A Delightful Case of Insubordination

So this is what they call a delightful case of insubordination?

"Why are you here…?"

That tattoo was familiar and foreign all at once.

I'd played through countless runs of the game, yet the only place I'd ever seen someone bearing that mark was in the art book.

And what that tattoo meant was simple.

That's… the same tattoo the princess of Trahan has.

A design of black roses and thorns.

It was identical to the one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worn by the princess of Trahan, one of the eight nations. Her name was… Elice, was it?

What's she doing here?

Luin Academy was a facility in the Praon Kingdom. Hardly the kind of place where a princess of Trahan—a nation that was practically an enemy—could peacefully go about her school life.

Think. Think it through. Why would Elice, a princess of another country, be at Luin Academy?

I spun every scrap of game lore I had through my head.

…Come to think of it, I remember the atmosphere in Trahan being pretty ugly around now.

Full-scale wars had decreased considerably since Megan Astorius's rise—but that was only full-scale wars.

Assassinations targeting leaders and other key figures of each nation were still ongoing.

And among them all, Trahan was hit especially hard.

Trahan isn't exactly on great terms with the other countries, either.

Trahan was a nation that championed harmony among all races. Humans, demons, and various other species lived there with relatively little discrimination. Of course they did—the king was a demon and the queen was human.

In short, Elice wasn't an ordinary human. She was a half-demon.

She sat in the perfect position to become a public enemy to both sides: human nations that loathed demons, and demon nations that shunned humans.

From here on, pure speculation.

Is she hiding her identity and living at Luin Academy because Trahan is too dangerous?

Living under the identity of Trahan's princess—where simply breathing put you at risk of assassination—would be far less safe than living abroad with your true identity concealed.

Right. I couldn't be sure, but for now I'd assume she'd come to Luin Academy as a refugee, of sorts.

The next question was this:

Why did I never find her when I was playing the game?

She appeared in the art book for Grand Fantasia. In other words, she wasn't some throwaway extra.

A little thought gave me the answer.

Does she die before long?

If a character died before the player ever noticed their existence, they'd never register in the first place.

But then she'd be no different from an extra.

And that wouldn't explain a spot in the art book.

Think about it. There's no way a character who quietly dies without doing anything would take up a full page.

Maybe clearing certain conditions unlocked a route where you could save her?

…I don't know.

Any further ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guessing was pointless right now. I didn't have enough information. I'd have to think it through more carefully later——

"Is someone there? Come on out."

Just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then, Pascal turned toward where I was hiding and demanded it in a threatening tone. He'd sensed my presence.

I had to decide fast. Run, or step out boldly?

Whether the princess of Trahan would end up as an asset or a liability to me was still unclear—but what Pascal was doing right now was nothing but harmful. Definitely not helpful.

I'd hate to get dragged into this and take a loss for nothing.

Right. I'd stop him. For the sake of my peaceful, happy life.

"Haha. I wasn't planning on watching the show, you know."

I stepped out at a leisurely pace, wearing my usual flippant expression.

"Shion? Long time no see. Has it been two weeks? Three? I can't quite remember."

Pascal waved and greeted me warmly.

What? Why was he happy to see me? Shion and Pascal hadn't been close at all.

Pascal was the one the entire family doted on. Shion was the one the entire family despised. They barely had any overlap.

I was still reeling from the unexpected reaction when Pascal flashed a grin and pointed a finger at Elice.

"Perfect timing. You blew off plenty of stress on her last semester too, didn't you? Chloe must've piled the stress on over break—go ahead and work it all out properly today."

I was silent for a beat. Then I roughly grasped how things had been flowing.

Shion, you insane bastard.

Apparently the previous owner of this body had been just as much trash as Pascal.

"Here. Take it."

Pascal casually tossed me a wooden sword that had been lying on the ground.

A light wooden sword stained with someone's blood. I didn't need to be told whose blood it was.

"I don't particularly like you, but for some reason, watching a guy who always just takes the beating turn around and hit someone else… it puts me in a good mood, you know?"

Rambling on, Pascal stepped aside.

And now the one standing in front of Elice was me, wooden sword in hand.

She looked up at me with eyes swirling with fear, hatred, contempt, loathing—every negative emotion imaginable.

Black eyes.

I wasn't especially good at reading people's feelings, but even someone as clumsy as me could tell at a glance what kind of pain she'd suffered because of me, and what kind of emotions she'd been forced to carry.

