Rumors
Late in the afternoon, Deborah and I finished class as usual and headed for the empty lot. Even though I'd told her there was no need for her help, once she learned what was going on she insisted she couldn't just look the other way, so she'd been assisting me for a week now.
A short while later, when we arrived at the lot, we found not only Alissa waiting for us, but another person as well.
Fiery red hair blazing like flames and golden eyes shining as brilliantly as the sun in the sky—both symbols of her lofty status. Her name was Regina Solias, the second princess of the Solias imperial family and one of the vice presidents of the student council at Solias Academy.
"Ah!"
"You are…"
The moment Deborah and I recognized her and made our presence known, Regina finally unhooked her arms.
"You're finally here. Take this."
She tossed over the document envelope she'd been holding. I caught it lightly, glanced down at it, and asked, "What's this?"
"Information the imperial intelligence bureau investigated. It contains details on the mastermind who spread the rumors, so make good use of it."
"Mastermind!?"
I stared at the envelope in shock. It felt somewhat hollow to realize that this thin envelope held information we couldn't uncover even after a week of effort, yet at the same time questions about why Regina was doing this bubbled up.
As if my thoughts were written plainly on my face, Regina shrugged and spoke the truth. "I didn't particularly want to help you, but Isis was so worried about it."
"Sister…"
"She couldn't focus on student council work at all. She even said she'd step down for a while, so I offered to help. Anyway, this is information from the imperial intelligence bureau, so it won't be wrong. You know that, right? Then that's that. I'm leaving."
Without the slightest hesitation, as though she had no desire to get deeply involved in such a troublesome matter, Regina left the empty lot. I watched her retreating figure until she completely disappeared, then turned my gaze to the envelope.
"Open it already!"
Alissa, who had approached at some point, urged me on. I looked around at everyone once, steeled myself, and opened the envelope. Inside were a few photographs and documents to supplement them.
I focused on the photos. The first showed a woman from behind heading toward the information guild. The second captured an agent dispatched from the guild spreading the rumors. The last showed that same woman sitting on a balcony chair with another woman.
I knew both women. Especially the one in the final photo—everyone here knew her.
"H-How is this possible?"
"Don't tell me that bitch spread the information?"
Deborah and Alissa looked bewildered, as if they couldn't believe it. I, on the other hand, remained calm.
"…Scadia."
Perhaps I'd already sensed it unconsciously the moment Deborah told me. Logically, given her personality, I thought it couldn't be her, yet a corner of my heart had held onto unease. Now that it was confirmed, I even felt a sense of satisfaction. Of course, that wasn't all.
"W-What do we do now?"
"What do you mean, what do we do? We go find her right now. How dare she spread rumors like that? I'll rip every last hair out of her head!"
Alissa, whose life had nearly been ruined, couldn't contain her anger and was raging. If Deborah hadn't clung to her and stopped her, she would have already grabbed Scadia by the hair. I put the evidence back into the envelope.
"Let's go. We need to find out what Scadia was thinking when she started this."
"And then?"
"…I haven't thought that far yet. But at the very least, I need to get a promise that she'll never do something like this again."
"Right. Let's go for now. I'm curious what she'll have to say."
Alissa took the lead and left the empty lot. Deborah and I exchanged glances before following her toward the women's dormitory. After registering in the guest book with the dorm supervisor, calling for Scadia, and waiting in the reception room, we were able to meet her soon enough.
"What are the three of you—"
Before she could finish, Alissa lunged forward and slapped Scadia across the face.
Smack!
Scadia's head whipped to the side. Since she was a mage with a weak body, Alissa had probably held back somewhat, but Scadia's cheek still swelled red. A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth—perhaps her cheek had split inside.
"What… are you doing—"
Smack!
This time the slap landed on Scadia's other cheek as she tried to voice her confusion. She bit down hard on her lip and glared viciously at Alissa. Of course, Alissa didn't flinch in the slightest.
"You really don't know? You do, don't you? You're smart, after all."
"……"
"Why aren't you saying anything? Do you know what you did was trash? Then why did you do it?"
Alissa didn't seem to entertain the possibility that it might have been a mistake. She kept pressing Scadia without pause. I, who had been sitting on the sofa observing the situation quietly, intervened at the right moment.
"Why don't you both sit down first?"
Both pairs of eyes turned to me. After looking at me and then exchanging glances with each other, they eventually approached the sofa. Alissa sat beside Deborah while Scadia perched on the opposite side. Without delay, I placed the documents on the table.
"Read it."
"……What is this?"
Scadia pretended not to know even though she must have already guessed why we'd come. Alissa seemed to find that infuriating.
"Why do you keep playing dumb when you know? Do you need a few more slaps to come to your senses?"
"…You think I'll just take it obediently again?"
"If not, what? Planning to cast some magic?"
Their auras clashed violently. Hot-tempered Alissa and cold Scadia—their collision was like a fight between fire and ice. Just as the atmosphere was heating up again after only a few seconds of silence, I let out a small sigh and pulled out the photos from the documents, scattering them across the table.
Scadia's gaze, which had been fixed on Alissa, instantly dropped downward. What held her attention the longest was the photo of herself sitting on the balcony chair. Her expression had been utterly blank, revealing nothing of her thoughts, but the corner of her mouth twitched ever so slightly into a smile. It was a self-deprecating sneer, and at the same time an admission of guilt.
"Where did you get this?"
