Field Trip (14)
When I first started pillaging, I fully expected to earn the hostility of the other students. My usual reputation was bad enough, and pillaging was never exactly a clean business to begin with.
No matter how much the Academy officially sanctioned it, at the end of the day I was the one carrying it out. Of course people would mutter, there goes that wicked girl.
But you know what? As the pillaging wore on, I could feel that the malice directed at me ran far deeper than I'd imagined.
Some of the kids I robbed had glared at me with genuine murderous intent. Seriously.
I'd joked that I'd thrown my reputation in the trash ages ago, but that didn't mean I wanted to become the dumping ground for everyone's resentment.
I'd finally clawed my way up from useless bitch to competent bitch — I was not about to evolve into competent-but-unlikable-foul-tempered-someday-you'll-pay bitch!
My mental fortitude was nowhere near strong enough for that! I did not want to hear Academy students clicking their tongues and cursing under their breath every single time I walked past!
Certain that I was barreling straight toward becoming public enemy number one of the entire Academy, I agonized over how to fix the situation — and eventually, a plan took shape.
A plan that was only possible because this world didn't run along a fixed script reciting predetermined lines.
To be perfectly accurate, though, the plan wasn't mine.
I'd asked Grandpa something like, I'm thinking of trying something along these lines — think it'll work? and he'd gone and drafted the entire script for me, start to finish.
The mind of a man who had commanded armies in a colossal war, worked as a high-ranking noble, and run errands all over the place as a holy knight was no joke.
Listening to him rattle it all off like it was nothing genuinely left my brain buzzing. I wonder if I'll ever be able to pull off something like that myself, someday.
Anyway, the skeleton of the plan was simple: take all those emotions hurtling toward me and redirect them at someone else.
The moment I started pillaging, people were bound to develop bad feelings toward me — that much was unavoidable. If something you worked hard to earn gets snatched away, how could you not be furious? But just because those ugly emotions inevitably sprang into being didn't mean I had to be the one carrying them.
Because the direction of emotion shifts, moment to moment, depending on the situation.
I chose a professor of the Academy as my scapegoat.
Two reasons.
First, directing anger at someone stronger is far more convenient than directing it at the weak.
And second, if the students pinned their grievances on the professors, I had a feeling things might actually wrap up with a happy ending.
The person responsible for this field trip was the professors, after all, wasn't it? If students suffered losses through their negligence and raged about it, shouldn't they naturally be owed some form of compensation?
When I laid out this line of thinking in my head, Grandpa called it not a bad idea — and then stacked a few pointers on top.
⟨ Create an enormous disturbance the professors cannot help but barge into. You must make them commit the error on their side. ⟩
⟨ And the finale... yes. Close it out by using your blessing to shake the emotions of whoever appears to be in charge. ⟩
Honestly? I never expected it to go this smoothly.
If Arthur — who had been desperate to get one over on me no matter what — hadn't frantically gathered people together, a chaos this size never would have erupted.
Come to think of it, his blunder made the plan airtight. I should get the guy a present later. What would be good, I wonder.
I glance over at Jesl, who has fallen silent the instant she realized what she'd said, her lips pressed shut.
She'd only in her late twenties when she claimed a professorship at Soul Academy. Naturally, she was capable, and her mind moved fast.
Until a moment ago she'd been spouting off with her reason burned away by my provocations, but now that Arthur's words had snapped her back to her senses, she no doubt understood exactly what mistake she'd made.
Not that understanding changed anything.
Words that have already left your mouth don't come back, do they?
"You now stand in a position of leadership over them, so I find myself obliged to ask once more. If what you said earlier was true, then by your own judgment, a number of students will fail this field trip because of a professor's decision."
"U-um. That is..."
This much means my part's done, right? The rest, Arthur can handle on his own.
He's eloquent, sharp, and high-ranking. With the whole board laid out for him, how could he possibly fumble the capture?
Me? I'm off to get some sleep. Moving for days without a single wink of rest is exhausting, you know.
Yeah. Commanding, fighting, setting up camp, standing watch — doing all of it alone is a bit much, turns out. Mm.
"You have admitted that we suffered losses. How do you intend to compensate us?"
"That's right. Setting us aside, think of the poor students who can no longer escape failing because of this incident. What about their feelings?"
As the students who had collapsed from Anton's outrage one by one pulled themselves up off the ground, the tide of protest surging toward Jesl only swelled.
Jesl explained that she'd had no choice, that it was for their safety — but it didn't land. The moral high ground belonged to the students now.
There had been exactly one problem. The fact that Jesl herself had just voiced, with her own mouth, the possibility that students had come to harm.
Had she never acknowledged it, there would have been no issue at all. Had she claimed ignorance of the situation and concern only for their safety, what could any of them possibly have said?
But Jesl, unable to endure one more jab from Lucy Aln, had handed the students their justification on a silver platter.
Why had I done that to her, again? Oh, right —
Because aristocratic brats who thought themselves the center of the heavens whining about things was an everyday occurrence, that's why.
Still. Why.
"Professor Jesl? Your answer, if you please."
At Arthur's question, Jesl's fingers dug into her own hand. What do I do? How do I salvage this?
"I will answer in her place."
While Jesl hesitated, weighing what answer she could possibly give, Anton — standing beside her — pressed a firm hand down on her head and stepped forward.
"The fault for this incident lies with us, the faculty. I apologize, Your Highness."
"Apology accepted. And so — how do you intend to address it?"
