The Morning After Becoming the Academy's Official Outcast
The morning after I became the academy’s official outcast, I didn’t open my eyes until the sun hung high in the sky.
“...I really slept in.”
I sat up, clutching my throbbing head, and slipped out of the blankets. The muscle pain that had saturated every inch of my body only yesterday felt noticeably lighter. I rubbed my eyes—still puffy and swollen from last night’s pathetic crying jag—and stepped out of the room.
“Have you woken up, young master?”
Rachel was in the living room, absorbed in cleaning. Maybe because of what had happened yesterday, I felt strangely embarrassed to meet her eyes. I turned my face away and mumbled.
“You should have woken me earlier… I could have helped with the cleaning.”
“Hehe~ This is a maid’s duty, you know~ It would be troublesome if you helped every single time!”
Rachel laughed playfully as she swept the broom back and forth with brisk energy. She pointed toward the kitchen.
“I prepared breakfast. It’s a little late to still call it breakfast, though…”
“Ah, yeah… Thank you.”
I dragged my heavy feet to the dining table. Two slices of toast, kept perfectly warm, waited for me. It was a thoughtful choice that showed how well Rachel knew my preference for toast over sandwiches.
I picked up a slice and took a large bite.
Crunch…
The bread shattered with a crisp snap, releasing the rich scent of butter, the refreshing crunch of fresh vegetables, and finally the deeply savory, salty burst of bacon. As always, Rachel’s cooking was flawless.
Hungry after sleeping so long, I demolished the meal like a man possessed.
“Hehe… Seeing you eat so happily makes me feel good!”
Rachel had finished cleaning at some point and now stood beside me. I nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.
“It was delicious.”
“Heehee! Young master always reacts so nicely. It makes cooking for you worthwhile!”
Looking pleased with herself as she cleared the empty plate, Rachel suddenly turned to me.
“What are your plans for today?”
“Today? Hmm… Let me think…”
I fell silent for a moment. Because of the banquet hall attack, Reynolds Academy was on a week-long break. No lectures, the quest had been completed successfully, and no major events from the original story were scheduled to happen right away…
“I’m going to train.”
“Pardon?”
Rachel’s eyes widened at my casual answer. She frowned, lips pursing into a pout.
“Young master, you do remember you were discharged only yesterday, right?”
“Uh… yeah?”
“Don’t you think you’re pushing yourself too hard?”
“It’s fine. I’m completely healed.”
When I spread both arms to prove I was fine, Rachel puffed out her cheeks.
“No matter how much treatment you received! Does it make any sense for someone who was discharged yesterday to go straight to training?!”
At her worried scolding, I let out a small chuckle and gently pinched her puffed-up cheek.
“Bueeeeh…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy and come right back.”
“Thaash wha you alwayss shay…”
I played with her grumbling cheeks a few more times before rising from the table. Rachel followed me with clear reluctance.
“You’re going right now?”
“I have to. It’s already almost lunchtime.”
“Umm… Really, truly, you absolutely must take it easy, okay?”
“I heard you the first time…”
I escaped her persistent nagging and returned to my room. After changing into light training clothes, I slung a crossbody bag over my shoulder.
“Whew… Shall we go?”
Oddly enough, my heart felt strangely light as I stepped outside. The mere thought of other people’s gazes used to drag a sigh out of me first, yet today those feelings seemed a little dulled.
Maybe Rachel’s comforting pats from yesterday had actually worked. Thanks to her, I was able to leave the dormitory with brighter steps.
The training grounds of Reynolds Academy. I stood in the center of the magic dummy practice area, cutting them down without mercy.
It had originally been designed for three-person parties, but it turned out you could use it alone just fine. It wasn’t that I had no friends. This was simply a form of hardcore training.
Slice…!
With a trace of lingering resentment, I cut down the final dummy, and the session ended. Drenched in sweat, I collapsed onto the floor. While catching my ragged breath, I glanced at the stone tablet that tallied the score. A fairly high number was displayed.
Dummies Defeated: 2875
That should at least put me in the academy’s top ten percent. Not bad, considering I hadn’t used any scrolls or magic. My growth rate seemed better than I’d expected.
Of course, I still wouldn’t hold a candle to Allen…
Allen was in a league of his own. That guy couldn’t even be measured by human standards. If he used the power of the Hero, he would probably clear five thousand without breaking a sweat. Even at this point in the story, Allen already possessed strength on par with the academy’s instructors. He might still be weaker than the professors, but excluding them, he was undoubtedly the strongest in the academy.
