One Month Since the Hero's Birth
A month had passed since the school trip attack incident that marked the birth of a hero. Time flowed like water, ushering in the new month of December. The surrounding landscape had left behind the vivid reds of autumn and stepped into a winter wrapped in pure white. The leaves that once flaunted their colorful hues had fallen as their final remnants, and a fierce wind howled through the now-empty branches. Animals burrowed into deep slumber, turning their backs on the cold. The season of silence that lulled everything to sleep. A white winter had arrived.
“It’s cold…”
As usual, I was heading to the academy for morning classes. I walked leisurely with Ariel toward the building that housed the lecture halls. The suddenly bitter weather made my shoulders tremble. I rubbed my freezing hands together and breathed warm air onto them.
Damn it. I hadn’t expected it to be this cold. Rachel hadn’t been nagging me for nothing when she told me to wear the winter uniform. I found myself resenting the past version of myself who had only half-listened and left the dormitory wearing nothing but a cardigan over my spring-and-autumn clothes.
“Are you okay…?”
While I shivered from the chill clinging to my whole body, Ariel, walking beside me, looked up with worried eyes.
“Is it really that cold?”
“Ugh, ugh, I’m f-fine… ugh……”
I forced a smile despite my chattering jaw. In truth, I felt like I might freeze to death at any moment, but I told myself this was my own karma and endured it.
As I shook like I’d been electrocuted, Ariel let out a small sigh and unwrapped the muffler from around her neck. She quietly reached out and wrapped it around my face.
“Wear this, at least.”
The muffler, still carrying Ariel’s body heat, melted the frost on my cheeks. I flinched at the sudden warmth and asked,
“If you give it to me… what about you?”
“I don’t feel the cold anyway. Have you forgotten what my specialty is?”
With that, Ariel raised a single finger and created an ice crystal in the air.
“Once ice magic reaches a certain level, you stop feeling the cold.”
“I’ve never heard that before… Interesting.”
“Pretty cool, right?”
I nodded at Ariel, who asked with a proud look. So ice mages didn’t feel the cold. It must work on the same principle as fire mages not getting burned by small flames.
While I fiddled with the muffler, lost in thought, Ariel puffed out her cheeks and poked my side.
“Seriously, why were you so stubborn about wearing your spring uniform? Rachel prepared the winter one for you this morning, didn’t she?”
“I thought it would be fine until this month…”
“I can’t with you… From now on, just listen to Rachel.”
“Yeah…”
I lowered my head like I had no excuse under Ariel’s sharp scolding.
Why did it feel like so many people had been nagging me lately? It started with Rachel… then Ariel, the status window, and recently even Lucy. Did that mean I was that unreliable?
I smiled bitterly and scratched my head.
As Ariel and I continued our noisy commute, a familiar shout rang out from behind us.
“Woohyo~! Bastard discovered!”
That frivolous tone and sly voice. The insane audacity to openly call me ‘bastard.’ As far as I knew, there was only one such lunatic in the academy—no, on the entire continent.
“Gold Tae-yang.”
When I turned around, I saw a tanned blond delinquent walking toward us, swinging his arms wildly. There wasn’t a trace of dignity in his stride.
“Today too! With energy!! And strength!!! Morning!!!!”
Gold Tae-yang greeted me noisily, overflowing with vigor despite the early hour. I stared at him with tired eyes.
“……Can’t you greet people a little more normally?”
“Don’t want to? If it bothers you, shouldn’t you just cover your ears?”
“……”
Yeah, fuck it. Why would I even try having a conversation with you?
I pressed my throbbing forehead and let out a heavy sigh. Ariel, apparently intrigued by my resigned reaction, peeked her head forward.
“Um… who are you…?”
“Oh? And who might this young lady be…?”
Gold Tae-yang, noticing Ariel a beat late, tilted his head at the unfamiliar face. Then, as if something clicked, he slapped his knee.
“Aha, it’s the Lisite young lady! I’ve heard a lot about you from the bastard.”
“You know me…?”
“I’ve heard plenty, but… actually, he only said you were cute and didn’t tell me anything else.”
“Pardon…?”
At Gold Tae-yang’s words, Ariel froze for a moment, then her face flushed bright red as she pinched my back.
“Why are you telling other people things like that…!”
“I think I’ve heard him brag about his little sister at least once a day.”
“Eeeeek…!!”
Ariel’s cheeks had turned the color of a perfectly ripened tomato. She must have been incredibly embarrassed.
The only thing I could say to her was,
“I only spoke the truth.”
“Aaaack! Brother, seriously!!”
