Chapter 13
Chapter 13
‘What’s wrong with her? Is she deaf?’
I stared at her in disbelief.
“Listen to what I’m saying. You’re going to Peridot Academy—”
“That’s for me to decide, so mind your own business.”
Katrinne leaped to her feet.
Then she climbed onto the horse she’d left tied up outside the cave and rode off in a flash.
“Uh… huh?”
I watched her retreating figure, still dumbfounded.
“…She’ll be all right, won’t she?”
A cold sweat broke out at the ominous feeling creeping over me.
Clip-clop.
As Katrinne rode along, she fell into thought.
‘I don’t like him.’
To be honest, Ban’s performance today had been astonishing.
At first, she’d wondered if he was crazy, but that was clearly not the case.
He’d taken down a Lich.
‘How did he destroy its Life Vessel? I can’t even begin to guess. And he managed to cast magic using remnants of mana floating in the air?’
Even her “father,” the head of the Prestigious Magic Family, the Klein Ducal House, couldn’t perform such a feat.
It was unbelievable.
And yet Katrinne still couldn’t shake her displeased expression.
—I’m saying this because I’m worried about you.
Katrinne’s face twisted into a scowl.
She had grown up under oppression her entire life, and that had taught her to see through people’s words as if she had a sixth sense.
Ban had meant what he said.
‘What are you going on about, pretending to worry about me? Who do you think you are?’
And that wasn’t all.
She remembered the moment the dark mist had surged toward her.
Ban had risked himself for her then.
Why?
‘Why would he do something so stupid?’
She couldn’t understand it.
The sincere concern and protectiveness Ban had shown her today were things she had never experienced in her life.
They were things she had never experienced before.
She didn’t know how to respond, so, as she had with everything until now, she could only react prickly.
Like a frightened hedgehog raising its spines.
‘But he told me to go to Peridot Academy?’
Katrinne shook her head.
There was one thing Ban had gotten wrong.
‘Practical training? I’ve already done all that.’
Why else would she have gone so far as to challenge the Wailing Cave?
She had tried studying through practical experience long ago.
‘I have to go to Rubiness Academy.’
It was something that would make Ban panic if he heard it.
Katrinne’s eyes rippled deeply.
‘There must be some secret behind how Young Master Ban changed.’
If she took his classes, perhaps she could get a clue.
It was the only hope she could hold on to, after every method she tried had failed to lift her out of being a dullard.
More than anything—
‘I’ll prove to Young Master Ban that I’m not worthless.’
She didn’t know why she was thinking this.
She and Ban had no relationship at all.
If she had to find a reason, it was probably just defiance.
She imagined the look of surprise on Ban’s face when he saw how much she had changed.
For some reason, the thought made her feel good.
‘I’ll do it, no matter what.’
And so Katrinne decided which academy she wanted to attend.
‘…This is worrying.’
A shiver ran through me, and I trembled slightly.
“Are you all right, Young Master?! Has something happened to your health? Ah! It’s my fault! I should have taken better care of your precious body, the body of one destined to become a star of magic!”
“…You’re noisy.”
I frowned at Hans, who was still making a racket.
“We’ll be at the Rubiness Free City soon.”
For the record, the Free City where Rubiness Academy was located was also called Rubiness.
“Yes, that’s right. But… will you be all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… it’s nothing.”
Hans trailed off.
His face was full of worry.
I found out why as soon as we arrived in Rubiness.
‘It’s huge.’
I was a little impressed.
I’d heard it was big, but the scale was incredible.
It was every bit as large as the Imperial Capital, where the Ecclesia Ducal House was based.
But there was a problem.
Countless people passing through the main street recognized my face.
“Gasp! It’s Young Master Ban.”
“Really? How many years has it been? I was glad he’d stayed away all this time. Why’s he here now?”
“Ban” was a graduate of Rubiness Academy.
Apparently, during his time as a student, he’d caused all kinds of trouble in this Free City.
“I heard he came to take the Academy’s professor appointment exam.”
“Ha! That Ban Trash? He must be out of his mind! Or maybe he’s planning to cause trouble again?”
