I'm Going to Get Expelled (2)
The look on her face was strange. What kind of letter could make her react like that…?
“…It’s nothing.”
Julia quickly crumpled the letter before Charlotte could get a better look and hurried away. I thought maybe I’d seen wrong, but when I returned to my room and read it again, the contents were exactly the same.
…If my sponsor loses interest in me, I will wither away and die.
Please reply.
“This is driving me insane.”
What kind of threat was this? The person receiving the sponsorship was the one threatening to cut it off. Under normal circumstances, that kind of threat shouldn’t work at all. But our relationship was anything but normal, so I had no choice but to squirm.
I should read through all the letters I’d tossed aside first.
Come to think of it, I had just shoved every letter Yuri sent into a drawer. At first I thought they were sent to the wrong person and ignored them. By the time I realized they were from Yuri, so many had piled up that reading them one by one felt too bothersome. I had gone out of my way to get her into the academy, and since she was the protagonist, I figured she’d do fine on her own and stopped paying attention.
So what on earth had happened that she would suddenly send a letter this extreme?
Let’s start with the first one.
To the Pitch-Black Mister.
What do I mean by Pitch-Black Mister? It’s a nickname I came up with after seeing your back. You wore a black suit and rode in a black carriage, so… Pitch-Black Mister. If you don’t like it, please tell me your real name. Calling you “Anonymous Sponsor” feels way too stiff.
And…
To the Pitch-Black Mister.
I had my first class today! I didn’t know this before, but after every class you have to move to a different classroom? No one told me, so I almost got marked absent on my very first day. The first class was…
To the Pitch-Black Mister.
Today I went out into the city. I’d heard the capital was huge, but I was genuinely shocked by how overwhelming it was. The dormitory provides basic meals, so living here isn’t too difficult, but it’s a shame there aren’t any shops I can visit in town. I’m thinking I might need to find some odd jobs to earn pocket money. Oh, and today I…
Every single letter was bright and cheerful. There were a few cute little complaints, but nothing that gave off even the slightest sense of dissatisfaction. It was hard to believe that the same girl who wrote these had suddenly sent a letter full of such crushing despair.
“I need to reply first.”
I hurriedly began scribbling a response. She said she’d cut off the sponsorship if I didn’t reply. If I lost her sponsorship, Yuri would leave the Imperial Magic Academy and disappear. And it wouldn’t be strange at all for her to eventually fall in with some villain and return completely corrupted. She didn’t have any comrades to stand by her side right now, nor did she have Silvia to guide her.
I enclosed a modest amount of pocket money with the reply. Buy whatever you want to eat. If you need more, just tell me. Please. Okay?
Bullying… Just how?
It was hard to imagine someone with her monstrous physical abilities simply enduring abuse, but humans didn’t only use brute force to torment others. People could employ every petty, filthy trick in the book. If Yuri ended up corrupted because of bullying… it would be a disaster. An apocalypse. I’d probably be the first one captured and brutally murdered to signal the beginning of the end.
“Who the hell is it? What bastard would dare bully Yuri?”
Grinding my teeth, I immediately began preparing to leave. This couldn’t wait. I needed to hear the full story.
“Silvia. I’m leaving the children in your care.”
“You’re going alone? Where are you headed?”
“The Imperial Magic Academy.”
“Ah. Please travel safely.”
Silvia had been about to follow but quickly lowered her head in farewell. Although her duty was to guard and monitor me, she always stepped back whenever I headed to the Imperial Magic Academy. Maybe she had some unpleasant memories there. I decided not to pry.
“Coachman. Bring out a different carriage. One with the family crest on it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“From now on, only use this one whenever we go to the Magic Academy.”
“Understood.”
The plain carriage I had used on my previous visit to the academy was once again sealed away. That was the “Pitch-Black Mister’s” carriage. I couldn’t use one that Yuri had already seen.
The carriage raced along the unfinished road. While I was lost in thought about Charlotte’s armor, we arrived at the Imperial Magic Academy in what felt like the blink of an eye. I had no idea the Belmont territory and the academy were this close…
“Is the headmaster in?”
“I’m sorry. The headmaster did not come in today…”
“Then go fetch him. Tell him Aslan Belmont is waiting.”
