Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

179 – First Impressions Were the Worst.

The place where the juniors were waiting

was one of the smaller

training grounds within the Academy,

a place strictly

forbidden to spectators.

Presumably, since the daughter

of a Marquis was among the juniors,

the goal was to prevent any rumors

from spreading should she lose.

No matter how educational it may be,

showing the daughter of

a Marquis sprawled on the ground

was something they’d inevitably be hesitant to do.

Well, as far as I’m concerned, it

just meant I didn’t need to worry about

being watched, as far as onlookers go.

Anyway, I’d heard that my opponents

were quite talented

for their age,

so there wouldn’t be any

need to hold back.

And furthermore,

the Professor himself had

Isn’t this the task entrusted to me?

That my juniors possess natures brimming with such intolerable arrogance…

Such things must be

rectified immediately,

lest they invite calamity later.

Thoroughly, so no complications arise after.

Though striking my precious juniors

with my own hands

is a matter that grieves my heart so,

it is our professor’s request, akin to the heavens themselves,

so I have no other recourse.

≪User’s emotional state is escalating rapidly≫

≪Suppress excitement and calm down…≫

…Never appearing normally,

only to materialize at times like this,

spreading groundless rumors,

I silenced the useless status window.

I followed the Professor, who still

stared at us as though we were

children left to wander by the water’s edge,

resolute as he stood before us,

leading the way.

Arriving at the training grounds

where the juniors awaited

took little time,

and only after presenting the

Professor’s access card before the door

did the firmly sealed

gates begin to open.

*Tsssseeeee–*

The two doors split apart, spewing forth steam,

and the vast

training grounds beyond welcomed us.

The floor, crafted from sand and earth

to minimize injuries,

and the walls erected with

mana-infused materials to

withstand most impacts,

so that they would not break easily.

Scattered throughout were stations for

replenishing depleted mana.

Rows of mana crystals gleamed on the shelves.

‘..A much more

agreeable facility than I imagined─’

*KRA-THOOM!*

‘..Scratch that.’

“Kyaaah?!”

“..What in the world?”

Marveling at the

seemingly adequate facilities,

I took my first step into the training ground,

only for a ball of fire

to slam into the wall beside me, detonating.

Thankfully, Professor Oliver, standing

before us, had erected

a barrier of mana to shield us,

so the blast wave didn’t reach us,

but even so, the fact that

an explosion had occurred right before our eyes

gifted us, if only for a moment,

with silence. And from within the smoke

billowing before us,

the first to scream

was none other than Professor Oliver.

“What in the blazes do you think you’re doing!!!!”

A roar, infused with mana,

unleashed at full force.

For the average person,

it might have simply sounded

like a voice amplified,

but for a master on Professor Oliver’s level,

things were different altogether.

Sound is a wave,

and mana followed that wave,

creating a spectacle reminiscent of

a Lion’s Roar technique

from a martial arts saga.

Of course, the impact wasn’t enough to send people flying,

but the air, at least, vibrated,

Perhaps it could deliver a shock of such magnitude,

and perhaps because of that, now,

the professor’s mana veil

that had been draped over me

lifted ever so slightly,

and I felt myself float up, just a touch.

And it seemed this wasn’t

something happening to only me.

The girls, who just a moment ago had been

chattering right behind me, now,

each of them, their eyes wide,

were gazing intently ahead.

After the chaotic eruption of

thick, swirling dust had

begun to settle a bit,

I distinctly heard

giggles coming from inside the training grounds.

“Aah, I’m so sorry, Professor!!”

Immediately following, with a voice

so obviously feigning contrition it was

painfully obvious,

a kid appeared from within,

smearing himself in gobs of

mana residue,

and not even bothering to hide

the blooming smile on his face,

a truly repulsive child.

I wanted to scorch those

murky green locks

off his head right now.

“..Bach Mon, explain yourself. At once.”

“Haha…I was practicing my magic, and I, um─”

“Bach Mon..!!”

After his laughter, showing he

still hadn’t quite grasped the mood,

the professor, to my eyes at least,

looked quite overcome with fury.

The threats began to ring out, and

only then, just the slightest bit,

did the corners of his mouth

slowly begin to droop.

The Professor didn’t miss the opportunity.

“Are you aware that

your actions just now could have

led to a major accident?”

“..Ah, well.. that’s—”

“I’m certain you were fully instructed on

the usage precautions of the training grounds.”

