I Feel Scammed
{I Feel Like I’ve Been Scammed}
“…What did you just say?”
Ardelia stared blankly at Rian. It was a moment where she couldn't help but doubt her own ears.
This was a direct order from the Imperial Princess. Were he a commoner, he should have groveled on the floor and cried out what an honor it was. Squeezing out every last drop of his remaining mana to prove a miracle before royalty was the absolute common sense of this Empire.
But the answer that popped out of the scrawny boy's mouth was far too insincere.
‘A commoner is committing such disrespect against me, a royal?’
Even throughout her terrible life before the regression, such a thing had never happened. Even her crazed father, who had driven her to the cold guillotine, had maintained a minimum of formality.
For a commoner to take such an attitude in an Empire where the royal family's word was absolute law and directly linked to one's life. Even if this was the Academy, which nominally claimed equality, it was a profound shock.
Ardelia barely calmed her trembling lips and asked. “…What did you just say?”
“I asked why I should have to do that.” Rian shrugged, staring at Ardelia with indifferent eyes. “If you don't believe it, you just don't have to believe it. Why should I consume my precious mana and calories to resolve someone else's disbelief?”
Ardelia was left speechless.
‘Mana and calories? Is he really weighing my order against the mere calories of a single meal and deeming it worthless?’
In the boy's eyes, there wasn't a speck of consideration for the dignity or face of the royal family. Only the law of conservation of energy and his immediate appetite seemed to dominate his mind.
‘The cold blade of the guillotine feels like just yesterday. I tried to gather the perfect subordinates so I would never experience that kind of helplessness again.’
She had believed in her authority as the Princess and the sole heir to the throne. But things were strange from the very beginning. She hadn't even expected chivalry; it just felt like facing a wild animal with whom even basic conversation was impossible.
“Haa. Princess, it's no use saying anything to him.”
“What do you mean?”
At Ardelia's question, Iril let out a deep sigh and answered. “Princess. He is literally a destitute orphan who lived day-to-day starving in the outskirts of the slums until yesterday.”
Iril pointed at Rian with her chin, looking entirely fed up. “He was hunting and eating wild boars using a monstrous talent that moves mana instinctively. He didn't even know how to read and only learned yesterday.”
Ardelia's eyes trembled slightly.
“In short, he has never interacted with people or experienced social life itself. If it weren't for that disaster-class talent, he probably would have starved to death a long time ago.”
At those words, Ardelia looked at Rian again. Her face clearly showed her absolute dumbfoundedness.
‘He really didn't know how to read until yesterday? But he's already formed 3 circles? And unleashing such ridiculous destructive power?’
Listing it all out, there had to be a limit to this absurdity.
The one who broke the tense, ice-thin atmosphere was a black-haired girl who seemingly had zero ability to read the room. Vesperia spoke to Rian. “Hey, it's still the Princess's request, so couldn't you just show us once?”
“It's too much of a bother, so no.” It was a sharp refusal without a shred of hesitation.
‘He's a really fun kid.’ Far from feeling humiliated, Vesperia's purple eyes actually sparkled. Growing up in the Edelgard Duchy in the northern part of the continent, she had received countless flatteries. The nobles she met after coming up to the capital all offered nothing but lip service and enigmatic smiles.
But the boy in front of her straightforwardly rejected her words. That unpretentious attitude actually gave Vesperia a bizarre sense of liberation.
“Hmm… Then I'll tell my family to get you the highest-quality handmade desserts! They're super sweet and melt right in your mouth!”
Vesperia clasped her hands together and pulled out her secret weapon. It was a luxury of luxuries that even the high-ranking noble ladies in the capital couldn't buy with money and were dying to get their hands on.
However, Rian's reaction remained as cold as a biting winter wind. “I don't really care for sweets. If I have stomach space for dessert, filling it with protein and fat from meat is much more beneficial for survival.”
Despite Rian's firm rejection, Vesperia never gave up. She clapped her hands with a bright smile, as if she had finally found the answer to a difficult puzzle. “Ah! You like meat? Then I'll buy you a meal at the most famous barbecue restaurant in the capital! How about it? Meat sounds good, right?”
Meat. The moment that magical word was spoken, a glint like that of a starving beast flashed in Rian's otherwise lethargic brown eyes.
‘Barbecue! A roaring oak wood fire. The perfect juices cooking up with a crispy outside and tender inside, triggering the Maillard reaction… Gulp!’
A perfect gastronomic simulation ran at a terrifying speed inside his head.
‘The phenomenal chemical reaction caused when the amino acids and reducing sugars in the meat meet scorching heat. That smoky aroma that rises when the fat melts at high temperatures and drips onto the charcoal.’
An uncontrollable, massive amount of saliva began pooling in his mouth.
