Disciplinary Committee (1)
Disciplinary Committee (1)
[ Kirtos Anonymous Board ]
[ Title ] Today's the disciplinary hearing for our gallery lord.
[ Content ]
The anonymous board's gallery lord got hauled into a disciplinary hearing today. Reason? Suicide threats. Victims? Sharon and a few others, apparently. For real, the gallery lord never stops churning out the drama bait. My heart swells with awe, honestly.
[ Comments ]
— Just got back after a while. How did Ian end up as the gallery lord?
└ You missed the rank assessment ceremony, didn't you?
└ [moving image] Watch this. It's insane, seriously.
└ Whoa, that's insane. What skill even is that? ddddd
— Turns out our gallery lord was a romantic. Basically said, if you won't have me, I'd rather die.
└ Quit trying to glorify the gallery lord lololol
└ Honestly, I feel like there's some backstory to it.
— Isn't Ian better than Sharon, that water-rocket who can't even use mana without a sword?
└ Calling a 4.5-star a water-rocket lololol you crazy bastard lololol
└ Don't insult Lady Sharon. I'm reporting this.
└ The Sharon squad is swarming in again
└ Looking at their growth rates, Ian will probably catch up soon, won't he?
— Wow, so many lunatics up there. Did you all just collectively forget what kind of scumbag Ian was? Absolute worst of the worst. (deleted post)
└ OP, you some kind of shill? Lately, rumors are going around that Raymond Trading Company got caught planting shills on the board...
└ Wasn't it your Laurent Trading Company that planted the shills? (deleted comment)
└ lololol look at that "your" — total shill.
— The Ian drama is the most entertaining thing going these days, right?
└ I've never seen the Kirtos anonymous board this active
└ Is the gallery lord your buddy? Show some respect.
└ Everyone who'd suck up to Ian in real life just gets called a lunatic, so they all swarm the anonymous board lololol
— Can't wait for the hearing results.
└ If the results are good, he'll seriously be the academy's gallery lord in reality, not just on the anonymous board lolol
└ Honestly, the moment a hearing is convened, some kind of punishment is basically guaranteed. Even walking away with something like Rina's penalty would be a major save.
◆
Like any prestigious academy,
Lichten Academy's Disciplinary Committee was notorious for handing down harsh sentences.
The academy guaranteed its students maximum freedom, but the committee was convened only when a serious line had been crossed.
Thus, once a disciplinary hearing was opened, avoiding severe punishment was practically impossible.
The fact that Rina Rosewell's penalty had been so controversial — the lightest in Lichten's disciplinary history — was proof enough of that.
'So in my case, the default is expulsion.'
I had to avoid expulsion.
It would mean missing the entire flow of the main story — a death sentence, effectively.
The upcoming main story alone was proof of that.
Even the prerequisite for intervening in Chapter 2, 'The Frost-Laden River,' required me to still be an academy student.
"Hoo."
Ian let out a small sigh.
A puff of white breath clouded his vision before fading away.
The basement of Lichten Academy's main building.
The air in this place, forbidden to well-behaved students, was cold and stale.
The waiting room, decorated with various metals, exuded a chill and an oppressive atmosphere.
Compared to Lichten Academy's usual interior design — nature-friendly and elegant — the intention of the architect who designed this space was instantly palpable.
[ Accused Entrance ]
Through the iron door, the murmuring voices of professors exchanging opinions occasionally leaked out.
Most likely about what degree of punishment would be appropriate.
'A wasted effort.'
With a relaxed face, Ian organized the arguments he had prepared.
He'd prepared to the best of his ability.
Now, it was just a matter of waiting until he was called.
He'd more or less reached that conclusion.
"Are you Ian?"
A woman's voice rang out.
She looked to be in her early-to-mid-thirties.
Her face was pretty enough, but there was a venomous cast to it.
Clatter.
Unlike the long sword at her hip, her clothes were luxurious, producing a soft rustle.
A knight, perhaps?
A lavish and somewhat cloying perfume scent reached his nose.
"Aran Altisichi. A lead knight of the Crimson Flame Knight Order."
Ian flinched.
The Crimson Flame Knight Order was one of the empire's two great orders.
A lead knight held considerable authority in that position.
