Physical (F=ma) Therapist
Physical (F=ma) Therapist
"...Who are you?"
Vermel let it slip without thinking.
But it was a self-defeating move. He wasn't even certain Aether was a possessor, yet he'd blurted it out on a reckless assumption.
Vermel realized his mistake immediately.
─ SYSTEM : 'Black Day Aether' is now extremely wary of you.
'Wait, let's think this through.'
He racked his brain, reviewing every route. It wasn't that the original Aether had no routes where she monitored or tailed the protagonist. Those routes were simply so rare that he hadn't recalled them right away. In fact, the probability of entering such a route was astronomically low.
To Vermel's knowledge, there was only one route in which Aether surveilled him from the start of the term.
'Had she been corrupted before enrollment?'
Indeed. In that route, uncovered by veteran players, there was exactly one prerequisite.
'Corruption.'
Unlike other races, the Gold-Eye Tribe had the concept of 'Corruption.'
It was a special event that triggered when a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe became disillusioned with the human world for some reason and turned their back on it. When that happened, that member of the Gold-Eye Tribe would leave humanity's side and obstruct the protagonist's party in some fashion.
Once a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe had left humanity's side, winning them back was difficult. Not outright impossible, but achieving it was arguably harder than just killing the Demon King and watching the ending. Swaying a corrupted member of the Gold-Eye Tribe back to the protagonist's side demanded effort beyond imagination.
'Of all things, before I even got here... No, it's not certain yet.'
A route where Aether became corrupted before enrollment was extraordinarily rare—probably a one-in-several-hundred-thousand occurrence. If he had landed on that route, his luck was truly rotten.
Vermel thought back. In that route, how had Aether answered when the protagonist asked what he had just asked?
It had been...
—What do I look like to you?
"What do I look like to you?"
'I'm screwed.'
No, 'completely fucked' was more accurate. Vermel barely maintained his poker face as cold sweat began running down his back.
'I can't fall apart here.'
─ SYSTEM : Warning. Current probability of heading toward a Bad Ending: 93%.
He calmed his trembling hands with effort.
The Bad Ending probability wasn't 100% yet. Probability was just that—probability, not an event that had actually occurred. He steadied himself with that thought.
Right. As long as even a sliver of hope remained, he mustn't give up.
He let out a deep breath and spoke the words he'd hastily cobbled together.
"A classmate."
The response was, as expected, cold.
"Then why ask if you already knew?"
Vermel quickly thought up a patch.
"No, I just thought you were amazing. It's my first time seeing one of the Gold-Eye Tribe, too. But what should I say... The way you helped out a classmate with just a few words was cool. I didn't mean anything by the question. Really."
He was rambling. Yet it probably served as a decent excuse.
It wasn't a question asked out of suspicion of her corruption; it was gratitude and admiration for her resolving the situation in his stead. If he steered the conversation in that direction, the suspicion she held toward him would ease a bit.
"Ah, I see."
─ SYSTEM : 'Black Day Aether's mental state has changed to 'Calm.'
He sighed inwardly with relief.
It was a response that only shaved 2% off the Bad Ending probability, but that alone was enough to dodge Aether's further scrutiny. Like a man who'd run into a bear, Vermel slowly backed away while maintaining eye contact with her. Those piercing yellow eyes he'd seen so many times in the game seemed ready to devour him at any moment.
'I'm probably the only person in the world who got traumatized by a VR game.'
Only when Aether nodded, as if to say 'Right, I see,' was Vermel finally able to escape that hellish situation.
'The possibility that Aether is really a possessor...'
─ SYSTEM : Current probability of heading toward a Bad Ending: 93%.
'...can be considered low.'
Just as the system indicated. If Aether followed the same route as the game, the world was doomed. The Demon King would resurrect, and the Arens Continent would become a wasteland where not a single blade of grass could grow. The whole world would be blanketed by a black sky, a Little Ice Age would descend for decades, and even the remaining plants would wither without sunlight.
The chance that she was a possessor was 7%, subtracting the 93% Bad Ending probability from 100%. And if her identical wording to the original Aether was sheer coincidence... then a minimum of hope still remained.
