After the Storm
Hah. He showed up, said exactly what he wanted to say, and then vanished without a trace. That fucking bastard. He really was a man like a typhoon, just as the saying went.
Even though he had looked completely defenseless earlier, the crushing pressure of the mana flowing through his entire body made any thought of victory feel impossible. If I had attacked him in that moment, I would have been the one to fall. He left no openings whatsoever, and it was clear he possessed overwhelming power. So if the current me were to face Jeron, I would lose.
Fortunately, this was the academy grounds, so he probably wouldn’t lay a hand on me or the others… but after the things he’d said, I couldn’t let my guard down for even a second.
“Speaking of which, disowned, huh. At least I’ve left the family now.”
My first objective was complete. Escaping the family. It hadn’t happened the way I wanted, but the goal was achieved. Should I be happy about that?
Still, I suppose I’m no longer a Flame. Well, it doesn’t matter. The family’s reputation was already in the gutter, so the name held no value. The support they gave me had been minimal anyway. The only real problem was that I’d been unconscious for four days and missed my part-time job. I wondered if the old man had heard the news.
But if they were cutting off all support, what would happen to my dormitory room? From the way Jeron spoke, he wouldn’t just leave it alone. Knowing him, he was probably already in the process of disposing of it.
Whew. Thank goodness Shady was staying with Elisha. Things could have gotten complicated again.
So now I had no money, no home, and I’d been disowned by my family. All that remained was this worthless, frail body.
“…Back to the beginning, then.”
It was fine. I had expected this much. I had been planning to leave the dormitory soon anyway. The facilities were excellent and it was convenient in many ways, but the monthly coin payments were no joke. That was why I had already moved my belongings to the club room and stored my uniform and other clothes in my Inventory. It was a relief I had done so; otherwise, I would have been in serious trouble on multiple fronts.
“Haa…”
Anyway. As I let out a deep sigh, contemplating the pitch-black future just like the day I first possessed Vern’s body, the closed door to the hospital room slowly slid open.
Beyond it stood a group with hair colors as varied as a rainbow. Each of them truly wore their personalities on their heads. As the door swung fully open, the silver-haired girl approached me first.
“Vern…! Are you okay? What in the world did you talk about with the family head?”
“That’s…”
While answering Elisha, the pink-haired Elin came closer and asked in a trembling voice.
“V-Vern…! Your father had such a terrifying expression… What happened? Did you… fight with him…?”
Father? The way she said it sounded strangely off. And what kind of face had Jeron been making for them to be this worked up?
I tried to explain the situation to calm the panicking group, but suddenly Elin pointed at my right hand and cried out.
“Huk, Vern…! Your right hand is bleeding…!”
“Hand?”
I lifted my right hand, the one wrapped tightly in bandages. It seemed the wound had reopened from when I grabbed his collar. The white gauze was soaked through, dyed a vivid red. As I raised it higher, the stain spread even further.
Lucy immediately spoke in an urgent tone.
“I’ll go get a nurse…! The wound must have opened!”
The moment she finished speaking, Lucy rushed out of the room. The atmosphere had suddenly become chaotic. I didn’t know what Jeron had done, but he sure knew how to exhaust people. Silia had been quietly watching me from the start, while the male trio remained silent, observing the situation.
To settle the disorderly mood, I snapped my fingers using the middle finger and thumb of my left hand.
-Snap!
The sound wasn’t particularly loud, but everyone stopped talking and turned to look at me. I opened my mouth to calm the fussing group.
“All of you, stop making such a fuss and calm down. It’s too chaotic.”
“Vern…”
“……”
Hmm. The finger snap worked well.
Anyway. To settle the current situation, explaining what had happened was the priority. The best approach was to convey the meaning as concisely as possible. After taking a short breath, I told them.
“There’s no need for you to worry so much. Nothing happened with the family head.”
Yes. In moments like this, simply brushing it off was the best choice. Detailed explanations? Conveying the full truth? None of that mattered. Saying nothing happened was the optimal answer.
But Elisha clearly didn’t believe me.
“Vern, you always avoid eye contact when you’re lying. You’re hiding something from us, aren’t you?”
I avoided eye contact? Was that a habit I had? Anyway.
“No. Really, nothing happened.”
“……”
“…”
Damn it. I couldn’t just gloss over this. No choice. I would have to speak as vaguely as possible.
“…I was kicked out of the house. He told me not to even think about returning until I fix my insolent behavior. That’s all.”
“W-what…?”
Elisha stared at me with utter disbelief.
“H-huh…? K-kicked out of the house…?!”
Elin looked deeply shocked. Every emotion played openly across her face.
“Hey, you…”
Silia looked like she wanted to say something but stopped, biting her lip slightly as she fell silent. And though it might have been my imagination, her expression seemed to carry a faint trace of bewilderment and worry.
“My, it seems we’ve overheard something we shouldn’t have.”
Lloyd pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a heavy sigh.
“T-this seems like something we should be really worried about…?”
Ron gazed at me with clear concern in his eyes.
