You'll Take Responsibility for This!

"Take this."

When I held out the mana tonic, Michelle blinked a few times. As she took it, she added a few words.

"You're not attaching any special conditions for me."

"Conditions."

"With the other kids, I'm sure you said something like, this is only for you. Keep it an absolute secret."

I nodded without protest.

"That's the reason. You're perceptive."

"It'd be harder not to notice. Kids who looked like corpses are sitting there overnight as if they'd become superhuman."

Michelle was remarkably sharp. Telling an obvious lie to a girl this perceptive — and this proud — would only backfire. With someone like her, honesty was the surest way to earn any goodwill.

"Anyway, that's a relief. I would've been angry if you'd lied to me too."

"You always seem angry."

"Do I. Maybe so."

As she answered, she downed the mana tonic in one go. A silent agreement to keep the secret, it seemed.

But even a girl they called a prodigy was helpless before exhaustion. In that simple motion, Michelle stumbled. Blue liquid slipped from the corner of her mouth and dripped straight onto her chest.

"Ugh."

The girl immediately scowled. She was probably a little angry at herself for slipping up over something so trivial. That was just the kind of person Michelle was.

Today she was wearing a black skirt and a white shirt. That was all. Students of Rahal Academy had a longstanding custom of wearing the academy uniform, but almost no one paid any attention to what F-Class students wore, so it was possible.

Michelle let out a deep sigh. Would this liquid, dense with concentrated mana, ever come out of a white shirt? Wiping it wouldn't be enough.

"I don't want to wear the uniform, though."

The girl muttered it under her breath. I asked lightly.

"You like the shirt?"

"Yes. The uniform jacket feels like it floats up too whenever I use telekinesis."

"A spare?"

"It's at the mansion. Can't be helped."

Meaning she couldn't wash it or change immediately. As she turned away, half-resigned, I caught her.

"Uh — huh?"

"You look unsightly."

Michelle, her shoulder suddenly seized, looked flustered. Still — this was for Michelle herself, and for the F-Class students. If I left her like this, she'd be in a foul mood all day. And if the girl who served as the class's central pillar was in a foul mood, wouldn't that lead to significant losses?

"If you go around looking like that."

I started undoing the buttons of Michelle's shirt.

"Your supervising professor — myself — will catch an earful as well, will I not?"

"Eh, uh, um, wait. H-hold on."

Michelle's body, which had been perfectly supple a moment before, went stiff in an instant.

I pulled the cleanest shirt from the private room's wardrobe. It would be a little large, but still better than wearing a stained one.

"Eh.... uh, uhh? Wh-wh-wh-what...!"

As the shirt came off, Michelle's bare skin was fully exposed. I had assumed she was wearing something underneath. She wasn't. The full, supple curve of her chest, hidden until now inside the shirt, and the white undergarment barely containing it were laid bare. Michelle hastily crossed her arms to cover herself.

"Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing? Right now... r-right now, just arbitrarily... you...!"

Flap—

The shirt I tossed carelessly covered Michelle's face like a tablecloth. She immediately grabbed it and yanked it away.

"If you grip it like that, the shirt will wrinkle."

"Th-that's not the point. What are you even doing right now."

"Must I dress you as well?"

"Eh, eh?"

After a moment of fluster, Michelle hurriedly started putting on the shirt.

"That's... th-that's... absolutely not. That's absolutely not happening. Do you even need to ask that. Are you an idiot, seriously. How are you even a professor."

But how well could fumbling into a shirt possibly go. The girl who prided herself on being a genius couldn't even get the first button through. In the end I sighed and took hold of her collar.

"Well. I do, however, know how to fasten a button."

I brushed her hands aside and fastened each button one by one. My fingers brushing near her chest a few times was unavoidable.

"Ah... s-seriously. Ahhh..."

Michelle's hands trembled. Her face was so red it looked ready to burst. Things around the hospital room even began to drift gently into the air from her influence. I fastened the buttons as quickly as I could.

"That's enough. Go."

I was about to lie back down on the bed when Michelle wouldn't leave. Her face was even redder than before.

"Sexual harassment... this is sexual harassment. You sexually harassed me."

"Go."

"S-sexual assault. Sexual assault."

"Go."

"It's sexual violence! Sexual violence!!! Rape!!!"

Haa.

I ended up shoving her with force. The stammering Michelle was weakly pushed out of the hospital room.

"I-I'll make you take responsibility. I'm the next head of the Maynans family, after all. This incident — you'll have to take responsibility for it later. You'll have to take responsibility for the rest of your life. Do you understand. Don't even think about using being sick as an excuse..."

Click—

I shut the door. There was far too much to think about right now. I didn't have the luxury of indulging a tantrum.

Yes. Go right ahead. I don't care how much attention you pay me, so please just get back to studying.

But then a few more lines of text unfurled in succession.

I'll essentially have no choice but to attend.

Why else would it tell me this was a branch point. If I failed to resolve whatever it was, it would be a straight shot to a bad ending — that was why it was warning me.

Creak—

The private room's door opened without so much as a knock. I thought it was Michelle. It was Violet.

