Chapter 301: Between Lover and Pet Dog (7)
Chapter 301: Between Lover and Pet Dog (7)
The battle didn't last very long.
Mainly because my opponent showed no intention of fighting back in the first place.
The moment I appeared, a few of them screamed and fled, while others faltered before quietly dropping to their knees.
It was a sign of surrender.
I considered catching those who ran, but decided against it.
After all, only one person had directly harmed Senior Elsie. There was no reason to hunt down and beat the rest—unless they had tried to jump me, of course.
Thanks to that, I was able to resolve the issue peacefully for the first time in a long while.
It was a moment that brought back an old nickname of mine.
The Pacifist of the Percus Family.
What a wonderful title.
In the end, sincerity always finds a way to reach people. Just look at how they all sat down quietly, sensing my peace-loving heart.
It was finally time to bid farewell to an Academy life rife with blood and violence.
A satisfied smile spread across my lips.
Of course, that didn't mean everyone had abandoned their hostility.
For instance, the female student who appeared to be the leader of the group certainly hadn't.
She was glaring at me while biting her lip, a faint groan escaping through her teeth. The wound from the axe seemed quite deep.
As our eyes met, I found myself lost in thought for a moment.
I had seen her somewhere before. She was a familiar face.
After stroking my chin for a while, her name finally came to mind.
“…Senior Ludmilla?”
The Academy was both vast and small.
While it was impossible to know the face of every student, there were certain individuals you naturally came to recognize after rubbing shoulders for several years.
They were the ones known as the Academy’s ‘celebrities.’
Senior Delphine and Senior Elsie were obvious examples, as were Celine and Seria. Others included Yuren, the Saintess, Senior Neris, and the Princess.
If you lived at the Academy, you couldn't help but know their names. Rumors traveled that fast. Even Celine was famous as one of the ‘Two Flowers’ of the second-year Swordsmanship Department.
In that same vein, you also got to know the delinquents who weren't quite ‘celebrity’ status, and Senior Ludmilla was one of them.
I remembered her being quite notorious within the Academy, though she had quieted down at some point.
While not quite on Senior Elsie’s level, she had been an object of fear during my lower-year days.
And yet, here she was, trembling before me.
The passage of time felt truly hollow.
I also felt a bitter taste in my mouth. I wondered what the difference was between me and the Senior Ludmilla of the distant past, who used strength to suppress others.
I had simply been lucky enough to become a little stronger.
Regret washed over me at the thought, but now wasn't the time to show it.
A low voice escaped my lips.
“So, what is this about?”
“T-that… I mean…”
Senior Ludmilla had been so full of bravado when she was blathering about the ‘Disciplinary Committee.’
But now that I was asking again, she seemed completely cowed.
Her pupils were shaking violently. The way she kept stealing glances at me betrayed an irrepressible fear.
Perhaps my nonchalant attitude was driving her deeper into terror.
Conviction breeds persuasion.
I genuinely didn't care if Senior Ludmilla reported me. It was an undeniable fact that required no acting on my part.
Now, the one who had to worry was Senior Ludmilla.
What exactly was I relying on?
Whatever it was, it had to be something beyond her imagination. Or perhaps she thought I might just kill her right here.
In the face of such cascading doubt and fear, her spirit was bound to break.
If Senior Ludmilla had possessed a stronger will, the result might have been different. But she was nothing more than a typical opportunist—weak against the strong and strong against the weak. She never had the mettle to stand up against an irresistible force.
Ultimately, the choice Senior Ludmilla made was to offer an excuse.
“…R-right! I—I was just trying to get an apology!”
My eyes slid toward Senior Elsie.
Senior Elsie hesitated and avoided my gaze.
Was she ashamed of being bullied by Senior Ludmilla, or did she simply lack the courage to face me yet?
Either way, Senior Ludmilla took the lead in the conversation.
Seeing Senior Elsie remain silent, she spoke with renewed vigor. As she pulled up her sleeve, a hideous scar was visible on her arm.
“T-this bitch attacked me in the past! It was school violence! That’s why I wanted an apology. I heard she’s been going around apologizing lately anyway, right?”
“Hmm,” a low hum escaped my throat.
If that was the case, I didn't really have a reason to intervene.
One could argue that cornering and threatening Senior Elsie was a problem, but that was a scar from a serious assault. No matter how much I cherished Senior Elsie, it was hard to defend that.
“I was acting in self-defense! If anything, this bitch tried to assault me for demanding an apology…!”
“Senior Elsie.”
I called the girl’s name softly.
Looking down, Senior Elsie’s body flinched.
To be honest, it was hard to believe Senior Ludmilla’s testimony in its entirety.
Most of the people Senior Elsie had unilaterally assaulted until now were commoners or lower nobles.
The idea that she would suddenly mess with Senior Ludmilla, a high-ranking noble, raised questions.
That was why I asked a simple question.
“Is it true?”
Senior Elsie silently scratched the ground with the tip of her foot.