“…”
Ian simply watched me in silence.
“It’s not a big deal, everyone. There’s no need to worry so much.”
“Vern, I have one question.”
“What is it, Elisha.”
“Just in case. Are you sure you were only kicked out? If there’s more to it… anyway, tell me properly. Don’t try to dodge the issue.”
Tch. I had tried to phrase it ambiguously to slip past them, but of course it wouldn’t be that easy. Even without Lucy present, everyone was looking at me with eyes that demanded an explanation. In the end, I had no choice but to tell them.
“I am no longer a member of the Flame family.”
“Vern…”
“Huk…”
“…”
“Dear god…”
“Ah, this… it doesn’t sound like you just got in trouble…? W-what exactly happened…”
After Ron spoke, no one could say another word. An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Then Ian, who had remained quiet until now, finally opened his mouth.
“…Vern, what’s the story here? Something you can’t tell us.”
Yes. I couldn’t tell them everything. Once they learned about the family and Jeron, they would never be able to return to ignorance. They would inevitably be exposed to danger. Elisha had nearly been badly hurt, and not long ago Lucy had almost suffered something terrible. So I absolutely could not tell them.
Earlier, Elisha’s hands had trembled when she looked at Jeron. It was only a slight tremor, but if I had noticed it, there was a high chance Jeron had too. Knowing he was working with Requiem, he probably assumed I was pretending to know nothing. But if even Elisha slipped up, there was no guarantee the others wouldn’t reveal something on their faces. Therefore, even though I wanted to tell them, I couldn’t. I didn’t want them to be in danger.
When I fought Shady and when I confronted Naidus, it had only been pure luck that let things end well. I was weak. I couldn’t even protect my own body properly. For someone like me to protect all of them was impossible. If Naidus had been in good condition back then, I might not have been able to save Lucy. If I hadn’t caught Shady off guard at that moment, I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened to Elisha.
I was weak. Far too weak to protect anyone. That was why what I could say ended here. Sometimes ignorance really was a blessing. Stopping without saying more would be better for both them and me. So I had nothing left to tell them.
I didn’t know how they would see me after this, but it couldn’t be helped. The path I had to walk was a dark, thorny road, while they were meant to walk a brilliant royal path.
My reputation was terrible, I had no money, my personality was awful, and now even my family name was gone. I had even been formally disowned. They might think I must have done something to deserve it. Although I had grown somewhat close to them recently, they probably hadn’t become that attached to a disowned noble’s son. So even if they distanced themselves from me, I would understand.
I wouldn’t explain anything about the disownment, because I couldn’t. The judgment was entirely theirs. I simply had to accept whatever result came.
As I stayed silent, Ian—the protagonist of this world—began to speak.
“Whatever you did in the past, I don’t know. But I know you’re not a bad enough person to deserve being disowned. Of course, that’s just my gut feeling.”
After Ian finished, the others began to speak one by one.
First was the massive, muscular Lloyd.
“I agree. You’re a good guy, Vern. Disowned? Comrade, I trust you. The person who risked his life to save us can’t be a bad person.”
Second was the slightly gloomy and frail-looking Ron.
“S-suddenly being d-disowned… Is it because of some p-political issue…? A-anyway, I don’t think you’re a b-bad enough p-person to deserve it either…”
Then Elin, whose cute pink hair brought freshness to everyone around her.
“V-Vern…! It’s okay. I—no, we believe in you…! There must be some… some reason behind your disownment…! So maybe you should talk with your father again…!!”
Then Silia, who was always prickly and only ever grumbled.
“Hey, you… um… a-are you okay…? Hmm, hmph… A blockhead like you doesn’t look like the kind of trash who’d get disowned. Anyway. This is your business. Solve it yourself or don’t, it’s up to you…!”
And finally Elisha, who knew my circumstances and understood and believed in me.
“Vern, I’m always on your side. And… you have to pay for the dormitory soon, right? You don’t have much money… So… i-if you’re short on coins for the dormitory, until you get some money… w-would you like to stay in my… my room…?”
Wait, what? Stay together? Two grown people of opposite genders? Or three? No matter how broke I was, that seemed wrong. And had I ever told her I needed to pay the dormitory fee soon? I never mentioned moving out. How did she know?
Anyway. These people hadn’t known me for very long. We didn’t know each other that well. Yet everyone here was worrying about me and believing in me. I couldn’t tell them anything, but still, they…
“You guys…”
I tried to speak, but the person who appeared at the hospital room door cut me off.
“V-Vern Flame…! I brought the nurse! First, your hand…! U-uh…? Did something happen? Why is the atmosphere like this?”
With her arrival, the heavy mood began to loosen considerably. Showing up only after everything was over—what a funny girl. I answered her in my usual blunt way.
“Nothing happened.”
“W-what…? What is it…? What do you mean…?”
Hearing her words, the momentarily relaxed atmosphere slowly filled with soft laughter. Just like that, the rain that had suddenly poured from the clear sky began to stop.