…This wasn't right.

I made up my mind. I would cleanly sever whatever relationship the old me had with this guy.

"Sir Pascal, do you remember what injuries I inflicted upon this person?"

"You? You just hit her some with your fists and a wooden sword. Nothing weird. Why the sudden questions—aren't you going to blow off some steam? Give her a good thrashing like you used to."

"Yes. I suppose I should."

I nodded at his words and leveled the sword.

"…Haha. Our little Shion. You've gotten a lot more mischievous while I wasn't looking."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was pointing it not at Elice—but at Pascal.

"Hmm. Is it that my expression was simply too clumsy, and so you took my sincerity for a joke? Or could it simply be that Sir Pascal's communication skills are lacking? I recommend some reading."

At my defiance, Pascal stared hard at me for a moment, then tilted his head with what looked like genuine curiosity.

"Hey. You sick or something?"

"Hmm. If you want to get technical about it, I suppose you could say so. I've been suffering from amnesia since three days ago. I've forgotten everything except the truly important things. My apologies for not mentioning it sooner. When I first woke up, I'd even forgotten that a person named Sir Pascal existed at all."

I answered with a playful little chuckle.

"Incidentally, it would seem that before I lost my memories, I was rather fond of committing this kind of garbage alongside Sir Pascal. I have absolutely no recollection of it, and yet my face is burning."

I slipped my left hand into my pocket, cocked my head, and fixed Pascal with a look that was practically a sneer.

"And how about you, Sir Pascal? Does it feel good—being the genius the whole family adores, threatening and beating a junior in some back alley?"

"…What are you trying to say? Stop talking in circles. Are you mocking me?"

"If you can't even understand this much… I suppose reading has its limits as well? It's not too late. How about going home and retaking a basic socialization course? I'll be cheering for you from afar."

"So. Right now, you're making a fool of me. Shion Frelia is making a fool of me, Pascal Frelia?"

"Ahaha. It was nothing but a carefully considered piece of advice, offered out of pure goodwill. I had no intention of offending you—but if the listener finds it unpleasant, then I apologize."

I made a show of apologizing with nothing more than a slight nod and a smirking face.

"In that case, for the sake of Sir Pascal—who was raised without manners and is so terribly clumsy at communicating with others—allow me to specially summarize what I wish to say in the simplest possible terms."

Still smiling, I snapped one eye open.

"Stop this garbage. It would be better for you, and better for our family."

A snake locked eyes with Pascal.

I could faintly sense just how fierce the rage boiling inside Pascal was right now.

"Ara? Why no reaction at all? Don't tell me I need to make it even simpler? It seems I've overestimated Sir Pascal quite badly."

"……"

"To put it even more simply: act your age. You can understand that much, can't you?"

"…Haha. Live long enough and you really do see everything. To think the day would come when the shame of the family—who can't even remember his own mother's face—would talk back to me, clear as day. Extremely unpleasant. If your goal was to ruin my mood, go ahead and congratulate yourself."

Pascal's mouth moved with the expression of a man who'd stepped in dog shit while walking down the street. I could tell exactly how he'd always regarded Shion.

"Ah, then how about this. You want something? Take it yourself. Beat that Magarenil over there in a match, and I'll stop these little diversions just like you want. Sound good? If I sparred with you myself, you might actually die. Even a halfwit like you would get me quite the scolding if I killed you."

"Aha, so that gentleman's name is Magarenil. I'd be delighted."

"Okay. Magarenil, catch. I brought a spare in case one broke—perfect timing."

Pascal tossed a wooden sword from the corner to the male student holding Elice—Magarenil.

"Rough him up appropriately. Make sure he never talks back again."

"Yes, Lord Frelia."

Pascal said it in a whisper, but deliberately loud enough for me to hear every word.

Honestly, with my current physical ability, subduing Magarenil was close to impossible. He was a third-year, after all—unlike me.

But my strength was never limited to something as petty as raw physique.

You think I spent two straight days sparring with Shina for nothing?

I had no confidence. No confidence in losing, that is.

"Ready?"

Magarenil looked at me with the completely untroubled eyes of someone regarding a newborn puppy.

Faced with that smug composure, I fixed my grip on the wooden sword and answered with a smirk of my own.

"Of course. Well then—excuse me!"

My foot slammed into the hard ground and launched me forward.