Burdensome Attention
"Professor! This is unacceptable!"
The Saintess, Esther Kalt, spoke with firm resolve.
Her attitude was completely different from the way she usually treated Leo.
A priest from the Church stood beside her now.
That alone showed how far the repercussions of this duel had spread.
"Well, that is... Miss Esther? Please, calm yourself first..."
Professor Ian Dexter, standing before them, floundered.
In principle, every cadet within the Academy was equal.
And while cadets were obligated to follow their professors' instructions...
That did not mean, for instance, that some ordinary professor could treat the current second-year Imperial Princess however he pleased.
It was unthinkable.
And the same held true for the Saintess standing before him now.
If professors of lower standing could act freely toward cadets from high houses, there were only two reasons.
One was that the cadet themselves accepted it and showed the professors the respect due under Academy rules.
The other was that the Academy's Principal guaranteed the professors' authority.
That was how formidable the Principal was.
But the Church backing the Saintess before him now...
The Church was an organization with power exceeding even that of the Academy Principal.
Moreover, Esther had no intention of quietly accepting the duel's outcome under Academy regulations.
Professor Ian could feel the blood draining from his face.
The priest from the Church spoke.
"Do you not understand what Saintess Esther means to our Church? For her to offer a public apology—not to just anyone, but to the traitor Wallenstein..."
The priest's tone carried a clear warning.
"This is not merely a matter between the parties involved. It is a blow to the Church's authority itself. Can you take responsibility for that?"
Don't take that up with me—take it up with the Principal!
The professor screamed inwardly.
Still, he was the one responsible for this duel.
Swallowing his irritation, he began trying to persuade the two of them.
"Well, that may be true, but... is the Hero candidate not equally important to the Church?"
If something happened to the Hero candidate—not just the Saintess—the Church's prestige would suffer all the same.
"As you well know, refusing to acknowledge the result of a duel is an extremely dishonorable act. Should that happen, how greatly would the Hero candidate's honor be damaged..."
"We are not refusing to acknowledge it! We are simply asking that the Saintess alone be exempted..."
"One moment."
Esther restrained the priest.
At the mention of Leo's honor being tarnished, she changed her mind.
"It's all right, Father. There's no helping it, is there? I'll endure it and apologize to him."
"What are you saying! Saintess, this is not so simple a matter!"
"No. I cannot allow Leo's honor to be diminished because of me."
Esther was resolute.
The priest specially dispatched by the Church cast a brief, displeased look at Esther for defying him...
But it lasted only an instant, and no one noticed.
...For now, she seems to be doing this with the Church in mind.
The priest closed his mouth without further protest.
The Saintess appeared to hope Leo might praise her for it, but...
There was little reaction from Leo.
He had been like this ever since the defeat in the duel.
That was how tremendous the shock had been for him.
Next came Elin.
Under normal circumstances, an elf of the Great Forest publicly apologizing to a human would be an intolerable blow to her pride...
But at least where Louis was concerned, Elin could apologize to him.
At the same time, refusing the apology here might earn her Leo's resentment.
If her refusal damaged Leo's honor and made him hate her...
That was absolutely out of the question.
Therefore Elin offered no real objection and accepted the public apology to Louis.
Watching her accept the humiliation so readily, Leo fixed her with a suspicious stare.
An elf of the Great Forest accepts this kind of disgrace without even hesitating?
The words Louis had spoken to him after the duel.
He had naturally assumed they were lies.
Having seen how Elin Nidia normally treated Louis Wallenstein, that was only natural.
But the problem was that the only ones who knew about the potion were himself, his family...
And Elin Nidia alone.
So how, then, had that Wallenstein bastard learned of it?
And on top of that, her attitude today—as if she cared nothing about publicly apologizing to him.
The suspicion that had taken root in Leo's heart only continued to grow.
In any case, Aine likewise raised no particular objection after that.
They were party members who had already sworn an oath at Leo's request before the duel even began.
Unlike the others, Aine—who had no backing whatsoever—could not refuse.
As for Felice, she had been absent from the Academy when the duel was declared, so she had been left out of the conditions entirely.
Last was Veronica.
But after her conversation with Louis following the duel, Veronica's feelings were complicated.
She still had no intention of stepping forward first to apologize of her own accord.
