Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: King of the Plains and the Power Thief #04
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The outline of the incident was simple.
In front of everyone else, I'd ridden off on a unicorn, and it was only natural that I became the talk of the town among the students once Professor's class ended and they had free time.
"But how the hell did Arthin manage to ride a unicorn? Don't unicorns only let pure maidens ride them?"
"Rumor has it that if you're an elf, even pure men can ride them?"
"But Arthin isn't an elf, is he?"
"Maybe he has some elf blood mixed in?"
"Shh! Quiet down! Earlier, the quarter-elf Lady Noel from the count's family got humiliated for supposedly not being a virgin...!"
The story of me and the unicorn spread like wildfire through the school in no time, spawning countless speculations.
"Arthin's family is part of the kingdom now, but they're actually descendants of a people who communed with beasts destroyed by the Demon King, so that's why he can ride a unicorn!"
"Nah, I heard his late mother left him an artifact that let him contract with the unicorn."
"I heard the unicorn kidnapped Arthin to punish him for defiling too many virgins!"
All sorts of wild rumors and guesses were flying around.
"Hey, you don't think Arthin is actually a girl?"
And this nonsense started out as just one of many ridiculous speculations.
"What are you talking about? Why would Arthin be a girl?"
"Think about it. Why would Jorba Pelkas and Lin Shaomei hang out with a guy like Arthin? He's not even the heir. It makes sense if he's a girl—Jorba's treating him like a childhood friend!"
"That... actually makes sense!!"
The problem was that this hypothesis started gaining traction, fleshing itself out enough to convince others.
"Come to think of it, I heard he has a private room in the dorms. Bronze class is supposed to be two to a room by default. They say the school made a special exception to hide that he's a girl in disguise!"
"I heard he had frequent one-on-one counseling sessions with Professor Senia, our class teacher. Probably to hide her gender."
"I've thought he was a girl in disguise from the start. Where do you see a guy that delicate and pretty? Slim build, beautiful too..."
"Dude, you're creeping me out. From today, you're eating separately."
While I was away from the academy for a day, the rumors snowballed uncontrollably, eventually fleshing out into a full-blown novel.
"So basically, the Ludwig family kept having girls, so they raised me as a boy. Then Jorba visited the family when we were kids, started showering me with affection, which made me close to Shaomei. Rexton has a crush on me, so he bullied Jorba and me out of jealousy. And because I lived as a man, I was the purest maiden, which impressed the unicorn so much it carried me off to bestow the virgin's blessing?"
"That's not true, right? Arthin? It's just weird rumors, yeah? The whole school's buzzing—I heard it three times on my way here!"
What the fuck kind of bullshit is this..!!
"Of course not!! I'm a perfectly healthy man!!!"
I clutched my head, my face a mask of horror as I shouted desperately. What the hell kind of rumors were spreading just because I rode a unicorn once?
"No, I believed you, but the rumors are so detailed I got worried..."
Startled by my outburst, Violet flinched, twisting her fingers apologetically as she looked down.
Damn, I shouldn't snap at Violet. I took a deep breath, steadying myself.
"Sorry, Violet. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I just panicked."
"No! I brought up the weird rumor, so I'm sorry too!"
Now that I thought about it, it was so absurd it wasn't even worth freaking out over.
Just show them my perfectly healthy Little Arthin, and the rumors would die in an instant.
"Wait, if the rumors are that widespread, Agnes and Shaomei must know too, right?"
I whipped my head around, and Shaomei and Agnes averted their eyes from me.
What? They really knew?
"I heard, but since Young Master Jorba was focused on the nonsense, I thought it was a chance..."
"I thought you spread the rumor on purpose, Arthin..."
My most reliable witnesses had stayed silent, so things had spiraled out of control.
"By the way, if you're gonna clear it up, do it quick. I heard they're even making weird comics with Big Brother, Young Master, and Rexton as characters."
Suddenly, I dreaded checking my status window—wondering what title I'd earned.
"Don't worry too much, Arthin. If it gets bad, we can announce our engagement and kill the rumors."
"No, let's hold off on that. An engagement now would be too much..."
Agnes whispered softly, but I waved her off vigorously. You don't pour oil on a house fire to fight it.
"I'll handle the rumors somehow. Anyway, I gathered you three for something more important."
Any more talk about my weird rumors, and morning assembly would start. I steered the conversation back on track.
BAM!!
"Arthin! Is it true you're a pervert who likes dressing as a woman?! This lord is deeply disappointed!"
Please, just fuck off somewhere else, you horned devil!!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "So, I'll be traveling with the unicorn for a while to hunt down that power thief. Can you three help me?"
After finally subduing the rampaging unicorn that burst in late, I calmly explained the villain situation in the remaining time.
"If that's true, he's too dangerous to ignore. I'll mobilize the student council to help search."
