The Wronged Hero
I quickly explained myself to Serena. It was best to clear up unnecessary misunderstandings right away.
"No, it really was because of the election..."
But it didn't work on her.
"I understand everything. I'm fine, so you can go now."
In that moment, she forced a smile at me. It was a rather sorrowful smile. Like the expression of a tragic heroine being forced to part ways with her boyfriend.
She's incredibly beautiful... No, that's not it...!
I tried to refute her immediately. But...
The sound of students returning filled the air. On top of that, I could feel the Hero's presence approaching.
With an expression that said I had no choice, I spoke.
"Well... Haah, yes. I understand."
"Yes... Take care on your way..."
I had to distance myself from her before the Hero could form any strange misunderstandings. I walked away from her with a reluctant look on my face. And she watched me go with an equally sorrowful expression.
"Hic...!"
It was like Romeo and Juliet, only separate. Anyway, I took my seat. And the moment I sat down, the Hero arrived. As usual, he sat beside Serena and spoke to her.
"Serena, nothing happened while I was gone, right?"
"No... Nothing happened..."
"But you look strangely listless."
"You're misunderstanding... It's not like that..."
"Something's off..."
"I said I'm fine...! I'm not bothered at all...! Sob...!"
At that moment, a single tear fell from Serena's eye. It rolled down her cheek. In the end, she couldn't hold it back any longer and burst into tears.
The Hero was flustered in an instant. Anyone would react that way if the girl they liked suddenly started crying. But the problem was...
"H-he really made the Saint cry...!"
"So the rumors on the Study Gallery were true!"
"I can't believe he was actually threatening the Saint...!"
The students who had just returned from break had witnessed the scene. On top of that, the sudden commotion drew the attention of everyone who had been using the community. Naturally, they all saw the Saint in tears. And the flustered Hero sitting right beside her.
The Hero immediately protested.
"N-no, this isn't what it looks like! I didn't make her cry...!!"
"Sob... I'm sorry. I'll step out for a moment."
"S-Serena!"
At that, Serena left her seat entirely. It seemed her emotions had overwhelmed her. And because of this, the students' gazes grew even colder. To anyone watching, it looked as if the Hero had made her cry.
I watched the scene from afar in a daze.
Should I be happy about this...?
It was a strange feeling. Pleasant, yet troublesome...? I couldn't quite put it into words. Of course, I knew exactly how the Hero was feeling.
"N-no! I didn't make her cry!"
He was probably one hundred percent wronged.
***
Before I knew it, only three days remained until the election. And as the days passed, the election grew even more heated.
"Everyone must support Duke Philip! You won't regret it!"
"The Prince is the true heir to the kingdom! Let's all vote for the Prince!"
The Prince and the Duke had even mobilized their subordinates(?). They rallied the Prince's faction and the Noble faction. They shouted loudly throughout the Academy, gathering supporters. And the Hero didn't stay idle either. He went around personally meeting people and appealing for their support.
"Vote for me. You won't regret it."
"W-well..."
The one silver lining was that the Hero's reputation had taken a significant hit. After the incident with the Saint, his image had worsened even further. If not for that, people might have responded to his pleas right away. After all, it was the Hero himself making the request.
Still, was it really necessary for such prominent figures to get personally involved? The entire city of Trier, including the Academy, was in an uproar. If someone didn't know better, they'd think we were electing the mayor of Trier. That was how passionately everyone reacted.
"The Hero has to win, no question."
"No, I hope the Prince wins."
"Obviously the Duke should win!"
Everyone in Trier talked about it whenever they met. Naturally, there wasn't a single person who didn't know about the class representative election. Everyone was watching with interest.
And amid this situation, I wore a deeply troubled expression.
"Who should I pick... This is driving me crazy."
Right now, I was trying to choose a candidate to consolidate votes behind. I had already gathered quite a few votes myself. It was all thanks to the Magic Paper bribes working so well. You could tell just by looking at the community reactions. Quite a few people were speaking favorably of the Mercenary King.
Of course, I had done a bit of manipulation too. I'd created multiple accounts to sway public opinion. Naturally, I made sure every post had a different writing style.
Ahem, this is just standard procedure.
Even without that, the response had been pretty good. Which only made my decision harder.
"Dubalton is definitely out. That leaves Pierre... Haah, I have to make that delinquent the class representative?"