Rather than blindly clinging to that tiny possibility, Vermel resolved to keep every avenue open and take every measure he could. That included tailing and watching Aether for the time being.
He had to do well from now on.
Because if he couldn't overcome the terror he'd experienced in the game here in this reality, nothing would remain at the end.
**
When Vermel asked me, "Who are you?", for a moment I thought I'd misheard.
It was such a random question. Who was I. I was the guy who got dragged to another world while reviewing a 1,300-page thesis. Obviously, I couldn't answer that. Anyone would be dumbfounded by a question like that.
I knew a good trick for times like this. You just throw the question right back at them.
"What do you think I am?"
"A classmate."
The answer that came back was way more anticlimactic than I'd expected. What was this?
"Then why ask if you already knew?"
At that, Vermel's pupils started quaking at high speed. His attempt to salvage the situation was... not impressive, just kind of moronic. Was this guy really a possessor? His coping skills were surprisingly lacking.
Still, judging by how he managed to keep talking, it was more or less plausible.
He at least seemed to know what events would unfold in the future. Starting from tailing Irka, then comparing his reaction when I had a private talk with him after wrapping things up with Irka's parents—the answer was clear.
If Vermel didn't know the future, the sequence of events he'd just experienced couldn't be explained. I'd secured direct evidence of it, too.
This guy was usable.
[Nice. Now you can react flexibly to however the possessor responds.]
I didn't know this world's ending, but as for the rough shape of the future, I could more than read it in Vermel's expressions. Just that was a huge gain.
When an incident occurred, if I checked Vermel's change in expression, it'd be easy to figure out what decision I should make. Even if that choice looked like a short-term loss, from a long-term perspective it would definitely be a gain.
I decided to keep a close eye on Vermel for the time being. Just in case some incident erupted around him and I got dragged into the mess.
**
But I had no idea that the part where I'd get dragged into the mess would arrive so soon.
The prince-bastard with his brain in his dick returned to school. So much for the good days.
Today, Prince Clion didn't mess with me.
I knew the reason why. Vermel probably knew it too.
The prince walked past my desk and headed toward the window seat at the back. He was wearing white ceremonial gloves.
He took off those gloves and flung them at the girl sitting in the back seat.
Thwack. The sound resonated through the classroom. It was absurdly soft compared to everyday noise, but the students focused on that sound.
Everyone, including me and Vermel, fixed their gazes in the prince's direction.
"You've got some nerve. Showing up at school like nothing happened after stabbing me."
"What?"
Only Vermel and I knew the full story. We briefly locked eyes, wary of each other, then looked back toward Clion and Irka.
What was bound to happen finally had.
"Don't play dumb. If it wasn't you who shanked me at the fountain, then who was it?"
"You got proof it was me?"
"Attempting to assassinate the next emperor and acting like nothing's wrong... I'll at least give you credit for sheer audacity."
Clion's stunt was practically self-sabotage.
All the students here were future retainers who'd serve the Imperial Household. Yet, instead of earning their support with worthy conduct, he was pulling crap like this...
Was the empire's fate dying out? Well, if the country was this much of a mess, it wouldn't be strange for a guillotine to make an appearance.
Irka's expression crumpled. She glared daggers at Clion.
"Still hasn't come to his senses and keeps lying...! I confirmed it by asking the Inspectorate to investigate. You'd better confess straight while I'm asking nicely!"
"If I'm really guilty, shouldn't you show some evidence, or at least bring an arrest warrant? You claim you'll be emperor someday; if you don't even know the basics of rule of law, you think these kids here will follow you as your retainers later?"
"Enough, I can't listen to any more... Fine, I'm merciful, so I won't bother with arrests. Instead, I'll settle this with a simple proposal."
"Proposal?"
Clion jabbed a finger at Irka and continued.
"Since you love the rule of law so much, I'm handling this legally. But not through the courts—right here at Tillet!"
"...Are you asking me for a Schoolyard Duel right now?"
A Schoolyard Duel.
The term was grandiose, but it just meant a straight-up brawl on campus.
