A Duel with the Perfect Gentleman
Thanks to my appointment as an Honorary Monk, I could finally go about my daily life with a much lighter heart. After finishing all my tasks for the day, I was heading back toward the dormitory. Lately, my routine had grown quite busy. It was all because I had begun proper training in earnest. Since there were no longer any defects in this body, I was pushing it to its absolute limits. When I thought about what lay ahead and how variables could appear at any moment, there was no downside to building up my strength. If I had enough power, I could respond to anything that happened. For that reason, I was training my body to the brink of exhaustion. As a result, I was definitely getting stronger by the day, but honestly, I wasn’t satisfied. Compared to the strength I’d possessed during my days as Gunter, I was still far from enough.
Not only that, but I needed to reach a certain level of power quickly if I wanted to obtain the items I had in mind. Even if I was in a hurry, there was nothing I could do about it, yet the impatience I felt was real. …Come to think of it.
When I considered the future, one face naturally came to mind. None other than Elion. I haven’t seen her around much lately.
I hadn’t caught sight of Elion recently. It wasn’t as if we met often before, but we would occasionally run into each other in passing. Lately, even that had stopped. Nor had I heard any news about her. Of course, since interest in Lana was so overwhelmingly high, it was only natural that rumors about Elion would be buried. Besides, there were no special events at this time of year, so it was safe to assume no new rumors would surface. …Well, she’ll probably be fine.
That was the conclusion I reached. No news meant she was safe, and above all, since it was Elion, I wasn’t overly worried. With that, I shook off my concerns and continued toward the dormitory. But I had to stop mid-step.
“…….”
Someone was standing in the middle of the path leading to the dormitory. They must have sensed my presence as well, because they turned their gaze toward me. Our eyes met. It was Sebastian Ebenros, his eyes burning with fierce intensity.
“…….”
I felt a flicker of surprise at the sight of his face. Honestly, I hadn’t expected Sebastian to come looking for me like this. Setting aside the failure of his plan to drive me out, I had assumed that with his personality, he would never approach me directly—whether he had completely given up on his scheme or not. He doesn’t look like he’s given up at all, though.
Those eyes of his told me everything. Sebastian had not yet fully abandoned his obsession.
“What do you want?”
I spoke first. The reason was simple: I had no desire to keep standing there, staring into his eyes. At that, the man who had been glaring at me spat out,
“…Please stay away from her.”
I didn’t need to ask who he meant by “her.” It was obviously Lana. Hmm.
His words confirmed my hypothesis. Why had he approached us with a different attitude than usual, and why had he ultimately harbored hostility toward me and tried to expel me from the Academy? I had guessed it was because he held special feelings for Lana. The evidence had been a little thin, but now that he had said those words, even that gap was filled.
“Why should I?”
While thinking that in my head, I asked Sebastian. No matter what his motive was, I had absolutely no reason to listen to him. And of course, I had no intention of doing so.
“Are you asking because you truly don’t know?”
Sebastian shot back. His attitude irritated me enough that I considered provoking him a little, but unfortunately, I couldn’t. He continued speaking immediately.
“Your existence brings her no benefit whatsoever. In fact, you are nothing but a detriment.”
His voice was calm, almost flat, yet beneath it burned a seething emotion. Sebastian went on.
“I’m a detriment?”
By now I had a rough idea of what he wanted to say, but I decided to play along for the moment.
“That’s correct.”
He nodded.
“You are a repulsive human being.”
Suddenly, he hurled a direct, venomous insult at me.
“…….”
It was so absurd that I simply stared at him without answering. Sebastian kept talking.
“On the other hand, she is an exceedingly noble and pure person.”
“……”
“If someone like you stays by her side, she will inevitably be negatively influenced.”
I didn’t refute the barrage of words pouring from Sebastian. For now, I intended to hear him out completely.
“And that’s not all. Simply by associating with you, her reputation will also suffer. Haven’t you already experienced that?”
He was probably referring to the rumors. Well, I couldn’t exactly say he was wrong about that. I had actually worried about it myself before. Lana herself had said she didn’t mind, but there was no way it wouldn’t affect her at all. The position of Saintess carried immense weight, and because Lana’s existing reputation was so stellar, it hadn’t shown outwardly. Still, there were surely people who viewed her unfavorably. Humans are that kind of creature, after all. There would be those who envied her position, her appearance, her ability, and her personality. There would also be people who simply wanted to tear someone down without thinking. Even now, there were probably individuals spreading slander about Lana behind her back. They wouldn’t dare speak openly, since criticizing a Saintess was an incredibly heavy sin.
“If you possess even a shred of conscience, please distance yourself from her. That is the path that truly serves her best.”
Having said that, Sebastian closed his mouth. He was finished.
“……”
I didn’t answer him right away. I simply gazed into his eyes, lost in thought. I wasn’t entirely certain, but after listening to his rather lengthy speech, I came to a conclusion. At the very least, his goodwill toward Lana seemed genuine. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact nature of it, but the goodwill itself appeared real. His claim that he was thinking of Lana wasn’t entirely a lie.
However.
“No thanks.”
I rejected him outright. Whether he wanted to protect Lana or not, what did it matter to me? If we were talking about concern for Lana’s well-being, mine was a hundred times—no, a thousand times—stronger than his. I was confident that no one wished for Lana and the other girls to thrive and be happy more than I did. And just as strongly, I wanted to remain by their side. Unless the girls themselves pushed me away, I would continue to strive to stay near them. Nothing could stop me.
