Swift Retribution for Ugly Rumors

Defeating Iris's team to take first place in the group match sent massive shockwaves through Jerion Academy. No one had ever imagined that Iris, widely considered the strongest, would actually lose. Of course, there was plenty of chatter suggesting that our victory was largely thanks to Sharin's presence. However, the topic on everyone's lips was the lightning strike that had brought down the final Apostle, the Thundercrest.

A bolt of lightning striking the arena out of nowhere. Some argued that it made no sense for a mere natural phenomenon to defeat the Thundercrest, but those with keen eyes had caught a fleeting detail. Just a moment before the lightning struck, I had reached my hand out toward the sky. Thanks to that, a new nickname had stuck to me ever since that day. "Lightning Bastard." What an absolutely brilliant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠naming sense.

"Lightning Sweet Potato!"

And there was one more person whose nickname for me had changed. The moment I walked into the classroom, I saw Seron waving her hand vigorously at me. A bright, radiant smile bloomed across her face. In all my life, I had never seen her smile so warmly.

"Why are you smiling like that? It's creeping me out."

"Hehehe."

Even when I snapped at her as usual, Seron couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

"Of course I'm smiling! My allowance got doubled!"

That much? Well, she certainly had a reason to smile.

"Then you're buying today."

"Heh, fine! The cutest girl in the world, Lady Seron, shall treat you!"

She had tacked on a bizarre modifier, but since she was offering to pay, I didn't object. You have to treat your benefactor with respect.

"Oh, by the way, Lightning Sweet Potato. My dad said he wants to have a chat with you sometime."

Just as I was pondering what to ask her to buy me, Seron dropped an unexpected bombshell.

"Your father? Me? Why?"

"No idea. Maybe he wants to give you some pocket money since we did so well as teammates in the group match."

Seron shrugged, clearly as clueless as I was. I recalled her father, who had come to watch the group match. He was the kind of father who held up a cheering banner and rooted for his daughter with everything he had—a textbook doting dad. For some reason, a bad premonition crept over me. He couldn't have made some ridiculous misunderstanding, could he?

"Seron, the next time you see your father, make sure to tell him you don't even see me as a man."

"Huh? Is the Lightning Sweet Potato actually a girl then? Should I start calling you Princess Sweet Potato instead?"

This idiot clearly had no grasp of the gravity of the situation.

"You."

As I was contemplating exactly how to flick her forehead to make it hurt the most, a voice drifted over from behind me. I hadn't expected her to initiate a conversation, so I turned around with a look of genuine surprise.

"Isabel."

Isabel had called out to me first, right here in the classroom. Naturally, the eyes of our classmates gravitated toward us. Since Isabel and I clashed whenever we spoke, everyone looked tense, expecting another fight to break out. However, Isabel simply looked at me, keeping her emotions carefully in check.

"I lost this time."

Unlike before, her eyes burned with a fierce, intense light. "…But I won't lose next time."

Isabel's team had finished with a time of 38 minutes and 23 seconds, ranking third overall among the second-years. Considering some teams hadn't even managed to reach the tenth Apostle, it was an incredible achievement. Yet, Isabel wasn't satisfied in the slightest. I, her rival, was ahead of her. I could feel the bright, burning passion swirling in her eyes.

Slowly but surely.

Isabel was undoubtedly moving forward, step by step. One day, when she finally stepped out from the shadow of Lucas and smiled as brightly as she used to, she would no longer have any need for me. And I looked forward to that day more than anyone.

"A-Are you smiling?"

Hearing her words, I realized a moment too late that I was indeed smiling. I touched my face and found the corners of my mouth curved upward. Picturing Isabel's future must have brought a genuine smile to my lips without me realizing it. Isabel stared at me with a dazed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expression.

"Yeah, I'm smiling." I pulled the corners of my lips up even higher. "I'm mocking you. You'll never beat me."

For now, I had to remain her rival.

Isabel stared at me for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. "Always so mean." She turned around. "But it's just like you."