A woman who, contrary to her impression, could smile brightly. That sight triggered a strange sense of déjà vu. She reminds me of someone...
"And I'm Yulan's older sister. You can think of me as being here in the role of Sharon Pierce's guardian today."
Yulan.
That Blood Rock sect bastard who'd been on his team recently.
Only then did Ian recognize the identity behind that bright yet unsettling smile.
'...High probability she's a Blood Rock cultist.'
So the Blood Rock Sect was extending its influence even into the Crimson Flame Knight Order.
'It's shocking, but is it really all that surprising?'
Thinking about the figures he'd face in the next scenario, most of it made sense.
He'd deal with that issue when the time came.
For now, Ian's mind spun rapidly.
The reason someone like her would be here.
It made no sense unless she'd been sent by Sharon Pierce.
In other words, this woman was a card chosen by the Pierce faction to put pressure on the committee.
'I didn't expect them to call in someone of this caliber.'
Should he poke her a little?
He needed an opening to create a variable.
After a moment's thought, Ian bowed his head respectfully to Aran.
"I'm Ian. I've heard much about the Crimson Flame Knight Order's reputation."
Aran's eyes widened.
She probably hadn't expected this approach.
Ian had simply taken this action to extract the main point from her quickly. She'd be used to dealing with underlings.
"Hm? Contrary to what I'd heard, you seem like a reasonable young man. You have manners."
Hoho—
Aran let out a contrived laugh.
She continued speaking.
"I'm quite a busy person myself, so I won't beat around the bush."
"Please, speak."
"Ian. I want you to admit your wrongdoing as is. You know what that means, don't you?"
"......"
"Oh dear. Don't make such a scary face. At worst, it's just expulsion, isn't it?"
"And what do I get out of it?"
Fufu— letting out an elegant laugh, Aran spoke.
"In exchange, we'll take you on as a probationary member of the Crimson Flame Knight Order. We treat our mages very well, you know. Or there's a guild I'm well-acquainted with. With a recommendation letter from a lead knight of the Crimson Flame Order, there won't be a single door that's hard to open. Think carefully. It's a path you'd eventually have to take even after graduating from the academy; I'm simply letting you arrive there faster."
Oh, and—
Taking a step closer, Aran whispered.
"Of course, I can also give you money, if you want. Enough that you wouldn't be able to earn it in several years."
There it was.
Blood Rock cultists could never help being Blood Rock cultists.
On the surface, it was a slick offer, but the moment he nodded, all initiative would pass to the other party.
They lure you in with sweet words, then trap you in a snare you can't escape.
A smirk escaped Ian before he could stop himself.
Aran bristled.
"...Did you just laugh?"
"Sorry. Couldn't help it."
"You. Do you know what kind of place the Crimson Flame Knight Order is?"
Crimson Flame Knight Order, whatever.
In my situation, getting expelled from the academy meant death.
"Is that so? I thought it was a fairly successful knight order, but looking at it now, I doubt it."
"Wh-what?!"
"It's an order that has a woman like you, old lady, as a lead knight."
"Wha— what did you just...!"
"Oh. Didn't you hear me? Old lady."
"You—!"
Aran's face swelled up, turning an immense shade of red.
For a time, only noises like h-he, ha, huff came from her.
To lose her composure over a provocation this mild.
He had her measure now.
'Seems like the type who climbed the ranks through politics rather than skill.'
Aran trembled for a long moment before forcing out words with difficulty.
"You really are the child of a ruined family. No proper upbringing, so no manners. I honestly don't see what that person sees in you. An insufferable brat like this."
Hm.
So she'd dug into his background too.
A sudden chill ran down Ian's spine.
'Why are these people so interested in me?'
Aran Altisichi.
A knight under the influence of the Pierce family, and simultaneously a Blood Rock cultist.
Thinking carefully, the 'Pongpongi' whose body Ian possessed had also been fated to throw himself into the Blood Rock Sect eventually.
That fate had shifted slightly with Ian's possession, but from Yulan onward, the Blood Rock Sect's interest had been incessantly focused on him.
Looking back, they had all tried to reel Ian in.
'...Does that mean they have no intention of killing me?'
