Chapter 46: The Whole World is Unfairly Attacking Me (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46: The Whole World is Unfairly Attacking Me (1)
He had no presence.
That was the assessment of Bellian Eric, the president of the Flower Arrangement Club.
Or rather, that was the general consensus among the students of the General Department.
The various majors grouped under the General Department were mostly populated by commoners or low-ranking nobles, the majority of whom were busy preparing for the Imperial Civil Service Exam.
In truth, it was a place where people were viewed more as aspiring civil servants than as actual Academy students.
Bellian Eric was the quintessential General Department student, in both good ways and bad.
His magic was limited to a few utility spells—not even enough to be called basic magic.
As for swordsmanship, he knew absolutely nothing about it.
So, for reasons he couldn't fathom—reasons he couldn't even begin to understand!—even when the name of the club's advisor, who had only been there to keep the club's registration active, was changed to the famous Sword Emperor...
Even when he had the chance to receive tutelage from the Sword Emperor, a dream for every swordsman, Eric had personally rejected that dream.
To an ordinary student like Eric, the Sword Emperor's teachings were far too burdensome. Besides, he never expected to have a reason to pick up a sword in the first place.
Consequently, even though he was the president of the Flower Arrangement Club—the very center of all the first-year gossip—hardly anyone bothered Eric.
After all, Eric was a fourth-year student set to graduate soon, and his peers were in the same boat.
They were all too busy preparing for the Imperial Civil Service Exam they would take upon graduation.
When the Imperial Academy underwent massive reforms and talent recruitment this year to surpass the Leon and Dale Kingdoms, the General Department was the only place that remained unchanged.
Bellian thought the second semester would be more of the same.
"Hey, Bellian. Does the Saintess really have a boyfriend now?"
"I'm telling you, I really don't know..."
However, from the very first day of the new term, he was forced to admit he was wrong.
How many times has it been already?
During the break, he had anticipated that today would be a bit troublesome.
While staying behind at the Academy alone to tend to the club's flowers, he had learned through newspapers and rumors about the events unfolding in the Holy Kingdom.
So, he expected some annoyance for a day or two, maybe a week at most.
But I didn't expect it to be this bad!
Bellian wanted to cry.
He'd had time to mentally prepare for the incidents in the Holy Kingdom.
But the news of the Saintess's romance, which broke just this past weekend, was immediately followed by the start of the semester.
In other words, he hadn't even had time to prepare himself.
School just started, they should be focusing on their classes!
To make matters worse, according to the Academy's unwritten rule, the first class was always a breeze.
The professors simply called roll, asked if everyone had survived the break, and then left the students to their own devices under the guise of "self-study."
And those students were now creeping toward Bellian, beginning to interrogate him with questions.
"Sigh."
After being harassed by people through three consecutive classes, a limp Bellian pushed open the door to the club room.
And that was his biggest mistake.
What is this?
The moment he opened the door, he felt the air get sucked out of his lungs.
It was something Bellian couldn't understand at all.
The Flower Arrangement Club room was the only place in this desolate Imperial Academy where he felt at peace.
So why...
He lifted his head, shifting his gaze from the floor to the front.
"Ah."
Bellian realized why he couldn't breathe.
I-I have to run.
If what lay before him wasn't hell, then what was?
The moment he saw the "Academy Ecosystem Destroyers" sitting there with expressions that could only be described as grim, Bellian considered canceling club activities for the day. However...
"President?"
It was the same cheerful voice he had heard during their first meeting, but his evaluation of that person changed every month.
When they first met, she was just a young lady from a low-ranking noble family from the countryside, even more rural than his own home.
Shortly after, she was the savior who allowed him to keep the Flower Arrangement Club and its precious memories alive.
A month later, she was the fatally charming woman who had seduced all the first-year celebrities.
Another month passed, and she became the Saintess.
During the break, she had become a revolutionary who reformed the Holy Kingdom.
And now, after getting herself a boyfriend, she was about to enter a room filled with people who were in love with her.
"What are you doing just standing there?"
"Ah, well..."
She couldn't look like anything other than a demon who had turned his precious club room into a living hell.
-
It’s cold.
A dagger to the heart... or rather, a damn large sword was about to come flying at me.
"Agh."
Of course, he wouldn't actually stab me.
But his sheer aura made me feel like I’d already died several times over.
"You're good at dodging."
"I've always been pretty good at it."
"Right. Because you're Adam."
Since the start of the semester, it had been one long string of escapes.
Unlike Prince Ellen, who didn't understand the human heart—or rather, how people swung their swords—I, having mastered the Defeat Sword, knew how to naturally lose even to the weakest members of the Swordsmanship Department if I put my mind to it.
That meant I was capable of training with others at a level just slightly above theirs.
As a result of actively promoting this, no student in the Swordsmanship Department was willing to pass up the chance to have the "Second-in-Command" of the department—the man who had even defeated the Minor Sword Emperor—provide them with customized sparring.
In short, I was quite popular.
Most of them were guys, and while there were a few girls, they were all sword-obsessed fanatics, like a watered-down version of Princess Hestia, as expected of the Swordsmanship Department!
Whenever I showed up at the training grounds, students who had practically taken a number and waited in line would rush me.
Students from the swordsmanship clubs were even courting me daily, trying to recruit me for the next club enrollment period.
Of course, this was all for the sake of the mission.
The conversations we had over a glass of water after sparring often yielded unexpected information that the Intelligence Bureau couldn't get.
Plus, building this kind of image would be helpful later on.
However, being a social butterfly proved to be a double-edged sword this time.