It was a habit she had when she was at a loss for words or hesitating.
I waited patiently for her answer.
Senior Ludmilla was the one who grew impatient. She flared up, trying to raise her voice.
“Of course it’s true…!”
“…And if it isn’t?”
That is, if Senior Elsie hadn't cautiously interjected first.
I watched Senior Elsie in silence.
Still refusing to meet my eyes, she asked again in a timid voice.
“If it isn’t… what are you going to do?”
She looked disheartened, which was unlike her.
She must have endured all sorts of humiliation over the past few days while going around apologizing to her victims.
It was likely the first time in her life she had experienced her self-esteem being ground down to nothing.
It must have been painful.
Not that the victims were necessarily accepting her apologies, either. Nor could such a small gesture ever truly account for the pain they had suffered.
So, it wasn't strange for her to have lost her usual confidence.
At the sound of that voice tinged with subtle anxiety, my eyes turned quietly toward Senior Ludmilla.
She cried out desperately.
“Y-you… can you really believe her…? Look at this scar on me…!”
“Yes.”
And then, thud, my kick buried itself into Senior Ludmilla’s solar plexus.
Senior Ludmilla collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. Her trembling hands clutched at her chest.
Before her eyes, filled with disbelief, could even find me, I lightly stepped on her hand as it pressed against the ground.
“Kh… ugh… AAAAAAAAGH!”
Listening to that sound, I tossed out a cold remark.
“I believe her.”
At the very least, Senior Elsie had never lied to me once.
And when the person giving a conflicting testimony was a delinquent, there was no contest.
I decided to take Senior Elsie’s side.
Just as I had promised before.
*
It didn't take long for Senior Ludmilla to confess the truth of that day.
To summarize:
Senior Elsie’s group and Senior Ludmilla’s gang had frequently clashed in the past.
You could call it a common power struggle.
In particular, unlike Senior Elsie, Senior Ludmilla seemed to have systematically managed her victims, using them like convenient laborers.
Senior Elsie, hating how Senior Ludmilla tried to act like a queen despite her lack of character, had constantly picked fights with her.
Mostly, it involved Elsie threatening the victims Senior Ludmilla had summoned and sending them home.
When Ludmilla would then berate the victims for it, Senior Elsie would step in.
Then, one day, the conflict exploded.
The result was Senior Ludmilla’s crushing defeat at Senior Elsie’s hands, leaving her with what Senior Elsie called a ‘glorious scar’ on her arm.
That was the gist of it.
“…So it was just a turf war between thugs?”
“I-it wasn't exactly like that…”
Embarrassed, Senior Elsie turned her red face away.
I let Ludmilla’s gang go.
The level of assault wasn't severe, and harassing an unresisting opponent beyond what was necessary wasn't to my taste.
As long as they didn't mess with Senior Elsie again, I wouldn't have to see them.
Instead, I felt a bit grateful to Senior Ludmilla.
Though it was still a bit awkward, she had provided the opportunity for me to be alone with Senior Elsie.
I was wrapping a bandage around Senior Elsie’s shoulder.
It was over her clothes, but it would be enough to temporarily stabilize the fracture.
Lost in thought for a moment, I eventually let out a hollow laugh.
“Then why didn't you fight back? They aren't exactly innocent, and it would have ended well since no more victims would have been made.”
Senior Elsie remained hesitant for a long time at my question.
But after a moment, the girl finally forced out a voice full of hesitation.
“B-because Master dislikes it…”
I stopped wrapping the bandage.
I looked at Senior Elsie’s face.
Her flushed earlobes were even more noticeable now.
“Master… dislikes it… when I hit people.”
“…Is that why you went around apologizing?”
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
The words I had said, intending to give her any excuse, had ultimately driven her to this point.
In truth, it was an issue that had to be resolved eventually.
Senior Elsie had to pay for her own sins.
If she didn't clear the air now, the victims would have lived with their scars forever, never even receiving an apology.
That was why I had to point out Senior Elsie’s mistake with even more sincerity.
“Senior Elsie, did you apologize because you truly thought what you did was wrong?”
There was no answer from Senior Elsie.
I had hoped she would at least lie, but after hearing me say ‘I believe her,’ she seemed to have developed a sense of debt.
She didn't try to tell me even a small lie.
She simply flinched and avoided my gaze.
I let out another heated sigh.
“Senior Elsie, that isn't an apology. It’s just your own self-consolation. Using the other person for your own needs… The victims probably tremble just at the sight of you. How could you go to them without even intending to apologize sincerely?”
It was another form of violence.
At least, that was what I thought.
But even at my rebuke, Senior Elsie remained silent for a long time.
Her body simply trembled, and a single tear rolled down from her eye.
All the humiliation and contempt she had endured until now fell as a drop of dew.
“T-then… what am I supposed to do…?”
Senior Elsie’s voice was exceptionally fragile.
It was the sound of someone desperately swallowing their sobs.