You're Cool, Rain!
"You're cool, Rain~!"
The strategy each rank takes is different, but the one that goes for the most aggressive approach is naturally Rank 1. There are only ten total spots in Rank 1. Since they have to keep fighting until every lower rank is filled, Rank 1 carries a heavier physical burden than the others… but the moment someone racks up 50 points in Rank 1, their spot is confirmed. So the ones confident enough to aim for it are those who believe they can actually reach 50 points while still in that bracket. Even so, it isn’t a particularly smart strategy. Sure, wanting Rank 1 in this academy means you have the skill to back it up… but because the overall level has been pushed so high, matches rarely end cleanly. On top of that, the obsession of never being allowed to lose once you enter a demotion match makes most people bail straight to Rank 2. That’s why the ones who gun for Rank 1 right from the start usually fall into one of two categories: those whose confidence pierces the heavens, or those who possess truly overwhelming strength.
“Those four are definitely getting into Rank 1, right?”
“Ugh, why the hell did all four of the great families have to enroll the same year as me~!”
“This isn’t because I’m a mage, but there really is no god.”
“Tsk. With that kind of attitude, what the hell are you aiming for Rank 1 for, you idiot. Rank 5 is perfect for us…”
“It’s over. We’re done for~.”
Even though they were tucked away in a relatively empty corner, the sound of their loud lamentations and whining still drifted all the way over to me. To be honest, even graduating from the academy with a Rank 5 is enough for mid-sized guilds to bow their heads in gratitude and welcome you with open arms. Knowing that, their complaints didn’t sound all that tragic.
But now that I think about it, that’s true, isn’t it?
Back in my academy days I’d been so obsessed with doing well on the tests that I barely remembered who I’d hung out with, but I was certain the four great families hadn’t all been in the same class as me. Alencia definitely wasn’t there, and I was pretty sure the Asher family hadn’t been either.
The timing is strangely perfect.
Since this is a parallel world, it’s only natural that things would head toward a different ending than the one I knew. But the fact that the divergence point seems to be right around the time I showed up… The world is revolving around me. If I were still in my villain days I would’ve laughed and called it a good thing, but now that I plan to help Sien and then quietly disappear, it’s not exactly a welcome sign.
…Still, even if I cause a scene here, I’m just a commoner. How much could it really change?
Knowing the terror of ripple effects is one thing, but if I’m only trying to change a single person’s life, how drastically could fate actually shift? Dismissing it as an overinflated ego, I was quietly waiting for my turn when—
“Didn’t expect to run into a famous commoner like you here~?”
A boy casually slung his arm around my shoulder. I’d been feeling that unpleasant stare for a while and had wondered when he would finally make his move. Looks like he finally worked up the nerve.
“Classmate, I missed you so much I thought I was going to die~.”
“…Why the hell is this bastard smiling?”
I’d smiled and greeted him warmly, yet the guy’s face went rigid. He frowned like he was looking at a lunatic and scanned me from head to toe.
“How admirable, coming to find me on your own. You want to be friends?”
“Friends? You moron, to be friends you need to be on the same level. Right, guys?”
He slapped my shoulder hard and looked back. Three or four boys who seemed to be his friends snickered in unison. Since I wanted to enjoy this wonderful atmosphere of laughter too…
“Then we can be friends, can’t we?”
“Ha, this guy’s actually cra———?”
“We’re both Rank 5, aren’t we?”
I gave him a thumbs-up and delivered the witty remark with perfect timing.
“Right? Meles Kent.”
“———.”
As expected of a noble who couldn’t handle being caught off guard, his face froze solid in an instant.
“I told you, didn’t I? The greatest mistake of your life was writing your name on that admission form.”
I brushed his arm off my shoulder and stood up. Most of the people around us immediately took notice and backed away even further. Their reaction was only natural. Killing intent is an extremely unpleasant aura that screams murder. Even though spreading it across two hundred people weakened the effect on any single target, to nobles who had never once experienced true discomfort in their lives, it was the kind of sensation they would never want to feel twice. So most of them frowned the moment our eyes met and tried to get away, but—
“I warned you, yet you pull this shit again?”
The only thing he’d come over to do was look down on a worthless commoner. Smiling, I showed him the screen of my vibrating terminal.
“Let’s go, friend.”
I gave his shoulder a light pat and headed for the arena first.
