136. I Have No Friends (End)
136. I Have No Friends (End)
"What? Bedwetter? Surely you don't... mean me, do you?"
Confronted by an irresistible threat, Bretton abruptly remembered his manners. Even when Viola laughed mockingly behind him, he couldn't perform the simple act of turning around.
One careless glance and his head and body might have declared their separation.
A noble's pride was easily crushed by a threat to his life.
"Not yet, perhaps. Anyway, what business do you have with my companions?"
"You're with... that bitch?"
'How the hell had she become involved with someone like this?!'
His classmates and lackeys, who would normally have postured beside him, were frozen like prey before a beast. Bretton, eldest son of the renowned alchemical House Trismegistus, forced himself to shout.
"D-do you not know what happens when you threaten a n-noble...?"
"So you're a noble."
Under a gaze that plainly said, "So what?" Bretton's thoughts raced.
'What was this? Why was he so confident?'
Even Kalon Academy, which promoted equality among students, wasn't free from the influence of social class. An outsider wouldn't even possess the academy's protection.
Then why was this man so confident? Bretton desperately avoided the cold gaze pressing down on him and spoke.
"I-if you know I'm a noble, then stop l-looking at me like that...!"
"Shouldn't you move first? Was this your table?"
At Yohan's reasonable observation, Bretton moved without thinking. His lackeys jumped and crowded beside him at the instinctive retreat.
"Y-you'll regret this!"
'How could he have been exactly like his in-game image?'
Yohan watched Bretton flee with a deeply unimpressed expression.
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I hadn't expected to meet one of the original characters this way.
He was unimportant and such a delinquent that he could have been considered a prime candidate for transmigration into Survival Academy. In the first episode, he wet himself upon seeing a monster and became the extra known as Bedwetter.
He was memorable for appearing in the trailer before any heroine and had become the subject of countless memes.
I'd never expected to meet him like this. I was not exactly pleased. I dismissed the bucktoothed man from my thoughts, dropped into my seat, and asked what had happened.
"So, he just showed up and started trouble, is that it?"
"Yeah. That goddamn bastard should spend the time studying. He comes from a prestigious family, but his grades are average, so why the fuck does he keep harassing me?"
Viola unleashed a stream of curses, apparently carrying a great deal of resentment. From what she said, he had tormented her throughout the semester, not merely once or twice. She finished by calling him an ugly bastard jealous that a commoner who refused to grovel had better grades.
...He had picked fights whenever the protagonist earned high grades in the game too. Apparently nothing had changed.
"Cut back on the swearing."
Millia might hear and imitate her.
"Sorry. Every time I see that jackass, the cussing just comes out on its own..."
"I understand how you feel, but don't waste your energy on a guy like that. There's no need to get upset just because a dog barks."
"A dog? Pfft."
My words must have amused Viola. She clutched her stomach and burst into laughter, only stopping much later. Wiping tears from her eyes, she spoke with a relieved expression.
"You're probably the first person who has ever called him a dog."
"I'm surprised nobody has, considering how he behaves."
"He may act like that, but he's still the heir to a prestigious house."
"A prestigious house?"
Millia didn't seem to understand what a prestigious house meant. She tilted her head and looked between Viola and me.
"Yeah. Trismegistus? Was that the name? Something like that. He's the heir, so even most nobles have to bow and scrape before him."
"A delinquent who runs wild because of his family..."
I hoped he wouldn't harm the girls. Then again, I couldn't monitor them constantly.
I wasn't an overprotective parent who could supervise every social relationship. Karina would transfer in during the second semester, which should provide some deterrence. Whether Bretton was the heir to a prestigious house or not, before Karina he would be no different from any ordinary student.
If he acted rudely before Karina, I could even use it as an excuse to beat the crap out of him.
"Millia. Elisa. If that bastard tries to harm either of you, tell me immediately. Understood?"
"Okay!"
"Y-yes..."
"You too, Viola. Don't endure it in silence."
"Ah... thanks."
Why did she look so surprised? Taking care of one's subordinates was natural. I ignored Viola's complicated gaze and cut deeply into the pudding served for dessert. The tiny, delicate pudding was brutally divided in two, but such was the law of the world.
[Wow... wow... what a sinful man.]
I ignored Rue's nonsense and put the pudding in my mouth.
Ugh, it was sweet.
-----------------------------
"Yohan! Look at this!"
"...A schedule, huh."
Millia's round handwriting filled the schedule she held out. With empty periods scattered across it, it resembled a college timetable. I read the names beneath the course titles while trying to recall my nearly forgotten university life.