I could hear them whispering.
They were trying to keep their voices down, more or less, but they weren’t lowering them completely either, so their words reached my ears.
Even so, I was of ducal blood. Their attitude was excessive.
It meant they thought of Ban as someone they could treat with contempt.
Ban wasn’t a terrifying villain so much as a pathetic, pitiful loser and a piece of trash.
“How dare you!! You people—!”
Hans couldn’t hold back and was about to roar at them, but I raised a hand to stop him.
“It’s all right. Hold your tongue.”
“…But—”
“You know that no matter how much the ignorant prattle, they can’t put so much as a scratch on my dignity, don’t you?”
I’d lived as the lowest of the low, so insults like that barely fazed me.
More than anything—
‘Everyone looking down on me like this actually works in my favor.’
I grinned.
‘Besides, I needed to “fish” for a bite.’
As I’d said before, there was no way I could pass the appointment exam by ordinary means.
So I’d put together a thorough “plan.”
One that would make anyone accept my appointment as deserved.
“What would you like to do, sir? Shall we find an inn first?”
“No. You’ve had a long journey here, so how about a drink before that? Let’s go to Dien.”
“…Dien, sir? But that place…”
Hans looked flustered.
It was the most expensive restaurant in the Free City.
It was famous even in the Imperial Capital.
“M-Master Ban? Of course, Dien is a place befitting your refinement, but… well… our funds aren’t exactly ample.”
How stingy. The Ducal House provided no financial support during the four years of mandatory service in the military, civil service, academia, and so on.
“It’s fine. I have a friend who’ll pay for me.”
I took out a letter.
It was the reply I’d received after applying for the appointment exam.
—I look forward to seeing you soon. Your friend, Balik.
Balik.
In the game’s setting, he was Ban’s malicious friend.
An early villain in the Rubiness Academy scenario.
And, at the same time—
‘An angel who’ll help me pass.’
I needed Balik’s “help” to get appointed.
Dien.
Just as I’d said, it was the finest and most luxurious tavern in the Empire.
‘…Is it really all right for me to come somewhere like this?’
It wasn’t as if I’d never been to a high-end bar back on Earth.
No, I’d been to plenty of them for business entertainment.
But even I was taken aback by how exorbitant the prices were.
‘If I’d put this on the company card, the accounting department might’ve strangled me.’
“…Strawberry ju— Ah, no, wait a moment.”
My commoner instincts had nearly made me order the cheapest fruit juice before I caught myself, when a deep voice spoke up.
“Master Ban, it’s been a long time.”
He wore a handsome butler’s uniform.
He seemed to be the manager.
Naturally, the manager of the most expensive tavern around was overflowing with refinement, and I found myself flinching.
‘…Don’t let him intimidate you. I’m a diamond spoon now, too.’
I cleared my throat and spoke.
“Yes, good to see you. Could you bring me a bottle of Tears of the Ice Dragon?”
“…Tears of the Ice Dragon, sir?”
A staggering six thousand pena.
The price of the wine was equivalent to three years’ earnings for an ordinary commoner family.
Even a noble might hesitate at that price.
“I’m sorry. His Grace the Duke gave strict instructions that we are no longer to serve expensive liquor to you, so we can’t put it on your tab.”
“Don’t worry. I have a friend who’ll cover the cost today. Balik will be here.”
“…Professor Balik?”
“That’s right.”
The manager looked suspicious.
I met his gaze with an equally confident expression.
Though the price had briefly intimidated me,
I had enough experience to deal with a mere manager.
The Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma came to my aid, and an intense pressure entered my voice.
“You might want to take a little more care with your expression. If this really is the finest restaurant in the Empire, that is.”
“!!”
The manager’s face showed that he’d just realized his mistake.
No matter how much of a delinquent I was, openly looking at me with suspicion was rude.
“…You’ve changed.”
“I’ve merely regained the refinement I always possessed.”
The manager bowed respectfully.
“I’ll bring the Tears of the Ice Dragon.”
Once we were alone, Hans looked horrified.
“What will you do if Professor Balik doesn’t come?”
