Why Do You Look at Me That Way?
The chilling voice sliced through the air like a blade. "Why the hell is a fucking vermin bastard like you laying a hand on my brother?"
The girl's crude language, so completely at odds with her adorable appearance, was more than enough to shock everyone around her into silence. Who was Ariel? Wasn't she the academy's beloved idol, famous for being kind and gentle to everyone? A student who not only avoided profanity but even hesitated to utter words that might hurt others. Yet such a thick, raw curse had just burst from her lips.
The children stared at Ariel with dazed faces. Raiden and Rachel in particular gazed at her with eyes wide open. They wore expressions that seemed to ask, What on earth did our girl just say? However, Ariel paid no attention to their stares. She simply glared at Alan beyond Raiden as if she wanted to kill him.
The girl ground her teeth fiercely and spoke. "Do you... even realize who you're pointing that sword at right now?"
"No, that's not— I didn't mean to..."
"Shut up."
Ariel grew even more enraged at the pathetic excuse. Whether Alan's defense was true or not didn't matter. Right now, all she could see was the brat pointing a sword at her brother and her brother with a face drained of color.
"How dare you......"
Ariel brought her middle finger and thumb together and snapped them sharply.
-Snap!
With the sharp pop between her fingers, an intense winter wind began to whirl around the girl. Unlike before, when she had merely been radiating pressure, the mana in the atmosphere now surged violently.
Set against a wintry backdrop, Ariel recited a single line of incantation with lofty grace.
"Hundred Spears."
Though it was clearly spoken softly, the girl's mana-infused voice spread clearly through the silence.
-Creak, crrrraaaack...!!
A hundred ice spears materialized in the air around Ariel. The viciously sharpened frost blades glared at the blond boy as if to kill him. At the spine-chilling sight, everyone nearby except Raiden flinched and stepped back.
Regardless, Ariel seized one of the floating spears and leveled its blue tip at Alan.
"For the crime of daring to antagonize the Lisite ducal family... atone with your life."
"P-Public Lady... Please calm yourself...!"
Alan tried desperately to persuade her, but the hero's mana within his body refused to let the situation pass quietly. Sensing danger, his form automatically began emitting brilliant golden mana.
Ariel let out a dumbfounded sigh.
"Ha... So you're really asking for it, huh?"
"Wait, this is—!"
"I was only going to smack you once, but I've changed my mind."
Breaking at least one bone might finally satisfy her. Muttering to herself, the red-haired girl settled into a stance. The two maintained a precarious standoff, as if they might clash at any second. Ariel prepared Blizzard Storm, while Alan readied Wave of Flames.
The one who stepped between them in that hair-trigger moment was......
"That's enough, everyone."
It was the black-haired boy who had been standing behind Ariel just moments before.
"Blink×7."
With a calm incantation, his body flickered. -Crackle...! The boy vanished in a burst of sparks and reappeared between the two hostile figures.
Raiden, now standing on the stage, let out a deep sigh and reached into his subspace. -Click. He gripped the sheath of Bitan firmly.
"Bitan, rend them apart."
-Mana Dispel-
As the boy murmured the activation word, Bitan unleashed a ferocious roar.
-Kiiiiiiiiiii!!!
The ear-piercing scream echoed across the empty sky. The sharp sonic wave tore through the air, ripping apart every trace of mana in the vicinity—including, of course, the mana belonging to both Ariel and Alan.
"......Huh?"
"What the— suddenly...?"
The two panicked as the spells they had been gathering vanished in an instant. No matter how they tried to reform the formulas, the mana simply scattered. It was as if the mana itself refused to answer them.
"The mana..."
"It won't gather...?"
After failing several times to condense their power, Alan and Ariel's eyes naturally turned toward one boy.
The black-haired boy stared back at them with a slightly weary expression.
The unique skill #2 of the relic Bitan, Mana Dispel, has been activated.
All nearby targets' mana usage will be suppressed for the next 30 seconds.