A duel on academy grounds proceeded entirely within the boundaries of the law. Nominally, it could be incorporated as part of the school curriculum, and since a teacher officiated as referee, there was no worry about anyone dying or getting seriously injured.
Every academy's tradition was that the loser of the duel granted the winner's request. At least no one here was unaware of that.
"Yes. Duel me. If you win, I'll grant whatever you wish. But if I win, you become my concubine. How's that, a fair offer, isn't..."
"No thanks. Why should I?"
"What? You refuse this?"
"There's nothing I particularly want from you. I'd rather you just get lost, honestly."
"F-Fine. Then if you win, I'll stop having any interest in you."
"No, just drop out of school. I can't stand the sight of you."
[Oh-ho. She's going hard against the prince. Does she have something solid to back her up?]
At that moment, Vermel stood up. His face tinged with gray, he strode toward Clion.
"If you want a Schoolyard Duel that badly, I'll accept in her place."
"What's this, elf? You mean to obstruct me again?"
"Not content with the girl from the Gold-Eye Tribe, you're pulling this on the daughter of a viscount—one who'll be navigating state affairs alongside yourself in the future. I simply can't stand by and watch. If Irka permits, I'll be your opponent instead."
I'd forgotten, but Vermel was the top student. A genius who'd scored a high 90 points even on the Practical Exam.
Obviously, there was nothing higher than first place, so by entrance rank alone, Vermel couldn't lose to Clion.
"I refuse. Why should I fight you with zero benefit to myself?"
Maybe that was why. This petty bastard ultimately dodged.
"That's exactly what you just did to Irka."
"No, that and this are different. Eliyev stabbed me..."
"I know Irka never stabbed you, and the second-ranked student knows it. Once the investigation results are overturned soon, all our classmates will know it too—that you staged the whole thing."
"You little...!"
"Come out to the Grand Stadium after class today, Clion. I'll smack that lecherous skull of yours until you regain your senses."
Oh. Would one good whack to the head really set him straight? Since it came from a possessor making such specific claims, it sounded weirdly convincing.
"Now, is that really necessary? I have no reason to fight you in particular... Instead..."
"What are you trying to say now?"
"If that girl from the Gold-Eye Tribe takes Viscount Eliyev's daughter's place, then the story changes."
"What..."
Irka scowled and glared at Clion. The prince shrugged once, flashed a smug grin, and added a few more words. The statement was clearly aimed at me.
"You've got bad blood with me, don't you? You'd have more than enough justification."
"Hah."
I shoved my chair back and stood up.
It wasn't because that remark left me dumbfounded. Quite the opposite—it was exactly what I'd been hoping for.
"I'll face you. If I win, you never mess with me or Irka again. How's that?"
"Quick judgment, befitting a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe. You think it's not a bad offer, then?"
"Sure, works for me."
"However, there's one condition."
"Spit it out."
"Both of us have foul mouths, I see. Anyway, fine. The additional condition is that neither of us uses Mana Cigarettes."
"Wait, that's...!"
Rote, who had been listening from the next seat, bristled. Rote knew, having sparred with me during the entrance exams.
She knew I couldn't use magic without a Mana Cigarette.
It didn't matter. I stepped in front of Rote and twisted my lips.
"So you want to settle this with a bare-knuckle brawl?"
"You can, if you like. But I'll be using magic."
"Ah, will you?"
"Go ahead and try beating me with physical force alone. Though it won't be easy."
I nodded, accepting the prince's proposal. Vermel and Rote's expressions were far from good.
But the one taking this situation more seriously than anyone was Irka. Her future had abruptly been staked on the actions of some random member of the Gold-Eye Tribe.
I gave Irka a brief eye-smile to signal that she had nothing to worry about.
Right now, my head was full of thoughts about legally pulverizing the prince's skull.
"Let's confirm one more time. You're telling me to beat you using only physical means? Without a single stick of Mana Cigarette?"
"You understand well. Don't tell me a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe actually thinks she can defeat me without using magic?"
"I'd say that's entirely possible."
I mean, I happen to be pretty good at physics.