Rumors are always like that.
Even the smallest thing can get blown out of proportion, and with all the embellishments slapped on, something that never happened can start to feel real.
Even if it’s all lies, the ripple effect makes the lies seem like the truth.
Extremely speaking, you could turn someone who just ate chocolate into someone who ate crap.
Thinking about it that way, this whole situation isn’t that strange.
It’s true that I went to the girls’ dormitory to drop off Seria, and it’s also true that I turned back without going inside.
But the fact that it got twisted into me trying to enter the girls’ dorm and being stopped by Seria… I don’t know what process it went through, but it’s not completely incomprehensible.
Yeah, I get it.
I get it, but…
“Hmm. For a scoundrel trying to sneak into the girls’ dorm, you look pretty normal.”
“Headmaster, I’m really being wronged here.”
A one-on-one meeting with the Academy Headmaster feels a bit much.
How far are they planning to take this?
The whole thing started a little while ago, after Lilith told me about the rumor.
Feeling like things were escalating, I hurriedly went to find Seria at the Academy plaza.
It was a place Seria, who dislikes crowded areas, rarely visited, but as always, there were quite a lot of people gathered there.
From first-years to fourth-years. You could assume that most of the outgoing types with free time would be here.
And the moment I arrived, I felt it.
Among the many people here, some were pretending not to, but their eyes were definitely turning toward us.
“…Rudion.”
I wasn’t the only one who noticed all those gazes. Seria’s expression tightened slightly.
The meaning behind those stares was clear.
“Are they the ones from the rumor?”
“Hey, watch your mouth. One of them is the Princess.”
“Does it even matter to watch my mouth now that the rumor’s spread this far?”
“…Well, you’ve got a point there. Anyway.”
Whatever it was, it definitely didn’t feel positive.
Seria seemed to pick up on the atmosphere too and apologized to me in a slightly gloomy voice.
“Sorry for causing you trouble.”
“Don’t worry about it. Honestly, it’s my fault for causing this in the first place.”
“What if we just tell the truth now? Even if it reaches the Royal Palace, I’ll be fine…”
“Don’t start that again.”
“No, seriously…”
Alright, fine. It’s not like revealing the truth now is gonna make the rumors die down anyway.
Seems like the rumors are spreading among the first-years, just like Lilith said. All the people who were staring at us earlier were first-years, after all.
Of course, if we leave it like this, it’ll probably spread throughout the entire Akadeumi in no time…
“Let’s go back.”
“Are you sure it’s okay to do nothing?”
“Trying to do something in situations like this just makes things more complicated.”
Unless you go to the extreme and beat someone up to divert the direction of the rumors, any response will just add fuel to the fire.
So, explaining things now is just a hassle and won’t solve anything. We have no choice but to find another way. With that thought, I decided to leave the area, but then my messenger went off.
It was a message from Professor Reina.
[Reina: Can you come back to my private lab?]
[Reina: This time, without Seria. Just you.]
It hadn’t been long since we finished our conversation, and now she wants me to come back? Did something happen?
With that thought, I headed back and ran into someone. The head of the Akadeumi and Reina Trier’s childhood friend.
Dane Valhak.
A man who, under Reina’s insistence, dyed his cool blue hair the same orange as hers. A man who spent his whole life being dragged around by Reina, eventually married her, and continues to be dragged around to the very end. Yet, a man whose abilities and character are so outstanding that he doesn’t tarnish the position of Akadeumi’s headmaster.
That man was sitting there, waiting for me.
“Well, I’ll go get some fresh air, so you two have a good chat!”
And then Professor Reina, who had called me, ran off.
And so, I found myself in a one-on-one meeting with the headmaster.
“So, you’re that Rudion.”
“…Yes. I’m Rudion, a first-year upperclassman and the secretary of the Student Council.”
“Hmm. For a delinquent trying to sneak into the girls’ dormitory, you look pretty normal.”
“Headmaster, I’m really innocent.”
I tried to list my credentials to show I wasn’t the type to do bad things, but it didn’t seem to work. No, actually, I didn’t need to do that in the first place.
