Liana of the Alchemy Department

'That fucking bastard insulted my parents?'

Hahahahaha

The group of students who heard my words burst into loud laughter.

"Why? You want to get beaten up by me too?"

The boy who had hurled the parental insult at me and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whom I had challenged to a duel stood up and spoke.

'His name was Luden, right...?'

'This bastard has no sense of what's appropriate to say. Insulting someone's parents? You're dead meat, you son of a bitch.'

"...Insulting one's parents is unforgivable. After classes end today, come to the training ground."

"Why? I'm free right now."

"...Close that unsightly mouth of yours. Fighting here would only cause trouble for the other students."

"Look at the way you talk. Fine. Spend the rest of class praying!"

...I had gone and done it. From what I remembered, Luden was a mid-to-upper tier damage dealer.

I used Insight to check Luden's status window.

'No hope at all.'

In terms of level and stats, the difference was overwhelming. Aside from stamina, my own stats hovered around D to E rank, looking utterly pathetic by comparison.

On top of that, when it came to combat experience, he had received genuine training unlike me, who had only just possessed this body.

I spent the entire class period deep in thought before finally making my decision.

'The pen is mightier than the sword.'

—In other words, a sharp tongue beats fists any day.

.

.

.

Class ended. Luden had already moved to stand beside me.

"Time to get your ass kicked, huh...?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

A few students who appeared to be his lackeys trailed behind him. They probably wanted to watch him beat me senseless.

Luden and I reached the training ground ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and faced each other.

"Don't worry. I won't beat you to death. I'll only hit you about as hard as you hit Hero back then."

Kekeke.

Luden laughed in a thoroughly unpleasant way.

"...Do you honestly think an attack from a nobody like you could possibly hurt me?"

...Come on... come on...

"What?!"

A vein throbbed on Luden's forehead. Just a little more...

"I said, do you think that pathetic fist of yours could actually hurt me?"

"...Ugh... this fucking bastard..."

Now!

"Let's make a bet. I won't attack for three minutes. I'll only resist the bare minimum. You can use weapons if you want.

If you knock me down, I'll do whatever you desire. Run naked around the academy headmaster or drop out—anything.

If I win... I'll make one simple request."

"...F-fine! Good! Don't regret this. I'll completely crush you!"

...I cheered inwardly.

All I held was a simple wooden practice sword. Perhaps out of pride, Luden also brought only a wooden sword to the duel.

"...Whenever you're ready, we can begin."

The moment I finished speaking, Luden kicked off the ground and charged straight at me.

I instantly activated my Invincibility skill. This was my first time using it in actual combat...

Thud.

'...Hmm? So this is what it feels like.'

Luden's wooden sword struck my arm. Yet strangely, I felt no pain whatsoever.

Luden looked startled that I showed no reaction even though his attack had clearly landed.

"...Is that all? It doesn't even tickle."

I deliberately tossed out words meant to provoke him. Enraged, Luden began swinging his wooden sword wildly.

...There was no need to dodge, but if I didn't even pretend to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠avoid vital spots like the eyes, it might look suspicious, so I shifted slightly now and then.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaah!"

That small movement seemed to sting Luden's pride even more.

"...Huff... huff..."

Not even a full minute had passed before Luden, completely out of breath, hung his head and panted. I raised my wooden sword and held it to his face.

"...What the?! Was Logue always that strong?"

"Does that even make sense? He's the first-year dropout Logue. All pride and big talk, nothing else."

"He got wrecked by Hero before... Is Hero really that powerful...?"

The surrounding spectators' exclamations reached my ears.

"...Want some more?"

The finishing blow. Anyone who still wanted to continue after this had clearly abandoned their humanity.

"I... lost..."

Fortunately, it seemed Luden had not yet given up on his humanity.

"...Alright. We'll leave it at that."

The duel between me and Luden was over. The onlookers buzzed, unable to believe what they had witnessed.

—Now it was time to collect on the bet.

I walked up to Luden and whispered quietly into his ear.

"...Luden. I'll claim the price of our wager."

Gulp.

I heard him swallow hard. His body trembled with unease.

"W-what are you going to demand...!"

