calmly explained.

“As you know, there were cameras installed in the duel arena for judgement. The academy and the Restraid family people watched that, but somehow, part of the footage leaked and was posted on the academy’s Anonymous Bulletin Board.”

“Who the hell would do such a thing? It’s a complete invasion of privacy…”

“I don’t know much either. I’ve heard someone was peeking and recording from the cracks, you know.”

Suddenly, the earlier mention of the Anonymous Bulletin Board came to mind. That special community site for Aegis Academy students.

“Let’s see!”

As soon as I accessed the bulletin board on my smartphone, I was engulfed in shock. The board was plastered with discussions about me.

“Whoa!”

[Honestly, those Restraid bastards got messed up, recommended for laughs lol]

[Uploading the leaked duel video again because the admin keeps deleting it]

[Let’s find out why this duel was so noisy]

[I’m a senior. Let me summarize why Sebastian lost]

[Showed some of the duel footage to my brother (a current hunter), his reaction was priceless]

[But isn’t Violet kind of cute?]

…

“Violet? Are you looking at the bulletin board right now?”

“Yeah! It’s all about me!”

Just as I was about to examine each post and comment, the café door swung open abruptly.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

The unexpected visitor was Sebastian.

We were taken aback, but immediately shot back with sharp voices.

“You flirt! What are you doing here after losing the duel?”

“Yeah, you don’t belong here. This is a zone for cute girls. Get out now!”

“Everyone, calm down. He’s a senpai, right? Let’s be polite. Sebastian-senpai, would you mind leaving right away?”

For a brief moment of criticism, we quickly fell silent.

Sebastian looked different from before, appearing somewhat glum.

Noticing the difference, Daphne restrained her friends and suggested we hear what he had to say.

“How about we listen to what he wants to say first?”

“Fine! Hey, if you have something to say, say it. If it’s nonsense, I won’t go easy on you.”

As I placed my hand on my sword hilt and glared, Sebastian hesitated before lowering his head and speaking up.

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

Unexpectedly, he apologized. Although the duel conditions required an apology, I didn’t expect it to come this quickly.

“I’ll say it again. I’m sorry. I apologize for being rude to everyone here, especially to you, Violet.”

“Only to me?”

“And I want to especially apologize to Daphne. I crossed the line and imposed my feelings on you, regarding the Lightbridge Foundation… Ugh, I’ll apologize. I won’t show my face in front of you all again.”

We were taken aback and exchanged glances in surprise. For him to admit his mistake so quickly was unexpected.

“Did this guy eat something weird?”

I nodded at first but then shot back with a voice laced with annoyance.

“Hey, you’re not thinking you can settle with just this apology, are you?”

“…I haven’t forgotten the duel conditions. This is strictly a personal apology. I’ll formally apologize again later, and I’ll work on finding a way for financial compensation as soon as possible.”

Throughout, Sebastian kept his head lowered.

My friends still had skeptical expressions, but since he remained humble, it felt awkward to keep criticizing him.

“This is shady! Maybe he’s doing this to get on Daphne’s good side!”

“There’s a chance he’s plotting something bizarre.”

“Enough. Don’t show up in front of us carelessly anymore, except when necessary. Got it?”

“I understand.”

Sebastian left the café with a gloomy look. We watched his back, unsure if what just happened was real or a dream.

I sighed and glanced at my friends.

“What do you think?”

They shook their heads.

“That’s surprising. I heard he wasn’t like that.”

“Yeah. Did he have a change of heart or something?”

We exchanged complex glances, each lost in our thoughts.

“Let’s be careful for a while!”

The Violet Network went on high alert.

In the stillness of night, within the quiet dorm room 241, I covered myself with a blanket and stared at my smartphone.

What I was looking at was the troublesome Aegis Academy Anonymous Bulletin Board.

“Let’s see what’s up?”

The board was always active, even at night. People would constantly be posting.

Just like here on Earth, human nature remains the same.

…

[Does anyone know which clan V belongs to?]

[Analyzed the swordsmanship type used by first-year V]

[Who brought armored suits to a duel and got stomped?]

[According to board policy, from now on, real names are prohibited—Admin]

…

The topics were similar to before. All about me.

“The academy is only talking about us!”

Of course, this was limited to the main bulletin board.

Inside the Anonymous Board, there were numerous sub-boards covering various topics.

Still, no matter where I looked, Violet’s name was always mentioned.

“Everyone is saying nice things!”

Opinions on the bulletin were mostly expressions of awe and praise for me.

“Perhaps we’ve become popular after all?”

“Wow!”

While I was excitedly going through the posts, a few titles caught my attention.

[Actually, S tried to hit on V and her friends first.]

[Isn’t it insane to insult another clan like that without a basis?]

[I met V, and she seems a bit clueless; talking to her is frustrating.]

I clicked on the links, transfixed, and became furious at the baseless accusations.

“How dare they! This is such a disgrace!”

“Fake news!”

We were outraged at the absurd slander against Violet. Although those who posted such comments were facing backlash on the bulletin board, it still felt lacking.

“Someone has to strive to convey the proper truth!”

It was terrible that lies and slander were openly posted.

The leaked duel video spreading quickly and me becoming famous shows that online culture holds significant influence in this world too.

[S apparently tried hitting on a girl, V is her roommate, and she’s stunning!]

[V has a friend who’s supposedly the next head of a clan and follows her everywhere.]

Oh no, the excessive attention was already spilling over to my friends.

For now, pleasant discussions might be happening, but it’s likely that baseless rumors about Violet and her friends could spread quickly if we aren’t careful.

Fortunately, the posts had like and dislike buttons.

Using these and comments might help steer the Anonymous Bulletin Board in the right direction.

“Let’s foster a democratic culture on the Anonymous Bulletin Board!”

“Truth and Justice!”

I contemplated how to manage the Aegis Academy’s Anonymous Bulletin Board.

---