Bringing Young Masters and Ladies Down a Peg (1)
A bathroom on a different floor from the lecture halls, somewhere nobody ever came.
Professor Kadisha, who had gone out of her way to find it despite the one right next to the classroom.
Combine those two facts and you got—
So it was a faculty restroom…!
No, if that was the case, they should have put up a damn sign!
Tsk.
I really didn't want to be remembered, on my very first day at the Academy, as the guy who snuck into a female professor's bathroom.
If she just washes her hands and leaves…
But of course, the more desperately you hope for something, the more spectacularly it unravels right in front of you and hands you a steaming pile of trouble.
Just like Professor Kadisha stepping into the stall right next to ours.
"…."
"…."
My eyes met Maron's.
From the next stall came the soft rasp of stocking fabric, then a sigh.
"Haa…."
And then the sound of water.
What the hell kind of situation even is this.
In a faculty bathroom, pressed up against a girl from my own class, listening to a pretty woman teacher do her business in the stall next door.
And more importantly—why did Maron already know where the female faculty restroom was on day one?
Maron, emerging from an empty women's restroom. A half-eaten sandwich still in her hand.
Something must have put her off her appetite; her irises had gone the dull color of storm clouds.
Our eyes met.
Maron hurriedly looked away.
Maron, oh Maron….
Had she been wandering the Academy on day one just to secure a place to eat?
I was about to tear up.
From now on, I was going to make sure I ate with her every single time.
Maybe Maron was the kind of character who, every day on your screen, prompted a daily check-in with, Oh, will you eat with me again today…?
And if you logged in after a few days away, she'd light up with a gaunt face and say, While you were gone? I-I'm fine! Eating alone has its upsides!
You five-star pity bait…
〈Compliment the Genuine Pure Girl〉
Objective: Praise Maron's personality and elicit a positive reaction
Reward: 500 Compliment Points
A sudden quest, huh.
Astra Radius was set as a subculture open-world game. A quest popping up out of nowhere wasn't that strange.
The fact that it told me to compliment someone—perfectly tailored to my ability—was a little unusual, though.
Compliment the Genuine Pure Girl, of all things.
And it had even pointed me at exactly what to praise.
Her personality.
The hardest part of all, mind you.
But the reward was sweet.
A full five hundred points.
Even after making Professor Kadisha feel extreme ecstasy, I'd only gotten three hundred.
Five hundred points for a single quest.
Absolutely not something I could let slip away.
If I can get those, there's an item I've been dying to buy right now.
Alright. As soon as Professor Kadisha leaves—
Oh, for fuck's sake!!
With the little trickle, trickle still going on next door, I was supposed to whisper a compliment right into Maron's ear!?
I cupped my fingers around Maron's ear and dropped my voice to the absolute lowest whisper I could manage.
"Maron."
"!?"
Maron flinched and shot me a look of pure protest.
I suddenly felt like I was doing something incredibly wrong.
Not to Professor Kadisha—to Maron.
Sorry, my pure girl. Hang in there just a little longer.
"You're… really kind."
"…!!"
Maron's whole body shuddered. Her foot jerked up and kicked the stall door.
Thud!
A puzzled sound came from Professor Kadisha in the next stall.
"Hm…?"
"…."
"…."
But since we stayed perfectly still, she seemed to decide it was just the person next door bumping into something. Nothing more.
And Maron—
"—!!"
—was glaring at me like she wanted me dead.
Her irises had gone a blazing, vivid red.
The target felt great joy.
Compliment Points:+30(468 → 498)
Her face said murder, but her reaction was honest.
Sudden Quest: 〈Compliment the Genuine Pure Girl〉 — Complete!
Reward: 500 Compliment Points(498 → 998)
Professor Kadisha pulled her stockings back up, opened the door, and click-clacked away in her heels until the sound faded.
Even after that, we held our breath for a long while.
"Is she gone?"
"I think so?"
And then, at the exact same time—
"Huuuuuh…."
"Hwaaaaaaah…!!"
Maron whispered, eyes welling up.
"Liam…! The professor was right next door—what were you thinking…!"
"Sorry."
"We need to get out of here, too… uuuugh, you startled me so bad my legs won't work…!"
"Want me to help you walk?"
Maron's irises turned orange.
"…I don't know."
"Alright."
"…."
Maron stared at me hard.
"Liam, are you planning to make me say everything for you from now on?"
"Huh?"
"…Pretending you don't know when you clearly do. Honestly, you scoundrel…."
What.
What was that supposed to mean.
If she put it like that, of course I didn't know.
"Let's just go. At this rate we'll be late for the next class too."
On the way, I complimented Maron's hair and picked up two more points.
Numbers really did look better when they were nice and clean.
The next break.
"Liam."
Maron whispered to me.
"This time, let's go somewhere else…."
"Ah, I'm good. I've had enough."
"…."
"What's wrong?"
"So this is that freeloader type I've only ever heard about."
"Please. Whatever it means, I know I messed up somehow, so just—don't use that word."
Someone made a very deliberate tsking sound. I turned my head and caught Roy glaring at me before he looked away.
What.
If he had something to say, he could just say it.
What a walking romance-fantasy character.
Which, granted, he literally was, since this was a romance fantasy.
And at last, the final class of the day began: mock duels.
The professor in charge introduced himself, then explained the purpose of the lesson.