“Deal.”
There was absolutely no reason to hesitate. As soon as the negotiation was struck, Vesperia excitedly turned to the Academy Dean and shouted. “Dean! It's the first day after exams, so is it okay if we go out today?”
“A-According to the regulations, there is nothing saying you can't… but there are too many people in the capital today, so a reliable, high-ranking escort knight must accompany you if possible.”
The Dean pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the cold sweat forming on his forehead.
‘Her Highness the Princess was terribly insulted right to her face; is it really okay to allow them to go out like this?’ The Dean's mind had gone completely blank a long time ago. It wouldn't be enough to severely scold that arrogant commoner boy right now, yet he was confidently going out to eat meat. If this wasn't the Academy, that commoner boy would have been thrown in prison long ago.
‘But what if I punish that crazy genius brat, and he holds a grudge and tries to kill me later?’ However, punishing him in any other way was also too terrifying, considering the disaster-class talent Rian had just shown. What if that boy blooms his terrifying talent later and takes revenge on him? Just thinking about it was so scary that he felt he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
‘Damn it. It would have been easier if I had just fainted…’ The Dean even thought it would have been better if he had been caught in the explosion earlier and passed out.
But the other party was the precious daughter of the Edelgard Duchy, the true power of the North. The Dean sneakily gauged Ardelia's reaction. Fortunately, although she was surprised, she didn't seem to mind much.
“Haa.” Just then, Iril, who had been observing the rubble of the collapsed outer wall with her hands behind her back, let out a deep sigh and stepped forward.
“I'll go along as an escort, so there shouldn't be a problem, right?”
“Ah! Then there are no problems.” A 9-circle great mage was a symbol of transcendent martial prowess that even the Emperor of the Empire couldn't treat carelessly. A more perfect and reassuring escort couldn't be found anywhere on the continent.
“Wow! The famous Iril is going with us too! That's wonderful!” Vesperia threw her arms in the air and cheered gleefully.
However, Rian's reaction was quite strange. Far from being happy, he was staring blankly at his master, Iril, with bizarrely sunken, cold eyes.
‘Wait. Come to think of it, things aren't adding up.’ Rian's gaze was so piercing that Iril flinched.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you moved to tears because your great mage master is personally acting as an escort?”
“No.” Rian shook his head firmly.
Then, rubbing his chin, he opened his mouth with an incredibly serious expression. “Thinking it over carefully, I feel like I've been the victim of a very serious scam.”
“What? A scam?” Iril's pointy ears twitched.
‘To dare call the benefactor and master who taught him—and not just anyone, but the great mage Iril—a scammer!’ The faces of the professors listening nearby turned white with astonishment once again.
However, Rian didn't care and logically began pointing out the facts.
“You clearly promised me in the forest yesterday that if I became your disciple, you'd give me meat dishes for every meal, a warm house, and a soft bed.”
“T-That's right.”
“But you just unceremoniously dumped me at the Academy after barely a day.” Rian's bony finger pointed at the magnificent main building of the Academy, then immediately turned toward the brightly smiling Vesperia.
“Aren't the meat I'll eat from now on and the bed I'll sleep in entirely provided by the Academy, not you, Master? And isn't the meat we're about to go eat right now being paid for by this girl I've never met before, not you? Also, where is this house?”
As Rian's sharp critiques continued, Iril's expression grew stiffer and stiffer. Rian's talent transcended common sense to such an extent that her plans had changed. Thanks to that, even if she hadn't intended to, it meant she had broken her promise in just one day. As a great mage and an elf, it was a painful point to be called out on.
“Master, you just casually wrote a single recommendation letter to the Academy Dean and craftily pawned off the welfare obligations you were supposed to bear onto the Academy and this girl.” Rian drove the wedge in, concluding in a cold, dry voice. “Isn't this blatant employment fraud?”
A terrifying silence flowed once again inside the destroyed testing grounds. The noble elf great mage who had lived for hundreds of years felt utterly dumbfounded by the words of a mere thirteen-year-old boy. No matter how much she was in the wrong, to interrogate her so publicly like this! But because he truly lacked social skills, it was hard to get genuinely angry at him.
“Hah! This brat…! You need to learn some more social skills!”
“Ouch! Why did you hit me?!” Rian grabbed his head after Iril gave him a smack. He looked like he genuinely didn't understand what he did wrong.
“Ahahaha! You two are really close with Iril, aren't you? You already seem so friendly.” Vesperia laughed heartily at the sight. In response, Rian rubbed his head sullenly and said,
“I'm genuinely feeling wronged here.” Speaking with a pout, Rian added, “Anyway, I just need to show a demonstration, right? Step back. It's dangerous.”
“Okay!” At Rian's words, Vesperia quickly stepped back.