A Soul's Whisper

It was still quite early. Usteria had arrived at the academy long before the other students. However, she didn't head straight to the classroom to wait. Instead, she simply went up to the rooftop—the space she considered her own personal territory, since almost no one but her ever used it before Joseph arrived—and sat down.

Why? Because it would be no fun otherwise.

Probably no one knew that her suspension had been lifted. Her father had told her it was a secret deal struck with the dean. And yet here she was, the girl who had been suspended and absent for such a long time. Even if Tiel had or hadn't told everyone what she'd done to him—driving him to the brink of a mental breakdown—if she were to appear before them all so brazenly, wouldn't they be utterly dumbfounded, too busy trying to compose themselves to do anything else?

The thought of all those noble, highborn ladies squirming in discomfort was positively delightful.

Creeeeak—

So, imagining that scene, Usteria let out a grotesque little laugh. Her priestess robes coiled on the floor like a bride's veil, and sitting atop them, she looked exactly like the saintess everyone expected her to become. Like a goddess seated upon a white lake.

Chirrup—

That must have been why the sparrows that landed beside her were so captivated by her appearance. They'd come out for their morning stroll, glancing around for any bugs to peck at, only to be drawn in by the gentle aura they sensed beneath her feathers. Or perhaps they'd simply come to stare, spellbound.

That wasn't a guess. It was one of Usteria's basic abilities. Elves possessed souls a dimension beyond those of other races and were the most nature-attuned among all humanoid species. Sensing the outlines of lesser beings' souls was child's play ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for her.

Reading the inner thoughts of this flock of sparrows was hardly difficult.

How adorable. She reached out her hand so the sparrows could fly closer. The bravest one—the one that had asked what she had—darted onto her index finger, clearly expecting some crumbs.

Crack—

But Usteria snatched the sparrow in her hand. She paused for a moment, then snapped its wing.

The reason she’d paused was simply to debate whether she should snap its neck or not. In the end, she didn’t. If she had, the screams would have been even louder, but then it would be over. And that wouldn’t be any fun.

Usteria, who loved tormenting small animals, spoke calmly to the sparrow that was shrieking at the top of its underdeveloped lungs.

Of course, she was the one who had injured it in the first place, but the sparrow, on the verge of passing out from the agony, could only beg.

But as she was doing this, it was already almost time for classes to begin. Usteria shook her hand as if it were dirty from where the sparrow had perched, then stood up. She was fully willing to heal it if it managed to survive until lunchtime. Though it probably wouldn’t.

While gazing at the sparrow with what appeared to be pity, she used a mana resonance on a frequency the bird couldn’t hear and spoke to the surroundings.

In truth, this had been nothing but psychological torture from the very beginning. In a way, it was also a rehearsal. A practice run for the cruel things she would do to Tiel, the prey she had found after so long.

Creak—

So Usteria calmly pushed open the door to the Forget-Me-Not Class. The sound of those hinges opening and closing rang out a total of eight times that day.

Perfect. It was worth coming late.

She wore a bright smile across her face, but beneath it was a chilling laugh that reeked of rot.

At those words, the expressions of everyone in the Forget-Me-Not Class—who had been about to begin what had become a relatively peaceful daily routine quite different from before—froze solid.

Of course, the two who had been refusing to attend school from the beginning—Alun and Valentina—didn’t know her.

***

There was an unwritten rule in the Forget-Me-Not Class: never mention Usteria. Even though they had only spent about a week with her at the very beginning of the semester, the mark she had left on the class was simply too enormous.

And naturally, the one who refused to welcome her more than anyone else was Irina, the duchess and class president. These days, with the amount of time she spent with Joseph having increased dramatically, Irina didn’t show that stiff demeanor from the beginning of the semester nearly as often. But the moment she saw Usteria, she revealed clear hostility and pressed her hard.

However, there was nothing anyone could say in response to Usteria’s rebuttal. No matter how high their status, at the end of the day they were still students. And as students, the only information they could access was simple rumors. There was no clear way for them to know the full truth of what she had done—or rather, the atrocities she had committed—that the temple had tried to cover up. The most they could know was that it was somehow connected to the previous professor.

So even when they tried to press her like this, there was no way to corner Usteria as she smoothly dodged all responsibility.

But that wasn’t the only thing they could point to. When the surprisingly upright and honest Sieglinde shot that accusation at her, Usteria tapped her own cheek with her index finger and said,

The professor, huh… At those words, a faint, bitter smile crept across Usteria’s lips.

Did Father tell me to be careful?

From what she’d heard, he was supposed to be quite a vicious person. But Usteria wasn’t particularly interested in whether he was vicious or not. After all, as long as he was human, he was bound to have weaknesses. What kind of weakness did that man have? Just how full of exploitable flaws was he?

Hehe… Uhuhuhu… Since everyone seemed to follow him, this was even better. How long would he last? If she cornered him, he’d leave on his own. And then everyone would be sad. She couldn’t wait.

But at that moment, there were two people in the classroom who sensed the strange tension flowing through the air. It was Luluah and Sion. Even though Sieglinde had called it a gut feeling, these two were actually the best at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reading the room. After Usteria arrived, they watched a student who couldn’t even breathe properly, paralyzed by pure terror and anxiety.

Luluah, who was recording this entire process anyway, had noticed the strange aura coming from Tiel. Even so, she kept her notebook in hand and observed the situation. Usteria subtly glanced at Tiel, then approached with her tail swishing gently.

Step. Step—

“H-Hiiiiik—”

Tiel couldn’t do anything. Cold sweat poured down him like a waterfall even as he remained seated. But Usteria didn’t stop. She leaned in and whispered into his ear.

“———”

But it was Sion who stepped in right then.

“………”

“……L-L-Lady Sion?”

Sion had a bad feeling about this. Faster than anyone, she helped Tiel—who had been sitting right next to Usteria—to his feet.

“Ah… Th-That’s… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Um……”

Flash. Flash, flash—

When she asked for the truth, Tiel’s bandages twitched faintly. Just enough that no one else would notice. If there was any luck in this situation, it was that Sion hated anything frustrating or unclear.

“…Ah, yes.”

Since Irina and Sieglinde—who she inwardly thought were similar to her—had already handled the annoying parts, Sion frowned slightly at being dragged into this hassle and called the person she found the most comfortable to deal with in the class these days.

“………”

If anyone were to say that everything she did was the correct answer, they wouldn’t be wrong. Dealing with Tiel in front of Usteria was like handling a fuse on the verge of exploding—you had to be extremely careful. But Sion had evaded everything with an almost divine series of maneuvers.

To Tiel, who had been overwhelmed by absolute terror the moment he saw her, the existence of the professor who had helped him not long ago—Professor Joseph—was like a talisman in and of itself. He had wanted to thank him every time but lacked the courage to do so. He had simply held that gratitude in his heart. Just thinking about the professor helped Tiel calm down considerably.

So Usteria slumped her shoulders a little, looking somewhat dejected, and obediently went to sit in the front seat that Irina had indicated. But that was exactly when it happened.

Thump. Thump—

Thump———.

Her heart trembled. Terror. Terror. Terror. Terror.

I’m going to die.

That sensation slammed into Usteria’s mind like a hammer, shattering it, and began paralyzing her entire body.

What is this? What is this feeling? Why? What’s happening? The other kids seem fine—?

But at that exact moment—

Creak—

The sliding door opened for the ninth time. And the moment she saw the figure who walked in, Usteria lost all strength in her body.

Usteria was an elf. Elves could see the contours of souls.

The contour of Joseph’s soul that she saw whispered to her like this.

Drip—

Something warm and wet flowed down her thighs.