Hipster Fists Flash and Popcorn Embroider the Sky
The hipster’s fist flashed, and popcorn embroidered the sky. The art department students, struck at speeds too fast for the eye to follow, could only clutch their mouths in stinging pain and scream.
“Guhhhhh—!!”
Watching them bleed from the lips and tear up in such an unmanly way, I offered them a light smile.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s free.”
“Guh— You, you ba-bastard—! You think you can pull this shit and walk away?!”
“Oh, you’re still pretty articulate. Guess missing a few teeth isn’t a big deal.”
“You crazy son of a—!”
The guy called Murdoch—or whatever the hell his name was—didn’t even try to pick up his teeth before bolting. The other students who had tagged along for no reason and received the same emergency dental work scrambled after him like madmen.
I stared quietly at the idiots who couldn’t even be bothered to retrieve their own teeth and simply tilted my head. Guess they’re not necessary in a fantasy world.
Ah, shit. Saliva.
I had tried my best not to make direct contact, but punching someone in the mouth made it impossible to avoid. The back of my hand was covered not only in spit but in the bloody clots they had coughed up while getting beaten.
I shook my hand in the air, yet the sticky mess refused to come off. Frowning slightly, I stared down at the back of my hand.
“Here.”
“Ah, thanks.”
While I stood there scowling, Aria, who had been standing behind me, cautiously held out her handkerchief. Wiping the blood crusts away with it made me look somewhat presentable again. It still felt disgusting, though—I’d have to scrub my hand raw once I got back to the dorm.
“What were those guys?”
“Students from the same department.”
“Is it okay for students from the same department to act like that?”
“Nobles looking down on commoners is only natural, isn’t it? Isn’t the knight department the same?”
“Not to this degree.”
The terrorist incident that had occurred at the academy not long ago flashed through my mind. A few of the knight department students caught up in it had been commoners, so I couldn’t confidently claim such things never happened there. I simply didn’t know about it because I was a noble; realistically, a complete absence of discrimination was impossible.
Still, it was one thing to have discrimination. It was another to openly try to harm someone purely for being a commoner.
Do something like that and the instructors will be the first to grab a whip, saying it’s unbecoming of a knight.
They didn’t stop people from beating commoners in sparring matches over it. For a knight, lacking skill was a sin in itself. The art department, however, seemed to operate under different rules.
“Want to take a walk?”
“Sure.”
Aria took the lead, hands clasped behind her back as she hummed a little tune. She spoke about the truth of the art department as casually as if she were discussing the weather.
“The art department—hear the name and you’d think it’d be full of beautiful, artistic souls… but honestly, the ones doing art are the most twisted bastards around.”
“That so?”
“Just look at me. What kind of commoner walks up to a noble on their first meeting and asks to be friends? Try that outside the academy and you’d be beheaded on the spot. Or maybe I’d have been spared because I’m pretty and made into a toy instead?”
She let out a soft giggle. Watching her, I had to admit it really would have been a waste to simply execute someone like her. If a noble were given the right to decide her life or death? Even without that authority, the chances of them framing her and turning her into a slave were extremely high.
“Anyway, most of them have rotten personalities… and art is expensive. So naturally, most of them are nobles. Nobles who love establishing hierarchies. Those who call themselves beings of blue blood.”
And right in the middle of that pack of nobles had dropped Aria. The academy’s position protected her to an extent, but the fact that she was a commoner constantly tightened around her throat like a noose.
Only now did I understand why she had clung to me so aggressively from our very first meeting. A noble who was kind to commoners—an existence so unbelievable she had tried to entrust her body to me.
“Aria.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you like singing?”
“I do. If I hated it, how could I possibly survive in a place like this?”
“Perfect. I like your singing too.”
“—Eh? Ehh…? …Since when?”
“Since the first time I heard it earlier?”
At my words, Aria began twisting a lock of her hair, suddenly shy. Well, getting praised point-blank like that would embarrass anyone. But I meant it. Her voice was sweet enough that I wanted to hear it again and again.
“I’m glad you enjoy singing.”
“Y-yeah. Thanks.”
“—I’ll take care of your problem.”
“How? You’re a noble, sure, but so are the rest of them. Just cleaning up the mess from the guys you beat today will—”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got my ways.”