Using this incident as a pretext to offer him an apology instead, Veronica accepted as well.
And so everyone's issues were resolved.
...Everyone except Leo.
Once the matter of the public apology had been settled for the time being, Leo took Professor Ian Dexter aside.
Leo had lost every scrap of composure he possessed.
"Professor, what's the deadline for fulfilling the conditions? No—never mind. I'll have to hand over the sword in about two weeks at the earliest."
Leo spoke only of what he wanted.
The professor made an effort not to let his expression twist as he opened his mouth.
"In two weeks the semester will already be over..."
"If I lose the sword! Do you think my father will sit still? If you want to keep taking money, you'd better watch how you act!"
It wasn't wrong, but even for the heir of a ducal house, the remark crossed a line.
...If not for all the money the professor had taken from the ducal house until now, that is.
Still, he was about to say at least one word of protest when—
"I can't hand over the family heirloom sword to Wallenstein of all people. We'll have a counterfeit made as quickly as possible..."
Professor Ian clamped a hand over Leo's mouth as he spoke.
Because he had heard footsteps approaching.
The one who appeared a moment later was Professor Jon Hayton.
Professor Jon, as leisurely as ever, and Professor Ian, fidgeting in stark contrast.
Surely he didn't overhear our conversation just now?
"Ahem... What is it, Professor Jon?"
"Ah, Professor Ian! There you are. It's about this duel, you see..."
It seemed, at least, that he had not heard the conversation up to that point.
Professor Ian let out a silent sigh of relief.
Of course, what came next was still appalling.
"The details of the public apology were never properly arranged beforehand."
"Ah, well, that's true..."
"Even calling it a public apology, it's not as though we need to gather every student in the Academy and make them do it in front of them all..."
At Professor Jon's chilling joke, cold sweat broke out of its own accord.
The Church, the ducal house, the Magic Tower...
There was no telling what might happen.
Professor Jon continued.
"Honestly speaking, the parties involved aren't ordinary cadets, are they? Tomorrow, just have them apologize in class in front of their classmates. That should be enough."
Professor Ian agreed that much would be sufficient.
But the next condition was unacceptable.
"And for the remaining condition—the sword—have them hand that over tomorrow along with the apology."
"Why is that for you to decide, Professor!"
Leo shouted.
His face had gone ashen.
It was better than expulsion, yes, but handing over the family heirloom sword was by no means a light matter either.
Especially if the one walking around with that sword was the heir of House Wallenstein.
It was painfully clear how people would look at the Epsilt ducal house.
Professor Ian also objected to Professor Jon's words.
"There's no need to rush it quite so much..."
"For the record, this is not my opinion. It is the Principal's."
At that, Professor Ian abandoned all resistance.
Well, if it was the Principal's order, there was nothing to be done.
He also stopped Leo, who still looked as though he had more to say.
The Principal of Helon Academy, Luisa Falken.
Why is that monster taking an interest in something this trivial?
It was baffling.
Even if it was a serious matter to those involved, it should have been something not even worth the Principal's notice.
The previous party expulsion, and now this duel as well.
Leo Epsilt, Louis Wallenstein, and the other party members.
Were they people the Principal would personally concern herself with?
In any case, now that the Principal had become directly involved...
No matter how much money he took from the ducal house, intervening further would be suicide.
Professor Ian resolved to wash his hands of this duel entirely.
Professor Jon left, and then Professor Ian as well.
Left alone, Leo bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
Louis Wallenstein. I will never let this go.
He swore it with desperate intensity.
At the same time, the fact that he could see no way to crush him filled Leo with despair.
The duel was over.
It might not have been as good as getting that bastard Leo expelled, but the conditions I had put up in its place were more than harsh enough.
I had worried they might dig in their heels and refuse to accept it, but...
Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.
Yesterday, Professor Jon had come to me in person to say that the conditions would be fulfilled during first period today.
I had no idea why Professor Jon had come instead of Professor Ian, who was supposed to be in charge of the duel...
But that didn't matter.
In a thoroughly refreshing mood, I left the dormitory a little earlier than usual.
Humming under my breath, I cheerfully opened the classroom door—
And every gaze in the room immediately poured onto me.
Damn it. This is burdensome.
Ah, I should have just come at the usual time. Coming early was a mistake.