"…Her Highness the Princess gave it to us. The imperial intelligence bureau wasn't fooled, after all."
"Her Highness the Princess? Why would she… Ah, because of Isis. Then that person will find out too, I suppose. I wonder what she'll think."
Scadia's expression as she mentioned Isis was strange. It seemed both joyful and sorrowful, with a hint of anger and resentment. Though I felt curious about it, I didn't do anything foolish like changing the subject.
"Why did you do this? What's the reason?"
"Reason… You already know, don't you?"
Scadia turned her head to the side. I glanced sideways at Deborah, whose eyes had gone wide in surprise, and opened my mouth.
"You just wanted to drive a wedge between Deborah and me? You spread these rumors for something so trivial?"
"Trivial? It might be to you, but not to me. Isn't it better to separate you beforehand rather than be betrayed and hurt by you like I was? Don't you think?"
"…Did you not consider the people who would be harmed by these rumors?"
"That's right! No matter what, how could you spread rumors like that?"
Alissa jumped in at that moment. Scadia's cheek twitched as if the wounds from the slaps were throbbing, and she clenched her fists. But no matter how angry she was, she couldn't bring herself to harm the victim who had been caught up in it, so she slowly lowered her head.
"I'll apologize for dragging innocent people into the rumors. That was my mistake."
"…Then why did you spread those rumors in the first place?"
Emotions are contagious. Seeing Scadia apologize so readily, Alissa also regained her composure. In response to the question, Scadia lifted her head.
"…To be precise, I didn't spread rumors about you."
"What? What do you mean?"
"The rumor I spread was only that the perpetrator of the rape incident was Luan. Anything else about the transmigrator or related to you wasn't from me."
"T-That's…"
Alissa looked confused. It was understandable—she had assumed there was only one person spreading the rumors. If she'd known this, no matter how angry she was, she wouldn't have thought to slap Scadia the moment they met. As if that thought had just occurred to her, Alissa glanced sideways at Scadia's swollen cheek in a flustered manner.
I leaned back deeply against the sofa.
Then who the hell is the real culprit?
The rumors about Alissa could be dismissed as naturally spreading gossip since there had already been suspicions about her relationship with me, but the information about the transmigrator was different. Someone had deliberately spread that rumor, and it was clearly targeting me. The one silver lining was that Scadia's explanation revealed that whoever it was didn't actually know my true identity. They were probably just as shocked by how much the rumor had escalated. Somehow, I felt like I knew who it was.
*
At that same moment, in the women's dormitory bathroom, Pernia was sitting on the toilet. With her feet propped on the edge of the bowl and her legs spread wide to expose herself completely, she picked up the thick dildo lying beside her. After rubbing it up and down against her heated folds, a sudden worry crossed her mind.
"By the way, what about the rumors?"
Originally, she'd only spread them hoping to make things difficult for the rapist, but somehow the situation had spiraled out of control. On top of that, the fact that two people she was close to had gotten caught up in it was a problem.
"At least Luan is fine…"
She wasn't particularly close to him anyway—it was more of a "friend of a friend" situation—and she'd already found his behavior suspicious. The real issue was the other person: Alissa, with whom she ate meals and chatted every day. Especially since Alissa was already being persecuted by her family as an illegitimate child, having these rumors spread on top of that would make her want to tear the rumor-spreader to pieces! If caught, it wouldn't end with just ending their friendship. Before that, she'd be suspected as a transmigrator and dragged off by the cult.
"Ugh… Torture would be bad."
Pernia shook her head, trying to dispel the terrifying thoughts. "Ah, whatever. It'll work out somehow."
Then, turning away from the overwhelming problem, she sank into pleasure. Thrust! The dildo disappeared inside her in one go.
"Ahn! This…!"
Pernia let out a moan at the fulfilling sensation that eased her frustration, even if only a little. It had been nearly a month since she started masturbating. In that time, Pernia had grown completely accustomed to the dildo. Now, just holding it made her juices trickle down. Clenching her lower abdomen to tighten her walls as much as possible so there was no empty space, she thrust the dildo in repeatedly.
Squelch! Squelch!
With the wet sounds, pleasure overtook her entire body and her excitement soared to its peak. But not satisfied with that, Pernia moved her other hand to caress her erect nipples before finally moving down to her swollen clitoris.
Rub!
"Aah…!"
When she rubbed her clitoris, her juices poured out like water dripping from a tightly wrung towel. Pernia continued masturbating as if entranced. And in just five minutes, she reached climax, her hips jerking as she squirted.
Squirt! Squirt! Squirt!
The weak arc of fluid struck the wall in front of her and ran down. Lost in the afterglow of pleasure, Pernia felt both satisfaction and a faint sense of dissatisfaction.
"Haa… A dildo really isn't enough after all."
It wasn't just about the difference in size. That strangely addictive scent, the steel-like hardness, and the burning heat combined to leave her with an unforgettable memory. Once imprinted, that sensation wouldn't fade—it remained like a brand, tormenting her. If it hadn't been in the form of rape, Pernia might have gladly accepted his cock.
"That trash bastard."
How dare he mess up someone else's body like this. While her mind spewed anger and hatred, her pussy conversely revealed longing and thirst, gushing out more juices. Pernia sighed at her rising lust and aimed the dildo at her entrance.
"Just wait until we meet again. I'll cut off your dick and turn it into a dildo."
Thrust!
The bathroom was once again engulfed in heat.