I Am the Victim

'...What?'

Hero had just finished his sparring match and challenged me to a duel. I couldn't make sense of it. Was he still not over his anger...?

While I hesitated over how to answer, the professor stepped in and stopped him.

"I have a rough idea of what happened between you two, but haven't you both already sparred?"

"Any more would put too much strain on your bodies. It would be wise to postpone."

...Fortunately, Hero seemed to accept the professor's words. There was no reason for me to fight him now, and since I'd already used Invincibility today, my odds of winning were practically nonexistent anyway.

Still, I wondered why he'd challenged me. Did seeing me perfectly fine make his blood boil? Or perhaps my changed demeanor had sparked his curiosity.

As Hero left the training ground, I called out to him.

"...Sorry about what happened back then."

I didn't know if he heard me, but I'd delivered the apology. It was sudden, but something told me it had to be now.

'I still hadn't apologized to him directly...'

Even though it was the original owner's crime, living as Logue meant I had to mend these conflicts.

'Come to think of it, I never used [Insight] on Hero...'

His current level of growth would drastically change how I planned for the future. Even with Melek dead, Belphegor's threat remained. He was the one who had attacked the academy on the Demon King's orders. The timing might have shifted, but he would come eventually.

When that happened, Hero's traits would shine. It only made sense. After all, he was the hero chosen by this world.

After sparring class ended, I was heading back to the dormitory with complicated feelings when someone called out to me. I turned and saw Liana running toward me.

...She really did have poor stamina. She was already breathing hard after such a short distance.

"Huff... huff..."

"...What is it?"

Her light green hair had fallen slightly over her face from the run, but the clear hurt in her expression was unmistakable.

"No... We haven't seen each other in so long and that's how you respond...?"

Now that she mentioned it, after the fight with Melek in the skeleton dungeon, one thing after another had kept me away. It really had been a while since I'd attended the academy.

"After you got badly hurt in a dungeon full of skeletons, I thought you'd recovered after treatment. But when I went to check on you in class later, they said you hadn't been attending at all... Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"...There were circumstances. I'm sorry."

"I thought you died after drinking the potion I made! I created it myself, but the ingredients were anything but normal. It's basically a potion loaded with near-poisonous stimulants. You didn't feed it to someone else, did you?"

"Don't worry. I drank it myself..."

"Then let's eat together... geez..."

Liana seemed far more worried about me than I'd realized. ...Well, if I gave someone a potion and then vanished without a word, I'd be worried too.

"I'm sorry, Liana. ...Thank you for worrying about me."

This was sincere. Every word carried the weight of her genuine concern.

"...When you say it with a face like that... I can't help but accept it...."

"What was that?"

"......Geez... nothing!"

Liana hung her head. ...She still seemed upset.

"...Anyway, why haven't you been coming to the academy? Today's your first day back since then, right?"

"Um..."

I fought an agent from the Demon Countermeasures Division named Sane. Then I went to wipe out a goblin colony for money and ran into a goblin general. Somehow I ended up stabbing a dagger into Isabel's heart to save her after she'd been branded by Melek, so I couldn't attend.

─I couldn't exactly say that.

"Um... I was doing a request from the adventurers' guild and it took longer than expected."

"...I see...? Why?"

"I went once for the experience."

Though truthfully it had been for the money.

"Hmm......"

Liana stared at me with clear suspicion but eventually looked away.

"Do you have plans right now...?"

The sun was already beginning to set. ...I'd spent the entire day on sparring practice.

"I don't have any particular schedule."

"Then maybe we could go eat—"

Liana's words were cut short. Kiene had come running and approached me first.

"Kiene...? What's wrong?"

Her expression looked like she might burst into tears at any moment, her emotions tightly suppressed.

"...Logue..."

Kiene grabbed my hand. The grip was desperate, almost pleading.

"Kien..."

"Kien?"

It was the name of Kiene's younger brother, the one I'd visited before. His condition had seemed fairly stable last time, but... No way...

My bad premonition proved correct.

"Kien's condition... suddenly got much worse..."

Now her voice carried the tremble of impending tears.

...It looked like I'd have to move my plans forward sooner than expected.

I gently stroked Kiene's head and comforted her quietly.

"Don't worry. Your brother will be fine."

