Chapter 48
Chapter 48
The Witch of Cruelty.
That was the title of the Level Seven witch who had once ruled the eastern continent through fear.
It was an open secret that the duchess had come from the Abyss, the gathering place of the great evils.
“Don’t be absurd. Even if Katrinne was a daughter she gave up without a shred of affection, there’s no way she’d allow anyone to hurt her.”
“Then what about dealing with Ban the Trash? He keeps getting in our way. Isn’t Katrinne’s recent rise to prominence all because of Ban the Trash?”
“That’s asking for even bigger trouble. Have you forgotten what family Ban belongs to?”
“Oh, come on. Did I say we should go after him ourselves? I’m saying we should use the right means to get him expelled from the Academy.”
“I’ve already given Ballas those instructions. But it isn’t enough.”
“That’s because you gave the job to Ballas, that fool who thinks he’s clever. To take care of something like this, you need a scheme.”
“A scheme?”
When the duchess showed interest, her younger brother, Viscount Conrad, twisted the corners of his mouth into a smile.
“There’s a saying: if you want to bring down a strong knight, go after his horse. Just leave it to me. My son has just enrolled at Rubiness Academy as a First-Year Student, so I’ll set a trap.”
The Academy grounds were full of life.
The First-Year Students in particular looked so fresh-faced, brimming with anticipation and excitement.
Since classes hadn’t properly begun yet, they weren’t under much pressure, and this was the time to focus on making friends. The First-Year Students’ faces were filled with nothing but joy.
But there were two people who stood apart from that atmosphere.
Katrinne and Libel.
“…I’m going to the library.”
“Uh… okay.”
“I don’t want to walk with you, so don’t follow me.”
“…I-I won’t follow you. I don’t like you either.”
Katrinne had always been used to being alone.
All her life, her family had treated her like a shadow, as if she weren’t even there.
So she went about her business boldly, without caring that she was alone.
But Libel was a little different.
…I want to make friends.
Libel watched his classmates laughing and chatting together, looking at them with envy.
I wanted to try making friends once I got out of the House.
It wasn’t that Libel had never spent time with people his own age.
There had been people they called “siblings.”
But they had only ever been rivals.
Rivals who killed one another.
It was common to kill someone you’d laughed and talked with the day before. There was no way they could truly share their feelings with one another.
It’s okay. I have Professor Ban.
Libel clutched the new clothes Ban had given him as a present.
It was the first present she’d ever received, so she treasured it too much to wear it.
But I can’t rely only on Professor Ban. Eventually, even Professor Ban will come to hate me.
It was then, as Libel was thinking gloomily, that someone spoke to him.
“Are you Libel?”
“…Y-yeah. Who are you?”
“Nice to meet you! I’m Montero. Viscount Conrad is my father.”
“Ah… a noble. N-nice to meet you.”
As Ban had warned him to do, Libel stumbled through his words and tried to be polite.
“We’re classmates, so you don’t have to be so formal. You’re top of the Magic Faculty, right? I’ve been wanting to get to know you. Do you have a little time?”
“Uh, h-huh? Sure.”
Libel’s eyes widened.
It was the kind of friend event she’d only ever seen in novels!
But why do I sense hostility?
Libel, who was keenly attuned to other people’s feelings, tilted his head at the emotions he sensed from the boy who called himself Montero.
He was smiling, but inside, he was full of hostility.
But because she lacked common sense, she thought:
People are always hating one another, aren’t they? Is that what being friends is like, too?
In the House where Libel had lived, the hostility people felt toward one another was far more chilling than this. That was simply how they treated each other by default.
The boy who called himself Montero led Libel to a secluded spot behind the Academy.
There were more than five boys and girls there.
“Wow? You really came.”
“I heard you were top of the class. Are you stupid or something?”
Libel tilted his head as he watched them snicker at him.
“A-are these people going to be my friends, too?”
“Friends?”
Montero gave a derisive snort.
“You’re more interesting than I thought.”
“Uh… I’m interesting?”
“Yeah, you are.”
“Then will you be my friend?”
Montero nodded.
“Sure. There’s just one condition. Do what I ask.”
“…What is it?”
I’m not good at anything.
Libel grew timid.
The only thing Libel was good at was killing other people.
I-I’m a little good at torture, too. I hope he asks me to do something I can do well.
But then—
“Insult Professor Ban the Trash in front of us.”
“……”
Libel’s face stiffened.
More precisely, it turned cold.
Perhaps he failed to notice the change. Montero continued whispering like a snake.
“Call Professor Ban the biggest son of a bitch in the world. Then we’ll be your friends.”
I was sitting in the research room assigned to me.
Of course, calling it a research room was generous. It was a tiny little hole of a room.
…Looks like Ballas and Kansir got much nicer research rooms. Isn’t this discrimination a little too blatant?
It was petty, but in any case, I’d be the last man standing in the competition for the new Temporary Professor position.
After the others were kicked out, all I had to do was claim the best research room for myself.
Still, the baby dragon seemed to like the little room. It flew around here and there, full of excitement.
—Kkyu!
Yeah, go ahead and fly around as much as you like in here. Once we get home, you’ll have to stay as quiet as an ant because of the noise complaint from the floor below.
But what should I name the little guy? Happy? No, it’s a dragon, so maybe something more elegant, like Patrasche?
As I continued entertaining myself with such pointless thoughts, I let out a sigh.
“…What am I supposed to do with this invitation?”
