Chapter 16 – Back in My Day (6)
“…”
At the entrance of the general dormitory, reserved for first-year students, countless students were now passing by, carefully watching their surroundings and keeping their mouths shut.
They had no choice, for someone who shouldn’t have been there was openly standing at that very spot.
And she was standing there with her arms crossed, her face hardened, as if in a very bad mood.
Naturally, no one dared to approach her. Even the dorm supervisor, who was a figure of terror to the students and an alumna of this very place, was no exception.
‘Lassian.’
The person responsible for this ice-thin atmosphere, she herself, glared down the hallway, muttering only someone’s name.
Her name, with her neatly cascading brilliant blonde hair and striking blue eyes, was Lizel Rotten von Eisenberg.
She was a second-year magic student, a member of the Aristocratic Council, the student body, and the third daughter of the Eisenberg family, one of only three marquis families in the Empire.
Even if the boundaries between nobles and commoners had blurred recently, and this trend was even more pronounced at the academy, no one in this general dormitory, where commoner students resided, dared to say anything to her.
“Someone as knowledgeable as you, and as noble, why are you specifically waiting here?”
“…Are you Lassian?”
Finally, the person she had been waiting for appeared before her. A black-haired boy who drew everyone’s attention.
Having heard the news and reluctantly come, Lassian gave a bitter smile at the sight of her waiting.
“I heard that you passed the Headmaster’s test in swordsmanship and received bonus points.”
“Whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate, you heard correctly, without a single mistake. Shall we move somewhere else first?”
“H-How was that even possible? Young Master Bern, who took swordsmanship with you…”
As Lassian walked past her and straight out, a startled Lizel unconsciously hurried after him, pouring out her words.
Lassian’s achievement today was so remarkable that even she, known for her logical and decisive personality, couldn’t help but be excited.
“The Headmaster purely tested us on swordsmanship. All I did, in any case, was pass that test.”
“That can’t be…”
In the dormitory’s rear garden, where a large pond was located, a place relatively secluded, Lassian stood with the moonlight at his back and looked at Lizel.
Lizel listened to his words and mumbled blankly. Her reaction showed she could hardly comprehend it.
“I met the Headmaster while attending a class on magic coordinate theory.”
Then she abruptly recounted what she had experienced. Magic coordinate theory, a cutting-edge adjustment method that involves drawing virtual coordinate systems to calculate positions for precise magic impact and accuracy.
Eve, who had created a large coordinate system out of ice, instructed the students to swiftly cast magic at the precise coordinates, but when a new target appeared instead of the usual bullseye, no one could pass the test.
Lizel, who was known as the most outstanding student, was no exception.
“I, I truly experienced such humiliation for the first first time today.”
Lizel recalled the memory, her voice trembling.
The fact that she failed despite everyone’s expectations was shocking, but that wasn’t all. Eve mercilessly criticized Lizel, calling her a ‘noisy empty cart.’ As a bonus, she even berated Lizel’s supervising professor right in front of her, claiming he had filled Lizel’s head with empty notions.
To Lizel, who had always been a perfect model student, excelling in both academics and martial arts since childhood, admired by those around her and secretly spoiled by professors due to her exceptional talent, today’s events were more than just a shock; they were humiliation itself.
“After class ended, I couldn’t even breathe properly. I only felt relieved when I heard rumors that no one had passed the Headmaster’s test, thinking that the Headmaster hadn’t intended for anyone to pass in the first place. But then, your story came out.”
Lizel bit her lip and pointed a finger at Lassian.
“What are you? Why?! How did you pass the Headmaster’s test?”
“…It seems, Young Lady—no, Senior—you need to look at reality as it is.”
Lassian suppressed a wry laugh and spoke. He subtly sensed her incredibly childish thoughts, but given their statuses and the situation, it was impossible to say it directly.
“I simply used what I learned to pass the test. That’s all.”
“That’s impossible!”
Lassian calmly stated the facts, but Lizel ultimately shouted. Even her habit of always maintaining noble dignity and refinement was broken.
“Th-The Headmaster was always like that. He’d tell us to break something unbreakable, then give us a sense of futility by saying someone broke it, without ever revealing who it was.”
