The Senior's Claim
The voice was clear and gentle, the kind that put listeners at ease and drew them in without resistance. To me, however, it was the voice of a ghost—one that made every hair on my body stand on end and filled me with an overwhelming urge to flee.
“What are you doing here? If you came, you should have come straight to me!”
“O-Oh, it’s been a while, Senior.”
I forced the words out of my reluctant mouth and offered a greeting.
The person standing there was undeniably beautiful. She wore a skirt that revealed a hint of her knees and a leather vest that somehow looked alluring. Her long black hair cascaded down her back, her skin was like white jade, and her refined features made one instinctively want to bow their head before her.
Innocent boys and girls had, in fact, willingly knelt before her and proclaimed themselves her worshippers.
“It seems you’ve decided to openly display that preference now, Julian Senior.”
“Anak, really. I told you to just call me Juli. So, how do I look? Does it suit me?”
It suited her far too well. That was the problem.
His name was Julian del Cruse. Vice-leader and first heir of the Cruse Merchant Guild, one year our senior at the academy, and one of my most terrifying nightmares.
Yes. ‘He.’ Despite appearances, he was most certainly a man. At the academy, he and Rowell had been the two most popular figures among the female students. Even without that, I knew it for certain.
“Was he someone the young lady knew?”
The guild members, visibly surprised, openly scrutinized me again. I was equally taken aback by them addressing him as a young lady. Did they truly not know, or were they simply respecting his preferences?
“Of course! We used to spend nights together.”
At that playful remark, every eye in the tent turned toward me.
“…I asked you not to phrase it that way.”
For the record, nothing happened. And again, he is a man. Of course, that night became my eternal nightmare, but still.
Until he graduated, he and I shared a dorm room.
He was as beautiful then as he was now. Though he came from a merchant family, his popularity was so great that no one held it against him. Thanks to his bright personality and gentle nature, he was the most respected senior at the academy. He had no talent for magic, but his swordsmanship and academic scores were always the highest. Not only the other students, but even Rowell respected him.
That was why, when the two of us were assigned to the same room, others were jealous—female students included—and Rowell had been genuinely happy, as if it were his own good fortune.
I had been happy too, of course.
The academy was filled with talented individuals, some of whom were already in the realm of genius. But Rowell and Julian were different.
They were like the sun. While other outstanding people only shone for themselves, these two illuminated everything around them and possessed the talent to lead others rightly. I already knew how great a blessing it was to stand beside such people.
“Hehe. Still so shy. You were so passionate that night.”
The problem had begun on the very first night we were assigned the room. He had been kind and treated me without reserve. Then, to foster camaraderie, he offered me some fine wine his family had sent. Though my only experience with alcohol had been a few cheap distilled drinks from my father, I could tell this was excellent liquor.
We spent the time pleasantly. We didn’t engage in the usual meaningless drinking contests that boys our age did. Between sips, we discussed ideas and beliefs in depth, and talked about our ideals and dreams.
Perhaps due to the alcohol, I ended up saying a few dark things I shouldn’t have, but he simply smiled gently, as if he understood.
When the buzz started to hit, we ended the drinking session and each climbed into our own beds. I fell asleep feeling quite content. Up to that point, everything had been fine.
I don’t know how much time passed after that, but I woke up with a strange sensation. There, straddling me with his upper body bare, was Julian trying to pull off the blanket.
‘Oh, you’re awake?’
In that instant, there was no time for assessment. I kicked him with all my strength and, half out of my mind, unleashed magic. It was fortunate that my concentration was poor and only weak spells came out—otherwise, I might have seen a corpse, or even destroyed the entire room. Of course, Julian suffered nothing more than a few scrapes.
And from that day until he graduated, setting up barriers around my body and bed before sleeping became my daily routine. My proficiency with equipped barriers probably stemmed from that experience.
“Come on, don’t be like that. Let’s go have a drink together after so long.”
He ran over and linked his arm with mine. I reflexively tried to pull away, but the hand gripping me carried an unyielding will that would not tolerate resistance.
Though he was taller than me, he clung to my arm and hung off it. It was terrifying, like being caught by a beast, yet the soft skin brushing against my arm and the faint scent of perfume made my heart flutter against my will. It was deeply depressing.