“Ah, don’t worry. I’ve already figured out the truth of the matter. I was just teasing you a bit earlier.”
Of course, from the moment Reina casually called me back, there was no way there could be any unfair misunderstandings.
The dean… Dane began to explain the situation as if it were no big deal.
The reported incident was just someone loitering around the girls’ dormitory, and the investigation results confirmed that, but due to the rumors spreading so dramatically, it couldn’t just be brushed off.
Honestly, it’s still only spread among the first-year students, and when you think about it, it’s not really a big deal… but the person involved in this rumor is no ordinary figure, is it?
Seria Rubetia. The fact that the empire’s princess was involved made it irrelevant whether the rumor was true or false.
The mere existence of such a rumor and her being tied to it was the problem.
But revealing the truth would mean the royal palace would be informed, just like before.
“…So, your choice has become quite important.”
Dane looked at me seriously and presented two options.
Well, in the end, it was the same old choices again.
Either I take all the blame, or drag Seria into it and reveal the truth.
Of course, while the choices are the same, the outcomes are slightly different.
If I take all the blame here, the dean will turn this exaggerated rumor into the truth.
That way, the story involving the princess can be neatly wrapped up.
In other words… I become the crazy pervert who tried to sneak into the girls’ dormitory, and Seria becomes the noble princess who stopped me.
Of course, I’ll be punished accordingly, even though I didn’t actually do anything wrong.
But the royal palace will just be informed that such an incident occurred, and it’ll be over.
It’s inefficient. Except for the merit of quickly and neatly resolving the incident, it’s a nonsensical choice in every other way.
But if I don’t like that and decide to drag Seria into it to reveal the truth… getting involved with the royal palace is a certainty.
‘Sigh, that’s also a bit…’
Honestly, I want to avoid getting involved with the royal palace.
It’s not because they’re corrupt or anything. The Rubetia Empire is a good place, even called the hopeful side of monarchy.
But…
‘The people there all adore Seria way too much…’
The royal palace is filled with Seria’s fanatics.
Daughter-obsessed, younger sister-obsessed. Even the attendants are head over heels for Seria.
Sure, Seria is cute, but their affection is a bit scary.
And… if this incident reaches those people?
They’ll probably see it as some commoner having a secret rendezvous with the princess in the middle of the night.
Obvious, but if it goes like that, who knows what kind of trouble I’ll get into.
“Let’s just say the rumors are true.”
Rather than being tormented by them, I’d rather just become a crazy pervert.
That was the choice I made with that mindset, but for some reason, Dane looked even more bewildered.
“Wait, are you really okay with that?”
I had thought it might go this way from the start, but his reaction confirmed it.
He never intended to pin the blame on me from the beginning.
Of course, if it went that way, it would be a clean ending for him, but it was still a bit too much for a mere student to handle.
He probably never expected me to choose such an absurd option.
From the start, he must’ve set this up as a warning. Like, “I’ll let it slide this time, but be careful not to let this happen again.”
But since I made this choice… it’s only natural he’s flustered.
“No… you don’t have to go that far.”
He even said that, sounding like he genuinely wanted me to change my mind.
But my resolve was firm.
“No. If I can handle it alone, please let me do it.”
Living as a crazy pervert vs. living as a hardcore Seria fan while being tormented by the Royal Palace.
The choice in this insane balance game was clear.
Maybe he sensed my determination. Dane nodded with a satisfied smile.
“…You need that kind of guts to match the Princess. Alright, I’ll let you have your way.”
Just as the resolution of this incident was about to be decided.
Suddenly, the lab door burst open with a bang.
“No!”
Startled, I turned to see Seria, who had been constantly mentioned, standing there.
For some reason, her face was bright red, and her expression was so ambiguous I couldn’t tell if she was angry or something else.
She glanced at me for a moment, then spoke with absolute determination.
“I can’t allow that. Absolutely not.”
Hearing her unusually calm yet subtly joyful voice, I realized.
She had overheard the entire conversation.
Though her face was still bright red, and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking… I was sure things weren’t going in the direction I wanted anymore.
