87. Harbor Downtown
87. Harbor Downtown
There were two ways to travel between the academy, built on an island, and the mainland.
The first was the regular ferry that traveled between the mainland and the academy on a schedule.
Various ships traveled to and from the academy, from wooden sailing ships to the slightly more expensive magical ships that moved under their own power using the 'Orion Engine,' a masterpiece of magical engineering.
The second was the bridge connecting the mainland to the academy.
It was much cheaper, as one could cross by carriage.
The downside was that the bridge wasn't very wide, so it immediately became congested when crowded, and ships were faster than carriages.
Although regular ferries were greatly affected by the weather as they traversed the sea, they could accommodate far more people at once and were also faster.
The one Lucia and I boarded this time was a 'magical ship' equipped with an Orion Engine.
Whether they were sailing ships or magical ships, the interiors of the regular ferries were incredibly luxurious and sophisticated.
Most of the exam admission students, who were nobles but unaccustomed to such splendor, said that just boarding the ferry to enter the academy felt like stepping into another world.
Inside the ferry, academy students on outings, including us, were visible everywhere.
"Hey... hey hey... look over there... those guys..."
"They're the new students from the exchange meeting, right?"
"Seeing them up close, they're really small."
"I heard he was seriously injured, but he looks perfectly fine. As expected of a Russell."
'I should rent a cabin next time.'
Since the trip between the mainland and the academy wasn't very long, seating was standard on the regular ferry.
Because it was a distance covered in a couple of hours, not several days and nights like on a cruise ship, passengers sat in their seats and enjoyed a short trip instead of retiring to individual cabins.
The seats weren't crammed together like economy class, but there were no partitions, so if anyone cared to pay attention, it was easy to see who was where, and Lucia and I stood out far too much.
This was because both of us were key figures in the most recent incident.
From me, who had beaten down a bunch of Clover Academy students just before turning into a demon-touched, to the Five Pillars' Russell, who had fought the Sword Saint and been seriously injured... the murmurings and sidelong glances cast our way were irritating.
I turned around, wondering if Lucia might also be bothered by it...
"...Ugh...."
Fortunately, it seemed I was the only one who minded.
Lucia, who had boarded with me and sat right next to me, was sitting upright in her seat, fidgeting her fingers and looking restless, as if something was bothering her.
"Lucia, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
"Ah... no, it's not that... it's... it's my first time going somewhere alone with a... a friend... so I'm... nervous."
"We were together at the academy too."
"Th-that's different..!"
I wanted to ask what on earth was different, but it wasn't the time.
Once the ship departed, it would arrive at the port in about two hours.
I thought I might go out to see the sea or something from time to time.
"Oh, it's Russell."
Someone who had entered the passenger cabin late waved a hand toward us.
He was a handsome man with long, deep green hair, carefully braided and draped down his back.
His darker, more defined features and deep skin tone indicated that warm southern blood ran through his veins.
He appeared with a gaggle of women clinging to both arms, all of them equally boisterous, drawing everyone's attention.
It was Nivas Perda, one of the Five Pillars.
"Hey, I heard you'd recovered, but I couldn't find the time to visit. Sorry~ I've been so..."
Perda, who had spotted Lucia and walked over, stopped when he noticed me.
From behind, only Russell's head poking out over the chair was visible, and mine wasn't, so it seemed he hadn't known I was there until he got close.
Every single thing he did was an art in getting on one's nerves.
Perda glanced back and forth between me and Lucia, then smirked as if he'd seen something amusing.
"Hmm~ I see."
"...What do you see?"
"No, no, I knew the two of you were on close terms... but I didn't know it was to this degree."
Nivas Perda.
He was the eldest son of the Perda family, which was in charge of 'knowledge,' and like Albion, he was a mage.
However, since he studied more as a strategist, his combat ability, like Phrygia's, was markedly inferior to that of the other three families.
The character settings file clearly stated he was a nasty piece of work who would approach with a beaming smile, collect others' weaknesses, and use them at the perfect moment.
Even disregarding that setting, every word he spoke was irritating.
Lucia was also on high alert at Perda's appearance.
Just as I was thinking about kicking him away immediately, someone shoved their face right in front of mine.
"Wow, so cute~ Nivas, who's this kid? Can I just hug him once~~"
A female student with short lime-green hair, who had been clinging to Nivas's left arm, rushed over and thrust her face forward the moment she saw me.
She looked me over frantically, and though I was about to shake her off right then and there, I stopped because I noticed something interesting.
That female student had pointed ears.
'An elf...? No, a half-elf.'
Her ears were so short that at first glance, you wouldn't even know she had elven blood.
Half-elves, beings that were never meant to be born, were reviled everywhere, so much so that I could count on one hand the times I'd seen one in person.
The Perda family had the deepest ties with the elves in the Empire, so it was a curious sight to see a half-elf, one of the most despised beings in elven society, at his side.
The half-elf female student looked me over as if I were a puppy and then reached out her arms as if to hug me.
"Ow, owowowowowow!!!!!"
"....Don't touch him carelessly."
But the girl who had thrust her face toward me was pushed back with a shriek.
This was because Lucia, unable to stand it any longer, had shot her arm out like lightning, grabbed the girl's arm, and pulled her away from me.
