Chapter 48

A day passed after I genuinely hurled insults at Seldienne.

Time flowed relentlessly, and today, as expected, the sun rose again.

“Sigh… I wish today could be a bit more peaceful.”

I felt uneasy about heading to the Academy, but I prepared for school as usual without hesitation.

It’s like walking into the gaping maw of a huge monster by going there.

After expressing such strong dislike yesterday, Seldienne must be feeling quite upset.

I had no idea how the proud her would react, but one thing was certain.

I had added another enemy at the Academy.

And it was from the prestigious Elconja family, one of the most dangerous subjects in the Academy.

I thought I had resolved the misunderstanding with Rusika and untangled one knot, only to have a new headache born.

Bad things always seem to happen as a form of equivalent exchange.

I wondered what kind of thorny path would unfold before me starting today.

I didn’t particularly want to take back what I said to Seldienne or regret it, but considering the worst-case scenario, a rather annoying situation could arise.

If that troublesome woman decided to throw decorum to the wind and go after me… just thinking about it gave me a headache.

But what can I do about something that’s already happened? I just have to endure.

As always, my way of life is to push forward and fight without backing down.

Of course, if Seldienne had any shred of conscience left and would stop bothering me, that would be the best happy ending.

Let’s hope we can both take a step back and reach a peaceful conclusion.

I just want to have some days without trouble.

Honestly, I’ve been quite worn out by so many intense events happening back-to-back lately.

Please, Seldienne.

Fortunately, after arriving at the Academy, nothing particularly eventful occurred.

I don’t know if Seldienne needed time to think before taking action, or if she just decided to ignore me, but she didn’t show any presence around me the entire day.

The morning training, lunch break, and afternoon theory class passed by unusually peacefully.

That’s not to say the whispers around me vanished, of course.

Whether noble or commoner, they were still eyeing me as a suspicious figure because of the recent big incident, and although no one directly spoke to me, the looks I received in the hallways and classrooms were far from kind.

However, that was okay.

Ultimately, for students with no direct involvement, this incident would fade away with time, and the parties involved have received expulsion, house arrest, and three months of suspension.

As for Rusika, who was closely related to the incident, the situation seemed to have been resolved well, and although I couldn’t be sure, Seldienne was likely not to be associated with me any longer.

Even if things are prickly, the truly explosive problems no longer exist.

At least until Kerg Durakal returns to the Academy, I shouldn’t have much issue as long as I can manage the uncomfortableness.

Of course, if that guy tries to wreak havoc again using his power within the Academy to take revenge against Tirisia and those around me, that’s a whole different can of worms.

Though it’s utterly ridiculous for Durakal to hold a grudge against me, if he was reasonable, he wouldn’t have stooped to the level of stealing someone else’s girlfriend.

‘…At least.’

If such a situation does arise, I have to grow strong enough to protect myself and those around me.

I couldn’t precisely gauge Kerg’s abilities, but it’s clear that he’s several steps ahead of me.

That hollow loss at the martial arts tournament was proof of that.

So there is still a long way to go.

If, by any chance, Haidiera or Rusika, or even the one who provided the means for the reveal, Seldienne, were to become his targets, I was prepared to confront Durakal.

Though Seldienne has cut all ties with me now, I still find it unsettling that Durakal would take revenge based on his own misdeeds against someone else.

This preparation isn’t merely about Tirisia anymore.

The relationship between the two of us was something I could bear if it was solely an issue of my sacrifice, as it aimed to secure Tirisia’s perfect freedom.

But if Durakal extends his claws beyond me to those around me, that’s a different story.

Respecting Tirisia’s choices aside, this matter had to end between us at the very least.

No matter what mess I find myself in or what outcome Tirisia faces, it should only be me, Tirisia, and the villain Kerg Durakal as all the characters in this scene.

If the villain crosses that permitted line, bursting forth from the stage to slash at innocent bystanders, then it’s high time we fought back with everything we’ve got.

Now that Tirisia has fallen under his grasp, the only ones who can protect others are either me or Perjena.

But I heard that she’s still suffering from the aftereffects of the mana circuit overload, so I couldn’t pin my hopes on relying on her.

In case of an emergency, it’s my responsibility to stop Kerg Durakal myself.

And to accomplish that, I have to grow several times stronger than I am now.

There are no shortcuts. Only constant training holds the key.

With that resolve, I was on my way to the training grounds after school when…

“Erto!”

Crackle!

As I was walking through the outside corridor, I was suddenly approached by a flying Rusika with a burst of red lightning.

“Oh, Rusika. What’s up?”

Since I had said we’d resume training today, she was probably not asking me to join her on the way back, so what was with the sudden urgency and magic?

Rusika, looking a bit flustered, conveyed something to me.

“That Elconja girl…called another noble meeting!”

“Oh really?”

“‘Oh really’ isn’t the right response, you idiot! Your name was mentioned as the reason for gathering! She even insisted that you, me, and Haidiera should definitely be there!”

“Oh no…”

She really did decide to take action, didn’t she, Seldienne?

I felt uneasy after realizing that her attempt to act was after class.

And not just for personal revenge, but for a noble meeting.

Just how much bigger was she planning to make this incident by gathering all the noble students of the Academy?

Moreover, the fact that she requested both Rusika and Haidiera to attend only meant she was indeed targeting all the nobles without leaving anyone out.

What the heck was she planning to discuss…?

Don’t tell me she’s going to publicly unveil the humiliation I suffered yesterday and do a second execution ceremony?