“Y-yes…”
The academy staff member turned away with a suspicious look. The headmaster would come. He had no choice. If he heard that Aslan Belmont was throwing a tantrum, there was no way he could stay away.
The Evil God, 'Kali,' is greatly pleased by your outrageous behavior.
Outrageous? I haven’t even done anything yet. So it doesn’t count as outrageous behavior yet. Only once the headmaster starts treating me like a menace will I have no choice but to become one.
Maybe I should stop by the library.
The mansion’s archive was certainly large enough, but to be honest, it mostly felt like a pile of kindling. It took forever to dig out anything remotely trustworthy, so I had long since given up searching for books there.
Do they have any books on dark magic?
The library of the empire’s greatest institution of higher learning was enormous. I figured I could look for books on spirit magic that Julia would like, swordsmanship texts that might interest Charlotte, and while I was at it, see if they had anything on dark magic.
But this library didn’t have a search system. Shouldn’t a fantasy world at least have some kind of archive search function? Even if there were books on dark magic, I doubted the librarian would give me a straight answer if I asked. This was troublesome.
The Evil God, 'Kali,' insists you should go that way.
…Which way is “that way”?
The Evil God, 'Kali,' is getting angry and says it’s not that way, but that way!
I’m asking which way “that way” is!
After wandering around for quite a while, I somehow managed to follow Kali’s vague directions. In a dim, out-of-the-way corner, I found a small bookshelf that was barely visible in the darkness.
Found it.
A Study on Dark Magic. Does Evil Magic Exist? The History of Black Magic.
Every title was related to dark magic. Without hesitation, I grabbed them all. By the time I had also picked out books for Julia and Charlotte and was carrying the heavy stack, I found myself missing Silvia just a little.
“I’d like to check these out.”
“Hmm. If you are not a student or faculty member of this school, borrowing books is difficult.”
“Even with this?”
“…!”
I casually held out my Imperial Magic Academy sponsorship certificate. The librarian flinched. While sponsors were technically allowed to use the library, this was probably the first time one had actually tried to check out books.
“Checkout complete, Lord Aslan Belmont. The loan period is one week, with extensions possible in one-week increments up to three times…”
“Aslan Belmont!?”
“…?”
A high-pitched shout suddenly rang out from behind me. The moment I turned around, a chill ran down my spine. Sure enough, standing there in a school uniform was Yuri. She still looked like a pretty boy.
The sponsorship certificate. Did she see it?
I quickly covered it with my hand. Had she noticed? The moment she found out the anonymous sponsor was me, it would all be over.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, it’s nothing… I mean, nothing at all… I’m sorry…”
Yuri bit her lip and turned her head away from me. I could see her fists clenched tightly as she fought to hold back her anger. If she already hated me this much, what would happen if she found out I was her sponsor? She would immediately reject the sponsorship and vanish. And then later she’d fall in with some strange villain and return corrupted… and so on.
No matter how many times I imagined it, the future made my groin tingle with dread.
Be careful. Extreme caution is required.
As I walked past Yuri, cold sweat poured down my back and I felt like I was going to lose my mind from the chills. It was like walking past an angry bear that was glaring at me. Just how much guts did the people bullying a girl like her have?
I practically fled the library. The entire way out, I could feel a murderous gaze stabbing into my back. It felt like she wanted to charge at me but was holding herself back. It was a relief that attending the academy had apparently taught her some self-restraint.
Did I let my guard down too much?
Maybe I should have brought some guards. I should have at least considered the possibility that Yuri might attack me the moment I set foot in the academy. Next time, I’d need to bring some kind of safety measure.
“Ah. The headmaster has arrived. Shall I escort you to his office?”
“Lead the way.”
Just then, I received word that the headmaster had shown up. Good. Let’s find out who’s been bullying that walking bomb. Whoever it is—man or woman—if they fall into my hands…
“N-no… Bullying…? That can’t be…”
“Bullying is something educators often fail to notice. Yuri personally wrote a letter testifying to it. Are you saying Yuri is lying right now?”
“Yes. That is most likely the case. After all, Miss Yuri has already subdued her seniors and turned them into her subordinates. She has established a position within the school where no one can touch her…”
“…Pardon?”
What the hell was this guy saying? She wasn’t the one being bullied—she was the one doing the bullying?