"I'll stick with Big Brother and hunt too. We just need to find anyone with suspicious presence or aura, right?"
"Y-yeah! I'll ask my familiar to look too!"
Thankfully, all three agreed to help without issue. With their regression memories, they accepted even this far-fetched tale.
"Um, is this really that unicorn... sir?"
Then Agnes eyed the unicorn's starlit hair with interest.
"Can't believe this is the unicorn who hammered stakes into those girls' hearts last time..."
"Ugh... my marriage prospects are ruined..."
Shaomei peered curiously from the side, while Violet covered her face, recalling that day's embarrassment.
"Yeah, it's the unicorn, Unicor. This is his polymorph form."
As I introduced him, Unicor had been twitching and silent since earlier.
"Hey, Unicorn, introduce yourself. You're gonna help us from now on."
"...Fine."
"Huh? What?"
Unicor mumbled so faintly I asked again.
"This can't be... Even if the world ends, this shouldn't happen..."
"What's wrong? Hey, snap out of it, Unicorn!"
Thwack!
I grabbed his shoulders and shook. He irritably slapped my hand away.
Stunned by the sudden reaction, I looked at him. He glared at me resentfully, then turned to Agnes.
"Princess Agnes!!! How could you, the noblest virgin, forsake your purity for the path of the defiled?! This lord's heart is shattering with grief!!!"
We all froze in shock at the unicorn's sudden wailing outburst—each for different reasons.
"Hey! Shut up! Don't say crazy shit!"
"Let go, you non-virgin! You defiled the princess! The most beautiful, noble once-in-a-century pure white virgin! You did it! Mmph!"
I hugged his thrashing body from behind, clamping his mouth shut. His pale chest jiggled wildly from the struggle, but I had no attention for that.
"What does this mean? Princess Agnes...? Arthin...?"
"I-it's a misunderstanding, Violet! Arthin didn't force me or anything—we just confirmed our feelings and mutually agreed...!"
"No need for details, Princess!!"
Panicking, Agnes started explaining to bewildered Violet, but Shaomei desperately muffled her.
Too late—Violet's gaze toward me was ominous.
"...You really have that kind of relationship with Princess Agnes?"
"V-Violet, I'll explain everything, so don't look at me like that...!"
"...What's there to explain?"
Despite her words, Violet couldn't hide her hurt expression as she shot up from her seat.
"You and Princess Agnes were already dating, right...? Yeah, this is normal."
"Violet sis, calm down and talk it out with Big Brother..."
"No, I'm fine. Morning assembly's starting soon, so I'll go."
Violet fled the warehouse in a hurry.
Her footsteps echoed clearly, but none of us could stop her.
"Mmph!! Mmph...! Mmmph...! Mmph..."
Thud! Thud thud! Thud!! Thud... slurp.
Unicor, sleeper-held quietly in my arms, pounded my arm fiercely but soon went limp and passed out.
"Uh... what now?"
Someone asked, but no one answered.
Because of this crazy colt, I had no clue how to fix this mess.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Cheer up, Big Brother... Violet sis will understand once it's explained."
We wrapped up the meeting and headed to our classrooms.
I'd dumped the passed-out unicorn in the warehouse and was walking back to Class B with Shaomei, but I felt no energy.
"I've never seen Violet look that hurt."
And it was betrayal from us deceiving her. Thinking that made my heart ache.
"I'll talk to her later... She'll understand."
Squish! Squish!
Shaomei pressed her massive chest against me encouragingly and linked arms, but I still sighed heavily, unmotivated.
Creak.
"Hey, they're here!"
As we entered the classroom, the chattering students all turned to stare at me.
A few lifted their butts, ready to approach for confirmation on the rumors.
BOOM!!!
Then Shaomei stomped lightly, her thunderous impact instantly calming the rowdy vibe.
"..."
I couldn't see it, but her eyes must've blazed with terrifying killing intent.
No one brave enough to gossip would dare after that warning glare: come at me first if you wanna make noise.
Exhausted, I leaned on Shaomei and sat at the back with Jorba. He patted my shoulder understandingly.
"Weird rumors die fast. Don't look so down, Arthin."
Instead of suspicion, Jorba encouraged me with worried eyes: trust only me.
Not rumor-related, but too annoying to explain, I nodded vaguely and slumped on my desk. Even sitting still, I kept sighing.
Creak!
"Morning~ everyone! Another great day! The academy's fresh weather is the best!"
Teacher Senia entered with cheerful greetings, but students, wary of Shaomei's glare, mumbled awkwardly without responding. Senia tilted her head, sensing the odd mood.
"What's up? Why's everyone so weird?"
Like typical school life, Shaomei's near-murderous warning scared them more than the kind teacher's concern—no one spilled what happened.
"????"
Only clueless Teacher Senia looked puzzled, unable to grasp the situation.