"This Academy also exists to cultivate the combat strength needed to stand against the Void Beasts."
Void Beasts.
The monsters that spawned all across the world of Astra Radius.
A thoroughly subculture-game kind of setting.
In the original romance fantasy, that premise was used to frame the Academy students as child soldiers, going on and on about their tragic destinies and such.
The actual battle scenes, though, had been unwatchable.
"And it is both my personal conviction and this Academy's educational policy that nothing builds combat power quite like mock combat. Minor injuries are permitted—approach this seriously."
Roy raised his hand.
"Professor, may I take the first spar?"
"Azerus, is it. Fine. Your opponent?"
"Everchess has already agreed to face me."
"Everchess…?"
The professor's brows drew together.
The look was blatant.
As if the likes of Gilliam Everchess could possibly be your match.
He sent the same look Gilliam's way.
Gilliam nodded.
"Yes. We agreed on it."
"…Hmm."
The mock-duel professor, Fel Lux, stroked his beard.
Curious.
He'd heard of the Everchess family's worthless playboy. The faculty had already held more than a few backroom discussions—no, concerned meetings—about how this year's incoming class would have him as its number-one headache.
But those eyes are different.
Had something lit a fire under him?
At the very least, he didn't look like a loser resigned to just standing there and taking a beating.
"Very well. Both of you, step up."
Roy and Gilliam climbed onto the square sparring platform and faced each other.
Roy asked,
"Professor, that 'minor injury' you mentioned—how far does it go?"
"Anything the infirmary's recovery magic can heal within a day. Specifically, up to one or two fractures."
"Two fractures, is it."
Roy fixed Gilliam with a long, flat stare.
Whatever had happened between them that morning had already spread to every student who'd been in the other classes.
"How terrifying."
I added a little one-sided smirk for good measure.
He's being blatantly provocative.
Does he really need to go that far against a pathetic man like Gilliam…?
But Gilliam's response blew every expectation clean out of the water.
"Scared? If you're scared, you can forfeit."
Said with a slight lift of the eyebrow, as if he genuinely didn't understand the problem.
Huh…?
Not bad.
For Gilliam, that's actually pretty solid….
And Roy clenched his molars hard.
That was close.
For a second there, he'd nearly lost his composure and lunged.
He knows full well that wasn't what I meant, and he's playing dumb on purpose…!
If the strategy was to needle aristocrats to death, Roy had to give him credit.
I'll thrash him so thoroughly he won't even be able to lift his head…!
One thing still bothered him, though.
He still couldn't read Gilliam's intent. Why on earth had the man picked a fight with the crown prince's faction out of nowhere?
Well. He could ask about the reason later, at his leisure.
"I will count to three. One… two… three!"
Roy immediately unleashed the spell he'd prepared.
"Mana Blizzard!!"
A two-star ice spell.
A torrent of freezing cold poured forward.
And without pause, he chanted again.
"Ice Lance!!"
A three-star ice spell, one tier higher. A long spear of ice forged itself in the air and shot forward like a harpoon.
Professor Fel Lux, watching, was impressed.
As expected of an Azerus.
Consecutive casting. Mana control. Movement.
Not a single flaw to pick at.
The strategy was simple but effective.
Inflict ice-attribute damage with Mana Blizzard, then drive it home with Ice Lance for maximum impact. The tip was blunted, of course.
One or two fractures were fine.
Roy had interpreted that to mean anything just a little beyond that would still only earn a light reprimand.
And the Azerus family had more than enough influence to bury a light reprimand.
The students' assessments lined up with the professor's.
Excellent. Both the casting and the power are flawless.
As expected of House Azerus….
As for the other one, though.
Even while Roy was casting, Gilliam just stood there doing nothing.
It's over.
Watching what comes next might be too vulgar.
Might as well be watching an execution circus.
Gilliam casually stretched one hand forward.
Use Scroll of Ice Resistance.
Scroll of Ice Resistance
Duration: 1 hour
Whoosh.
The cold of Mana Blizzard split and streamed past on either side of Gilliam.
And immediately after—
Lesser Shockwave.
Lesser Shockwave
Ice Lance had a weakness: take a solid impact head-on and its trajectory goes wildly off course.
And because Roy had written Gilliam off completely, he hadn't cast a single supporting spell to shore up that flaw.
The result—
The spear, struck by a shockwave from the front, spun end over end in a vertical whirl and came flying straight back at Roy himself.
"Wha—"
WHAAAM!!
It cracked him from face to gut in one vertical sweep.
"Ghk…!"
His skull rang. Blood poured from his nose. He staggered backward.
And because he'd been standing far too close to the edge, Roy tumbled right off the platform.
"Kgh…!"
He hit the floor, the air punched clean out of his lungs.
The mock-duel arena sank into total silence.
A result that had surpassed everyone's expectations.
Even the professor, who'd predicted Gilliam would do something, had never imagined it would be this overwhelming.
Gilliam, perfectly composed.
Roy, face-down on the floor, moaning through a nosebleed.
A contrast so sharp it was almost cruel.
And in that moment—
Gilliam delivered the most vicious line a victor could possibly say.
"Roy."
"Khh…?"
"You're a skilled mage."
Roy couldn't bear the humiliation. He howled.
"AAAAAAARGHHHHHH!!"