The Ring (1): The Ring That Started the Rumor

The moment I was finally thinking about taking a proper rest, Kafka refused to slip back into the shadows. Instead, she was happily munching on the apples the dean had given her as a gift. That was when the club members arrived for a visit.

They didn’t even bat an eye at Kafka devouring apples right beside me, which meant they had already finished all the proper introductions. Still, why were they bringing up the ring the second they walked in?

I was genuinely grateful that Dante and the others had come to check on me, but the sudden interrogation about the ring made my head start to throb.

The ring I gave to Iris was obviously the Holy Virgin’s Ring. It had belonged to that knight who served the Holy Virgin—or whatever his title was.

The thing was practically overflowing with holy power; it even came with a one-time revival function as a bonus.

I’d taken it off on a whim, thinking it would be more useful for Iris, who was destined to awaken as a saint, than for me. So I handed it to Haede to pass along.

But what could possibly be the problem with that ring? Why the hell was everyone suddenly so worked up about it?

“Did the ring explode or something?” I asked. It definitely didn’t have an explosion function.

“Honestly, that might have been better for you,” First Princess Eileen sighed, peeling a banana. She took a bite and added, “In your case, at least.”

Then what the hell was it? Was it because of the holy power stored inside the ring? Or had Iris actually awakened as a saint thanks to it?

Dante gave a bitter smile and elaborated on Eileen’s words.

“Right now, the academy is in complete chaos because of the ring you gave her.”

“What the…?”

Before I could even finish asking why my ring was causing such a fuss, a chilling thought flashed through my mind.

Wait a second. Both Donnesia and Eileen knew I had given Iris a ring. How?

I had asked Haede to deliver it to Iris in secret. Only the two of them should have known. At the time I handed the ring over, Donnesia and Dante had been too busy vomiting blood and dealing with absolute mayhem to notice anything. So unless Haede or Iris had gone around advertising it…

……Why did I suddenly have such a bad feeling?

I looked at Eileen, who had already demolished one banana and was starting on a second.

“Whether Iris has the ring or not, how exactly did you all find out that I was the one who gave it to her?”

“Oh, that? Iris told us herself.”

……Excuse me?

The instant those words left Eileen’s mouth, I felt like I’d been slapped in the back of the head with a steel bat. My skull went numb.

Why the hell was that real?

“So you’re saying… I confessed to Iris?”

“Yep.”

“And then I turned into a crazy bastard who ghosted everyone for three days?”

“Pretty much.”

In the span of one nap, I had become the lunatic who dropped a confession bomb on Iris and then vanished for three days.

Most people probably didn’t even know I’d been in the infirmary, which explained why the rumor had spiraled so wildly. The dungeon incident must not have been made public.

Even Kafka had been recorded as having been subdued by the professor on duty instead of me. That part matched the game’s story, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.

But that wasn’t what mattered right now.

Looking at Eileen nodding along, I felt a strong urge to smack myself in the forehead.

Fuck. I wake up after three days of sleep and this is the shitstorm waiting for me?

I was about to turn all three male leads into enemies.

“Don’t tell me Lady Iris hasn’t tried to clear up the misunderstanding at all?”

“She probably has no idea how the rumor is spreading. Still, she’s been walking around with those three… Maybe she at least explained it to them?”

I clutched my forehead. She was walking around wearing a “confession gift” from me on a necklace while staying glued to the three male leads? That was practically shouting “Please rip me apart.”

And the noble ladies already had it out for her.

“Aren’t the other young ladies bullying her again?”

“Oh my, I don’t think this is the time to be worrying about other people,” Isabella cut in with a mocking tone.

But honestly, this felt unfair. Why was she the one getting angry at me?

I wanted to argue back, but her face was half-covered in shadow, her mouth smiling while her crimson eyes were ice-cold. I couldn’t hold her gaze.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Eileen said after a moment of thought.

“Why not?”

“Because the one who supposedly confessed is you.”

“I didn’t confess.”

“Whether you confessed or not—”

“I didn’t.”

“That’s not the important part… Anyway. The source of the rumor is you, so it should ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be fine.”

“………Why?”

Did she think those chattering noble girls would stop their nonsense just because of that? Those were the same people who kept gossiping even after learning I was a duke’s son and carried this ridiculous title.

“Why? Have you already forgotten that you stomped on Owein?”

I stared at her in disbelief. Eileen answered in the same incredulous tone.

Owein—that arrogant womanizing sub-male lead from the prestigious swordsmanship family. The crazy bastard who suddenly blocked my path, grabbed my shoulder, and whined that I hadn’t finished speaking. So I stepped on him.