With that, she walked away. For some reason, she didn't seem as upset as she usually did.

Is she getting used to my provocations? Maybe I needed to research better ways to provoke her. With that thought, I returned to my usual seat.

Seating was generally free, but the students in the Martial Arts department went out of their way to avoid the seats Seron and I always occupied. It felt as if we had designated seats.

As I sat down, I noticed something sticking out from inside the desk drawer. Tilting my head in curiosity, I slid it out. It was a letter. Did someone leave this here by mistake?

"What's that? A letter?" Seron, who had followed me over, asked with a puzzled look.

"I don't know either."

Since this was the seat I always used, it was highly unlikely someone had placed it here by mistake. I flipped the envelope over, and my eyes narrowed as I read the writing on the back. Written there in clear script was the name 'Hanon Airey.' It was definitely addressed to me.

"W-Wait, what is that? Is it a love letter?" Seron stared at me, flustered. I was just as baffled. I never imagined that someone called the "Lightning Bastard" would ever receive a love letter.

Well, Hanon's original appearance isn't bad. He wasn't born of ducal blood for nothing. Perhaps someone had fallen for me after seeing my performance in the group match.

"…Seriously, why?" Seron muttered, only to get a sharp flick to her forehead. Clutching her stinging forehead, she eagerly urged me to open the letter. While I wasn't thrilled about reading a potentially heartfelt letter with her breathing down my neck, I was too curious to leave it unopened.

I tore the envelope open to find a single sheet of paper inside. It was a request to meet at the Sky Garden during lunchtime. Since the Sky Garden was on the rooftop, it was usually deserted during lunch. It was a clear invitation to speak in private.

"What are you going to do?" Seron asked quietly.

"I have to go." I had received the letter, after all. Whoever wrote it, if they were in the Martial Arts class, they probably saw me reading it. It would be rude not to show up.

"Sigh, I guess I won't be able to hang out with the Lightning Sweet Potato anymore," Seron muttered to herself, looking thoroughly dejected. What was she talking about?

"I mean, obviously. If you get a girlfriend, she'll definitely get jealous seeing me hanging around you all the time. I have absolutely no desire to get dragged into some messy love triangle." I tilted my head. What on earth was she talking about?

"Why would my girlfriend be jealous of you, Seron?"

"Are you stupid? Of course a girlfriend would get jealous seeing another girl hanging around her boyfriend..." Seron's eyebrows furrowed. Ah, did she finally realize what I meant?

"I'm not treating you today."

"Of course she'd get jealous! Absolutely!" My benefactor's mood had soured.

"And you don't need to worry about that. Even if they confess, I have no intention of dating them."

"You should be grateful someone is even willing to confess to you. Why not?"

"I'm in no position to date anyone right now." I was sorry, but I didn't have the luxury. Forget romance; just navigating the main scenario was overwhelming enough.

"Hmph. Well, that's better for me, so I don't care." Had she really grown that comfortable around me? I was starting to worry about Seron's rapidly deteriorating social skills.

After the morning classes ended, I sent Seron off to have lunch with Card. She looked disgusted by the idea, but she didn't have anyone else to eat with anyway. After watching the two of them bicker as they walked away, I headed toward the Sky Garden.

To be honest, I was quite curious about who had left the letter. Is it someone I know? Lost in thought, I climbed the stairs until the door to the Sky Garden came into view. True to lunchtime, it was incredibly quiet beyond the door.

Creeeak—

The door swung open with a heavy groan. Peering inside, I saw someone standing in the distance. For some reason, their back looked strangely familiar. It was the absolute last person I expected to see.

"You came."

Short, cropped brown hair. Rings cluttering his fingers. A sharp, ill-tempered gaze. The runner-up of the second-year Magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Engineering department. Dorara Korazin.

In other words... a guy.

I stared at him in silence, then quietly turned around and closed the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?!"

