Rumors Spread Like Wildfire
The rumor about Mana Up was spreading among the students at a frightening pace. Professors Magnus and Karlsen had predicted it would eventually reach the first-years, but the speed far exceeded their expectations. It was spreading faster than anyone could have imagined. Barely a week after Kain asked Togun Masao for help, stories about Mana Up were already circulating regularly among the first-year students.
“I didn’t expect much, but he’s actually pretty good. That little brat.”
And behind it all stood one man.
Perhaps it was because the collaborator he’d approached with a casual “it’d be nice if it works, but whatever” attitude had produced surprisingly decent results. A pleasant smile played on Jealousy’s lips as he leaned back in his chair. The seat tilted so far it looked like it might tip over completely. With his legs propped up on the desk, he rocked back and forth like he was in a rocking chair, his gaze drifting toward the ceiling where fluorescent lights flickered.
‘So. What are you going to do now?’
His opponent was a coward. A third-rate nobody who could never become a major player. In the past, when he operated as a faceless cyber criminal, he’d boldly run massive pyramid schemes. But once his identity was exposed, even that became impossible. Now he was reduced to pulling these petty tricks on kids at a small academy. The fact that he was still trembling in fear of getting caught by the professors was so pathetic it only drew scorn.
So first, he would divert the flow of water into the lake of the network his opponent had created. While the professors were running around in circles unable to find any trace, the rumor had already spread rapidly even among the first-years. In that situation, how would the culprit think?
‘He’ll definitely pat himself on the back for his own brilliance.’
A past success. For a small, timid guy like him, that single achievement was more than enough reason to get drunk on his own abilities. He probably wouldn’t notice anything strange at all. A small fry who wasn’t even a major villain like Pride in the underworld would surely sing his own praises. Yes, there was no way something like operating in this tiny academy would be difficult for someone who had once shaken the entire world. He would look down on the professors who couldn’t find him and laugh at them. Exactly the same way Kain was thinking about him right now.
‘And then he’ll start getting bolder.’
His fear would disappear. His actions would become increasingly reckless. Without even suspecting why the rumor was spreading so quickly, he would rapidly expand his influence among the first-years. And that was when his immature and clumsy skills would begin producing mistakes one by one. Mistakes that would become clues to tracking him down.
“How boring.”
That was exactly why Jealousy had made sure the rumor spread quickly even among the first-years. In other words, he had thrown the entire first-year class of Benedict Academy in front of the culprit as bait. It was the underworld’s way of doing things—using any means necessary—which stood in complete contrast to Professor Magnus’s policy of keeping students completely out of the matter.
But even this was still a rather mild approach from Jealousy’s perspective. If he had his way, he would escalate the situation dramatically and drag the culprit out into the open. The only reason he was sticking to this relatively peaceful method was the possibility that his lady might get caught up in it.
“Ugh, I want to finish this quickly and go get a massage. The oil massage at that place I went to last time was pretty decent.”
It would still take some time, but the situation was already approaching checkmate. If only a big shot like the Tugwi Guard had shown up, he could at least have some fun. But since that wasn’t the case, Jealousy grumbled about his boredom and pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.
“Haah.”
He let out a long, irritated sigh full of annoyance. A single text message had arrived without him even noticing. It was a casual greeting asking what he was doing, but from Jealousy’s point of view, just seeing it filled him with disgust.
“Is this spam or what?”
It made sense. The sender was that annoying woman who kept sending messages regardless of whether he replied or not. Did celebrities really have that much free time? Thinking he never should have given her his number, he ignored the text as usual and straightened his tilted chair before flopping face-first onto the desk.
“I want a massage~! I need to get my nails done again and visit the salon too.”
That damn third-rate nobody. Why did he have to cause trouble at the academy and waste his precious time?
‘Just wait until I catch you. I won’t go easy at all.’
The most capricious and whiny being in the entire underworld. Unfortunately for the dark mage causing trouble at the academy, Jealousy’s stress and irritation toward him were rising steadily for various reasons.