Every single one of them started asking about my relationship with Daisy.
And every time they did, the atmosphere around Prince Ellen and the Minor Sword Emperor grew ominous.
I had no choice but to keep running to avoid questions about Daisy.
Fortunately, the first classes at the Academy didn't involve actual teaching, much like universities in my past life.
I could usually just check in for attendance and then make my escape.
But, whether in my past life or this one...
There was always that one principled, old fogey professor who ignored such unwritten rules.
"Then, let's get right to it."
And that professor's name just happened to be Aren.
The famous Sword Emperor and the head professor of our Swordsmanship Department.
To make matters worse, the class followed a one-on-one "bloodthirsty demon" rule, so I ended up getting caught by Prince Ellen, who had been waiting for his chance.
"When is this class going to end?"
After serving as Prince Ellen's sandbag for the first time in a while and getting thoroughly thrashed, I lay sprawled on the floor, sighing and muttering to myself.
Come to think of it, it hadn't actually been that long.
The last time I got beaten up like this was back in the Kingdom.
"I'm next."
"Do you have no conscience?"
"...Someone once said that it's important not to miss an opportunity when it presents itself."
It sounded like a plausible quote, but in short, it meant that since I’d just been wrecked by Prince Ellen, he thought he stood a chance.
This guy... at the beginning of the semester, he seemed to try so hard to maintain his dignity as the Minor Sword Emperor even when he lost to me or Prince Ellen.
Now that he's gone crazy over a girl, he's completely lost it.
By the way...
"...Did Violet tell you that?"
"H-how did you know?"
I just took a shot in the dark because the wording sounded familiar, but Asran was visibly startled and flustered.
"I just had a feeling."
Usually, when someone starts acting weird, Violet is somewhere nearby.
It’s a classic trait of a possessor trying to protect the original work—they end up twisting the whole thing themselves.
And she’s following that golden rule to a damn T!
"D-don't tell me... after Daisy, you're after Violet too?"
At the Minor Sword Emperor's words of pure disbelief, I immediately sprang to my feet.
"Fine, you're dead."
There are things you can say to a person and things you can't.
Even if my whole body was screaming after being thrashed by Prince Ellen...
If a man hears an insult like that, he has to fight even if it costs him his life!
"As I thought, you're serious about Daisy..."
Seeing my reaction, he seemed to take it as the indignant response of someone whose loyalty to his beloved was being questioned.
The Minor Sword Emperor's eyes wavered as he began to look at me like I was his romantic rival.
"Just pick one, please."
If he's acting like this even after I told him it was fake...
I couldn't help but shudder, imagining what would have happened if I had actually kept it a secret.
A week has passed since then.
By now, it was the time when all sorts of events were being prepared to celebrate the Empire's Founding Day.
Since our Academy was an Imperial public institution...
During the Founding Festival period, the Academy, which was usually relatively closed off, would begin to open to the public, and exchange events with other academies would be held.
In other words, the major RoFan incidents were about to start popping off.
So, I expected the news of my romance with the Saintess to gradually die down as preparations for the festival began.
"But why are more and more strange rumors being added as the days go by?"
This was clearly someone's conspiracy.
I glared at the actual owner of the warehouse, which was increasingly looking like a proper club room.
"Ahem."
And as expected, it was indeed a conspiracy.
An Imperial conspiracy, at that.
"I'm sorry."
"You say the same thing every time."
Everyone around me subconsciously nodded at my words.
Since the Academy started, Uncle Aeryun, who looked like he had regained his youth and was now in his mid-forties, often started his conversations with "I'm sorry" or "It's my fault."
"What do you have against me?"
I felt truly sorrowful and wronged.
Sure, I had my own goals, but I still stopped the Academy terror attack.
I even gave them the location of the Dark Mage in advance.
I even cleaned up the Magic Sword they dropped after I told them where it was.
"Is it because I haven't told you yet that there are bastards planning a terror attack on the Founding Day?"
"That's not it... Wait, what? What bastards?"
Uncle Aeryun, who had been hanging his head and apologizing as if he had nothing to say, suddenly snapped his head up.
"You're joking, right?"
"I wish I were joking too."
Unfortunately, this Academy was destined to be embroiled in various terror attacks and incidents until the moment the RoFan leads graduated.
"No, even if I concede that! Even if there is a terror attack... how do you know about it?!"
The Imperial Intelligence Bureau was known to be a cut above the rest, even compared to other great powers.
It must be causing him some serious cognitive dissonance to be outclassed in intelligence within his own country, not even a foreign one.
For example...
"You're not the one preparing the terror attack, are you?"
"I've been feeling like doing that lately."
I especially felt like terrorizing those RoFan male leads, but I could hold back since it was all going to happen anyway through free outsourcing.
"So tell me. Why did you do this to me?"
If he said it was because Prince Esid felt insulted, I was seriously considering raising my hands and becoming a hostage the next time I ran into the terrorists.
"Well... there was a request from the Holy Kingdom."
"The Holy Kingdom?"
"Yes."
"The Empire shouldn't be in a position where it has to worry about what the Holy Kingdom thinks."
Even if the majority of the Imperial citizens believed in the Goddess, the Imperial Family wasn't in a position to be pushed around by the Holy Kingdom.
Except for one person.
"It's a request from the Pope."
"...What kind of request could it possibly be?"
"He said that if the Saintess gets married at the Academy, he wants to officiate..."
Goddammit, wasn't there a part where the cultists terrorize the Holy Kingdom?
If there is, I'd like to help out.
It was a day when I could finally understand, just a little bit, why RoFan villains turned out the way they did.