Unexpected Encounter
Time had passed in the blink of an eye. The entrance ceremony was already over. Given the Academy's sheer scale, the ceremony had been held with great pomp, yet I hadn't felt any of its aftereffects. I'd spent the entire time holed up in my room. I'd devoted myself solely to recovering my body while shut away—cleansing impurities with mana and taking in nutrients. Thanks to that, my condition had improved slightly compared to the beginning. It was only a little, but it could still be called meaningful progress. At the very least, I was no longer on the verge of death just from moving my body briefly. If I simply continued spending time this way, my condition would keep improving. Of course, that didn't mean I could make a full recovery. The traces left in my body were far more persistent than I'd expected. This wasn't something I could erase through my own power.
'I need to find a method quickly.'
I had to locate a way to recover my body faster. Tsk. I clicked my tongue and stood up. As much as I wanted to rest until my body was back on track, I couldn't afford to. Today was the first day of classes. Skipping without a valid reason would immediately bring demerit points. A normally diligent student might get away with it, but not me. The Academy was already watching me closely. My usual conduct was poor enough, and I'd caused a major incident recently. In this situation, skipping class without any sign of reflection? Additional punishment was inevitable. Once that started, there'd be no stopping it. I no longer had the background to smooth things over. I might even face expulsion before long. So I couldn't skip class. For that reason, I forced my heavy body to move and left the room.
"Ah, I didn't expect the break to end so soon."
"Who are you telling?"
As soon as I descended to the lounge, various conversations reached my ears. Even though this was just one of several dormitory buildings, hundreds of students lived here. It wasn't strange for the place to be this crowded in the morning. It was a perfectly natural scene. Yet something incongruous had mixed into that ordinary sight. The conversations among the crowd suddenly cut off. There was no need to search far for the cause—their gazes were all focused on me.
...Hah. Really.
'I expected this, but...'
I'd anticipated things might unfold this way, but I hadn't expected it to this extent. Kyle was probably one of the most famous people in the Academy—naturally, in the worst possible sense. I clicked my tongue inwardly and kept walking. My destination was the cafeteria attached to the dormitory. I couldn't skip breakfast. To recover this body that was no different from a patient's as quickly as possible, proper nutrition was essential. As I walked, the stares refused to leave me. Countless gazes. The emotions within them varied, but none were positive. I could say that with certainty—there wasn't a single one. Even as the thought crossed my mind that my Academy life would be far more difficult than expected, I didn't stop walking and soon arrived at the cafeteria. I placed my order immediately, and before long I was carrying my meal toward an empty seat. Or rather, I tried to.
"Well, well. Look who it is."
It wouldn't have happened if that sudden voice hadn't interrupted. I glanced over. A man was smiling at me.
"Kyle Berwen... No, you're not a Berwen anymore, are you?"
He laughed as he spoke, and his intention was obvious. I didn't know the exact details, but I could tell at once it wasn't good. His eyes, his expression—nothing about him looked like someone approaching with friendly intent.
Sure enough.
"Really, no conscience at all, huh?"
He began casually.
"There's no way you don't know you're dragging down the Academy's prestige. I can't imagine how thick your skin must be to keep clinging to this place. If it were me, I'd have withdrawn immediately."
It was blatant. His words carried the clear intention to belittle and humiliate me. The original Kyle—that is, Kyle before being disowned—would never have heard such things. Because his family had been so prestigious, no one would have dared speak to him that way. But now that shield was gone. Kyle had gone from an untouchable troublemaker to just another troublemaker. The effects were showing now. That man's eyes. Even without reading his mind, his thoughts were obvious.
'What can you possibly do?'
It was the face of someone convinced I wouldn't be able to respond even if he poured out insults. A sudden thought occurred to me. How would Kyle have reacted here? Would he have tucked his tail like this man expected, or would he have charged forward without caring? I couldn't know the answer. I only possessed Kyle's memories—I wasn't Kyle. And more importantly, it didn't matter. How Kyle would have acted? No need to consider it. I'm not Kyle Berwen. So I only needed to follow my own heart.
I looked the man straight in the eye and asked, "Do you know me?"
"...What?"
Surprise flashed across his face for a moment. He clearly hadn't expected this reaction.
"No. You were talking like you knew me well, so I thought you must. But I'm sorry to say, I don't know you. Did you mistake me for someone else?"
"......! You bastard...!"