It couldn’t be helped. Regardless of gender or reason, he was the only person in my life who had ever shown such active interest in me. Especially dressed like that, even though my mind knew better, my instincts reacted.
“Come on, let’s go!”
“W-Wait a second!”
As I was being helplessly dragged away, Krugle, who had been staring blankly at the scene, snapped out of it and grabbed us.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing! I came here to get my horses back!”
I silently thanked him. Without him, I would have been taken without resistance.
“Ah, right. There was a dispute over lost property, wasn’t there?”
He glanced at the horses for a moment.
“Anak, these are yours?”
“Of course.”
Julian nodded, then looked Krugle straight in the eye.
“Get lost.”
The sudden shift in atmosphere and that firm, heavy command made even my spine chill. See? Not only Krugle, but everyone else in the tent had frozen in place.
“Alright, let’s go then!”
He immediately grabbed me again as if nothing had happened. I decided to follow his lead. As long as he wasn’t leading me to a bed.
“W-Wait a second!”
At this point, I was almost impressed by his persistence. If stubbornness reached this level, it was practically a talent.
“Is that it? That guy brought all these horses by himself, and you’re just going to believe his word? These are my horses! You can’t treat me like this just because you know each other…!”
“…Haa.”
At the continued shouting, Julian let out a short sigh and reluctantly released my arm. He walked straight toward Krugle. Krugle hesitated for a moment at the sight of this beautiful person approaching him directly—then Julian’s foot swept his left leg, his right hand seized Krugle’s neck, and he slammed him to the ground in an instant.
The sight of that slender body effortlessly throwing down a burly, muscular man was bizarre, but I had seen this side of him many times before. In the academy, only three people had ever beaten him in sparring or arm wrestling.
“G-Guh!”
Krugle lay sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain as it overwhelmed his entire body, yet his eyes blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend the situation.
Julian looked down at him with cold eyes.
“Shut up. Who do you think that person in front of you is? Even if he brought a mountain of jewels instead of horses, I would still believe his word.”
Why did those words make me feel oddly pleased?
“W-Who the hell is that guy?! Are you favoring him because you’re lovers or something?!”
Who’s a lover?!
“Oh my, lovers, you say.”
Don’t blush like that either!
“I-I’ll report this to the other guilds! The Cruse Merchant Guild is using personal connections to…!”
Krugle shouted desperately, but laughter burst from Julian’s lips.
“Go ahead and report it. But the other guilds won’t be any different from me.”
At that relaxed, confident tone, Krugle turned his head and looked up at me. It wasn’t just him. Every person in the tent was staring with eyes full of suspicion and questions, demanding answers.
“……”
I turned my head away to avoid their gazes. It was impossible to hide it now, but I still didn’t want to say it myself.
“You’re so shy.”
Julian smiled at my reaction and spoke on my behalf.
“Everyone, get a hold of yourselves. You heard the name Anak and still didn’t realize? The Second-Best Strategist! The Nightmare of Orsia Hill! The Summoner of Deception! This guy is one of the companions of the hero who saved the world!”
Not only the fallen Krugle, but every eye in the tent filled with shock.
Yeah. I had always hated those looks. They weren’t just surprised. Beneath the shock was a heavy dose of doubt—‘Could it really be this guy?’—and contempt, as if they were only seeing how insignificant I was.
Ever since we became somewhat famous, it had always been like this when I was introduced. They always looked at me that way. No matter how impressive the titles placed before my name, the disbelief and condescension never completely disappeared.
It was nothing like the stories where a hidden prince dramatically reveals himself.
Of course, in a different sense, Rowell had it just as hard. No matter how much he tried to hide his identity, it never really worked. Even strangers who didn’t know he was the hero could easily tell he was extraordinary.
More of an “as expected” than a twist.
“Who in their right mind would believe you over someone who saved the world?”
In my experience, without someone or something to prove I was the hero’s companion, people were more likely to think I was a fraud.
“Alright, put this guy on the blacklist and send word to the other guilds.”
After giving the order, Julian returned to my side and grabbed my arm again.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“……”
What could I possibly say? I had no choice but to follow where he led.