#013 Cecile

"It's nothing special. I just have something to ask."

She ushered the three who had come with her inside the building.

"So what is it you wish to ask, Baron Kael Cleanberry?"

She already knew about me.

— Your hair and eye color are pretty distinctive, after all.

That was true.

Black hair and black eyes.

A rare combination among nobles.

"I'm looking for a student, but I don't know who it is."

"Shouldn't you ask the faculty about that?"

"I'd rather avoid their eyes."

As I spoke, I strode straight toward her.

When I stopped right in front of her, her already sharp gaze grew even fiercer, making my heart pound.

'She looks like a soldier who's been through more than ten years of war.'

Eyes filled with hostility.

I had never seen that look when I was in Aslan's body, so I hadn't realized it before. Now I understood why opponents always flinched during sparring.

"Brown hair, about this length."

"...Give me more precise information."

"You know the kid named Rin who died recently, right?"

Her eyes flashed like a beast's.

If I weren't a noble, she probably would have grabbed me by the collar on the spot.

"He used to meet her often. Before she killed herself."

"What exactly are you saying—"

"There's too much that feels off. I want to look into it."

When I smiled, the woman glared at me for a moment before her expression softened slightly.

She must have decided it was worth helping for that reason.

"It's Jeffrey, fourth-year Class C. Did someone from above order an investigation?"

"Of course not."

I answered with a slightly bitter expression.

"The higher-ups don't care whether commoners live or die. This is just my personal little deviation. So keep quiet about the fact that I asked about that kid. You understand what I mean?"

The woman gave a small nod.

"Then I'll be going."

"If..."

"?"

"If you find out the whole story, please tell me as well. I want to hear it."

I turned my head slightly, smiled, and walked away again.

"Sure."

Once I knew the class, finding the guy was easy.

I hid quietly and watched his every move.

And I noticed something strange.

Usually commoners had trouble even speaking to nobles, but this guy mingled with them quite naturally.

'There's only one way that's possible.'

— What? Is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he offering up his ass? Or sucking their dicks?

'Sister... even if that's possible, look at his face. Does that look like a face that could work as a male prostitute?'

— True. His looks are pretty lacking.

'I don't know about other countries, but the nobles of this empire judge male prostitutes by their faces, so it's impossible.'

— Then what is it?

There weren't many ways a commoner could mingle with nobles.

'Either paying regular bribes, or acting as a broker for some shady business.'

And I caught an important clue that let me infer which it was.

After class ended, the guy met a woman.

And that woman looked very familiar.

— Huh, them? The ones who used to hang around with that kid Rin... who was it. Cecile!

Now the picture was coming together.

If my guess was right, Jeffrey was playing pimp with the commoner students inside the academy.

'Then let's take a good look at your true colors.'

I used magic to enhance my hearing.

Then I listened to their conversation.

"...I still don't think that's right."

"Get a grip. I'm saying this for your sake. If you just close your eyes and do it, the rest of your academy life will be comfortable."

He spread his arms wide and continued.

"And you'll get paid a lot. Honestly, you're struggling with tuition, aren't you? Huh? Do you plan to burden your family even more?"

"Still... I really can't do that."

The woman turned and hurried away.

The man shouted after her.

"Get a grip! At this rate, your family will be ruined before you even graduate!"

But she gave no reply and disappeared around the corner of the building.

The man clicked his tongue in irritation.

"Stupid bitch. What's the big deal about spreading her cheap cunt a little? Fuck... Guess I need to find another girl."

He moved on.

Seeming quite annoyed, he punched the stone wall as he went.

— What are you planning to do, Aslan?

'Hmm...'

Since things had come to this, I needed to find out which bastards were involved.

From fourth year onward, the number of mandatory classes decreased.

In exchange, autonomy increased.

That was why quite a few fourth-years went out on special missions outside the academy.

And Jeffrey, like any other fourth-year, had minimized his classes and was constantly on the move, meeting mostly commoner female students or noble males.

By evening, he headed outside the academy.

— Where's he going?

'From the conversations I overheard, it seems like he's planning some kind of party.'

— A party?

'Yeah. I think that's why he was running around all day.'

He walked steadily and entered a building.

I followed and stood in front of the door.

It was a shabby building.

The sign above read "Bathhouse."

— Aren't you going in?

'Can't I just wait outside?'

— True. What would you gain from watching men bathe?

'Ah, I forgot about you, Sister. How about it, Sister? Want to go inside? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Care to look at some men's bodies?'

— Ahem. No thanks. If it's just middle-aged men with beer bellies, I'd rather not ruin my eyes.

So I sat at a teahouse across from the bathhouse, sipping tea while waiting for him to come out.

But what was this?

No matter how long I waited, he didn't appear.

'It's already been two hours... Don't tell me...?'

I immediately started moving.

No, I ran.

Then I flung the door open and stepped inside.

The owner looked startled at my sudden entrance but said nothing.

Probably because they got all sorts of customers at a place used by commoners.

— Why'd you come in? You said you'd wait outside. Aha. You're trying to sneak into the women's bath, aren't you?

'Beres. Find that bastard from earlier. My detection isn't picking him up.'

— Hold on. ...Huh? Me neither.

'Did he notice he was being followed?!'

Even after searching with detection for a long time, I couldn't sense anything that felt like him.

In the end, I'd lost him.

Under the owner's glare, I had no choice but to leave the building.

Darkness had completely settled over the city.

Street lamps glowed yellow here and there.

'Should I go back in and shake down the owner?'

— Stop. Take it slow, Aslan. You'll get another chance.

'Still... that party is really bothering me. I feel like if I go there, I'll find out everything about this incident.'

Beres let out a deep sigh.