......Don't blush, you idiot. What exactly are you imagining?

.

.

.

"Hand over every coin you have."

Luden stared at me, dumbfounded.

...What was wrong with money?

.

.

.

As punishment for the parental insult, I extorted—no, received—a hefty ten gold from Luden.

Rotten or not, he was still a noble, so his wallet was far better off than mine after my family ties had been severed.

'That should buy quite a few meat skewers.'

I headed back toward the dormitory in high spirits.

After attending class today, I realized the current point in the story was the very beginning of the first year's second semester...

'...Wait. What about the disciplinary committee?'

After suffering that utterly infuriating parental insult, I must have been mentally drained and had completely forgotten about it.

I felt fresh anger toward Luden rising once more.

'I should have hit him a few more times.'

For now, should I find a professor and defend Hero?

Hero held a fairly high position within the academy. ...And there were several professors who hated the idea of commoners standing above nobles.

'...They'd be sharpening their teeth to expel him.'

But I couldn't do anything terrible to Serein like in the original story. ...For the time being, I decided to visit one of the disciplinary committee professors—the one hostile toward Hero.

"Logue? What brings you here? Don't worry about the disciplinary committee. Hero will receive an appropriate level of punishment."

I had gone to see Helwin, the academy's history professor. Naturally, the "appropriate level" he spoke of likely meant suspension or expulsion.

...Depending on the route, Professor Helwin was the type to side with the demons and sacrifice commoner students to summon devils.

I didn't know exactly why he had come to despise commoners so deeply, but it was certain he was hostile toward Hero.

"...Professor. I have something to say regarding Hero's punishment."

Asking a professor like him to cancel the punishment would likely backfire.

─In that case, I needed to create a reason Hero had to remain at the academy.

"...What is it?"

"I would like you to help cancel Hero's punishment."

The professor looked at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me as if I had lost my mind.

"Last time I saw you, didn't you beg me to make certain Hero was expelled from the academy?"

"I did, but I've changed my mind."

"May I ask why?"

"If things proceed like this, my honor as a noble will remain trampled in the dirt, while the commoner Hero will be remembered by the commoners as a hero who resisted unjust nobles and was expelled for it."

Hero currently enjoyed extremely high favorability among the academy's commoners. If he were expelled on top of that?

...It was obvious this would create a situation Professor Helwin would hate. A commoner hero would be born.

After listening to me, Professor Helwin closed his eyes for a moment as if pondering.

"But are you sure you'll be alright...?"

"It's fine. I'll definitely repay this humiliation someday."

...I had no intention of repaying anything. I would maintain the rival position for now and subtly join the hero's side when the time was right.

That was how rival characters usually worked. They acted prickly on a daily basis but secretly joined during the boss fight.

"Very well. I'll convey your opinion to the other professors. In the sense that the victim himself, Logue, does not wish for Hero's punishment."

Professor Helwin grabbed my hand with reddened eyes, as if seeing me in a new light, and spoke kindly. Huh? Had Professor Helwin's favorability toward me gone up...?

...I had no need for the favorability of a white-haired old man.

"Understood. I'm sorry for the unreasonable request."

"Not at all. ...If only there were more nobles like you, the commoners wouldn't dare climb above their station."

I finished speaking with the professor and left the laboratory.

'I knew he was unfriendly toward commoners, but he's even worse than I thought. Still, thanks to that, things worked out nicely.'

Hero would no longer face suspension or expulsion. Helwin's influence among the professors was considerable.

After all, the disciplinary proceedings themselves had been led by him.

'Since I'm already here, I might as well stop by the alchemy department building. It's right next door.'

If my memory served me correctly, that girl would be continuing her personal research in the alchemy building after classes ended.

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.

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Boom!

The moment I entered the alchemy department building and reached the corridor lined with research labs, an explosion greeted me.

"...Aah... What should I do... I don't have any money left to buy ingredients..."

When I stepped into the lab where the blast had originated, I saw a female student with light green hair and eyes who looked rather tired.

"It's dangerous here, so you shouldn't come in carelessly!"

Liana of the alchemy department. She blocked me from entering any farther and spoke.

'Found her. My future potion supplier.'