The man's face turned bright red. He seemed intelligent enough to understand my meaning. Though not stated directly, the underlying message was clear: Why was someone I had no connection with speaking to me as if we were close? Feeling embarrassed was a natural reaction. He'd spoken so confidently, assuming I would know him, only for me to respond this way. Heat rose visibly to his face. A few people nearby who understood my words quietly chuckled. Whether he heard them or not—
"You bastard...!"
The man reacted violently. With his face flushed red, he swung his leg. It wasn't an attack filled with killing intent, but it would have been annoying if it connected. With this wretched body, I wouldn't be able to withstand the impact. I'd lose my balance and fall spectacularly. And since I was holding a tray, the contents would obviously spill all over me. In short, it was an attack with clear intent—to humiliate. The speed and timing weren't bad. His skill level didn't seem completely worthless. It was an attack the original Kyle wouldn't have been able to respond to. Kyle's abilities were poor, while this man's were better than expected. However, I wasn't Kyle. I pulled my right leg back to match the incoming kick. Naturally, his leg swept through empty air. His eyebrows twitched, but I hadn't moved this wretched body just to see that level of reaction. Before he could retract his foot, I quickly hooked my own behind his heel and yanked.
"Urgh...!"
The man tried to react reflexively, but even that was too late. No matter how well-trained his body was, if you were balancing on one foot and someone pulled the other—
Thud!
Naturally, he lost his balance. Just like that, the man plopped down on the floor in a spectacular heap.
"What are you doing?"
I asked, looking down at him.
"Y-you...!"
The man, momentarily bewildered, gritted his teeth and glared up at me. Even if he didn't understand exactly what had happened, he seemed to realize I'd caused him to lose his balance.
"You bastard...!"
He gritted his teeth and started to rise, his momentum suggesting he wanted a fight.
"Want to keep going?"
I asked, deliberately turning my head slowly to scan the surroundings. Only then did the man seem to remember where we were. Murmurs rippled through the crowd. With this many people present, causing a scene naturally drew attention. The man couldn't not know that. No—he'd known and still tried to pull something on me, intending to humiliate me. Well, attention had gathered as a result. Just not in the form he'd wanted.
"......"
Grinding his teeth, the man swallowed his anger. He couldn't afford to cause trouble in a place this crowded. It wasn't merely a matter of reputation; openly causing an incident like this would draw the Academy's attention. Even if the target was me, the notorious troublemaker.
"...You'll regret this."
In the end, the man spat out a third-rate villain's line and left the cafeteria, not forgetting to glare at me with burning eyes until the very end. I paid him no attention and sat down to begin my meal. With one of the two gone, even more gazes naturally gathered on me, but I didn't care.
'What a shame.'
As much as I wanted to, I'd have liked to beat him so badly he couldn't even meet my eyes. But I couldn't. It wasn't a physical limitation. No matter how poor my condition was, dealing with someone like him wouldn't have been difficult. The real problem was the situation this body was in. My reputation had already hit rock bottom, and I'd lost the Berwen name. If I did anything even slightly noticeable here, the minimum consequence would be severe punishment. I couldn't afford to draw unnecessary attention. Not unless a suitable stage was prepared or I had a background that could smooth things over. Both options were currently out of reach, so I decided to ignore it. Now was the time to eat.
***
"Hey, over there......"
"That person is......"
Gazes. Whispers. They followed me wherever I went. It didn't stop there. Unable to skip class, I poked my head into a lecture.
"That Kyle Berwen is attending a lecture...?!"
"What on earth is he thinking?"
...Such reactions came back. It wasn't just the students. The professors also widened their eyes when they saw me—or frowned. Just how far had this guy's evaluation plummeted? While feeling a flicker of wonder at that fact, I didn't think the situation was entirely bad. As much as people avoided me, troublesome matters would decrease. I wasn't particularly sociable to begin with, and there was no one among those avoiding me that I absolutely had to befriend. One thing that bothered me was the possibility my evaluation might affect important people as well......
'Well, it'll be fine.'
No matter what the others thought, as long as Elion didn't dislike me, it didn't matter. And Elion wasn't the type to judge people based on surrounding evaluations or rumors. It wasn't an important issue. As I was shaking off those idle thoughts and heading back toward the dormitory with my heavy body, it happened.
"It's been a while."
A voice reached me. Thump— My heart raced. But this wasn't my reaction. It was this body's—Kyle's. Feeling a strange sensation, I turned toward the voice. A man who bore a considerable resemblance to Kyle stood there. Though he had a sharper, more rigid air than Kyle, the face was unmistakably similar. And I knew that face well. The man's name was Bellard Berwen. Yes. He was the half-brother of this body, Kyle Berwen.