News that Rain’s match had been scheduled brought a huge crowd of cadets to watch.
“Where the hell did this bastard go? He’s only Rank 5?”
“Idiot. If he was just going to be Rank 5, why the hell did he run his mouth so much?”
Most of the voices were mocking the fact that he had started the ranking test in Rank 5. Every time they looked at him, the unpleasant memory from earlier resurfaced… and being insulted by a commoner was, to nobles, the most unbearable humiliation imaginable.
“So who’s this Meles Kent guy anyway?”
“Knight Division. That’s all you need to know, right?”
“What map came up?”
“The arena.”
“Hahaha! Of course it’s that one. Look at him now after all that big talk!”
Voices predicting Rain’s defeat erupted from every direction. The map heavily favored knights, but the collective ill will toward Rain had fused into a single atmosphere of unified mockery.
So many people with no eyes.
The green-eyed girl clicked her tongue inwardly. Chloe crossed her legs and gazed down from the stands at the waiting area where Rain and Meles Kent stood.
“There’s no way that guy got Rank 5…”
Her eyes sharpened with suspicion. The situation had turned out completely opposite to her prediction, so Chloe tilted her head and crossed her legs again. Even if it had only been for a moment, that guy had clearly shown an overwhelming presence against everyone present. She herself had flinched at that unpleasant, spine-chilling sharpness. That was why she had assumed he would at least start the ranking test in Rank 3. Yet here he was, beginning at Rank 5.
Did the academy pull some strings?
Her eyes were never wrong. Therefore this had to be a conspiracy to kill the commoner who had provoked nobles. Her self-confidence was so absolute it bordered on excess, which was exactly why she could see others exactly as they were. Possessing a mindset that was both un-noble and the most noble possible, she frowned as she waited for the match to begin.
———Vrrrr, vrrrr.
The terminal she had tucked inside her blazer began vibrating noisily.
“Who the hell is calling at such an important time?”
Clicking her tongue, Chloe quickly pulled it out.
“Ah, fuck.”
She let out a short curse at the notice that her own match was starting in five minutes.
“I waited twenty whole minutes just to see this one match…”
Twenty minutes. She should have been resting somewhere quieter to manage her stamina and mana, yet she had deliberately stayed in the stands because she wanted to see Rain’s skills. Thanks to that, she had spent the entire wait dealing with people who kept trying to talk to her. Instead of recovering, she actually felt more drained… and now she had to get up and leave for her own match.
Letting out a deep sigh that rose from the very bottom of her core at the absurd situation, Chloe muttered, “Isn’t there any way…?”
Half-resigned, she was just standing up when Rain’s match began.
“———Huh?”
Even if it was only the beginning, Chloe’s eyes reflexively turned toward the arena.
“…Eh?”
Her beautiful, sparkling green eyes trembled violently. In just five seconds—less than five seconds—the match she had been waiting so eagerly to see was already over. Unable to believe it, Chloe blinked her large eyes with a dazed, almost stupid expression.
“It’s… over?”
“…No, what the hell just happened?”
“Did I see that right?”
The buzzing voices grew louder. Even those who had wanted Rain to lose were equally stunned. Regardless of the result, no one had expected the match to end in a mere five seconds.
“What just happened?”
“His opponent suddenly collapsed?”
“When the hell did he close the distance like that?”
From a spectator’s view it had ended in a single instant, but five seconds was more than enough time to do something. Yet even the people who had watched those five seconds closely couldn’t figure out exactly what had occurred during the match.
“…Is that guy really a mage?”
It made sense they were confused. A mage had suddenly closed the distance at high speed… then slammed a powerful straight punch right into the knight’s abdomen. The knight couldn’t even let out a scream before he collapsed.
“Where in the world is there a mage who beats a knight with his fists…?”
Shock. Astonishment. Awe. Chaos. Everyone stared at the arena where Rain stood, rendered speechless by the unheard-of method and result.
“Next is you guys.”
Rain smiled and drew a finger across his throat in a slicing gesture.
“You’re cool, Rain~!”
At that, Chloe’s voice rang out loudly across the stands as she clapped with an expression of pure admiration. Everyone—whether they had been watching Rain’s match or not—turned to stare in surprise at the sudden behavior of the young lady from the Asher Marquis family, but…
“Go for it, Rain! Bravo~!”
Life was her own way. Chloe was gradually starting to like Rain more and more.