Before long we had arrived in front of the dormitory. I sent Aria inside and turned on my heel. It was time to visit an old friend. The sleeping dragon hidden away in the art department.
Far in the distance, Kyle was walking away. Aria watched his retreating back for a long moment before carefully heading toward her own dormitory. Used contraceptives and food waste had been left piled in front of her door. She was the public enemy of the entire art department—receiving not only the leers of noble boys but the jealous hatred of the girls as well.
Aria let out a sigh, called for a cleaner to handle the mess, then stepped inside her room. Thankfully, they hadn’t managed to get anything inside; the interior was still clean.
I’m so sick of this.
She liked singing. That was why she had enrolled in the academy. She had the talent and the skill to make it in. But the academy was far more sinister and treacherous than she had imagined—a demonic realm in human form.
Living as a commoner in a place where nearly every student was a noble was as dangerous as a prostitute walking alone through the slums wearing expensive jewelry. While most nobles despised and tormented her, there had been exactly one who didn’t.
Kyle Meyer. The only noble who hadn’t changed his attitude even after learning she was a commoner.
Kyle, Kyle…
Hugging her pillow tight as she repeated his name, Aria trembled as she recalled what had happened earlier that day. The way he had protected her from those worthless nobles. The way he had swung his fists without caring if her body or honor got stained.
What woman could see that and not feel her heart race?
All nobles are trash, but you’re the exception, Kyle.
With that thought, she let her imagination run wild about how exactly he planned to solve her problem and eventually drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Kyle brought a solution far beyond anything she had imagined.
“—Nice to meet you. I’m Bellion Dairos.”
“Uh… Your Highness the Prince?”
“Inside the academy, we’re all equal, right? Just call me Bellion.”
The third prince, Bellion Dairos, had come to see her. Aria’s eyes trembled slightly as she looked at him, but she quickly composed herself and nodded.
“Did Kyle send you?”
“That’s right. He asked me to help.”
“…I’ll be in your care from now on, Bellion.”
“Likewise. Nice to meet you, Aria.”
The sight of a mere commoner speaking casually with a prince left most nobles staring in disbelief, but none of them dared question him directly. On top of that, the harassment directed at Aria herself decreased dramatically.
If they hurled insults at a commoner walking with the prince, or threw trash at her like usual and accidentally hit him instead? That would be direct insult to the imperial family. None of them wanted to take that kind of risk just to torment her.
Naturally, the bullying eased off.
Aria had never believed Kyle could actually solve her problem. He was a noble, yes, but not one famous enough for everyone to know his name, nor did he possess strong political power.
As expected of Kyle…
It seemed her judgment had been wrong. Aria smiled brightly as she prepared for the upcoming cultural festival. She was still mostly alone except for Bellion, and she was still being ostracized, but the simple fact that the harassment had stopped gave her both mental and physical breathing room.
After some time passed, Bellion must have decided he had done enough and naturally drifted away from her side. At the same time, the nobles began tormenting her again as if they had been waiting for the chance—using underhanded, insidious methods that were difficult to punish outright.
“Hah.”
Only then did she realize it. Her original thought had been correct after all. Every noble was trash. Every last one of them deserved to die.
And so the cultural festival began.
After the exams ended, time really did fly by like crazy. During that period I sparred with the club members, went on dates with Yuri, explored the academy with Sera, and trained with Arthur. Aria was busy preparing for the cultural festival, so I barely saw her face. When I asked Bellion about it later, he told me he had resolved most of the problems she was facing, so I didn’t worry too much.
This is bad.
The cultural festival would begin in a few days. I sat there with a serious expression, deep in thought. Arthur, noticing my mood, tilted her head.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… the cultural festival is coming up soon, right?”
“It is?”
“What if Aria sings too well? What then?”
“…What are you even talking about?”
“Right now she’s my own personal super-genius singer. But if she gets popular at the festival, everyone’s going to know about her. She’ll become a famous singer.”
Of course I wanted more people to know how good her singing was. At the same time, the selfish part of me wanted to keep her all to myself.
After listening to my concerns, Arthur let out a dry laugh and spoke.
“Kyle, do you know what people call guys like you?”
“What?”
“Hipsters.”
“…Ah.”