He had a history with Ban that ran so deep it made me reluctant to meet him, too.
‘Even as a former Sales King, he wasn’t someone I could handle easily.’
It was a matter of clashing personalities.
‘There’s a reason they call him Ban Trash’s natural enemy.’
His background was every bit as formidable as Ban’s, too.
“…For now, I should focus on my magical research. My duties as a professor come before any personal meeting.”
I needed to think about how to make use of the Chaos I’d acquired not long ago.
But just then, the door to my cramped little room—no, my office—flew open.
“Senior Ban, it’s terrible!”
“What happened?”
At the words that followed, my face stiffened.
“Katrinne’s beating up the students!”
I hurried to the Director’s office, where Katrinne and the injured students had apparently been summoned.
‘Why would Katrinne…?’
No matter how rough around the edges Katrinne’s personality was, she wasn’t the kind of girl to throw punches without a reason.
I found out the reason soon enough.
‘Libel.’
I swallowed a groan.
Libel stood in the corner, his face a complete mess.
‘She must have stepped in after seeing Libel get beaten.’
The injured students—or rather, the students who had assaulted Libel—protested indignantly.
“That filthy beggar hit us first!”
“We’re the victims here, too!”
“No… I-I didn’t hit anyone,” Libel stammered.
It had to be the truth.
Libel was so pure-hearted that he hardly ever lied.
“Where does a filthy beggar get off lying!”
“Lady Katrinne, apologize to us! Or are you taking the beggar’s side because you were born with dirty blood?!”
Katrinne ground her teeth.
She was so angry that even the polite speech she habitually used came out half mixed with profanity.
“Montero, you little shit. I saw you pressuring them to insult Professor Ban!”
“Hmph. Do you have proof?”
Montero, the ringleader of the incident, was a student I knew, too.
Along with his father, Viscount Conrad, he was a wicked bastard with an evil heart.
“Coming from a lady who’s worth less than a commoner.”
Montero and the other students snickered derisively.
“I won’t let you get away with this.”
Just as Katrinne was about to lash out again—
“Now, now. This is quite a predicament. Violence among students is a serious offense that can even lead to expulsion.”
It was Director Karak!
He stroked his chin as he looked over the students, then delivered a bombshell.
“Oh-ho-ho. I’ve heard the general outline of what happened. Student Katrinne will likely face either an indefinite suspension or expulsion, and Student Libel will receive a short suspension as well.”
It was absurd.
“…These students were the ones who started it.”
“Do you have proof? If you feel that this is unjust, you may appeal to the Board of Directors, but they’ll reach the same judgment.”
Proof wasn’t the issue.
They were the children of nobles.
Libel’s circumstances went without saying, and Katrinne had fallen out of favor with the ducal house, too.
“Still, the adjustment period isn’t over yet, and I’m uneasy about imposing such severe punishments. What do you think we should do, Professor Ban?”
Director Karak smiled.
He was giving me a chance to save the two of them.
At the same time, he was testing me.
To see what I would do in a situation like this.
“……”
For an instant, anger surged up inside me.
But I held it back.
First, I had to make sure Katrinne and Libel weren’t punished.
“I’ll take responsibility for this as their supervising professor.”
“And how do you intend to take responsibility?”
“I give you my name, Ban Ecclesia: I will handle the ‘aftermath’ properly—‘perfectly.’ So please show them leniency.”
“Hmm.”
Director Karak stared intently at me, and I did not avert my gaze.
Had he read something in my steady eyes?
A weighty silence settled over us for a moment.
“Heh heh. Very well. Since Professor Ban is putting it that strongly, I’ll hold off on punishing the two of them.”
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. Just make sure you handle the ‘aftermath’ properly. I’ll be expecting results.”
Director Karak left with a meaningful smile, and the offending students swaggered out, their confidence restored.
Only Katrinne, Libel, and I remained.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Libel, what are you sorry for?”
“I-it’s just… it’s all because of me…”
I sighed.
“Why did you just put up with it?”
“…Y-you told me to hold back if a fight broke out, Professor. I didn’t want to cause you trouble.”
“……”
When I fell silent, Libel watched my face anxiously.
“I-I could bear it, too. It didn’t hurt much. I’m used to getting beaten up, anyway…”
His entire body was a mess, but Libel really did look as though this was nothing worth worrying about.
Considering her ‘past,’ this much must indeed have seemed like a trivial matter.
“Of c-course, I wasn’t planning to just keep putting up with it. Later… I was going to pay them back. In my own way.”
Libel’s way.
It wouldn’t be like a childish fistfight.
‘One of the causes of a bad ending is Libel crippling a student and getting expelled.’
I sighed.
“Enough. Leave what happens from here on to me.”
“…What are you going to do?”
“Aren’t you two angry about this?”
“……”
They both fell silent.
“I’m angry. And I’m upset.”
“But there’s nothing we can do, is there? We don’t have any power.”
“You don’t. But I do.”
The two of them stared at me blankly.
“Don’t forget. You’re my students, and I’m your professor. As long as you’re beneath my shadow, I won’t let anyone lay a hand on you.”
They were both people I was supposed to avoid, but it seemed I’d grown rather attached to them.
Just look at how angry I am.
So I did something I normally never would have done.
“They’ll pay for this.”
When I returned to my office, I wrote a reply to the invitation from the mayor of the Free City, which I had been putting off.
For reference, the name of the mayor written on the invitation was:
—Mariam Ecclesia
She was ‘Ban’s’ sister.