The Victory Banquet (3)
No. Regardless of anything else, she's still an aristocrat.
Whatever anyone else thought of Renias, keeping his guard up was the right move. To the nobles, who entered the academy after inflating their magical aptitudes through extensive early tutoring, the lower-class students were little more than targets for contempt. What reason could a girl from such a wealthy, prominent family have to seek him out, looking every bit the highborn aristocrat down to her very marrow? She might well have come to flaunt her status, class standing, and role, eager to tear down a commoner vanguard from Class E.
And yet…
"You're Senior Junon from the second year, right?"
"I am, but… were you looking for me?"
"Of course! We've been paired together for the end-of-term evaluation, remember? I just wanted to come by and say hello."
There wasn't a trace of derision in that voice. Could she really just be an ordinary, well-adjusted person who came to greet her partner?
"I'm Renias, a first-year. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Watching her bow in polite greeting, Junon genuinely wondered if she truly belonged to the nobility. Having crossed paths with countless people across Lebrant, such an open, warm response felt utterly foreign. Still, there was always the chance it was a facade so convincing he was being completely taken in.
"What is your actual business here?"
"Pardon? My business?"
"You didn't come just for pleasantries, did you? You must have another reason."
In this academy, whenever a noble was assigned a Class E or Class D student—let alone a vanguard—as a partner for joint practical training, persecution and verbal abuse inevitably followed. Every student who openly complained about an unsatisfactory pairing had been an aristocrat. When matched as sparring opponents, they would sneer and strut over to intimidate their counterparts, looking to pick a fight or cause trouble. He had expected her to be hiding a similar agenda beneath a polished veneer.
"Um… we're just upperclassman and underclassman attending the same academy. Is it really that strange to say hello to my partner…?"
Junon stared, slack-jawed at her expression. There wasn't an ounce of malice in her demeanor. Aside from a rare few like Michel and Senia, he had believed reasonably decent people were nonexistent in this place. Was she genuinely sincere?
"And since I'm a year below you, please feel free to speak informally, Senior. It would put me much more at ease, too."
It had all been his own prejudice. As the saying went, dwell only on the ugly and you would see bad intentions in everything. He had been doing exactly that. She was the real deal. Denying it was pointless, and since she had no ties to Tembris, there was no reason to remain wary. Comparing a girl enveloped in such pure sincerity to the petty routines of Lebrant's degenerates was an insult in itself.
Even so, that didn't mean they were free of problems.
"If dropping formalities makes you comfortable, then I will. But… what if I end up dragging you down during the evaluation?"
That was the real issue. Unlike monsters, humans possessed intellect; they pooled their strength and put their heads together to overcome adversity. The same rules applied when confronting beasts. Each individual had a role suited to them, and only when those duties were performed smoothly could a team maximize its synergy. Everyone knew a standard six-person squad provided the greatest efficiency.
Renias, however, was an anomaly who defied that universal rule. In his previous life, if Tembris had held up the crumbling pillars of Lebrant Academy, it was no exaggeration to say the Arcab Party had bought them the time needed to keep those pillars from collapsing in the first place.
Ronelion and Renias.
The Arcab Party consisted of those two alone. That did not mean they were inadequate; rather, their mutual coordination was so flawless, their coverage of each other's blind spots so absolute, that they could discard conventional team synergy entirely. They simply had no need for a standard six-member lineup. In Lebrant Academy, she was an outlier whose achievements could only be measured against legendary figures from history.
And what was an actual battlefield like? It was a storm of suffocating pressure where academy students tasted utter despair, trembling on the brink of death, and where even hardened veterans could not afford a single lapse in concentration. One misstep could cost a life; a solitary error could determine whether a comrade lived or died. It was precisely why Renias commanded such fierce admiration from students and faculty alike. With that slender frame, she had proven she possessed the fortitude to maintain her composure, stay in peak condition, and rally the morale of everyone around her.
Junon thought she would understand his point: his abilities were too far below hers for them to coordinate properly. But her reaction was completely unexpected.
"Oh, come on! Isn't the whole point of a two-person pair to overcome things together? Besides, my family always taught me that it's wrong to blame others for things like that."
Faced with that overwhelming wave of pure optimism, Junon's lingering apprehension melted away like snow in spring.
