Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Class 2-F.
A commoner student, Jeff, had belonged to Class A during his first year.
Which meant he had been that talented.
But what about now?
After the class placement examination, he had been assigned to Class F.
"Why?"
A hollow echo rang through Class F.
"Why me?"
This past year.
Had he spent it lazily?
Had he been someone inferior to others?
No. That was not it.
Jeff had gripped the hilt of his sword until his palms bled, and he had trained until his bones felt as if they would shatter.
Twenty-two terrorist attacks carried out against the Cradle.
Jeff had lost friends because of them… no, everyone had.
And so, in order not to forget those sacrifices, they had all continued to strive forward.
They carried the wishes of the friends who had gone ahead of them and moved toward the future.
But what was the result?
"Why us?"
What had been engraved upon them was the evaluation that they were the lowest within the Cradle.
Under normal circumstances, they might have thought it couldn’t be helped.
If it had been the Cradle of the past, they might have accepted it even if it felt unfair.
They would have sighed bitterly and blamed their own lack of effort.
"What exactly are we lacking that we deserve this kind of evaluation?"
But now it was different.
Everyone here wasn’t just living for themselves.
They carried the dreams of those who had died, those who had given up.
They were the ones who had stubbornly survived.
They had poured out blood in their efforts.
"Do you think this makes sense?"
Everyone thought the same thing.
Not a single one of them believed they were inferior to others.
They had already thrown away the excuse of "it can’t be helped" long ago.
"This isn’t right. There’s no way we deserve such an evaluation!"
Jeff shouted.
He raised his voice toward the students of Class F, who were drowning in a gloomy atmosphere.
"Do you see it? Not a single noble."
It was never easy to accept that effort would not bear fruit.
Especially when that effort had been vowed upon the sacrifices of others.
"It means our efforts can’t overturn the circumstances of our birth."
"Or maybe it means they shouldn’t."
Someone’s sigh.
Someone’s sneer.
All of those negative emotions tangled together, deepening the gloom.
"I’ll show them."
And upon the oil of that gloom, someone struck a spark.
"I’ll prove who we are! I’ll prove how hard we’ve worked!"
The spark spread.
The spark of revolution began to rise.
And at that very moment, someone appeared who poured cold water over it.
Clack!
"What are you staring at?"
A boy with gray hair and a gloomy expression.
"Never seen a noble before?"
His name was Johann Damus.
"Fuck."
At that single muttered curse, filled with complicated emotions, everyone snapped back to their senses.
"Who’s that?"
"You know… from the Damus Count family."
"A count family? Not even a baron?"
A noble.
And not just any noble, but the son of a count.
And that person had entered Class F while spitting out curses?
That fact alone made one thing certain.
"Ah, so it wasn’t divided by status after all… damn, that’s fair."
The spark that had just begun to ignite died down immediately.
The coup of Class F.
A commotion where they indiscriminately attacked students and professors from other classes in order to prove their abilities.
At first, it had been a movement for proof.
It took quite a while before that transformed into hatred.
And it was hard to think of everyone here as villains.
They were simply wronged.
If it were me, I’d be pissed too if I got an average score of 96 on the college entrance exam and they gave me a seventh tier instead of even a second.
Didn’t the same thing happen to me?
I thought I was guaranteed an A on the written exam, but I got a C.
"This fucking bullshit."
Actually… now that I think about it, I’m suddenly pissed.
These bastards took the exam with the answer sheet and they’re talking about effort?
Shouldn’t I be the one starting the coup?
Of course, I’ve got neither the strength nor the will, so I’d probably just end up staying quiet in the corner.
"Move, damn it. I’m sitting by the window."
"Uh, o-okay. You sit there."
Still, I can at least cause this much trouble.
"If you sit by the window, you’ll at least see the scenery outside. It might make you feel better."
"…Don’t pity me."
"Huh? Ah, sorry. If that sounded rude, I apologize."