A brief silence passed between us before she asked in a serious tone.

— Jeren Diya Aslan. Do you want to catch the culprit and learn the truth about all this, or... do you want to save even one more person?

'If I have to choose one... I want to save them, of course.'

— Then instead of standing around here, why not keep watch from the rooftop? There's no guarantee there won't be another suicide tonight.

"!!!"

She was right.

Suicides were happening in real time right now.

And though the interval had slowed a little, it was starting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to speed up again.

I sprinted toward the academy at full speed.

'Damn it. Please, let nothing happen...!'

— Mages, honestly.

***

My family was ordinary.

Neither extravagant nor poor—just enough to eat like everyone else.

Parents who worked from morning until late at night.

Two younger siblings who always begged to play, and me studying whenever I had a spare moment between chores.

I had never once thought we were lacking, but looking back now, we must have been poor.

Still, every day had been happy.

Then as I grew older and gained some sense,

when I started asking myself, "Where is my life heading?"

I learned that I had considerable mana, and was accepted into the Imperial Academy, a place only the blessed could enter.

The place everyone envied.

Honestly, at the beginning I had high expectations.

I dreamed of making good friends, learning magic, and walking the same path as the great mage Carlos.

But reality was very different from what I had imagined.

'Hey, you're pretty cute, aren't you?'

I never thought that one sentence would be the start of my misfortune.

Accidents kept happening at my parents' shop, which had never had problems before.

Some juniors started approaching me and harassing me whenever they could.

And they kept demanding one thing.

'Just close your eyes and accept it. Then the rest of your academy life will be easy. Plus you'll get paid, so isn't that great?'

There used to be five of us.

Five people who laughed together and endured hardships side by side.

But one by one they left...

And even Rin, the last one remaining, left my side.

Now there was no one left around me.

I'm alone... I'm scared.

Two years still remained, but it felt impossibly far away.

The entrance ceremony, when I had dreamed of all sorts of things and couldn't sleep from excitement, felt like just yesterday, yet the next two years seemed endlessly long and terrifying.

I shouldn't have come here in the first place.

I really shouldn't have.

'It's not too late even now.'

I just had to die like the other kids.

If you died inside the academy, your family would receive compensation on top of the tuition already paid... and with that money, my family could start a new life without any problems.

I stepped onto the railing.

A cool breeze brushed against my skin.

If I jumped from here, all this pain would end, and I would finally be free.

Freedom.

Freedom from pain.

Freedom from everything that bound and tormented me.

'Kids, wait for me. I'm coming now too.'

My body slowly leaned forward.

The cool breeze welcomed me.

I spread both arms wide.

I wanted to feel this coolness with my whole body.

I looked up at the sky.

The stars in the night sky shone brilliantly.

'Farewell, my dreams. Dad, Mom, Jacob, Jenin. I'm sorry, everyone.'

I'll go up to the sky first.

But the moment I realized I was about to die, regret flooded in.

If I was going to die like this, I should have struggled a little more.

I should have tried harder to live.

Then something strange happened.

I should have felt an impact after falling toward the ground, but instead I felt something soft.

As if I had fallen into a giant marshmallow...

At that moment, I turned my head at the firm sensation surrounding me.

A man was smiling.

For a second I thought he was an angel who had come to take the dead, so I looked down to find my body, but interestingly, there was nothing on the ground.

The angel smiled.

A warm smile filled his face.

"Suicide isn't the answer, miss. I'll give you one more chance, so try living a little longer. Got it?"

"Hah... hah... Wh-what... a dream?"

I lifted my head.

When I looked around, I was on the rooftop of some building.

I scrambled to the edge and looked down.

There was nothing.

Only darkness filled the place where I had fallen.

'Was it... really a dream?'

I slapped my cheek.

Smack.

It hurt...

'Try living a little longer...'

He had definitely said that to me.

Maybe that was why.

I felt like I wanted to live a little longer.

The negative thoughts that had filled my mind until just moments ago disappeared, and a desire to survive somehow welled up from deep within my heart.

Just then, a gentle breeze came from somewhere and tickled my ears.

— Cecile. We know you want to meet us, but it's not time yet. Try a little harder. You can do it.

I felt like I could hear my friends cheering me on.

I closed my eyes and quietly mourned for my friends.

Each and every one of them who had died here.

***

— You made it just in time.

'Thanks to you, Beres. Because of you, I was able to save her.'

— Don't praise me for that. To us, that's no different from an insult.

'Then why did you help?'

— I just had a feeling that if we saved even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one victim right before they died, we might be able to catch the real culprits of this incident one after another. And if that happens...

'And if that happens?'

— We'll be able to find their weaknesses. From my perspective, the sooner you achieve your dream, the better. That's all there is to it.

She then warned me to make sure she never had to get involved in such dirty business again.

I smiled and said,

'Still, thank you. For saving my student.'

Whatever the reason, it was thanks to her that the girl was alive.

— But why did you just save her and leave her alone? If you do that, there's no point in saving her.

'If I'm there when she wakes up, she'll feel grateful and might easily give information like you said. But she'll also start depending on me.'

— What's wrong with that?

'Then whenever things get hard, she'll try to kill herself again. That's why. She has to stand up on her own without me. Only then can she truly stand firm.'

— Damn it. Then why the hell did I help?

I soothed the grumbling Beres and headed back outside the academy.

Then I walked slowly, as if enjoying the breeze, and sat down next to the bathhouse.

— Why here all of a sudden?

'Yeah. I just had a feeling that if I stayed here quietly, I'd be able to catch that guy.'

— Who?

'That bastard from earlier.'

And sure enough... after some time passed, the locked inn door opened and a figure appeared.

A man with brown hair grown down to his chin—Jeffrey.