I would make sure of it.

"Wh... what's going on?"

Liana asked, clearly uncomfortable. ...Her eyes were locked on my hand.

"It's Kiene's personal matter, so it's hard to explain... Something urgent has come up."

"...I understand... Is there anything I can help with?"

"No—"

I was about to refuse, but after thinking it over, Liana's help could make things much easier.

I used [Insight] to check her status window.

Even including the effect of the ring I'd given her in the dungeon, her Magic Power had risen by more than twenty points since I last checked. The Transcendence Potion must have helped raise her magic stat since it was quite a high-grade item.

"...Have you ever enchanted equipment with magic before?"

"A few times for practice...? I only tried simple defense and reinforcement spells. The results were better than I expected, which surprised me. But why do you ask?"

"Then, could you enchant equipment with [Silence] magic?"

"[Silence] isn't a particularly high-grade spell, so I think it's possible... Are you trying to steal something?"

"...Something like that."

Liana glared at me after hearing my answer.

"Your intentions sound pretty shady...?"

"......It's necessary to save someone."

"I'll try... By when do you need it?"

"Now."

"...What?! I'll do my best, but... how long are you going to keep holding her like that?"

At some point Kiene had calmed down and now wore a more relaxed expression.

...While hugging me tightly.

"First I need to buy a robe. ...Something that can hide my identity."

After sparring class ended, I was wondering what to do next when I spotted Logue's group on the roadside and found myself watching them unconsciously.

'Was her name Kiene?'

The girl with cherry-blossom pink hair who had been beside Logue during the incident at the mansion. I remembered her holding his hand that day. She was doing the same now.

...They were probably dating.

'But who's that light-green-haired girl?'

There was a girl next to Logue I'd never seen before. Someone that pretty would stick in my memory after just a few glances. She was probably from a different year or the Alchemy Department.

Her gaze never left Logue. At the very least, it was clear she held affection for him.

─That made sense. The way her expression shifted with every word he spoke. Anyone could tell she liked him.

'He's popular... Now that I think about it, he doesn't look half bad.'

Broad shoulders. Sharp, well-defined features. And the noble bearing that seemed carved into his very bones. Even to Isabel, who had little interest in men, Logue's appearance was enough to inspire admiration.

...Though until now she hadn't even realized they were in the same class.

"Look at that smug face... Strutting around with his head held high, even dragging girls along with him."

Isabel looked toward the source of the voices. Two students from her class whose names she couldn't even remember were gossiping while staring at Logue.

"Isn't he hitting on them again? ...It's disgusting."

"Right... He probably cheated in today's sparring match too. There's no way a failing trash student like him could beat Luden."

"...Obviously. Don't you remember him getting beaten like a dog by Hero? The way he groveled before that commoner he used to look down on."

"Anyway... He's a disgrace to the nobility. I heard he even threatened Serein from the next class and got beaten up again?"

─For some reason, it irritated her.

"...Do you have a death wish?"

Normally Isabel would have simply ignored them and walked on, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but because the target was Logue, she couldn't let it go.

'No matter the method, he saved my life...'

Isabel inwardly felt grateful toward Logue.

"Wh... what?"

"Hey... that's her. The crazy bitch..."

The students who received Isabel's verbal abuse murmured for a moment before steeling themselves and speaking again.

"You... who are you to talk to us like that? It's the truth!"

"Yeah! We only spoke facts! You know what kind of guy Logue is!"

'I only found out today that we're even in the same class. How would I know what he did...?'

Isabel had so little ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠interest in her fellow students that she'd only realized Logue was in her class today.

"...I don't know about that, but if you're going to insult him, do it to his face. What are you doing talking behind his back? Pathetic bastards... Is that what the nobles you admire do? Tell you to badmouth people from the shadows?"

"Wh... what?!"

"Have you said your piece?"

"If I have...? Want to settle this? I'll take both of you at once."

When the atmosphere grew dangerous, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠female student's voice cut through.

"Those two are right."

"What?"

"Those two are right. Because I am the victim who suffered at his hands."

A girl with bright brown hair that reached her shoulder blades and matching brown eyes, wearing the academy uniform.

Hero's childhood friend and the person who could rightfully be called a victim of Logue's past harassment.

It was Serein.