As I silently pondered various possibilities, Rusika grabbed my hand, looking frustrated.

“What are you daydreaming for, you fool! Let’s hurry and go check it out! It’s supposed to be in the square!”

“Hmm… Yeah, I guess it’s quicker to go and confirm first.”

“Haidiera will probably already be there. She said she would gauge the atmosphere.”

As I walked alongside Rusika, matching her pace, I raised a question.

“But isn’t it weird for the subject of the meeting to be present? I feel like I’m going to end up as a fish out of water.”

“Tough luck! Let them all jump at me! I’ll take care of it! I’ll protect Erto!”

With red sparks flying from her cherry blossom twin-tails, Rusika held my hand tightly and walked forward.

Since her fight with Tirisia, she seemed to have shed her inhibitions about expressing herself and was filled with newfound confidence.

If anything were to happen, I should probably be the one protecting Rusika, but her confidence was rather cute, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Thus, we walked towards the square where noble students were gathering.

*

Upon arriving at the square, most of the nobles had already gathered.

It was a smaller scale than the meeting that forced me to withdraw last time, since commoners had no reason to be there, but the Academy’s noble students made up the majority, creating a sufficiently intimidating crowd surrounding the square.

In the center, the representative who called the meeting stood on a makeshift platform made from magic so that everyone in the crowd could easily see her.

“Well then, it seems we have gathered a sufficient number of people.”

Seldienne Elconja. She stood atop that platform, flanked by her subordinates.

Rusika and I, having arrived near the edge of the crowd, decided to keep our distance and observe the situation for now.

“What’s with that golden throne? She really thinks she’s queen or something.”

Seeing Seldienne, Rusika pouted, making a disgusted face.

“Lord Rapisl…! Lord Erto…!”

“Whoa.”

Suddenly, I heard a sinister voice from behind the tree I was leaning against, and when I turned around, Haidiera was peeking out of it.

“Haidiera, what does the situation look like?”

When Rusika calmly asked, Haidiera shook her head as if she was also unsure of what was happening.

“I managed to eavesdrop on the conversations of the noble students gathered here… but it seems they’re just as clueless about the purpose of this meeting… No one here seems to know what Lord Elconja’s intentions are.”

“Hmm? So this whole situation is driven solely by that Elconja girl?”

“That seems to be the case… But it’s clear that there’s talk about Lord Erto. She was explicit about it when sending out the invitations.”

“My name… that makes me feel kind of uneasy.”

As I muttered with a wry smile, Haidiera seemed to have an inkling of what was going on and looked at me intently.

“Lord Erto… Did you happen to meet with Lady Elconja near your home yesterday? Just you two…”

“Yeah… looks like you caught on fast.”

At that moment, Rusika gasped and grabbed my collar in shock.

“What?! That girl went all the way to your house?! Why?! Did she confess or something?!”

“Rusika… that’s such nonsense.”

“Oh, um, ahem.”

With a look of disbelief, Rusika awkwardly cleared her throat and then lowered her voice to whisper something only we could hear.

“No… This might sound strange now, but I think Elconja has feelings for you, Erto?”

“This really isn’t the time for jokes, Rusika.”

“…Hmm.”

Unlike my serious demeanor as I pressed my temples, Haidiera sighed, seemingly pondering Rusika’s words.

Rusika seemed aware that she was saying something ridiculous, as she frowned deeply and continued.

“Honestly, I know it sounds crazy, but when I watched you two together, her eyes were practically dripping honey! You don’t know the kind of look she had when you weren’t paying attention?!”

“Rusika… stop reading romance novels…”

“No, I’m serious!”

“You know exactly what kind of things she did to me, so how can that make sense?”

“Ugh… I really want to make Elconja remember my face just to shove it back in her memory!”

Trying to understand why Rusika was so frustrated, I tilted my head, and Haidiera then earnestly spoke to me.

“Lord Erto… What exactly did you two talk about yesterday? Was it a positive or negative conversation?”

“Well…”

I reflected on the harsh words Seldienne threw at me and the insults I hurled back.

“It wasn’t just negative; it was completely the worst. We were practically enemies.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

“Why do you ask?”

Not understanding her intentions, I inquired, and Haidiera replied as if she were piecing together a puzzle.

“If that indeed happened yesterday… and considering what Lady Rusika felt as well… perhaps Lady Elconja here—”

Just as her conclusion was about to flow out of her mouth…

“Attention, please!”

Seldienne raised her voice in the center of the square.

All three of us stopped our conversation and focused our attention on her.

The crowd similarly looked up at Seldienne on the high platform, eagerly anticipating what she would say about the commoner Erto.

“First of all, I want to thank all the noble youths who gathered here at my request! Since today’s topic is something I hope as many nobles as possible will hear, I abruptly called this meeting!”

A calm silence swept through the crowd.

“Now, let’s get straight to the point! The reason why I called you today…”

Everyone in the square swallowed hard, waiting for her next words.

At the very least, the subject being the commoner Erto, currently the hottest topic in the Academy, was bound to be something provocative.

In light of yet another upheaval heading their way, the nobles, or mere spectators at this point, looked on with glinting eyes, anticipating new entertainment.

However,

“Is to send an apology to student Erto!”

The words that came from Seldienne’s mouth completely betrayed the expectations of all the nobles.

The idea of all the nobles bowing down to a commoner—

was an utterly humiliating proposal that would never be accepted.

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