Because of that incident, the Owein family fell out of the imperial family’s favor, and my nickname in high society became “Honey Badger.”

“I did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hear from Donnesia that the nobles started calling me Honey Badger because of that.”

“Exactly. You crushed Owein, and your younger brother took your side instead of his. The Second Prince basically announced to the entire world that he’s on your team now. And there’s one more thing.”

“One more?”

“The fact that you’re close with me.”

Eileen puffed out her chest proudly.

……Was that supposed to be impressive?

For a second my poker face almost collapsed. I mean, she was the ultimate outcast among the imperial family. Hearing that from the princess who could be called the queen of loners didn’t exactly feel like a big deal.

“You just had a very rude thought, didn’t you?”

“I did not.”

Her senses were sharp. But how was it that her only friends were us?

Eileen’s eyes narrowed dangerously. I quickly turned my head away. How many times had I turned my head today? I was getting a lot of neck exercise.

“The biggest factor is that your brother chose you over Owein in front of everyone. That carried a lot of weight.”

“But isn’t that obvious?”

What was so surprising about it? No matter how prestigious Owein’s swordsmanship family was, or how long they had supported the Crown Prince, the Logress family was one of the Five Dukes.

Even though we had withdrawn from central politics and stayed up north, we were a founding family of Astoria and one of the five ducal houses.

In status, power, and history, we stood in a place Owein could never reach. Even if I was a bastard son, any child would know I was the obvious choice in that dilemma.

“True. But there are more people than you’d think whose heads are filled with flowers instead of common sense. The young lord who opposed you was probably one of them.”

Isabella crossed her arms and gave a cold smile. Her answer cleared up my confusion.

Well, this was a romance fantasy world. I had expected there to be plenty of idiots like that, so I wasn’t particularly shocked.

“In any case, your brother publicly showed that he’s close to you. On top of that, you’re also close with me and Dante. And you’re the Honey Badger who doesn’t hold back.”

That damn Honey Badger again…

“In short, no one wants to risk offending someone with such deep ties to the imperial family. That’s why they’re keeping their mouths shut.”

Was that really all it took? Just stepping on one crazy bastard?

While I sat there looking utterly bewildered, Donnesia pressed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.

“Ian, it seems you still don’t realize just how powerful your network has become. The Second Prince ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠publicly took your side in front of everyone. You’re close with First Princess Eileen and Third Prince Dante.

On top of that, there’s the Etherna Duchess Isabella and even Lady Angelica, the top student from the Karl Kingdom. Honestly, among all the academy students, very few have connections like yours.”

That much?

Well, the Second Prince thing happened because I smashed his head in, so that made sense. Eileen was the club president. Dante was just my roommate. Isabella was… well, we were in the same club, even if things were complicated.

Angelica mostly used me as a punching bag. We’d only known each other for a few days. Could you really call that a network?

I wasn’t sure. Still, if Iris was safe, then that was what mattered.

Well… I guess that was fine.

Checking out of the infirmary was surprisingly easy. My body had been sore right after waking up, but after the club members left, I felt completely refreshed. By the time I stepped outside, the sun was already setting.

It was a relief that a weekend had been sandwiched in those three days. Missing three days of attendance would have been a big problem. Though that wasn’t the important part right now.

I woke up from a nap only to find out I had become the scumbag who confessed to a girl and then ghosted her for three days.

Maybe that was why everyone started avoiding me.

People turned their heads the moment I looked at them. They cleared the path when I walked by. It was practically a biblical miracle—my own personal parting of the Red Sea.

Well, I’d had a thick face for a long time. If no one was going to insult me to my face, this wasn’t so bad.

First, I decided to check the rewards from the Oath of Chivalry.

When I opened my inventory, the familiar grid of squares appeared. Among the newly glowing slots, I spotted a familiar silhouette.

It was the second Dreamland invitation I had received.

I stared quietly at the ticket in my hand.

Hmm. I’d think about it later just in case. I slipped the ticket back into my inventory. If it sent me to the past like it had with Donnesia, that would be one thing, but if it teleported me into a dungeon, it would be a huge pain.

Next was the Knightly Star.

When I reached into the glowing square, what came out was a single shining crystal.

Another item I had neither seen nor heard of. The description was incredibly vague. What the hell was this even supposed to mean?

I grumbled at the abstract explanation and tapped the bottom glowing paragraph. Another window appeared.

My body froze the moment I read it.

Blancart. Wasn’t that the ridiculously overpowered technique?

The one that had let me defeat the lion even when I was on the verge of death and completely out of mana. I could use that technique again?