"No one who took part in this field trip will fail. Of course, any rewards granted according to the number of trophies gathered are a separate matter."
"WHAT?!"
No one was more stunned by Anton's radical declaration than Jesl herself. Not a single student failing the field trip?!
"Professor. That is—!"
"Worry not. There will be no problem."
When she whipped her head around toward him, eyes begging for an explanation, Anton simply answered with a smile.
And to that, Jesl could offer no reply at all.
Anton gave the bowed, apologetic head of his junior colleague a few careless, ruffling pats, then turned toward Arthur.
"Will this suffice to satisfy Your Highness?"
"More than. I am grateful for your generous ruling."
Having offered Anton a formal bow, Arthur turned away and let out a long, slow breath.
Lucy Aln. Did you foresee all of this?
That very first night, when you struck so many students — were you aiming for this moment all along?
Arthur never asked her the question out loud, yet somehow he felt certain he already knew the answer.
She had predicted everything.
That the students would come to bear her ill will.
That by using him, Arthur could be made to rally the crowd.
The chaos that would follow.
And even that the professors would intervene to stop him.
'Your Highness. Lady Aln engineered this entire situation.'
'Please, go quickly to where Lady Aln is speaking with the professors. What is said there will serve Your Highness well.'
There was no other explanation for why Joey would have sought him out the instant Anton moved to quell the commotion, carrying words like those.
Haha. Outplayed. Utterly outplayed.
He had meant to threaten her with the blunders Lucy Aln had committed — only to discover that somewhere along the way, he had been dancing on the palm of her hand the whole time.
Dammit all. Lucy Aln. If you're going to prove you're capable of even this, what am I supposed to do with myself?
"I suppose I owe her my thanks, eventually."
Ordinarily, the failure of this Lucy Aln subjugation effort should have earned him the condemnation of every student present — but with everyone now guaranteed to pass the field trip, the grounds for it had evaporated.
"And I must make it known that all of this came about thanks to Lucy Aln, as well."
He couldn't begin to guess how those who had suffered at Lucy Aln's hands would take it, but her hostility toward them deserved to be stripped away as much as possible.
Lucy had cleaned up his mess for him. The least he could do was this much.
The day after the field trip ended and we returned to the Academy.
I was hauling my belongings out of the inventory one by one, checking them off, when I discovered a living creature that absolutely, positively had no business being among my luggage — and my lips went stiff.
One of the bags I'd pulled out and put back during the field trip had the Face-Connoisseur Fox hiding inside it.
The pervert had leapt for my face the instant the bag opened, presumably to glue itself to my cheeks — I caught it by the scruff of its neck with superhuman reflexes and held it at arm's length.
'Why were you in there in the first place?'
"Hey. You perverted fox. What do you think you're playing at?"
"Now that the field trip has ended, this one despaired at the thought of never again beholding one as beautiful as you! So a clone was secretly stowed away, you see!"
So because it saddened you that someone you fancied was leaving, you decided to stalk them?
You. The acknowledged Master of the Forest?
This thing has completely lost its marbles.
'Grandpa. Why didn't you detect it?!'
Grandpaaa! Why didn't you do your one job?!
Noticing and preventing exactly this kind of thing is supposed to be your entire role here!
⟨ I have no defense to offer. I know not what tricks the Master of the Forest employed, but I detected nothing. ⟩
'What am I supposed to do about this?! This pervert followed me all the way here!'
KYAAAAAH!
I'd been so happy leaving that forest, thinking I'd never have to look at that face-obsessed fox's face again!
I'd sworn on my life I would never set foot in Saithil Forest again, ever, ever agaaaain!
Why! Why, of all things!
⟨ Well now, child. It is not, in the end, a being that means you harm, is it? One need only endure a modicum of revulsion. ⟩
'A MODICUM?! Grandpa, the stuff you shouldn't be seeing is the stuff you see MOST, and you call this a modicum?!'
Grandpa. You've had it pretty comfortable lately, haven't you? Huh?!
Being dunked in the toilet clearly wasn't punishment enough for you, was it?!
Oh, I see how it is! Fine! I'll respect your wishes, old man! There are SO many shops on Soul Academy Street, you know?! How about a little tour of the privy buckets, hmm?! One by one?!
"Fret not! I have no intention of tormenting you! Gazing upon you shall be satisfaction enough for this one!"
And now the Face-Con Fox, this perverted hag, is spouting some other brand of nonsense.
Your entire existence is the stress, you goddamn mange-ridden flea-bag!
"Would you kindly buzz off?♡ You perverted fox with your scraggly, ratty fur?♡"
Go home! Crawl back to your forest! Please!
"You intend to drive me out, then?"
"Obviously♡ Why should I have to put up with a disgusting pervert like you?♡"
"Think carefully. Even if you cast me out — do you truly believe this one would withdraw so meekly?"
...No. Absolutely not. Not a chance in hell.
This is the lunatic who coos and asks for more when hit with the Mesugaki skill's provocations.
If getting thrown out of a room were enough to make her give up, she never would have followed me all the way here.
"Even should you drive me away, this one shall simply circle ever about your side, for all eternity."
Excuse me, but — shameless demon lady, ma'am? Stalking is a crime?
Why are you so proudly announcing your intention to commit one?
"Would it not be wiser, then, to keep me at your side and watch over me instead?"
Haah. I hate this. I hate this so much.
Every single word out of the Face-Con Fox's mouth feels like it's dragging my soul out through my ears.
But do you know what's even more infuriating?
The fact that whatever comes out of that creature's mouth... actually makes sense.