Skill cooldown: 48 hours.
Time remaining: 47 hours 59 minutes 51 seconds
A skill that suppressed mana usage for thirty seconds regardless of target. The cooldown was a little disappointing, but its effect was superb. On top of that, Dispel wasn't a skill one saw often, which only increased its value.
"Haa......"
I clutched my tingling right arm and turned around. There stood the little brats who had nearly caused a catastrophe, staring at me with blank faces. The pair who had suddenly drawn their finishing moves and looked ready to collide. They had almost gotten badly hurt. What would they have done if I hadn't been here? No—would this have even happened if I weren't here in the first place? I don't know, fuck...
What the hell is this right after getting discharged...
As a wave of fatigue washed over me and I rubbed my dry face, Ariel's dumbfounded voice reached my ears.
"Brother... Did you do this...?"
She was probably referring to the dispel. Instead of answering with words, I offered a small smile and nodded. Surprise flickered across her red eyes. They sparkled like a cat that had just spotted a can of tuna.
......Yeah. I can't get angry at a kid like her.
Come to think of it, it was something to be proud of. She had nearly caused an accident, but she had still stepped forward for my sake. I took a deep breath and shifted my gaze to Alan. The boy, having come to his senses late, had lowered his sword and stood there looking completely lost.
I pinched my brow and spoke.
"Let's stop here. You two seem far too heated."
"......I'm sorry."
"Good. At least you understand."
How dare the third son of a mere viscount family point a sword at the eldest son of a ducal house.
"Linehart's young master. Your actions just now nearly brought great chaos upon the empire."
"What? What do you mean...?"
"Look around you."
"......Ah."
Alan glanced at the group beside him and let out a sigh of realization. The empire's princesses and the saintess stood right there. It was fortunate no one else had been passing by. Otherwise, rumors might have spread that the imperial family and the Church were now hostile toward the Lisite family. At a time when the empire had only just entered a period of stability, such political friction would have thrown everything into turmoil.
"I acknowledge that Ariel became excited... but from the moment you raised your sword, the fault was yours."
"......Yes."
"If you wish to associate with people of high standing, first become someone worthy of that standing."
It might seem hypocritical for a former good-for-nothing like me to say such things. Still, someone had to tell him. Because I knew he would overcome these immature flaws and eventually become a true hero. I suppose this was something I had to endure.
Yes. That's how it should be.
But.
Even as I thought that......
"I don't know why you're so wary of me... but you must clearly separate public matters from private ones."
I couldn't stop my heart from sinking. I tried to push away the bitter feelings and struggled to keep my expression blank. If I let my guard down even a little, it felt like I would come face to face with a version of myself that was all too familiar.
"I'll make you pay for this later."
I closed my mouth after that cold remark. Silence fell once more, the uncomfortable atmosphere thickening, when a carriage conveniently pulled into the stop.
I looked at it and said, "The carriage is here. Escort the honored guests and go ahead. We'll take the next one."
When I stepped back, Alan led the group onto the carriage. As they boarded, my eyes met Lucy's—she was the last to climb in.
"......"
The girl stared at me with trembling eyes. It was a gaze filled with pure terror, as if she had seen something horrifying. She flinched, body shaking, and practically fled into the carriage to escape my sight.
-Thud...
The sound of the carriage door closing rang out with unusual cruelty.
I could only stare blankly at the door she had shut between us.
-Neighhh!
Once everyone was aboard, the carriage set off with vigor. Even as it grew distant, I couldn't tear my eyes from that door. Only after it turned into the alley and vanished from sight did I finally pull out the question that had lodged itself in my chest like a thorn.
"......Why."
Just why. Why was she making that face? You... are clearly someone I saved. Someone I saved by throwing my entire body into the fray, even turning myself into a bloody mess. So why are you looking at me with the same eyes as those people from my previous life? Just. Why.
"......"
As expected, no answer came to the echoing question. All that remained in its gentle reverberation was a single pair of blue eyes that had looked at me with fear.