"If you're really worried, would you like to practice our coordination beforehand? I don't have much free time, but… um, I think I can shuffle my lecture schedule around as much as possible."
"No, stop… It's fine, please don't do that. You're just making me feel guilty."
"Ahaha! Anyway, I look forward to working with you for the end-of-term evaluation, partner."
Accepting the handshake Renias offered, Junon echoed her sentiment.
She probably has no idea, does she?
Though decent nobles did exist from time to time, most remained oblivious to the harsh realities faced by the lower classes. Michel had been a prime example. In a past that had not occurred in this timeline, after Junon had been battered by Sylvia and Michel helped him up, she had trembled with fury upon learning what he had endured. Even as a highborn lady herself, she had shuddered in outrage, apologizing repeatedly and confessing she had no idea such abuses were taking place.
Renias would almost certainly react the same way. And if the instigators were nearby, she would see justice served just as Michel had once suppressed Sylvia.
An improbable hope began to take shape in his mind.
It would be wonderful if she were standing right at the entrance of the banquet hall.
Certain people walked through life as beacons of absolute righteousness, radiating good intentions and rushing forward without hesitation to stop wrongdoing the moment they witnessed it. That was precisely the kind of person she was. If only someone like her could see what was happening at the entrance of the victory banquet, the entire mess would be resolved with ease.
Wait… if she noticed?
It suddenly occurred to him that Renias was one of the celebrated figures of this very victory banquet. The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning, his eyes flying wide.
"Uh… S-Senior?"
"Are you attending the victory banquet this time?"
"Pardon? Y-Yes, I am. But um… Senior…"
Her voice faltered, colored by visible embarrassment. Junon frowned, wondering what the issue was. She had said she was attending, so why did she look so troubled? Her dark eyes darted nervously downward.
"Ah."
Without realizing it, he had seized both of her hands tightly. If he tried to pass it off as an ordinary handshake, no one in their right mind would believe a greeting involved gripping someone with both hands and leaning in close to interrogate them. It was undeniably rude, enough to warrant a harsh rebuke, but Renias merely offered an awkward smile.
"You were so guarded just a second ago, and then you suddenly grabbed my hands like that… You startled me. Haha."
Was she an angel descended from the heavens? How could anyone be this kind?
"More importantly, why do you ask about the banquet? Is something different about it this time?"
"Well…"
He found it difficult to answer. It wasn't something he could explain plainly, especially since he would essentially be taking advantage of her presence there. He hesitated, questioning whether this was morally right, but a better opportunity would never present itself.
"It's nothing major. Let's just meet briefly at the entrance that evening. We can talk a bit more about the evaluation while we're at it."
"Mm… You must be quite busy today, then?"
"Well… something like that."
After all, he had just spent the afternoon fleeing from Senia. While he couldn't guarantee an uprising among the lower-class students would happen with absolute certainty, the odds were overwhelmingly high. Even if Sylvia couldn't act as the gatekeeper, the noble coalition would undoubtedly find another substitute to guard the door.
In any case, he desperately needed someone capable of resolving the situation before it spiraled out of control, and encountering her now was an extraordinary stroke of luck. Renias Lantana, his partner for the upcoming evaluation. It felt underhanded to maneuver her into noticing the crisis before the nobles could widen the divide between classes, but he had no other choice.
"Oh, but if I haven't arrived by the time the banquet starts winding down, don't wait for me. Just head inside on your own."
For his part, Junon fully intended to avoid running into her at the entrance if he could help it.
Renias had asked why he might not be able to attend the banquet. Junon gave a brief explanation, offering a plausible excuse, and Renias readily accepted it without pressing further.
"Mm… Understood. But whether you can make it or not, you have to promise to grant me one small favor in return, okay?"
Assuming she wouldn't ask for anything unreasonable, Junon gave an easy nod. Exchanging parting words, the two went their separate ways.
Humming a cheerful tune on her way back to the dormitories, Renias paused mid-stride and glanced over her shoulder. The second-year senior with striking black hair and dark eyes was walking in the direction of Mizar Hall. Watching Junon's retreating figure, she murmured in a voice too soft for anyone else to hear:
"He doesn't seem like such a bad person after all, unlike the rumors."