I figured I was maybe around 0.6 Allen. A mass-produced protagonist really was a pitiful thing.
While I was lost in such idle thoughts—
Clap, clap, clap, clap…
Light, frivolous applause came from behind me.
“Whoa… 2875 points all by yourself? That’s impressive.”
The familiar voice made me turn my head. A male student was staring at the scoreboard with a dazed expression. Dyed golden hair, tanned skin, and an overall delinquent atmosphere.
“Gold Tae-yang…?”
It was the same Gold Tae-yang I had beaten senseless every day the previous week just to farm a title. He grinned at my call and gave a casual wave.
“Yo~ Been a week, huh?”
It had been quite a while since I last saw him. After I finally earned the Mace Slayer title last week, he had stopped showing up.
I had also gained the synergy title, and there had been no particular reason to run into him again. Besides, his appearance didn’t exactly make me want to get closer. He looked like the type who would openly flirt with someone else’s girlfriend.
I frowned at the guy who was greeting me so cheerfully.
“What do you want?”
“Wow… Up until a week ago you’d come find me even when I begged you to leave me alone, but now you frown the second our eyes meet.”
“Ahem…”
Feeling a slight sting of conscience, I cleared my throat and made an excuse.
“That was a legitimate duel request.”
“This guy sees duels as nothing but harassment… Hey, aren’t those honorable duels usually between nobles? I’m a commoner without a single family name to my own.”
“U-um…”
“Plus, you forced me to accept even when I tried to refuse.”
“......”
“Teacher, we decided to call that ‘harassment.’ That’s the imperial agreement.”
His logical rebuttal didn’t match his appearance at all. At a loss for words, I quickly changed the subject.
“So why did you call me over?”
“Huh? You’re changing the subject so obviously?”
“......”
Sharp-eyed bastard. While I glared at him, he shrugged.
“Well, you stopped coming, so I figured it was fine. But then I saw you at the training ground and called out. I was wondering what happened to the crazy guy who used to chase me down every single day.”
“I see.”
He chuckled at my dry reply and plopped down beside me.
“Anyway, how’s your body holding up?”
“Hm?”
I had been subtly trying to put distance between us, but the sudden question made me tilt my head.
“What do you mean?”
“You got pretty badly hurt during the attack, didn’t you?”
“How did you know…?”
“How? There’s no one at the academy who doesn’t know.”
“The rumor spread that far already…”
I recalled the students I had run into at the stop yesterday. My brow furrowed on its own. The rumor probably hadn’t painted me in a good light. After a short silence, I asked Gold Tae-yang.
“Do you know what kind of rumors are going around?”
“Of course I do. They’re pretty brutal.”
“...Roughly, what are they saying?”
“It’s better you don’t know. There’s more than a couple of students who apparently pissed themselves just looking at you.”
“Haah……”
Yeah, of course. There was no way a rumor like that wouldn’t spread. What kind of lunatic would watch someone get burned alive and sliced to pieces without feeling any fear? Anyone who could witness that and feel nothing seriously needed psychiatric help.
“Well~ The rumors are so extreme that some students don’t believe them. But I saw the scene myself, so I know everything.”
And unfortunately, that very person was sitting right next to me. I looked at him with wide eyes.
“What did you say…?”
“Whoa~! Yeah, it just happened! I ended up seeing it!”
Was this guy a lunatic? How could he be so calm after witnessing something like that? Actually, now that I thought about it, a commoner casually speaking down to the eldest son of a ducal house had never been normal to begin with. But still.
When I stared at him with a serious expression, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“The thing is… I actually heard everything that day…”
“Heard? What exactly?”
“About… the death of the Duchess of Lisite…”
“What…?”
The second shock hit me without pause. I found myself staring at him in blank amazement. He had heard it? The Absolute Domain was a scroll originally developed for isolation or defense. The inside and outside of the barrier were completely cut off. Nothing except visual information and air could pass through. Naturally, that included sound.
Yet he claimed to have heard the quiet conversation between me and the Seekers…
“You… Don’t tell me you were inside the barrier at the time…?”
“Hee… heehee…!”
Gold Tae-yang let out a stupid laugh. He shrank back from my icy gaze, then began to explain the hidden truth.