So had the four of them been together for the last several days to arrange their schedules?
"It seems you've worked out which classes you'll take together."
"Yeah! There are a lot of General Studies classes you can take together in the first year, so the four of us can take them together!"
"The four of you..."
So all of them would end up attending the same lecture.
That meant I could naturally keep watch over them and prevent random nobodies from approaching Karina. More importantly, I would be able to intervene in the original story to some extent. Perhaps I could handle incidents more proactively than during the first semester.
"Heehee, I'm so excited to take classes together!"
"It won't be as fun as you think."
"Huh? Yohan, have you taken lectures before?"
Ruby-like eyes looked up at me. Her curiosity apparently ignited by my words, Millia stepped closer and raised her chin.
I couldn't answer honestly, so I'd have to dodge the question.
"I've attended something similar to a lecture."
It had been ten years, so I remembered almost nothing. I remembered even less of the actual content. All that remained was the fact that it had been boring and mostly useless.
Then again, few lectures would have helped on an uninhabited island.
"I see—heehee. It would've been fun to go to school with you, Yohan! Taking classes together! Doing homework! Taking exams!"
"I'll pass."
"Tch."
"I-I think it w-would've been nice to go together too..."
What? When had you gotten here? I looked down at Elisa behind me, her head bowed. She fidgeted, murmured too quietly to understand, and lightly pinched my sleeve between her fingers.
"H-hello."
"Yeah. Did you sleep well?"
"Y-yes."
"Elisa, hi! Feels like I'm seeing you for the first time today! Did you go out? Huh?"
"Ah, hi... mm..."
It was good to see them getting along. I watched Millia greet Elisa energetically and Elisa return it despite her hesitation, then sighed inwardly in relief.
Elisa had made two friends, so at least she should not have wandered alone as she had during the first semester.
"I can't wait for the second semester~ I want to make lots of friends!"
"Friends?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna make 100!"
That was quite an ambitious dream.
"You can do it."
"Right? Heehee."
Millia clung to my arm and rubbed her face against it like a puppy. If she had possessed a tail, she would probably have wagged it hard enough to break. She must have been an affectionate dog in a previous life.
"But where are you going, Yohan?"
"I'm going to see Karina. I have something to report."
I had finished the final discussion about escort personnel with Principal Merlin.
The escort roster, including personnel from the Guards, was complete and had been given to me.
The plan was simple: we would provide the primary escort while the Guards patrolled around the building.
I was taking the roster to Karina in preparation for any unexpected situation.
I had also been assigned to escort her on campus.
Surprisingly, Karina herself had requested it.
She argued that Reni would collapse from overwork again if she also handled on-campus protection, and that I was better suited for it.
I still remembered Reni retreating into a corner in despair as though the world had ended when Karina explained the decision to us. I had been surprised too, so the shock to Reni must have been severe.
The news affected Reni so badly that she spent nearly two days in a daze.
Karina had looked extremely uncomfortable, but she didn't reverse the decision.
Apparently reversing it would have caused an even greater problem.
Karina's reasons were difficult to dispute. Yesterday, Reni had reluctantly nodded, left marks on my shoulder, and trudged back into her office.
I was somewhat afraid the decision had damaged our relationship.
Reni wasn't the sort to hold a grudge over something like that... was she? I honestly couldn't be certain. Still, we'd built a friendship; surely she wouldn't.
"Let's go quickly! I'm gonna show Karina the schedule I made too!"
She looked like a little kid hurrying to show her mom a drawing.
I followed the innocently smiling Millia and reached Karina's door.
I was about to knock, then remembered that both my hands were occupied. Millia noticed and quickly knocked for me.
"Karina! Are you in your room? We're here!"
"Yes, I'm in my room. Please come in."
A beautiful voice sounded beyond the door. Once Karina gave permission, Millia opened it without hesitation.
Ah.
"Y-Yohan?"
"Wow! Karina! You're wearing a uniform?"
"Ah, w-well, yes. I tried it on..."
Karina's shy gaze moved between Millia and me. I could do nothing but stare at her.
A skirt exposing her knees. A blouse beneath a blazer. And breasts asserting their overwhelming presence through the fabric.
Chest.
Pink hair resting shyly above them.
The Karina I knew stood there.
"...You're beautiful."
The sight even filled me with nostalgia.
I was seeing in person an appearance I'd known only from the game.
That alone moved me.
"Ah, uh, ah... th-thank you."
"Hey, what about me? What about me?"
Ignoring Millia as she tugged my arm and whined beside me, I accidentally spoke the thought that had suddenly entered my mind.
"...Now the real thing begins."