The Billion-Berry Bet
After some persistent nagging from Beatrice, we settled on a compromise: we’d only go until sunset. I’d originally planned to wrap things up much earlier, but she dangled food as bait and I had no choice. When you’re broke, you take what you can get.
That aside…
Ow… my ankle’s killing me.
Ladian had reached out toward me earlier. For a split second, it overlapped with the memory of my old judo coach grabbing my collar, and my defensive instincts kicked in hard. Guess trauma really does stick around.
A sharp twinge ran through it. I hadn’t even gotten hurt here, yet it kept throbbing. Was this phantom pain or something?
I tapped the ground a few times with my toes to loosen it up, and the ache eased a little.
“Alright, everyone settle down. Why is it so noisy on the very first day? And you—why are you just standing there? Get back to your seat.”
“Are you children of darkness or what? Turn on some lights already.”
Huh. That line really is universal. Or at least world-universal. Interesting.
School had always been a boring place for me. Somewhere to sleep. That was about it. I didn’t have any close friends, and I never felt the need to actually pay attention in class, so I skipped afternoon lessons under the excuse of being on the sports team.
Maybe that’s why I had no lingering attachment to that world. In a way, it worked out for the best.
“Two, four, six, eight, ten, eleven. Everyone’s here.”
“My name is Lena. Call me Professor Lena or just homeroom professor—whatever you prefer.”
“The class representative will be the top student.”
Quick and efficient. That’s why I liked this professor. Listening to someone drone on for over an hour would’ve driven me insane.
“Since it’s the first day, we’ll do self-introductions and call it there. Raise your hand if you want to go first.”
“Then I’ll start.”
A handsome young man with golden hair stood up, hand raised.
Whoa. Look at the size of him. I wasn’t exactly small, but this guy was easily twice my build. All muscle, too? Impressive.
“It’s been a while. Good to see you all. Some familiar faces, some new ones. My name is Rufus. I’d appreciate it if you treated me normally without worrying about my status as crown prince.”
“Whew… better than the other princes, at least. Sit down. Next.”
“My name is Rayna Frigel.”
Next came the top student with pale blue hair. A perfectly Rayna-like introduction.
“That it? Fine. Next.”
“My name is Elysia Ignis! Just so you know, I’m going to take the top spot next time!”
That top spot already belonged to Rayna, though.
“Yeah, yeah. Good luck. Next.”
“Hello. I’m the Saintess, Lia. Please take care of me.”
Why was she here now? She was supposed to show up in the second semester. This was a little suspicious. I’d have to ask her about it once we got closer.
“Short and sweet. Next.”
“I am Ladian Noctia of the Noctia Count family. I have come to the academy to spread word of Lady Beatrice’s beautiful appearance and noble grace—”
“Too long. That’s enough. Next.”
Now I understood why Beatrice disliked him. Even if someone liked you, if it crossed into the realm of madness, it was only natural to find it repulsive. That guy really needed to be dealt with somehow.
The self-introductions continued until only two people remained.
Should I go first? I was about to stand when the person next to me rose instead, so I sat back down.
“Beatrice Magia~”
“…Way too short, but whatever. Next. Last one.”
Wait, it’s already over? Somehow I ended up being the very last one. And I wasn’t even the protagonist.
When I stood up, all kinds of gazes landed on me. Interest. Jealousy. Indifference.
This wasn’t good. Jealousy was one thing, but indifference actually hurt more. When you needed to build favorability, pulling out nonexistent emotions was harder than dealing with outright dislike.
“Hello, my name is Isaac. Ah, I don’t have a family name since I’m a commoner.”
How could I draw their interest? While I was thinking it over, yesterday’s memory flashed through my mind.
Ah. There was that.
“Next week I’m dueling Ladian, so feel free to come watch.”
“Oh…”
“A special student versus Ladian?”
“Sounds interesting.”
One gaze in particular grew especially intense, but I ignored it lightly. I wasn’t particularly fond of men’s stares.
“Puhahaha!”
Professor Lena’s laughter suddenly filled the classroom. The professor who had been dozing off from boredom now looked wide awake and excited.
“Now this is what I’m talking about! This is the kind of flavor the academy should have! The students these days are all so cautious it’s been boring, but this is great.”