If I unified with Dubalton and Pierre, even the people who were going to vote for me would turn away. Their images were that bad right now. Pierre was still threatening people by selling out his father, and Dubalton was simply unpopular. He was still looking for dwarves to go to brothels with—if he were popular, that would be even stranger.
Unifying with those two was obviously a shortcut to ruin.
Should I just support Lucien or Constantine instead?
Right now, the Elven Princess and the Archmage were the quietest. Of course, they were still campaigning. But compared to the others, their movements were very subdued. You could say they were just taking care of their existing supporters. Still, I knew they had gathered quite a few votes. They were famous figures, after all.
No good! Then first place would be in danger.
But the two of them were too risky. They were basically the same as the Hero, who had a good personality(?). This was getting really complicated.
Then the only option left is the Duke...
I had no idea what that scheming bastard would do if he became class representative. That worried me. But it was also true that there were no other candidates.
While I was lost in thought, a knock came at the door.
Huh? Who could that be?
I'd been so deep in thought that I hadn't even heard the footsteps. With a puzzled expression, I opened the door.
Creak.
And there stood a familiar figure.
"I-I found it...!"
Robin looked like he'd aged ten years. Come to think of it, I'd given him a task. I'd been so focused on the class representative election that I'd forgotten about it, but it was actually quite important.
"You found it?"
"I-I finally found the Magic Paper thief!"
"Oh...!"
A smile spread across my face at the news Robin brought. It had been a while since something pleasant happened.
"Who is it?"
"Well..."
I listened to Robin explain the culprit in detail. And the more I heard, the more I wanted to laugh.
I guess it's better to handle this as the Mercenary King.
Because something had come up that could help with the election. And on top of that, it was an opportunity to improve my reputation.
***
That evening, I visited the Academy cafeteria for the first time in a while. It was my first time going since the conflict with the Hero. Our house already had a kitchen, so there was no real need to go to the cafeteria. But today, I had business there. That was why I'd come.
Creak.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, I felt many eyes turn toward me.
"It's the Mercenary King..."
"I heard the Mercenary King also applied for class representative."
"Can a mercenary really become class representative?"
"Apparently he's doing pretty well."
"Really?"
I could hear the students whispering as they looked at me. I'd always been well-known. Then there was that near knife fight with the Hero here. And recently, I'd applied to be class representative. Most students couldn't help but stare.
Of course, I pretended not to care. I just naturally scooped up some food. After filling my plate, I looked for a place to sit. More accurately, I was looking for a specific person, not just a seat.
Blue hair with weird accessories... Ah, there he is.
Soon, I spotted a group of students. There were about ten of them, all with flashy hairstyles, outfits, and tattoos. In short, they were the Academy's resident delinquents.
"Hey, aren't you gonna eat?"
"You don't want broccoli with my spit in it?"
"W-well... Even so, broccoli with phlegm..."
"Ha! Look at this pathetic bastard talking."
They were currently surrounding one student and tormenting him. Even the Royal Academy was no different from any other place where people lived. There were delinquents here too. However, they never showed themselves when the Saint or the Hero came to the cafeteria. But since the two of them hadn't been visiting lately, the delinquents had crawled out of the woodwork again.
Weak against the strong, strong against the weak.
A textbook delinquent attitude. And I was interested in them. Not because I was overflowing with a sense of justice or anything. I didn't really care about that. What I cared about was the scraps that would fall my way after I crushed them.
I picked up my food and started approaching them. The closer I got, the louder their voices became.
"You bastard, you're asking to die!"
"I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't eat it, you're dead!"
The students frowned at their loud voices. But no one actually said anything. It was partly because they were upperclassmen, but mostly because they were afraid. However, I was different from the other students. I kept walking toward them.
"Ah...!"
"The Mercenary King...!"
Only then did the students realize what was happening. They understood that I was deliberately heading toward the delinquents. Their voices gradually died down. Then they watched with interest.
Soon, I arrived at their table.
"The ten seconds are already up! Get ready to die, you bastard!"
"Hey! Get ready to get stomped!"
They were so worked up that they hadn't even noticed me approaching. I simply walked between them.
"What the fuck?! Who pushed me?!"
"No, what bastard...!"
And then I sat down at the table they were surrounding.
Thud.
Oh, and naturally, I placed my food on the table as well.
"You don't mind if I eat here?"
"What crazy bastard... Y-you're the Mercenary King?!"