Sebastian’s will? His sincere feelings for Lana? None of that held any value to me. Therefore, I had no intention of listening to a single word he said.
“……”
Sebastian’s brows furrowed sharply.
“…It seems you don’t possess even the slightest trace of conscience.”
He glared at me with genuine disgust. Naturally, I felt it was unfair. His hatred was directed at Kyle. He was acting this way because he believed I was Kyle, but since I had nothing to do with Kyle’s wrongdoings, it was honestly frustrating. So,
“How long are you going to keep pretending to be so noble? Why don’t you just reveal your true feelings?”
I decided to provoke him a little.
“…What are you talking about?”
Sebastian frowned slightly. I smiled and said,
“You talk about protecting the Saintess and all that, but that’s not your real intention, is it?”
“Such nonsense—”
“Well, it’s not like you have zero goodwill toward the Saintess. Otherwise you wouldn’t speak like that.”
But.
“Can you swear that not even a shred of your own self-interest is mixed in?”
Sebastian Ebenros was not an evil person. If anything, he leaned closer to good. However, that didn’t make him a saint. He was intelligent and cold. He was basically kind to others and would try to help the less fortunate, but he wouldn’t stake his life on good deeds. Even when he helped someone, he would show sincerity but never pour out his soul. The very fact that he was going this far for someone else’s business was unusual. Of course, there was a possibility that he purely respected Lana deeply… but if that were the case, Sebastian would never have shown his emotions so openly. That was why I had predicted it. The goodwill he felt toward Lana was by no means pure. It was tainted with self-interest.
“That’s…”
Sebastian couldn’t answer immediately. That in itself was unlike him. The Sebastian Ebenros from the game would have smiled leisurely even if caught off guard. In other words, this was proof that he was that shaken. Looking at him, I grinned and said,
“Why don’t you just be honest? You’re jealous of me.”
“……!!”
Sebastian’s eyes trembled violently.
“You’re trying to approach the Saintess with impure motives while wrapping it up so nicely. How shameless.”
I let out a deliberate snort of laughter.
“……”
Sebastian glared at me. Fierce emotion blazed within those two eyes. They looked like an active volcano on the verge of erupting. However, the volcano did not actually explode.
“…Let’s do this instead.”
Sebastian suddenly spoke in a subdued voice.
“Let’s have a spar.”
“……?”
At those words, my eyes widened in shock. What on earth was he talking about all of a sudden?
“If I win the spar, please stay away from the Saintess.”
“……?”
I still couldn’t shake off the question marks. If anything, my confusion only deepened. After all—
“Why would I?”
I had absolutely no reason to accept such a proposal. What possible benefit would I gain from agreeing to a spar, especially under such ridiculous conditions? I stared at him in disbelief. Then,
“If you win, I will pay a corresponding price.”
Sebastian suddenly added.
“A corresponding price?”
“Yes. If you win… I will give you whatever you want.”
…Hmm. Now the story changed. What had been a proposal with nothing to gain suddenly offered something worth taking. If it had been some trivial reward, I wouldn’t have been interested. But Sebastian had said he would give me whatever I wanted. The value of those words depended entirely on who was speaking. If an ordinary Academy student said it, it would mean nothing more than a free meal. But the speaker was Sebastian Ebenros. Although he was currently a student, he was the confirmed next head of the Ebenros family. He might not be the current head yet, but he could still wield a portion of the Ebenros family’s power. And even a fraction of the Ebenros family’s strength was enough to accomplish almost anything one desired. If I asked for a noble title, he could grant it immediately. If I wanted money, he could pile up a mountain of gold and jewels. That was the position of the next head of House Ebenros.
I was just thinking I needed money…
I had my own plans. Naturally, earning capital was part of them. No matter what I did, money would never be a bad thing to have. Thanks to my knowledge from the game, I was confident I could earn an enormous amount of wealth, but it would take time. To make use of that knowledge, I needed starting capital first. Even if I knew a stock would rise tenfold, without money I couldn’t profit from it. I had been planning to run around for a while gathering initial funds, but if I could obtain money through Sebastian, the situation would change completely.
Since the offer had become quite tempting, I pondered for a moment before saying,
“You do realize this is ridiculous, right? If I lose, I get expelled.”
“I am aware. That is why I intend to offer an appropriate price on my side as well.”
After a brief pause, Sebastian continued.
“I swear I will do everything within my power to fulfill whatever you desire.”
It was exactly the answer I had been hoping for. Smiling inwardly, I said,
“Fine. I accept.”
“……!!”
Sebastian’s eyes widened. Surprise and joy were clearly visible on his face. Looking at him, I thought, He seems confident.
That was only natural. There was no way he would make such a proposal if he thought he would lose. Considering his personality, it meant he was extremely sure of himself. He can’t possibly be unaware that I defeated Jerim.
It was a rumor that had shaken the entire Academy, so there was no chance Sebastian hadn’t heard it. In other words, he had challenged me to a spar despite knowing that. As far as I knew, the difference in skill between Jerim and Sebastian wasn’t that large. With time, Sebastian’s superior talent would allow him to overwhelm Jerim, but for now they were probably around the same level. And yet he had still challenged me. Had his skills improved dramatically without my knowledge, or was he hiding something? I felt a flicker of doubt, but quickly brushed it aside. Well, it doesn’t matter.
I had no intention of losing either. Watching Sebastian struggle to hide the obvious joy coloring his face, I laughed quietly to myself.