Coincidentally, the woman before him was raging.
To her, Ian coldly opened his mouth.
"A woman who is no doubt just a lapdog to the head of the Pierce family. Judging by your waning charm, you've probably been discarded and relegated to menial tasks?"
"You!!"
A high-pitched shriek, as if tearing through the air.
Aran closed the distance instantly.
The cloying scent of her expensive perfume stung his nose.
"You. Do you think you're still walking around with your head attached because you're so talented? If it weren't for that person, you'd be finished already. Prepare yourself properly. I'll make sure you're not just expelled, but utterly, completely ruined... I'll do whatever it takes...!"
So she wouldn't even draw her sword despite this level of humiliation.
At this point, he was genuinely curious.
Which person in the Blood Rock Sect had taken such an interest in him?
It was a question with no answer, at least for now.
He had shattered the composure of the woman named Aran in front of him. That was enough.
There were plenty of professors here who already despised imperial authority. A knight of the empire who had lost her cool, now acting high-handed?
"I look forward to seeing what you'll show me. Oh. And the spectator entrance is that way. It's dark, so mind your step."
Getting under people's skin was Ian's specialty.
◆
The Disciplinary Committee hearing room.
Seven committee seats were arranged oppressively in a semicircle.
Below them, surrounded at the center, sat the interrogation chair.
The proceedings here would follow this order:
Victim testimony.
Interrogation of the accused.
Then a vote and ruling by the seven committee members.
The victim testimony hadn't started yet.
The professors who would serve as disciplinary committee members were already settled into the seven seats.
Among them, the most conspicuous was, naturally, Professor Violet, instructor of the Magic Faculty's Major Class.
Long, softly cascading purple hair fell past her shoulders. Beautiful lashes and subtle violet eyes. And long legs.
In contrast to her beautiful appearance, her personality was as unbridled and direct as was only proper for a mage.
Professor Violet's mood was deeply displeased.
The reason was one professor's voice, full of blubber.
"...It is simply unacceptable that such an incident has occurred at Lichten Academy, the continent's most prestigious institution, and against such fair, delicate students besides. As it is, these days women's rights are under..."
Professor Todd Cam of Black Sorcery Defense, puffing himself up as if he were the committee chairman. His toad-like face wobbled with every word he spat out.
'Hoo...'
Violet let out a long sigh.
Her reason for disliking Todd Cam was simple enough.
'Because he's a stooge for the Raymond Trading Company.'
Todd Cam reeked of that stench unique to corrupt men. Violet, who had a partial elven bloodline, could perceive it.
Because of that, she was certain.
'There's no way Ian could have done this.'
He had been a gloomy child, yes.
But his personality was straightforward.
He had the tenacity to get back up even after colliding with something and falling.
'Though admittedly, it wasn't in a good way...'
After the suicide incident, he had become nearly flawless.
The performances Ian had shown since then truly shone like rough gemstones. Enough for Violet to want to personally put in the effort to polish and cut them.
'He even mastered a translocation technique using earth-based elements.'
It meant he knew how to put in grueling effort.
That kind of child had threatened suicide just because some girls wouldn't date him?
'It doesn't add up.'
Besides, the attitude of the so-called 'victims' was suspicious.
At least two of the committee members were professors from Emilia Raymond's faction.
And among the spectators, it was clear that the 'bishop' of the Deus Order's Lichten branch was lending his support to Saintess Candidate Aria, while the knight from the Crimson Flame Order was backing Sharon Pierce.
A lineup of celebrities that bordered on excessive.
Honestly, just looking at their faces, one could believe this was a witch trial.
There was something suspicious about the 'victims'' impatience.
Therefore, Violet had made up her mind.
She would actively defend Ian.
To be frank, the talent he possessed was simply too tempting, so she intended to defend him even if he were guilty.
Seven professors on the disciplinary committee.
Among them, the only certain allies for Ian were herself and Professor Susie Dismal of Clinical Magic. That made two.
'Ian had better have come prepared...'
As Professor Violet rested her chin on her long fingers, lost in thought.
— Screeeeech
The hearing room door opened and someone entered.
"Sharon Pierce."
The victim of the incident had appeared.
The formal disciplinary committee hearing had begun.