“Are you okay?”
Monday, April 21st. Arina looked at Marily with worried eyes as she returned from the infirmary early that morning again. For about a week now—ever since Professor Karlsen’s class—Marily had been visiting the infirmary unusually often. Could she be suffering aftereffects from seeing the Inner World?
“Are you feeling really sick?”
“……”
Eyes full of nothing but concern. They were so moist with moisture it looked like they might shed tears in her place. Seeing Arina care about her so much, Marily felt an unexpected pang of guilt and avoided her gaze.
‘This is the downside of having a friend.’
If it were nobles who only cared about profit and loss, she could put on a thick face and maintain a poker face. But when it came to Arina, she simply couldn’t lie.
That was because the real reason she kept going to the infirmary was to fake being sick.
“I’m sorry.”
In the end, Marily, who had surrendered to Arina’s gaze, had no choice but to confess the truth.
“What?! You were faking it……”
“Shh! Be quiet! Do you want everyone to hear?!”
Marily quickly covered Arina’s mouth as she cried out in surprise, then carefully looked around with cautious eyes. Only after letting out a small sigh of relief did she continue.
“Think about it carefully. If I were really sick, I would have called a doctor or gone straight to the hospital. Why would I keep going back and forth to the infirmary?”
“……”
She was right. If the princess of this country were truly ill, it would be strange if it didn’t cause an uproar.
“This is a deal. Every time there’s a class I don’t want to attend, she writes me an infirmary visit record and gives me a legitimate excuse to skip.”
At Benedict Academy, unexcused absences were a serious violation of school rules that could even lead to expulsion. That rule applied even to the princess of this nation, which meant she had no choice but to attend even classes she hated. That was why she had made a deal with Professor Clara to create legitimate excuses for skipping, and the first time that deal had actually been carried out was during last week’s joint Curse Magic class with Professor Karlsen.
‘Now that I think about it, every time Marily went to the infirmary, it was during Professor Scape’s class.’
To think she made a deal with a professor just because she didn’t want to attend class. Just how much did she hate moving her body?
The worry that had filled Arina’s eyes just moments ago was now replaced with disbelief. Marily gave a bitter smile, thinking that look was hard to endure in its own way.
“Don’t misunderstand. She approached me first.”
“What did you do for Professor Clara to give you that kind of benefit?”
“That’s a secret. We promised not to tell anyone the details of our deal even if we got caught.”
Marily looked at Arina with an apologetic face, as if to say this part couldn’t be helped. Her expression suggested she was worried Arina might get angry or sulk, but Arina simply answered as if it were no big deal.
“Oh, I see.”
“……”
No, this somehow feels like she’s not interested in me at all, which is actually a little hurtful. Of course, she understood that Arina didn’t want to pry because she was worried it might trouble her friend. But the fact that Arina seemed to believe she wouldn’t do anything bad or strange even if she wanted to skip class made her feelings strangely complicated. Should she feel upset or happy about it?
“What’s wrong?”
“……It’s nothing.”
She was the genius princess famous throughout the nobility for her outstanding intellect despite her young age, the one who could manipulate nobles as she pleased. Yet here was someone who surpassed even her in the art of emotional push and pull.
‘The guy who becomes her boyfriend in the future is going to have it pretty rough.’
What was even more important was that all of this came from pure innocence rather than calculation.
“Still, I’m glad you’re not actually sick.”
“Thank you.”
“But it’s a shame. Unlike you, I still don’t have any friends at the academy. I liked taking classes together.”
“……”
Look at her. Saying something like that with that disappointed expression. How was she supposed to skip class again after this? She had been hiding it all this time because she had a feeling this would happen.
‘Farewell, my legitimate skipping privileges.’
It had been a deal she had successfully negotiated using excellent diplomatic skills befitting a princess. But it seemed she would have to give up on the compensation she was supposed to receive from Professor Clara now.
Considering what she had done, it had been a fairly reasonable price.