Startled, Dorara rushed forward and grabbed the door. Trying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to match strength with me? It was time to show him the fruits of my training under Aisha. As I forced the door shut, Dorara was dragged along with it. He let out an irritated shout.

"Why are you running away?!"

"Sorry, but I have absolutely no interest in men. I respect your preferences, but please leave me out of them."

"Are you insane?! What kind of bullshit is that?!" He glared at me as the realization of what I had said finally sunk in. "Damn it! I like girls too! Who would ever want someone like you?!"

"Then why did you leave such a suggestive letter in my desk?"

"Damn it, I just wanted to call you out so we could talk!"

"Talk about what?" Dorara and I had absolutely no connection. As I eyed him suspiciously, he huffed in frustration.

"I've been waiting here to tell you exactly that!"

Fair enough. I yanked the door open, and the sudden release of force sent Dorara tumbling onto the floor. Being a magic student, his pride seemed slightly wounded by losing a test of physical strength to me, but he brushed off his pants and stood up, begrudgingly accepting it.

"What do you want?" My mood had completely soured. I shouldn't have come. I just wanted to go grab some lunch.

Dorara let out a breath and asked, "What's your relationship with Sharin?"

"What do you mean, relationship?"

"First the group match, and now you're constantly hanging around Sharin in the evenings."

I had moved in secret to avoid even Isabel's notice. How on earth had he managed to find out?

"We're friends." I paused, tilting my head. "Wait, are we?"

"…Why do you sound like you don't even know yourself?"

My relationship with Sharin was too ambiguous to be called a friendship. After all, our alliance was built on a transaction involving Isabel. Since Sharin was incredibly whimsical, it was highly likely she was only helping me out of pure amusement. I honestly couldn't say for sure.

"Whew, right. You're not even friends. Well, it's not like a girl like her would ever have friends anyway." A sharp, bitter remark slipped from Dorara's lips. He made no effort to hide his disdain for Sharin.

"Fine. Then I have nothing more to say to you."

"Just tell me why you called me here." Now I was actually curious. When I asked what his purpose was, Dorara glanced at me. Slowly, a smirk spread across his face—one laced with a strange, venomous malice.

"I just wanted to let you in on a little secret."

"About what?"

"About how filthy that girl's bloodline really is."

Sure enough, the words that came out of his mouth were exactly what I had anticipated.

"Did you know? Her mother was a whore from a brothel. I heard she died of syphilis." Once he started, Dorara couldn't seem to stop himself, spewing the words out in a rush.

"And yet she hides it, living her life while everyone worships her. It's disgusting to watch a filthy bitch who probably spreads syphilis walk around like she's royalty. If you keep hanging around her, you're going to catch—"

And then, Dorara took flight.

To be precise, I drove my fist straight into his jaw.

"Gah!"

Crash!

Dorara rolled violently across the floor. Whether in the game or in reality, he was a consistent, pathetic ball of inferiority.

Since he had absolutely no hope of ever defeating Sharin in magic, he resorted to spreading rumors like this to stroke his own fragile ego. So that's why those rumors about Sharin spread in the game. It was this bastard all along.

"A-Are you insane?! What the hell are you doing?!" Dorara shrieked, trembling as he clutched his dislocated jaw. Seeing how surprisingly tough he was, I rolled my shoulders and cracked my knuckles.

"Nothing much."

Crack.

I loosened my grip. "It's just that, seeing how you felt comfortable calling me out for such useless garbage, I realized my bad reputation must not be as fearsome as I thought."

My notoriety at Jerion Academy was quite widespread. I was even called the "Lightning Bastard." Naturally, there had been plenty of people who tried to pick fights with me. As long as they didn't cross the line, I usually let it slide, but the moment they did, I made sure to crush them completely. Since then, I had made quite a name for myself and was now an official member of the student council. Consequently, people had stopped trying to provoke me lately.

"I guess it's time to beat down the runner-up of Magic Engineering and spread my reputation a bit further."

Let's see what fighting a mage is like.