She grinned, glancing between me and Ladian. Come to think of it, she used a sword, didn’t she? I should go see her separately later. Maybe she’d teach me something if I asked for the duel.
“Puhuhu~ This’ll be fun~”
After dropping that wide-area aggro, I casually sat back down. Interest. Worry. Curiosity. Thanks to that, the indifferent stares had disappeared.
Yeah, you couldn’t pull everyone’s interest on the very first day.
Just then—
“Good, good. You both know, right? If a duel happens within the same class, the loser gets demoted to the lower class.”
“What are you—”
“What, you didn’t know? Liar? Liger?”
“It’s Ladian Noctia.”
“Right, you. You challenged him without knowing that?”
“…The one who issued the challenge was that guy… the commoner.”
All eyes turned to me again.
Oh.
“That’s right. I was the one who challenged him.”
This was pure honey. Everyone was looking at me with interest now? Thanks, man. This was going to be great exercise. He must’ve been really stressed. Still, that kind of stress was necessary too.
*
“Isaac~ You can win, right~?”
Ever since hearing about the demotion risk, Beatrice had been repeating the same question throughout lunch. She really hated the idea of me getting demoted. Just how high had her favorability gotten? Seeing her show this much concern for someone was a little surprising. Of course, I didn’t let it show.
“Bera. You don’t trust me?”
“……”
“Hey.”
That stung a little. To be fair, not trusting me was the normal reaction. Even if my unique mana could nullify magic, Ladian was a noble and I was a commoner. From birth until death, a commoner could never beat a noble. It wasn’t just about status. The position you were born into created a psychological wall, and wealth created a physical one blocking your path.
Ladian had been accumulating knowledge and training since he was very young. Meanwhile, what did I have? Just a commoner. I didn’t know what he’d done in the past, but aside from looking physically fit, he had nothing. I didn’t even have money—I was living off Beatrice’s generosity.
“Ah, no~ I trust you~”
Being forced into applause left a bitter taste in my mouth. Then an idea crossed my mind.
“Then, Bera.”
A way to get both her massive wealth and her blind trust at the same time.
“If you trust me, how much are you willing to bet on me?”
“H-huh~?”
“You said you trust me.”
Calling it gambling sounded illegal, so maybe I should frame it as a friendly wager between students. Though it was definitely illegal.
“Hmm~ Two million berries~?”
“Hey.”
It wasn’t a small amount. Two million wasn’t pocket change. But remembering that Beatrice was the daughter of a duke, this was probably the kind of money she wouldn’t even bother picking up if she dropped it. Beatrice herself knew that, which was why she fidgeted uncomfortably.
“Haa… You’re too much. If you were the one dueling someone, I’d bet my entire fortune on you.”
I was genuinely hurt~
I muttered while looking down at a 45-degree angle instead of at Beatrice.
“Ugh~ Ten million berries~?”
“Fine, fine. I’ll just lose and get demoted.”
“Uuuu…”
Maybe I went too far. Should I stop here? Ten million was still a lot.
Beatrice’s fingers fidgeted before she finally spoke in a voice like she was crawling into a mouse hole.
“One hundred million berries…”
“As expected of Bera! I knew I could count on you!”
“Ha… haha…”
Beatrice’s expression had stiffened slightly. Even for her, who was usually free with money, one hundred million berries was a serious blow. Still, she was willing to go that far for her one and only friend.
Maybe a little touching.
Even while reluctantly playing along, her favorability didn’t seem to have dropped. Don’t worry. I’ll make you twice that amount.
“Ehehe…”
What should I buy with that money first? An artifact? Or something to raise favorability?
Not my money, you say? I’ll multiply it several times over, so our Beatrice will probably gift it to me anyway. Our Beatrice wasn’t the type to abandon a friend just because she made money. Though I was her only friend.
“Uuu… But Isaac~ Isn’t this illegal~?”
“There, there, Bera. You still don’t get it.”
While I was lost in happy fantasies, Beatrice desperately tried to come up with a counterargument. But there was an old saying for this.
“If you don’t get caught, it’s art.”
Now then, should I set up the betting pool? While pondering how to get as many students involved as possible, lunch ended and I ran into Professor Lena in the hallway.
“Isak? Aja?”
“It’s Isaac.”
“Ah, right. Isaac. I’ll definitely remember next time.”
“What did you need?”
“Ah, nothing much. Come see me for a bit.”