Hehe, Poison Sting Launch
The Star Cluster Society—written as Byeol-muri-hoe, but really just a gathering of backward otherworlders who discriminate against transmigrators.
I stared at her, wondering if I'd heard correctly.
Babiyen, however, looked as though she'd simply stated the obvious.
In truth, Shishiroka had never become a great holy mage. Her body was frail from birth, so no matter how much she studied holy magic, her strength gave out first. Naturally, she wouldn't have joined the Star Cluster Society. If it were Shishiroka, she would have spent that time studying instead.
Rumors spread fast. Everyone here already knew that the reclusive Shishiroka fell short of their standards.
“Ah, while we're on the subject, may I offer you a piece of advice, Harua-nim?”
Babiyen smiled brightly, apparently convinced our earlier exchange had made us friends. It was the smile of a noble young lady whose head was full of flowers.
An elite who had never tasted hardship, raised with every advantage. She saw no need to choose her words carefully.
“It's best if you don't associate too closely with Aransol-nim.”
Her eyes were sincere. Out of nowhere, Aransol's name had come up. Did she intend to find fault with everyone connected to me?
“Aransol doesn't like transmigrators. The fact that she pretends otherwise only makes her worse. If you stay by her side, you'll only end up regretting it.”
I already knew that. Still, from an outsider's perspective, a transmigrator standing beside Aransol must have looked strange.
“Many transmigrators have been deceived by her face and left with nothing but heartache. Someone like you, Harua-nim, would be better off with people far superior to a bigot like Aransol-nim.”
Her distaste for Aransol was blatant. Clearly, the two of them didn't get along.
“Well, she was raised without parents. It's only natural she'd have shortcomings.”
Babiyen Asteria. Her appearance reminded one of a red heart-shaped flower—the bleeding heart. But just as that flower carries poison, Babiyen possessed a particularly vicious toxin of her own: the venom of a bitch.
“What did you just say?”
“Hmm? Are your ears not working?”
Too bright for your own good, you little—
A bee buzzing through a flower field, now baring its stinger. She had swung that stinger without a second thought. In that case, even an all-knowing being couldn't complain if I pulled the stinger out myself.
Causing a scene here would be third-rate. So instead—
“Yes, I'm still not very familiar with the otherworld language.”
“Oh my, I thought all transmigrators possessed translation abilities.”
“Then it seems my sentence-construction skills are so poor that the translation ability won't activate properly.”
“……Pardon?”
Feigning worse hearing, I dug into my ear with my middle finger.
“My translation ability is only half-functional, you see. Especially when the speaker has poor pronunciation—it's completely unintelligible. Ah, do you perhaps have a short tongue or a speech impediment?”
In reality, pronunciation didn't matter. Everything translated just fine. This was purely to annoy her. I pulled my middle finger from my ear and showed it to her.
“Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any earwax. How about it? Looks quite clean, doesn't it?”
When I thrust my middle finger toward her face, her eyes narrowed sharply.
Originally, otherworlders didn't use the middle finger as an insult. But with so many transmigrators arriving, curses spread the fastest. Babiyen's hand lashed out toward me.
“How filthy—!”
The moment her hand struck mine, I flew. Literally soared through the air.
Crash!
I tumbled across the floor, smashing through a table laden with food. Dishes shattered, food splattered everywhere, and the hall fell into chaos. In an instant, the entire venue went silent. Every gaze turned to Babiyen and me.
“Wh-what…?”
Babiyen stammered, unable to process what had happened. She had only lightly swatted my hand—there had been no real force behind it. So seeing someone go flying like that was clearly bewildering.
Of course it was. The one who had flown was me, of my own volition.
“Augh… ugh… ow…”
My groans echoed through the quiet hall. My clothes were soaked in food, and blood trickled from my head.
“Harua!”
Aransol, who had been talking with her disciples, came running. She quickly cleared the broken dishes and helped me up.
“……What are you doing?”
She whispered so only I could hear. Sharp as ever. Aransol had realized I was putting on a show. After spending so much time together, she had learned my personality well. I was grateful she hadn't interfered.
The crowd murmured. Among them, Babiyen looked the most flustered.
“Augh, you're trying to kill someone. Is it acceptable to hit a person like that?”
Babiyen's shoulders twitched at my question, blood still dripping from my forehead. Her face flushed crimson. Even with a head full of flowers, she wasn't stupid. She understood she'd been played.
“I didn't send you flying! Where do you get off lying like that?”
“Oh? Then why am I the only one who flew?”
Babiyen's expression hardened. Of course—she couldn't explain it. The insults about Aransol and Shishiroka had been between just the two of us. If she denied everything, that would be the end of it. But explaining now would mean openly admitting she'd disparaged Aransol in front of everyone. Many here held Aransol in high regard. Doing so would only turn them against her. Babiyen couldn't speak.
Only I could.
“Nngh… You hit me so hard my arm feels broken.”
“Th-that can't be true!”
“Are you saying I'm lying? Why don't you check for yourself, Babiyen-nim?”