Of course, no matter what I do right now, I look like a pitiful person.
That’s the whole point of the act.
The more pathetic I look, the more people will think, "Well, at least I’m better than that guy."
People naturally take comfort in seeing someone worse off than themselves.
I’m willingly becoming that "someone worse."
By doing that, I’ll extinguish the spark of inferiority burning within the students of Class F.
Stopping the coup before it even happens.
That’s my plan.
The story getting twisted because of that?
Who gives a shit.
If their lives get ruined just because Class F students didn’t get screwed over, then the author’s the weird one.
They can deal with it themselves.
But still…
"That’s so sad."
"He’s even a noble, so he’ll be compared to others even more."
Yeah.
This feels a bit unpleasant.
The hellish morning schedule finally ended.
Was it because the classes were difficult?
No.
It was the stares following me that were suffocating.
No matter what I did, people kept looking at me with pity.
They were ridiculously considerate.
For example, when I picked up a sword.
"Ah, how about holding it like this? I mean, I’m not forcing you, but it might feel more comfortable that way…"
Or when I drew a magic circle.
"Ah, that’s wrong… no, wait. You made a mistake, right? You drew this part incorrectly."
Or when I ate alone.
"Do you mind if I sit here? I just… don’t have any friends."
Stop it.
Stop it, you fucking bastards.
The way you act pisses me off even more.
If you’re going to lecture me, just do it openly.
Don’t twist it into this weird fake consideration.
Anyway, because of that mental exhaustion, I decided to spend the rest of lunch somewhere quiet.
The place I found was a bench on a sparsely populated street.
Sitting there, I let out a deep sigh and listened quietly.
The sound of the wind blowing.
The rustling of leaves stirred by that wind.
And the sound of a girl plopping down on the seat beside me.
"What now… Princess Ariel? What do you want this time?"
"Ahem! Ah, hello, Sir Johann."
The first thing I saw was a wide witch’s hat.
And it was obvious who was underneath it.
The princess whose kimchi-jjigae recipe I evaluated recently.
Ariel Ether.
Just looking at Ariel radiating awkward energy made it feel like the lunch I had earlier was coming back up.
For reference, I ate salad.
That’s how unpleasant I feel.
"Do you have a moment to talk?"
"No."
"…My apologies."
Even so, the moment I showed my displeasure, Ariel immediately stood up to leave.
The way she was watching my mood so carefully made it clear something was going on.
But asking what it was just because it bothered me would be the fastest way to get dragged into someone else’s business.
I didn’t even turn around.
Absolutely.
No matter what happens.
I am not getting involved with you people!!
But no matter how determined I was, it wasn’t like I could stop a natural disaster.
Yes.
The protagonist Robelia and the people around her began coming to find me like a natural disaster.
"Can we talk for a moment—"
"No. We cannot. I said no talking!"
"Ah, I’m sorry."
Every time I walked across the campus, Ariel popped out of nowhere like a random encounter system.
Why do we run into each other so often?
I know she’s looking for me on purpose, but she’s finding me way too easily.
Did she put some kind of tracking magic on me?
The most irritating part is that she actually listens.
If I say I don’t want to talk, she quietly backs off.
"Ahem, Johann. Wouldn’t it be alright to at least hear her out?"
"And who are you acting familiar with?"
Some bastard whose name I don’t even know.
Anyway, that obedient attitude seemed pitiful to the people around us.
When she left looking so miserable, it made me look like the bad guy.
Just like during our first meeting, Ariel had this strange talent for attracting sympathy.
It was practically her natural ability to make someone look like the worst bastard in the world.
"Um…"
"Fine. Just say it."
After a whole week of these sudden encounters, I had no choice but to admit it.
Ignoring this wasn’t going to solve anything.
It was like the ghost in a horror game.
You could chase it away for a moment, but you couldn’t get rid of it.
"Ah, then excuse me."
The moment I gave permission, Ariel hurried closer.