"Adrian. Feeling any better? When were you hoping to be discharged? That's what I came to ask."

"As for discharge..."

The banquet in the Demon Realm lasted three days. Three days, it had said.

"I'll leave in three days."

A secluded corner of the academy.

Pertel lightly nicked the side of her ear with a fingernail. A bead of blood welled up quickly, and presently a voice issued from the droplet.

"Hey! Did you arrive properly?"

The voice of her older sister — Christine's secretary, Artel — came through vivid and clear.

"Yeah. Arrived. I did."

"And class assignment. You got it right?"

She shook her head.

"Didn't. Get it. B-Class. It's B-Class."

"Haa... you idiot! I told you you have to get into the F-Class! Why can't you ever listen!"

"Hard. Made myself as weak as I could. Still, couldn't get into F-Class."

"Well... I guess. Getting into a place full of trash isn't exactly easy either."

"Yeah."

"We're insanely busy with Lady Christine's banquet preparations right now, you know? Jekiel is absolutely not coming. Absolutely not. He'll definitely stay in the Human Realm. That's why your role is incredibly important! Don't you dare make a mistake!"

"Yeah."

With a small snap, Artel's voice vanished.

My name here is Tia. My name here is Tia. Do not make a mistake. Do not make a mistake, no matter what. Pertel repeated those words to herself over and over.

"Tia, so this is where you were! What are you doing here?"

Someone called out to her. A blonde girl with freckles across her face. What was her name again... she kept coming over, but Pertel could never remember. Scarlett. That was probably it.

"Nothing. Doing nothing."

"We've got to eat. Come with me!"

"Have to eat?"

Pertel tilted her head. Scarlett tilted hers right back.

"Of course you have to eat? If you don't, you'll be in big trouble."

"Big trouble. Yeah. Big trouble, then."

Her sister's voice — blend into the academy as a student without incident — still circled in her ear. So Pertel followed Scarlett in silence.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, there were quite a lot of students. Even then, Pertel felt nothing at all.

"I'm dying here~"

"Ahh~ I might actually collapse~"

A few students muttered as much. They claimed they were exhausted, yet their faces and bodies looked overflowing with vitality. The color of their name tags was different from Scarlett's and Pertel's.

And one more thing. The moment Scarlett laid eyes on those students, her expression soured.

"Why have they been acting up so much lately. They don't even know their place."

Pertel tilted her head. Scarlett went on.

"Ah, right, you wouldn't know, Tia. Their skills are complete trash. But because their professor pulled something off recently, we have to use the same cafeteria as them now. It's infuriating."

"Same cafeteria. Annoying?"

"Of course it's annoying. Why do we have to eat with kids like that? On top of that, every training ground in the academy is locked until their supervising professor gets discharged. The nuisance they cause is no joke."

"Scarlett. Angry?"

"Yeah. I really want to kill them."

Pertel's eyes suddenly sparkled.

"Scarlett. Scarlett."

"Hm?"

"Can I kill them? Academy. Something you don't like. Can kill as much as I want?"

What's with this girl. Scarlett's face took on a faintly awkward look.

"Ah... no, you obviously can't actually kill anyone. It's just an expression."

"Ah. Mm. I see. Really not allowed."

This girl's a little weird. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten friendly with her. A few uneasy expressions flickered across Scarlett's face.

BAM—!

Just then, a commotion erupted up ahead. They craned their necks to look.

One enormously built boy. One girl with an eyepatch over one eye. The girl had been knocked to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠floor.

Scarlett sneered openly.

"Of all people, she ran into Kyle. No luck at all."

"Kyle?"

"Yeah. He's famous for having a nasty personality. Honestly, it works out."

What's nasty about him. What works out. She wanted to ask, but Pertel decided to watch the situation in silence for now.

Kyle seized Charlotte by the hair and hauled her up, forcing her to her feet.

"We let you use the cafeteria. You ought to keep your head down and eat, and even that wouldn't be enough — so what's with picking at your food that slowly? Huh?"

"The fourth condition.... The fourth condition."

"The hell are you saying. You fucking bitch..."

Kyle clenched his fist.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

In that instant, Charlotte's fist — a fire magic circle swallowed into her knuckles — smashed into Kyle's jaw.

BOOM—!

Kyle crumpled with the explosion. Like a falling leaf. Weakly. Flop.

Every student packed into the cafeteria went wide-eyed. Class didn't matter. Every last pair of eyes went huge.

"Isn't she... F-Class...?"

"Kyle got knocked out..? Is that even possible?"

The silence that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had filled the cafeteria erupted, in an instant, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into a roar of murmuring students.

An F-Class student knocking out a B-Class student. Considering the gap in ability, it was something that should never have been possible.

"Ah... what do I do. What am I supposed to tell Professor Adrian now..."

"Hey, hey! Charlotte!"

"You have to eat first! If you leave, you can't come back today!"

Charlotte fled the scene in a hurry. A few F-Class students went after her.

At the same time, Pertel's eyes began to shine. Her ears pricked up.

It was the moment Pertel clearly engraved the name Charlotte.