“….”

“Am I mistaken, Bach Mon?”

Facing the Professor’s

more potent anger than expected,

he couldn’t utter a word,

frozen stiff in place.

He even looked a little pathetic,

but recalling his smirk

after pulling that stunt just moments ago,

I felt anything but pity;

rather, a slight urge to kill swelled up.

“Ah, no… that’s not what I intended…”

“..Bach Mon, look who your magic almost harmed.”

“Y-yes? L-Lady Isabella…!!”

Besides, though he might have been

trying to seize the momentum,

his timing was tragically unfortunate.

Who would have imagined that

the Duke’s daughter

would come to a place like this?

Especially one of the famed Four Great Houses.

“..Do humans normally

do such things to their seniors?”

“No, absolutely not…

I have nothing to say…”

And now, even

the Princess of the Elves

was accompanying us,

He’d, in all truth,

stirred up a hornet’s nest he

should have left well alone.

Gain the upper hand in this situation?

A jest, pure and simple.

A cruel jest, at that.

They could, using this

as a pretense,

reduce his entire lineage to

ashes without much trouble at all.

Who, in their right mind, would dare claim

dominance and superiority over them?

“Uh… u-um, tha… that is…”

“Oh my, Professor Oliver.

You’ve finally deigned to join us?”

It seemed awareness of his

deeds was finally sinking in,

judging by the utterly ghastly

pallor that had overtaken his face. Behind him,

another figure materialized,

and the moment I saw her,

I knew it in my bones.

That girl, the heiress

of the Marquis family Professor Oliver spoke of.

Frankly, anyone catching sight of that neatly

coiled roll hairstyle

could easily guess as much, though,

as the roll hairstyle was,

historically, practically synonymous

with aristocratic young ladies.

Or so they claimed, anyway,

that the roll hairstyle symbolized

refinement and grace…

Having lived through the 21st

century, having seen every sort of

sophisticated hairstyle imaginable,

I just saw a slightly peculiar,

amusing hairstyle,

nothing more, nothing less.

“…Erdena Valentine,

“Tell me exactly what you saw.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Bach Mann, was this lad

truly practicing magic?”

“Yes, we were practicing

practical magic together…”

“…”

“Perhaps, did something happen?”

…To be honest,

I didn’t like it much.

How should I put it, I felt

an unpleasantness rising,

crawling on my skin.

No matter how much

you shouldn’t judge people by appearance…

Still, if I didn’t like it, I didn’t like it.

Yes, well…for example…

In front of Professor Oliver,

still consumed by

the emotion of anger,

as if claiming some kind of dignity,

her eyes still sketching

that crescent moon,

Even though she was

just practicing magic together

her brazen lips that claimed

to not know what happened,

It felt like they were mocking

everyone here.

Extremely displeasing.

“…Haa, for now, we’re

wasting time, we can talk later.”

“…”

“Bach Mann, you will

come to the faculty office afterward.”

“Y-Yes…yessir!!”

“Now, everyone, gather here.

I will tell you each rule to follow.”

*

Meanwhile, as all were slowly

beginning to open their eyes to the bright

sunshine,

In the royal castle’s corridors,

footsteps echoed, thud, thud,

thudding along,

what was astonishing was that not a single

servant or knight passing through

noticed the sound,

simply went by unawares.

Thud, thud—

Like a shadow entire,

behind the man trudging along

a deep and intense darkness began to spread,

and finally, reaching the end

of the castle corridor, the man

adjusted his attire

this way and that, tidying himself, then

slowly opened the door before him.

Ordinarily, servants would have

opened it for him,

but he was not a person

to enter here with such confidence now.

Anyhow, thus opening the

door and stepping into the room filled with

all sorts of luxurious furnishings,

the figure of the Emperor sipping

wine before a candle that seemed ready

to extinguish at any moment,

came into view, and at that

same instant, the man’s

knees slowly descended downward.

To offer the respect of a subject.

“Charlotte, I, Charlote, greet His Imperial Majesty.”

“Ah, rise. Is there truly need to offer such greetings between us?”

“….”

“Well, then…coming

here means you’ve come with

the child’s answer, yes?”

“Indeed.”

As he said,

Charlotte was on her way back, having received the answer.

The answer of Aria Reinhardt,

of the Reinhardt family’s

direct lineage, and a candidate to become head of the household.

“Speak,”

“She said…”