I extended my wrapped arm. Go ahead, touch it. I'd cry my eyes out if she did. I might not be able to cry for others, but I could cry for myself anytime. Babiyen knew that too, so she couldn't bring herself to touch me. If I started wailing that I was dying, she'd become the woman who laid hands on an injured arm.
“N-no matter what, there's no way you flew that far—”
“Because I'm only an apprentice holy mage.”
It was an undeniable fact: the weakest beings in this world were apprentice holy mages. An apprentice mage could burn down an entire house. But an apprentice holy mage couldn't even recover after getting beaten by street thugs. That was what an apprentice holy mage was. And that was me.
My unusually pale skin only emphasized my frailty. In an instant, Babiyen had become the woman who had struck a weak apprentice holy mage with full force.
“Babiyen-nim, I never expected you to hate me so much just because I'm a transmigrator. I wanted to be friends with you… This is truly disappointing.”
And with that, I branded her with the image of a transmigrator-hater.
“I-I would never do something so discriminatory!”
“But I was struck by you and sent flying, Babiyen-nim.”
Babiyen opened and closed her mouth. The disciples' eyes were all on her now. These were people who cared about their image as elite offspring. Even if they discriminated against transmigrators, they couldn't do so openly. Discrimination had to be done elegantly, behind closed doors. None of them stepped forward to defend her. Getting dragged into this mess would only hurt their own reputations. Thanks to that, I was reminded once again that this place was nothing but a gathering of self-interested people.
“It hurts… I can't stand anymore. Aransol, take me to the hospital.”
“Got it.”
Aransol cooperated without a word. Babiyen remained frozen in place, trembling, until we left.
That was the price for baring her stinger at someone who had survived in a country full of con artists. Head full of flowers. She'd better remember not to show that stinger so carelessly again.
“So, are we actually going to the hospital?”
Once Aransol helped me outside, she asked.
“Why would we? I'm a holy mage.”
Honestly, the bleeding head had been an unexpected variable. Maybe it was because I'd died from a head injury recently—throwing my body around hadn't felt as difficult as I'd thought. Still, it wasn't hospital-worthy.
“I'd like to at least get some compensation, but Gladion doesn't have laws like that.”
People rarely paid monetary compensation for injuries here. Especially not nobles. That sort of thing only happened in worlds where democracy ruled. Of course, in those societies, injuring someone often meant either killing them or facing immediate execution. Truly a backward otherworld.
“Still, I definitely ruined her image.”
“Babiyen is from the Asteria barony. Even so, this incident will probably blow over quickly.”
“Doesn't matter. More importantly, she'll feel it herself.”
My goal had been nothing more than to sour her mood. There was nothing but pure malice in it.
“Why did you do it? You're not the type to act without reason, Harua.”
While I treated my forehead with holy magic, Aransol questioned me. I wondered if there was any point in her hearing this and getting upset too, but the look in her eyes said she was determined to know.
“She was badmouthing Shishiroka and you.”
“Haa…”
Aransol let out a frustrated sigh.
“I'm sorry. Babiyen probably picked a fight with you because of me.”
“Because of you?”
“That girl… hates me.”
“Something must have happened between you two.”
Aransol pressed a hand to her cheek and exhaled.
“I don't know either. She disliked me from the very first moment we met.”
Aransol pretended otherwise, but she was already giving me the reason. Then she glanced at me, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. What a clever girl.
Babiyen clearly took great pride in her appearance. From her expensive accessories to her clothes and mannerisms, her confidence in her looks overflowed. Yet even with all that effort, Aransol surpassed her. If we compared it to the modern world, Babiyen was a fairly successful influencer. But Aransol had the kind of looks that stood out even among actors. That gap wasn't something easily closed. She'd lost in terms of appearance. For Babiyen, that must have been more humiliating than anything else. So when I appeared alongside Aransol, she'd taken it out on me as a transmigrator.
“Anyway, Aransol, your personality isn't exactly ordinary either.”
“Just so you know, I don't show this side to other people. I actually hide it.”
People naturally felt aversion toward those with strong self-love. Aransol knew that, so she never bragged about her looks to others.
“But in front of you, it felt pointless to hide it after already showing something even worse.”
After openly revealing she was a racist, hiding her pride in her appearance would have been even more ridiculous.
“Must be nice being pretty. What's it like living so beautifully?”
“It gets annoying sometimes, but right now it's kind of fun. Being pretty is enjoyable.”
Aransol leaned in close and grinned. A woman who knew she was beautiful was easier to accept as simply pretty rather than detestable. I'd learned something new.
“More importantly, are you going back?”
Aransol pointed toward the Star Cluster Society. Her mood had clearly soured because of Babiyen as well.
“Did you hear anything while we were there?”
At my question, Aransol hesitated. Her eyes shifted slightly as she turned her head. So there was something.
When I pressed her with my gaze, she finally spoke reluctantly.
“……It's about the Grace Magic Tower.”
“The Grace Magic Tower?”
“Word is that the Gladion imperial family is personally investigating the Grace Magic Tower.”
What was that supposed to mean?
“Tell me more.”
Aransol looked hesitant, but she opened her mouth anyway.
“There's talk that the Grace Magic Tower is connected to the Black Dawn.”
Our house is burning down.