“So, I was watching the banquet, right? Suddenly screams started coming from everywhere. I realized something big was happening, so……”
“So?”
“I hid under a table!”
In short, that was what had happened. Gold Tae-yang, who had been attending the banquet, had crawled under a table the moment the terror attack began. Because I had used the scroll nearby, he had been caught inside the barrier.
After hearing the full story, I asked him with complete seriousness.
“Are you… an idiot?”
“Why is the question like that?”
“Are you, sir, perhaps an idiot?”
“No, fuck. The question itself is the problem, not the tone.”
Why the hell would you crawl under a table? What kind of earthquake drill was that? I rubbed my face in frustration. Meanwhile, Gold Tae-yang watched my reaction with a bright smile.
“...You do know this is an imperial secret, right?”
“If I leak it, my head flies off? Got it! My lips are sealed!”
“Not just you… Your entire family could be executed……”
“I’m an orphan, though?”
“......”
This bastard kept leaving me speechless. Maybe I should just report him to the family and ask them to send assassins. This was seriously unsettling.
“Please think and act with caution…”
“Whoa~! Are you actually worried about me? I’m touched!”
“Haah……”
I gave up on thinking and closed my eyes. As I massaged my aching head, Gold Tae-yang poked my arm impatiently.
“Hey, bastard.”
“What now.”
“Still, you know~ I don’t think what you did was that bad.”
“......?”
The usual frivolous tone had vanished, replaced by something more serious. I felt a strange sense of disconnect from the change in his demeanor.
“They’re your parents’ enemies, right? Killing them as painfully as possible is only natural!”
“You…”
“Revenge is supposed to be sweet, after all.”
For the briefest instant, his eyes seemed to flash blue. But it disappeared so quickly that I wondered if I had imagined it. Gold Tae-yang returned to his usual idiot grin and gave me a thumbs-up.
“Heh heh.”
“...Was it just my imagination?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I brushed off the odd feeling with a bland reply. Gold Tae-yang shrugged and held out his hand.
“Anyway! A lot of stuff happened, but let’s get along! Us fellow official outcasts of the academy.”
“Official outcast…? What’s that?”
“Wait, you didn’t know?”
He looked at me in genuine surprise.
“You and I are part of the three official outcasts of the second-year class.”
“Is that so…?”
“You seem like you became one voluntarily… but anyway, since you’re always alone, that counts as being an outcast.”
I nodded in understanding. Even in a place like this, it was still a school. Bullying was bound to exist. It would be more accurate to say that Raiden had made the entire academy his outcast rather than the other way around, but still. To think my name was included in such an honorable list. How touching.
“But… why are you on that list? I can understand myself, but you?”
“Me? Hmm…”
“Did you steal someone’s girl? Two-time someone? Something like that……”
“Absolutely not?!”
Gold Tae-yang flared up, then let out a deep sigh with a complicated expression.
“Everyone thinks the same thing… There’s no special reason. It’s just because of my appearance.”
“Hm.”
“People like me aren’t common, right? Some think I look like a dark elf and call me filthy… and there’s what you said earlier……”
“...I feel a bit sorry now.”
“Do you?”
My slightly softened tone made him chuckle in amusement. He stood up from his seat and stretched.
“Well… like I said before, let’s get along! Fellow outcasts should stick together.”
He waved lightly and left the training ground. I watched his retreating back and fell into thought.
So that’s why.
Even when I kept coming after him to farm the title, he had only complained with his mouth while secretly seeming to wait for me. So that was the reason.
Having resolved one question, I quietly rose from the floor where I had been lying.
“I’m back.”
“Young master! Young master! Young master!!”
“Rachel?”
The moment I returned to the dormitory after training, Rachel was waiting for me right at the entrance. She was flapping her arms, clutching something in her hands, and shouting.
“A letter! A letter has arrived, young master!”
“Hm? What are you talking about?”
“A letter! An invitation!!”
“Wait, wait… Calm down and speak properly.”
I soothed the overly excited girl and asked.
“So, what exactly arrived?”
“A letter came…!”
With trembling hands, Rachel held something out to me. It was a letter decorated with luxurious patterns.
“Huh…?”
I froze for a moment as I looked at the emblem engraved on the letter. This pattern… I definitely recognized it……
“The imperial family! The imperial family sent an invitation to you, young master…!”
The bearer of this letter is hereby invited to the imperial palace.
May the glory of the empire shine upon you.
— Office of the Emperor —