“What does that have to do with this current situation?”
“…He’s warning us. The student council, the existing high-achievers, to not become complacent and to stay vigilant. By creating a new ‘top student’ who doesn’t even exist.”
At the mention of a ‘scarecrow,’ Lassian flinched for a moment but tried his best to act nonchalant. Lizel, who hadn’t noticed his reaction, surprisingly came up with a deduction quite close to the truth.
However, there was one blind spot in her conspiracy theory that Eve was intentionally creating an atmosphere to belittle existing high-achievers.
“I don’t know about scarecrows, but I do exist.”
“…I’m sorry, but I just can’t believe you.”
Lizel, her eyes flashing, threw her glove, which she had fumbled out of her pocket, at Lassian, who had a bewildered look on his face and had placed a hand on his chest.
“Prove it. Your true skill.”
“Dueling between knight-studies and magic-studies students is forbidden by school rules. Please reconsider, unless you wish to be expelled.”
Lassian, seeing her character revealed in the glove she had deliberately brought and thrown, despite it being an old tradition that didn’t necessarily need to be observed, picked it up with a bitter smile. He understood that she, an intelligent person, had been so shocked that she lost her composure, but he couldn’t indulge her whims.
“Are you, such an excellent person, truly intending to tarnish your family’s name with a momentary mistake?”
“K-kh…”
Lassian knew the strength and weakness of nobles well: that a noble is never alone. At his mention of her family, Lizel flinched, her fist trembling as she clutched her skirt.
She realized that she was losing to him, both in words and logic.
“If you truly wish to see my skill, you can do so later. Now that things have come to this, I have no intention of hiding it.”
Lassian felt the overheated atmosphere gradually settling down. All that remained was to gently persuade her, who had been assaulted by facts and calmed her excitement, and send her away.
For him, who had become an expert at coaxing and appeasing children while living with Karl, it wasn’t a difficult task.
“Wait, if you’re refusing because of regulations, then you can duel me, right?”
It was then that an unexpected intruder suddenly burst into the scene. A dark-skinned female student, still in her gym clothes, even though classes had clearly ended long ago.
Her dark black hair, tied back tightly in a single braid, fluttered against the night sky with the vigorous movement of her leaping over the tall wall.
“…Senior Karya.”
“We’ve met before, right? Well, long time no see, Lassian.”
The intruding Karya grinned at Lassian, who was looking at her with a blank expression.
“What on earth are you doing? Scaling the wall? Are you so ignorant that you don’t even know basic regulations?”
“You’re just as ignorant of the rules. We’re actually forbidden from entering the first-year dormitory.”
Karya retorted without backing down to Lizel’s gasp. Lizel, only then realizing that she herself was breaking a rule, widened her eyes and then clenched her teeth.
“Go ahead and report me. I’ll report you too.”
“You, you…”
Normally, one might be cautious if the opponent was a noble, but Karya was unrestrained, even sticking out her tongue. She knew from their frequent interactions that Lizel, despite her snappy remarks, wasn’t the type to retaliate over something like this.
“Surprisingly, you two seem to get along, so please enjoy your time together.”
“Wait, where are you going? You’re the protagonist of this story.”
Karya grabbed Lassian by the scruff of his neck just as he tried to slip away.
“For once, I agree with Lady Eisenberg on this matter. What with the scarecrow incident and all, I can’t stand the curiosity. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Lassian. It’s the Headmaster I don’t trust.”
“…The Headmaster is neither thoughtless nor frivolous.”
When even Karya suspected Eve, Lassian sighed and shook his head, pondering and re-evaluating why he was defending Eve against these ‘children’.
‘No way.’
And when the thought crossed his mind that Eve, who seemed unusually interested in him, might have even orchestrated this situation.
Lassian felt true wariness for the first time since his reincarnation.
“You’ll do it!?”
“It seems this is the only way to satisfy both of you, so I have no choice.”
As he, exhausted in many ways, finally chose the quickest method, Karya, who hid an obsession that would put Lizel to shame within her large eyes, clapped her hands.