But even though I agreed to listen, her expression didn’t improve at all.
"About that time… I wanted to apologize for what happened then."
"What time are you talking about?"
Did she have anything to apologize for?
Breaking into my place in the middle of the night?
If anyone should apologize for that, it’s Robelia.
Or was it about the restaurant?
That’s the only thing I could think of, but I had no idea why that would require an apology.
Was she apologizing for making me look like an asshole through emotional manipulation?
That would be strange to apologize for, and even stranger for me to accept.
Honestly, if I accepted that apology, I’d look even worse.
"For hurting you."
"…?"
At Ariel’s words, I looked down at the front of my uniform.
I did get stabbed by Dietrich recently…
But that wasn’t her fault.
Was I missing something?
"About your younger sibling. I heard about it. I’m sorry."
"…?"
Sorry about what?
That my adorable little sibling got an early, very physical version of puberty?
But the way she said it sounded like she thought someone had died.
Still, one thing became certain.
You people investigated me.
It must have been Robelia’s order.
Stan Robinhood was probably the one who carried it out.
Anyway, because of that, Ariel learned that something had happened with my sibling, Chris.
But the direction of her misunderstanding was extremely irritating.
This crazy woman just casually killed off a perfectly healthy person.
"Because of that, you were ostracized within your family and even eat alone without a single attendant… sob! I-I was so inconsiderate. I’m sorry."
Ah.
Now I completely understand.
I finally realized what she was misunderstanding.
And yet somehow she was still focusing on the fact that I ate alone.
That was honestly impressive in its own way.
Did she die while eating alone in her previous life or something?
Why is she so obsessed with meals?
Anyway, for someone to dig themselves into a hole this deep was almost awe-inspiring.
The reason I eat alone isn’t because my family ostracized me.
It’s because the looks from the attendants staring at me were uncomfortable.
Our Chris was ridiculously popular.
Among the attendants, there were plenty who considered watching Chris their daily joy.
It was only natural they’d glare at me with resentment.
So, just in case something happened, I dismissed all the attendants who were supposed to assist me.
But who knew that would lead someone to misunderstand things like this…
"Well, if you’ve already found out, it can’t be helped."
A wonderful development.
The moment I realized I could use this situation, I immediately lowered my voice and spoke.
"Knowing the future doesn’t mean you can change everything."
"Gasp!"
"That’s why I decided not to interfere with the future."
"Th-that can’t be!"
"Please. I don’t want to experience something that painful again."
Go, Ariel.
Go back to your master and tell her to stop trying to recruit me.
Robelia was left speechless at the bizarre scene unfolding before her.
"Y-Your Highness… let’s stop approaching Sir Johann."
"A-Ariel?"
She hadn’t expected this.
She thought Ariel would return after apologizing to Johann, having realized the truth, her face bright red.
But she never imagined Ariel would come back sobbing like that.
She thought the misunderstanding would be cleared up.
Ariel would come back and complain to her.
Robelia had even planned to enjoy watching Ariel’s embarrassed face.
But…
"Johann Damus… the more I see, the more you exceed my expectations."
She never imagined that crazy bastard would turn the situation around like that.
Usually when one person lies, the other reveals the truth.
But this time, both sides had been liars.
Robelia had tried to tease Johann and Ariel, only to end up getting outplayed herself.
"Ariel, calm down first and read the rest of this."
In the end, Robelia decided to clean up the situation herself.
She handed over the entire document, which she had previously only shown in part to deceive Ariel.
"Sob—!"
As Ariel flipped through each page of the documents, she cried harder and harder.
Was she empathizing with the imaginary Johann Damus described there?
But only for a moment.
"……"
As if someone had reached the climax of a story only to learn it had all been a dream, Ariel’s expression suddenly froze.
"…?"
Then she flipped back and forth between the pages again.
"You… you tricked me!"
Who was that directed at?
Ariel’s shout of anger echoed louder than ever.