“You got a problem?”
“...”
The bombshell I suddenly dropped into the classroom.
Just a few words from me were enough to leave everyone dumbfounded.
Even Valteric, who had been so cold until then, was no exception.
A stunned silence settled over the room.
“...”
That brief moment gave everyone time to reflect on what had just been said.
Valteric only broke the silence after turning it over in his mind several times.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
“...Ha.”
His face had been expressionless the whole time, but now his brow creased slightly.
Valteric's gaze was as sharp as an ice pick.
Its point was aimed straight at me.
Ignoring that, I pulled out another textbook and spoke.
“What brings you to the Class E classroom, Professor Valteric?”
“That is what I would like to ask. What is the meaning of this, Class E’s top student?”
“Didn’t I tell you? My hand slipped.”
“You don’t look sorry at all for an accident.”
“Oh my, you caught me? Honestly, all I can think is that it hit its mark.”
Crunch, crunch!
The frost spreading through the classroom thickened.
Pure white snowflakes formed, and oppressive cold seemed to swarm down upon us.
The young man’s killing intent left Rin and focused entirely on me.
“Do not interfere. I only came to speak with the defective.”
“Unfortunately, there’s no student named Defective in our class.”
“Wordplay? Or does some commoner student think they can challenge a faculty member?”
“Why not?”
“What?”
“You intimidated my people in my classroom... Did you expect me to be nice in return?”
Rather than bowing down, I answered him with the same shamelessness.
Perhaps moved by that, Valteric furrowed his brow.
The surrounding air chilled, and frigid mana bloomed in waves.
Rumble!
“The nerve of trash that can’t even kindle a speck of magic.”
“How rude.”
Not to be outdone, I activated the Mask of the Evil God.
The writhing killing intent surged to maximum output.
Screeeech!
Our auras collided fiercely.
Dense pressure filled the classroom.
Without giving an inch, I simply stared calmly at the blue-haired man.
‘He can’t touch me anyway.’
It wasn’t as though he didn’t know who stood behind me.
I had Javert and Valter backing me.
At least within the Academy, no one could lay a hand on me carelessly.
That remained true even if he was the eldest son of House Glacia, the elite among elites.
‘Maybe elsewhere, but not at the Academy.’
If a professor laid a hand on a student without cause, disciplinary action would follow immediately.
Valteric wouldn’t risk such disgrace.
That was especially true while carrying the Glacia name.
That notoriously prestigious magical family despised any trouble caused by its members.
Granted, I used Textbook Strike, but Valteric had been the first to pressure the Class E students.
In other words, we were even.
If he took things any further, he would probably be the one in trouble.
“...”
“...”
Valteric and I stood there, glaring at each other.
This was simply a battle of wills.
Neither of us showed any sign of backing down, but neither took another step forward either.
A precarious silence hung between us.
The atmosphere was so sharp it felt as though we were standing on blades.
In the end, the first to retreat was Valteric.
“Tch...”
Class would begin soon.
He had no choice but to leave.
The young man withdrew his chill and shook the frost from his hands.
“I will remember this disrespect. I will make you regret it soon enough.”
“I can’t wait to see what kind of amazing regret awaits me.”
I answered mockery with mockery.
The young man gave a cold sneer.
Valteric looked at his intimidated younger sister, then clicked his tongue again as though she annoyed him.
“Tch.”
“...”
“Defective, we will speak more later. This is your final warning. Do not disgrace the Glacia name.”
“...Yes, Lord Valteric.”
Rin drew in her shoulders.
After that, the young man left the classroom without hesitation.
The classroom fell silent again.
I simply stood in the middle of it.
* * *
After I drove Valteric away, the Class E kids cheered through their tears.
“Big brother! I’m moved!”
“I never thought you’d confront a faculty member for our sake!”
“Professor Valteric is surely one of Grandia’s greatest elites...”
“You threw a book at someone like that! Sob, damn it! I’ll serve you for the rest of my life!!”
“Please allow us to call you Father!”
They all clung to me while making a huge fuss.
It was creepy, so I peeled every last one of them off.
Then I handed out the study guides I had worked on all night, one by one, and they burst into tears a second time.
