A Plate Full of Regret
Ah, looks like I'm about to get scolded again.
The Academy cadet uniform is basically white. Which means even a single speck of dust shows up like a beacon. Naturally, that makes you extra careful when eating anything with color. Not that the nobles who make up ninety-nine percent of this place would ever spill anything on their clothes, but… I can't help wondering what they'd do if they did. Even I, who usually doesn't care about a little stain, get so irritated when food splatters on white fabric that I freeze up for a second. So how annoyed would actual nobles get? Especially if it was pasta sauce. Sure, special cleaning isn't that hard to arrange, but just thinking about having to wear the damn thing afterward is such a hassle.
But what if it wasn't just any pasta sauce? What if it was pasta sauce that had some kind of rodent mixed in, and that mess landed on a pure white uniform…? Oh shit. Just imagining it makes me sick.
“Kyaaak—!!”
A plate of pasta—complete with rodent garnish—comes flying straight at me. The terror and shock of those two facts combined are beyond words, so even though it hasn't hit yet, the freckled girl with glasses lets out a reflexive scream. Since she'd already given up on dodging, her future was obviously going to involve getting smacked by a flying plate. So the scream wasn't strange at all.
———But what if it didn't hit?
“…What?”
The freckled glasses girl cautiously opens her tightly shut eyes. A mysterious sight unfolds before her.
“…It stopped?”
Just as she said, everything—from the rodent to the pasta, the sauce, and even the bowl that held it all—hovers frozen in midair. As if someone had pinned it there with something sticky. And of course, that someone is me.
“This is the space-time magic that earned me first place in the Magic Department, Senior.”
Tik. With a snap of my fingers, the frozen space-time around the pasta and bowl reverses, and everything settles neatly back onto the table like nothing had happened. I pick up the bowl containing the rodent.
“Why are you all so scared of me? What exactly did I do?”
I walk past the three people who flinch and eye me warily, then dump the whole thing into a nearby trash can.
“I simply gave you a small event to help you come to your senses, just like you seniors did for me. I hope this junior’s sincerity has been properly conveyed.”
I flash them a crooked smile and glance over.
“You—did you just mess with us?!”
“Mess with you? We all did the exact same thing. If you’re interpreting this situation as being messed with, then—”
“———.”
“Does that mean I’m allowed to interpret what you seniors did to me the same way?”
Yeah, that’s the face of someone who just got hit with their own medicine. How many times do you think I ran my mouth while playing the villain? Huh? I don’t even remember anymore. But let’s just say it was a lot.
“Shall we wrap this up by saying we were all just trying to help each other come to our senses?”
“…You.”
“Wouldn’t that be better? As you all know, my friends are quite impressive.”
Ta-da. With a bright smile, I proudly stretch out my hand and point behind me. There stand the eldest daughter of the Eliade family with a stern expression, the second daughter of House Blair puffing out her chest with a hand on her hip, and the only daughter of House Asher making a cheerful V-sign with her fingers.
“This is the last time I’m going easy on you lot.”
The youngest daughter of House Alencia glares fiercely at the three seniors, each of them treating the upperclassmen with the utmost care in their own unique ways. Though there’s a two-year difference in their grades, their skills are already on par with the current top first-years of the 96th class. Even if not right now, those seniors will eventually be devoured by them. And before that happens, these girls are from the Four Great Houses that support the kingdom. What can they possibly do? Nothing. No matter the two-year gap, there’s nothing they can do.
“You’re actually crazy…? You think they’ll stay on your side forever?!”
Except for threatening me, apparently.
“Just because a commoner like you is doing a little better lately, you’ve completely lost your mind?”
“This won’t last more than six months. Six months. I don’t know how you managed to seduce them, but…”
“I didn’t seduce anyone. And if you say that, the silver-haired lady over there is going to hate it…”
“Rain…?”
“Ah, looks like I’m about to get scolded again.”
I mutter and shake my head. Even without turning around, I can feel the gaze demanding eye contact. Every time this happens I debate whether it’s better to read it or ignore it, but… No matter what I do, I’m getting scolded anyway.
Today I choose not to ignore it and go with my second strategy for calming Sien: smile brightly and maintain eye contact until she’s satisfied.
“As you seniors already know, I am indeed a crazy bastard. Even if those young ladies weren’t by my side, I would have done the exact same thing.”
I sigh and look at the three of them in turn.
“But I’m a crazy bastard who’s at least been properly socialized. So this is the last chance I’m giving you, seniors.”
“…….”
“Treat me like a junior, laugh it off, and please don’t cross the line again. I’m a crazy bastard, so I don’t even know when I might explode.”
———Actually, maybe I already have?
I wipe the smile from my face and narrow my eyes. The moment I release the faintest hint of killing intent, all three flinch and take a step back. These guys really do react the same way every time. I don’t even feel like scoffing anymore.