“He’ll come.”
…To be honest, I was a little worried, too.
If things didn’t go according to plan, I’d be saddled with a six-thousand-pena debt before I’d even started teaching.
But I thought Balik would come.
‘If the Balik I know is anything to go by, he wouldn’t pass up such a wonderful chance to insult Ban.’
And sure enough—
Before I’d even finished my first glass, I heard someone’s voice.
“Haha! Who’s this? Isn’t it my friend Ban? How long has it been? Good to see you!!”
His greeting was loud and jovial, but his eyes were cold.
It was Balik.
The Ban Ecclesia I’d possessed was a peculiar character.
He was an extra who had absolutely no effect on the scenario, yet somehow he was entangled with a lot of characters.
And not in a good way.
‘You could say he was everyone’s bad blood.’
Balik was one of them.
‘Apparently, he’d been jealous of Ban, the direct heir of the Ducal House, and had quietly bullied him behind his back when they were students.’
Well, that past didn’t matter much.
What mattered was getting Balik to act according to my plan.
“Do you know how surprised I was when I heard the news? A professorship, of all things! That’s my friend Ban for you! It’s just like you to still have no idea what you’re capable of.”
He was blatantly needling me while pretending to be friendly.
The fact that he didn’t even bother to soften the jab first was probably because he looked down on Ban that much.
“But did I say I’d pay for this Tears of the Ice Dragon? What kind of nonsense is that…?”
“If it’s too much for you, that’s fine. Even if you are of the Rapalt Ducal House’s blood, you’re only from a distant branch. It must be difficult for you to pay such a large sum. I’ll graciously understand.”
“!!”
Nice one, Black Flame Dragon.
Even I was getting angry just listening to him. Balik’s face stiffened.
It was exactly the sort of thing that would get under his skin and touch on his inferiority complex.
“…Have you said all you have to say?”
He seemed especially furious that I, whom he had looked down on, had dared to provoke him.
“I truly don’t understand what Duke Huam was thinking. Making you take the professor appointment exam? He’s still in the prime of his life, so it’s not as though he’s senile. Does the Ecclesia Ducal House have no sense of honor?”
Bingo.
He’d taken the bait sooner than I expected.
I deliberately rose from my seat with a rough movement.
“May I take what you just said as an insult to the Ecclesia Ducal House?”
“…What?”
“We have plenty of witnesses, after all.”
Belatedly realizing his mistake, Balik looked around.
Everyone had been listening to our conversation with keen interest.
Dien was an expensive tavern.
Everyone here was a noble, influential merchant, or prominent figure, so there was no way to silence them.
“I-I didn’t mean it that way…”
“That will be for the court to decide. We do have some history together, so I’ll make a special request to my father and won’t petty-mindedly demand compensation. But do prepare for a Duel. A knight of my family will come by soon with a white glove.”
Balik’s face went white.
His crime was insulting a family.
In noble society, where honor was prized, that was no trivial offense.
What was especially frightening was that the person who had been insulted could challenge the other party to a “Duel.”
Balik was now in a position where he had to Duel a knight of the Ecclesia Ducal House.
“W-wait a moment. I, I…”
“I’m sorry. My father never thought well of you to begin with. I doubt he’ll listen to me. Come on, Hans. Let’s go.”
As I started to leave, Balik hurriedly grabbed my arm.
“I said it was a misunderstanding, didn’t I?!”
He looked utterly different from the confident way he’d appeared at first.
…He’s gnashing his teeth on the inside.
I shook my head.
Even as he clung to me in a panic, I could sense his resentment beyond his eyes.
It was plain to see that he meant to get through this crisis somehow, then take revenge on me.
That was exactly what I intended.
For me to pass, Balik has to go as far overboard as possible and make a scene.
I provoked him even further.
“I have a proposal.”
“What…?”
“Have a ‘Magic Contest’ with me. If you win, I’ll let this go as though it never happened.”
I crooked a finger at him.
“But if I win, you’ll get on your knees here, in front of everyone, and shout, ‘I respect Lord Ban and the Ecclesia Ducal House,’ then repent for your crime.”