It seemed their tear ducts broke whenever they saw me now.
“Boss!!!”
“This unfilial child will definitely succeed and let you live in luxury!!”
I wished they would all stop.
Anyway, that day’s classes only ended several hours later.
“Ahem.”
Near the end of my day, I headed to Javert’s laboratory to help with paperwork.
Just as I reached the door, someone who had been following me the whole time finally approached.
“...?”
When I turned around, a blue-haired girl with a cold demeanor stood there.
Her blue eyes seemed dark and lifeless.
I tilted my head and asked.
What could she possibly want from me?
“Lady Glacia?”
“Class E’s top student.”
“What is it? It seems like you’ve been following me for a while.”
“...”
Rin remained silent.
Only after several seconds did she give a vague answer.
“...Who knows.”
“Pardon?”
“Just... I just followed you...”
“So you just followed me without thinking?”
Nod.
Her voice was neither clumsy nor distinctly enunciated.
That distinctive sleepy air seeped through every word.
Rin hesitated for a moment.
Then she asked a short question.
“...Why did you help me?”
“Help you? Me?”
“Yeah. Earlier, when my brother came to the classroom.”
“Ah.”
She meant when I lost my temper and went off on him.
I scratched the back of my head as I answered.
“We’re comrades in Class E, aren’t we? I should look after you. More than that, the other students were being affected too.”
“Comrades...”
Rin quietly turned that word over in her mind.
Was she a little surprised?
Her unfocused eyes stared at me.
The emotion was faint, like a single drop of ink falling into the sea.
“...I didn’t think you’d see it that way.”
“Pardon?”
“I thought you hated me.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“I have no reason to hate you, Lady Glacia. Why would you think that...?”
“You avoided me whenever our eyes met, so... I thought you hated me...”
“Ah.”
That was because she stared at me so intensely that I avoided her.
She really did stare holes through me, so it was hard to meet her eyes.
I barely managed to clear up the misunderstanding.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I don’t particularly hate you.”
“...Yeah. I see.”
A dazed little sound of realization escaped her.
Then she caught hold of my sleeve.
There seemed to be a trace of loneliness in her eyes.
“...Sorry. I made you argue with my brother for no reason.”
“It’s fine. I lost my temper and acted rashly too.”
“Still, my brother came to scold me.”
“It seems your family doesn’t treat you very well, Lady Glacia.”
“...Yeah.”
Rin’s expression darkened a little.
Within her deep pupils, a color darker than blue seemed to ripple.
“Still, yeah. It’s all because of me.”
“Pardon? What do you mean it’s because of you...?”
“It’s just... I was born wrong. That’s why my brother hates me too.”
“...”
Her expression was as blank as always.
A cold breath escaped her lips.
A winter-like scent spread around us in soft clouds.
For some reason, though, the air around her looked especially lonely today.
‘Come to think of it, House Glacia...’
For a moment, I recalled Rin’s family circumstances.
I decided not to ask any more questions.
‘Well... I’ll have to clash with House Glacia someday anyway.’
I figured I could consider what happened today a preview.
It might be good to become closer to Rin while I was at it.
She would definitely become a great asset.
With that in mind, I naturally brought the conversation to a close.
“Then, has the misunderstanding been cleared up?”
“Yeah.”
“I should get going now. It’s getting late. I’ll see you in the classroom again tomorrow.”
“...Okay. Goodbye.”
Just as we were about to part ways, a familiar voice suddenly called my name from behind.
“Student Viktor.”
“...?”
A woman stood there with the laboratory door open.
I had no choice but to freeze.
“...Investigator?”
Muted red hair.
Green eyes and that uniquely dry, cool atmosphere.
It was none other than Javert.
She simply stared silently in our direction.
More precisely, at Rin’s hand holding my sleeve between us.
“I sensed someone nearby this whole time, but I wondered why you wouldn’t come inside.”
A faint chill filled the air.
It was clearly summer, yet a shiver ran down my spine.
The woman before me remained utterly expressionless.
“Investigator, that is...”
“What are the two of you doing in front of my laboratory?”
Well, um.
Anyway, I think this is some kind of misunderstanding.
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