Displeased with my answer, Ariel grew even more furious and bit me. Of course, it didn’t hurt. There was no way a mage with virtually no strength stat could bite hard. Your defeat, Ariel.
. . .
After venting her complaints for a while, Ariel headed to her own classroom. Now alone, Gold Tae-yang and I made our way toward the second hall.
Walking along the path where the chilly air had settled, I adjusted the muffler Ariel had given me. She had looked quite upset. I wondered how long it would last this time. I hoped she would have calmed down by evening, at least.
While I was distracted by thoughts of Ariel, Gold Tae-yang, walking beside me, spoke up.
“Ah, right. Have you seen this?”
He rummaged around and pulled something out, waving it in front of me. It was a bundle of dark gray papers.
“What is that?”
“Newspaper articles about the school trip attack incident.”
“Hmm…? Wasn’t this already reported some time ago? I remember checking it about two weeks back.”
The Eldest Son of the Lisite Ducal Family, Raiden Lisite. Saves the Academy from the Attack Incident!
His second achievement following the resolution of the previous imperial princess assassination attempt.
Is a new hero emerging in this turbulent world?!
“What the hell is this? No, the content is all correct, but… something feels off.”
“The article is strangely favorable, isn’t it?”
“……It’s not just strange. It seems blatantly, almost aggressively favorable.”
I frowned. It looked like the newspaper staff had eaten something strange. The same people who used to enthusiastically tear into me every time I acted like a bastard were suddenly changing their tune. There were even subtle attempts to elevate me.
As several question marks floated above my head, Gold Tae-yang, who had handed me the newspaper, grinned and spoke.
“Looks like the academy put some pressure on the newspaper company.”
“The academy…?”
Why was the academy being brought up so suddenly? I looked at Gold Tae-yang with puzzled eyes. He shrugged once and continued.
“As you know… two major incidents happened within a short span of just three months.”
“The hall attack and the school trip attack…”
“Yeah, those two. Their scale was truly enormous, wasn’t it?”
It might even be an understatement. The first incident involved an assassination attempt on the empire’s princesses and the next saint of the Holy Kingdom. In the second, one of the academy’s professors died. Many students had nearly come to harm as well. All of it had occurred at Reynolds Academy—the continent’s greatest educational institution—within a mere three months.
“Given the situation, people started making noise.”
“The public began doubting Reynolds Academy’s ability to respond.”
“Exactly! So~ want to guess how the academy tried to clean up this mess?”
“Hmm…”
I stroked my chin. Covering up the incidents wasn’t an option. There were too many witnesses, and the events were far too large to bury. Honestly admitting their mistakes probably wasn’t it either; the damage to Reynolds Academy’s reputation would be too great. The most plausible method was…
“Diverting attention away from the incidents themselves.”
The academy had placed me on the pedestal of a hero. So people would focus on the ‘birth of a hero’ rather than the ‘incidents.’
“Right. By focusing the spotlight on me, they’re trying to disperse the criticism.”
It was a classic yet effective method. Throwing such a stimulating element into the mix made it easy to shift the public’s gaze. It was also possible because, while the scale of the events had been massive, the actual damage had been relatively minor.
“Correct again. Your head works pretty well, huh?”
Gold Tae-yang gave me a thumbs-up and unfolded the newspaper he was holding.
The Scoundrel Young Master Turns Over a New Leaf.
Let’s Get to Know Raiden Lisite.
The Lisite Ducal Family. The Undisputed Greatest House Protecting the Empire.
“See? You really are the perfect aggro magnet.”
You’re one of the most famous nobles in the empire, after all. Of course, it was for the wrong reasons… but regardless, you’re perfectly suited to draw the public’s attention. Plus, you don’t bother responding to public opinion or newspaper articles.
“So for the academy, it must have been easier to push you forward.”
“Hah.”
I let out a light chuckle.
“They’re good at scheming… Well, that’s probably why they’ve remained the top educational institution for nearly a century.”
“Aren’t you angry? When you think about it, you’re being used.”
“There are benefits.”
It was reversing my previously negative public image. It wasn’t purely a loss. If the bastard image I could never shake no matter how hard I tried could be shed through this opportunity, it would actually be a gain.
“I just have to sit back and accept what’s being fed to me.”
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense~”
Gold Tae-yang nodded in understanding. I handed the newspaper back to him and said,
“The conversation went on too long. The lecture is about to start.”
“Ugh… I really don’t want to go…”
“Get a grip. Final exams start next week.”
“Fuck, that’s right. There were final exams.”
Gold Tae-yang let out a short scream and trudged forward.