“See you at today’s demonic beast subjugation, seniors.”
I give a light bow and leave the area. The four of them quickly wipe their mouths and tidy up before standing as well.
“Why aren’t you guys eating?”
“There’s no way Rain could keep eating calmly after something like that.”
“Seeing that rodent completely killed my appetite… Oh! But since Rain is leaving, it would be rude for nobles to just sit here eating!”
“But damn, you’re really good with your words. Are you a junior champion in verbal combat or something?”
The three of them quickly catch up and explain their reasons. These guys… They really do think of me as a friend!
Just as that warm thought crosses my mind, Sien slips right up beside me and links her arm with mine.
“Rain.”
“Yeah. Thanks for trusting me.”
“———Explain what she meant by ‘seduce.’”
“…Huh?”
“Were you really planning to do that?”
“……Sien, there’s no way I———.”
“That’s right! Rain tried to seduce me using nothing but his looks! But I had no idea…! I thought he was meeting me with pure intentions…! Sob sob♥.”
“…Rain.”
At Chloe’s sudden fabrication and incitement, Sien’s eyes turn ice-cold.
———This crazy bitch?
I’d been standing there perfectly fine, yet my nose had been cut off right in front of my face. Chloe’s twisted mindset of “as long as I’m having fun, it’s okay” is shocking enough, but…
“Answer me quickly… Answer me…!”
The fact that Sien is completely falling for such terrible acting and demanding an answer is even more shocking.
“…But why are you linking arms with me? Aren’t you suspicious of me?”
“That and this are completely separate. Stop changing the subject, Rain.”
“I’m not changing the subject. I never did anything like that in the first place———.”
“Liar~! What happened to that romantic vow we made under the night sky~♥”
The cheeky little lantern puts on a ridiculous crocodile-tear performance. And the way she grins with an expression that practically screams I am an absolute evil person and I am thoroughly enjoying this situation♥ is…
That evil little shit. I swear I’ll get my revenge someday.
This is the first time in my life I’ve genuinely wanted to beat the crap out of someone. That damn lantern. I’m definitely going to make you cry.
If a being possesses life, then ‘mana’ flows within it. However, whether one can wield that mana determines if they become a knight or magician with a ‘mana circle’ or remain an ordinary person. This applies not only to humans. Animals, plants, even microorganisms. Compared to humans it might as well be nonexistent, yet there are definitely ‘non-human creatures’ that possess mana circles. The problem is that unlike humans, they have no ‘ethics,’ ‘morals,’ or ‘sense of justice’ to guide how they use it.
“I really shouldn’t have taken first place.”
I never expected the ball launched during the ranking evaluation to turn out to be an insanely huge one that could even cover the stars, but what can I do? If I subjugate them, someone else can live peacefully without being attacked by demonic creatures. Might as well think positively.
Repeating that to myself, I opened the door. Beyond it, the temporary subjugation team gathered for today’s operation was waiting. Heavily armed knights and mages decked out in all sorts of artifacts. They were all from the 96th class, finishing their final preparations in their own ways before the subjugation. As the top first-year of the Magic Department, I had been allowed to participate in the second-year demonic beast subjugation that usually takes place around this time.
But here’s the shocking part: allowing first-years to join the second-year subjugation was a new system introduced with my class. It had never been done once in all the years up to the 96th class. In other words, something that hadn’t been done for ninety-six years was suddenly implemented in the ninety-seventh year—the year I enrolled.
The Academy’s official stance was that the 97th class had so many outstanding talents that they were ‘experimentally’ allowing immediate participation in demonic beast subjugations… but at this point, aren’t they just shoving people off a cliff?
Just admit you made this to screw me over, you noble bastards.
It was obviously a sneaky scheme designed to trap an insolent commoner, but to avoid looking too blatant, they included the top three students from each department—six in total—in this subjugation team. From the Magic Department: me, Roselia, and Chloe. From the Knight Department: Sien, Aine, and———
“Nice to meet you, Rain.”
A black-haired woman extends her hand to me.
“My name is Keith Eipen. I’ll be joining the vanguard team with you today. Please call me Keith.”
The woman who introduced herself as Keith Eipen offers a light smile and requests a handshake.
No matter how much I’ve spent the past month proving I’m not just a crazy person—by consistently getting good grades, avoiding conflict whenever possible, and laughing things off…
…A handshake? With me?
How many nobles would even offer their hand to a commoner?
Is she a baroness or something?
My twisted way of thinking instinctively tried to figure out the identity of this unfamiliar Eipen family, but the important thing was that she would be my comrade during today’s subjugation. I return her bright smile and, after confirming Sien isn’t watching, take her hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Keith. I’m Rain.”