‘In the end, it’s become a completely one-sided deal where I only give and get nothing in return.’
Were there chopped onions nearby or something? For some reason, tears were welling up in Marily’s eyes.
“I only talk with various people here and there. The only one I can truly call a friend is you.”
Well, she should at least clear up the misunderstanding. As a princess, she had indeed been getting along amiably with her classmates both to build connections and to make new friends. There had also been a need to do so in order to fulfill the conditions set by Professor Clara. But the only person she truly opened her heart to and became close with was Arina. Only Arina treated her with genuine sincerity, without any falsehood or burden.
“But I don’t have any friends I can just chat with like that either?”
“That’s because you don’t approach them first.”
“But I don’t know what to say to them.”
Given Arina’s timid personality, approaching someone first and striking up a conversation required tremendous courage. It was completely different from Marily, who had a naturally outgoing disposition.
“There are plenty of conversation topics. Things that are trending these days, for example. Or popular foods or famous celebrities.”
“For example?”
Arina, who had the goal of making ten friends, listened to Marily’s words with the same focused attention she showed during Professor Magnus’s classes. It was quite an intense gaze. Marily avoided her eyes as she answered.
“For example… something like Mana Up……”
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake. She had been talking about this topic so much with the other kids lately that it had slipped out naturally.
“Or in your case, you could talk about Layla Ruby. I think she released a new song recently.”
She smoothly changed the subject. The poker face she had honed through conversations with nobles.
“She’s such a popular singer that there must be quite a few kids who like her. I’ll introduce you next time I see her.”
“Thank you!”
“But don’t forget. Even if you make other friends, I’m still your number one friend.”
“Of course. That goes without saying.”
Fortunately, it seemed the topic had passed without issue. Watching Arina smile brightly, Marily let out a deep sigh inside.
Thud.
Perhaps because she had been too focused on their conversation, she didn’t notice the person in front of her and bumped heads with them.
“I’m sorry.”
Arina instinctively apologized first, then belatedly looked at the other person. The boy was tall enough that both Arina, who was 153cm, and Marily, who was 151cm, had to look up at him. He had dark blue hair that was almost navy. Sharp, slit eyes and blue pupils that looked like frozen ice had been embedded in them. He was Jeon Raydel, the second-ranked student in the first-year class.
Jeon stood there motionless with a fierce expression like an angry person, staring at her with sharp eyes. Arina shrank back as if frightened by his gaze.
“……”
Then he simply walked past her without a word. Unlike Arina, who had at least apologized, his complete silence made Marily snort as she glared at his back.
“What a show-off. What an unpleasant guy.”
“Don’t say that. It was my fault.”
“This was a mutual accident. He didn’t see us either and bumped into us.”
“Maybe he couldn’t see us because we’re short.”
“That somehow makes it even more annoying.”
At those words, Arina laughed awkwardly with a sheepish “haha.” Looking at her, Marily pounded her chest in frustration and thought,
‘That’s not the only thing.’
Unlike Arina, who was slow to pick up on rumors, Marily was well-versed in school gossip—she was the one actively spreading them. She knew that whenever Arina walked by, Jeon Raydel would stare at her for a long time with those same cold eyes. It was a rumor that had already spread widely among the students. The most likely reason was that he had lost the top spot to her. Even during last week’s joint Curse Magic class, he had been staring at Arina the entire time. Marily had worked incredibly hard to hide that gaze so Arina wouldn’t notice.
‘If she knew someone hated her, she would definitely become incredibly depressed.’
Thanks to Marily’s efforts, the only first-year who didn’t know about Jeon Raydel’s behavior was Arina herself.
“Don’t worry. I will definitely protect you.”
“Huh? Oh, thank you. But don’t fight with him, okay?”
Even though she didn’t fully understand what Marily meant, Arina first expressed her gratitude for the thoughtfulness. Marily vowed that she would protect this pure innocence of Arina’s no matter what. With that determination, she clenched both fists tightly while glaring at Jeon’s retreating figure.