Lucia must have been very angry, as the half-elf female student's arm, gripped with all her strength, looked like it would snap at any moment.
"...Perda, I can take this as you picking a fight with me, right?"
She spoke without stumbling over a single syllable, which was rare and showed just how angry she was.
"Hey..! Do you even know who that person is..!"
The other female student beside her panicked the moment she saw the scene, pulled the half-elf student Lucia had grabbed farther away from me, and whispered something in her ear.
Seeing this, Perda simply laughed.
"Sorry, she loses her head a bit when she sees something cute... I'll give her a warning."
"You didn't move a single step, but your mouth works just fine."
"She stopped things on my behalf, didn't she? It's a learning experience, you see."
As I glared at Perda, who didn't look sorry in the slightest, the half-elf female student, who had been listening to the whispers, suddenly shouted.
"Huh?! You're saying this kid is the famous Ankle Biter?? The one who crushed Lemnos twice and hospitalized an entire class..? Seriously??"
"Keep your voice down, you idiot..."
"There's no way! There's just no way someone this small and adorable could do such cruel things..!! You're tricking me again because I'm stupid, aren't you!"
Hearing the half-elf female student's words from behind, Perda chuckled.
"Amusing, right? There's never a dull moment with her around.
Still, as a token of apology, I'll give you a good piece of information.
Half the lodgings in the downtown district are trash that try to rip students off, so it's best to stay at a trustworthy place.
My recommendation is 'Glory of the Sea God' at the port."
"...That place is good. The terrace has a nice view of the sea, and the seafood dishes from the restaurant are excellent~"
One of the female students who had been quietly keeping her spot beside him chimed in to back up Perda's recommendation.
"And the beds are nice and fluffy."
"Sound doesn't carry well either, you know?"
"The lighting has a nice ambiance~"
As if reminiscing about a night they'd spent there, Perda and the women each added a comment.
Lucia showed no reaction, not understanding the meaning behind those words, and seeing that, Perda seemed even more satisfied.
"...If it's that good, are you planning to stay there too? Then I'll go somewhere else."
"That would be fun too, but coincidentally, I've made plans to stay at the 'Golden Wheat Field' right next door, so don't worry."
Perda also recommended several other decent lodgings and a few worthwhile places to see.
Lucia, who had been listening, found something odd and spoke to Perda.
"...You're... on your first outing too... so how do you know all that...?"
"Well, I have my ways."
It struck her as curious that Perda knew the port so well, given that first-years had only recently been permitted outings.
He spoke as if he had been frequenting this place for a long time.
"Nemea looks uncomfortable, so I'll get out of your way quickly. The downtown district isn't very big, so we might run into each other once or twice passing by, hmm?"
Having said that, Perda waved his hand and walked toward the seats in the back, out of our sight.
Watching him go, I spoke with a deep frown.
"That guy is utterly rude, from head to toe."
"...He was so quiet I didn't realize..."
"It's because seeing a half-elf is rare."
That was one thing, and Perda was another.
If I really met him in the downtown district, I'd kick him away.
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Perda, who had taken a seat all the way in the very back of the passenger cabin, watched the crown of Lucia's head as it peeked out from the seat in front.
"Hmm... She doesn't seem to know, does she?"
"There's no way the invitation was sent to them."
Nivas Perda had been surprised to see Lucia on this outing.
He hadn't shown it outwardly, but he wasn't just here to have fun; he had a transaction to carry out.
Among the Five Pillars, he thought even Phrygia hadn't received an invitation and that he alone was participating, so when he saw 'Russell,' he wondered if she, too, was joining.
Fortunately, it just seemed like she had come out for a romantic venture.
But... while he knew they were close, the fact that she had come out with that half-pint was very concerning.
"Aaah, I wanted to get close to him..."
"You really...!"
Beside him, the half-elf girl wiggled her short but pointed ears and flailed her arms.
Nina, the half-elf girl who had been abandoned by the elves as a child and taken in by the Perda family... perhaps because of her bloodline, she couldn't be anything but honest, though she wasn't good at pretending.
Having one's inside match the outside was a tremendous weapon capable of opening even locked hearts.
Judging from that half-pint Atlas's reaction a moment ago, he didn't seem entirely displeased.
"You want to get close to Nemea?"
"Yeah..! Was it Atlas? He's cute and he smells really good."
At Perda's question, Nina raised her hand swiftly.
He didn't know what she meant by a good smell, but it probably meant she liked him.
"If I give you permission, do you think you could become an inseparable friend to him?"
"I think... that remains to be seen."
"Alright, I'll give you permission, so try getting close to him. Do whatever you want."
"Lord Perda..! Letting Nina loose like that is dangerous!"
"She said she wants to get close. It's not my place to stop something like that."
Atlas Nemea.
He was the most concerning figure among the first-years.
As far as anyone knew, he was Nemea's illegitimate child, but that alone couldn't explain his strength.
Even Lemnos, who had reached the threshold of top-tier Expert, couldn't defeat him... and no matter how you looked at it, even the vice-captain of Clover Academy, who was high-tier, couldn't so much as touch a hair on him.
And the most important thing was...
'There's no way Count Nemea could have an illegitimate child... Just who the hell are you?'